Tracks page

I have been waiting with each upgrade and new release of Cubase to see some issues addressed with the tracks area of the program.

Am I safe in saying that the most of the actual “work” that is done on a song takes place here. Recording data, mixing using the automation lanes, routing and grouping tracks…the majority is here.

Why do we still have to open an additional lane for every track to access the automation? Why can’t one lane of automation appear ON TOP of the waveform or midi data? This change (to me, at least) is an obvious necessity. And, shouldn’t there be a better way for the plug in boxes to follow the selected tracks? Why must we open and close boxes with the “e” button all constantly? Most times there is no reason for more than one plug in rack to be open at a time. The open box should follow the selected track.

Why can’t the tracks be show/hide like the mixer is now in Cubase 7? This also would be a huge time and screen real estate saver.

Another…what about a consolidated window? It would be so cool to be able to be working on a track (open in the top portion of the window) and then the editor being open in the bottom window. Let’s say, working on drums with drum editor, the info could be built in the bottom window and then the part duplicated in the top portion of the window. Workflow could continue without constant opening and closing of the edit windows.

I will admit, I have been using a couple of other programs to work in lately…these features are both readily available and they are great. It takes 3-4 mouse clicks more to accomplish the same work in Cubase as it does in Studio One, and 2 more mouse clicks for each task as Digital Perfomer.

I have owned Cubase since 1992. I know it, I used it, I have stayed with it for all of these years, but my heart is being changed. Version 6.5 may be where I stop. Yeah, in the big picture of things my opinion doesn’t count for much, but when I can work in S1 with 1/4 as many mouse clicks to do the same work…it is beginning to make more sense.

The new mixer in the Cubase 7 demo is fancy, and it is an improvement, how many of us guys sitting in the back bedroom or garage are mixing primarily using all of the features that the mixer is loaded with?

What is the deal? Many of us have written in about some of these ideas and we keep getting ignored.

My 2 cents…