hey lindalove...I feel the same way. I need decent music software, but it's way out of my reach. I'm looking at getting Cubase SE (perhaps that's what's been mentioned above as
LE), which is a fraction of the price of SX, and I have a trusted friend who told me that you'd only miss the SX features if you are doing large scale professional work. Having said that, I still haven't been able to find a point by point comparison of the differences.
I did find a review, though (EDIT after testing this link I found it asks you to register...???) here's the review in full:
Quote:
Steinberg Cubase SE [PC Pro]
COMPANY: Steinberg PRICE: £94 (£110 inc VAT)
RATING: ISSUE: 116 DATE: Jun 04
Verdict: The core features of music production powerhouse Cubase SX at a fraction of the price, although newcomers won't find it any easier to master
Steinberg has always been generous in offering cut-down versions of its software at remarkably low prices. Cubasis VST 3 gave as much as home studio users would need from Steinberg's flagship audio editor Cubase VST 5 for just £50 - less than a tenth of the price of the full version.
The launch of Cubase SX in 2002 saw the professional product redesigned in the mould of the post-production editor Nuendo, bringing with it far greater control and flexibility to the recording and editing processes along with superior quality mixing tools. SX2 moved things on even further, leaving Cubasis 5, which is still based on the older VST code, looking and feeling rather dated.
Cubase SE costs a good deal more than Cubasis VST 5, which retails for £45 (inc VAT), but it offers some hope for those who crave Steinberg's latest technology but can't afford the £499 and £230 street prices of SX2 and the mid-range SL2. Cubase SE follows in the tradition of Cubasis by providing the core editing and mixing functions of SX2, but without the high-end features many home studio musicians won't miss. Track and plug-in counts are reduced, but limitations, such as 48 audio and unlimited MIDI tracks, 16 VST instruments, five inserts per track and eight global effects, will obstruct only the most extravagant of productions. Similarly, support for up to eight physical inputs and outputs matches the capabilities of almost all sound cards under £300, making this a restriction most users won't notice.
There are a few features that are more regrettably absent. Unlimited undo and redo is reduced to a single step, and anyone who has used SX2's multiband compressor won't be able to live without it. However, the most significant omissions come from the fact that Cubase SE is a cut-down version of SX rather than SX2. This means no full delay compensation, so using certain types of plug-in effects can make recordings slip slightly out of time. Stacked recording, which simplifies the task of recording multiple takes - a common technique in vocal recording - is another omission that will make SX2 and SL2 look more appealing to certainÊusers.
However, our main point of contention with Cubase SE applies to the entire Cubase range, but is especially pertinent in a low-cost version such as this: new users run a high risk of complete bewilderment. Steinberg offers little signposting of its features, and although the manual does include some tutorials on the studio techniques required to get Cubase working at its best, newcomers could face many months of hard slog to get to grips with it. Cubase-specific jargon, such as Quantise Magnetic Area, will baffle even experienced computer musicians migrating from other software, but for them, at least, trial and error should provide the answers.
All this may sound very negative, but once you get used to it, Cubase SE offers some tremendous rewards. Sooner or later, what seemed like a perplexing interface soon becomes one that lends itself perfectly to swift operation and creative thinking. With upgrade paths to SL2 and SX2, it makes a lot of sense for budget-conscious musicians to get to grips with Cubase SE rather than learning Cubasis' ageing interface. At this price, nothing can match the flexibility of Cubase SE, nor can it match the quality of its end results.
By Charlie O'Neill
SPECIFICATIONS:
Pentium III/500; 256MB RAM; 1GB hard disk space; Windows 2000 or XP (Mac OS X version also included); ASIO-compatible sound card recommended.
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If you do get this, I'd love to hear how it goes. I should have my copy in about a month.