Steinberg News - Cubase 9 Announced - New Features Added

Cubase has seen regular updates over its lifetime, and has become one of the most well-loved DAWs all over the world. Cubase 9 brings with it a host of new features and workflow enhancements, keeping it at the forefront of music production software. There is a grace period too, if you buy Cubase 8 you'll get a free upgrade to Cubase 9.(It's cheaper to buy that way too!)  If you already bought Cubase from October 26th, you also get a free upgrade to 9. 

Here at Absolute Music we are big fans of Steinberg’s flagship DAW, Cubase (so much so, we even use it in our own recording studio). So, naturally we got very excited when Cubase 9 was announced and with the new version came a load of extra new features that will surely further cement Cubase’s sterling reputation that it has gained after 27 years of being in studios all over the world.

It’s good to see that the majority of the new features are available on all versions of Cubase 9, whether you’re starting with the youngest sibling, Elements, or you’re going for the full Pro package you will be getting a lot of DAW for your money. So join us as we take a whistlestop tour of what Cubase 9 Elements, Artist and Pro have to offer.

Steinberg’s Cubase 9 builds on an already rich feature-set. Changes include layout – with a new ‘lower zone’ area of the main workspace, a Sampler track, new plug-ins, and many more new features. Here we take a look at some of the improvements in Cubase 9….

Lower Zone

Access all areas in the fastest and most convenient way. The new Lower Zone provides a neat and tidy overview. Your tools and editors are now just a mouse click away: the Lower Zone will enhance your workflow regardless whether you’re working mobile on a laptop or in a multi-screen studio environment.

Sampler Track

Do you need that extra bit of flavour to spice up your production? Are you looking for a starting point? Enter the Sampler Track. It’s the fastest way to inspiration. Just use any piece of audio to create a Sampler Track, play the sample chromatically, manipulate it with its on-board filters and controls, experiment and enjoy the sonic extravaganza only the Sampler Track can give you. And to top it off, the Sampler Track comes with Caleidoscope, a dedicated sample library with hundreds of samples and presets to get you started right away.

New plugin – Frequency EQ (Cubase Pro only)

The new Frequency EQ plug-in delivers exactly that what you’d expect from a tool that is supposed to enhance your productions: whether it’s smooth attenuation to blend your tracks you’re looking for or a tool giving you options of microscopic audio surgery. Frequency offers you eight bands, M/S support and Linear Phase mode for each band, Auto Listen to listen in on the adjustments you just made, Spectrum Display and even a musical keyboard to help you find the right tone. Frequency has all you need from basic tracking, mixing to advanced final polishing.

MixConsole History (Cubase Pro & Artist only)

Ever wanted to compare different mixes with just one mouse click? Cubase 9 introduces MixConsole History*. It’s a great new feature that tracks all changes made in the MixConsole and easily lets you choose several stages of your mixing process just by selecting them from a list. This means you’ll be getting your basic mixer undo/redo, but it also allows you to experiment freely with which mix suits your project best.

Cloud Collaboration

Our world is getting smaller by the day, and cloud collaboration plays a vital role in it. Whether you want to make remote recordings with VST Connect SE 4* or exchange projects via VST Transit**, find collaborators and partners all over the world, exchange ideas, get connected with others who share the same passion and be creative! No other DAW like Cubase has this level of cloud collaboration capabilities seamlessly integrated into your workflow. VST Connect SE 4 now offers the possibility to find new collaboration partners in a breeze. VST Transit adds further improvements and supports even more tracks and VST 3 third-party plug-ins. *Cubase Pro only **Cubase Pro & Artist only   * *

Stable and Reliable

Cubase 9 is one of the most stable and reliable DAWs on the market, allowing you to focus entirely on what’s really important: your creativity and your productions. Cubase 9 introduces several new features that emphasize this approach further, making the Cubase experience even more comfortable. • New Plug-in Sentinel scans all your plug-ins at start up to check which are valid and which might harm your system’s stability • Running in 64-bit only makes sure that you benefit from the most modern technology available • Plug ‘n’ play support for USB devices on Windows   New Maximizer plugin (Cubase Pro & Artist only) It’s always a good idea to keep your recording and mixing levels nice and easy. But it’s a different story when finishing your productions. To let your final mix sound “contemporary” you won’t get around using a Maximizer. Not only did it get a new coat of paint but also an in-depth algorithm overhaul. Choose between the classic mode and the new modern mode to get the most out of your mixes, while keeping the result transparent, clear and brilliant.   Audio Inputs to sidechaining plug-ins Have you ever wanted to use the Retrologue filters or effects separately? Well, now you can! The new Audio-Ins option offers you the opportunity to send audio to VST 3 instrument plug-ins supporting side-chaining. This will increase your creative sound design possibilities tenfold.   Multiple Marker Tracks (Cubase Pro only) Cubase 9 allows you to use up to ten marker tracks. Imagine recording multiple instruments on several tracks and giving every one its dedicated markers. This means you not only have the power to structure your projects in a much more flexible way, from now you even can export stems and mixes using the cycle marker ranges.

Production Grooves

You can’t get enough of inspiring beats and grooves to fire up your tracks. Production Grooves feeds your Groove Agent with over 400 drum loops and presets for all contemporary styles of music. Whether you want to have basic drum accompaniment for a songwriting session, hit the dancefloor with full blown epic electronica or garnish your rock with some serious beef: Production Grooves gets you there!

Cubase Pro 9 – feature highlights

• Award-winning 32-bit floating-point Steinberg audio engine with up to 192kHz,  5.1surround, 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 eight-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 the 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

Cubase Artist 9 – feature highlights

• 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 clickand- 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

Cubase Elements 9 – feature highlights

• 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 • Three 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.

3 - Cubase 9 Line up Comparison Chart

Steinberg Cubase 9 is available to buy now online or from our superstore in Poole, where you can visit us and see it working for yourself. Prices start at just £54 for the Education version and all orders are shipped from the UK, where we are Steinberg’s largest Cubase seller.