If you asked about bird feeders, people would tell you to use REAPER. Thats how that user base rolls.
1 Like
Guitar Center here has Cubase dongles in stock and hanging up by the register, along with iLoks. The people here absolutely know what Cubase is. You can buy licenses at the counter. Even Mixcraft is on sale and advertised in the store, along with Ableton, Pro Tools, FL Studio and others. Pretty much every home studio owner shops there.
My guess is that that person simply lives in an unfortunate area with a bad store (or lazy employees) guitar Center absolutely knows what Cubase is and they sell all the Digital Composition stuff. I get all of my Interfaces, MIDI Controllers, Monitors, etc. from them.
1 Like
Not sure what the problem is. People are buying Cubase and dongles online all the time. I haven’t bought software from a shop for years but have bought a new dongle online which came very quick.
1 Like
If you own FL Studio 11 or above DONT pay full price for Cubase, buy the crossgrade version, will save yourself around $200 dollars and if you buy the boxed version you still get the USB key.
Can’t believe no-one has mentioned this(?!).
Also, I don’t know how or who advised you to go with FL Studio originally, but everything you’ve said Cubase is right up your street. It’s one of the most music-focused DAWs I’ve ever used.
If you own FL Studio 11 or above DONT pay full price for Cubase, buy the crossgrade version, will save yourself around $200 dollars and if you buy the boxed version you still get the USB key.
Could someone here please explain what this means? I bought the e-licenser key already but I’d be happy to save $200 on the software.
Do you have a legit (official) version of FL? If yes, then you can crossgrade via discount. I purchased Cubase by this way as I am owner of Ableton
When I follow your link, it takes me to a page that describes in very general terms what cross grade means and it presents a “To the crossgrades…” button. But if you click on that button the string “crossgrade” does not appear on the resulting page. So where does Steinberg/Yamaha describe the actual mechanics of doing one of these crossgrades?
It’s all there if you click ‘buy cubase’.
It’s an option at checkout time. You can explore it all without making an actual commitment to buy.
It wants a screenshot of my product registration. What exactly does that mean?
On the FL Studio Help About screen it says
FL Studio 20
Producer Edition v20.8.3 [build 2304] - 64 bit
Registered to Peter Nelsonxxxxxxxx (<-actual numbers instead of x’s here)
…is that what they mean?
That’d probably do. If they need more, or something different, I’d imagine they’d let you know before taking your money and processing the deal.
I’m about to buy Cubase Pro and I’m looking for a good tutorial video that gives an architectural overview of Pro, version 11.
My background is in design engineering so I find the best way to learn a new development tool (anything: software development, video editing, website design, publishing systems or DAW) is to get a good architectural overview FIRST, and THEN learn how to actually do something in it. Analogy: when I visit a new city I FIRST study a map of the city, THEN I think about what restaurants, clubs, and museums I want to go to.
So where can I get an executive overview that introduces what the major functional blocks of Cubase are and how they relate to each other? I’m thinking a block diagram with about a 1-page summary for each block. Once I memorize that I can drill down into the details.
I’m coming from FL Studio so if I were doing one for FL Studio it would be channel-rack/step-sequencer, Piano Roll, Playlist, and Mixer. Please: only Pro (not Elements, Artist, etc) , and only version 11.
Thanks in advance.
Getting it from a Shop means you get the eLicenser and the License the second you buy it. Sometimes, you want or need it right now. You don’t have time to wait. And sometimes you have to pay additional shipping costs to receive the physical items - so it can be cheaper to shop locally.
For hardware, I absolutely prefer to shop locally, as returns are just superior with a local business. You return it on the spot, and you get your refund or replacement issued on the spot. This is extremely slow with online purchases, unless it’s Amazon and there is a return center in your area (as there is here). In the case of Amazon, you bring it to the return center and your refund gets issues within minutes.
RTFM.
#20Chars
Getting it from a Shop means you get the eLicenser and the License the second you buy it.
That would be nice. How would you find a local shop that sells it? I live in eastern Massachusetts, a metropolitan area of about 4 million, home to Berklee, NEC, and Harvard, and I haven’t found anyplace that sells Cubase. Guitar Center sells the dongle, so I bought that. But they don’t sell Cubase except online.
So I’m buying Cubase from Steinberg but they need a proof of purchase of a competitive DAW so I’ve submitted it to them and now I’m in limbo:
Thank you, your eligibility verification request was registered and will be reviewed shortly.Your entitlement will be determined and the result will be sent to you by email. The verification will be executed within two business days. We ask you for some patience. Thanks for your efforts.
I’ve never had so much complication buying a piece of software before.
So simple to just order both software and dongle online. Most people do that these days. The competitive upgrade is bound to take longer.
“So simple to just order both software and dongle online.”
I was responding to the other poster who suggested buying it in a shop.
Anyway, so I got my FL Studio registration verified and went back to the Steinberg Shop but it wants to sell me the Artist version with the discount, not the Pro version! So I called their US support line where it said I was number 1 in the queue but then after waiting awhile it decided that it couldn’t find anyone so the answer-bot said to leave a message. (I called at 3:30 east-coast US time)
The Steinberg website said their US office ( *Customer Service Center Americas: (Mo-Fr: 08:00 EST - 17:00 PST)
English Hotline: (415) 200-4001 or from outside the USA: 1-415-200-4001)
But I have no idea when (or IF) they’ll call back so I can’t arrange to be at my computer for the callback.
Seriously, they make every part of this process like pulling teeth. Steinberg does not seem to be serious about selling this product to new customers.
You can’t crossgrade to the artist version - only Pro, and the discount applied if you could, would push the total into minus figures, are you sure you’re not just confusing yourself here? 
I crossgrade from Logic a while back, and it was really simple. Far from pulling teeth, and my friend moved from Ableton this year and it was smooth.
Did you not just order the crossgrade version via the site and it takes you through the process?
I had a chat with their tech support and they confirmed that Cubase HAS no telephoe tech support for US customers. Here’s the complete text of the chat . . . (italics are Steinberg…)
04:00 PM
Dennis has joined the conversation
Hi this is Dennis with Steinberg US Support. One moment while I pull up your account and take a look at your issue.
you will need to contact Asknet for assistance about purchases or what is received in a purchase as they are the company who handles all transactions on our site… This is technical support for programs we dont have access to purchase information
*Customerservice@asknet.com *
D
is their email
They have no phone number?
415-200-4001
D
this is their phone but last time i gave this out it was not not being answered
I called that number but no one answered. So There is no phone support for US sales of Cubase?
that would be asknet correct
“that would be asknet correct” I can’t parse that - what does that mean?
D
Asknet is the company who handles sales for Steinberg products that would be the only point of contact i have
So just to clarify, you’re saying that as far as you know, there is no telephone support for Steinberg products in the US. Is that correct?
correct
i believe they are short staffed due to covid but not sure exactly why teh phones are not queued at teh moment
Thank you. I’ll pass that information on to the Cubase discussion forum. Thank you for your time.
You can’t crossgrade from the artist version, and the discount applied if you could, would push the total into minus figures, are you sure you’re not just confusing yourself here?
Nope, and I have the screenshots to prove it. It says “Cubase Artist 11 Full Version”. I think their ordering software is confused, probably by the “crossgrade”.
BTW, the price it came up with is approximately the correct price for Pro with the crossgrade discount ($309)
But the fact that they don’t seem to have any US support for their purchase pipeline is the real problem because it can take a simple problem and stretch it out a long way. And the suggestion by Dennis that they’re short-staffed due to Covid makes no sense. Sales support is a job you can do perfectly well at home. The industries with worker shortages are ones where Covid either scares off customers or where workers are at high risk, such the hospitality industry.