Hello, I am trying Cubase a bit… But there are questions. Last time I used Cubase was with SX2 or so, maybe 10+ years ago?
Some (also annoying) stuff seems to be still the same, but I wonder if there are new features, also I completely forgot how to properly configure Cubase.
So I have a bunch of questions, maybe you know how to solve these?
I would like the position cursor to jump back to the position where I started, once I am stopping playback. So far I only found some wonky solution, pressing 0 of the numpad… Doesn’t work properly though.
Is there a way to make the midi clips in the arranger a bit transparent, so I can actually see the gridlines though it?
So weird, there does not seem to be any pinch-to-zoom support. This just feels completely wrong, but is there maybe a hidden-in-the-menus way?
Any idea how to export projects so the will properly load in Studio One?
Can I somehow non-destructively transpose whole tracks? I remember this was possible back in the days…
Can I set the pianoroll to auto-perfectly-zoom-in the selected midi-clip? Or even better, show four bars always or so.
How do I macos-fullscreen Cubase, so it will be opened on a second virtual desktop?
So far I don’t really get why somebody should use Cubase over Studio One… Maybe it’s the MIDI part of Cubase?
The onboard channel dsp though sounds quite good, and quickly leads to good-enough results.
Hey, welcome back to Cubase! A lot has changed since SX2, but yeah — some of the old quirks are still kicking around. Happy to help answer your questions and get you up to speed again. Let’s go through them one by one:
1. Return Cursor to Start Position After Stop
Yes, you can make Cubase return the playhead to the position where you started playback:
Preferences > Transport > Return to Start Position on Stop → make sure this is enabled.
Alternatively, toggle it with the shortcut Shift + NumPad 0, but yeah, on some systems that shortcut gets finicky.
This also behaves differently depending on whether you stop or pause playback. Try double-tapping spacebar to make sure it jumps back.
2. Make MIDI Clips Transparent to See Grid
This one’s a bit buried:
Go to Preferences > Event Display > MIDI.
Set “Opacity of MIDI events” to something lower (like 50%).
There’s also a “Show Event Background” checkbox — you can toggle that to get better grid visibility.
3. Pinch-to-Zoom Support
Sadly, Cubase doesn’t natively support multitouch gestures like pinch-to-zoom — even on macOS. It’s one of the weird holdovers.
However:
You can use Magic Trackpad scroll with modifier keys to zoom:
Shift + Scroll → horizontal zoom
Ctrl (or Cmd) + Scroll → vertical zoom
If you really want gestures, you might look into 3rd-party tools like BetterTouchTool to fake it.
4. Export Project to Studio One
Cubase and Studio One aren’t super interoperable, but you have a few options:
AAF Export: Go to File > Export > AAF.
Not perfect — you’ll lose some VST and automation data.
Audio clips with timing/regions are preserved.
For MIDI: export each track individually or collectively using File > Export > MIDI File.
For mix-ready audio: File > Export > Audio Mixdown, then reimport stems in Studio One.
Tip: Consolidate/flatten your edits and name things clearly before export to avoid chaos.
5. Non-Destructive Transpose of Tracks
Yes, that’s still possible and even better now:
Select the MIDI part(s), then open the Info Line (above the timeline).
You’ll see a Transpose field — non-destructive and per-event.
You can also go to Track Inspector > MIDI Modifiers > Transpose for track-wide non-destructive transposition.
Works beautifully with chord tracks too.
6. Auto-Zoom to Selected MIDI Clip
Yes, but it’s not quite “auto” unless you set it up:
Enable Editor Follows Event Selection in the top toolbar (or Preferences > Editors).
In Preferences under MIDI Editor, you can enable Auto Zoom to Event.
Or in the Key Editor, hit Zoom Tool (Z) and double-click the part — it’ll frame it.
For a fixed “always show 4 bars” style zoom — no direct setting, but you can write a macro or use a Logical Editor preset to help.
7. macOS Fullscreen Cubase on 2nd Virtual Desktop
Cubase has kind of bad fullscreen support on macOS (compared to native apps).
You can’t enter true macOS-style fullscreen (green button) the way other apps do.
But you can drag the Cubase window to a separate Space/Desktop, then maximize it manually.
Alternatively: press Ctrl + ↑, add a new Desktop, and place Cubase there.
It will remember the workspace layout after a few times.
8. Why Use Cubase Over Studio One?
Totally fair question. Studio One is very modern and streamlined. But:
MIDI Editing: Cubase is still king for deep MIDI work — Logical Editors, Score Editor, advanced MIDI Inserts, MIDI Modifiers, Expression Maps, etc.
AudioWarp & VariAudio: Some of the tightest built-in time/pitch editing, comparable to Melodyne (which S1 also supports).
Control Room: For multi-monitor/headphone/cue mixes, it’s amazing.
Project Logical Editor (PLE): You can automate almost anything in Cubase with it.
Mature plugin routing, VCA faders, and post-fader inserts.
Scoring and Orchestration tools are better integrated than in S1.
But yeah — S1 often wins on speed and ease-of-use. Cubase is more “power user” focused. Depends on your needs and workflow.
Onboard DSP Sounds Good
Yup, Steinberg’s stock plugs have improved a lot. Channel Strip, Frequency EQ, REVerence, and the newer compressors are very usable now. Still a bit utilitarian, but solid.
If you want, I can help you create a “Cubase for S1 Users” cheat sheet or walk through setting up a default template that acts more like Studio One. Want to go that route?
Cubase, tried it on Mac in ~97. Wasn´t too bad. Logic became a more popular sequencer though, but it is a bit overkill. Honestly, I do think the ASCII/HEX tracking interface really is outdated compared to such packages.
REAPER is essentially a DAW-shaped sandbox. You can tweak almost everything — menus, toolbars, mouse modifiers, themes, keyboard shortcuts, and even script your own actions in Lua/EEL/JSFX. Cubase has customization too, but nowhere near this level of granular control.
2. Price & Licensing
REAPER has an insanely generous license:
Free unlimited trial (unrestricted, nag screen only)
$60 discounted license if you make under $20k with it
$225 for the full commercial license
Cubase is 3-6x the price, and you have to deal with eLicenser/dongles (though they’ve slowly been moving away from that).
3. Lightweight & Fast
REAPER is tiny (~15MB install), launches in seconds, and is rock-solid on modest hardware. Cubase is a hefty install and takes longer to start up and load projects.
4. Updates & Dev Responsiveness
Cockos (REAPER’s dev team) is legendary for their rapid, frequent updates and listening to their community. Bug fix? New feature? You might see it next week. Cubase updates are slower, with a heavier corporate process.
5. Stability
REAPER rarely crashes, and if it does, it usually won’t take your entire project with it. Cubase is more prone to weird behavior and crashes, especially in complex, plugin-heavy projects.
6. JSFX Plugin Ecosystem
REAPER’s built-in JSFX scripting environment lets users build and share lightweight effects, meters, utilities — it’s like a DAW inside a DAW for nerdy power users.
Cubase seems to be really good when it comes to the arranger, IMO. Lot of overview, scrolling is butter smooth, you can actually somewhat read note data from the clips directly. And measure bars are visible inside the clip, too. Then there is an rudimentary yet useful context pianoroll inside each track. Nice. Best arranger so far…
Though the GUI seems to be quite clunky in many ways, wasting a lot of space by adding weird, not resolution adapted spacing, outlines around the GUI sections, round edges and what not. If there was an option to remove all outlines and rounded edges in favour of more usable pixels, it would be already better. At least for me, outlines quickly seem to distract instead help.
Or if there was a GUI scaling factor option, it might already help. But there isn’t. I would then switch to 90% or so.
Status bars waste a lot of space, too.
How can I save the visiblity settings of the status bars? All seem to be back with every new start…
The cubase settings seem to have been heavily reduced since I last time used it… Why??
In the end, the most important elements, the arranger and the pianoroll, are well thought and provide a wast amount of features. So maybe the best “classical” DAW indeed. And it seems to be highly optimized, every is just smooth. What do you think?
I bet! Only I couldn’t wrap my head around it so far. Tried like three times Some popup windows in Reaper feel like a blocking system popup dialogue, i.e. not integrated at all. I think the dialogues are my main headache with it.
It’s a pity that the daw project support in Cubase is such a bug party… So you are still kind of locked in, when using Cubase. I think it’s even buggy if you reimport the just exported song… O.M.G.
;
1. Return Cursor to Start Position After Stop
2. Make MIDI Clips Transparent to See Grid
3. Pinch-to-Zoom Support
4. Export Project to Studio One
5. Non-Destructive Transpose of Tracks
6. Auto-Zoom to Selected MIDI Clip
7. macOS Fullscreen Cubase on 2nd Virtual Desktop
8. Why Use Cubase Over Studio One?
Onboard DSP Sounds Good
Some popup windows in Reaper feel like a blocking system popup dialogue, i.e. not integrated at all. I think the dialogues are my main headache with it.