To begin, unless there is a single compelling feature or raft of features, what is the point of purchasing a “new” DAW, when the old one works just fine and the current offering, offers little more than tucked away .bak files.
I am not one to complain because Steinberg make dreams possible. I know this becasue anyone who is anyone in the industry, must know how to use Cubase.
Version 13 of the DAW, gave composers selectable MIDI parts in a note editor interface, total innovation and a boost to writers everywhere however there is nothing new in the latest version bar unmixing, which owing to AI mastering (not yet in WaveLab) will never be “sound”, in any case.
So, here is the challenge:
What new actual features, are planned for this or the next version(s) of the famous Steinberg DAW software?
In my opinion, I appreciate having the choice to upgrade if I find the feature-set compelling, or even if I just want access to them for testing and exploration. But what that really does is put the choice squarely on my shoulders, and without having to pay some yearly subscription fee just for updates. I also like how the updates (at least for me) have all be consistent and easy to plan for.
I’ll be purchasing Cubase AND Nuendo 15 and I don’t even know what the features are. I may not use them, but that license puts me in the exact same position next year, and I don’t have some “doubled-up” upgrade price for skipping versions. I also want to contribute to the company itself as I believe in them and the product. It’s kind of the same reason I purchased Reaper - I don’t even have it installed, but I like supporting the little guys; competition is good, and budgeting $149 or $199 a year is trivial.
Without stating the obvious, if you are not compelled to buy the next version, then don’t. I like the fact that I’m not forced to like I am so many other applications, and that I have a choice. I don’t really get the “challenge” bit, but in my experience you won’t get any feature-set announcements until they’ve gone gold and have all the channel partners ready to roll with the release.
I have been made aware, in this forum that a particular application, which uses Steinbergs’ ASIO, driver has in its’ feature set. sub-projects and if implemented in Steinberg DAW’s, it would mean for me that I would be able to create different track selections, for mixes of different songs, e.g., a rhythm only mix for musicians.
Just like version 13, with Visibility in the Key Editor, if there was a concept of sub-projects or project snapshots whereby track combinations could be selected independently; I would pay for this because of the utility factor, like the Drum Map for example, that is pure utility and innovation right there.
Sure, there is innovation in relation to so-called Dorico integration but I don’t use Dorico. I use a convoluted method that involves Forte Notation and Guitar Pro, which is the only way to generate accurate musicxml from MIDI, and read it via an interpreter called AlphaTab (Austrian).
If the DAW could at least output proper xml (it is 2025 now and musicxml has been around for a long time), then I would be able to just use Guitar Pro, since while Forte is great at what it does, it uses an old codebase that can become unstable, and it is just another step that I would rather avoid if at all possible.
AlphaTab is being worked on, to read musicxml but which program actually generates it for the web? Not Steinberg, not anyone unfortunately so again I need a reason to upgrade and not just blindly.
I see you are primarily a music guy like me, and we should already know that Nuendo’s main focus is sound design, post production and dialogue.
In that regard, Nuendo 14 has some stellar new features. Adaptive Background Attenuation is fantastic – already made good use of it at the day of purchase (for mixing a short clip with dialogue and music for my social media channels).
Of course we also get all the new music features from Cubase 14. Modulators – not really a part of my workflow yet, maybe not ever, but still an interesting concept, and seems well thought out. The drum track is quite cool, testing it for a new project now. Gain Staging is very useful. To me as a Dorico user, improved MIDI editor bringing Dorico workflows closer together with Cubendo is huge.
Often I find that the “invisible” workflow improvements are some of the biggest reasons to update. For 14, the improvements to nudging with the range tool fall in this category.
But the good thing is – it’s your choice. If you don’t find enough reasons to update this time, then wait to see what 15 has to offer?
No one can predict the exact new features being developed for Nuendo 15, as they are still in progress.
Unlike other DAWs, Nuendo typically doesn’t receive mid-cycle updates, but you never know what surprises might come.
The standout features in Nuendo 14 that I use most frequently include Clip Gain (Event Volume Curves), Audio Segment Automatic Detection, Adaptive Background Attenuation with Animix Pro, Detect Silence, Auto-Align, TonalMatch, and occasionally Voice Separator.
Tools I wish Nuendo included: Ripple Edit (like in Reaper) and Voice Cloning (like in Fairlight), both of which I rely on extensively in other platforms.
Since Nuendo 14, I’ve been experimenting with innovative tools like Dreamtonics Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro, particularly Vocoflex, which I use exclusively in certain projects, here and here as well as Bitwig for modular synthesis.
Trends to watch: Suno’s acquisition of WavTool, the first AI-driven DAW, which could shape the future of Music production.
All of the post features that have been mentioned in this thread keep people updating, in addition to the music features but what is really ground-breaking in this latest iteration?
Big feature changes in the past such as Global Tracks, were solid reasons to upgrade but I don’t see anything on the radar now that would warrant my spending any money at this stage.
As stated, Visibility in the Key editor was another big improvement for writers. so It would follow that Dorico integration needs a Visibility Inspector as well, which would definately find me leaning towards an upgrade, even if technically I can skip a version with the current Windows 10/11 situation.
Agreed, for anyone that is even remotely doing this work for a living, the upgrade fees are fairly insignificant. It always makes me chuckle a little when I hear about folks not wanting to pay a hundred bucks or two. Meanwhile my Autodesk annual subscription rates are over $3K.
Yes, there are new features in both Cubase and Nuendo but I don’t see anything that I would consider to be ground breaking, or must have unless you are on Nuendo, which I am and for many means new audio features but I don’t see any new music features, other than a half finished Dorico integration, of which I would gladly pay for if the problems with MusicXML were completely sorted but I am aware there is also the industry to consider.
As you have surely learned by now, there are many others who disagree (myself included) and regard Cubase 14 as a major update.
Anyhow, as you clearly stated in your title, Cubase 14 doesn’t do a lot for you, personally, and you have every right to say so and see it that way.
Let’s wait what Cubase 15 has in store for us. Maybe you’ll be surprised in a good way or you see at as something that the cat has dragged up to your doorstep. Either way, your choice to update or not
Cubase 13 for me was a version where Stenberg threw everything, and the kitchen sink, plus the keys to their house and their cars!!
Incredible version, and yes, 14, left me with the feeling of not being sure, needing to upgrade. However, I will do so for several reasons, most importantly to keep up to date.
With that said, there are a few cool features, but unless a serious sale takes place, I will stick with 13 (which works incredibley well) for the forseable future.
Sure, I may change my mind if there is a sale of some sort but yes, 13 was a landmark release so I think it is for users to work on their feature requests.
I know from past history, that there are always versions where refinements take place, and 14 seems to be one such version but I don’t want to pay for that, myself personally.
That’s nice but I can’t run Cubase because i “only” have Nuendo.
It would be great if I could run it in a subscription mode for cheap, just to test stability and core features but alas Steinberg have not considered what is possible with SAM.
