I’d like to see a “like” or “thumbs up” function in the forum again. Easier than quoting someone (Parrotspain in this case) to say that you agree completely.
MattiasNYC - it would be much better if we had the thanks button. The problem with it is that the phpbb extension that provides the function doesn’t stay in sync with the updates of phpbb itself, creating problems when a security update is needed. I lobby for it from time to time anyway.
I’d have clicked the button for this too.
Well said, and politely done. What’s funny to me is that this response is similar to that of my mom (now 96), when I tried to teach her to do email on an imac G3, in 1999.
Until you recognize the mistress for what she is, and put her in her place. Carefully consider your tool selection, and whether or not the tool is truly needed. How many plug-ins do you have vs. need? If things are working almost perfect, do you need to update it? Marketing seems to drive the prosumers desires these days. Really learn the tools you have.
This could mean better Windows management like said above about automatic updates, considering the advantages/disadvantages of keeping a studio PC off line, purchasing a PC from someone who specializes in DAW PC’s with good after purchase support, using a PC for only DAW and DAW related functions, and using good 3rd-party software that has been proven time and again to work like expected.
Don’t misunderstand me, you still have to deal with the mistress, but with the above, more boundaries for her I think.
All good points GB, but you know it’s all like a game of Whac-A-Mole… I built my first PC for audio in 2005 and last in 2009. I switched to Macs maybe 6 years ago and spent thousands repurchasing all my software… I would never go back to, the collection of parts thrown together and run by an inferior, poop filled OS again like windows.
That said I just bought a new Mac Pro and upgraded it to 64GB of RAM, and there is almost not a day that goes by that Cubase doesn’t freeze. I think the leading hardware and software manufactures should get together and develop some type of standard, like the 500 series has or something, IDK.
It just seems like I’ve spent more time fighting with computer & software than I ever should have. And thats all less time making music. And I think no matter how “good” out equipment, we can all relate to Unknownsax. We’ve all waisted days troubleshooting one update that caused a problem somewhere else. And those are truly wasted days.
- Sean Ryder Williams
Whac-A-Mole- “A typical Whac-A-Mole machine consists of a large, waist-level cabinet with five holes in its top and a large, soft, black mallet. Each hole contains a single plastic mole and the machinery necessary to move it up and down. Once the game starts, the moles will begin to pop up from their holes at random. The object of the game is to force the individual moles back into their holes by hitting them directly on the head with the mallet”
In my experience most problems with DAWs / computers have been;
- the user using cracked software
- the user upgrading software without checking compatibility
- faulty hardware (i.e. failing hard drive etc)
Very rarely have I bumped into any issues due to the OS being faulty or problematic. That goes for both Win and OSX.
There are standards for hardware and software, but a lot of manufacturers don’t actually follow standards to the letter. As far as I understand it, if things are correctly done then Windows updates shouldn’t pose any problems. I’m running my Lynx TWO-B PCI card (!!! NOT PCI-e !!!) on a new Ryzen 1700 on Windows 10, and I’ve gone through a few updates with zero problems. I don’t think that’s because Microsoft is awesome, but rather because Lynx does great stuff and care about writing drivers that work. Their latencies on PCI cards are some of the lowest out there.
And when it comes to broken hardware Apple is definitely not the best company around. I’d even go as far as saying that given their policies regarding hardware issues they’re among the absolute worst (for financial reasons).
In other words: If we want to use relatively complicated software / hardware we need to do a bit of work ourselves, and also just accept that @#$ happens… to both OS… and to different DAWs…
For reference: Today I got a mix-note on a short film I mixed in a studio with Pro Tools HD (TDM) on a cheese grater Mac on OSX, and it was due to PT re-recording two clips of audio out of sync causing phasing. That re-record was done last week. All I had to do today was re-enable record and re-re-record the mix. This time it worked. Last week it did not. Do I blame Apple or Avid?
The grass is equally brown on both sides, just like me.
Maybe PT is the answer.
- Sean Ryder Williams
Again, which could be a reason to purchase a system built by a professional who knows DAWs, computer components, interfaces & drivers, and most importantly will guarantee performance after the sale. This includes 3rd party software. This isn’t the local guy who is the computer “wizz.” It’s most likely a company out of state or country who has years of experience building and knowing the components, parts and interfaces that work best for DAW’s. If the system doesn’t work, it’s on their hands to make it work via Team viewer or whatever solutions they implement. Yes, you pay more, but you also get the performance assurance with your DAW, interface and 3rd party software. If you do want to build your own, do extensive research first and be prepared for possible issues.
Honestly if you are a musician with no interest in computers, do what you do best, and hire a person who does DAW’s and computers best.
IMO PT could be the answer if you want just a recording/mix system and not a production environment. Comparing PT vs. Cubase is not really apples to apples unless you want just a record/mix environment.
So you built your own PC’s with parts thrown together and run by that inferior OS and got negative results. Now you have a Mac that you know nothing about? 
If the Mac was built for DAW recording, then, assuming it’s under warranty from someone reputable, the builder or company should resolve the issues. If it’s not under warranty, I would still contact the builder. My experience has been superb service even after the warranty expires. They want your repeat business when it’s time for a new system. Now if it’s a scenario where it’s an aging system and maybe a lot of the components have been replaced over time, then of course there is nothing your builder can do for you.
From what I have read over the years, that’s very true. Not turning this into a PC vs. Mac thing, but it often seems the “issue” is backwards software compatibility. Windows 10 can still run ancient applications from the 90s’s while Mac OS’s are always changing making older software incompatible and then the user blames the software developer for not updating. 
Yep.
Good points GB… I’m not going to get into a pi ss-ing match, I was just trying to empathize with the poster…
I buy my Macs from Apple and always have apple care. Your statement about Yearly, arbitrary, issue prone updates could also apply to Cubase.
I know more about computers than I ever wanted to unfortunately. I always researched compatable hardware and built my machines specifically to run Cubase and thats all. I ran XP Pro for the longest, which I got from Microsoft while working there. I’ve done B2B Sales for Dell, Salesforce, and most recently an Oracle Partner.
Again my original intent was to empathize with the poster. If you haven’t wasted a day troubleshooting software issues with your DAW, than you are one of the few. I might suggest sharing best practices in this forum. But this and all Cubase forums are inundated with problems and issues. I would say 9 out of 10.
I joined after 15 years of using Cubase to share and learn best practices, and new ways of looking at workflow. As well as empathizing and helping those where I could.
Cheers Brother,
- Sean Ryder Williams
Unplug from the Internet.
i’m an alltime windows user. I was and still am confident in it’s OS.
I know the other OS’s.
But since windows 10 there is a huge change in the way they operate.
They are bundling versions, updates aren’t updates anymore but often complete rebuilds of the OS, including drivers and restrictions for them, and the way those changes are being pushed around is so intrusive that you probably can’t operate in a normal fashion without finally do the update.
So the last big update changed my system, which was super stable for years, putting it to the brink of being unusable if you are not used to the environment and it’s quirky ways it sometimes works. I did find a workaround that is no more then a simple reboot. So every time i start the machine, i just have to start it twice. THen it recognizes it is not a tablet, and it releases access to the normal drivers.
The problem is, that due to the availability of the different types of OS for different kinds of hardware, windows is imho very often making mistakes in analysing wich type of hardware environment it is working in, with a big preference on everyting mobile such a tablet or a laptop. In such a case it uses it’s own restriced tablet drivers from (in my case) NVIDEA, wich i don’t use, since i only use external drivers.
So I end up without any abillity to make any noise, unless i reboot it a second time.
Complete rubbish in my eyes, all that modern thinking from developers who want to think for the client. But ok, the client is now the meat on the bone i guess.
I was happy with those old scool, non intrusive, and ok sometimes a bit unstable type of OS’s. Once stable, they did what they were expected to do.
Nowadays, when i have to go on stage, every single time is an uncertain encounter with what it will decide to do this time.
Ok, for now, no accidents have happened. But again.
Go Linux and make something simple, non virtual, but something that works.
I do not need fancy bling bling on my music computer.
The only thing it needs to do is perform, play the vstis, and record audio.
And that’s where it fails… normally such a thing would lead to a decission to go back to the drawing board. Nowadays this is just not happening anymore it seems.
But since we are merely 1% of the market, i guess we will have to live with it untill someone gives us a better alternative.
Apple and google definitly are no alternatives for me. They are just predators to steal as much of your data as possible.
I know microsoft is taking the same path, but at least they are not such predators like the rest of them.
And yes, i know, since i work with a desktop rebuild into a laptop, i fit probably under the so to speak 0,00006 % of the market.
But… there should be a bigger chunck of the market for a OS that is just doing what it needs to do.
And that is to make hardware operational.
FWIW a reaction,
kind regards,
R.
additional thought. If the SB guys and girls would have the resources, or maybe yamaha, they are able to build an OS.
I understand they can’t provide drivers for everything that is around, but they could experiment with it and offer the possibility to buy their DAW, OS included. Make it hardware included for a starter f.e.
Yamaha makes hardware so the resources should be available.
And ok, they do make them for the proprietary hardware, but it must be possible to find a solution in between.
Ok, i hear the answer coming… nuage ?, but hey… a bit less expensive should be possible too, no ?
This is the very first time I’ve heard of this, so it’s hardly something that happens “very often”, probably the exact opposite. If I were you I’d go through your system from the ground up and make sure not only drivers were accurate but that devices are compatible.
Just so you know what I mean: I actually upgraded a laptop from Win 8.x to Win 10, and I didn’t pay attention to what I was doing. So, my bad. What happened was that the hybrid hard drive wasn’t 100% compatible with the OS, and in addition to that early trackpad drivers were sketchy. So, because I was eager I got a super-slow laptop.
I think you underestimate how much money that would cost and how small our market is (and thus potential revenue stream).
On top of that, I don’t want another OS. I don’t want an OS that’s great for my DAW and then have to either dual-boot (i.e. reboot when I want to use it) or use a second computer just to do everything else I need to do. I’d much rather have one OS that works for general computing and work.
@ MattiasNYC
tx for this reply.
that is a good suggestion. I shall look for any differences in behaviour depending on what device is attached to the system.
Maybe i can find the culprit this way.
kind regards,
R.
Off topic, but in reply to using crack.
I started in 01 with a crack base and all plugs to see ifni would drop money. The crack stuff i used was by far more stable. Sx3 and all the other stuff never a crash. Fast forward 10 years and I’ve paid for everything i have. I get more issues now than ever before. Seems backwards.
No, it sounds like you’re having computer issues and should contact support.
+10
Kind of an oldie bumped but though cubase runs fine here on windows, yeah it can be frustrating.
BTW I hate the “mac vs pc” wars, neither is better, just the user and the preference. But windows 10 does have a mind of it’s own with updates. Annoying but workable.