Cubase Essential 5 Retail Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am new to the world of music production. I needed a new hobby and reignited my passion of music I had when I was a child. My son taking piano lessons helped to reignite that passion, but onward to the review.
I was looking for an inexpensive, but fully efficient music production package. After a few months of use, I am confident I made the right choice for my needs. The price was decent, plus I had a $100 gift certificate :), but I would have still made the purchase. Here is what I like about this product:
*It is not intimidating - I downloaded a few demo versions of other software, and it looked like too much was going on at once. There were too many separate windows open that I didn't know what they were used for. With Cubase, you create a project and you are taken to the sequencer without all the extra windows, unless you open them up yourself.
*Great workflow environment - To continue from #1, I like that I am taken to the sequencer first. From there, I can add tracks, select an instrument, play and record. You can also add audio tracks and record vocals or external instruments. I just love the simplicity. I won't go into all the bells and whistles, but you can add effects, this has VST support, mixing features which I have only begun to explore, and great editing and recording features.
As I mentioned, I am new to the world of music production software and still learning Cubase Essential 5, so I am not able to provide a review that discusses all the features of this product. However, for my needs it is great and I would definetly recommend it. I took off a star because I think the manual could be better. Alot of the information just went over my head. They do have video tutorials on the install disk and youtube has been a big help with people uploading tutorials there. That is basically how I have been learning this software. Another note, and I won't fault the product, but I have had buggy instances. For example sometimes the metronome works and sometimes it doesn't, and also there have been times I have had to restart Cubase to recognize my midi keyboard even though I had already set it up in Device Setup. I am not holding this against the product because I have since started using a new computer and I no longer experience these issues. I am running Vista 32 bit on both computers, but the other computer is new and has more memory. I don't know if that is why I am no longer having issues or not, but I am glad the issues are gone!
One last thing, the higher end Cubase 5 or Cubase 5 studio is more expensive and has more features, but I am personally not looking to upgrade because of how good Essential is. I haven't gone through the full compare list, however the items Essential does NOT have that are included in Cubase 5 are Groove Agent One and VariAudio (which I understand is a great feature to edit vocals).


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Steinberg Cubase Essential 5 is your gateway to the world of the Cubase digital audio workstation. With an easy, intuitive approach to composing, recording, editing, and mixing, Cubase Essential 5 shines with the same user interface and award-winning audio engine as the Steinberg Cubase 5 advanced music production system used by countless professionals around the globe.

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Samplitude Music Studio 14 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)After buying a new Dell PC in early 2009, I decided it's time to try my songwriting/Home recording chops on MIDI. I had everything I needed-A keyboard with MIDI (Via USB)support, an internet at my fingertips that seemed to have tons of free VST effects and VSTI virtual instruments and now, a PC that could handle it.After getting my feet wet with Reaper, a friend told me about a program he had called Samplitude Music Studio 14. At the time, I was considering either this or Mixcraft 4.2. What attracted me to both was the library of virtual instruments in each for the price (below $100.00). I did alot of research into both programs and picked Samplitude.
As this was my first real excursion into MIDI, I had alot to learn. When I recieved the software I had a time installing it. After taking about 5 minutes installing all of the components, I got an error message which was vague explaining that the program couldn't start due to security reasons. I emailed their online support who sent me an Unlock code, which didn't work. So I joined their online support forum. Nice guys, but I suspect most are German and can't understand or communicate well in English. It just so happened that, fortunately my aforementioned friend was also a member of the forum and advised me to turn off my McAfee Security suite before installing, which finally allowed me to launch the program. Well, the first thing I started doing was playing with the sound library. There are many to choose from. Most contained in a module called VITA, created by Yellow Tools, but there's also a "trial" version of Sampletank which also has some decent sounds. Long story short, the "rock" sounds, ie drums, guitars,basses, keyboards and synths are GREAT!! In fact, there are so many synths that I really haven't scratched the surface of what I can do with them. Like their hardware counterparts, you can use factory presets or program your own sounds by manuipulating the virtual knobs and switches, which is really cool. These are mostly models of analogue synths. Naturally, it will except most free VSTs you can find online too, but the other sounds like horns and strings in this program don't pass the realistic test at all. The mixer is superior including the Vintage Effects Suite, which is a series of "footpedal" effects, but you can use them on anything you want and includes Flanger, Delay, Chorus, Phaser and Distortion. And again, you can use your own. Well, last May, I bought the other choice, Mixcraft, and the sound library on that is unreal. String sounds which are very realistic, horns and brass which are much better. But I'm not sorry I bought Samplitude because there are some features of that program that are better than Mixcraft, so I use them together in projects and so far it's worked quite well. I have three "Hybrid" projects where I import/export the sounds via wav files back and forth between programs. Hey, this is digital. No loss of fidelity. So I have two MIDI programs where one's insufficiencies are made up by the other, which is great. Best of both worlds with a total price tag of about $150.00, which isn't bad at all. I'm happy!

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Samplitude Music Studio 14 is the top-grade solution for professional music production on your PC – ideal for bands and musicians, podcasters and multimedia artists.

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