Steinberg surprise-releases Cubase 16 with six-stem separation and Ableton Link
Cubase 16 adds Instrument Stacks, Yamaha-powered vocal synthesis and a redesigned Settings area.
Steinberg surprise-released Cubase 16 a year after doing the same with Cubase 15. The Hamburg company ships it in the usual three tiers, Pro, Artist and Elements, and all three are available now from the Steinberg Online Shop and retailers.
The headline feature is Instrument Stacks. They let you combine multiple VST instruments, Sampler Tracks and Drum Tracks into one playable instrument, with controls for each layer.
Stem Separation now splits audio into six stems: vocals, drums, bass, piano, guitar and other instruments. Tempo Detection gets a more advanced algorithm and a streamlined workflow, aimed at finding the tempo of freely recorded performances. Cubase 16 also adds support for Ableton Link.
Omnivocal Basic generates singing voices inside Cubase. It runs on Yamaha’s latest NX vocal synthesis engine and comes with two voicebanks. The Key Editor gains a Lyrics function, so lyrics can be typed and edited next to MIDI notes. A new VocalTouch plugin handles “polished” vocal sounds, and DrumChain is a multi-effects processor built for drums.
On the content side, a new Module FM library brings more than 200 presets across leads, keys, basses and textures. Five sample packs arrive too: Afro House, Beats & Breaks, K-Pop, Latin Vibes and Organic Sessions. Cubase’s integration with Waves’ Illugen AI sample generator has also been upgraded. In the Key Editor, Strum adds “natural timing variations” to programmed chords, and Stretch Selection compresses or stretches MIDI sections.
Steinberg calls everyday workflow a “major focus” of this release. It redesigned the Settings area, and preferences, key commands, project setup, audio connections and other options now sit in one searchable interface. The ASIO-Guard pre-processing buffer is longer for more headroom in complex projects, audio sends per channel double from eight to 16, and MIDI 2.0 support is expanded. A Quick Help system shows contextual information about unfamiliar functions and controls inside the DAW.
“With Cubase 16, we’ve focused on what matters most to our users: inspiring creative possibilities and an intuitive, efficient music production experience,” said Matthias Quellmann, Senior Marketing Manager at Steinberg.
Cubase Pro 16 costs $599.99 / €599, Cubase Artist 16 is $299.99 / €299, and Cubase Elements 16 is $99.99 / €99. Anyone who bought Cubase 15 since October 7 gets a free grace period update to Cubase 16. Upgrades, crossgrades and educational versions are also available.
