Steinberg Cubase 5.01 (Mac/Win) Review

Sep 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Marty Cutler

           
 

This revamped sequencer has rhythm and then some

FIG. 1: The VariAudio window in Cubase 5 analyzes audio tracks, letting you adjust an audio segment's pitch and time.

Cubase 4 contained several stunning-sounding new synthesizers, two of which ventured far afield of the typical analog-modeling and sample-playback fare. Subsequent updates brought sidechaining for VST plug-ins and improvements to the MediaBay. Cubase 5 brings several rhythm and looping tools to the table, two new pitch-correction features, a very nice convolution reverb, a clever VST-expression feature and more.

I had no issues with the dongle-based Syncrosoft licensing software, and installation and authorization were relatively quick. I tested Cubase on two Macintosh systems: an Intel dual 2.8GHz quad-core Xeon with 6 GB of RAM and a MOTU 896 audio interface, and a MacBook Pro 2.93GHz Core 2 Duo with 4GB RAM and an M-Audio Ozonic audio interface. Both machines were running Leopard OS 10.5.7.

Bonus Material

Bonus Material: Molto Expressivo, Things You May Have Missed

Make Your Pitch

Anyone familiar with the basic operating concepts of Celemony Melodyne should be comfortable with Cubase 5's new VariAudio feature. VariAudio parses the audio from a monophonic track into discrete but connected events (segments, in Cubase-speak) in a grid, as if it were a MIDI piano roll. Once that is done, you move segments vertically to change pitch, or horizontally to alter timing and duration (see Fig. 1). A handy scissor tool lets you work on smaller segments. You can also glue together unconnected segments and alter the pitches so they rise and fall. I particularly like the sliders for straightening pitch, which can ease off or emphasize vibrato. All those moves produce a very natural-sounding result.

VariAudio is not a plug-in; it is directly accessible from any audio track. It is also considerably more than a vocal processor, providing analysis algorithms for percussion, plucked instruments, pads and other sounds. I got useful (often excellent) results from a variety of material.

FIG. 2: LoopMash provides tracks for dragging and dropping loops whose slices can be triggered at random by the master loop.

MIDI data integrates beautifully with VariAudio. Choose a segment and use your keyboard controller to move the segment to a desired pitch. Select Extract MIDI from the Inspector menu to generate MIDI note data with or without pitch bend. Selecting continuous pitch-bend data will bring up a suggested pitch-bend range for your target synth. Despite my misgivings about audio-to-MIDI conversion, VariAudio did an excellent job on a difficult, melismatic phrase that I warped even further (see Web Clips 1a, 1b and 1c).

The PitchCorrect VST-3 plug-in bestows real-time, on-the-fly pitch correction, and its uses extend beyond simple adjustments in intonation. You can change gender, change the pitch of formants, use MIDI input to conform audio to scales and much more. What's more is how absurdly easy these plug-ins are to work with. The manuals — online and hard-copy versions — are clear and focused. Moreover, the installation disc holds plenty of helpful videos that accompany Cubase tutorial exercises.

IR-Reverence

Steinberg's new convolution reverb, Reverence, is simple to use, even sporting a graphic area to illustrate the origin of the impulse response (IR). Click on the Equalizer tab, and the graphic is replaced by an EQ for high, low and midrange frequencies. A button lets you fire a short noise burst to audition the impulse you have loaded.

Steinberg supplies a great-sounding starter set of IR files. You can, of course, import and store any that you have gathered, and virtually any audio file is fodder for an IR. The upper-right-hand corner of the plug-in has 36 slots to hold impulses and settings — a very convenient way to winnow a choice of settings without constantly navigating to the MediaBay browser. I imported everything from microphone models to cat meows with fascinating sonic results. The meow was too long, but I was able to adjust the onset and length of the IR.