Well, I finally got around to testing Cubase 4 and Studio Connections with my Motif ES 8. I purchased a Core 2 Duo machine a ways back but had only used it for video editing for the most part. Now that things have settled down in my personal life I thought I'd give it a whirl. After a bit of trial and error, I'm happy I did.
First off, what exactly is studio connections? In short it is a technology that allows you to use outboard equipment (a Motif, a compressor, an effects unit) inside Cubase, and control the unit from within Cubase. That means all the Motif software (voice editor, multi part editor, etc) now resides right in Cubase. What does all this mean? Here is a real life example:
Open Cubase, start a new song. Open the Motif multi part editor in Cubase studio manager. Select 16 Motif voices (instruments) to play and record in your Cubase song, create a channel in Cubase for each one, record all parts, make changes to Motif sounds (EQ, reverb, and ALL mixer settings) save your Cubase song, turn off your computer, then turn off your Motif without saving ANYTHING, go to work, come home, turn your computer and Motif on, open your Cubase song, and viola, Cubase sets up the Motif EXACTLY the way you left it with all instruments and settings in tact. It's called TOTAL RECALL. And I'm here to tell you, it actually WORKS. Amazingly sequences play just as tight as they do in the Motif, and I have experienced no glitches at all (after I figured out how to set it up). And all this without mLan. :)
Is Studio Commections for you? I will follow up with another article that covers scenarios it would be best used, and the pros and cons shortly. But for now, all I can say is WOW, Steinberg got it right. It actually works! I have been using Cubase since 1994 and this is a major breakthrough.