Steinberg Cubase Artist 6.5 review

Cubase’s two-year update cycle is good news for its users, as it keeps upgrade costs and workflow interruptions to a minimum. This year, however, Steinberg has produced a .5 release. Upgrade pricing is suitably low at £42 inc VAT from version 6 of both Cubase Artist and the full Cubase. The best news is that nearly all the new features are available in both editions, breaking from the tradition where mid-price means Cubase minus the best new toys.

For analogue-style synthesis, Retrologue can bubble and belch with the best of them

Top billing goes to a pair of virtual instruments. Retrologue is aptly named, specialising in retro analogue synthesis. Whereas the older bundled analogue-style synths sound a little sterile, Retrologue is positively fruity. Its tone reminds us of Roland analogue synths, and it’s stuffed to the gills with multiple oscillators, a modulation matrix and authentically retro features such as oscillator sync, filter self-oscillation and the ability to use a noise source to modulate pitch. It’s perfect for creating monster synths that fill the mix with a single note.