Since cubase crashed I need to reinstall everything. Hurray, no backup settingsfile. But then there is a problem.
There is literally hundreds of downloads in the download manager, and its impossible to tell whether I have the license for it or not! Do I relly have to correlate the webpage of feature of my version of Cubase with the content to figure it out!? What a stupid idea.
Let me be perfectly clear:
As a user who needs to install Cubase I want a single button installing everything I have license for.
I dont want to see other product, instrument packs or promotional content. I dont want them to be meninglessly downloaded to as a zip file filling up my disk and confusing me with difference of download folder and install folder. The entire download-manager and library-manager should be replaced by a single button. INSTALL MY LICENSED SOFTWARE!
Pls vote for me
I must admit it is a little confusing , when you click on the Cubase you get all the optional content , are they the free content with Cubase ? I never install them just in case itâs a 'canât find licence 'scenario
Exactly the same feeling about it : as confusing as can be, actually⊠And indeed, there are a lot of âcontentsâ marked as âoptionalâ. Are they free or paid/licensed ones ? A mysteryâŠ
Is it really that hard? It was already answered many times before.
If you own Cubase 12 Pro, everything in the section Cubase 12 Pro is included.
If you own Cubase 12 Elements, everything in the section Cubase 12 Elements is included.
OTOH, there is a section called my product downloads, that holds at least the main program versions and links that to the sections for the downloads.
Itâs not hard, but there could be a âRegistered productsâ page that allows us to download everything we are licensed to use.
Do you have Halion Symphonic Orchestra, Cubase 12 Elements, 2 Retrologue Expansions and Dorico Pro? Only these would show up.
Now, all products are there, available for download. Itâs not bad to be able see to see all Steinberg products at a glance and be able to download them at a whim for trial, not at all, but it would be nice if there was a personalized page, ggmanestrakiâs stuff, st10ssâs stuff, so that when we go to that tab, it would only show our belongings. And then we could âInstall Allâ, let the (new) computer run and go do something else.
No. But for example, I donât see my HSO in My Product Downloads. Could it be because itâs on the elicenser? I also canât see those free instruments, like Colors, Verve, etc. Are they packed in the Cubase icon, which contains Halion Sonic, which is the instrument that loads these instruments? I canât tell at a glance if everything is there.
This is a process, started 2 years ago, older products are not in there, and it changes.
Last week, Colors Free wasnât in there, but itâs now. At least on my main DAW machine.
The DA needs to synchronize sometimes and makes updates to add functionality.
Since not all products are on Steinberg Licensing, it will not work with all products.
But you can check which products you own online, in My Steinberg.
Ok. Oh, and another thing. Today I wanted to check out Colors. I loaded Halion Sonic, Colors had a huge âNo Entryâ icon. I re-installed, re-re-installed. Nothing. And then I thought, wait a minute, they didnât send out a DAC for Colors Free, did they? I went to the webpage, clicked the âGet Colors Freeâ button, expecting to receive a DAC in the mail. I did get a mail but no code. I switch to Cubase (running in the background), Colors now works! What? Did my button press somehow inform the License Manager that I can now use Colors Free? I mean, whatâs the point? If something is free, why not push the license to anyone (that can run the free product) automatically? And if I manually went to Colors Free in the SDA and downloaded it, all while being logged in as myself, why couldnât it understand thatâs itâs free and activate it for me automatically?
Eh, no big deal. So I guess itâs âFirst check Licenses to see if everythingâs there, then go to SDA in My Products tab and click awayâ?
My products: List of products for which the user has a license and can activate. No need for two tools or software for that.
My Updates: As soon as an update occurs for a product, you receive an email to remind you that the product is in this list.
Explore Products: All products that you can download in DEMO version and that you can use with the limitations of a demo.
This wizard would be even smarter if there was an âInstall allâ button in the My products page.
Another very smart assistant is that of NI, Native Access. In this one there are only the products for which you have a license, nothing else.
I donât know why Steinberg persists in keeping this assistant which, in my experience, I consider unnecessarily cluttered. If you only have Cubase installed, thatâs fine. But when you have several products like Dorico, Groove Agent, HALion, VST Loops and a host of expansions of various SB products, itâs hellâŠ
Personally, I made myself a Text file in the form of a table to make sure that I will not forget anything if I have to reinstall everything (YES, I have a lot of these SB products, considerable monetary investment, there is even certain products which are no longer compatible with C12, but only with C11, for those ones, only on SOUND CONTENT DOWNLOADS page).
The problem both tools have is, an update to a new major version will install all older products as well. That would produce a mess in the Arturia tool as well. It did it on my office machine already.
OK. Now, letâs take an example in @steve screenshot : can you tell me if the âoptionalâ Caleidoscope content set is a free or paid one, and with which instrument is it supposed to be used ? Maybe itâs just a set of .wav files, to be used indefferently with Halion Sonic or GA 5 or something else, who knows ?
Because, as @Highly-Controversial , Iâm not keen for downloading nearly 2 Gb (it will probably take me more than one hour) just to discover that Iâm not allowed to use it without a licence. Nothing in the SDA screen answers to this rather basic questionâŠ
Caleidoscope free or paid? st10ss already answered that. Itâs part of Cubase Pro 12 (maybe even other versions, but weâre talking about this specific screenshot here). Everything listed under the Cubase 12 Pro section (e.g.) works without needing other products.
âRecommendedâ usually means added functionality - like instruments e.g.
âOptionalâ is about sound content (wavs, presets).
Not much in the Download Assistant is âfreeâ. Steinberg might offer something for free at some point in time; you can then receive a licence for that via the Steinberg website. Once you own that license, you use the Download Assistant to download it.
But yeah, it wouldnât hurt if Steinberg added descriptions to the items in the Download Assistant. For now, youâll have to look it up on the main Steinberg website or just google it.
Itâs not a part of Cubase Pro, as it is here to be downloaded as âoptionalâ.
Fine : at least, itâs an added information (where did you get it, by the way ?). But this doesnât tell me if I need to purchase a licence to use it.
I figured this out already, thanks. But again, this doesnât answers the question aboveâŠ
At the end, and as you say yourself, there are essential âdescriptionsâ missing : is it nomal that we have to âgoogle itâ to get them ?
If you own Cubase 12 Pro, everything in the section Cubase 12 Pro is included.
If you own Cubase 12 Elements, everything in the section Cubase 12 Elements is included.
Itâs not a part of Cubase Pro, as it is here to be downloaded as âoptionalâ.
For Steinberg âOptionalâ means ânot needed for the software to function, download/install it if you like itâ
It is however part of Cubase Pro, as in, you now own this content because you paid for Cubase Pro.
(where did you get it, by the way ?)
Because I have everything installed and it all works without using other software. Also, you can read all about it on the Steinberg website when you look up Cubase 12.
But this doesnât tell me if I need to purchase a licence to use it.
But again, this doesnât answers the question above
Again: you own a certain Cubase version = you own and can use everything thatâs listed in its section in Download Assistent.
The Cubase license you own covers all recommended and optional items listed in the same section.
At the end, and as you say yourself, there are essential âdescriptionsâ missing : is it nomal that we have to âgoogle itâ to get them ?
âNormalâ is irrelevant. Every software company deals with âdistributionâ in its own way. Thereâs no ânormâ, thereâs no âone optimal way that makes everyone happyâ.
Personally, I have no issues with how Steinberg handles it. I know which of their products I own, what theyâre comprised of - and where to look for more information.
Can it be improved (in my eyes): yes, but thatâs always the case - universal perfection doesnât exist.
You donât have issues : great ! So, have you paid for them, yes or no ? You still havenât clearly answered to this. On my end, Iâm not ready to download Gb of âcontentsâ if Iâm not sure that I can use them without added purchase : I have other priorities at the moment.
And here is the main issue , which has nothing to do with a theoretical âperfectionâ : nowhere in the SDA window there is a clear statement about this. But Iâm going to take your words as granted and try an âoptionalâ download (the littlest available, just in caseâŠ). Beside this, we donât even know what actually is included in the so-called âcontentsâ listed in the SDA : .wav files, vstpresets, MIDI loops, something else ?
This debate should never having taken place if the SDA was showing minimal informations for us users, especially as the SDA seems to be the main Steinberg tool to manage our âcontentsâ beside the brand new SAM. End of the rantâŠ
