Started on Cubase 7 then spent years on Logic Pro and learned it quite extensively. Now I’ve decided to return to Cubase 13. As I’m learning my way around I’m taking note of the things I like and dislike about Cubase compared to Logic. If anyone has any gems to share I’d love to learn as much as I can about Cubase. Here’s where I’m at so far.
Things Cubase does better:
-Fade presets
-Macros in addition to regular key commands
-Logic has the midi transformer but the midi logical editor is more powerful
-The project logical editor is a major selling point for me
-VariAudio is far superior to FlexPitch
-Color assignment and personalization
-Aesthetic of the faders is better in my opinion
-Unlimited track count
-Unlimited ability to show/hide and enable/disable tracks via the project logical editor
-Automation is a lot smoother and sounds more natural
-Realtime waveform display
-Ability to adjust clip gain with the pencil/draw tool
-Pre AND post fader insert options
-Multiple marker tracks
-Arranger track to make alternate edits of a song
-Insert latency displayed in mixer
-Inserts and instruments load faster
-Ability to hide ALMOST everything in the main window
Things Logic does better:
-Overall more stability
-Zoom options are much better
-Smart snap is superior to the snapping options in Cubase
-Aesthetic of the inserts in logic looks more modern in my opinion
-Knobs for the pan pots is better in my opinion
-Ability to hide all channel strip icons in the main window and also the mixer (ex: inserts, mute, solo, read, write, etc)
-Custom names for plugins (exe: “UADx Empirical Labs Distressor” can be rename “Distressor”)
-Key commands are more comprehensive & easier to navigate
-Ability to assign multiple key commands to the same shortcut dependent on which editor, window, or UI element is in focus
-Ability to control multiple faders or pans at the same time without needing to link first
-Integration of third party external audio editor
-Only loads the necessary inserts and tracks for playback without the need to disable anything
Wishlist for Cubase:
-More options added to the project logical editor
-Per preset midi/key commands
-Remove scrolling fader/pan control (too easy to accidentally change a parameter without meaning to)
-Allow listening to a send only without needing to setup Control Room
-Ability to reorganize sections in the window have them snap together (kind of like the monogram midi controls do)
-Ability to view both faders and inserts at the same time in the lower editor mixer view
-Ability to disable group tracks and FX tracks
-Ideally… all the functions I’ve listed from Logic as well
Would love to hear what others think of the lists. If any of the features in the “Things Logic does better” list or the wishlist are actually possible in Cubase, please educate me. I’ve been sifting through Cubase for less than a week now so there are MANY features I’m sure I’m overlooking.
Thanks!
I’ve been a Cubase user for a very long time and never really got into Logic much, but I have lots of collaborators who use Logic exclusively. I often find that I want to pull tracks from Logic into Cubase and work on them there, then export back to Logic. About the only thing I seem to be able to do is export the stems from Logic and import them into Cubase, but this obviously isn’t ideal.
Is there a good (enough) way to convert or import projects from Logic to Cubase and vice versa?
In Logic you can select all tracks and drag them into a folder straight on your desktop which will automatically bounce the stems. Just keep in mind that if you do it this way, you will want to ensure each track extends to the beginning of the arrangement. Also, joining individual regions into one continuous track is required as well. But if it’s a tidy session then that’s the easiest way to do it.
Of course, Monotremata pointed out you can also export them via the menu bar.
If it is something you do quite frequently you can assign a key command to “Export ALL Tracks as Audio Files…” to export all of them OR “Export Tracks as Audio Files…” to export only the tracks which are selected.
In my experience using AAF (which admittedly is not all much) I haven’t found it useful. I just tested once again exporting a session from Logic to Cubase and it gave me nothing. Didn’t even change the BPM (ha ha)! I would personally recommend stems over AAF/OMF.
Yes, I basically do all those stem export things in both Logic and Cubase. Where that gets difficult is when thing go back and forth more, and where you start to commit to takes, parts, and mixes. It gets almost impossible to keep the two in sync. I know it’s totally wishful thinking, but wouldn’t it be awesome if there were a standard DAW interchange format, or even if you could drive one DAW from another? Almost like VST for DAW integration.
I vaguely recall something kinda like that. I wanna say it was Ableton maybe…??? Now if you were working in Logic as your primary but wanted to handle only audio with Cubase then you could set Cubase to “open in external editor” in Logic. This would save you the trouble of importing the file.
It would be cool to see some standardization in the fundamentals, though… like track number, BPM, AU-to-VST, and of course positioning of events.
I think that was the goal of AAF/OMF… I could be mistaken, though. I haven’t done a lot of session sharing between different DAWs in the past.
Since C9.5*, Cubase is integrated with whatever version Wavelab you have. Focus your audio part in Cubase, or if you wish, assign a KC to Open In Wavelab or just use the dropdown menu. Make your edits in Wavelab, and close. Your edits will be reflected in Cubase. If you have the full Wavelab version, I’m not sure you could ask for more when it comes to audio editing.
Workflow is really important to me. It’s possible to get a great result using any DAW. With all things equal sonically it really comes down to features that help make the process easier and more streamlined.
For several years now, I’ve noticed a tread with Apple that some might consider a cash grab. Historically, GarageBand was always intended as the hobbyist tool while Logic Pro was meant for professional use. In the last 4 years or so, Apple has made a series of decisions regarding Logic Pro which seem to have three primary goals;
1 - bring in users who don’t already use a DAW (namely artists)
2 - collect users from the leading competitors (Ableton, FL Studio & Reason)
3 - create new opportunities to sell Apple products
Professional users seem to be an afterthought at best. It seems Apple doesn’t care much for retention of their existing base and has ventured into gimmicks and clever sales pitches. Here are a few examples I’ve observed:
LIVE LOOPS
A couple of years ago they introduced the “Live Loops Editor” which clearly was meant to compete with Ableton. As a Logic user, if I preferred the Ableton workflow I would have just bought that DAW. Ableton is always going to be able to do what it does better than Logic can imitate because it’s built around that framework. So they wasted countless resources to focus on stealing customers rather than taking care of existing users and fixing longstanding problems.
DOLBY ATMOS
Around the time the M1 chip released Logic Pro integrated Dolby Atmos in an update. This isn’t necessarily an issue except that it absolutely killed my existing workflow. Only a couple of years prior I spent WAY too much money (over $9k) on a Mac Pro and specced it out. That update felt like it set my computer back a decade. Loading sessions & plugins even with Dolby turned off took at least 3 or 4 times longer. It’s clear to me that their tactic was to force people onto the M1 chip. Btw… the M1 chips were incredible. They didn’t need to throttle me to get my attention.
LOGIC FOR iPAD
Most recently Apple has been on a push to sell more iPads so they are focusing a tremendous amount of resources on the “Logic For iPad” app. No professional producer, mixer or mastering engineer I know runs their session from an iPad or ever will. Even when Apple eventually manages to squeeze as much processing power in an iPad as a desktop device, professions in the audio field still require so many peripherals that a handheld device isn’t practical. It’s great as a peripheral itself but working long hours poking glass is painful.
SIDECAR
On the subject of iPads. Apple has continuously ignored and even denied the existence of a widespread error related to Sidecar. It basically makes it unusable for me. The whole reason I bought an iPad was to use Sidecar so I could draw in automation by hand. Btw if anyone from Steinberg is reading this thread. I think an iPad app for Cubase simply dedicated to drawing in automation would be epic!
AI
I started looking into Cubase seriously about a week ago. A couple of days ago Apple announced in a press release an update for Logic Pro. From what it appears Apple is doubling down on the useless gimmicks which do nothing beneficial for audio professionals. They are rolling out some automated instruments using the buzzword “AI” in an effort to bring in more artist types and non-musicians. It’s unclear at this point what will be in it for experienced users. More info will be available on Monday when the update is released to the public.
To me, Cubase represents the exact opposite mindset. Steinberg is constantly refining their tool to expand flexibility and control. It’s clear they care about the professional users. I believe in the next 5-10 years Cubase is going to become known as THE tool for anyone who’s actually serious about making music professionally. It’s a bold statement but one I believe is totally realistic if people find out just how well thought out Cubase is.
Sorry for such a long response. I guess that’s the reaction of a person who has begged for features from Apple for years only to find out they’ve been available all along in Cubase.
Thanks Nate, not too long for me as I agree with you that Apple is about selling more of their product (which is great product; let’s be fair) and very little focus on the needs of their users…which I believe Steinberg is all about this. But I also don’t believe any one DAW will be all things to all people…yet.
Its funny because back around 2001-ish I switched to Logic Platinum because to me it was THE one for all my MIDI sequencing needs (anybody remember when you HAD to use the Environment?).
Over the last 20 some years, I’ve watched this exact ‘dumbing down’ of certain things happen to it. I mean Apple is a business, they’ve got to sell their hardware, but they took a world class sequencer, and turned it into an ‘iToy’ ultimately. Logic seemed like ‘work’ and lost its fun for me. I ended up buying an MPC Live in 2019 and went that route for a couple years until Akai started going the same route with their gimmicks.
Went back to Cubase when they announced 12 was coming out and anyone that bought 11 would get the free upgrade when it came out. Never looked back, and even after all these years, I still have FUN when I open Cubase and get to work…
A lot depends on word of mouth. I’m around a lot of producers talking tech frequently and if others start to draw the same conclusions about Logic there could be a mass exodus in favor of Cubase. I probably should have said “could be” instead of “is going to be” because nobody knows the future. Having said that… look at the people in this thread and on Logic Pro forums who are dissatisfied. If Apple doesn’t take the hint sooner or later it will have a substantial impact on their business.
I love the environment! I was one of the few Logic users left who actually wanted to see that feature expanded (or even knew it existed ha ha). These days I think Logic is a good entry point for people to get their feet wet. It’s got a fairly balanced workflow and is inexpensive. I don’t think it’s a destination DAW, though.
I’m hoping to get up to speed on Cubase quickly so I can get back to the “having fun” stage like you!
I’m a music producers. I think you have plenty of producers, and others using the ipad for music production. Depends on what your producing. I know for sure in hip hop it’s used. I use Cubasis a lot. Problem with Live Loops, and other DAW’s is that they are trying to have the same workflow with Ableton Live with the session view. Certain programs don’t have the workflow of it. Also, when you watch users creating music how many actually use the session view vs arranger. I would say more use the arranger view.
