I bought Cubase for my daughter. We went through the correct procedures for installation but we ran into a ridiculous lop. Tried to contact support but they treated us as though we had a hookie version. I have wasted my money on this product and there is no way to redeem. It's quite scandalous really.
Extremely obtuse and difficult to do anything. I have no idea how to access any of my products, and I can not for the life of me figure out how to contact their support.
Awful support! I have (had) Cubase 11 pro but when they apparently shut down the usb elicensing earlier this year my license got left useless when my usb stick broke. I contacted support asking for a solution for me to continue using my license. Their response: "Upgrade your license for €270." No understanding, no trying to meet me in the middle and absolutely no concept of what customer service is. Keep this up and over time there will be no more customers left.I would have upgraded my license in a year or two but now I am forced to find a new DAW. 15 years of using Cubase down the drain. Absolute joke.Perhaps I just got unlucky with the customer support representative, who knows.
I’m honestly disgusted with my experience of Dorico. For a product at this price, basic tasks take far too many steps. The interface feels over-engineered: options are buried, terminology is inconsistent, and common layout operations require hunting through multiple panels and “breaks” instead of a straightforward, musical workflow. Compared with Finale, this is a big step backwards in usability. I don’t want to fight the software to do simple things. I want to write and format music. Documentation and localisation don’t help much; they often use different labels from what you see on screen, which adds to the confusion. Dorico may be powerful, but power isn’t worth it when the fundamentals of user experience are this clumsy. I regret the time (and money) I’ve spent trying to bend it to my needs. For practical, fast engraving, I’ll stick with alternatives that respect my time.
Steinberg pulled the plug on the eLicenser system this year. Appearantly I had to migrate that license to their new license environment, Steinberg informed their customers by e-mail. That e-mail probably landed in my spam folder as I didn't know about it. I found out about this when I upgraded my machine to Windows 11, and Cubase was unable to activate. A couple of mails to support and Steinberg does not solve the issue. I get no answer why Steinberg did not simply migrate licenses on their own. They gave me a 15% discount code, which they can shove in the -you know where-. I simply want to use the product I paid for, so I'm forced to go for the illegal option of downloading my product from the internet's 'dubious sources'.
TL;DR, most of the problems I'm having are the same most other's are happening- Cubase is great, but when Steinberg puts a gun to your precious software and says "Either pay for an upgrade or don't use the software you paid for haha", it kind of becomes hard to recommend that software in the first place.To give more of an explanation though, I've been using Cubase for nearly 10 years now. In high school we had Cubase 5 and so I used it a lot back then. Then my Uncle let me use Cubase 8 for a bit and while I didn't get much experience in it, it still solidified my comfort for it. Then in February of 2020, while in College, I bought Cubase 10.5 Elements, and I've been using it to edit podcasts and dabble in music production ever since.Until I changed my laptop from an old M1 MacBook Pro to a... slightly-less-old M1 Pro MacBook Pro. That took redownloading all my softwares and apps, including Cubase 10.5. Downloaded the Steinberg Download Assistant, downloaded Cubase 10.5, put in the last e-license code I had, and was quickly told "No." As it turns out, Steinberg has taken an aluminum bat to their e-licenser program, rendering all software that used that system inoperable. Is this user error? No! Should this affect the user's ability to access and use the software they paid for? Also no! Does Steinberg respect that you paid for a perpetual license for their software, and should be able to use it whenever you want? You're gonna see a pattern here, cus in their eyes, absolutely not! They don't care or respect you one bit!Steinberg's support was not of any help what-so-ever. I say "Can I please have access to my software". They say "No, pay for an upgrade". I say "But I don't want to pay for an upgrade, I just want access to my software". They say "Okay bye". (Obviously this is hyperbole, but still, this is essentially the boiled down conversations between myself and Steinberg's support team)What makes this extra insulting to me is that I HAVE the files for Cubase 10.5 DOWNLOADED on my laptop. IT'S THERE! The ONLY reason I can't access it is because they just refuse to migrate the license they can CLEARLY see I have on my account over to the download assistant. They just want me, and from what I've been reading most other user's who left reviews on this site, to pay them more money by blocking access to the product we already paid for.And, by the way, being stupidly rude while they're at it. Second email they sent to me was basically the "We aren't going to help you, suck it" email and then WITHOUT asking me if my issue was resolved or giving me the chance to send a rebuttal, SET THE STATUS TO "SOLVED"??? STEINBERG! IT'S NOT SOLVED! I STILL CAN'T USE THE SOFTWARE I PAID MONEY FOR, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? I'm losing my mind as I write this, sorry. The balls on these guys to spit in your mouth and then say the issue is fixed is crazy.Truthfully, if you want a good DAW for music production (one that's fairly cheap too, no matter what version you go for) then I can recommend Cubase on that basis alone. There's a reason I'm so upset that THIS is the avenue they're going down, it's because I genuinely liked using Cubase. But I can't in good faith recommend the product overall when the company behind it just... sucks. Who's to say they won't withhold your software from you later down the road? Or force you to upgrade and give them more money? So, I can't recommend them, especially when there are other great DAW's where the company doesn't treat you like crap.Hell, Apple of all companies honestly has my best recommendation - Logic Pro. You pay for it once, all updates are free, you get dozens of VST's and sound packs, and best of all you can download it on ANY Mac that has the App Store, no matter how old it is. And I know that because I've done that with Final Cut Pro for years (I like to mess around on old computers, don't judge me) and I have a couple music friends who have done the same thing with Logic Pro on older Mac's too. Right now, as I'm writing this, Steinberg has a 40% sale on Cubase 14. For £24.60 I can solve this problem right now, and get a more powerful, more feature packed version of a software I love that should (hopefully) work with their new system forever. And I'm not going to pay for it. Because I don't want Cubase 14 Elements. I want Cubase 10.5 Elements, the product I already paid for on the 9th of February, 2020. Because I don't trust them to not pull this crap again. And more than that, I don't want to give my money to a company who doesn't give a flying "fun word" about its users.I'm switching to Logic Pro. Might even try FL Studio, I didn't like it on my first try but seeing what Porter Robinson and Joey Valence & Brae are doing with it is kinda nuts so I wanna give it another shot!Thank's for reading! Steinberg, fix your support team, for the love of all that is holy.
Most arrogant company in business (sadly not the only ones though)! What is it with these music software companies?? Just a bunch of arrogant tw#¤s!!(read Waves scandal, UAD not updating certain products, SSL cracy overpriced plugins etc)
Update – August 2025:Following my original review concerning Steinberg’s handling of my Dorico Pro 3.5 perpetual license, I am pleased to report that the matter has now been fully resolved through the direct involvement of Yamaha Corporation of America.Mr. Nick Lara, Manager of National Customer Support, and Mr. Jeff Deno, Supervisor of Customer Support, approached the matter with professionalism, transparency, and good faith. As a result of their constructive intervention, my perpetual license has been reinstated and upgraded to Dorico Pro 6 under Steinberg’s current licensing system.This resolution honors the spirit and substance of my original purchase. I am satisfied with this outcome and extend my sincere thanks to Yamaha’s U.S. Division for their efforts in bringing this matter to a fair conclusion.Original Review – June 2025:In 2020, I purchased a perpetual license for Dorico Pro 3.5 at a price of $559.99 USD — a professional music notation platform marketed and sold with the express assurance of permanent access.In May 2025, Steinberg retired its eLicenser system, rendering my license inoperable. My initial attempts to resolve the matter through Steinberg’s European support team were unsuccessful. The solutions offered — a Dorico Pro 4 license (already deprecated) or a minor discount on Dorico Pro 6 — were inadequate, and the tone of the correspondence was dismissive.This prompted me to seek recourse through the Better Business Bureau, the FTC, and other appropriate consumer channels.While my experience with the European division was regrettable, Yamaha’s U.S. Division ultimately addressed the matter in good faith and with professionalism, resolving the issue to my satisfaction.
I know others moan, but I am an exception.I have two studios - one an audio one and the other primarily video, but recently I've done a lot of audio work in there. I have Cubase 14 Pro on both computers. I also have an older version on this Mac, and an old version of elements on the video studio office computer which I occasionally use for odds and ends when I am lazy. Of course, I totally ignored the closure of the elicencer system after all those years, and on the 20th, it closed. Also, on the 20th the office computer died during the attempt to update to Windows 11. So I bought a new one. Of course, I lost my elements app. I thought I'd just buy another cut down version. My first Cubase was in black and white on an Atari 520 in the 90s - so I have been a Steinberg customer for a very long time. I raised a ticket asking if there was any special pricing available and they responded within 24 hours telling me they had added an extra licence to my account and I have 14 on that one now. They didn't need to do this, but I am very impressed with their response, and I figured I'd add a good review here which might balance the comments a little, as while people often have problems and review negatively, I doubt people are so keen to report positive treatment. Hence this review - I have had many tickets over the years and I am a happy Steinberg customer.
Steinberg's approach to upgrading to the new Cubase is terrible, why force users to upgrade before X date? There's absolutely nothing to stop them from allowing the USB activation users to do it later but in a bid to force people onto the internet activation it seems like they gave a deadline to get as much money as possible.I likely would have upgraded but now it's impossible, once the USB dies and I can no longer access the Cubase I own- I'll be off to another company.
Good range of products but very sadly after recent experience with so called "tech support" I would be liberate to render it as non existent. Both emails and phone communications were confined to references to YouTube and manuals and all endeavours to obtain direct answers were slagged off by stances that questions are "not technical" or not " specific enough"....it almost felt that representatives were more keen to prove this point then to make an effort to resolve the issue so...done with them. Sadly some projects still tied to Cubase but looking into alternatives.
This company is going down the tubes.All the latest plug-ins and updates fail either to install or to work properly. Customer support is an absolute disaster. I'm currently looking for another provider to replace them. That is boring and disappointing.
Lincense hell.Your products are good but your support is nowhere to be found and I always dread getting a new computer because then I need to be dragged through the nightmare of installing the Cubase I had for years, as there is always some unforseen issues - old code can't be used, eLincenser full of issues. I am done with Cubase even though the program is great, just because of the nightmare of trying to install it again on a new pc.
It's an extremly frustrating process to install and licence wave lab in an educational facility. You have to use download manager, then download activation manager. then e-licencer, then media bay, then finally, library manager. Then activate, then run code in terminal and hope for the best. The user experience here is poor, hard to find the correct instructions and getting support also difficult. If we didn't teach Wavelab I would avoid at all costs. Im writing this in the hope the feedback helps Steinberg improve
Good software but very difficult. It s not easy to use and there is always somthing failing.
Steinberg produces high-quality music software, and their Cubase which I have been using for years, is among the best DAWs available.However, their customer service is terrible, and most of the time you are left with no help whatsoever, which is a frustrating experience.
Ended up being charged twice, the previous merchant was definitely an easier process.BTW I've emailed fast spring & not even an automated email response, very shocking service and ultra disappointed
I've used Cubase and wave Lab for years ,on Mac and PC . In fact my Cubase use goes back to the Atari days.IMHO: Earlier versions of Cubase Studio on PC seemed quite stable if the PC was built with the recommended parts. Windows was always a PITA. You had excellent fast and helpful phone support in Canada in the 2000s with only a few A holes with attitude on the support line. I have found that the latest few upgrades ,from 11 through 14 pro had way to many bugs in them for release , at least on the mac version . Phone support in Canada disappeared. You removed many features that once made it easy to use the software as a stable audio tracking recording platform . Visually you have removed the, easy on the eyes 3D button look and transport . Many new features for EDM and sampling were added but at the expense of tracking off the floor audio with stability. If something works well I don't understand why one would remove it and add another feature. I am in full support of growth and improvements ,but why throw the baby out with the bathwater. If the coders want Cubase to be everything to everyone, it will become, and think it already has become, poor to moderate and unreliable at everything. Perhaps a solution would be to offer various skin and function choices in set up, for those with different utilization needs. Keep it less cluttered. Work on fixing all the bugs of a the current release before releasing a new buggy version . Many people rely on Cubase to put food on their tables. A crash or bug can cost them a day or more in revenue . Remove the well known paid agitators from the steinberg forums and police them to make sure there is respect and function. They are not good for your bottom line as they are like the wild wild west , and are not fooling anyone. They intimidate new users and offer no valuable advice. Great way to keep new customers.Your reputation and brands reputation is falling quickly to the level of Avid's. You don't have the remaining large studios by the short hairs ,with millions invested in their hardware., like they do ,so I would be very careful. There are many new Daws appearing all the time .Many do EDM far better then you do . Many do film far better and many are catching up to your midi capabilities. all but Avid have better customer service. I would be worried, you could end up going the way of Cake Walk ,being sold to whom ever will buy the majority of your shares. You can still fix it . Start giving a damn. You truly are treading water these days
I am a Wavelab user for many years. After replacing my Graphic card my Wavelab license is becoming corrupt. I contacted Steinberg support by email with all the trouble details.Now after one week still no any response of them other then a ticket number. Meanwhile I received a lot of advertisement emails about their product promotions but no any solution nor reaction about my problem. So be aware Support Steinberg sucks. !!!!
worst music software ever, is incredible how the interface is not intuitive at all, i can expect this interface from a 1997 software, is all so crappy and extremely hard to use, if was possible to put -5 stars i would put, bad reviews are all you deserve Steinberg
