Steinberg Cubase Artist 12

General

If you're looking for a more stripped back version of Cubase Pro 12 - in price as well as size, then Steinberg Cubase Artist 12 is it. While some of the frills have been trimmed off, this is one outstandingly professional DAW. From many angles the Artist edition is exactly the same as the Pro edition, just minus some of the more exclusive features, making this package an excellent pick for writers, musicians, and in fact, anyone working with audio.

What's New with Cubase Artist 12?

One of the stand-out upgrades is the native support for the ultra-fast Apple Silicon and the absence of the old USB e-Licenser dongle, meaning that the entire protection and registration process now happens via software. The new chord-recognition feature is also pretty handy: feed Artist 12 a snippet of audio and it'll identify the chords for you, easing the process when working with pre-recorded material. Another sweet bonus is Verve: a virtual instrument that sounds like an otherworldly, atmospheric piano, and since the volume control is now sample-accurate, the audio quality has improved immensely. This is a Steinberg title, so plenty of other tweaks and welcome additions come bundled up with the twelfth edition of Artist, offering a virtual playground packed with plenty to experiment with.

Tips or comments about this product

• 32-bit plugins are not supported
• VST2 plugins only compatible with Rosetta 2 and not Silicon Macs