Hamburg, Germany (November 15, 2012)—Steinberg Media Technologies has released Cubase 7 and Cubase Artist 7. The updated programs come with an array of Virtual Studio Technology (VST) instruments and effects plus production tools employed by producers around the world, and now include the new MixConsole mixer, the newly developed channel strip, Chord Track, workflow improvements and integration, new content and more.
The MixConsole features full-screen mode and scalability for allowing seamless adjustment to small and large-scale displays alike. With Channel Zones, users are able to specify which channels and in which order they are to be displayed on the new mixer, while View Sets offers recall of EQ, dynamics, sends and inserts. Other aspects of the new MixConsole include customizable track icons as well as Control Link and Quick Link for interlinking channels and parameters. Channel settings drag and drop, A/B comparison, global bypass on effects, plug-in search and integrated control room functionality add to the list of new mixing features.
Second in line is the newly developed channel strip with high and low-pass filters, noise gate, the four-band StudioEQ, three compressors, a spectrum analyzer, tube/tape saturation, a brickwall limiter, maximizer plus 150 factory presets, created by US producer Allen Morgan. Furthermore, the Channel Settings window is redesigned to provide access to all channel parameters, such as input metering and routing assignments, alongside the newly introduced Remote Control Editor for mapping of plug-in parameters to external controllers, supporting Mackie Control, Avid Artist Series and others. Also available in Cubase 7 are Voxengo’s studio-grade 64-band spline CurveEQ, EBU R128 standard compliant loudness metering and the latest version of MixConvert for individual downmixes.
The second assembly of musical features includes Chord Track, a dedicated track within the Project window. Cubase identifies the music’s harmony structure and provides chord and scale information to both MIDI and audio tracks that have been processed with VariAudio, and these in return automatically follow any harmonic adjustments in Chord Track. VariAudio is exclusively available in Cubase and has been enhanced to work with Chord Track, allowing multiple-part editing within a single editor and harmonizing of lead vocals in choral arrangements.
Another new feature is Chord Assistant for bridging chords and generating harmonic chord progressions. Implemented in both Cubase 7 and Cubase Artist 7, the Hermode tuning technology adjusts flaws of traditional well-tempered scales through dynamic retuning. Cubase 7 and Cubase Artist 7 continue to stock up on samples, loops and presets: the new Hybrid Expansion for HALion Sonic SE boasts 300 new instrument sounds, while new drum samples and corresponding MIDI loops expand the Groove Agent ONE and Beat Designer library. More than 2,000 additional MIDI loops round out the provided sounds.
ASIO-Guard is newly implemented into the Steinberg Audio Engine to repotedly improve stability and prevent data dropouts. Included for troubleshooting and diagnostics is the additional safe-start mode to disable user preferences temporarily. With the keyword-oriented search engine, individual tracks and channels can now be found in large projects. MemZap stores positions and zoom factors within the project at any particular time, while the new Steinberg Hub appears on start up, comprising an enhanced Project Assistant plus additional information services, such as news and a regularly updated list of video tutorials.
Cubase 7 also sports the brand-new VST Connect SE collaboration software, with talkback and chat functionality as well as real-time video and audio streaming over the Internet.
Steinberg Media Technologies
www.steinberg.net