First of all, congratulations on the excellent work with Cubasis 3. I am an active Cubasis 3 user on iPad, and it has been a very stable and powerful tool for my music workflow.
I would like to share a feature request focused on LIVE PERFORMANCE use, which is increasingly common among musicians performing on stage, especially in churches and live events.
Feature Request: Live Performance Mode integrated into Cubasis 3
The idea would be a dedicated performance interface, separate from the traditional edit view, designed specifically for live use, including for example:
Large, customizable pads to trigger samples, loops, and stems
Continuous touch panels for real-time pitch/key control (finger movement changes pitch)
Simple controls for song transitions (markers, locators, setlist-style navigation)
A stage-optimized interface (large buttons, minimal menus, high reliability)
Performance-focused operation without heavy plugins, prioritizing stability
Currently, many live performers need to combine multiple apps (DAW + player + controller) to perform reliably on stage. A native Live Performance Mode inside Cubasis would make it an even more complete solution for both studio and live performance use.
I believe this feature would significantly increase Cubasis’ value and adoption among live performers.
Thank you very much for your time and continued development.
100% agreed. As a matter of fact, I asked for something very similar here:
Specifically (from that post):
It would be great to have a “set list” feature where you can pick a sequence of Cubasis projects, and then have a dedicated full screen mode where these projects are listed in large font with big play, stop and rewind-to-start buttons next to them.
In the current implementation, you have to navigate to the media hub and load the projects, close the hub screen, and then use the transport bar to start playing them. This works, but when you have the stage jitters, it’s too easy to accidentally load the wrong project, or hit the wrong button when you’re trying to perform.
The issue is that all that tapping, trying to hit the right project while you’re sweating and moving around on stage is difficult due to the small font size (and I’m using the largest iPad there is).
Plus there is the danger that you accidentally hit the screen somewhere you shouldn’t while the project is playing, doing something catastrophic like, say, accidentally soloing a track just by mistake.
That’s why I think a dedicated “live playback” screen is necessary. BIG fonts, so you increase your chances of hitting the right project (and functionality to queue up the next project in the sequence automatically for playback), and just the bare minimum of UI elements (play, stop, rewind), to prevent some errant tap disrupting your live performance.
Thank you for sharing this, I completely agree with your points.
What you described matches exactly the real challenges of using Cubasis on stage — especially small UI elements, the risk of accidental taps, and the lack of a dedicated, simplified live interface.
Your idea of a set list with large fonts and minimal controls (play/stop/rewind) makes a lot of sense and would already be a huge improvement for live reliability.
In my case, I also use Cubasis 3 for live performances (church environment), and I strongly feel that a dedicated “Live Playback / Performance Mode” with:
large buttons
minimal UI
protection against accidental solo/mute actions
clear project or song navigation
would significantly increase confidence and safety on stage.
Combining your setlist idea with a dedicated live screen could make Cubasis much more reliable and attractive for live performers.
Hopefully the Steinberg team can consider this kind of workflow for a future update.
I appreciate you sharing your experiences/needs as well!
Seems like there is now a use case in two large markets (church/live music) with similar needs that Cubasis could fill.
I’ve been looking around for years for a solution to my live music reproduction needs, and there is nothing out there that fits the bill (yet) - and I have spent a lot of money trying all sorts of solutions, including dedicated hardware devices.
Cubasis could easily fill that need, so hopefully this will make this an appetizing area for Steinberg to invest in. The gap isn’t large, and I’d be happy to provide a competitive analysis of how Cubasis could win
Thank you, I completely agree.
It’s very interesting to see the same core needs emerging from different contexts like church/worship and live music performance. In both cases, the requirement is not advanced production features, but safe, reliable and simplified playback control on stage.
I’ve also tried several solutions over the years (apps and hardware), and there is always a compromise — either great playback reliability with poor flexibility, or powerful tools that are too risky to operate live.
Cubasis already has a very solid audio engine and project management. A dedicated live playback / performance layer on top of existing functionality could really fill this gap with relatively low complexity, while opening up a new and underserved market segment.
I think your point about competitive analysis is spot on. Cubasis is actually very well positioned to win here. I’d also be happy to contribute feedback or real-world use cases if Steinberg shows interest.
I voted for this and I really would like to have kind of Octatrack on IPad, but may I ask: did you try Loopy Pro or Drambo? I found these both quite sufficient and perceived Cubasis more as a linear-editing app, so this feature request seems a little bit like asking a weather app to be a social network tool. Still I would appreciate better interface design for Cubasis optimized for safe usage.
