I’ve been using Cubasis 3 on iPad and iPhone to do a lot of my linear songwriting for many years now, and while it’s definitely imperfect as hell, it’s (mostly) gotten the job done. I WAS eagerly awaiting Logic Pro for iOS, in the hopes that it would offer a lot of functionality that’s been missing in every other iOS linear multitrack DAW, until I realized that they were going with a subscription based format rather than a one time purchase. So, as I’m gonna be sticking with Cubasis, I’m hoping that it will start to fill in some of the more glaring holes that have always made its workflow needlessly frustrating. Rather than bombarding the devs with a huge list containing all of the sorely needed improvements, I’m gonna focus on a few at a time, in the hopes that they might actually get addressed as new updates happen.
So here are my first two:
- The ability to insert blank measures into the middle of a song.
I often find myself making late additions to works that are mostly completed. I’ll have everything laid out, and written, and suddenly realize that the song will work better if I add another 4 bars to a verse, or insert a solo that didn’t exist before, etc. It’s insane that I every time I decide to do this, (which is pretty effing often) I have to select everything past that point on all 20-something tracks and then drag it over—with all the potential for screw ups that that entails. Why can’t I just place the cursor on the timeline and then have the ability to add whatever number of blank measures I happen to require?
- ACTUAL effects busses with both a send and a return.
Why in gods name do the FX sends in Cubasis not return to a channel with a fader? This is how effect busses have operated since time immemorial! It makes mixing waaaaaaayyyy easier AND it gives you the ability to insert other effects on the wet return signal. Literally every single project I’ve ever worked on in Cubasis has given me a fresh opportunity to be frustrated anew by the total lack of this very basic function.
Please Steinberg. Pretty pretty please please include these two things in your next update. And hell, if you’re like “Hey Greg, we’re feeling frisky and we want to try and address whatever other issues you might have.” Then by all means, feel free to reach out for some more suggestions—I’ve got a ton of em locked and loaded.
Thanks for everything.