Out of the Box, is Cubase a solid professional product for mixing/mastering?

[89gtsleeper]

Hey guys. so my band, The Fine Print, is about to be working on a record. We were going to do it ourselves, but our bassist has decided we should go to the studio. We're going to do the tracking at one studio in Pro Tools. Then we have an outside engineer/producer that will be doing the mixing and mastering at his home studio in cubase. I have no experience with Cubase and want to know how it would stack up against Logic and Pro Tools (which I've used both exclusively for years), in terms of mixing/mastering capabilities.

A few particular points of concern...

1) Out of the box plugins, in terms of mixing, in Cubase? Better or worse than the other two programs? Mainly looking at comps, limiters, reverbs, and eqs.

2) Editing ease-of-use in cubase? The reason I ask, is because the engineer has only a week to mix. We have to work quickly. In my experience, Pro Tools is ok in the editing department, but Logic excels. Especially with the new comping tools in Logic 8 Pro. We have Logic at our own home studio, and it may be quicker for us to edit ourselves.

3) Mastering tools? I know Pro Tools and Logic both are not so great for doing mastering work. They are just very limited in that scope, and were never really designed for professional mastering. I just don't know exactly what outboard gear this guy has to work with, so I'm hoping to gain insight about what Cubase has already. I'm guessing practically nothing, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[legionserial]

I've never found a single limitation since I started using Cubase. I don't use the stock plugins, but the ones I do use are all freeware.

If it's an outside engineer using Cubase, then my guess is that he'd be reasonably well versed in it. I mean, it shouldn't be the first time he's used it anyway. Otherwise I'd assume you wouldn't be going to him. I would also guess that he has more than just the stock plugins.

My opinion is that the the key difference in audio software is how each one works with your personal workflow. That's personal preference. I would assume that the engineer likes Cubase for his workflow and that's why he uses it.

A week to mix should be enough for him if the recordings are decent.

Really though, I would advise asking him about his proficiency with Cubase if you are concerned. In any case, Cubase is a pretty comprehensive package and not particularly limited in any way.

 

[Farview]

1) Out of the box plugins, in terms of mixing, in Cubase? Better or worse than the other two programs? Mainly looking at comps, limiters, reverbs, and eqs.

The plugins that come with it are just fine. The reverb is actually pretty good and I use it on almost every project i do. (I have Nuendo, but it's the same thing)

2) Editing ease-of-use in cubase? The reason I ask, is because the engineer has only a week to mix. We have to work quickly. In my experience, Pro Tools is ok in the editing department, but Logic excels. Especially with the new comping tools in Logic 8 Pro. We have Logic at our own home studio, and it may be quicker for us to edit ourselves.

I like the editing tools in cubendo, but you will always be faster in a program that you are more familiar with.

3) Mastering tools? I know Pro Tools and Logic both are not so great for doing mastering work. They are just very limited in that scope, and were never really designed for professional mastering. I just don't know exactly what outboard gear this guy has to work with, so I'm hoping to gain insight about what Cubase has already. I'm guessing practically nothing, but maybe I'm wrong.

Wavelab is Steinbergs mastering software (if the even is such a thing). If you are serious about your project, you will send it out to a mastering house. Mastering is it's own thing that needs specific tools and has specific requirements that are different from multi-tracking and mixing. The biggest thing is the monitoring chain, you won't see too many mastering engineers with Genelecs or Adams...

 

[jmorris]

Hey guys. so my band, The Fine Print, is about to be working on a record. We were going to do it ourselves, but our bassist has decided we should go to the studio. We're going to do the tracking at one studio in Pro Tools. Then we have an outside engineer/producer that will be doing the mixing and mastering at his home studio in cubase. I have no experience with Cubase and want to know how it would stack up against Logic and Pro Tools (which I've used both exclusively for years), in terms of mixing/mastering capabilities.

A few particular points of concern...

1) Out of the box plugins, in terms of mixing, in Cubase? Better or worse than the other two programs? Mainly looking at comps, limiters, reverbs, and eqs.

2) Editing ease-of-use in cubase? The reason I ask, is because the engineer has only a week to mix. We have to work quickly. In my experience, Pro Tools is ok in the editing department, but Logic excels. Especially with the new comping tools in Logic 8 Pro. We have Logic at our own home studio, and it may be quicker for us to edit ourselves.

3) Mastering tools? I know Pro Tools and Logic both are not so great for doing mastering work. They are just very limited in that scope, and were never really designed for professional mastering. I just don't know exactly what outboard gear this guy has to work with, so I'm hoping to gain insight about what Cubase has already. I'm guessing practically nothing, but maybe I'm wrong.

I would be asking the mixing engineer these questions.. Furthermore, I would be more concerned with what he is using for converters. You could have great plugins but a shitty ad/da converter setup which would waste everyones time.Have you heard samples from this guy?