Recording - June 2020 - 9

Other new features

Spectral Oscillator, an advanced arpeggiator, new filter options, and polyphonic LFOs. These features and functions
could fill a proper review on their own,
so I'm just going to scratch the surface
here. As with the original, it's a sampler;
choose one (or two) of the included 570
.wav files, or drag and drop your own
from directly within Cubase.

Improved Video Export Render with
full audio/video rendering as well as
frame-accurate adjustments of markers,
realtime rendering, and more.
New Score Editing features such as
Graphic Snap, a Note Ruler for moving
notes, and mouse wheel note transposition.
Improved Macro Creation, Safe Start
Mode, LUFS Normalization, and more.

The creative side of Cubase 10.5

There are four additions to Cubase
10.5 that fall squarely into the creative
music-making and sound design realms:
Spectral Comparison EQ. An update
to the stock Cubase channel equalizer,
now you can view frequencies updated
in real time as your audio plays, as well
as compare the frequencies of multiple
tracks overlaid on top of each other. This
allows you to carve out competing frequencies with ease and precision.

Yes, there are third party EQ and AIbased options on the market that offer
similar EQ trickery, but it's how seamlessly
and simply the Spectral Comparison EQ is
integrated into Cubase 10.5 that makes it
so cool. No extra detection plugin or sidechain process needed-the feature is builtin and available on every channel. Pull up
a track, observe its EQ signature, and then
pick any other track for comparison via a
small tab on the top-both EQ curves then
become instantly visible in real time, each
with its own color. What's more, you can
solo one or both and adjust each in turn,
all without leaving the EQ plugin window.
MultiTap Delay. A multitap delay plugin
may not sound like a big deal, but this
one is so unique and refreshing that it
could (and maybe should) be a standalone plugin on its own merit. First, you
can create up to eight taps in a delay
loop and then alter the panning and
levels of each. Next, you can customize
the global character of the plugin to get

vintage tape and lo-fi sonics complete with
on the fly sample rate reduction (1/2,
1/4, and 1/8) as well as saturation,
modulation, damping and filter controls.
There's also a handy ducker.
The real fun begins with a trio of effects sections. You can add up to six
effects on the delay lines, individually
for each tap, and then globally on the
output. This includes modulations, distortions, bit-crushing, filters, envelope
followers, and reverbs, with different parameter settings and mix levels available
on a per-section / per-tap basis-that's
a lot of sound mangling capability! This
has been one of my new go-to delay
plugins, multitap or otherwise, for rhythmic inventions, subtle lead guitar and
lead synth solos, and even vocal delays.
MIDI Retrospective Record. This feature
has existed for a while in Cubase for both
audio and MIDI, and when it comes to
MIDI, it now includes added capabilities.
How many times have you been noodling
around and trying out ideas before hitting
the record button, only to stumble upon
a lick or riff and thinking, "Darn, I wish
I would have recorded that!" With Retrospective Record, you essentially just did!
When enabled, Cubase is always listening and buffering your audio and MIDI. In
the past, Cubase would buffer a MIDI take
as one track at a time total. Now, each
MIDI track gets its own buffer, in either linear or cycle mode, so you'll never miss a
lick of creative inspiration ever again.
Padshop 2. Saving the best for last-
at last January's Winter NAMM, when
I asked Steinberg what it thought was
the coolest thing they were displaying at
the show, I was slightly shocked to see
a unanimous nod toward Padshop 2. Included in Cubase Pro 10.5, Padshop 2
is also available on its own for $129.
Padshop 2 takes the granular synthesis power of Padshop 1 and adds a new

From there, Padshop 2 uses granular
synthesis to deconstruct the sound into
grains that are played back in intervals,
directions, pitches, and more. The base
sound is then further modified with LFOs,
envelopes, and other advanced modulation routings, rounded out by layer-specific EQ and effects, and finished off with a
global reverb. Sounds can run the spectrum of rhythmic, gritty, guttural, morphing, organic, smooth, and angelic.
The new Spectral Oscillator in Padshop 2 sculpts a smoother and more realistic sonic presentation of the chosen
.wav file sources; this does however
take a little bit more processing power
than its predecessor.
Even if you're not a synth player, Padshop 2 makes a great effect-you can
drag in a file from your session (a vocal
line, for example), bend, morph, pitch,
and effect it, and then trigger it alongside the original performance.

Conclusion

This is a solid interim update from
Steinberg! Unlike previous updates,
where learning new features and integrating them into your workflow takes
some time, most of the new features in
Cubase 10.5 are already making regular appearances in my day-to-day editing, mixing, and, most importantly, my
music-making routine.
Price: $587.99; upgrade from Cubase
Pro 10, $59.99 (visit Steinberg to
explore all the various upgrade paths).
More from: new.steinberg.net
RECORDING June 2020

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Recording - June 2020

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