Cubase vs Cakewalk - Please, no holy war!

[mumeh]

I am a neophyte who needs some balanced advice on the differences between Cubase VST 5.0 and Cakewalk Pro Studio 9.0. I have more or less settled on these two products. This will be for a VERY small home studio, and I intend to use both MIDI and wave editing, and will live in the dance/hiphop arena. Still, I would like to become a sophisticated user and intend to thoroughly master whichever product I buy. I have an engineering background, so complexity is not much of an issue, but usability is. My beginner gear - Yamaha SY77, Roland/Boss DR660, EMU ESI 2000, etc. (I know, I know! Rookie stuff. but cheap used starter setup). What I know: Cubase - less stable, more goodies. Cakewalk - Very stable, less advanced features. Could someone help me find my way with a SOMEWHAT objective comparison? Thanx in advance.

MU

[Rusty K]

This thread interests me as well I have been using NTrack and though the technology is great It is extremely touchy with my system. As a song writer I need stability so I can devote my time to writing. I do want to create my own music at least to a high demo quality.

I don't even know how many multitrack softwares are out there. Is there a site that would list and somewhat compare the various multitracks for computer recording?

I'll be following this one. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful myself.

Rusty K

[musicsdarkangel]

well, to be truthful with you, i have ntrack too, wich is my favorite pretty much. In ntrack, you can balance out volumes very well, and you can get a freeware version of it and then you can get the crack so you get the full program for free. If you need it, i still have it on my computer email me musicsdarkangel@yahoo.com. Anyway, if you are going to do a lot of mixing, then use Cubase VST. i've heard its even better then the one i have (cubasisVST). If you don't think it is stable, but cakewalk is, trust me, i was there, its mostly practicing. I have gotten cubase VST very stable and it really works out for me. If you will be doing small amounts of recording, use cakewalk. If your dead serious about it i'd highly recommend ntrack or cubase. Hmm, you should record studio instead of mono also. Thats a mistake it took me months to realize (lol).

[Rusty K]

musicsdarkangel,

I have the full version on N-Track and I love it when it works but I get tons of error messages and often N-Track closes in the middle of performing a task. Also I just mixedown my first tune with N-Track and in transfering from 48000 to 44100 a noise,whistle/chirp, is added to the tune. I've performed as many experiments, i.e. removing effects etc. to isolate the problem and as far as I can tell it's N-Track that is doing it. I am going to have my puter checked over to make sure it's configured properly.

Anyway if I wind up with another software I'll definately remember your recomendations. With Cubase does VST mean it will only work with VST plugs? Maybe a stupid question. I have some nice directx that I'd hate to loose.

Oh yeah, what did you mean record in studio instead of mono. Where you talking about N-Track? And did you mean stereo instead of studio?

Thanks,
Rusty K

[musicsdarkangel]

first of all, i think VST works with direct x, though i'm computer illiterate, i'm sure it does. Yea dude ntrack was a problem for me sometimes, it just freezes too much. Well i realized, mono is where it records onto one channel, stereo is two, 10 times better quality (an exxageration but oh well). Its great, and you can select it in cubasisVST. Well if you can get cubase VST get that if not get CUBASISVST wich is cheaper. Yea man, i have the same problems as you, i'm no genius. In ntrack they automatically record to stereo in mine, and in cubasisVST you select it =) peace. That'd be neat if you could use base vst cause then we could chat about it all the time. ( i have basis). peace.

[Rusty K]

musicsdarkangel,

I'm not sure which version of N-Track you have but on the record vu meter there should be a button for "settings". By clicking it you should get a window that lets you choose mono or stereo. Just check one.


We'll see. If N-track doesn't straighten up then I'll have to get other software.

See Ya,
Rusty K

[notlobdog]

I dont want to soundbiased. but as a user for a number of years, I have to say Cubase.The stability seems to depend on hardware

[Onyria]

I think Cubase gets more stability while you don´t run at the same time lots of plugs, other applications (Soundforge, FruityLoops,etc.), Quake VIII and Windows calculator ) Sure it´s more stable if you have lots of RAM to spend in plugs. For audio mixing Cubase is one of the best, not as for newbies as Cakewalk is, but neither as complicated as Logic.

[rlin]

I'm also an n-Track user in the exact same situation (I'm currently contemplating the purchase of either the Aardvark LX6 / CWPA9 bundle or the purchase of Cubase and an M Audio Audiophile 2496 card. Of all the research I've done, here's my take on the Cake vs. Cubase situation:

Everything I've ever read says that if you're looking to get up and running fast and want to start recording and mixing things quickly, go with Cake - hands down.

If you don't mind climbing a more steep learning curve and want the most powerful package available, go with Cubase - hands down.

It seems that the press is mixed:

The UK magazine "Computer Music" (http://www.futurenet.co.uk) consistently praises Cubase and have featured many tutorials on it. Cubase won it's 2000 readers choice award. Cake came in third behind Emagic Logic. The current issue of "Home Recording" also includes a glowing review of Cubase.

On the other hand, the Pro Rec website (http://www.prorec.com) has a glowing review of Cakewalk.

Hope some of this info helps. Maybe some users could chime in with more specific answers to questions such as:

How stable is your Cake / Cubase setup?
How much time did you spend mastering the basics of the package?
How good are the built in effects provided by each package?
How well does your system perform (CPU, RAM, HD, # of tracks, # of effects, latency)?
What are your favorite little goodies associated with your program that other packages don't offer?
How good are the features of the audio / MIDI editor of your package?

Anyway - hope at least some of this helped.

[Rusty K]

rlin,

Hey man that was a helpful post. Very informative. Thanks. I visit "prorec" but it's been a while. I think I'll go over for some more insight.

It seems that it would be helpful if there where a place
for prospective pc recorders to go to "punch in" their systems spec's and get some feedback on what would work best for them. I guess I want it all huh?

I am a musician songwriter so my interest is in getting up to speed as quickly as possible without getting bogged down in tech issues. On the other hand I want my product to sound as good/professional as my abilities will allow so that "power" is important too.

rlin....as a fellow N-track user, please keep in touch if you can find the time. I'd like to know how it plays out for you.

Thanks again,
Rusty K

[bops2000]

so cuebase is as versital as cakewalk? better ?
easy to use like console board and transport stuff ?

[linearman]

I'm considering purchasing cubase software next week. As far as I'm aware cubase software is designed for PC's and for Macs. Most of my experience is with PC's. Am I giving up something by running cubase on a PC vs a MAC?

[bops2000]

yes give up da mac

[Trak]

Cubase hands down. Cakewalk NEVER seemed to work on my system. Plus Cubase seems to be a more serious program than cakewalk, in my opinion. I use cubase more than logic audio platinum even.