Cubase 10.5 Release Notes

Cubase 10.5.30

What's new?

March 11, 2021 – The Cubase 10.5.30 maintenance update is the last update for the 10.5 generation of Cubase. We have transferred the relevant improvements from the development of Cubase 11 to the 10.5 generation in order to improve the overall stability and correct some features and functionality for those customers that haven’t updated to Cubase 11 yet.

The update installer is available for download in the Steinberg Download Assistant, which should already be installed on your system. If not, you can find it here.

We welcome your feedback on the update in the Cubase forum.

We have corrected the following features and functionality:

Miscellaneous

It was not possible to enter numeric values in the "Detect Silence" window.

We have improved the support for track names with special characters (e.g. umlauts) when audio extensions are used.

Expression Map articulations changed when changing the position during playback.

No labels were shown in Expression Map palette.

Unfreezing Instrument tracks could lead to lost track Quick Control assignments.

Some content sets (e.g. VST sound loop set "Ambient Lounge") were not shown in the Media Rack in "Loops & Samples".

The status of the metronome click option in the metronome setup was not correctly remembered.

Duplicating an already duplicated Instrument track could lead to no playback on that track after re-ordering the tracks in the track list.

Assigning Sampler track control parameters to Quick Controls was not working properly.

Plug-ins and VST instruments

Plug-ins and VST instruments

Threshold and Ratio knobs were missing in the "VSTDynamics" plug-in.

Live mode in "Multiband EnvelopeShaper" was reporting incorrect plug-in latency.

Enabling disabled MIDI tracks which were routed to Instrument tracks lost their audio output assignments.

Enabling disabled Instrument tracks lost their Track Quick Control assignments.

Stability

Syncing external instruments via MIDI Clock and changing the project tempo could render the application unreliable.

Projects using external instruments synced to MIDI Clock could render the application unreliable.

Editing the info line for audio events when another event type was also selected could render the application unreliable.

Working with key command presets and editing key command assignments could render the application unreliable.

Using key commands for "Project > Track Preset: Next" could render the application unreliable.

User interface

Scrolling with the mouse wheel works again for selecting values in the Grid, Snap and Quantize items in the toolbar.

We improved the situation where several windows opened with an offset after the Windows 10 2004 update was installed.

Cubase 10.5.20

May 26, 2020 – We are proud that this is one of the biggest Cubase maintenance updates of recent years. You will find some useful new functions, some new customization options in the preferences, a lot of refinements and, of course, a good number of fixes.

To learn all about the new features, please visit the New Features introduction in the Cubase 10.5 documentation on the Steinberg help website.

The update is available for download in the Steinberg Download Assistant, which should already be installed on your system. If not, you can find it here.

New features

New Range and Event Editing functions [Pro/Artist]

We have added some new functions to the Range Editing menu: Range to Next Event/Range to Previous Event, Enlarge Range to Next Event/Enlarge Range to Previous Event, Cut Head/Cut Tail, and Set Spacer between Selected Events. Cut Head/Cut Tail can especially speed up your audio cleanup workflow. There are no default key commands assigned to these functions, so feel free to adjust them to your workflow.

Plug-in Report [Pro/Artist/Elements/LE/AI]

After the issues that some of you had with third party plug-ins following the latest OS updates, we have added the option to create an extensive plug-in report in the VST Plug-in manager, with detailed information about your system’s installed plug-ins,. The report can be used to help with troubleshooting or to create an overview of the plug-in installations on your system when not running Cubase.

Safe Start Mode after unexpected exit [Pro/Artist/Elements/LE/AI]

In the same vein, if Cubase quits unexpectedly, when you re-start the application the Safe Start window now shows automatically, which will help to point you to the source of the problem - whether Cubase, plug-ins or something different. Safe Start gives you a general first indication what went wrong and can help you to decide on further troubleshooting options. You can also easily locate the crash report from within this window.

Colorize Selected Channels [Pro/Artist/Elements/LE/AI]

Colorized mixer channels were a longtime feature request and we have received a lot of feedback about this feature since its introduction in Cubase 10.5. In Cubase 10.5.20 you will now find a new Show Color for Selected Channel option in the User Interface preferences, which allows you to highlight the selected channel by colorizing it.

Key commands added for Grid Types [Pro/Artist/Elements/LE/AI]

We have added new key command menu options for selecting specific grid types. This is very handy if you are creating your own macros which include switching grid types. Again, these commands are not assigned as defaults. You can find them in the Edit category. Use Quantize and Adapt to Zoom will also work with the same assigned key command in the MIDI Editors.

Use Video Follows Edit mode no longer shortens the Project Cursor [Pro/Artist/Elements/LE/AI]

The Project Cursor is now shown at its full size in Use Video Follows Edit mode.

Remove Multiple Busses [Pro/Artist/Elements/LE/AI]

You can now remove multiple input or output busses at the same time in the Audio Connections window. This is really useful if you are working with a lot of inputs and outputs.

Enhanced Direct Offline Processing [Pro/Artist/Elements/LE/AI]

The Direct Offline Processing window now allows you to reset audio processes to their default settings.

Adjustable Event Opacity [Pro/Artist/Elements/LE/AI]

The new Event Opacity preference allows you to customize the visibility of the event background.

Improved Editing for Level Meters [Pro]

You can now customize the appearance of level meters for all available scales.

There are also some general changes that you should be aware of

Preference 'Suspend VST3 plug-in processing when no audio signals are received' will be switched off by default [Pro/Artist/Elements/LE/AI]

In Cubase 10.5.20 this preference (in VST/Plug-ins) will be switched off by default. This eases some technical compatibility issues with third party plug-ins and can improve the general ASIO load. We recommend leaving it switched off for now.

Improved MIDI Clock Latency Compensation [Pro/Artist/Elements/LE/AI]

Sending MIDI Clock to external MIDI devices now works more reliably. Latency is now consistently compensated when using higher ASIO buffer sizes and also in situations where latency-inducing plug-ins are inserted within the audio signal path (important when working with external instruments). Furthermore, locating the project cursor at various positions and exporting or rendering audio from external instruments synced to MIDI Clock has been improved.

Frequency plug-in - compatibility note [Pro]

We have fixed two bugs which can slightly alter the sound of the plug-in:
If you have used a band set to Notch, it did not work correctly with Phase Linear mode enabled for this band. Also, setting a band from Peak to Notch updated the UI, but not always the internal processing. Please review instances of Frequency in case you notice audible differences.

We have corrected the following features and functionality

Editing

The Range Tool wasn't working as expected in Use Video Follows Edit mode.

Muted audio events in audio parts in the Project window would not show as muted.

Import and Export

Importing tracks via Track Archives lost their Expression Maps.

Importing multiple audio files with varying sample rates into a project at the same time was not working correctly.

File Type Settings in the Audio Export Mixdown were not remembered.

Importing Tempo Track data via an .smt file could create an invalid project after saving.

MIDI Effects

The Step Designer would not remember MIDI CC setups.

Automating the MIDI Gate bypass parameter was not working correctly.

MediaBay

MIDI files with the file extensions .mid or .midi were not displayed correctly.

The favorites list in the MediaBay was not sorted alphabetically.

MixConsole

The Pre/Post indicator line for insert effect slots was not retrieved correctly when loaded from a Track Preset.

Send slot assignments could disappear after opening a project and recalling a MixConsole snapshot.

Input routing was lost after undoing a recall of a MixConsole snapshot.

The MixConsole context menu could not be opened in the fader area.

Various MixConsole key commands were not available in Cubase AI/LE/Elements.

Plug-ins

Using automation for the Reset Delay parameter in the MultiTap Delay did not work as expected.

The waveform parameters in Chorus and Studio Chorus were not saved in projects.

Automation of linked parameters in the MultiTap Delay did not work correctly.

The Manual mode in Mod Machine did not work correctly.

Sidechain did not work in the Multiband Compressor when Live mode was enabled.

Audio procession was inconsistent between the Magneto plug-in and its Channel Strip version.

Sampler Track

The language of the Sampler Control tab differed from the language used in the application.

Sharing projects across different platforms and systems that contained Sampler Tracks could result in audible artifacts or no sound at all.

Using Solo mode in the Sampler Control Zone could result in no sound.

Score Editor

The Bars field in the Score Editor was working as expected when using "Split Multi-Rest".

Editing the page text could render the application unreliable.

Ornamentation appeared when editing several instruments.

User Interface

We resolved several contrast issues with black text on a dark background (e.g. when using the MacOS dark mode)

The Windows taskbar could hide parts of the application when the taskbar was placed at the top.

The color settings in Preferences/User Interface were not migrating correctly from previous versions or were not retrieved correctly via Preferences presets.

VST Instruments

Clicking the Output Bus selector for VST instruments loaded as Rack Instruments could render the application unreliable.

Removing the Reason Rack plug-in from a project could render the application unreliable.

The routing of disabled instrument return channels was incorrect after loading a project and enabling them again.

MIDI port routing was lost after enabling disabled MIDI tracks routed to VST Instruments that support multiple input ports.

Miscellaneous

Selected file types in Open File… windows were not remembered correctly.

Using Rewire could render the application unreliable.

Configured MIDI Clock destinations were not saved and retrieved correctly with the application.

Using [Shift]+[T] for Enter Tempo did not work.

The video export has been further stabilized.