Is freeze an alternative to batch export in Cubase Artist

Hi all

I’ve been a user of Cubase Studio (since V4) and now find there is no CS6 but instead there is a new Cubase Artist.

As I’ve been looking through the feature comparison I’ve noticed that there is no Batch Export. :cry:

I know it was not so long ago that it was a new feature but now it seems it isn’t available in Artist.

My question is, is Freezing and retrieving the audio from a frozen file any alternative and where does the audio go once it is frozen?

Thanks for any replies

I am afraid not unless they have have changed the way freeze works in cubase 6.

Hi fastlane

I was very excited at the release of Cubase 6 and naturally thought there would be a Studio version as in 4/5 but that was not the case.

Interestingly it seems Cubase itself now does 192Khz sampling rates which is of course a step forward for cubase users as they can now be compatible with Nuendo but it sort of leaves Studio 5 users out in the cold.

As new features are made it is only sensible to tailor product choices to suit workflows but if support is not brought about in other areas then in reality it is like “stepping back” and using a turgid version of SX3 that can’t even perform basic audio work.

I really hope steinberg consider this in their pursuit for product differentiation since wholly neglecting an area of the program for so long (batch export) and then coming out with things like Drum Replacement might look good from a marketing perspective but from a user point of view not being able to deal with internal rendering of files certainly leaves me left wanting.

I’m sure that you realize that you CAN export audio by range and by track and by output in Artists, you just lose being able to export multiple individual output rendering at one time (i.e. as a batch process). This is probably obvious, but just in case. :slight_smile:

Also, if you DO need to do this and still want Artist, you can always get MEAP, which works better than the native batch export anyway since you have more control over track by track export and auto-naming:

Hi tony

My work is basically MIDI composition and recording the outputs (digitally) of sound modules into cubase.

Once the audio is in Cubase I can then apply additional effects, downsample etc and Batch Export was very handy to let me choose for example, the Drums Group or Basses, Guitars etc even from live performances.

With the way it is now I feel like I am taking a massive step backwards in terms of functionality at great financial cost, when other areas of the program such as Freeze could be improved so at least there is something in the way of workflow that I was used to eg manipulating rendered audio in the Pool.

Maybe Steinberg have improved Freeze in some way but it’s hard to know as no one seems to have the program yet and even still would it or could it be improved upon at a later stage?

I hope something can be done about this otherwise I will feel most neglected and hopefully it will not turn me into a Steinberg dissident. :smiling_imp:

Cramar. Priceless wind up. Like it. :mrgreen:

Be sure to check out MEAP then, per my link above. It’s inexpensive and works perfectly.

Hi Conman/Tony

I’m not really interested in 3rd party offerings as I don’t believe I should have to pay extra for something which should already be in the program to being with.

I’m starting to use more Kontakt based instruments as of late and was hoping to do away with my old sound modules but I cannot understand why there is no freeze button on either the MIDI track, or individual VST output.

Have steinberg forgotten something or was it a half-baked feature made to match a feature on some other DAW?

With Steinbergs reputation and all being a pro DAW you would think you could at least freeze audio on an output by output basis or am I missing something here.

Any help would be great

You can freeze MIDI by freezing the VSTi in the VSTi device panel or you can freeze an audio channel in the project window, at least in the full version of Cubase.

Also, you can argue until your blue in the face about not wanting to have to pay extra for batch export, or you can pay $20 for MEAP and get what you need.

I’m not interested in 3rd party offerings (no trial available) but thanks anyway for that information.

About Freeze, what I want is the ability to choose which VSTi channels will be frozen, so firstly it doesn’t create any unnecessary files on the hard disk, or waste any time rendering. Kind of like a “batch freeze” function.

Secondly I’d like any frozen files to be shown immediately in the Audio Pool, not put in some folder next to the Audio folder of the project and then I must use the operating system to copy files back to the working directory.

If these features cannot be provided at some point then obviously the feature is half-baked (or assed depending on how you feel) and after all this time would demonstrate emphatically that Steinberg is about creating new features while neglecting existing ones.

Sorry I tried to help. :unamused: It won’t happen again.

Hi

Maybe there is a misunderstanding.

As it was in your signature to “move frozen parts” I naturally figured that you’d be wanting to improve the sorely neglected Freeze feature, especially now that considering there is no batch export for artist but maybe it is that you don’t care because batch export is included in the full version.

Personally I don’t feel movable freeze is as important as it is often made out to be, however having a capability whereby you can freeze only certain tracks of a multi-output VST instrument would be very useful in my view and would go some way towards the concept of multi-output VST instrument tracks, as the functionality would be equivalent, at least in terms of rendering audio.

Cheers :laughing:

No Batch Export in Cubase Artist 6?

perhaps a solution: freeze the tracks and use the freezed audio from the folder. (be careful with the length of the regions! (merge/consolidate all track regions in one! all tracks: same start point!)

In Cubase 4 you can make dummy busses and just record all of the stems at once to new tracks. Make 24 dummy busses (hardware outputs assigned to no hardware) in a output preset that you can call up, assign or send your tracks to those dummy busses, create 24 new tracks assigned with those busses as inputs and record the stems directly in realtime.

First and most obvious method is to use the old known OMF export: However, there are serious → limitations (!!!), the main one being that you can only really export time-based information, volume and panning! So, for example, you can send all the clips from your Cubase project to the right time point e.g. in a Logic/Pro Tools project, complete with volume and panning information, but you cannot send more detailed information such as plug-in or virtual instrument settings! (that’s really too bad…)

The most straightforward approach seems to be to have an insert plug-in that records everything that passes through it to a standard audio file in WAV or AIFF format on the hard drive (e.g. Freeware like “Tape It” by Silverspike or “Recorder” by Voxengo).

Maybe you try Martin Walker´s Export Tool - this enables you to automate the export of multiple tracks in Cubase “SX” ( I hope it works also for C 5/6? I dont´know). (Automating Tasks In Cubase)

But the best way is IMHO: → upgrade to the largest Cubase Version! - because of it´s included and perfekt integrated Multi-Export-Tool!


C.

Hi centralmusic

Thanks for that information but it is the situation I am trying to avoid, that is to be exploited by the Steinberg cash cow, as well as 3rd parties.

What I am wanting is a simple method to select only the VST outputs of a multi-output VST that I require and have them rendered directly to the audio pool, then I don’t need to be concerned at all about the additional “freeze” folder or any other plugin for that matter.

Regarding dummy busses, of course that is cumbersome and inelegant.

OMF is no solution as it is not included in Artist anyway and in fact I’d be opting for more of an XML archive style approach, as that would potentially fix all those issues you’d no doubt be understanding of.

Anyway, we will see over the update cycle if steinberg are committed to enhancing the workflows of all their userbase or instead if they are simply about creating new features and product differentiation for the sake of making money.

Ok, I understand your request, no problem. Anyway, hope I could help a little bit.

Central.

As you know, this is exactly what batch export does in the full version of Cubase. It has nothing at all to do with the freeze function. Freezing by audio output makes no sense, because you couldn’t then release the resources in a VSTi that has multiple outputs because it would need the VSTi active for the remaining unfrozen outputs - and freeing up resources is the whole POUNT of the freeze function.

If you don’t want to pay extra for either the full Cubase version or an extra $20 for MEAP, both of which will do EXACTLY what you want, then it’s your own choice. You have to expect a cheaper version of a pro software not to have the full feature set of the full version - that’s the reason it’s CHEAPER. :unamused:

Freezing by audio output makes no sense, because you couldn’t then release the resources in a VSTi that has multiple outputs because it would need the VSTi active for the remaining unfrozen outputs - and freeing up resources is the whole POUNT of the freeze function.

Batch Export is a convenient feature that no longer exists in the “Lite” version of cubase. Freeze Instruments is in one way or another an alternative to exporting audio whether batched or individually rendered, however regardless of the original design intention, computers have moved on so therefore the feature itself is out of date.

You have to expect a cheaper version of a pro software not to have the full feature set of the full version - that’s the reason it’s CHEAPER.

I am a paying customer and therefore I am entitled to have expectations of the company I purchase software from whether directly or via a distribution network. It matters little to end users how Steinberg maps product differentiation since the fact remains that freeze is the single most neglected feature of any Steinberg DAW and in my view needs fundamental enhancement starting with the rendering function itself.

Cheers

I wish we still had that smiley hitting his head against a brick wall.

don’t waste your time tones, surely his style has to seem a bit familiar to you, dare I say, recognizable.

+1.