Cubase vs. Propellerhead Reason

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cubase
Score 9.8 out of 10
N/A
Steinberg Media Technologies headquartered in Hamburg offers Cubase, a digital audio workstation and audio editing application.
$579.90
Reason
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Propellerhead Software headquartered in Stockholm offers Reason, the company's flagship digital audio workstation and audio editing application.N/A
Pricing
CubasePropellerhead Reason
Editions & Modules
Starting Price
$579.90
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
CubaseReason
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
CubasePropellerhead Reason
Considered Both Products
Cubase
Chose Cubase
We chose Cubase in the beginning due to price differences between Pro Tools and Cubase. As we learned to use Cubase, we realized the flexibility between MIDI and audio was far more advanced than any other product on the market. We still feel like the MIDI implementation in …
Reason
Chose Propellerhead Reason
One thing that sets Reason apart from other DAWs is its ability to be both a DAW and a sampler. Most other DAWs, Ableton included, need a third part sampler in order to actually write music, something akin to Kontakt, for example. Reason is all-in-one - you can do everything …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
CubasePropellerhead Reason
Small Businesses
Descript
Descript
Score 8.8 out of 10
Descript
Descript
Score 8.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Audition
Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
Audition
Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Audition
Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
Audition
Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
CubasePropellerhead Reason
Likelihood to Recommend
9.9
(5 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
CubasePropellerhead Reason
Likelihood to Recommend
Steinberg Media Technologies
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.
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Propellerhead Software
Thanks to this software we have been able to achieve that all the management of quality control and product life cycle, is carried in a more organized way, in a simple to use system, which does not have such a high learning curve and that everyone in the department knows how to handle it. One of the best software in its category.
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Pros
Steinberg Media Technologies
  • 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.
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Propellerhead Software
  • Huge variety of sounds
  • Easy to jump in
  • Works on it's own, so you don't need another DAW
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Cons
Steinberg Media Technologies
  • Keyboard shortcuts aren't the best, I find it tedious to zoom in and out of the timeline
  • Multi-track recording of multiple takes can become hard to manage
  • Composing with Midi can be hard, the midi editing is a bit outdated
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Propellerhead Software
  • The software is very complete, but it can become saturated with the many tools it has. If you have experience with Salesforce, it will be much easier for you to learn the program.
  • I would find it very useful if the system allowed to integrate other software, apart from Salesforce, so that we could have all the information from the same platform.
  • If the platform would allow local hosting or offline access to its control panel, it would make our work much easier, because sometimes the connection fails, and entering the system is impossible.
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Support Rating
Steinberg Media Technologies
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.
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Propellerhead Software
I've had to reach out to them very few times over the years, but Propellerhead is prompt and professional when they provide support. The manual and videos for using the product are top notch, and that goes a long way in helping you learn how to use it to its full capacity
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Alternatives Considered
Steinberg Media Technologies
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.
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Propellerhead Software
One thing that sets Reason apart from other DAWs is its ability to be both a DAW and a sampler. Most other DAWs, Ableton included, need a third part sampler in order to actually write music, something akin to Kontakt, for example. Reason is all-in-one - you can do everything with one product and a single purchase.
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Return on Investment
Steinberg Media Technologies
  • As a result of having Cubase in my inventory I have received 15-20 large scale projects increasing turnover by around 25%
  • Ability to work in remote areas with no internet and not have to worry about activation / licence renewals
  • The interoperability of Cubase with Nuendo provides increased scope for work with other sound designers / editors / post mixers.
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Propellerhead Software
  • This software has allowed us to be much more efficient in the quality control and production department, as we were able to create quality products for our customers, with easy-to-use tools and automating tasks, so that the entire process is executed more quickly and efficiently.
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