I was looking for something do to a little MIDI-track editing, so I thought I'd try Steinberg Cubase. I signed up for a free 30-day trial, waited an hour for the 3 GB installer to download, then spent the 25 minutes it took to install. It installed around 10 different applications and I'm not sure what most of them are for. The names weren't that intuitive.

After the install I tried to launch it. I was greeted with an input form requesting some kind of license key that should have been emailed to me. I logged into my Yahoo! (in b4 Yahoo! is TRWTF) and found the trial license key. I copy-pasted it into the form and clicked activate. A minute later, it dinged. "Activation successful!" I clicked continue, and the launcher closed and Cubase started up.

It instantly gave me a licensing error. Apparently, I can't launch it without some kind of encrypted USB e-licensing stick thing.

Some trial. I closed it an uninstalled everything from my system with "Steinberg" in the name.

Cubase is what every musician I know who does digital audio production uses for that job.

I can't think of a single one who has actually paid for a licence.

mott555:

I logged into my Yahoo! (in b4 Yahoo! is TRWTF)

in b4 "the only problem with 'Yahoo!' is you still wrinting it with the exclamation point"

mott555:

MIDI-track editing ... 3 GB installer

Wow, just wow. Does it come with video tutorials or with a complete history of music?

It would be ironic if of those 3GB, 2.9GB were used for licensing stuff... which is ironic because it doesn't work. And yes, I'm a fan of Alannis Morrisete... isn't that ironic?

flabdablet:

Cubase is what every musician I know who does digital audio production uses for that job.

I can't think of a single one who has actually paid for a licence.

 

 So musicians pirate software, and software developers pirate music? At least we have a little justification now!

Yes, Cubase requiresa dongle for authentication. If you don't like that, choose another seqencer. Cockos' Reaper is cheaper and well endowed. Other options are Ableton Live, Studio One, FL Studio (if you're on a PC), or Logic, and Digital Performer for the mac.

And the musicians I know have simply bought the software.

ekolis:

So musicians pirate software, and software developers pirate music? At least we have a little justification now!

A lawyer should try that in court.

Or claim that the music was made using stolen goods so it was not allowed to make any profit.

mott555:

I was looking for something do to a little MIDI-track editing, so I thought I'd try Steinberg Cubase.

3 years ago I had the same problem and decided to use Quartz AudioMaster Freeware. Never regretted it (It had all the features I needed, both recording from a MIDI device and manually editing MIDI events and/or notes), but it seems that the company went out of business in the meantime- at least the official website does no longer exist and I don't know how well it works on more recent Windows versions like 7 or 8.

It is also more like 3MB than 3GB :)

(It does not support VST plugins, though, so if you need them, use a different tool, like for example Magix Samplitude or LMMS...)

Or Cakewalk Sonar, or Propellerhead Reason.

If, as you say, you literally want to do simple MIDI track editing, you could try Aria Maestosa, which is open-source freeware written in C++, and which runs on Mac OS X, Windows. and Linux.

TGV:

Cockos' Reaper is cheaper and well endowed. Other options are Ableton Live, Studio One, FL Studio (if you're on a PC), or Logic, and Digital Performer for the mac.

I do hear a lot of good things about Reaper, but unfortunately, you mentioned TRWTF.

Logic.

This must be the most inaptly named software in existence. It's a bit as if C++ had instead been called 'Simple', or Perl 'Impossible To Write Obfuscated Code Even If You Tried'.

When it comes to deserved punishment for creating Logic, I'm in doubt between hanging, drawing and quartering, and death by a thousand cuts. Either one still seems mild, though.

After all, it was so bad, that Apple bought it. If that isn't a RWTF, I don't know what is.

 

ubersoldat:

mott555:

MIDI-track editing ... 3 GB installer

Wow, just wow. Does it come with video tutorials or with a complete history of music?

It would be ironic if of those 3GB, 2.9GB were used for licensing stuff... which is ironic because it doesn't work. And yes, I'm a fan of Alannis Morrisete... isn't that ironic?

It's not exactly just a "MIDI-track editing" software. It's VST host/virtual studio, and most of the 3GB is taken by various sound banks, libraries, generators and plugins. OP: TRWTF is knowing you need a small and simple single-purpose app and instead of googling for "free midi-track editing" downloading a trial of full-blown professional musicmaking/editing software suite.

TGV:

Yes, Cubase requiresa dongle for authentication. If you don't like that, choose another seqencer. Cockos' Reaper is cheaper and well endowed. Other options are Ableton Live, Studio One, FL Studio (if you're on a PC), or Logic, and Digital Performer for the mac.

And the musicians I know have simply bought the software.

We're talking about a trial version here, see? A DEMO. If the musicians you know have "simply" bought "the software" without trying it first, then that's up to them, but the rest of us might want to opt for a free trial if we get the chance. What Steinberg is doing is offering that chance, only to fail at the "free" part, AFTER you've spent hours downloading and installing it.

SEMI-HYBRID code:

It's not exactly just a "MIDI-track editing" software. It's VST host/virtual studio, and most of the 3GB is taken by various sound banks, libraries, generators and plugins. OP: TRWTF is knowing you need a small and simple single-purpose app and instead of googling for "free midi-track editing" downloading a trial of full-blown professional musicmaking/editing software suite.

Could have been worse. Could have been ProTools.

 

TGV:

Cockos' Reaper is cheaper and well endowed.

Unrelated side note: Reaper is the only piece of commercial software I've ever seen that asks you for lame_enc.dll.

I wasn't sure what Cubase was, but I had an old CD from somewhere with Cubase 4 LE which didn't work (got missing DLL exceptions after installing), so I was stupid enough to think maybe the newest version worked. In any case, it looks like you guys have offered me enough alternative suggestions to keep me busy this week.

toon:

We're talking about a trial version here, see? A DEMO. If the musicians you know have "simply" bought "the software" without trying it first, then that's up to them, but the rest of us might want to opt for a free trial if we get the chance. What Steinberg is doing is offering that chance, only to fail at the "free" part, AFTER you've spent hours downloading and installing it.

Whence the anger? How quickly the world owes you something you knew existed only ten seconds ago, in the words of Louis CK. Yes, it's a demo. Steinberg has a dongle protection. Get over it, or snicker at it and walk away, but don't make it look like a huge WTF when all that happened was that the guy didn't read the whole page. There is a big exclamation mark saying "The Cubase Trial license can only be activated once per USB-eLicenser/Soft-eLicenser!" Perhaps it should have been surrounded by the blink tag...

toon:

We're talking about a trial version here, see? A DEMO. If the musicians you know have "simply" bought "the software" without trying it first, then that's up to them, but the rest of us might want to opt for a free trial if we get the chance. What Steinberg is doing is offering that chance, only to fail at the "free" part, AFTER you've spent hours downloading and installing it.

 

TRWTF is people thinking this isn't a WTF.

TGV:

toon:

We're talking about a trial version here, see? A DEMO. If the musicians you know have "simply" bought "the software" without trying it first, then that's up to them, but the rest of us might want to opt for a free trial if we get the chance. What Steinberg is doing is offering that chance, only to fail at the "free" part, AFTER you've spent hours downloading and installing it.

Whence the anger? How quickly the world owes you something you knew existed only ten seconds ago, in the words of Louis CK. Yes, it's a demo. Steinberg has a dongle protection. Get over it, or snicker at it and walk away, but don't make it look like a huge WTF when all that happened was that the guy didn't read the whole page. There is a big exclamation mark saying "The Cubase Trial license can only be activated once per USB-eLicenser/Soft-eLicenser!" Perhaps it should have been surrounded by the blink tag...

Where do you download the trial dongle?

joe.edwards:

Or Cakewalk Sonar, or Propellerhead Reason.

Those sound like Splinter Cell games.