Steinberg Cubase AI - 9.5 Operation Manual

Operation Manual

Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Christina Kaboth, Insa Mingers, Matthias Obrecht, Sabine Pfeifer, Benjamin Schütte, Marita Sladek

This PDF provides improved access for vision-impaired users. Please note that due to the complexity and number of images in this document, it is not possible to include text descriptions of images.

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. Registered licensees of the product described herein may print one copy of this document for their personal use.

All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. For more information, please visit www.steinberg.net/trademarks.

Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2018.

Cubase_9.5.20_en-US_2018-01-19

7 Introduction

7 Platform-Independent Documentation 7 About the Documentation 8 Conventions 9 Key Commands

10 Setting Up Your System

10 Setting Up Audio 17 Setting Up MIDI 20 Connecting a Synchronizer

21 Audio Connections

21 Audio Connections Window 22 Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs 23 Adding Input and Output Busses 24 Presets for Input and Output Busses 24 About Monitoring 25 Editing the Bus Configurations

26 Project Window

27 Showing/Hiding Zones 27 Project Zone 37 Left Zone 42 Lower Zone 47 Right Zone 51 Keyboard Focus in the Project Window 52 Zooming in the Project Window 56 Snap Function 59 Cross-Hair Cursor 59 Edit History Dialog

61 Project Handling

61 Creating New Projects 62 Hub 63 Project Assistant 63 About Project Files 64 About Template Files 65 Project Setup Dialog 68 Opening Project Files 69 Saving Project Files 70 Reverting to the Last Saved Version 70 Choosing a Project Location 70 Creating Self-Contained Projects

73 Tracks

73 Track Inspector Settings 74 Track Control Settings 76 Audio Tracks 80 Instrument Tracks 85 MIDI Tracks 89 Sampler Tracks(Cubase Elements only) 93 Arranger Track 95 Chord Track

96 FX Channel Tracks 100 Folder Tracks 102 Group Channel Tracks 106 Marker Track 107 Ruler Track 108 Video Track

109 Track Handling

109 Adding Tracks 111 Exporting MIDI Tracks as Standard MIDI File 113 Removing Tracks 113 Moving Tracks in the Track List 113 Renaming Tracks 114 Coloring Tracks 114 Showing Track Pictures 116 Setting the Track Height 117 Selecting Tracks 118 Duplicating Tracks 118 Disabling Tracks(Cubase Elements only) 118 Organizing Tracks in Folder Tracks 119 Handling Overlapping Audio 119 How Events are Displayed on Folder Tracks 119 Modifying Event Display on Folder Tracks 120 Track Presets

125 Parts and Events

125 Events 128 Parts 130 Editing Techniques for Parts and Events

141 Range Editing

141 Creating a Selection Range 142 Editing Selection Ranges

145 Playback and Transport

145 Transport Panel 147 Transport Menu 151 Transport 153 Transport Pop-Up Window 154 Time Display Window 155 Left and Right Locators 156 Setting the Project Cursor Position 157 Auto-Scroll 158 Time Formats 159 Pre-Roll and Post-Roll 159 Punch In and Punch Out 160 Metronome Click 165 Chase

166 On-Screen Keyboard

166 Recording MIDI With the On-Screen Keyboard 167 On-Screen Keyboard Options

Table of Contents 

168 Recording

168 Basic Recording Methods 171 Monitoring 173 Audio Recording Specifics 177 MIDI Recording Specifics 183 Remaining Record Time 183 Lock Record

184 Importing Audio and MIDI Files

184 Importing Audio Files 190 Importing MIDI Files

193 Quantizing MIDI and Audio

193 Quantize Functions 194 Quantizing MIDI Event Starts 194 Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths 195 Quantizing MIDI Event Ends 195 Quantizing Audio Event Starts 196 Quantize Panel

202 Fades and Crossfades

202 Event-Based Fades 206 Creating Clip-Based Fades 207 Crossfades 209 Auto Fades and Crossfades

213 Arranger Track(Cubase Elements only)

213 Adding Arranger Events on the Arranger Track 214 Arranger Editor 217 Setting up an Arranger Chain and Adding

Events

219 Jump Mode 221 Arranging Music to Video

222 Markers

222 Position Markers 222 Cycle Markers 223 Markers Window 226 Marker Track 228 Importing and Exporting Markers

229 MixConsole

229 MixConsole in Lower Zone 230 MixConsole Window

261 Audio Effects

261 Insert Effects and Send Effects 263 Insert Effects 267 Send Effects 271 Dither Effects(Cubase Elements only) 272 Effect Control Panel 273 Effect Presets 278 System Component Information Window

280 Direct Offline Processing

281 Direct Offline Processing Workflow 281 Direct Offline Processing Window 284 Built-In Audio Processes 290 Applying Direct Offline Processing Using Key

Commands

291 Time Stretch Algorithms

291 Standard 292 Limitations

293 Audio Functions

293 Detect Silence 295 Spectrum Analyzer 298 Statistics

299 Sample Editor

301 Toolbar 304 Info Line 305 Overview Line 305 Sample Editor Inspector 306 Ruler 307 Waveform Display 308 Range Editing 310 Regions List 312 Snap Point

315 Hitpoints

315 Calculating Hitpoints 318 Locating to Hitpoints in the Project Window 318 Slices 320 Creating a Groove Quantize Map 320 Creating Markers 320 Creating Regions 321 Creating Events 321 Creating MIDI Notes

323 Tempo Matching Audio

323 Algorithm Presets 324 Stretching Audio Events to the Project Tempo 324 Musical Mode

325 Audio Part Editor

327 Toolbar 331 Info Line 331 The Ruler 331 About Lanes 332 Operations

335 Controlling Sample Playback with Sampler

Tracks(Cubase Elements only)

335 Loading Audio Samples into Sampler Control 335 Loading MIDI Parts into Sampler Control 336 Creating Sampler Tracks 336 Sampler Control 345 Sample Editing and Playback Functions 347 Transferring Samples from Sampler Control to

VST Instruments

348 Pool

348 Pool Window 352 Working with the Pool

365 MediaBay

365 Media Rack in Right Zone(not in Cubase LE) 369 MediaBay Window 386 Working with MediaBay-Related Windows 388 Working with Volume Databases 390 MediaBay Settings 391 MediaBay Key Commands

392 Automation

392 Recording your Actions 392 Automation Curves 393 Static Value Line 393 Write/Read Automation 393 MIDI Part Data vs. Track Automation 394 Writing Automation Data 396 Editing Automation Events 400 Automation Tracks

402 VST Instruments

402 Adding VST Instruments(not in Cubase LE) 403 Creating Instrument Tracks

Table of Contents 

403 VST Instruments in the Right Zone(not in

Cubase LE)

404 VST Instruments Window(not in Cubase LE) 404 VST Instruments Toolbar(not in Cubase LE) 405 VST Instrument Controls(not in Cubase LE) 406 Presets for Instruments 408 Playing Back VST Instruments 409 Latency 410 Import and Export Options 411 VST Quick Controls(not in Cubase LE)

414 Installing and Managing Plug-Ins

414 Installing VST Plug-Ins 414 VST Plug-In Manager 417 Compiling a New Effects Collection

418 Remote Controlling Cubase

418 Setting Up 420 Operations 421 The Generic Remote Device 425 The Remote Control Editor(Cubase Elements

only)

431 Apple Remote (macOS only)

433 MIDI Realtime Parameters

433 MIDI Track Parameters 433 MIDI Modifiers 438 Transpose and Velocity on the Info Line

439 Using MIDI devices

439 MIDI devices – general settings and patch

handling

446 MIDI Functions

446 Transpose Setup 447 Merging MIDI Events into a New Part 448 Dissolve Part 450 Repeating MIDI Events of Independent Track

Loops

450 Extending MIDI Notes 451 Fixing MIDI Note Lengths 451 Fixing MIDI Note Velocities 451 Rendering Sustain Pedal Data to Note Lengths 452 Deleting Overlaps 452 Editing Velocity 453 Deleting Double Notes 453 Deleting Controller Data 453 Deleting Continuous Controller Data 454 Restricting Polyphonic Voices 454 Thinning Out Controller Data 454 Extracting MIDI Automation 455 Reversing the Playback Order of MIDI Events 455 Inverting the Order of Selected MIDI Events

456 MIDI Editors

456 Common MIDI Editor Functions 462 Key Editor 473 Key Editor Operations 489 Score Editor 495 Score Editor Operations 502 Drum Editor 515 Drum Editor Operations 519 Drum Maps

524 Chord Functions

524 Chord Track 525 Chord Events 529 Scale Events

530 Voicings 532 Converting Chord Events to MIDI 533 Controlling MIDI Playback Using the Chord

Track

536 Assigning Voices to Notes 536 Extracting Chord Events from MIDI 537 Recording Chord Events with a MIDI Keyboard

538 Chord Pads

538 Chord Pads 541 Functions Menu 541 Preparations 542 Chord Assistant 543 Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 545 Moving and Copying Chord Pads 546 Playing Back and Recording Chords 547 Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control 550 Chord Pad Settings – Players 553 Chord Pad Settings – Pad Layout 553 Chord Pads Presets 554 Creating Events from Chord Pads

555 Editing Tempo and Time Signature

555 Project Tempo Modes 555 Tempo Track Editor 557 Setting up Tempo Changes for Projects 558 Setting up a Fixed Project Tempo 560 Beat Calculator 561 Set Definition From Tempo 562 Time Signature Events

563 Export Audio Mixdown

564 Mixing Down to Audio Files 565 Available Channels for Export 565 File Location 567 File Format 574 Audio Engine Output 575 Import Into Project 576 Post Process

577 Synchronization

577 Background 577 Timecode (positional references) 579 Clock sources (speed references) 580 The Project Synchronization Setup dialog 582 Synchronized operation 583 Working with VST System Link 586 Activating VST System Link

594 Video

594 Video File Compatibility 595 Frame Rates 595 Video Output Devices 596 Preparations for Creating Video Projects 598 Preparations for Video Playback 600 Editing Video

602 ReWire(not in Cubase LE)

602 Introduction 602 Launching and quitting 603 Activating ReWire channels 603 Using the transport and tempo controls 604 How the ReWire channels are handled 604 Routing MIDI via ReWire 605 Considerations and limitations

606 Key Commands

606 Adding Key Commands

Table of Contents 

607 Searching for Key Commands 607 Removing Key Commands 607 Saving Key Commands Presets 608 Loading Key Command Presets 608 Importing Key Command Settings 608 Resetting Key Commands 609 The Default Key Commands 619 Setting Up Tool Modifier Keys

621 Customizing

621 Using the Setup Options 623 Customizing the Meter Colors 624 Customizing the User Interface Colors 624 Color Selector Pane 624 Coloring Tracks, Parts, or Events Manually 625 Auto Track Color Mode 626 Colorizing Track Controls 627 Project Colors Dialog 629 Where are the Settings Stored?

631 Optimizing

631 Optimizing Audio Performance

635 Preferences

635 Preferences Dialog 637 Editing 643 Editors 643 Event Display 647 General 648 MIDI 652 MediaBay 652 Metering 653 Record 655 Transport 656 User Interface 657 VST 659 Video

660 Index

Introduction

The documentation covers the following Steinberg products: Cubase Elements, Cubase AI, and Cubase LE.

Functions that are only available in Cubase Elements and not in Cubase AI or Cubase LE are clearly indicated. The screenshots are taken from Cubase Elements.

Platform-Independent Documentation

The documentation applies to the operating systems Windows and macOS.

Features and settings that are specific to one of these platforms are clearly indicated. In all other cases, the descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for Windows and macOS.

Some points to consider:

●

The screenshots are taken from Windows.

●

Some functions that are available on the File menu on Windows can be found in the program name menu on macOS.

About the Documentation

The documentation consists of several documents. You can read them online or download them from steinberg.help. To visit steinberg.help, do one of the following:

●

Enter www.steinberg.help in the address bar of your web browser.

●

In the program, select Help> Cubase Help.

Quick Start Guide

Covers the following areas without going into details:

●

System requirements, installation procedure, and license activation.

●

Setting up your system.

Operation Manual

The main Cubase reference documentation, with detailed descriptions of operations, parameters, functions, and techniques.

Remote Control Devices

Lists the supported MIDI remote control devices.

Plug-in Reference

Describes the features and parameters of the included VST plug-ins and VST instruments.

HALion Sonic SE

Describes the features and parameters of the included VST instrument HALion Sonic SE.

Introduction Conventions

Groove Agent SE

Describes the features and parameters of the included VST instrument Groove Agent SE.

Conventions

In our documentation, we use typographical and markup elements to structure information.

Typographical Elements

The following typographical elements mark the following purposes.

PREREQUISITE

Requires you to complete an action or to fulfill a condition before starting a procedure.

PROCEDURE

Lists the steps that you must take to achieve a specific result.

IMPORTANT

Informs you about issues that might affect the system, the connected hardware, or that might bring a risk of data loss.

Markup

NOTE

Informs you about issues that you should consider.

EXAMPLE

Provides you with an example.

RESULT

Shows the result of the procedure.

AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK

Informs you about actions or tasks that you can perform after completing the procedure.

RELATED LINKS

Lists related topics that you can find in this documentation.

Bold text indicates the name of a menu, option, function, dialog, window, etc.

EXAMPLE

To open the Functions menu, click Functions Menu in the top right corner of the MixConsole.

If bold text is separated by a greater-than symbol, this indicates a sequence of different menus to open.

EXAMPLE

Select Project> Add Track.

Introduction Key Commands

Key Commands

Many of the default key commands, also known as keyboard shortcuts, use modifier keys, some of which are different depending on the operating system.

When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier key first followed by the macOS and the key:

●

Windows modifier key/macOS modifier key-Z

EXAMPLE

Ctrl/Cmd-Z means: press Ctrl on Windows or Cmd on macOS, then press Z.

Setting Up Your System

To use Cubase, you must set up your audio, and if required, your MIDI system.

Setting Up Audio

IMPORTANT

Make sure that all equipment is turned off before making any connections.

Simple Stereo Input and Output Setup

If you only use a stereo input and output from Cubase, you can connect your audio hardware, for example, the inputs of your audio card or your audio interface, directly to the input source and the outputs to a power amplifier and speaker.

Audio Connections

Your system setup depends on many different factors, for example, on the kind of project that you want to create, on the external equipment that you want to use, or on the computer hardware that is available to you. Therefore, the following sections can only serve as examples.

How to connect your equipment, that is, whether to use digital or analog connections also depends on your setup.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

About Recording Levels and Inputs

When you connect your equipment, make sure that the impedance and levels of the audio sources and inputs are matched. Using the correct type of input is important to avoid distortion or noisy recordings. For microphones, for example, different inputs can be used, such as consumer line level (-10 dBV) or professional line level (+4 dBu).

Sometimes, you can adjust input characteristics on the audio interface or on its control panel. For details, refer to the documentation that came with the audio hardware.

IMPORTANT

Cubase does not provide any input level adjustments for the signals that are coming into your audio hardware, since these are handled differently for each card. Adjusting input levels is either done in a special application that is included with the hardware or its control panel.

Word Clock Connections

If you are using a digital audio connection, you may also need a word clock connection between the audio hardware and external devices. For details, refer to the documentation that came with the audio hardware.

IMPORTANT

Set up word clock synchronization correctly, or you may experience clicks and crackles in your recordings.

Selecting an Audio Driver

By selecting an audio driver, you allow Cubase to communicate with the audio hardware. Normally, when you start Cubase, a dialog opens that prompts you to select a driver, but you can also select your audio hardware driver as described below.

NOTE

On Windows operating systems, we recommend that you access your hardware via an ASIO driver developed specifically for the hardware. If no ASIO driver is installed, contact the manufacturer of your audio hardware for information on available ASIO drivers. If no specific ASIO driver is available, you can use the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select VST Audio System.

3. Open the ASIO Driver pop-up menu and select your audio hardware driver.

4. Click OK.

Setting Up Audio Hardware

PREREQUISITE

You have selected a driver for your audio hardware.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select your audio hardware driver.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

3. Do one of the following to open the control panel for your audio hardware:

4. Set up your audio hardware as recommended by the manufacturer.

VST Audio System

In the VST Audio System section you can select an ASIO driver for your audio hardware.

● To open the VST Audio System section, select Studio> Studio Setup and select VST Audio

●

On Windows, click Control Panel.

●

On macOS, click Open Config App.

This button is available only for some hardware products. If it is not available in your setup, refer to the documentation of your audio hardware.

NOTE

The control panel is provided by the manufacturer of your audio hardware and is different for each audio interface brand and model. However, control panels for the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver (Windows only) are provided by Steinberg.

System in the Devices list.

The following options are available:

ASIO Driver

Allows you to select a driver.

Release Driver when Application is in Background

Releases the driver and allows other applications to play back via your audio hardware even though Cubase is running.

Input Latency

Shows the input latency of the audio hardware.

Output Latency

Shows the output latency of the audio hardware.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

ASIO-Guard Latency

HW Sample Rate

HW Pull Up/Down

Set to Defaults

Processing Precision

Shows the ASIO-Guard latency.

Shows the sample rate of your audio hardware.

Shows the pull up/down status of the audio hardware.

Allows you to restore the default settings.

Allows you to set the audio processing precision to 64 bit. This way, all channels are processed and mixed in 64-bit floating point.

NOTE

A processing precision of 64 bit can increase CPU load and memory consumption.

VST2 plug-ins and instruments are always processed with 32-bit precision.

To show all plug-ins that support 64-bit processing, open the VST Plug-in Manager and activate Show Plug-ins That Support 64-Bit Processing in the Display Options pop-up menu.

Activate Multi Processing

Allows you to distribute the processing load evenly to all available CPUs. This way, Cubase can make full use of the combined power of multiple processors.

Activate ASIO-Guard

Activates the ASIO-Guard. This is only available if Activate Multi Processing is activated too.

ASIO-Guard Level

Allows you to set the ASIO-Guard level. The higher the level, the higher the processing stability and audio processing performance. However, higher levels also lead to an increased ASIO-Guard latency and memory usage.

Audio Priority (Windows only)

This setting should be set to Normal if you work with audio and MIDI. If you do not use MIDI at all, you can set this to Boost.

Activate Steinberg Audio Power Scheme

If this option is activated, all power safe modes that have an impact on realtime processing are deactivated. Note that this is only effective for very low latencies, and that it increases the power consumption.

Disk Preload

Allows you to specify how many seconds of audio are preloaded into RAM prior to starting playback. This allows for smooth playback.

Adjust for Record Latency

If this is activated, the plug-in latencies are taken to account during recording.

Record Shift

Allows you to shift the recordings by the specified value.

RELATED LINKS

VST Plug-In Manager Window on page 414

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

ASIO Driver Setup

This section allows you to set up your ASIO driver.

● To open the section where you can set up the ASIO driver, select Studio> Studio Setup and select the audio driver in the Devices list.

The following options are available:

Control Panel

Opens the control panel for the audio hardware.

Input Latency

Shows the input latency of the audio driver.

Output Latency

Shows the output latency of the audio driver.

Clock Source

Allows you to select a clock source.

Externally Clocked

Activate this option if you use an external clock source.

Direct Monitoring

Activate this option to monitor via your audio hardware and to control it from Cubase.

Ports Reset

Allows you to reset all port names and visibilities.

I/O

The port input/output status.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

Port System Name

The system name of the port.

Show As

Allows you to rename the port. This name is used in the Input Routing and Output Routing pop-up menus.

Visible

Allows you to activate/deactivate audio ports.

State

The state of the audio port.

Using External Clock Sources

If you are using an external clock source, Cubase must be notified that it receives external clock signals and derives its speed from that source.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select your audio hardware driver.

3. Activate Externally clocked.

RESULT

Cubase now derives its speed from the external source.

NOTE

For proper audio playback and recording, you must set the sample rate of the project to the sample rate of the incoming clock signals.

When a sample rate mismatch occurs, the Record Format field on the status line is highlighted in a different color. Cubase accepts a sample rate mismatch, and playback is therefore faster or slower.

Using Several Audio Applications Simultaneously

You can allow other applications to play back via your audio hardware even though Cubase is running.

PREREQUISITE

Other audio applications accessing the audio hardware are set to release the audio driver.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select VST Audio System.

3. Activate Release Driver when Application is in Background.

RESULT

The application that has the focus gets access to the audio hardware.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

Audio Hardware Configuration

Most audio cards provide one or more small applications that allow you to customize your hardware.

The settings are normally gathered on a control panel that can be opened from within Cubase or separately, when Cubase is not running. For details, refer to the audio hardware documentation.

Settings include:

●

Selecting which inputs/outputs are active.

●

Setting up word clock synchronization.

●

Turning on/off monitoring via the hardware.

●

Setting levels for each input.

●

Setting levels for the outputs so that they match the equipment that you use for monitoring.

●

Selecting digital input and output formats.

●

Making settings for the audio buffers.

Plug and Play Support for ASIO Devices

The Steinberg UR hardware series supports plug and play in Cubase. These devices can be plugged in and switched on while the application is running. Cubase automatically uses the driver of the UR series and re-maps the Audio Connections accordingly.

Steinberg cannot guarantee that this works with other hardware. If you are unsure of whether your device supports plug and play, refer to the documentation of your device.

IMPORTANT

If a device that does not support plug and play is connected or disconnected while the computer is running, it can get damaged.

Setting Up Input and Output Ports

Once you have selected the driver for your audio hardware and have set it up, you must specify which inputs and outputs to use.

PREREQUISITE

You have selected a driver for your audio hardware.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select your audio hardware driver.

3. Make your settings.

4. Click OK.

RELATED LINKS

ASIO Driver Setup on page 14

Setting Up Your System Setting Up MIDI

Audio Bus Setup

Cubase uses a system of input and output busses to transfer audio between the program and the audio hardware.

●

Input busses let you route audio from the inputs of your audio hardware into Cubase. This means that audio is always recorded through one or several input busses.

●

Output busses let you route audio from Cubase to the outputs of your audio hardware. This means that audio is always played back through one or several output busses.

Once you have set up the internal input and output busses, you can connect your audio source, for example a microphone, to your audio interface and start recording, playing back, and mixing.

RELATED LINKS

Audio Connections on page 21

Monitoring

In Cubase, monitoring means listening to the input signal while recording.

The following ways of monitoring are available.

●

Externally by listening to the signal before it reaches Cubase.

●

Via Cubase.

●

By using ASIO Direct Monitoring.

This is a combination of the other methods.

RELATED LINKS

External Monitoring on page 171 Monitoring via Cubase on page 171 ASIO Direct Monitoring on page 172

Setting Up MIDI

IMPORTANT

Turn off all equipment before making any connections.

PROCEDURE

1. Connect your MIDI equipment (keyboard, MIDI interface, etc.) to your computer.

2. Install the drivers for your MIDI equipment.

RESULT

You can use your MIDI equipment in Cubase.

MIDI Connections

To play back and record MIDI data from your MIDI device, for example, a MIDI keyboard, you need to connect the MIDI ports.

Connect the MIDI output port of your MIDI device to the MIDI input port of your audio hardware. This way, the MIDI device sends MIDI data to be played back or recorded inside your computer.

Connect the MIDI input port of your MIDI device to the MIDI output port of your audio hardware. This way, you can send MIDI data from Cubase to the MIDI device. For example, you can record

Setting Up Your System Setting Up MIDI

your own playing, edit the MIDI data in Cubase, and then play it back on the keyboard and record the audio that is coming out of the keyboard for a better edited performance.

Showing or Hiding MIDI Ports

You can specify if a MIDI port is listed on the MIDI pop-up menus in the program.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select MIDI Port Setup.

3. To hide a MIDI port, deactivate its Visible column.

4. Click OK.

Setting Up All MIDI Inputs

When you record MIDI, you can specify which MIDI input each recording MIDI track should use. However, you can also record any MIDI data from any MIDI input. You can specify which inputs are included when you select All MIDI Inputs for a MIDI track.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select MIDI Port Setup.

3. Activate In ‘All MIDI Inputs’ for a port.

4. Click OK.

RESULT

When you select All MIDI Inputs on the Input Routing menu of a MIDI track in the Inspector, the MIDI track uses all MIDI inputs that you specified in the MIDI Port Setup.

MIDI Port Setup

The MIDI Port Setup page in the Studio Setup dialog displays the connected MIDI devices and allows you to set up their ports.

● To open the MIDI Port Setup page, select Studio> Studio Setup and activate MIDI Port

NOTE

If you have a MIDI remote control unit connected, make sure to deactivate the In ‘All MIDI Inputs’ option for that MIDI input. This avoids accidental recording of data from the remote control when All MIDI Inputs is selected as input for a MIDI track.

Setup in the Devices list.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up MIDI

The following colums are displayed:

Device

The connected MIDI devices.

I/O

The port input/output status.

Port System Name

The system name of the port.

Show As

Allows you to rename the port. This name is used in the Input Routing and Output Routing pop-up menus.

Visible

Allows you to activate/deactivate MIDI ports.

State

The state of the MIDI port.

In 'All MIDI Inputs'

Allows you to record MIDI data from all MIDI inputs.

NOTE

Deactivate this option if you use remote control devices.

The following options are available:

Use System Timestamp for 'Windows MIDI' Inputs

Activate this option if you have persistent timing problems such as shifted notes. If this is activated, the system timestamp is used as a time reference.

Use Device 'DirectMusic'

If you do not use a device with a DirectMusic device driver, you can leave this option deactivated. This enhances the system performance.

Setting Up Your System Connecting a Synchronizer

Use System Timestamp for 'DirectMusic' Inputs

Activate this option if you have persistent timing problems such as shifted notes. If this is activated, the system timestamp is used as a time reference.

Plug and Play Support for USB MIDI Devices

Cubase supports plug and play of USB MIDI devices. These devices can be plugged in and switched on while the application is running.

Connecting a Synchronizer

When using Cubase with external tape transports, you most likely must add a synchronizer to your system.

IMPORTANT

Make sure that all equipment is turned off before making any connections.

For information on how to connect and set up your synchronizer, refer to the documentation of your synchronizer.

RELATED LINKS

Synchronization on page 577

Audio Connections

To play back and record in Cubase, you must set up input and output busses in the Audio Connections window.

The bus types that you need depend on your audio hardware, on your general audio setup, and on the projects that you use.

Audio Connections Window

The Audio Connections window allows you to set up input and output busses.

● To open the Audio Connections window, select Studio> Audio Connections.

Inputs/Outputs Tab

The Input and Output tabs allow you to set up and configure input and output busses.

The following options are available above the bus list:

+- All

Expands/Collapses all busses in the bus list.

Add Bus

Opens the Add Input Bus dialog, where you can create a new bus configuration.

Presets

Opens the Presets menu, where you can select bus configuration presets. Store

allows you to save a bus configuration as preset. Delete deletes the selected

preset.

The following columns are available for the bus list:

Bus Name

Lists the busses. Click the name of a bus to select or rename it.

Speakers

Indicates the speaker configuration (mono, stereo) of each bus.

Audio Device

Shows the selected ASIO driver.

Audio Connections Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

Device Port

Shows which physical inputs/outputs on your audio hardware are used by the bus. Expand the bus entry to show all speaker channels. If the bus entry is collapsed, only the first port that is used by this bus is visible.

The Device Port pop-up menu displays how many busses are connected to a given port. The busses are shown in square brackets next to the port name.

Up to 3 bus assignments can be displayed in this way. If more connections have been made, this is indicated by a number at the end of the port name.

For example, “Adat 1 [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)” means that the Adat1 port is already assigned to 3 stereo busses plus 2 additional busses.

Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

Before you set up busses, you should rename the default inputs and outputs of your audio hardware. This allows transferring projects between different computers and setups.

For example, if you move your project to another studio, the audio hardware may be of a different model. But if you and the other studio owner have agreed on identical names for your inputs and outputs, Cubase corrects inputs and outputs for your busses.

NOTE

If you open a project that was created on another computer and the port names do not match or the port configuration is not the same, the Missing Ports dialog appears. This allows you to manually re-route ports that are used in the project to ports that are available on your computer.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select VST Audio System.

3. Open the ASIO Driver pop-up menu and select your audio hardware driver.

4. In the Devices list, select your audio hardware driver.

5. In the Show As column, click on a port name and enter a new name.

6. Repeat the previous step until you have renamed all required ports.

7. Click OK.

RELATED LINKS

Re-Routing Missing Ports on page 69

Hiding Ports

You can hide ports that you are not using. Hidden ports are not displayed in the Audio Connections window.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select your audio hardware driver.

3. In the Visible column, deactivate the ports that you want to hide.

4. Click OK.

Audio Connections Adding Input and Output Busses

Activating and Deactivating Ports (macOS only)

On macOS you can specify which input and output ports are active. This allows you to use the microphone input instead of the line input or to deactivate the audio card input or output.

NOTE

This function is only available for built-in audio, standard USB audio devices, and a certain number of other audio cards.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select your audio hardware driver.

3. Click Control Panel.

4. Activate/Deactivate ports.

5. Click OK.

Adding Input and Output Busses

PROCEDURE

1. In the Audio Connections dialog, click the Inputs or Outputs tab.

2. Click Add Bus.

3. In the Add Input Bus dialog, configure the bus.

4. Optional: Enter a name for the bus.

If you do not specify a name, the bus is named according to the channel configuration.

5. Click Add Bus.

The new bus is added to the bus list.

6. For each of the speaker channels in the bus, click in the Device Port column and select a port of your audio hardware.

Setting the Default Output Bus (Main Mix)

The Main Mix is the default output bus to which each new audio, group, or FX channel is automatically routed. If only one bus is available, this bus is automatically used as the default output bus.

PREREQUISITE

Add an output bus.

PROCEDURE

1. In the Audio Connections dialog, right-click the output bus that you want to use as default output bus.

2. Select Set <bus name> as Main Mix.

RESULT

The selected bus is used as default bus. The Main Mix is indicated by a speaker icon next to its name.

Audio Connections Presets for Input and Output Busses

Presets for Input and Output Busses

For input and output bus configurations, you can use different kinds of presets.

●

A number of standard bus configurations.

●

Automatically created presets tailored to your specific hardware configuration.

On startup, Cubase analyzes the physical inputs and outputs that are provided by your audio hardware and creates a number of hardware-dependent presets.

●

Your own presets.

NOTE

You can create default presets for input and output bus configurations. If you create a new empty project, these default presets are applied. To create default presets, save your preferred input and output bus configurations under the name Default. If you have not defined default presets, the last used input and output bus configuration is applied when creating a new empty project.

Saving a Bus Configuration Preset

You can save your own input and output bus configuration as presets.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Audio Connections.

2. Set up your bus configuration.

3. Click Store .

4. In the Type in Preset Name dialog, enter a name.

5. Click OK.

RESULT

The preset is available in the Presets menu.

Deleting a Bus Configuration Preset

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio> Audio Connections.

2. From the Presets menu, select the preset that you want to delete.

3. Click Delete .

RESULT

The preset is deleted.

About Monitoring

The default output bus (Main Mix) is used for monitoring. You can adjust the monitoring level in the MixConsole.

RELATED LINKS

Setting the Default Output Bus (Main Mix) on page 23

Audio Connections Editing the Bus Configurations

Editing the Bus Configurations

After you have set up all the required busses for a project you can edit the names and change port assignments. The bus configuration is saved with the project.

Removing Busses

PROCEDURE

● In the Audio Connections window, right-click a bus in the list and select Remove Bus.

You can also select the bus and press Backspace.

Changing Port Assignments

You can change the port assignment of busses in the Audio Connections window.

●

To change a port assignment, click in the Device Port column of a bus and select a new port.

●

To assign different ports to the selected busses, open the Device Port pop-up menu for the first selected entry, press Shift, and select a device port.

All subsequent busses are automatically connected to the next available port.

●

To assign the same port to all selected busses, open the Device Port pop-up menu for the first selected entry, press Shift-Alt, and select a device port.

Renaming Multiple Busses

You can rename all the selected busses at once using incrementing numbers or letters.

●

To use incrementing numbers, select the busses that you want to rename and enter a new name for one of the busses, followed by a number.

For example, if you have 8 inputs that you want to be named “In 1, In 2, …, In 8”, you select all the busses and enter the name In 1 for the first bus. All other busses are then renamed automatically.

●

To use letters from the alphabet, select the busses that you want to rename and enter a new name for one of the busses, followed by a space and a capital letter.

For example, if you have 3 FX channels that you want to be named “FX A, FX B, and FX C”, you select all the channels and enter the name FX A for the first. All other channels are renamed automatically. The last letter that can be used is Z. If you have more selected entries than there are letters available, the remaining entries are skipped.

NOTE

You can begin renaming from any position in the list. The renaming starts from the bus where you edit the name, goes down the list to the bottom, and then continues from the top until all selected busses have been renamed.

Identifying Exclusive Port Assignments

For certain channel types, the port assignment is exclusive.

Once a port has been assigned to such a bus or channel, it must not be assigned to another bus, otherwise the connection to the first bus will be broken.

The corresponding ports are marked in the Audio Connections window on the Device Port popup menu.

Project Window

The Project window provides an overview of the project, and allows you to navigate and perform large scale editing.

Each project has one Project window. The Project window is displayed whenever you open or create a new project.

● To open a project, select File> Open.

● To create a new project, select File> New Project.

The Project window is divided into several zones:

1 Left Zone

The left zone shows the Track Inspector for the selected track or the Editor Inspector for the editor in the lower zone.

2 Project Zone

The project zone shows the toolbar, the track list with the tracks, the event display with the parts and events of the project, and the Project window ruler.

On the toolbar, you can activate/deactivate the status line, the info line, the overview line, and the transport.

3 Lower Zone

Project Window Showing/Hiding Zones

The lower zone shows the Chord Pads, the Editor, the Sampler Control(Cubase Elements only), and the MixConsole.

4 Right Zone

The right zone shows the VST Instruments rack, and the Media rack(not in Cubase LE).

RELATED LINKS

Project Zone on page 27 Left Zone on page 37 Lower Zone on page 42 Right Zone on page 47 Toolbar on page 28

Showing/Hiding Zones

You can show/hide the zones in the Project window according to your needs.

PROCEDURE

● Do one of the following:

●

To show/hide the left zone, click Show/Hide Left Zone on the Project window toolbar.

Project Zone

The project zone is the heart of the Project window and cannot be hidden.

The project zone features the track list and the event display with the ruler. Furthermore, you can activate/deactivate the status line, the info line, the overview line, and the transport for the project zone.

●

To show/hide the lower zone, click Show/Hide Lower Zone on the Project window toolbar.

●

To show/hide the right zone, click Show/Hide Right Zone on the Project window toolbar.

NOTE

The project zone is always shown.

Project Window Project Zone

RELATED LINKS

Track List on page 31 Event Display on page 32 Ruler on page 32 Status Line on page 33 Info Line on page 34 Overview Line on page 35 Transport on page 35

Toolbar

The toolbar contains tools and shortcuts for opening other windows and various project settings and functions.

● To show/hide tools, open the toolbar context menu by right-clicking in an empty area of the toolbar and activate the tools that you want to display. To show all tools, select Show All.

NOTE

The number of elements that are shown also depends on the size of the Project window and the screen resolution.

The following options are available:

Activate Project

NOTE

This button is only available if more than one project is open.

Allows you to activate a project.

Project History

Allows you to undo/redo actions in the Project window.

Project Window Project Zone

Constrain Delay Compensation

Allows you to minimize the latency effects of the delay compensation.

Left Divider

Allows you to use the left divider. Tools that are placed to the left of the divider are always shown.

Media & MixConsole Windows

These buttons allow you to open or close the MediaBay, the Pool, and the MixConsole.

State Buttons

These buttons show the mute, solo, listen, and automation states.

Auto-Scroll

Allows you to keep the project cursor visible during playback.

Transport Buttons

Shows the main transport controls.

External Sync State

Allows you to activate/deactivate external synchronization and to open the Project Synchronization Setup dialog.

Arranger Controls

Shows the controls for the arranger track.

Tool Buttons

Shows the buttons for editing in the project zone.

Color Menu

Allows you to define the project colors.

Nudge Palette

Allows you to nudge or trim events or parts.

Snap to Zero Crossing

If this option is activated, it finds zero crossings when you split and size audio events.

Project Window Project Zone

Snap On/Off

Allows you to activate/deactivate snap to restrict horizontal movement and positioning to certain positions.

Snap Type

Allows you to specify to what positions you want events to snap.

Grid Type

Allows you to specify a grid type for the snap function. This setting only has effect if

Snap Type is set to one of the grid options.

Quantize

Allows you to move recorded audio or MIDI to musical relevant positions.

System Performance Meter

Shows the meters for ASIO time usage and hard disk transfer load.

Right Divider

Allows you to use the right divider. Tools that are placed to the right of the divider are always shown.

Window Zone Controls

Allows you to show or hide the left zone, the lower zone, and the right zone of the Project window. The Setup Window Layout pop-up menu allows you to show or hide the status line, the info line, the overview line, and the Transport.

Set Up Toolbar

Opens a pop-up menu where you can set up which toolbar elements are visible.

RELATED LINKS

Left/Right Toolbar Divider on page 30 Snap Types on page 57 Arranger Track(Cubase Elements only) on page 213 Markers on page 222 Automation on page 392 Synchronization on page 577

Left/Right Toolbar Divider

The left and right toolbar dividers allow you to lock the position of specific tools at the left or at the right side of the toolbar, so that they are always shown.

All other items are shown in the center of the toolbar. When you reduce the width of the Project window, these toolbar items are hidden successively. When you increase the width, they are shown again.

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