Guys.... check this out

Preview - Cubase 5.5 / Cubase Studio 5.5 :: Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH :: www.steinberg.net

and the most important thing is..... it totally free.... why sonar 8.5 cost you extra bucks?

[Update] C5.5 out on 21 june http://www.cubase.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=135430

Cubase/Nuendo playback engine sounds different than the Bounce/Mixdown engine.
Bounce engine better sound, but you mix

This looks very interesting indeed!! Can't wait to give it a try.

Thanx for sharing

The description reads more like a maintenance upgrade to me. Performance improvements but no new features. Smart marketing by Steinberg though. Call it ".5" and get the inevitable "free" comparision with Sonar 8.5. Besides, they needed something to attract attention at Musikmesse.

Plus it's a lot closer to v.6 which we'll have to pay for..

Cubase C5.5 release around mid-May ?

Although, an April release would be nice

Well honestly, i don't know what is the update actually means.. but those automation face lift things, the 32bit bridge, i think they really means stability and better usability...

can't wait.. it coming in the Q2...

YES, they mentioned the sound editing windows will add sth new:

"The Cubase Sample Editor has witnessed significant refinements when it comes to reworking with beat-laden loops, including a new sensitive hitpoint-detection algorithm and the introduction of a local timeline for the AudioWarp definition mode."

if that thing new features like the transients drag editing in logic... can't wait... even need to wait until C6, i would rather more than happy to spend the $199 update.. cool~

Where did you read this?

Think I might of missed something here..

check out the links, Preview - Cubase 5.5 / Cubase Studio 5.5 :: Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH :: www.steinberg.net just under the sub-toptic "Bigger Beats"... you'll see "The Cubase Sample Editor has witnessed significant refinements when it comes to reworking with beat-laden loops, including a new sensitive hitpoint-detection algorithm and the introduction of a local timeline for the AudioWarp definition mode. Groove Agent ONE boasts extended Export/Import functionality, visual adjusting of sample start- and end point and 19 brand-new and exclusive drum kits made up of over 800 finest vintage drum machine samples. LoopMash* has been updated with track-dedicated level meters and volume controls plus a new global similarity threshold slider for controlling the overall density of a loop construct."

Cheers..

Looks interesting and just what Cubase needed. Not any more new features, but rather a streamlining of things and performance improvements (not that I've had issues with C5 myself). Very nice.

Nice one cheers, I'd missed that bit..

Just wish it was out already, the mediabay is painfully slow & just seems to get worse the more stuff you add.. really hoping they've sorted this, plus improved support for multicore cpu's can't be bad..

+1 thumbsup

I've heard a rumour they will include an all new 'Talent' plugin.





Herwig

I heard they were gonna keep that for v.6, it'll probably rape your cpu though..

Probably just an upgrade to LoopMash.

[h2]Cubase 5.5 – More Features, More Enhancements, More Cubase 5[/h2]
Cubase 5.5 and Cubase Studio 5.5 are the latest updates to Steinberg’s music production systems, featuring performance, automation and video enhancements, as well as refined beat tools and workflow improvements. Both updates will be freely available to download for registered users of Cubase 5 and Cubase Studio 5.
[h3]Optimized performance[/h3]

The Cubase audio engine has been tweaked for an even better low-latency performance on systems with four or more CPU cores. Updated versions of LoopMash* and REVerence* reduce CPU demand for these plug-ins. The native x64 version of Cubase 5.5 now features an improved VST Bridge that boasts higher performance and dramatically enhanced compatibility with the majority of bridged 32-bit VST2.4 plug-ins.


[h3]More mixing and video[/h3]

The automation panel has been given a smart facelift, and now sports additional automation functionality such as the new Fill modes. For even more convenient access to all required track, mixing and plug-in parameters, the Quick Control system has been expanded to Group, FX, Input and Output channels, while the setup of VST Connections has been simplified. A new Open GL accelerated video engine with full HD support*, scalable performance and the ability to play out videos via FireWire on Windows round out this much anticipated update.




[h3]Bigger beats[/h3]

The Cubase Sample Editor has witnessed significant refinements when it comes to reworking with beat-laden loops, including a new sensitive hitpoint-detection algorithm and the introduction of a local timeline for the AudioWarp definition mode. Groove Agent ONE boasts extended Export/Import functionality, visual adjusting of sample start- and end point and 19 brand-new and exclusive drum kits made up of over 800 finest vintage drum machine samples. LoopMash* has been updated with track-dedicated level meters and volume controls plus a new global similarity threshold slider for controlling the overall density of a loop construct.

[h3]Workflow consolidation[/h3]

The MediaBay interface has been redesigned to provide improved usability besides simply looking pretty neat. It now also comes with an integrated virtual keyboard and memo recorder to quickly record preview phrases. The Channel Batch Export provides user-definable file naming options and includes a non-modal audio export window which remains open for adjusting settings whenever required. Both the Infoline and the toolbars have been cleaned up and consolidated for improved legibility and faster access. The scrubbing function features a much smoother and acoustically accurate feedback for precision editing.
*Available in Cubase 5.5 only

Please note that Cubase 5.5 will be released second quarter of 2010.

still no good quality timestretch algorithm though... shame

It's what matters most to home recordists like myself as well.

We are the tired, poor & huddled masses working day jobs who don't want to spend our evening hours endlessly tinkering with a DAW that offers many impressive features but little actual workflow efficiency. We just want to record and mix with relative ease, without constantly having to worry about crashes, software incompatibility and whatnot.

Cubase 5 is a reliable, very efficient piece of software - even more so in combination with the Yamaha MR816 - and I'm glad I dished out the dough for it.

I dont understand, why the developers are constantly pushing features, features, features.

Editing is where it's at IMO.

I wonder if steinberg will ever have a decent drum editing(multitrack) feature like protools. This is just silly.
This is not a very complex function. Plus adding iterative quantize to audio.

Dare I ask if the solo/mute button will be fixed this time around?

It's broken?

Actually in the sample editor window, the hit point editing feature is a bit similar, , I just they can improve this feature to the extend of the usability of logic ones ...

Actually in the sample editor window, the hit point editing feature is a bit similar, , I just they can improve this feature to the extend of the usability of logic ones ...

New features are fun. New features have marketing sizzle. Quality is boring.

Cubase 5 has been a very solid product but 3 of the most annoying bugbears, i.e. vst bit bridging, Reverence drinking CPU juice like a diabetic elephant and the fun gizmo like but quite flawed Loopmash being fixed is a good start.

The timestretching thing is sure to be addressed in Cubase 6, just as expect Logic 10 and Sonar 9 to copy the Variaudio feature from Cubase 5. This is what DAW manufacturers do - they copy all the good bits from other DAWS, so keep up with the Jones.

In the meantime, Sound On Sound had a good article on workarounds for multi track drum editing in Cubase recently. Entitled Cubeat Detective, it is featured in the Cubase section of the March 2010 Sound On Sound (e-subs can read about it here).
Cubeat Detective

Uhm, I'm still on Cubase 4.5.2 but I find the timestretch functionality great ( as in resizing automatically applies timestretch if you so wish). And the sound is good unless you stretch it to more than twice its length.
What are your gripes?

On the update, I remember I bought Cubase 4.0 which was great. Then I updated to 4.1 and that made my system all but inoperable. On to 4.5.2 which solved problems created by 4.1 and is nearly as good as 4.0

Just sayin'....

Yes stability is what matters most, but the problem is that if they keep adding new fancy stuff they are also going to add further bugs. Functionally, C4 was fine. LoopMash and all the new plugins are in my opinion a waste of Steinberg's time. I presume they make most of their money form people who upgrade than from new users (otherwise they wouldn't charge so much for an upgrade, unlike Cocko's which charges very little and offers free upgrades because they make most of their money from users that are switching over to REAPER). BUT I personally wouldn't mind paying for an upgrade that offers features requested by users themselves in the forums, because those are the features we really want. Nobody ever asked for LoopMash and all those reverb plugins and crap, because we don't really need them. I already had a thousand other reverb plugins which I still use because I don't want to learn to use a new bit of software.

Why did they get into the audio interface business when there's a million other companies such as RME, Mackie, MOTU, etc making the same stuff already? They are not going to make a fortune from selling hardware, but designing and testing it WILL cost a fortune!

I want to see better window management in Cubase, with MDI windows and a transport bar that don't disappear when Cubase loses focus.

I want to have a feature to undo EVERYTHING i.e. fader moves, plug-in tweaks, etc, and have an undo stack for each component, that is, each VST plugin would have it's on little undo stack accessible from it's own GUI; likewise, the mixer would have it's own undo stack, and so on. This would be a winner.

I want to see a single preferences window like in REAPER, with a search facility like in REAPER so I don't need to click around for hours trying to find a setting in the Preferences. I want to be able to rename VST plugins like in REAPER, and to organize VST3 plugins. I want to be able to route things more easily like in REAPER, and to move mixer tracks like in REAPER.

Quick controls could do with soft-takeover so that parameters don't jump when you move physical knobs and faders on your MIDI controller. They should also implement an "Assign last tweaked parameter" feature like REAPER and FL Studio, which is a huge time saver. In fact, there should be some way to assign controllers with one click.

These are extremely simple features compared with the stuff they've coded which nobody asked for, features that I would happily pay for. Will any of these features be included in C5.5? I bet not one.

I bet Steinberg would get lots of new users if their motto was "Steinberg: The company that listens to its customers and warmly welcomes and takes on board suggestions, and releases an update once every month, and keeps users informed of what the heck is going on with regard to bugs." Yes this costs money but it is the only way to kick the competition's ass in my opinion.

Finally, why is it that the big boys (Cubase, Logic, Sonar, etc) only seem to copy features from the other big boys, ignoring all the goodness from DAWs like REAPER? I guess they don't see REAPER as competition and quite frankly I think REAPER is catching up very quickly and is going to kick some serious ass soon.

I for one am very happy about Steinberg and Yamaha making an Audio interface that sonically is incredible at the price and the integration
with Cubase makes working a a DAW much easier.

Reaper is great and its feature list is very impressive but its workflow
is not as intuitive as a lot of the competition

New Features are a necessity for DAW developers but your right that bugs and enhancements should take priority