Steinberg Cubase 12

Cubase have just announced version 12 of Cubase, so in our excitement we’re doing a news special to give you the full lowdown on what to expect

Spring is most definitely in the air, and what better way to kick off this most uplifting of seasons than an uplifting update. Cubase of course needs no introduction, and its decades of service to the music production community are well documented. Given its awesome feature set, Steinberg could probably keep Cubase ticking over, making tweaks here and there. But recently they’ve actually set themselves a pretty demanding release timetable, issuing new version updates with reassuring regularity, listening to user requests and supersizing this already big-hitting application into the creative powerhouse its users deserve.

When we get a new version of a major DAW, all eyes are inevitably on the headline features, and with two new audio plugins, a new instrument and new metering modules, Cubase 12 certainly looks like a valuable update. However, for existing users it’s often the enhancements to established features that really count. 2020’s Cubase 11 brought with it some great new features (documented in

290) and some of these (Scale Assistant for example) get extended functionality in Cubase 12. Other features to get an upgrade include both AudioWarp and the Sampler Track, and there’s also a substantial update to hardware controller implementation.

For Cubase Pro users, we understand that support for the heavily promoted Dolby Atmos is being finalised for a forthcoming Cubase 12 Pro maintenance release. This will support 2D channel configurations up to 7.1 and 3D channel configurations up to 7.1.4. Features include a setup assistant to help you create a Dolby

Atmos compliant project from the outset, a Renderer for Dolby Atmos plugin for monitoring, and export of fully compliant Audio Definition Model (ADM) files in Broadcast Wave Format.

One change in Cubase 12 that we weren’t expecting but will please many users is the shift, at long last, away from dongle-based protection to a user-based authorisation system, called Steinberg Licensing.

In the next two pages we take a look at 12 of the best new features, but with so many new additions, choosing just a few was a bit of a challenge. Things that didn’t make the top 12 but are important nonetheless include native support for Apple Silicon and for high core count CPUs, plus support for Bluetooth over MIDI in Windows 10 and higher. On the workspace front there’s an additional fourth MixConsole, and you can now have two separate video tracks. Time signature and tempo tracks can be imported from other projects, and sidechained audio can be easily exported with its sidechain effect intact.

For crossfade aficionados there are new advanced features in the Crossfade editor window, and in general, waveforms are smoother for more accurate audio editing. The ever popular Quick Controls are now properly integrated into each plugin window in their own fold-down panel. The Logical Editor has been revamped with a bunch of new presets, and ARA extensions can now be inserted on a per-track basis, with ARA temporary file management also improved. You also have better dither via Lin One, developed with MAAT audio.

Naturally there are downsides, and some older VST instruments have been stripped out. Also gone is ReWire support, though this is now a legacy protocol so not that surprising. Then there’s, of course, the customary upgrade fee.

Cubase comes in three versions (Pro, Artist and Elements) with tiered features and pricing to match, and we’ve indicated in our list below which versions get each of the new features. Prices for full new versions of Cubase 12 Elements, Artist and Pro are £85, £282 and £497 respectively. And if you bought Cubase 11 from November 10, 2021 onwards you are within the grace period for a free upgrade to Cubase 12. If you’re upgrading or crossgrading from previous versions the pricing is a bit more complex, but as a guide, to upgrade from Cubase 11 Pro is £85. steinberg.net