So I bought a copy of Cubase SE, but i'm really confused. I have used other software to make midi music like fruity loops and cakewalk back in the day. With those, you had a whole bunch of instruments to choose from, like several pianos, guitars, basses, etc. For some reason I can't figure out how to do this in Cubase. I see that there is a way to use these VST instruments, but there are just like 7 basses there and a drumset. Is there some way to get access to a whole variety of midi instruments? I am manually creating my midi tracks by clicking the notes into the software. Thanks for any help!

ktuluorion,
welcome to Cubase ;)

yes you are right, cubase is not a "mid-level" sequencer and does not provide much instruments. all of the man power of creating cubase was involved in creating the engine.

so basiclly you do not have many VSTis to start with. like you said. A bass guitar / drumset and some sytesizers.

from here you should equip your VSTis by buying them or by using freewares.

there are tons of freewares (google for free VSTi or free VST for some plugins).

just to let you know. for example one of the best grand piano avialable as a VSTi is 2 DVDs (9gig).

cubase is not reason/fruity-loop. but a very powerfull sequencer.

enjoy your new toy ;)
Nuno1

Quote: Original post by Nuno1
ktuluorion,
welcome to Cubase ;)

yes you are right, cubase is not a "mid-level" sequencer and does not provide much instruments. all of the man power of creating cubase was involved in creating the engine.

so basiclly you do not have many VSTis to start with. like you said. A bass guitar / drumset and some sytesizers.

from here you should equip your VSTis by buying them or by using freewares.

there are tons of freewares (google for free VSTi or free VST for some plugins).

just to let you know. for example one of the best grand piano avialable as a VSTi is 2 DVDs (9gig).

cubase is not reason/fruity-loop. but a very powerfull sequencer.

enjoy your new toy ;)
Nuno1

Thanks for the information Nuno1. So I should go out and purchase the instruments elsewhere. I am glad to hear that it is powerful, as I am tired of using software that will not do everything that I need to. Unfortunately, I'm not finding the documentation to be great.

Do you know of any really good resources for getting more instruments? (like a purchasable cd?) Some kind of pack that would give me a good starting base of various instruments?

Thanks again for your help!

I would recommend Kontakt, the sampler by Native Instruments. I have it, and I've never run against a limitation with it. It can read a large number of sample database formats (like Akai and GigaSampler, which are the most common high-level sample databases). For orchestra, I'd recommend the Peter Siedlaczek's Advanced Orchestra.

Other good instruments include Native Instruments Reaktor (pretty much the definitive standard in modular synths), or Absynth (a more synth-y synth). If you want to buy a pre-bought bundle of instruments, then try "NI Komplete" which is pretty much all the NI instruments in one purchase -- it's pretty expensive, though.

Thank you for the information.

Are there any more budget oriented packs that you would recommend? I am still learning how to do all of this, and I just want a set of instruments that I can fiddle with for now, because I don't know precisely what I will want later on once I get more experienced yet.

Thanks!

Let me know exactly what type of instruments you are after.

anyway, here are some of my favoirtes.

1. Battery 2/ BFD , those are drums insruments.
2. Atmosphere - an amazing set of strings/pads/etc
3. Triolgy - a Bass VSTi.
4. Hypersonic - A synth

there are many more, just name what you are after,

Cheers,
Nuno1

a few suggestions for free synths and effects can be found here:

http://www.kvraudio.com/get.php

and here:

http://www.rocketloop.com/

and here a list of my personal freeware favorites (not complete)

instruments:
e-phonic drumatic 3, virtual analog drum synth, http://www.e-phonic.com/plugins/
angular momentum analog warfare 2, 3 osc bass synthhttp://www.amvst.com/index.php?name=Content&pid=8
land of cockaigne synths, fm virtual analog etc., http://www.funkelectric.com/~cockaigne/ (if the d/l links dont work, copy-paste them and replace progress-eve with funkelectric)
4front piano, hybrid sample/synth piano, http://www.yohng.com/piano.html
crystal, semi modular fm/subtractive synth, http://www.greenoak.com/crystal/
rgc:sfz, soundfont player, http://www.rgcaudio.com/sfz.htm
cortidesign/ugo string theory 1.5, physical modeling synth, http://www.cortidesign.com/ugo/
cortidesign/ugo texture 1.2, textural VA synth, http://www.cortidesign.com/ugo/
MrRay SeventyThree, e-piano synth, http://www.soundfonts.it/?a=read&b=18

effects:
all digitalfishphones effects, the fish fillets and dominion are the most interesting ones, http://www.digitalfishphones.com/main.php?item=2&subItem=1
e-phonic lofi, lofi effect (duh), http://www.e-phonic.com/plugins/
izotope vinyl, vinyl effect (duh again), http://www.izotope.com/
voxengo boogex, amp sim, http://www.voxengo.com/product/boogex/

tools:
voxengo msed, m/s endcoder/decoder, http://www.voxengo.com/product/msed/
tobybear midibag, midi tools, http://www.tobybear.de/p_midibag.html
tobybear utilbag, more tools, http://www.tobybear.de/p_utilbag.html
nick whitehurst cplugs, tuner, spectrum analyzer, stereo image meter, phase correlation meter, http://mitglied.lycos.de/moritz_48/Free-VST/cplugs11.ZIP
elemental audio inspector, spectrum analyzer, balance, peak, rms etc, http://www.elementalaudio.com/products/inspector/

and for non-free stuff (even further from complete, i don't own most of these but have used them before or heard/tried demos that convinced me):

instruments:
rayzoon jamstix, *great* virtual drummer, and cheap too, includes samples but support vsti subhosting, http://www.rayzoon.com/
steinberg halion 3, the vst sample player, http://www.steinberg.de/155_1.html
uebershall liquid instruments, loop players with melodyne tech, http://www.ueberschall.com
toontrack dfh superior, drum sample player/samples, http://www.toontrack.com/superior.shtml
fxpansion bfd, drum sample player/samples, http://www.fxpansion.com/product-bfd-main.php
natural studio ns_kit7, drum samples, requires sample player such as halion, but a *lot* cheaper than bfd or dfhs http://www.naturalstudio.co.uk/

effects:
voxengo pristine space, convolution reverb, http://www.voxengo.com/product/pspace/

tools:
voxengo impulse modeler, room designer for convolution reverb, http://www.voxengo.com/product/imodeler/