Upgrading to Cubase Pro 14 from Artist 7.5

Cubase
1

Hi everyone,

I have 3 questions about the upcoming transition to Steinberg Licensing. The first is the simplest. 1) Has Steinberg specified anywhere exactly when in 2025 the e-licenser server will shut down?

The second two questions are more complex and require I give some context about my situation.

I’ve been recording for about a decade on Cubase Artist 7.5, first on an old HP Pavillion desktop computer and more recently on an HP Spectre laptop. I recently bought a new HP Envy desktop and am planning on buying and installing Cubase Pro 14 on it, to be used both for new projects and to finalize some older ones. I would not be doing this had the news about the e-licenser server’s imminent death (lol) not sent me into a bit of a panic about what I’d have to do if I lost or mistakenly stepped on my dongle (it sounds like I’m not entirely alone in this concern). I am a bit of a luddite and generally hate updating technology, and so I’d very much like to maintain unrestricted access to my Artist 7.5 projects on my Spectre laptop (knowing that access to them requires that the dongle not break, computer not die, etc.) while also having access to these same projects on Pro 14 on the Envy desktop. My questions concern whether the best way to do this is to upgrade my Artist 7.5 license to a Pro 14 license or to buy an entirely new Pro 14 license. (For the record, I’ve already tested every track on a trial version of Pro 13 on a friend’s computer and so know that none of the plug-ins I used have been eliminated or changed, etc.).

  1. On Steinberg’s “End of e-licenser Service” page, I see the following: “The license on the Usb e-licenser [if one purchases an upgrade] will be upgraded to the last available e-licenser based version, completing the migration and maintaining backwards compatibility.” I understand that Cubase Pro and Artist 11 are the last available e-licenser based versions of Cubase. Does this “upgrade to the last available license” require then that you download and use the program associated with it (Cubase 11 of some kind) to open and edit older projects made in earlier versions of Cubase? Or would I be able to keep using Artist 7.5 just as I have for years, just with a license that has been upgraded to be capable of running, if I decide to, a later version? I ask because the Spectre has an earlier version of the Windows 10 OS (1903, I believe) than is required for Cubase 11 (1909) and is very low on space. And does the fact that the upgrade would be to Pro (as opposed to just a later version of Artist) have any relevance here (it looks like the earliest version of Pro is 8?)? The goal, again, is just to be keep access to Artist 7.5 projects in Artist 7.5.

  2. If upgrading the Artist 7.5 license to Pro 14 requires using Cubase 11 to open Artist 7.5 projects on the Spectre, then I’d like to buy a new and separate license through Steinberg for Pro 14 on the Envy (I understand that this will be more expensive, but the added cost is worth the possibility of continued access to 7.5 projects on the Spectre). Is it possible both before and after the e-licenser server’s death for me to purchase a second, separate license (for Pro 14) on a new computer with the same MySteinberg account without thereby affecting my use of the dongle for Artist 7.5 on the Spectre?

I sincerely apologize for the length of the post. My 2 defenses are 1) I have hundreds of projects I’ve put (in total) hundreds, probably thousands, of hours into and 2, for luddites, technology appears much more complex than it probably is.

2

Hi John, welcome to the forum.

Steinberg hasn’t announced the date of the server shutdown yet. Only “early 2025” is mentioned.

Regarding the update/upgrade: A Cubase license allows you to also use all previous releases of the program. So with a Cubase Pro 11 license on the USB eLicenser/dongle, you can also run Cubase (Pro) 7.5. I’m not sure about Artist 7.5, though. Recent Cubase Pro versions offer a mechanism to run the smaller editions (Artist, Elements, AI etc.) as well because they all use the same binary. This might not work with older Cubase versions so that you might need to replace your Cubase Artist 7.5 with Cubase (Pro) 7.5.

The dongle will still work after the server shutdown and you can continue using Cubase 7.5 until the dongle breaks, but you won’t be able to update eLicenser-based software to recent ones any longer. Then it’s necessary to buy new full licenses. Therefore, it’s recommended to update before the shutdown.

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Hi Martin,

I very much appreciate your fast response, and thank you for your clarification. I must admit I’m still a bit confused. My understanding, on the basis of what you’ve said, is that once I upgrade to Cubase Pro 14 my dongle’s license will be upgraded to a license for Cubase Pro 11 but I will not be prompted to/required to download Cubase Pro 11 on my older computer in order to run my older Artist 7.5 projects. However, because licenses for any version of Cubase Pro work with all prior versions of Cubase Pro but potentially NOT the especially old versions of Cubase Artist, I may be required to download Cubase Pro 7.5 before being able to open my older projects again. One concern I have with this suggestion is that, as I said in my original post, I don’t think there IS a Cubase Pro 7.5! The earliest version of Pro appears to be Cubase Pro 8. Perhaps I would just have to download that? And, while we are on this subject, these are all programs I would download from Steinberg’s “Unsupported Software” page, correct? To be honest, the only reason I’m considering upgrading to Pro 14 as opposed to Artist 14 is that I still haven’t figured out how to export tracks with multiple stereo channels (it seems like this is a feature only available in Pro, and I’m not yet savvy enough with production to figure out how to reroute things such that multiple stereo channels are reduced to one - I will be trying to figure this out in the next few days!). Maybe I’d avoid this complexity by simply updating to Cubase Artist 14, which would update the dongle’s license to Artist 11, with which I could then open Artist 7.5 projects in 7.5 with no problem?

Also, as far as my third question above is concerned, do you have any idea whether it’s possible to buy an entirely new and separate Pro 14 license without affecting the usability of Artist 7.5 and its associated license on my older computer?

If anyone else has any ideas about this subject, please feel free to weigh in as well!

Thanks you so much again for your help,
John

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A Cubase 11 Pro license on your dongle will let you run ANY prior version.

Nope - A Pro 14 license let’s you run ANY, ANY ANY prior version - Artist, Pro it doesn’t care.

But you also don’t need to. For the most part you can open older Projects just fine in newer versions of Cubase. The biggest issue is old plug-ins that are not supported or functional in a new versions. For these folks often fire up an old version of Cubase, and render to Audio. Also you can install different versions of Cubase at the same time just fine. I’ve got half a dozen installed between 7.5 and 14.

EDIT

Unless there is something else you haven’t mentioned, there’s nothing to be gained by doing this. Your old PC will run your old Artist using the dongle with the upgraded license. And a Pro 14 license can be authorized on multiple computers.

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Yes, that’s right. That’s why I put the “Pro” in parentheses to indicate that Cubase 7.5 actually belongs to the Cubase Pro series.

Maybe I’d avoid this complexity by simply updating to Cubase Artist 14, which would update the dongle’s license to Artist 11, with which I could then open Artist 7.5 projects in 7.5 with no problem?

There shouldn’t be any problems to open your 7.5 projects with Cubase 7.5. The Pro editions just offer more features and are fully compatible to the Artist editions of the same version.

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Hi guys,

Thanks so much for your help! You’ve both helped me to resolve my concerns. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my post and respond!

John

7

I’m afraid this could trigger some misunderstandings (or maybe I am missing something).
As far as I know, a Pro 14 (or 12, 13) license exists only in the “new”… guise, as a software permission granted over the Internet. Which is not true for the older licenses, which require the “dongle” to be working and physically connected to the local computer all the time (during Cubase sessions).

So when, on a computer where Pro 14 is regularly installed and working, we launch any pre-12 version of Cubase, its “exe” file, which is obviously unchanged, is not aware of the Pro 14 license and looks for the required dongle. Accordingly, anyone who has purchased only CB 14 (or 13 or 12), and therefore does not have an old 11 (or earlier) license with the related “dongle”, can not use versions prior to 12 on his computer.

Is that correct?

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Yep, but this doesn’t contradict what @raino stated, as @JohnBartlettClarke2 already has a functional USB eLicenser key.

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Hi guys!

So… as I said earlier, my only goal was to make sure I could run the program Artist 7.5 with a Pro 11 license on my old laptop (with dongle) (not be required to download Pro 11 and open Artist 7.5 projects with it). This is separate from the question of whether I could run Artist 7.5 on the newer desktop with the Pro 14 license (without dongle, because the dongle’s is in the laptop!). Raino’s response seems to answer the first question definitively in the affirmative, but I don’t agree, Cubic 13, that Raino was implying that I can run any earlier version of Pro 14 (including prior versions using the USB e-licenser) on the new desktop as long as I have the e-licenser plugged into the computer. I read his response as saying that the Pro 14 license alone is sufficient to run any prior versions (no dongle necessary). Anyone care to weigh in?

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Also:

If I wait until after early 2025 to buy a new license for Pro 14 (because at that point this would be the only option), I assume this new license purchase would not affect my use of Artist 7.5 on the old device (assuming the dongle and laptop still work)?

Thanks again, everyone!

11

That’s exactly what I meant.
Obviously my comment had no ranting intent at all.
I just wanted to point out that that sentence, as written, could (and can) give rise to misunderstandings.

Actually it is a bit… unfair that those who today buy a 14 (or 13 or 12) license can NOT, with that license, use the previous versions, whatever the reason for wanting or needing to do it.
From this point of view, recent licenses are much less “powerful” than the previous ones.
Of course the difference will gradually shrink as the years go by, but it still remains a non-trivial limitation, especially for users who have “old” projects, maybe based on plugins which are not (or can’t be) updated, and risk becoming unable to work with those projects as soon as the old “dongle” breaks.

Perhaps the company should have waited a few more years before “killing” the eLicenser Service; if only to take care of “old” customers, who, as much as the newer ones, have contributed to the success of the Steinberg products.

12

Right, in this case you have two separate licenses: your old one for Artist 7.5 and the new Cubase Pro 14 license. The latter allows you to use Cubase Pro 12 and 13 as well.
If you update instead of buying a new license, the old license gets replaced with the new one (7.5. → 11 on the dongle and 14 using the new licensing system).

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Awesome! Thanks Martin90! MarcoRo - so are you saying you’re sure that it is the case that e-licenser versions of the software will not open with a new Steinberg license (and no dongle present)? When I stated in my previous post what I thought was the right reading of Raino’s comment, I was asking whether that was the correct reading. Also, I think for the not-very-tech-savvy among us, i.e. me, and potentially other curious readers, it should maybe be clarified that EVEN IF (open question) it is in fact true that you can’t open the earlier versions of the program themselves with Pro 14 license but no dongle, you CAN still open PROJECTS made in earlier e-licenser versions within 14. (I tested this by opening hundreds of Artist 7.5 projects in Pro 14 on someone else’s computer (without dongle) 3 weeks ago, as I mentioned in my first post - they seemed to work seamlessly. I assume this is partly because I use a very limited selection of very basic plug-ins).

Thanks,
John

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Yes.
As far as I know (and can see on my PC), that’s exactly how things are.
Which from a “technical” point of view is very plausible, because obviously an old program, designed to run only in the steady presence of a license stored locally on a “dongle”, upon startup checks for that presence and has no reason to look for anything else.
And it is not much plausible to expect that the company designs and provides new versions of old programs, modified to work with the new licensing system. They certainly could; and perhaps they could also, as a cheaper alternative (for them), provide some specific driver capable of intercepting the “dongle” searches made for example by C10 or 11 and satisfying them by the presence of a C12 or newer license. They could have done it and they still could do it, but they clearly decided otherwise.
I asked “is that correct?” because I hoped (and still hope) I was wrong…

This is true indeed.
Old (cpr) projects surely can be “opened” and worked on.
The only problem, as you correctly suggested, may lay in any plugins (instruments, effects…) used in the old versions and no longer present in the newer ones. This can be particularly annoying, or even very serious, in the case of old 32-bit effects or instruments that have not been (or cannot be) updated to 64-bit versions. In such a case the old project may be very difficult to update, because to make it “play” you have to replace the old plugins with the new available ones and there is no certainty at all of obtaining the same result.
Of course you can (using the old version) convert everything to audio, but then, obviously, the project becomes almost “frozen” and any “inside” track editing becomes very hard if not impossible.

15

That is exactly right, because old versions of the software, eg. Cubase 11 and earlier, do not have the sourcecode builtin, that can use the Steinberg Licensing. There are multiple threads around why this is not possible, in short it would be a complete nightmare to restore every single development environment for every previous software release, just to modify the licensing system.

So by updating a release Artist 7.5 you get the latest Cubase 14. You also get a change on your USB eLicenser that allows you to run now all releases from Cubase 11 and earlier, using the eLicenser (yes, Dongle attached) and also all releases from Cubase 12 to 14, without the dongle.

This is all explained in detail in the support document

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No doubt about that.
Much more passable would be to act on the (single) eLicenser driver, with whose very same sourcecode all versions interact to verify licenses.
When it comes to software, totally impossible things are rare. Most of times it is more a question of choices and will.

And since the company has decided not to invest in that direction, it could have chosen, at least, a much simpler and cheaper path, just leaving the eLicenser Service active for a few more years, thus letting it go towards its… natural death, due to gradual spontaneous disuse by customers.
I guess very few customers would have complained about such a choice.

Which will not happen any more from “early in 2025” on, once the eLicenser Service will be closed down.
Correct?

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Of course not, that is clearly documented.

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I really don’t want to weigh into what seems to be the possible subtext of this exchange (i.e. the legitimacy of Steinberg’s deciding to do away with the e-licenser in the manner in which it has), but I must say that I, like MarcoRo, am disappointed that, HAD I discovered that the plug-ins for my Artist 7.5 projects did not work in Pro 14 (to take one example of a potential incompatibility), and had I chosen not to upgrade now (say, because upgrading requires getting a new computer, which, in fact, I did (as I said in an earlier post), since Cubase Pro 14 requires Windows a version of Windows 10 I do not want to install on my old laptop), then, IF my Artist 7.5 dongle were to be damaged somehow (I am and have always been extremely careful with it - it’s unthinkable that I would lose it, but, as with everything, its possible that I might drop it), after early 2025, I would not be able to, with the fresh Pro 14 license I’d have to buy, open these projects without issues. Is this any different, though, I wonder, than Apple’s telling me that they no longer support the 2016 iPhone SE (which I currently own), such that, were it to break, there’d be no way to recover its data (I’m sure that is the case at this point)? And surely I wouldn’t fault Apple for this (because, as hardware, by most people’s standards, it is very outdated). I think we might have an intuition, though, that these standards don’t apply with software? But, the reply might go, e-licenser versions of Cubase are a hybrid (of software and hardware), and it is precisely the nuisance that this entails that Steinberg is attempting to move beyond by revamping its licensing system. I really don’t know what to think. I don’t have enough familiarity with the typical protocols that guide a software company’s actions when it has to make these sorts of decisions. The last thing that I want is for this paragraph to provoke aggressive debate between you guys or others, though. I’d prefer a polite discussion. lol…

In any case, since you guys seem so knowledgeable about Steinberg products, could you very quickly address these two remaining questions:

The correct way to proceed is to upgrade (using the e-licenser control center) the Artist 7.5 license on the old laptop (buy buying Pro 14 on the Steinberg website) and then download the software on the new computer (using the account that records the recent purchase of the license for this software), as opposed to plugging the dongle into the new computer, downloading the e-licenser control center, and upgrading there? And (I asked this before, but didn’t really get an explicit answer), when I read on Steinberg’s page about upgrading that after activating my Pro 14 license (bringing me to 11 on dongle), I can “continue with the product download and installation using the Steinberg Download Assistant and then start the application and follow the on-screen dialogues,” I am NOT to interpret this to mean that I will be forced to download Cubase Pro 11 or 14 on the old laptop but can instead just keep using my Artist 7.5 software with my Pro 11 e-licenser, correct?

I sincerely appreciate the discussion here. Very pleased to be a part of the forum.

John

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Yes. Licensing & downloading for Steinberg products are separate things. Anyone can download and install the products. But they won’t work unless they have a license. Also each version is its own independent download and install - none are dependent on having an earlier version installed.

During this transition it’s almost like there are 2 products Classic Cubase which uses the eLicense/dongle system & New Cubase which uses the new licensing scheme. And until the server is shutdown you can cross-grade from the old to the latest.

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ALL decisions made by any company are obviously “legitimate”, as long as they don’t break any “law”.
On the other hand, I believe that all customers of a company have the right to (civilly) express their opinions, positive or negative, on any legitimate decision of the company.

In this case I would not speak of “subtext” but of… text, because there are actually many users (especially long time ones) who, politely and therefore legitimately, have complained about the decision regarding the oncoming… killing of the eLicenser services.

And I think it is right that the company is aware of those complaints.