Please consider improving the awful clip volume envelope

The way PT handles it’s clip gain is one of the biggest things I miss now that I’m on Cubase (along with playlists, the deep import session features, and the fact that you can see what you’ve named your sends in the automation lanes). Hopefully it’s in line to be majorly improved in the ways you are describing.

On the CPU front: Cubase is without a doubt less powerful than PT for me, unfortunately. When I switched over (I switched because I got more into scoring, and Cubase has features that are better for that, for me) I was really upset at the CPU hit I took. I recreated a couple of exact PT sessions in Cubase, and PT was always significantly superior with its CPU use. Hopefully this is something in the works now for Cubase, because it does need help in that department.

If you are in a position that you are considering learning a whole new DAW from scratch, then I’d also check out Reaper. I know a lot of people that are really happy with its speed and performance. Personally, I’m so deeply invested with time in Cubase that it’s hard for me to consider other DAWs. The only feature of PT that I really wish Cubase had is playlists. The other things I can live with how they are in Cubase.

I HATE reaper… more than any other daw in existence. Never, thanks, but no thanks.

I know cubase quite well, only all the v9 updates i don’t know yet, as i don’t own V9.

I used cubase exclusively from 2006-2008 and learned new features off and on after that.

Logic and PT i know the very best though, backward.

This all started,. after being happy with PT, cause i can only have 32 inputs unless i upgrade to HD… that’s how all this came about, and a guru telling me that Cubendo performs wonderfully on windows, and for me to look at it again.

So far though i will stick to mac and PT.

+1 for editing of event volume envelopes the same as in normal automation. Make a selection over a word or breath that you want to attentuate and drag down. A DB readout too please. I currently do the macro thing, setting with my range tool, splitting and then selecting and dragging volume down to obtain the same results, which is fine, but it makes sense to have the better toolset as in normal automation which now works amazing. Cheers, loving 9.5!

maybe helpfull or not, I made a little video a few years back showing this, about 50 secs into the video. Theres no explanation in the video, so maybe its no good for anything, but you can see its being done… Cubase audio editing - YouTube

I’m curious about why the hate? I was initially put off Reaper by the plain vanilla UI. It looks like something that came from the DOS era. But I’ve dug into it over the last few years and it continues to surprise, delight and amaze me. I use it alongside Cubase and Nuendo, often Rewiring it into Cubase for film scoring work.

I won’t try to change your mind, but I really am curious about why you dislike it so much. I will mention that one of its many benefits is that it is updated very frequently with bug fixes and enhancements. And, this I actually find incredible: it has never crashed on me. Not once. I really wish I could say the same for Cubase, Nuendo, Pro Tools, Live and Digital Performer. I have started a list of reproducible Cubase crashes to remember to avoid doing.

Please do let me know about Reaper, off thread if you like. I don’t want to hijack this thread. I only read it because I, too, can’t stand editing the clip volume envelope in Cubase. It’s counter-intuitive and doesn’t behave like any other curve drawing in the application. I think you might appreciate the way Reaper does it.

All best,

  • Jason

PS - I have no affiliation with C_ockos. I’m just a longtime Cubendo user who has been slowly learning to appreciate Reaper.
PPS - My sig is way out of date. Cubase 9.5, Nuendo 8, etc. on OS X and Windows 10.

there are SO many reasons… but if i had to put it in a nutshell… even selecting a clip, selecting a cycle region, knowing which clip is selected with the the way the weird colour inversions work… instead of them turning black like cubase… just basic, basic things feel wrong to me. The fundamentals. The ridiculous menus. Everything about it.

I don’t know how anyone in their right mind could choose reaper over cubase. so that’s my take on it LOL. (well other than genuinely wanting to save the cash… that’s valid).

to each their own… i never feel natural doing anything in reaper…

Plus, it’s playback performance in OSX is abysmal, (recording performance is very good compared to most daws, when many tracks armed at low buffer)… and yes i tried every setting known to man… the only way i could get it to equal cubase in VI polyphony test on playback was to set pre render to like 2 seconds… which is annoying as hell, cause that means 2 seconds delay for every transport movement.

No thanks.

Nuendo/Cubase has updated so many things since 2018…track versions/playlists (PT) are now in Cubendo, but what hasn’t happened yet is the Clip/Event pre-fader automation. You still need to chop up the events to adjust the volumes of a desired clip segment. In PT you can just select an audio portion and use a key command to raise or lower the volume. It’s the cleaner implementation of the two. But that alone won’t make me abandon Cubase because the fundamentals of audio processing in a DAW don’t only revolve around clean clip volume adjustments using automation. There are just too many other angles. After experiencing Pro Tools, learning it rigorously and getting advanced in its use, I’ve continued to oscillate between PT and Nuendo. One big disincentive for me is the Subscription for PT and the horrible dark theme implementation (Cubase/Nuendo excel at the dark theme implementation). I was so attracted to PT due to it’s mix window(mix console) which is so clean, structured and navigable and the fact you can see all your sends and inserts in one view unlike the Cubase folding architecture/panes. I also love the folder tracks showing up in the mix window, making me spend more time on the mix window. But having worked in both DAWs, I can say confidently that I edit faster in Cubendo than anything else. Mixing in Nuendo is a very involving interaction between the Project and Mixconsole windows. You can actually choose to mix entirely in the project window if you like but you cant do so with Pro Tools. The only time I want to go to the mixconsole in Nuendo is during track balancing/levels, panning (and yet I can achieve all these in the project window too). And also during the final consolidating stages of my mix, I need the mixconsole to have a global view and tweak things, and check through my mix relationships and decisions in one view. Other than that, the Project Window is addictive in Cubase/Nuendo cos you have the track faders, channels, and various functionalities in the mix window built into the project window. Nuendo/Cubase project and mix windows are just so complementary that so many tasks are reciprocal in both unlike with PT. I’m gradually settling down to reality with Nuendo, cranking better mixes and productions in that environment and then waiting for my PT subscription to expire…lol…and there are other reasons; PT is very fussy with some of my plugins, but Nuendo basically loads everything…and also works well with my MOXF8 which I use for music production…Pro Tools doesn’t work with my MOXF8…sad. So where does that leave me? As a producer, I am super happy with Nuendo….and as a mixer, I am content with Nuendo and getting better using it to mix.