Steinberg Media Technologies headquartered in Hamburg offers Cubase, a digital audio workstation and audio editing application.
$579.90
Express Scribe
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
Express Scribe Professional is a foot pedal controlled audio player software specifically designed for typists and transcription work. Featuring foot pedal control, variable speed, speech to text engine integration and support for a wide variety of audio formats including .dss, .dct, .wav, .mp3, and .wma. Audio recordings can be loaded automatically from CD, email, LAN, FTP, local hard drive and Express Delegate. Traditional hand held dictation recorders can also be docked and the audio…
As Cubase has different levels of product available, there is a starting point for most people in the industry who require this software with the Pro version being the top level. Therefore, it can be built around end user needs rather than paying a fortune for everything and only using 40% as other software products do. It would be less appropriate for beginners, or those who do not wish to use VSTi instruments as there are cheaper products on the market which would allow this (Reaper being one). It is all down to user preference at the end of the day, and there isn't one product that will tick every single box for every user.
It has a free trial, which is very nice if someone just needs temporary access to use, and it's not an expensive program overall. It may not be the most robust program available, but it gets the job done at a good price point. It might not be the best if you need something that allows transcriptionists to collaborate (i.e., working on the same file at the same time).
MIDI: MIDI has been an integral part of Cubase since the very beginning. In Cubase 11, working with and editing MIDI has become a very streamlined process.
Advanced Audio Features: One of my favorite audio features is the ability to generate harmony voices in just one click. This speeds up the production process and helps new singers understand different harmony lines. It also gives the ability to add modern harmony sounds to our tracks.
Channel Strip: While we use many plugins to emulate famous consoles and outboard equipment, the stock channel strip is outstanding. The included channel strip could easily stand on its own to get a finished sound.
Control Room: This is an amazing tool that emulates a monitor controller right in the software. Using this allows me to set up headphone cues, headphone mixes, and different monitor configurations. I am able to insert plugins into these chains that do not affect the master bus.
Any time I've had to reach out to customer support, they've been fast to respond and answered my questions to the best of their ability. Authorization of the software is easy, and the company is great about emailing you promptly. Overall, they do a great job.
Pro Tools is an industry standard for a reason, but does come at a cost and with a learning curve. I've found that Cubase is a great place to start, having the ability to do very advanced things, but without the need for it. While my experience has been limited with other DAWs, I think it's been worth the (small) investment.
