Steinberg - please warn us of update consequences!

My grievance is that when you update or buy a new version, you should be able to open existing projects and have them play the same events - there shouldn’t be anything playing or not playing than previously.

I like to work within audio parts. I understand there has been a big push in recent years to duplicate those resources in the project window, but I am actually fine using the audio part editor.

When(in C5?) they implemented the system where you could click on the event middle bottom to have it play (as opposed to merely playing the lower most unmuted event), I found stuff playing that hadn’t been previously - because events muted within the editor at the bottom of the column of events were no longer causing no sound to play from that part - unmuted event sections above the muted events were playing back.

Well, that cost me a few hours in the record I was mixing right then.

Now, in C7.5 I find muted events within a part are again muting the entire part until I go in and click on the little event activator of the event I want to play. Again, this has cost me a few hours, and probably more as I have a couple of records I am working on at the moment.

Honestly, I don’t really care which way it is, but you really shouldn’t have to check through all the editing you’ve done to make sure Cubase is honoring decisions you’ve already made.

Well, I know that all sorts of incompatibilities do happen with files from older versions of Cubase, whether the folks at Steinberg admit it or not. Just too many people have complained about it and it’s actually something I experienced myself.

To try and argue that with Steinberg would be a huge waste of your time, because they’ll blame you anyway, or your system, or your third-party plugins etc.

So, my solution is pretty simple: keep all Cubase versions you have ever used on your computer (the executables will take very little drive space) and make different folders for any version any piece you have on your computer was made with. So, if you recorded it with 6.5, you will only open it with 6.5. That way you aren’t running into any sort of surprises.

Great advice! Though I really wanted to use tab to transient with these projects…

This is the difference between professional and consumer products. With real professional products you get quality support, but the price is much higher. Although Cubase has features of professional products, it doesn’t have support, quality and stability. It has bugs and quirks. Maybe Nuendo is more professional level, price is higher too. Cubase is consumer product, price is affordable, and quality of support and build corresponds to consumer level.
It is like with power tools, you can buy quite good accu drill cheaply, or you can buy professional accu drill which cost 10 times more, but you get full service support, when something breaks they come to your place, pick it up, service it and drive it personally back to you. You get what you pay for.
Or if you compare studio gear, you can buy German Behringer compressor (Steinberg is German too), which looks good and works fine with all the knobs and leds, but quite possibly it will cause problems, and possibly even brake beyond repair. Or you can buy custom made compressor, which will never brake, and even if it does, they will deal with you personally and promptly and take care of you as their valuable customer (which you probably really are for them). Clearly, price of both is very different.
Don’t expect too much from Cubase. It is a consumer, or prosumer product, with a lot of bang for the buck, and it works fine most of the time, for most users. But sometimes it doesn’t work… but hey, you get what you pay for, that’s life.

Well, it’s more complex than that. I have some very high end equipment that breaks regularly, BUT (as you said) I can get the designer/builder on the phone if that’s what it takes… Also, there are some big name engineers who are happy with Cubase - Michael Wagener comes to mind - and it basically does everything Pro Tools does. Support for Cubase used to be better as well.

Years ago I would have advised anyone buying their first DAW to go with Cubase, but now I would advise PT just because that’s the industry standard, and since Avid decided that releasing a crippled prosumer version was a bad way to compete the price is now pretty much the same as Cubase.

i think the same, but then look at what happens in the mac world with each new OS update and the ensuing compatibility hell, and i get humbled you are even allowed to open projects created in older version, in newer versions, and made in nuendo in cubase or vice versa. i’m definitely more concerned about the bug overload throughout the programs and the gui mess.

To the OP… I’m not 100% clear on the problem you are having but I THINK the solution will be the preference setting called ‘Treat Muted Audio Events like Deleted’ (in the Editing > Audio preferences section). Try changing that and see if it makes things play as you were expecting.

Awesome! Thanks; you just saved me a bunch of time and irritation.