Cubase Pro 16

What's new in Cubase 16

Designed to Inspire

Cubase 16 unlocks new creative possibilities with groundbreaking features, streamlined workflows, and intuitive design.

Cubase 16 introduces new creative possibilities, faster workflows, and meaningful refinements across every stage of music production.

Whether you’re opening Cubase for the first time or working on your hundredth production, Cubase 16 keeps you focused on making music with an experience that’s more approachable, more fluid, and more creative than ever.

Instrument Stacks

Stack Your Sound

Create richer sounds faster by combining multiple VST instruments, sampler tracks, and drum tracks into a single instrument stack with one playable track, flexible per-layer filtering, and unified control.

Settings

Everything in One Place

The redesigned Settings dialog brings preferences, key commands, project setup, audio connections, and more into one searchable workspace, with instant non-modal updates while you keep working.

Key Editor

Add Motion with Strum

Make chords feel more natural and expressive with the new Strum feature in the Key Editor, from subtle timing variations to dramatic strummed performances with precise control over timing and feel.

Shape MIDI Time

Stretch melodies, chord progressions, and basslines to fit your song, then add natural accelerandos and ritardandos with a single gesture.

Stem Separation

Separate with More Precision

Extract higher-quality stems, now with dedicated piano and guitar separation for even more flexible editing and remixing.

DrumChain

Give Drums More Punch

Shape drums with DrumChain, a dedicated multi-effects processor designed to add punch, clarity, and weight with ease.

• Pro
• Artist
• Elements

Tempo Detection

Match Your Tempo

The tempo detection workflow has been redesigned to deliver better results in less time, making it easier to match imported songs and recordings to your project.

Spectral Audio Warp

Stretch Audio to the Extreme

New Spectral Audio Warp modes let you radically transform vocals, instruments, drums, and even full mixes in ways that weren’t possible before.

Module FM Library

Modern FM Sounds

The new Module FM library for HALion Sonic with inspiring presets for contemporary productions, opening up fresh leads, keys, basses, and textures powered by HALion's FM engine.

VocalTouch

Simple Vocal Polishing

Streamlined for just the essentials, VocalTouch helps you to shape polished vocal sounds with quick, intuitive control.

New Sounds and Loops

Start with a Spark

Five new sample packs deliver inspiring sounds and fresh starting points for your next projects.

Omnivocal Basic

Fast Track Vocal Ideas

Sketch vocal ideas quickly with a lightweight vocal production tool, built to keep songwriting moving.

Waves Illugen Integration

Expand Your Workflow

Connect Cubase with Waves’ Illugen sample generator to create and import custom samples with minimal interruption to your creative flow.  As a Cubase 16 user, you’ll receive a two-month Waves Illugen subscription voucher in your Steinberg account.

More New Features

More Screens

Video

Output video to multiple destinations, including external video hardware and additional screens, for more flexible scoring setups.

More Import Options

Advanced Audio Coding

Cubase now supports importing M4A and AAC files, making it easier to bring audio in from more sources.

More Sends

Mixing

Cubase 16 expands the maximum number of sends per track from eight to sixteen, and doubles the available Cue Sends from four to eight for more flexible routing.

More Expression

MIDI 2.0

Expand expression workflows with MIDI 2.0, enabling more expressive performances and intelligent articulations from compatible instruments and controllers.

Put Words to Music

Key Editor

Add and edit lyrics directly alongside your MIDI notes in the Key Editor, with fast step entry and dedicated controls for pronunciation and language.

Windows MIDI Support

Windows 11

Cubase now supports the latest Windows MIDI platform, preparing your studio for the next generation of MIDI devices and technologies in Windows 11.

Master Faster

Mastering Presets

Take mixes closer to release with a new set of FX mastering presets, including technical and genre-based starting points for faster release-ready results.

Start with Confidence

Guided Tour

Get up to speed faster with the new guided tour which introduces the Cubase interface and helps new users to get started.

Keep Projects Moving

ASIOGuard

The extended ASIOGuard pre-processing buffer helps demanding projects with many tracks and plug-ins to play back more smoothly with additional processing headroom.

Stay in Sync

Ableton Link

Cubase now supports Ableton Link for smoother synchronization across compatible apps and devices.

A Cleaner Pool

Audio Pool

The Pool has been redesigned for a cleaner, more efficient media management workflow.

Know What It Does

Quick Help

Learn Cubase as you work with Quick Help, offering contextual explanations in the left zone or a floating window.

Small Changes, Big Flow

Workflow

From faster plug-in handling to more flexible drag-and-drop workflows, Cubase 16 has practical refinements to keep you creating.

Name Your Controls

MIDI

Rename MIDI controllers to match your instruments and hardware, making automation and controller editing easier to read and understand.

Pitch and Phase

Sampler Track & Drum Machine

Detect pitch curves in real time, while phase inversion helps layered drums to sound tighter and more focused.

External Connections

Settings

Set up external instruments and effects with audio, MIDI, and synchronization in one streamlined workflow.

New Features at a Glance

Instrument Stacks

Layer multiple instruments inside one playable stack with per-layer filtering and unified control.

Module FM Library

Inspiring HALion Sonic presets for modern FM-based production sounds.

Key Editor Strum

Add more natural timing and feel to programmed chords.

Key Editor Stretch

Stretch melodies, basslines, and chord progressions to the length you need.

Rename Controller

Replace generic MIDI controller messages names with labels that match your instruments and hardware.

Tempo Detection

A redesigned workflow for faster, more reliable tempo matching.

Redesigned Settings

Searchable, consolidated setup and customization in one non-modal window.

Quick Help

Context-aware in-app guidance in the Left Zone or a floating window.

DrumChain

Fast drum enhancement for punch, clarity, and low-end weight.

Waves Illugen Integration

Seamless integration with Waves Illugen for custom sample creation.

Mastering Presets

New technical and genre-based FX chain presets for faster finishing.

New Sounds & Loops

Five new sample packs to spark new ideas.

Pitch Detection and Phase Inversion

Faster sample tuning and tighter drum layering in Sampler Track and Drum Machine.

Omnivocal Basic

A lightweight tool for developing vocal ideas quickly.

Stem Separation

Better quality plus piano and guitar extraction.

Workflow Refinements

Faster insert handling and more flexible drag and drop.

Multiple Video Outputs

Send video to more than one display destination.

Windows MIDI Support

Built on the latest Windows MIDI platform for next-generation MIDI devices and technologies on Windows 11.

Expanded MIDI 2.0 Support

Support for MIDI 2.0 Note Expression and Expression Maps for more expressive performances and orchestral articulation workflows.

Redesigned Audio Pool

Cleaner media management.

Extended ASIO-Guard

More processing headroom for demanding projects with large track counts and CPU-intensive plug-ins.

AAC and M4A Import

Broader audio file support.

Spectral Audio Warp

Extreme time-stretching and pitch-shifting with outstanding sound quality.

VocalTouch

Fast, intuitive vocal shaping.

16 Sends and 8 Cue Sends

More routing options for bigger mix setups.

Guided Tours

A friendlier onboarding experience for new users.

Ableton Link

Easier sync with other compatible music apps.