Cubase 11
Price: Various
A new version of Cubase is always exciting because they don't tend to skimp on new features. The big addition is the inclusion of five new plugins. Most of these are utility devices including a ‘lite’ version of their standalone SpectraLayers software that allows you to isolate specific sounds within a mix for processing or separation. There is also a new multiband compressor for giving EDM tracks more punch.
The Key Editor and Score Editor have also had an upgrade to allow editing of the global tempo and notation. The Sampler track has become even easier to use, and now contains many features that will be familiar to users of Akai's MPC series of samplers. If you are using multiple pieces of software and need to export stems, this process has been streamlined in version 11. Full review to follow.
Pro Tools 2020.11
Price: From $9.99 per month (education pricing)
Pro Tools is the software commonly found in high-end audio production houses, and the quality of its audio manipulation is exceptional. The latest update to the software includes several new features that could really improve the flexibility of the software. The first of these is the ability to export audio files to MIDI. Lots of DAWs have had a basic version of this functionality, but Pro Tools can now do it with polyphonic files. So, in theory, a performer could record a part on an acoustic piano, convert it to MIDI and change the sound retrospectively to another instrument.
The other big addition is the inclusion of Melodyne Essential. Melodyne is the class-leading pitch-correction software and, combining it with the new audio-MIDI tools, could be very powerful indeed. Avid has also introduced a new ‘dark theme’, which is supposedly easier on the eyes for late night work.
Logic Pro 10.6
Price: Free for existing users or £200 retail
For users of Logic, it's only six months since Apple released the most recent update, and version 10.6 adds some improved compatibility. The previous version included clip-based music creation that they called ‘Live Loops’ that was reminiscent of Ableton Live (see below). This meant that hardware devices such as Novation's Launchpad series now worked with Logic. However, some of the older models were not compatible in 10.5 – they now are!
The main enhancement to Logic Pro 10.6 is the ability to make the most of Apple's new Silicon processors in their new Macs. However, most people won't have these, but everything still runs happily on Intel devices. The other change is the quiet dropping of the ‘X’ from the name. It is now just Logic Pro.
Ableton Live 11
Price: Contact Ableton for education pricing
One of the biggest reasons I haven't previously been able to recommend Ableton Live for post-16 teaching is due to the lack of a comping facility (selecting between multiple takes). I'm pleased to say that in this new version, this has now been added. Further, Ableton has also included the ability to link tracks to allow multiple parts to be comped simultaneously (e.g. drums).
Other amazing features include the ability to get the software to follow live musicians. Connect a live mic and tell it to follow the live tempo – potentially great for school shows and electronic musicians. There are multiple new devices, including some excellent effects suitable for sound design and mixing. For anybody with a controller that generates MIDI Polyphonic Expression signals, such as those from ROLI, Live can now respond to these and then allocate and edit the different signals in various different ways. Full review coming soon.
