Category Archives: Cubase

UAD Coming to Linux ?

Posted on by Steve Reaver
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Well, maybe…. April fools has just past and after I read the usual barrage of ‘fake news’ relating to Microsoft going open source and strange new 4 Wheel driving laws. I noticed that there was some real news that perked my attention. It seem that Steinberg has quitely released their SDK for Linux and open sourced a bunch of stuff. The geek in me is excited. I use Linux, I am a Unix professional in my day job and I use a Linux desktop wherever I can, except for one place…. In the studio when I create music, the studio is reserved for Windows, running Cubase and Universal Audio (UAD). To say this pains me is an understatement, but have I looked for replacements ? yes. Have I tried the replacements ? yes.  Are the replacements any good?… errr, well…. No. Combine that with the fact that I’m like a kid in a candy store when it comes to buying UAD plugins, it means I am so far down the rabbit hole it’s almost impossible to climb out! So, sadly I will not be changing platforms in the studio anytime soon…. That is of course unless UAD or Steinberg release Linux native versions….

Whaaaa, hang on, “that’s never going to happen”, I hear you say. Well Steinberg seem to have already taken the first step, and since it seems to be the flavour of the month to open source things a the moment we can reasonably expect to see more of this from other vendors soon. Now I’m not suggesting that a company like Steinberg give away a huge commercial product like Cubase, but porting it Linux is certainly not out of the question. Which brings me to the point of this article, after I read this news about Cubase I went Googling for other open source and music related items, and a quick search for the term “linux uad” turns up a job posting on the UAD website for a Senior Software Architect that has, you guessed it…. “Experience with Linux“. Interesting….. Why would they need a SENIOR Software Architect that knows Linux, especially since their platform currently runs on Mac and Windows only ? If this was an internal sysadmin role I might understand why they want a Linux guy, but it’s not. It seems they want a person that can design code on Linux, so that brings me to the natural conclusion that Linux music makers could find themselves with a UAD power boost in the future. Oh boy what a ride !!!

Cubase 7 is mine!

Posted on by Steve Reaver
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I just got back from the Cubase 7 clinic that was held at Turramurra Music. I was interested to see how the pro from Steinberg used the tool, he was quick I tell you that and he certaily knew the new features. But what I found most interesting was the demographic that was there, mainly older, balding men. There was about 40 people in the room, so let me try and paint a picture.

First thing I noticed was that there where only two woman in the room, nothing wrong with that but I expect more. Next thing I noticed is that there where only about ten people under 40, and only about five under 30, the crowd was by far, in a word… old… This lead me to think that these old timers must have been studio engineer gurus so I felt a little out of place… But then the presenter started to ask a few questions, ‘who plays keys ?’, me and five others put their hands up, “who plays guitar ?”, even less put their hands up. Then finally “who uses Cubase in anger ? who makes money using it ?”, only me and another guy raised their hand…. ok now I find this strange, if these guys aren’t playing instruments and they aren’t professional engineers or producers, what exactly are they doing with Cubase ? I can’t figure this one out….

Anyway, the clinic was good, I got to see the new features up close and I got myself a copy of Cubase 7. And because of the timing in Australia, we get it first before the rest of the world, and because this was the first Cubase 7 clinic run in the country, I was in effect, one of the first in the world to get the product….Yeah for me !

I even bumped into another DJ friend of my while I was there, DJ Matirx,  it was good to catch up.

(also, just noticed that the Stienberg site is down, it says,  “We are offline to prepare a smooth Cubase 7 launch. We’ll be back soon”… why???)

Ke$ha – Cubase Remake

Posted on by Steve Reaver
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I’ve wanted to make a studio remake of a pop track for some time, it was just a matter of the right track coming along and having the acapella for it. Well I’ve done it! Ke$ha’s , We R Who R Are is the track I have redone. The clip below shows the studio session in progress in cubase and is recorded directly from the Cubase output. It took about 5 hours to make up all the sounds, arrange and mix. I could spend MUCH longer and get a few little things sounding better, but for now I think I’ve proved a point to myself and learnt a few things in the process.