Steinberg Cubase Pro 13

Cubase 13 may be light on headline features, but its raft of small improvements makes it a worthwhile upgrade.

In a world where version numbers have become largely meaningless, serving more as an expression of marketing than engineering, it’s perhaps unsurprising Steinberg are continuing to follow what might be regarded as the Spinal Tap approach to enumeration. And why not. If Cubase 12 was one better than Cubase 11, then Cubase 13 will be... well, one better again.

To Put One Brick Upon Another

The first thing seasoned users will notice about Cubase 13 is the vast number of user interface modifications, both in terms of appearance and functionality. And if you’re a Windows user, you’re probably in for a eureka moment when opening the new version for the first time, since Steinberg have finally ditched the cumbersome, seemingly orphaned window that hosted the application’s menu bar. This is a very welcome change, since the same window made tasks like minimising, maximising and restoring windows needlessly difficult. Instead, each Cubase window now implements a relevant instance of the menu bar, making life easier especially when working with multiple displays.

Over the course of 20 years of updates, windows haven’t always been modernised at the same rate. This has sometimes led to an inconsistent user experience, especially for those new to the application, so it’s good to see Steinberg have made a serious effort with Cubase 13 to ensure the application looks and feels both more congruent and contemporary. Upon opening your first Project, you’ll notice a not‑insignificant change to the general appearance of the familiar Project window. The Track List immediately stands out, thanks to a better use of contrast, with Track Controls now being displayed in white rather than black. And although the MIDI Channel Control is now much more readable than before, it now requires at least three units in Steinberg’s sizing scheme, which seems rather greedy.

Highway To The Channel Zone

Switching our attention to the Project window’s Left Zone, the design of the Inspector has once again been refined, with a crisper appearance requiring fewer vertical pixels; but there are also some crucial usability improvements. For instance, where Inspector Sections previously opened and closed exclusively, such that clicking a different Section’s header would close all other Sections without the use of a modifier, they now simply toggle between open and closed states independently.

Should you wish to revert to the older, established behaviour (and I can’t really imagine you would), you can simply right‑click a Section’s header and select Expand Sections Exclusively from the pop‑up menu. Perhaps regrettably, though, the modifier keys have been rendered impotent, having no effect with either the new default behaviour or the older method.

Previously, you could also toggle the inclusion of different Inspector Sections from the same pop‑up just mentioned, in addition to accessing a Setup window with the ability to configure presets. However, this slightly awkward combination of controls has now been consolidated into the new ‘Set up Sections’ dialogue, which is the other option available from the Section header’s pop‑up menu.

Joining the existing Left Zone is a second Left Zone known as the Channel Zone, which finally makes it possible to access a conventional channel‑strip‑like view for the selected track in the Project window. It was already possible to configure the Inspector to show different Sections pertaining to channel‑related controls such as inserts, sends, or indeed a fader, but such an approach could be disrupted when selecting different track types or accidentally closing the necessary Inspector Sections. Therefore, being able to display a streamlined channel strip for any track with an audio output independently of the Inspector is one of those small but useful additions.

The MixConsole window has been overhauled in Cubase 13 and no longer features the Racks section, opting for a more streamlined experience.

The appearance of the channel strip used in the Channel Zone reflects the updated design of the Mix Console window, where the Racks section is no more. This is frankly a relief, since it means the different components of a channel strip — routing, inserts, sends, and so on — are now sensibly revealed through independent toggles in the appropriate ‘Set up Window Layout’ dialogue.

The only aspect of the Channel Zone I found a little incongruous, which is why I referred to it as a second Left Zone, is that the button used to show and hide the new Channel Zone in the Project window’s toolbar has the same icon as the button used to show and hide the Left Zone containing the Inspector. I can’t help thinking there should be a better way to pictorially distinguish these two Zones.

In what seems like a flashback to the early days of Nuendo and Cubase, it’s now possible for audio, group and effect channels to be switched between mono and stereo configurations by clicking the Channel Configuration button on the corresponding track. This is undoubtedly handy, although one can’t help but imagine how being able to switch between other configurations might also be rather convenient, despite the can of worms that would inevitably be opened in practice.

Editing In Multiple Parts

Cubase’s Key Editor is arguably the most comprehensive piano‑roll‑style MIDI editor available in any modern music production application, and this window has been further enhanced in version 13, particularly for situations where you want to edit multiple MIDI parts simultaneously.

In prior versions of Cubase, several parts could be edited at once by selecting the desired parts in the Project window and opening the Key Editor, either in the Lower Zone of the Project window or in its own window. And, assuming the Editor Content Follows Event Selection option was enabled in the Editors page of the Preferences window (which it is by default), the parts displayed in the Key Editor would reflect the currently selected parts in the Project window.

By setting the Part Editing mode (from the Key Editor’s toolbar), you could specify whether the events for all displayed parts were available for editing simultaneously, or whether editing was focused only on the Active Part. In the latter case, the Active Part could be changed by simply clicking on an Event contained within a different part, or by selecting the desired part from the Activate Part for Editing pop‑up menu. Cubase 13 maintains this behaviour and improves it.

Clicking the Part Editing Mode control now reveals a dialogue with brief descriptions of the options provided: All Parts and Active Part, as before, plus a new All Parts on Active Track mode. And, to make selecting the Active Part more convenient, the Part Edit Mode control now opens a panel containing a clearly organised tree view. This displays the available parts grouped by the tracks on which they’re located, sorted by start time, making it easy to navigate a large number of tracks selected in the Project window. And, if that wasn’t enough, the panel also features a search field at the top, much like the Track List’s search facility.

Perhaps the cherry on the icing on the cake regarding these new part‑related options is a new mode for using the Solo Editor control. Previously, enabling Solo Editor would result in only the parts displayed in the Key Editor being played back, which is still the default option. However, a new Solo Editor Mode pop‑up panel offers a second option specifying Solo Editor should ‘follow’ Part Editing Mode, meaning that only the parts chosen for editing will be played back. Therefore, if only the Active Part is being edited, only that part will play back when Solo Editor is enabled.

Complementing these improvements is the new Visibility Zone, which is displayed to the left of the Inspector (and again, Steinberg need to rethink the logic of having two identical buttons in the toolbar that toggle the visibility of different user interface elements). As with the Project window’s Visibility tab, the Editor’s Visibility Zone enables you to toggle which tracks are visible in the editor without having to switch back and forth between the Project window’s Event Display selection. If you’ve ever worked with Pro Tools’ MIDI Editor window, you’ll know what to expect.

As you might suppose from working with the Project window, the visibility of tracks (whose parts are then displayed) can be toggled by clicking to the left of a track’s name to tick and untick its current state. This works in a non‑exclusive manner, although you can focus on a specific track — and thus hiding all others — by double‑clicking that track’s name in the list. And this works great in conjunction with the new Part Editing mode that enables All Parts on Active Track for editing. The Active Track has its name underlined, and you can select which track is the Active Track by simply clicking its name in the list.

Had Bach been alive today, he would undoubtedly have appreciated Cubase 13’s Key Editor, which now features a Track Visibility List and a new Track Display area, enabling parts to be manipulated directly in the Key Editor window without switching back to the Project window.

Given that the configuration of the Key Editor’s Visibility Zone has the potential to conflict with the aforementioned Editor Content Follows Event Selection preference, such interference can be prevented by enabling the Keep Editor Contents button, represented by a pin in the top left of the Zone’s mini toolbar. This toolbar also contains visibility‑related functions similar to those found at the top of the Project window’s Track List, such as setting Track Visibility Agents and an all‑important Find Tracks search field, vital for Projects with large track counts.

The Visibility Zone is accessible in the Key or Drum Editor, either when they’re displayed in their own windows or in the Project window’s Lower Zone. Although, to be honest, this Zone is rather more convenient in the former scenario, since, when using the Key Editor in the Lower Zone, you must use the appropriate tabs to select Visibility at the top of the Left Zone and Editor at the bottom to see the appropriate Track List. And what’s pleasant about using the Visibility Zone in a dedicated Editor window is that it can be displayed in addition to the Inspector, as opposed to having to switch between two different tabs in the Left Zone like you do in the Project window.

Tracks On Display

Being able to better manage which tracks are accessible for editing without leaving the Key Editor is extremely convenient, and Steinberg have taken this concept to its logical conclusion with the new Track Display feature. Available in either the Key or Drum Editor windows, Track Display essentially provides a mini version of the Project window’s Event Display, displaying parts for the visible tracks alongside the Note Display.

Enabling Track Display is surprisingly obtuse, since you have to click the small Track Display Settings button in the Visibility Zone’s mini toolbar and then activate Show Tracks in the pop‑up panel. Why Steinberg chose not to simply add a button to the Key Editor’s toolbar (and a second control to open the panel to access additional configuration options) is a bit of a mystery, although fortunately the Show Tracks toggle is assignable as a key command.

Parts can be manipulated in the Track Display in the same way as they would be in the Project window’s Event Display. For example, parts can be resized or even repeated with the familiar handles, moved or copied on the timeline across different tracks, muted and unmuted, and it’s even possible to show lanes by toggling a track’s Show Lanes control. The Active Part can be chosen by simply clicking the desired part, which also designates the Active Track. Alternatively, as you might anticipate, you can select the Active Track by clicking the corresponding track.

The Track Display is an intriguing feature, and perhaps its only quirk concerns vertical sizing. You can adjust track heights as you can on the Project window’s Track List — and there’s even a handy option to enlarge the selected track — but you can’t adjust the height of all tracks simultaneously by dragging the divider between the Track and Note Displays. Instead, you have to ensure the Track Display has focus (indicated by a solid vertical line on the left side of the Track Display’s area, as opposed to a dotted line), and then use the vertical zoom key commands.

This effectively turns vertical sizing into an awkward, two‑step process, since you have to balance vertical zooming and resizing the height of the Track Display separately. And it can’t be beyond the wit of man to be able to scale the visible tracks with the height of the Track Display, perhaps with a modifier key or an option in the Track Display Settings panel or both.

Range Selection, Revisited

A particularly welcome addition to Cubase 13 is that the Range Selection tool is now available within the Key and Drum editors, where Events from the Note Display and Controller Lanes can be selected in much the same way as events and parts across different tracks in the Project window. Using the Key Editor (since I’ve yet to meet anyone who uses the Drum Editor), if you make a selection with the Range Selection tool in the Note Display, the notes within that selection can be moved or copied as you would expect. And, as with a selection that contains portions of objects in the Project window’s Event Display, a split operation will be automatically performed in the Key Editor if a selection overlaps Note Events.

The Range Selection tool is now available in the Key Editor, and can be used to make non‑continuous selections across the Note Display and Controller Lanes, as shown here.

Unlike selecting across multiple tracks in the Project Editor, the Range Selection tool treats the Note Display and controller lanes exclusively by default. This means that if you make a selection in the Note Display, clicking in a controller lane will start a new selection. However, it’s possible to extend the selection either consecutively or non‑consecutively across multiple Controller Lanes and the Note Display by using the Shift or Control/Command modifier keys respectively. And this makes moving and copying multiple sections of controller lane data significantly easier than was previously possible, which is nice.

In bringing the Range Selection tool to the Key and Drum Editors, Steinberg have also made some improvements to this tool that also apply to its use in the Project window. For example, when objects fall completely within the selected range, switching to the Object Selection tool will automatically select such objects. This is tremendously handy, since it enables you to easily jump in and out of a range selection to make quick edits to the appropriate objects, such as transposing notes or muting and unmuting objects.

Classics Reborn (Again)

The world is not short of software recreations of the Pultec EQP‑1A and MEQ‑5, but perhaps Steinberg felt left out, because Cubase 13 includes its own EQ‑P1A and EQ‑M5 plug‑ins. Their DSP wizards have done a great job and these are useful, contemporary examples that sound and feel as you would expect. However, their real value becomes apparent in the context of the new VocalChain plug‑in, a modular effect that brings a veritable ensemble of algorithms under one processing roof for modern vocal production. VocalChain comprises 16 modules grouped into three sections — Clean, Character, and Send — including effects for compression, EQ, de‑essing, filtering, and so on. The left of the interface lists the modules in order of processing, and they can be toggled on and off, auditioned in solo, or even rearranged within the corresponding group.

Other new algorithms presented by VocalChain that are also available as independent plug‑ins include Black Valve and VoxComp. The former is an unapologetically analogue‑sounding processor, combining a tube preamp stage with a classic compressor/limiter; the wet/dry mix control is a welcome touch, allowing you to blend in the amount of vulgarity to taste. For subtler dynamics, VoxComp is ideal for situations where you want to compress a vocal track simply and tenderly with an air of mansuetude.

Cubase 13 includes the new modular VocalChain plug‑in for vocal processing, which includes Pultec EQ emulations also accessible as separate plug‑ins, like the new EQ‑P1A.

Cubase 13 also sees the return of a vocoder, a type of plug‑in last seen back in Cubase SX 3. The aptly named Vocoder offers between two and 24 bands, recreating the classic sound of a vintage vocoder. And, last but not least, the TestGenerator plug‑in has been updated and now usefully includes enable/disable buttons for each speaker channel (handy when testing surround and spatial configurations), in addition to using geometric oscillators for improved signal generation.

Superstition?

Cubase 13 is one of those interesting releases where there isn’t a singular, headline‑grabbing new feature. Rather it’s perhaps an example of what Steinberg do best: a carefully curated collection of significant workflow enhancements, user interface polishes, and under‑the‑bonnet refinements.

As I was writing this review, I noticed how many comparisons I was making to earlier versions of Cubase to provide context for the decisions Steinberg have taken with Cubase 13. And I think this reflects how sophisticated Cubase has become over the years, making the huge amount of effort that’s been deployed in improving the clarity and consistency of the application’s user interface even more satisfying.

Cubase 13 has something for every musician and audio engineer.

Having used Cubase 13 for some time now, I find my temperament becoming rather prickly when confronted with the mere sight of Cubase 12, a sentiment that might be considered as a form of praise. And I don’t think I’ll be alone. Cubase 13 has something for every musician and audio engineer, ensuring a better experience for everyone who uses Steinberg’s Advanced Music Production System.