SL Cubase is the mid-level offering of Cubase music production software. It has many of the same features as its big brother SX Cubase but at a lower price. SL3 Cubase, the newest release of the SL version, allows for professional level audio and MIDI production utilizing the superb Cubase VST 2.3 audio engine. ("SL" and "SL3" are used synonomously throughout this article.)

SL3 does not have the professional scoring or the surround sound capabilities of SX Cubase, and there are a few other functions that have been cut down or reduced. Aside from these details, SL3 Cubase offers extensive audio and MIDI editing and mixing, loop based arranging, virtual instruments, and full effects routing.

One of the innovative features of Cubase software is the Audio Warp engine, and it has not been left out of SL Cubase. Audio warp allows real-time changes in the tempo of audio recordings with or without pitch shifting. This allows you to squeeze or stretch audio to match any length of time without changing the pitch. SL Cubase audio warp also allows special effects which can be achieved through pitch shifting- gender changes of voices and the creation of new timbres and sounds through extreme changes in pitch.

The audio warp engine in SL3 Cubase also supports ACID files for loop based composing. Loops that are imported into SL Cubase automatically adjust to the project’s tempo changes.

As with all versions of Cubase, SL Cubase supports Virtual Studio Technology instruments, (or VSTIs.) These are plug-ins that take the place of external synthesizers for producing sound. SL3 Cubase can use up to 16 VSTIs at one time. This is a bit less than the 32 which SX Cubase can handle, but enough for most purposes. When VSTIs are used in conjunction with the Freeze function (see below,) SL Cubase has the capacity for an unlimited number of VSTIs.

There are hundreds of VSTIs available to use with SL3 Cubase. Some are free and some are commercial products. SL Cubase comes packed with several VSTIs including the A1 Virtual-analog Synth Unit from Waldorf.

The main limitation with VSTIs are their (oftentimes) high CPU requirements. Depending on your computer system, loading 7 or 8 VSTIs into SL Cubase can cause everything to slow down. Thankfully, there’s a solution built into SL Cubase - the freeze function. This allows you to convert the sound produced by the Virtual Studio Technology instrument into an audio file. You can then release the VSTI from memory to free up system resources. And if you need to edit the track, simply unfreeze it and make the necessary changes.

Each audio track in SL Cubase can be routed to various effects including reverb and delay. SL3 Cubase provides 5 insert slots for audio track, a bit less than the 8 slots in SX Cubase. SL comes with a wide variety of professional effects plug-ins and there are many third party products also available.

When it comes to editing, this program has a variety of options. MIDI editing can be done many different ways, with three different editors available. The audio editing functions in SL Cubase are comprehensive; virtually any audio transformations can be done and if you make a mistake, all edits are reversible.

The MIDI editors in SL3 Cubase should be fairly intuitive to anyone who has used other MIDI software. Notes can be manipulated with various mouse tools to change pitch, length or velocity. The 3 MIDI editors are the list editor, the key editor and the drum editor. This last one has special features for editing drum tracks. The notes are shown as hits, and the drum names are shown in a list down the left of the screen. It’s easy to convert all your hi-hat hits to cabasa or any other drum sound available.

Audio editing in SL3 Cubase is a bit less intuitive than MIDI editing. It’s worthwhile working through the “Getting Started” PDF file that comes with SL3 Cubase to understand the concepts. Once the ins and outs of the program are understood though, you'll be able to utilize the powerful audio editing features in SL3.

SL Cubase can automate every aspect of recorded audio, which is an extremely valuable feature when it comes to mixing your tracks. Each track can be individually set for volume changes, effect changes, and panning. The control information is incorporated into the track so you can see at a glance how the audio is being changed. Automation info can be viewed selectively- a necessity in order to sort out the huge amount of information that could be recorded in SL Cubase.

Is SL3 Cubase perfect? Some might say so, but the truth is that there can be some frustrations at times. The layout of the screen can be confusing and intimidating, especially for those new to the program. This is mainly because of the capabilities of SL Cubase; it can do so many things that the screen is packed with various controls. In fairness, many screen elements can be customized in the Preferences panel.

SL Cubase can be quite taxing on your computer system. Although the minimum requirements are quite modest (Pentium/Athlon 800 MHz and 384 MB RAM for Windows and Power Mac G4 867 MHz, 384 MB RAM, OS X Version 10.3.3 or higher for Macintosh) the recommended requirements are quite a bit higher: Pentium/Athlon 2.8 GHz or faster and 512 MB RAM for Windows and a Power Mac G5 Dual 1.8 GHz or faster with 512 MB RAM for Macintosh. In addition, a 1152 x 864 pixel dual monitor setup is recommended.

Even with all that in mind, for full-featured music production, Cubase is one of the best, and the reduced price of SL Cubase makes it a true bargain.