What a mess...

Cubase
#1

So I just took the plunge and upgraded my (mostly stable) cubase 5 to v6, even though 95% of the v6 features are useless to me (and most producers I know who don’t use much audio editing). However, I upgraded hoping to find a more polished, stable product. Of course, that didn’t happen…
1st of all, the new GUI enhancements are nice, but the new mixer is ugly as hell. As a graphic designer myself, I find it to be a step backwards in looks and quality. The rest of the GUI, though, is much more polished in v6. Also, the new automation features and enhancements are nice. Now on to the problems…

v6 x64 is far less stable than v5; some of my x64 VST’s such as omnisphere, RM V and the Virus Ti VST editor all seem to take forever to load, and when they do, they now occasionally crash cubase for no apparent reason. Also doing some banalities such as connecting midi channels to VST’s and re-ordering mixer channels sometimes cause crashes too.
Also noticed the media/loop bay takes forever to open and is sluggish to use and search.

In short, I’m sorry I upgraded, and will not be recommending v6 to anyone, as least until SB fixes this mess. Instead of using my new upgraded DAW and finishing some projects on a deadline, I’m forced to beta test SB’s upgrade, looking for what makes it crash in this version and finding new ways work around the problems. Problems I didn’t have in v5.
This is my first cubase upgrade, so I have to ask; is this considered normal for a new release?

#2

Wait for the 5.5.3 update.

#3

What would be the point? So I can use v5 after buying v6?
I didn’t pay for v6 to use an older version. It seems completely ridiculous to even consider it.

#4

No one is forcing you to use Cubase 6!!! Just use Cubase 5 and finish your products on time. Since you don’t have any problems in version 5. I guess you still have both versions installed? That’s what i have, both version 5 and 6, and i can easily switch between the two of them. That way i can finish evertyhing on time and with Cubase 5, but still check out Cubase 6 and then switch over fulltime when an update is ready:)

#5

I didn’t pay for v6 to use an older version.

Is 5.5 causing you any problems insofar as stability is concerned?

#6

So let me get this straight: It’s considered normal for a product of this caliber to be released in a beta version state?
And users are fine with this, using older version until an update is released?
Fascinating… and a bit of an eye opener. Guess I’ll wait for an update then. Any idea when SB usually releases an update?

#7

Yes it is totally normal. Don’t know when an update will be released.

#8

It’s a good question L.F. I will try and explain.

Without being too specific, this product (which I don’t have) was obviously released with the bare necessity of features, for example the new audio functions but as users have discovered, much of it only works at specific frequencies.

My understanding and again I cannot speak from direct experience of this software (keen to try it out though), is that due to ongoing improvements in the windows audio architecture, these features have only been partially implemented, so therefore it is a commercial decision on the part of Steinberg to release something now rather than not even if isn’t “feature complete” software.

This does not mean though that the developer team did not know or that things somehow “slipped by” QA, on the contrary we are talking here about software and the nature of how things work in information technology more generally is par with the course but naturally there will be exceptions.

In other words, if you do not use the new features then you would have a system no more or less stable than the one it replaced, which is evidenced by the fact that the previous line of software can still be updated.

#9

I run Cubase 6 64bit, and I must say that this is the most stable version of cubase i’ve ever used!
I’ve had 1 crash after the update and the VST Bridge works very well!

Seems to be a problem with your setup?

#10

+1

@ L.F… If you read this forum thoroughly, you will see there are lots of very satisfied C6 users. Have you done the basics, trashed your preferences etc… some spurious info may have ported over from your C5 prefs.

And as the others have stated, if you have to, you can finish projects in C5 whilst working out your own specific tech issues with C6. The mods have indicated there will be a C6 patch towards then end of March.

It is extremely difficult to QC an application which will be installed in some many varied environments so I always cut them some slack on this.

#11

I’ve been using 6 exclusively since I upgraded, haven’t even opened the old version, I think it’s very good and have had no problems at all.

#12

i had similar problems with cubase 6 when i first upgraded especially with spectrasonic trillian. but after a fresh install on a new system everything works perfectly. no crashes what so ever.

#13

I have had the same xperience as the others above. Once I trashed my prefs and started from
Scratch configuring c6 it’s been very stable and I’ve been enjoying some of the new features without really noticing that I’m using the new version!

#14

Hi LF

I totally agree with your comments and outlook. This forum is very much out of alignment with what I consider “normal” sensible attitude re Steinberg Software. You complain, and I must admit I think your comments are reasonable, and everyone jumps in to criticise the hell out of you!

I’ve never gotten used to it being so completely imbalanced as to be surreal, and hope I never do.

Let me confirm you are not alone in your reasoning despite what additional comments you receive as being “helpful”, in the most they are not. This is a VERY strange place. Get on with your life, your music and spend as little time here as possible. You are fighting a loosing battle here and It will only do your head in otherwise.

#15

Your new C6 should be running just as well as C5 as it seems it does for most users including me though it may not get on with all the other makers VSTis / VSTfx and some aspects of Windows.
I suppose the collective message here is that most software is also dependant on related supporting softwares to develop at the same rate.
Quite a lot of commercial software does miss targets when developing and it is a risk one takes with new versions of pretty much anything.

So the upshot of all of us with experience is that if we have the money we buy the latest version (yes, with imperfections) so that when the new version matures we are fully up to scratch with everything and can check for bugs. But no-one FORCES us to buy anything.
However the common practise if we can’t quite justify the expense is not to dive right in but to wait until the pioneers have written about the new product extensively on forums such as this one.
Let the pioneers take the arrows in the back and follow on later.

#16

Some of us don’t have the luxury of reinstalling windows every time some app runs into problems. This is seldom needed anyway, as formatting a partition really is a last resort.

This is an old trick, as it’s been told to users since cubase sx2 or even before that. So it begs the question; why does every new version of cubase insist on importing prefs and key commands when they always end up causing problems?
And I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of customized preferences and key commands (including macros) which makes deleting and remaking them more than just adjusting “return to start position on stop” :neutral_face:


Thanks Sonic. I was beginning to think it was only me who was used to the concept of working, quality software in the audio industry. At least from the leading software developers and in this day and age. I think that would be a fair expectation, and from my experience, most companies deliver. This is odd indeed, but I guess people here are used to the way SB does things, and it’s in SB’s interest to keep it that way. Kind of reminds me of waves.com and their business
policy.

You’re right. I should have waited. But like most users, I wanted the new version, expecting it to be more stable, but if not, then at least to have the same small issues as the previous version. Issues to which I’ve already found workarounds.
My mistake.

#17

Hi,

no problems here running Cubase 6 64-Bit on Win7 64-Bit.
No crash - running 10 hours a day.

  • The whole Spectrasonics-Line including Omnisphere 1.5 loading very fast
  • standard VSTBridge running 32-Bit Plug-Ins smoothly

First we did backup all Cubase 5 user settings for later importing.
We completely un-installed all Steinberg Software first then
installed Cubase 6 fresh from DVD and selectively loaded our
user settings - also copied some back using an XML Editor.

cheers

Cubase 6 64-Bit | Win7 64 | Fujitsu Celsius M470 | Xeon 6-Core | 12 GB | RME HDSPe MADI

#18

:slight_smile:

#19

Aloha A,
I always start a new up-grade in its basic state and then one by one I add/re-install 3rd party stuff.
Having done that I find that C6 runs fine using ‘Built-in Audio’ (i’m on a mac)
and with all my 3rd party peripherals.
32 and 64 bit performances are also ‘neato keen’.

So far so good! Hope you get it sorted.


HTH
{’-’}

#20

Uhm, you run a i7 930 that is specified for 2.8GHz regular (not boost) clock speed at 4 GHz and complain about stability of Cubase 6? I don’t even want to think about what you did to the RAM. You’re aware that overclocking a system can have severe impact on the stability of applications?

If that is true then this is probably the most ridiculous complaint I’ve read in a while.

Cheers,

Jazz