I think 13 gets some undeserved heat. Users complained, legitimately, for years about the inconsistent and old interface. 13 was an extensive overhaul. I believe this was quite an amount of work on Steinbergs part.

Then of course users complained anyway, because users want everything to change but also stay exactly the same. I liked the look of the old monochrome interface but I can definitely get onboard with the new one. I don’t think they changed it on a whim, but had valid reasons.

Personally, the drum machine and modulators in 14 were not on my top list, as I do more traditional recorded music. But I can see the value from Steinberg’s POV. They want to attract the Live crowd. I’m guessing this is also why they add plugins, which again does nothing for me personally. I have great processors coming out of my ears and don’t need the DAW to come with more and slightly less useful ones. I’d happily pay every year for nothing but workflow updates.

But then I’m just one customer. Steinberg are the ones who have to figure out a business model that allows them to stay in the game and evolve the software.

Cubase remains, for better or for worse, arguably the most feature rich and well rounded of all the DAWs. Now that suits me, even if it means there’s stuff I hardly use. I like that it’s there should I need it.

TLDR: Cubase 14 seems great, but I upgrade without hardly reading the update list. For the same amount of money I’d spend on Netflix I get the latest updates of a professional DAW I use every day. No brainer.