Steinberg Cubase SE3 review

There's no shortage of affordable software for making music, but most focus on composition, with a library of prepared samples and an array of software synthesizers with which to compose your ditties.

Cubase SE has neither of these - although Steinberg's Studio Case II bundles Cubase SE3 with a sextet of simple, but excellent-quality synths for £199 inc VAT. However, in its standard guise, what SE lacks in composing tools, it makes up for in its recording and mixing capabilities. Based on the music-production heavyweight Cubase SX, it closely emulates the range of hardware typically found in a recording studio.

This means that as a recording and mixing tool, it's extremely flexible and powerful. However, it also means that it can be as confusing for inexperienced users as a roomful of imposing studio equipment. Ultimately, though, there's no getting away from this - if you want professional-level control over your latest mixes, you need to get used to the kind of controls this kind of software provides.

The main differences between SE3, the mid-price SL3 and the flagship SX3 are the restrictions governing the number of elements that can be used in a project. In SE3, these limitations are 48 audio channels, five insert effect plug-ins per channel, eight auxiliary effects, eight group channels, 16 instrument plug-ins and eight physical inputs and outputs. In practice, only the most ambitious users are likely to hit these boundaries and, besides, it's far more likely that they'll run out of processing power rather than plug-in slots.

The previous version of Cubase SE had various other omissions compared to SX and SL, but these were largely down to the fact that SE was based on the original version of SX instead of the then-current SX2. The fact that this second release is called SE3 suggests that it is thoroughly up to date, but many of the features introduced in SX2 and SX3 remain absent here. There's no stacked recording, which assists with compiling multiple takes into a single best version. Also omitted are In-Place Editing, which makes MIDI editable from the main Arrange view, and the RoomWorks plug-in, a superior quality reverb effect.

Perhaps it's fair that these features aren't included at this price, but it seems a bit stingy that SX's unlimited undo isn't included - SE3 can only undo the last 10 actions. We're even more disappointed that there's no Audio Warp. This feature, which was introduced in SX3, allows audio tracks to be re-timed and re-pitched independently of each other so that audio can be quickly made to fit the tempo and key of the track. Considering that many other low-cost music programs such as Sony Acid Music Studio 6 (page 69) have offered similar features for the last few years, we don't think Cubase would damage sales of SX3 by including it here too. As it is, Cubase SE3 isn't a good choice for those who work predominantly with sample libraries.

Still, for musicians who are happy to work without relying heavily on samples, the latest improvements Steinberg has made to SE3 are very welcome. The underlying audio engine is now exactly the same as in SX3, running at 32-bit for superb audio fidelity. Full plug-in delay compensation is also included, which eliminates timing errors introduced by the few milliseconds it takes for plug-ins to process audio streams.

SE3 is a rather sombre update, making it quicker to use and improving audio quality but offering no new creative tools. Those looking for a musical sketchpad with which to compose would be better off with Sony's program or spending more on the twice as pricey Studio Case II. However, for songwriters and bands who want a high-quality recording and mixing tool for pre-written songs, SE3 makes the best choice by far.