In what is a first for the company, Steinberg is releasing three new versions of Cubase on the same day. Cubase Pro, Artist and Elements 9 are all available now.
The good news is that some of the big new features are available in all three iterations of Cubase 9. One of these is the Lower Zone, a new area in the project window that's used for the mixer and other tool panels. There's also the Sampler Track, which provides you with an easy way of playing samples chromatically. These can be manipulated with filters and controls in the Lower Zone, and the Caleidoscope library gives you hundreds of samples to play with right away.
There are some Cubase Pro exclusives, of course: a new 8-band EQ known as Frequency, for example, and up to 10 marker tracks, which you can use to specify ranges within projects so that you can export stems and group mixes.
Other features are common to both Cubase Pro and Artist. MixConsole History gives you more undo/redo flexibility; Audio-Ins enable you to send audio to VST 3 instrument plugins that support sidechaining; and VST Transit aids cloud collaboration. Cubase Pro 9 also comes with VST Connect SE, the latest version of Steinberg's remote recording software.
Returning to improvements that have been made to all versions of Cubase 9, many of the software's built-in plugins have been enhanced, while the deliciously-name Plug-In Sentinel is on-hand to scan plugins on startup and ensure stability.
Commenting on the Cubase 9 launch, Steineberg's Director of Marketing Frank Simmerlein said: "We always have an open ear to our customers' concerns and wishes, and version 9 stands out in this regard.
"Due to extensive surveys throughout development and leading up to this release, we were able to prioritize and fulfill several requests originating from our customers. Not only did we realize requested features, but rather took these a step further. Take the significant customer wish to introduce a redo/undo option to our mixer for example. We did not simply want to implement this functionality limited to recent commands. Instead, we worked extremely hard to realize a complete history so that users are free to move forward and backward through the list of actions.
"Put this on the roster of latest additions alongside its host of proven features and, I believe, Cubase Pro 9 can claim itself the only DAW in the market that covers every aspect of music production."
Find out more below and on the Steinberg website.
Availability and pricing
The Cubase Pro 9, Cubase Artist 9 and Cubase Elements 9 full retail versions are available from resellers and through the Steinberg Online Shop from December 7, 2016. Product availability may vary depending on reseller. The suggested retail price for Cubase Pro 9 is 579 euros, including German VAT. The suggested retail price for Cubase Artist 9 is 329 euros, including German VAT. The suggested retail price for Cubase Elements 9 is 99.99 euros, including German VAT.
Various downloadable updates and upgrades are also available through the Steinberg Online Shop.
Customers who have activated Cubase Pro 8.5 and Cubase Artist 8.5 since October 26, 2016, are eligible for a free, downloadable Grace Period update to the latest versions, respectively.
Key features of Cubase Pro 9
- Award-winning 32-bit floating-point Steinberg audio engine with up to 192 kHz, 5.1 surround, flexible routing and full automatic delay compensation
- Unlimited audio, instrument and MIDI tracks and up to 256 physical inputs and outputs
- MixConsole for pro mixing desk experience and integrated high-end channel strip, VCA faders, Loudness Meter, Wave Meters
- Complete suite of over 90 high-end audio and MIDI VST effect processors, including Quadrafuzz v2, VST Amp Rack and VST Bass Amp guitar and bass tone suites, REVerence convolution reverb, Frequency 8-band EQ and many more
- Comprehensive set of 8 outstanding instruments with over 3,000 sounds, including HALion Sonic SE 2, Groove Agent SE 4, Padshop, Retrologue 2 and LoopMash 2
- Intelligent compositional tools like Chord Track, Chord Pads and advanced Chord Assistant for creative and playful composing of harmonic progressions and advanced voicings
- VariAudio for MIDI-style note editing of monophonic audio tracks, automatic voicing harmonization and auto-tuning effects
- Full VST Expression 2 with Note Expression, VST Dynamics and Expression Maps for fully integrated workflows with musical articulations, dynamics and controller values
- Perfect integration of external hardware effect devices and instruments, such as synthesizers or signal processors, into the sequencer signal flow
- VST Connect SE and VST Transit cloud collaboration services
Key features of Cubase Artist 9
- Award-winning 32-bit floating-point Steinberg audio engine with up to 192 kHz, flexible routing and full automatic delay compensation
- Simultaneous playback of 64 audio tracks, 128 MIDI tracks and up to 32 physical inputs and outputs
- MixConsole for pro mixing desk experience and integrated high-end channel strip with dynamics and EQ
- Comprehensive set of 8 outstanding instruments with over 2,600 sounds, including HALion Sonic SE 2, Groove Agent SE 4, Padshop, Retrologue 2 and LoopMash 2
- Suite of over 70 high-end audio and MIDI VST effect processors, including Pitch Correct for vocal editing, VST Amp Rack and VST Bass Amp guitar and bass tone suites, Quadrafuzz v2 and many more!
- Intelligent compositional tools like Chord Track and Chord Pads for creative and playful composing of harmonic progressions and advanced voicings
- Thousands of MIDI construction kits, audio loops and samples as building blocks to create sketches, play-alongs or even full songs with just a few clicks
- Lightning-fast multi-take comping with the dedicated lane tracks and the click-and-drag comp tool for conjuring the perfect recording TrackVersions for playlists-like editing and render-in-place for easily bouncing MIDI and audio parts
- Streamlined music notation and score editing feature set
Key features of Cubase Elements 9
- Award-winning 32-bit floating-point Steinberg audio engine, flexible routing and full automatic delay compensation
- Simultaneous playback of 48 audio tracks, 64 MIDI tracks and up to 24 physical inputs and outputs
- MixConsole for pro mixing desk experience and integrated high-end channel strip with dynamics and EQ
- 3 outstanding virtual instruments comprising the HALion Sonic SE 2 workstation, Groove Agent SE 4 drum machine and Prologue synthesizer
- Over 40 audio effect processors, including high-end VST Dynamics, Pitch Correct for vocal intonation correction and the VST Amp Rack guitar tone suite
- Powerful sample editor covering all common editing tasks and providing creative freedom while editing audio
- Chord Track and Chord Pads for playfully and creatively composing with chords
- Comprehensive content library with thousands of instrument sounds, MIDI construction loops and audio samples
- Basic score editing features for music notation and composition
- Full upward compatibility with Cubase Pro and Cubase Artist for seamless upgrading to the next level
