Migrating from PT LE

4mal

New member
Got tired of ProTolls... ProTrolls ? anyway, I dumped my Digi 002 setup. I kept all my outboard gear (mic pre's -I use those when re-amping as well as dropping the original tracks, EQ's, compressors, effects). I snagged a Tascam US1800 to keep me entertained for a bit. So Cubase 5 Le came along for the ride.

So far it seems fairly intuitive which begs the question - what is the upgrade path and is it worth it ? If so where do I head as the links to upgrade point to an outfit that is no longer in the upgrade biz...

I haven't dug deep into 5 Le yet but ... will I be able to rout to my outboard gear with Le or do I need to upgrade to the full meal Cubase?

Thanks!
 
All upgrades are done via Stienberg's website now, they don't seem to be allowing 3rd party companies to do it anymore (dumb IMO).


Unfortunately Cubase LE and Cubase 5 are a different comparison than Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE is.

The full version of cubase doesn't have the input restriction LE does (16 I/O in version 5, never used LE 5 however, just 1 and 4) and you can setup busses for external hardware fx:

(this is a screenshot of cubase 5's VST connections window):
Screenshot2011-01-31at115142PM.png

VS LE (this is version 4's window) which only give you out and inputs:
Screenshot2011-01-31at115332PM.png


If your not familiar with these windows they are like this in pro tools (they essentially do the same thing minus the internal pro tools buses):
Screenshot2011-01-31at115716PM.png



I hate to report, but cubase essential, LE, and studio all have just input and output bus options as shown in the LE version above (I used to use studio 5).

The full version is the best option in your situation IMO, plus the full version compared to pro tools LE does MUCH more than PTLE does.
 
If I'm not a midi guy - I'm not, look at the Wiki entry for 'midiot' and you'll find my portrait :D - mostly I'm a bluegrass, newgrass, acoustic country pop & light acoustic jazz, bass playin' guy. So I have to also ask, "Is Cubase the right choice ?" I'm audio oriented. Mostly it's field capture, then parse, trim, correct, master. Live ensemble and then songwriting

If the convolution reverb is really good and the Pitch Correction is as well ... then it's probably worth the $400 just for the plugs is one way to loook at it. I was successful at ignoring the midi stuff in PT afer all...

Different topic - Behringer - Lord but I swore none of their stuff would ever pass over the threshold into my house... what about the B Control (BFC2000) Is the Cubase integration (via mackie HUI emulation I assume) good enough to justify it's relatively low cost - AMS has is for damned cheap. I'm a bit of slider & knob bigot when it comes to mixing...

(I'll admit to some weird contradictions - I'm an XCode/IOS guy attempting to write iPhone/iPad apps by day - and I really like to keep my computer life separate from my music life... as one guy put it "Protools, I used to be a musician, now I'm a computer engineer." That's the biggest reason I dropped PT ... Ideally, the computer should disappear into the music lest it sap creativity is my take on it ...

Thank you for your input by the way. Being an admitted noob in Cubase land, I appreciate the advice.
 
Yeah the windows above are just to show the hardware routing options of both recording programs.

And your right, the pitch correction and convolution reverb are enough to justify the $400 upgrade IMO.
 
Well I have 4 lines out, 6 if I scavenge the mains. Oddly the SP/DIF doesn't show up as something I can create a bus with. Not sure exactly what that means but I'm guessing it's the ASIO driver from Tascam...
 
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