Steinberg has updated Nuendo 8 directly to Nuendo 10--synchronizing its version number with Cubase 10. More importantly, it highlights that this is a significant update with more than 40 new features, updates and a redesigned GUI with support for higher resolution displays. Both Nuendo and Cubase share the same functionality for music recording, arranging, and editing, but now Nuendo further defines its role as an advanced media/post-production system for professional video editors and game audio designers.

Nuendo 10 introduces the Field Recorder Audio import function. FAR adds the ability to quickly search, match and replace OMF or AAF files (such as an alternate microphone track from the sound mixer's field recorder) based on the META data from an existing clip in the session. You may filter the search for various attributes (duration, scene, take, tape, date recorded, origin, prefix in a file name or create customized META data for the clips in your session.

The new Video Cut Detection feature scans a video file (or a part of a video file) and automatically creates markers at every video cut. This worked perfectly on a sizzle reel I worked on for a TV promo, which has many quick cuts in a 30-second video.

Nuendo's VST AmbiDecoder along with support for dearVR Spatial Connect 3D audio production enables immersive mixing and authoring VR productions. The built-in list of included plug-ins grows with three new ones: Doppler effect, Voice Designer, and Distroyer.

Doppler has controls over the start and end points (via time code if desired) and where the listener's position relative to the start and end time points. Besides left to right movement, the pitch and intensity of the effect are adjustable. This is a sound designer's dream. I used it while working on a number of short, "whoosh" sound effects for a sound design project and was able to add three-dimensional movement unique to each whoosh. It's amazing how much interest it can add to static sounds.

Voice Designer is also fantastic! It transforms any vocal with parameters like, Detune, Formant, Preserve (allowing pitch shifting but preserving formants), Robot, Morph and FX. I liked the two Morph settings: The "A" setting simply transitions from one sound to another but the more interesting "B" setting applies the characteristics of one sound over the top of another.

Distroyer is an asymmetric distortion plug-in that ranges from subtle coloration to extreme crunch. It is completely adjustable and does the job.

I liked the new Locator range display that shows setting locator positions and the total duration of your locator range. Not found in Cubase until the version 10.2 update, this is a welcomed addition in Nuendo 10.

The mixer has MixConsole Snapshot storage of the static state of all the mix console settings including Pre (filters/gain/phase), Inserts, EQ, Channel Strip, Sends, Pan, and Volume. Snapshots can include all the tracks or just selected tracks. This is awesome for trying out completely different effect chains on a vocal using a single click. Previously automated volume changes always overwrite the snapshot's volume position.

Introduced in Cubase 10, Nuendo now has the Audio Alignment Tool. This is like Synchro Arts VocALign Pro 4 but works inside of Nuendo. The Audio Alignment aligns the timing between various tracks and not pitch.

One track is used as a timing reference and then one or more target tracks will be adjusted to conform to the timing of that reference track. I tried it on an entire stack of unison backing vocals. After using Steinberg's new VariAudio 3 to tuned the initial reference track and the three additional unison tracks, I was able to time correct the other three tracks all in one operation and at the same time with Auto Alignment.

Nuendo 10 will display multiple tracks' audio waveforms in a single sample editor window. When you are trying to manually align the timing between two tracks, you can look at a reference track/waveform overlaid with the track's waveform you are adjusting in a single window.

Another Cubase 10 feature now in Nuendo 10 is a new button in the VST 3 plug-in window. You can route side-chain signals from any track in the session without leaving the plugin. You can also see the side-chain routing from within the plug-in---this feature did not previously exist.

Nuendo 10's Right Zone media window in the Arrange page now has an additional pane that gives direct access to the system's installed plug-ins. Simply drag the plug-in's icon onto a track and it will be inserted into the next available slot. You can also easily attach a graphic of the plug-in's GUI to replace the generic icon in the list so there's a visual representation of the plug-in as well as the text. Another nice touch is the search window for typing in the name of the plug-in you're looking for. Control room access, samples, presets, metering, and now plug-ins are accessible from the main Arrange page.

Nuendo 10's channel strip gets a redesign to improve its look, functionality, and ease of configuration. Modules can easily be dragged left and right to change the signal flow; the entire strip can be positioned before or after the channel inserts. All three compressors available (standard, tube, and vintage) all sound excellent and have side-chain capability with an enlarged view mode for closer inspection of their controls.

Another addition to the MixConsole is the new latency monitor. Each channel can display the current latency introduced by the plug-ins (or chain of plugins) on that channel. You can also see total system latency. Probably the two biggest feature requests since the introduction of Nuendo 8 are to bring back the ability to replace the audio in a video file and bounce audio and video together. This feature along with ARA support and Cue Sheet Export is coming soon with the next 10.1 free update. The suggested retail price for the boxed version of this first release of Nuendo 10 including the required dongle, will be $999.99 and the download version will be available for $979.99.