Cubase Score 2.0 (1996) For Windows/PC (article)

[chrisNova777]

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1996_articles/apr96/steinbergcubase.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20160102132123/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1996_articles/apr96/steinbergcubase.html

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum Processor: 386 DX 33+
• Minimum Display: 16 colours, 640x600
• Recommended Processor: 486 DX2 66+
• Recommended Display: 256 colours, 800x600
• Windows 3.1 or Windows 95
• 8Mb RAM or more
• MIDI Interface/Windows Multimedia Driver

NOTE: Although the manual states that Cubase Score can be used on a 386DX, the software will not run particularly effectively. I tried a 486 DX2 66Mhz, and while for sequencing requirements this was more than adequate, things got a great deal slower when I tried to use internal samples and any of the modules (forget using the AVI movie player for a start!). Cubase requires a powerful processor to help get past any bottlenecks within the PC architecture. For this review, my P60 Pentium with 8Mb of RAM was utilised with a SoundBlaster AWE32 soundcard installed. I just about managed get everything running together...

Cubase Score v2 will run under Windows 95, although no improvements are made to any functions within the program; the only real benefits appear in the form of an improved desktop and more coherent file management. Please note, however, that in order to run Cubase Score under Windows 95, you will need, at the very minimum, a fast 486 machine with 8Mb of RAM. Running Windows 95 does not offer any improvements in terms of performance over a similarly-specified machine running Windows 3.x.

Steinberg have made it clear that a Windows 95 (32 bit)-specific program is under development, which should make full use of all the new technologies within Windows 95.

pros & cons
STEINBERG CUBASE SCORE v2.0 PC £499

PROS
• Score Edit's ease of use and wealth of features now rival most dedicated scorewriters.
• Ability to import a score into an art or DTP program as a bitmapped or postscript file.
• That interface just keeps getting better and better!
• New modules give access to some innovative features.

CONS
• Does a professional musician using a professional sequencer really need auto-accompaniment?
• A more comprehensive list of drivers for the studio module and MIDI mixer would be appreciated!

SUMMARY
An excellent piece of software that demonstrates the true ability of the PC and Windows as platforms for a MIDI musician. Although it takes a while to fully explore all of the features, one can initially use it just as a very user-friendly MIDI sequencer, and investigate the advanced features later.

[chrisNova777]

mac version seems to be posted here: https://www.macintoshrepository.org/7165-cubase-score-2-0-9-no-vst-
.sit file - 1mb
must be for vintage mac os7.x or 8.x

[Mixermap]

Got it off Ebay a couple of days ago.

It comes on four floppy disks and a CD (could this be the earliest CD version of Cubase?)
Three of the floppies are for the program, the fourth is the Studio Module.
The CD, as well as the program, contains many extras including video tutorials etc.
It does not contain any other version of Cubase.

It has a RED dongle that actually works on Cubase Score 3.05 too!!! (the version from the VST 3.5 CD).
The dongle also works with Cubase Score 1.02 (I have an original floppy).
The strange thing is that it does NOT work with Cubase standard 3.05...(nor with Cubase Audio 3.05, but that was to be expected). I tested it with Cubase standard 2.8 and it does not work with that either.
Still...three versions out of three of Score is good enough!

There is no Audio recording whatsoever but it includes a module called "Waveplayer"

"WAVEPLAYER: the digital audio playback tool for your MME-compatible soundcard.
Turn your sound card into a sampler and trigger the audio from the Cubase Arrange Window!"

I will test it soon and report back

It also includes the following other modules:
Studio / StyleTrax / CueTrax




I took pictures of all three Score versions working with the same dongle on a Toshiba 4000CDT Pentium II 233MHz / Windows 98SE / 32MB Ram / 4GB Compact Flash modification.

http://www.e-laptop.com/catalog/toshiba/4000cdt.shtml

On the Steinberg FTP site there are three updates to this version of Score: 2.01, 2.02 and 2.03.
I will try them out soon to see what they do.

[chrisNova777]

hey!

great pics + info! great contribution

btw im also getting a 486 laptop soon i hope..
an NEC VERSA! which was a pretty expensive brand of 486 laptop back in the early 90s

[Mixermap]

Thanks for the comment!

That NEC Versa looks really cool...

[Open Ocean]

What a great feeling to get vintage software so many memories about these simple great programms in which we used to draw our first soundscapes, thanks so much for this site !

[chrisNova777]

[smilesdavis]

hey chris can you scan the back of the floppies please, im collecting the numbers and the dates for a database for us