I have Cubase 9.5 right now which I use for production and mixing of music (MIDI played by VIs). I’m eyeing Nuendo because I want a better surround panner, and because I’d like to be able to do 7.1 surround. On the fence if I’m interested in paying what it costs for the upgrade since it would be nice, but is quite a bit. On the other hand 3rd party surround panners are about the same price.
So, any other really neat features of Nuendo I should check out and try?
There’s honestly nothing unique in Nuendo specifically for “production and mixing of music (MIDI played by VIs)” that Cubase doesn’t already have, unless you want to explore more surround capabilities plus more post/gaming aspects of music production… but even then, if you’re staying purely in the music production realm, it’s not easy to justify. However, if there’s even a chance you will be exploring those post- or game areas, then now’s the time to crossgrade. Not sure I’ve ever seen the crossgrade price this low. To me, it’s a no-brainer to move over if those extra features mean something to you. That’s really something only you can answer. Trust your gut on this… will you actually use those extra features?
Nuendo is of course for post and game workflows, at which it excels. Of course it can do music production just like Cubase, but the extra features and cost (and increased ongoing upgrade fees too, don’t forget!) are most likely not worth it for music-only workflows TBH. The crossgrade money can probably be better spent on great third-party tools/plugins. And honestly, if you’re still on Cubase 9.5, you’ll get more out of Cubase 10 than moving over to Nuendo for music workflows, since Cubase 10 introduced a bunch of outstanding features that make it a no-brainer upgrade IMO! All of those new Cubase 10 features will show up in Nuendo 10 of course. But the question is… why haven’t you already upgraded to Cubase 10? If you hesitated because you were unimpressed with Cubase 10’s new features, then Nuendo will not impress you either, other than for your stated surround needs… in which case, Nuendo is good.
Having said that, there are some nice enhancements in Nuendo 8.3 compared to Cubase 9.5 that might have some small bearing on your music workflows… off the top of my head, the things I like are… a) the improved Direct Offline Processing (which BTW, dang, is now in Cubase 10, so don’t move to Nuendo just for that!), b) the audio alignment features (oh, BTW, those have been added to Cubase 10 already too in a new Audio Alignment Panel), c) AAF support (oh, dang, that just showed up in Cubase 10 too!), d) editing to picture mode (oh yeah, that just showed up in Cubase 10!)…
Okay, I have to really think here… Cubase 10 actually picked up a number of cool features already from Nuendo… maybe Cubase 10 is the one you should move to??? Oh, there’s the Sound Randomizer which is kind of cool… it’s used in Nuendo for sound design purposes… very helpful, might be usable for music workflows too… and that has NOT been added to Cubase 10, lol! Yet.
Honestly, there’s nothing I can think of that Nuendo does that would significantly justify the crossgrade price (and continued INCREASED update prices over the years) for purely MUSIC workflows.
On the other hand, we don’t know what the future holds for Nuendo 10, 10.5, 11, and without seeing the list of features for Nuendo 10 yet, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some nice post production features that YES, would indeed be helpful for music, that will be exclusive to Nuendo. I’ll give the example of Direct Offline Processing, which was always one step better in Nuendo, until now… Cubase 10 finally caught up in DOP functionality. However, perhaps Nuendo 10 will once again leapfrog over Cubase 10 and get a better version of DOP again. Who knows? Things like that might justify moving over to Nuendo for music since IMO, DOP is such a great tool for music production too, not just for post production and sound design. So there are some post-related features that do have relevance for music producers, and only time will tell which ones Steinberg will make exclusive for Nuendo. So if you don’t like to be without the best version of a specific Steinberg feature, then go with Nuendo, since it will have everything Cubase 10 has, plus more.
Anyway, my view is to suggest to wait a bit to see what Steinberg announces… that might make a difference. You have plenty of time to decide. The special promotional crossgrade price is supposedly going to be good until Nuendo 10 launches…
As for me and my workflows (which deal with music for film/video and post production), all I can say is that I see no need to keep Cubase around anymore. Timo has stated they are trying to close the gap between Cubase and Nuendo development calendars now and so it doesn’t seem that those of us who maintain both licenses need to keep Cubase. I can finally get rid of my extra Cubase license, or better yet, crossgrade my Cubase license to get another Nuendo license. 
YMMV.
Ya the price is what has me thinking about it. At regular prices, nah man no way I could justify it just for 7.1 and a better panner. However currently it is cheaper than Waves’ 360 Surround Tools (which is the only way to get their panner) and not a whole lot more than Anymix Pro (which of course it includes as well) so it has me looking at it. Also the fact that it does get an upgrade is a consideration since it would mean I wouldn’t need to buy the Cubase 10 upgrade.
So I’m debating it, and just wondering if there’s other stuff in it I should try out that might make me say “Ok that’s enough to push me over the edge.”
The reason I haven’t upgraded to Cubase 10 yet is mostly just that I haven’t been doing anything with Cubase right now. All my sound stuff is 100% hobby, no money involved, so I do it when I feel like it. I figure I’ll buy it when next I decide I want to do something, or when it goes on sale, whichever comes first. Well what has come first is this sale so… 
I’m just on the fence about it, and thus soliciting opinions. Either way doesn’t really matter, Cubase has been working fine and will continue to work fine since ultimately it is just a toy. However Nuendo looks awful shiny for the current price .
In theory, if we’re purely looking at cost in your situation, then the cost to upgrade from Cubase 9.5 to Cubase 10 is $100. And the cost to crossgrade from Cubase 9.5 to Nuendo 8/10 is $390 during this promotion. So if you were already planning on going to Cubase 10 for $100, but you are now considering going to Nuendo 8, the difference is obviously $290. That’s an even more incredible deal if you look at it that way. And if you factor in that you were also willing to pay several hundred dollars for a better surround panner, then $290 looks like a bargain, since you’ll have the full feature set of Nuendo, which will more than cover your surround needs. Plus you might get inspired by some of the post production features and branch out into new and uncharted territory with your music and sound work. On those reasons alone, go for it!
On the other hand, if you’re purely looking at crossgrading to Nuendo for music-only workflows, and you don’t need any of the post production/game features, then spending $390 or $290 is not going to get you very much. Especially if this is a “hobby” and like you said,
Then just skip it and invest that money in other toys or donate the money to your favorite charity.
When you think about the price, don’t forget that in the future - after the included N10 update - you’ll then have higher update prices for Nuendo than for Cubase, for every version for eternity…
Here’s a list of additional features in Nuendo (a few of these things are now in C10, like AAF and video-follows-edit mode):
Loudness Track could be interesting, but it’s a struggle to find additional useful things for just music.
Nuendo is aimed for professional audiovisual projects, film/post, games, adr…
Ya I’m going to have to do some more thinking on it and play around with it but it really seems like for me, I’d get only three things I want:
– 7.1 surround support (my speaker setup is 7.1 so anything beyond that isn’t useful).
– Better version of Steinberg’s surround panner that pans all channels in a surround source, not just front L/R.
– Barco’s Anymix Pro panner, which I like.
That’s not out of the question for the price… but I just don’t know that it is really worth it either. The only post feature I see that kinda catches my fancy is the loudness track. I’ll play with it but that isn’t a big deal either.
I wish they’d just bring 7.1 and the better panner to Cubase
I have Cubase 10 and Nuendo 8.3 and there are some things I’m used to now that are Nuendo-only features (at least for now) like: Edit Mode, Direct Routing, Multiple control room outs (to monitor your different submixes).
I adapted this from working with surround mixes and needing to export FullMix, M&E, Dialog, Music, etc. all separately for deliverables:
I’m currently using Direct Routing to make different mixes for Pop library tracks I’m writing for a TV show. So I can click different outputs and monitor my Fullmix, Reduced Mix, Drums&Bass, Drums&Percs mix. Then I can export all the different mixes and hard ending sting in one fell swoop, all named accordingly. Once set up, you can use as a template and you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it! That said, I’m still keeping my Cubase 10 license…just in case 
The higher cost of upgrading Nuendo versions is a good point to consider.
Your yearly update/upgrade costs for Nuendo will be higher compared to Cubase.
If I may add my two cents here:
Nuendo lets you display audio waveforms without all the junk obscuring them in Cubase, like gradient overlays, cursor highlights and the like. This by itself is a reason to make the switch, at least for me. I find it unbearable in Cubase, and this is certainly no coincidence.
Nuendo features a red outline to indicate selected parts. Less eye candy, better usability.
Nuendo has a mono/stereo toggle switch in VST plugin windows
Nuendo features one additional Mixer ( 4 in total ) , which I find very useful
better DOP
better X-fades
Randomiser, which is pretty useful in musical contexts as well
and loads more, with the above just being what matters to me personally.