I know this has been out there for a while, but I’m still hoping /wondering if there is a way to change Middle C from C3 to C4? As a musician I have only ever seen that Middle C was C4. It was in the digital world (I assume MIDI and more) that started counting with 0 and not 1. I’m not a programmer so I don’t know how hard/easy it would be to add an option in preference or even Project settings to determine what Cubase thinks Middle C is. Thanks
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It’s awful to hear that a software vendor chooses which model of “middle c” to apply.
There is only one middle c - C4. Everyone who has attended music school knows that.
This should not be a choice of the manufacturer but a general rule.
At the very least there should be a choice between c3 and c4 as middle c standard in options (Logic has that option).
The software needs to adapt to a hundred-year-old music theory, not the other way around.
It is impossible to follow the scores of orchestral music when the notation of the instruments is shifted by an octave.
This complicates the process of composing and orchestration. Steinberg! Why are you making life difficult for us ???
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At least give us the option. Both sides make valid arguments as to what middle C should be. What doesnt fly in my book is Steinberg not giving us the option to change from Roland to Yamaha definitions of what middle C is. How many redundant functions does Cubase have again? Yet we cant change middle C? Heck even Logic gives you this choice…
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That would be great indeed, as middle C is C4. At least being able to change.
I can find no response from Steinberg on this Middle C3/C4 topic going back over a decade of forum post threads.
Why is that?
I have used, and continue to use, to great satisfaction over the years successive “Pro” versions of Cubase, Nuendo, and Dorico, so I’d consider myself a dedicated supporter of Steinberg’s efforts. But this particular issue, of which many users have voiced reasonable complaints over the years, is quite irksome frankly. Some official response/explanation regarding Steinberg’s stance, would be most welcome. Thank you.
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Crazy thing is Spectralayers puts C3 at 130hz but Cubase puts it at 261hz. It’s so confusing to have to recalculate it in your head when switching back and forth.
Well that one is definitely baffling hah. The reason Cubase is using C3 is that’s what Yamaha went with during the early days of MIDI. Roland went with C4, which technically is the ‘correct’ C4 based on staff music but with MIDI its a bit different… MIDI is defined by note numbers which are matched up with the frequency. So MIDI note 60 is 261Hz aka ‘Middle C’. That itself is set in stone by the MIDI standards. What they failed to agree on was the octave numbering, so MIDI note 60 is either C3, C4 or even C5 depending on where the manufacturer decided to start counting. Yamaha has always been C3, so makes sense Cubase sticks to it. Logic does actually give you the choice between the two… Most of my hardware follows the C3 standard (I have one Roland rackmount I need to compensate for) so depending on your hardware you are using, it could be a non-issue.
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