The Cubasis 3 mobile DAW is now available on Android, meaning the platform’s selection of digital audio workstations is starting to catch up a bit with iOS. The app brings a multitude of audio recording and editing tools to the fingertips of Android and iOS users alike, including the ability to combine multiple tracks, the Cubasis mixer and more.

Cubasis, a mobile version of music creation software Cubase, has been offered on iOS since 2012. Notable features include an improved MIDI resolution, 75 new effects presets, the addition of a “history list” feature to replace “undo” and an improved MediaBay for sharing and storing music, among others. The brand new “Master Strip Plug-In Suite” gives users a stereo imager for manipulation of stereo width, multiband compressor to alter frequency ranges and loudness maximizer to raise loudness without clipping.

Many other feature additions and capabilities in Cubasis 3 include:

  • MIDI resolution dramatically improved with 960 pulses per quarter note
  • 75 new effects presets
  • Undo reinvented with History List
  • Redesigned instruments and effects
  • Updated audio, MIDI and automation editors
  • Improved MediaBay for creating folders, moving files and sharing music
  • Presets for scaling the user interface let Cubasis fit perfectly on any device
  • Plus many other great additions, new in Cubasis 3

Compared to Apple’s platform, Android users have to make do with a much smaller selection of available music apps. Most popular DAWs, software synths and effects are only available on the iPad and iPhone.

This is in part due to the fact that Apple has given iOS system-level media capabilities that resemble those of macOS, while Android’s audio engine wasn’t really designed for much more than making phone calls and watching videos. But part of the reason could also be that there just wasn’t an attractive DAW available, one with enough advanced features to serve as a hub for people’s music activities on the platform. With Cubasis 3 for Android, it seems that this could be changing. Is this release the turning point for Android as a music making platform?

Alexander Gross, Cubasis lead developer, commented: “Developing a creativity tool that is used by people all around the world for bringing their musical ideas into reality is a big pleasure as well as a responsibility. As lead developer of Cubasis, I’m proud that the team’s exceptional effort for creating a cross-platform codebase finally sees the light of day with the release on Android.”

“This is a huge milestone in the evolution of Cubasis. We’ve been developing new features for Cubasis on the iOS platform at an extremely fast pace, and it just felt right to bring the powerful tools in Cubasis to the Android community of musicians as well,” said Marketing Manager Lars Slowak.

If you’re an iOS user, the recent version 3.1 update fixes many issues users have found and reported in the app. Cubasis 3 can be bought in the App Store and Google Play for $49.99.

Key features:

  • Unlimited number of audio and MIDI tracks
  • 32-bit floating-point audio engine
  • Real-time time-stretching and pitch-shifting featuring zplane’s élastique 3
  • Micrologue virtual analog synthesizer with 126 ready-to-go presets
  • MicroSonic with over 120 virtual instrument sounds
  • MiniSampler to create your own instruments (includes 20 factory instruments)
  • Mixer with studio-grade channel strip per track and 17 effects processors
  • Fully automatable DJ-like Spin FX effect plug-in
  • Over 550 MIDI and time-stretch-capable audio loops
  • Virtual keyboard, chord and drum pads with intuitive note repeat
  • Audio editor and MIDI editor with MIDI CC support MIDI editor for programming and editing MIDI tracks quickly and efficiently
  • MIDI auto quantize
  • Track duplicate
  • Automation, MIDI CC, program change and aftertouch support
  • Audio and MIDI hardware support*
  • MIDI over Bluetooth LE support
  • MIDI clock and MIDI thru support
  • Export to Cubase and various other services