Hi guys,

Until today i was a hobbyist making music for fun & using a 'try before buy' version of Cubase SX 3. I've been offered to get some tracks released & am thinking that its time that i purchased a legit copy of the software since i will be making money off it now.

I was doing some research & have found the educational edition of Cubase 4 selling for $400. I'm tempted to buy it as its a good deal & i figure i can get updates in the future for not too much as well.

What i want to know is whether it is worth it to move up to Cubase 4 from SX 3 or if i should stick to the version i'm using now & spend the extra cash on something else.

Are there any Cubase 4 users here that can relate on their experience with the software? What are the major improvements that would make it worthwhile, i've heard the new eq's have been improved, are the new built in plugins any good?

I'm also wondering about performance differences when compared with SX 3. Will it actually run slower because of the USB dongle protection?

Both have USB dongle protection so there's no difference there...

Instrument tracks are heaps handy, but other than that there aren't any major differences. The new EQ is better, but, the old one is still fine for me. I think it is worth getting Cubase 4 just for the sake of being future proofed I guess.

OH! You can drag and drop FX inserts now! That's prbably the biggest thing, which I use alot haha. That missing feature in SX3 used to shit me

I got Cubase Studio 4 EDU, since all the added features (hardware fx, that monitor routing thing, new EQ, etc.) weren't needed.

Hmmm just checked the comparison on the website & besides the extra plugins, instruments & channel EQ the difference doesn't really seem to justify the price being double. I guess i'm going to go with the Studio edition as well, thanks for pointing that out!

At $200 it seems to be a really good deal, besides i'm graduating in a month so i won't be a student for much long & want to make use of this offer before it ends!

The fact that inserts can be dragged now is a blessing! I don't really get how instrument tracks work though, its not very well explained in the site..

In SX3, you add your vst to the vst rack then route a midi channel to it. With instrument tracks, you just choose a vst, and it combines the midi and audio tracks into one instrument track. So I guess it keeps the mixer less cluttered - 1 "instrument track" vs. 1 midi and 1 audio.

If you have any external synths, it is worthwhile getting the full version of Cubase though. I don't have any at the moment, and figured I would just upgrade when/if I do :P

A Virus TI is prob the only synth I will buy, and that uses VSTs (not audio ins), so you don't need the full version of cubase for those - studio is fine.

Ah ok i get it now!

I have a broken Virus Indigo that's been shipped off to germany for repair, but i'm selling it soon as i get it back & buying a TI in its place..

Plus like you said i can always upgrade later on if i find the need! Thanks for saving me 200 bucks

I am a happy happy happy sad owner of Cubase 4 educational.

It was one of the best $400 I have ever spent.

I have been a lover of Cubase for the past 3 years now, and I had been using a less-than-legit version of SX3. This January I bought my copy of Cubase 4, and I have been loving it.

Technical opinions? It's great, I love that you can drag/drop inserts, I love instrument tracks, I love midi implementation, I love the audio warp tool. I do everything in that program, and I can say with some confidence I've become a very proficient Cubase user.

The only thing I must warn you about is Steinberg's issues lately. They promised us the Moon when they talked up Cubase 4. Free-routing (i.e. lets you side-chain stuff) was one of the MAJOR upgrades people were excited about. HOWEVER, they have NOT delivered this feature yet. And it disappointed MANY MANY MANY people.

Industry professionals and studio owners are complaining that it wasn't worth the upgrade and that it is an unstable application. I will concede that it was disappointing Steinberg did not give us the features they promised. Since major studio owners need software that won't crash in front of them while working with a client (EMBARASSING!) they have either downgraded back to SX3. Worse yet, some studio owners have bit the bullet and just gone with a ProTools system.

But you and me, as the serious hobbyist, I think it's totally worth the money to get Cubase 4. Since we are flexible (unlike companies who's LIVELYHOOD is their audio work), we can wait until Steinberg gives us the promised features.

I know I am. I am freaking stoked.

If you are interested, you can hear some of my recent work in Cubase 4 here: "Need Air"

Anyway, I digress. Cubase 4 is REALLY great, and aside from a few bugs, it has a LOT of potential. I highly recommend it.

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Nice track..

Side-chaining isn't really an issue as i can use other plugins to do it..However i forgot to ask about one thing, can i still open my SX 3 projects with Cubase 4?

Yes

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Cubase Studio 4 should be ok with SX3 projects, but Cubase (full) may lose the EQ settings.

Interesting Echo. I have not experienced this. I've loaded many old projects made in Cubase SX3 and Nuendo 3, and none have lost EQ settings.

Where did you hear this?

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can you open pc sx3 files on a mac with cubase 4? =)

Yes

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