cakewalk pro suite or cubase vst

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pilgrim

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Having a DAW system built just for recording.Audio and Midi will be used. I was leaning toward the cakewalk pro suite but I was told that the cubase has 4 effects on each track which dosen't tax the cpu that much,where cakewalk you would need to use one of their plugins(which come with pro suite by the way) which takes alot more power from the cpu.That would lean me more to cubase since I'm doing everything myself and need the cpu for as many effects as I can get.By the way I'll be using Mona by Echo instead of Seasound solo ex.It has alot more to offer for a little more money.Any info will be great Thanks.
 
Pilgrim,

Hello again! I'm hopefully building myself a similar system soon, and I'm leaning heavily towards the Mona and very interested in any reviews, comments, impressions, etc. that I can get before I run out and spend the bread. Re Cakewalk vs. Cubase, I think the main issue there (besides whatever differences there are in user interface, bells and whistles, etc.) is that Cubase uses a plug-in standard called VST while Cakewalk uses DirectX. I don't know much about it but I suspect that perhaps the VST plug-ins are more efficient. I suppose maybe you get a few more effects with Cubase and perhaps they're integrated more directly into the application? But the bottom line is that both are using the host to run, so either way you're using CPU resources. If I was deciding today I would probably choose the one that uses the plug-in standard with the "tightest," most efficient code rather that the one with largest user base... but I bought CakeWalk Pro back before there was any digital audio component (version 2.0?) and have been upgrading and spending money on it for a long while now, so I'm tending to stick with it...

So let me know what you think about the Mona once you get it, and pass me any info you might hear about it too, if you don't mind.

-AlChuck
 
Philip,

Thanks for the reply. Re the plug-in story, what you say resonates with my understanding. I also know that there's a freeware "wrapper" that can be used to allow DirectX-capable apps to use VST plug-ins; I wasn't aware there was a way togo the other way (that is, use DirectX from a VST-capable app).

And re the Mona, I've been following a few newsgroups for a while and reading reviews and such, and it seems like the Echo products are generally very well-liked. I am feeling pretty willing to trust that the Mona is fine and won't suffer from too much Version 1-itis.

-AlChuck
 
I've used Cubase vst and cakewalk pro audio(but never heard of suite?) and the main difference (and an important one) is that Cubase runs he plug-in effect in real-time, cakewalk has to run them, audition a segment of audio, then apply in not-real-time (whatever it's called).

Hope that wasn't just useless garble.

matt
 
Matt,
Suite is a new Cakewalk package consisting of Pro Audio 9, all three of the FX plugins, Nemesys GigaSampler LE, and Musician's Toolbox III.
Re the difference between VST and DirectX -- I don't understand. I mean, the audio stream has to be piped through the plug-in code wheter it's VST, MAS, DirectX or whatever. Are you saying that there's a fundamental difference in the way the host application addresses the plug-in such that you can meaningfully say VST is "real-time" and DirectX is not?
-AlChuck
 
To Pilgrim,
Cubase VST ("Virtual Studio Technology" for those of you who, like me, are sick of acronyms) can use DirectX plugins. If you've never used either program, try to find a demo of each to download. Buy the one whose user interface you like best. I use Cubase VST and have not used a recent version of Cakewalk, but I would imagine that they're pretty similar in capability. The difference will be in how the user (you) operates them.

On the subject of the Mona, I have not seen the Mona in action, but I do own/use the Layla. I think the Layla works great, so I would personally make the assumption that Echo has put out a good product in the Mona.

[This message has been edited by PhilipM (edited 05-05-2000).]
 
I'd like to support PhilipM's suggestion that you download the demos for Cakewalk and Cubase (there are demos available for both online) and try them out. It's frustrating not being able to save your work (I prefer demos that time-out after, say, 30 days but are otherwise fully functional), but you can get a pretty good idea of which program you prefer to work in.

Of course, that said, once you've used any program for a while you tend to become familiar with it's interface however much you like or dislike them at first. As long as they don't actually get in the way of doing tasks you do commonly. What I'd do is actually try a small project (small because you won't be able to save), that is fairly representative of the work you will be doing, in both applications and see which works well for you throughout the entire process.

You'll probably find Cakewalk (which I use) has the easiest interface to get into quickly, but persist with Cubase in case you find that it actually does the tasks you want to do more easily.

--Dingo
 
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