Steinberg Cubasis 3 €54.99 iOS

Steinberg’s Cubasis enters its third phase with multiple new features and iPhone compatibility. Is this the best way to make music on the move?

Steinberg’s Cubasis was one of the original fully-featured iPad DAWs, offering as near a desktop music production experience as you could wish for, and all with the wonders of iOS touch control. It’s always been an expensive option for iPad musicians – who are used to paying single figures for apps – but also one of the most pro; this is Steinberg after all.

The latest version 3 includes many new features like Group Tracks, rearrangeable insert and send effects, a whole bunch of new effect presets and an improved mixer. But the biggest news is that Cubasis now runs on an iPhone. Steinberg claim that the experience on this device is as good as that on the iPad so that when inspiration strikes on the road, you can start on your phone, progress to the iPad and eventually transfer all of your efforts over to your desktop version of Cubase. It sounds like a seamless music production experience, no matter where you start…

A mobile desktop experience

Cubasis has always been about transferring a ‘traditional’ DAW experience to the iPad rather than creating an all-new production environment tailored around Apple’s finest device. As such, if you are familiar with most desktop DAWs – that is, tracks running from top to bottom, and arrangement running from left to right – you will be at home here. Of course the big difference is that you can (literally) touch your song with an iOS device; that is, open edit windows, drag parts, make selections… all with the touch of a finger.

This is explored to the max with the main feature options running from top to bottom at the left of the UI for Routing, Instrument selection, Insert and Send Effects, Automation and much more. Many of these pro options have been added to the app as it has progressed to version 3.