Steinberg Cubase Artist - 7.0, Cubase 7.5, Cubase 7.0 Operation Manual

Operation Manual

Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Christina Kaboth, Insa Mingers, Sabine Pfeifer, Benjamin Schütte

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.

Release Date: December 3, 2012

10 Introduction

10 About the Program Versions 10 Key Command Conventions

11 Part I:

Getting into the details

12 Setting up your system

12 Setting up audio 19 Setting up MIDI 21 Connecting a synchronizer 21 Setting up video 22 Optimizing audio performance 24 The VST Performance Window 25 The ASIO-Guard Option

26 VST Connections

26 About this chapter 26 The VST Connections window 27 Setting up busses 31 Setting up group and FX channels 31 About monitoring 32 External instruments/effects

(Cubase only)

37 Editing operations

40 The Project window

40 Window Overview 42 The track list 43 The Inspector 47 The toolbar 48 The status line 48 The info line 50 The overview line 50 The ruler 52 The Snap function 54 Auto-Scroll

55 Working with projects

55 Creating new projects 57 Opening projects 57 Closing projects 58 Saving projects 60 The Archive and Backup functions 62 The Project Setup dialog 64 Zoom and view options 69 Audio handling 69 Auditioning audio parts and events 70 Scrubbing audio 70 Editing parts and events 80 Range editing 83 Region operations 84 The Edit History dialog 85 The Preferences dialog

87 Working with tracks and lanes

87 Setting up tracks 91 Editing tracks 94 Working with lanes 97 Organizing tracks in folder tracks 100 Dividing the track list

101 Playback and the Transport panel

101 Background 102 Operations 106 Options and Settings 108 The Virtual Keyboard

110 Recording

110 Background 110 Basic recording methods 113 Audio recording specifics 124 MIDI recording specifics 130 Options and Settings

134 Quantizing MIDI and Audio

134 Introduction 134 Quantizing Audio Event Starts 134 AudioWarp Quantize (Cubase Only) 135 Quantizing MIDI Event Starts 135 Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths 135 Quantizing MIDI Event Ends 135 Quantizing Multiple Audio Tracks

(Cubase Only)

136 AudioWarp Quantizing Multiple Audio

Tracks (Cubase Only)

136 The Quantize Panel 142 Additional Quantizing Functions

143 Fades, crossfades, and envelopes

143 Creating fades 145 The Fade dialogs 147 Creating crossfades 148 The Crossfade dialog 149 Auto fades and crossfades 151 Event envelopes

152 The arranger track

152 Introduction 152 Setting up the arranger track 154 Working with arranger events 157 Flattening the arranger chain 159 Live mode 160 Arranging your music to video

161 The transpose functions

161 Introduction 161 Transposing your music 165 Other functions

169 Using markers

169 Introduction 170 The Marker window 173 The marker track 175 Exporting and importing markers

177 The MixConsole

177 Overview 179 Configuring the MixConsole 183 Keyboard Navigation in the MixConsole 185 Working with the Fader Section 190 Working with the Channel Racks 201 Linking Channels (Cubase only) 203 Metering (Cubase only) 205 Using Channel Settings 208 Saving and Loading Selected Channel

Settings

208 Resetting MixConsole Channels 209 Adding Pictures 210 Adding Notes

211 The Control Room (Cubase only)

212 Setting Up the Control Room Channels 214 Opening the Control Room 215 The Control Room Mixer 221 The Setup Pane 224 Cue Channels and Cue Sends 226 The Control Room Overview 226 Direct Monitoring and Latency

227 Audio effects

227 Overview 229 Insert effects 235 Send effects 240 Using the side-chain input 242 Using external effects (Cubase only) 242 Editing effects 243 Effect presets 248 Installing and managing effect plug-ins

252 VST instruments and instrument

tracks

252 Introduction 252 VST instrument channels vs. instrument

tracks

252 VST instrument channels 255 Instrument tracks 258 What do I need? Instrument channel or

instrument track?

258 Instrument Freeze 260 VST instruments and processor load 260 Using presets for VSTi configuration 264 About latency 265 External instruments (Cubase only)

266 Surround sound (Cubase only)

266 Introduction 267 Preparations 269 Using the SurroundPanner V5 277 Using the MixConvert V6 plug-in

(Cubase only)

278 Exporting a surround mix

279 Automation

279 Introduction 279 Working with automation curves 280 Enabling and disabling the writing of

automation data

280 Writing automation data 283 Editing automation events 285 Automation track operations 289 The Automation panel (Cubase only) 297 Automation Preferences 298 Hints and further options 299 MIDI controller automation

302 Audio processing and functions

302 Background 302 Audio processing 313 Applying plug-ins (Cubase only) 315 The Offline Process History dialog 316 Freeze Edits 317 Detect Silence 319 The Spectrum Analyzer 321 Statistics 322 About time stretch and pitch shift

algorithms

325 The Sample Editor

325 Window overview 332 General functions 341 Warping audio 347 Working with hitpoints and slices 353 VariAudio (Cubase only) 367 Generating Harmony Voices for

Monophonic Audio

368 Flattening realtime processing

371 The Audio Part Editor

371 Background 371 Window overview 372 Opening the Audio Part Editor 373 Operations 375 Options and Settings

376 The Pool

376 Background 377 Window overview 380 Operations

393 The MediaBay

393 Introduction 394 Working with the MediaBay 395 The Define Locations section 398 The Locations section 399 The Results list 403 Previewing files 406 The Filters section 410 The Attribute Inspector 415 The Loop Browser, Sound Browser, and

Mini Browser windows

416 Preferences 417 Key commands 418 Working with MediaBay-related windows 420 Working with Volume databases

422 Working with track presets

422 Introduction 422 Types of track presets 424 Applying track presets 427 Creating a track preset 428 Creating tracks from track presets or VST

presets

430 Track Quick Controls

430 Introduction 430 Assigning parameters to quick controls 432 Connecting quick controls with remote

controllers

433 Quick controls and automatable

parameters

435 Remote controlling Cubase

435 Introduction 435 Setting Up 437 Operations 438 The Generic Remote device 442 Track Quick Controls 442 The Remote Control Editor 448 Apple Remote (Macintosh only)

449 MIDI realtime parameters and

effects

449 Introduction 449 The Inspector – general handling 450 The Inspector sections 455 MIDI effects 459 Managing plug-ins

460 Using MIDI devices

460 Background 460 MIDI devices – general settings and patch

handling

467 About Device panels (Cubase only)

471 MIDI processing

471 Introduction 473 Making your settings permanent 474 Dissolve Part 476 Bounce MIDI 476 Repeat Loop 477 Other MIDI functions

481 The MIDI editors

481 Introduction 482 Opening a MIDI editor 483 The Key Editor – Overview 488 Key Editor operations 512 The In-Place Editor 514 The Drum Editor – Overview 516 Drum Editor operations 518 Working with drum maps 522 Using drum name lists 522 The List Editor – Overview 523 List Editor operations 527 Working with SysEx messages 529 Recording SysEx parameter changes 529 Editing SysEx messages 531 The basic Score Editor – Overview 532 Score Editor operations

542 Working with the Chord Functions

542 Introduction 542 The Chord Track 545 The Chord Track Inspector Section 548 The Chord Editor 549 The Chord Assistant (Cubase only) 551 Creating a Chord Progression from

Scratch (Chords to MIDI)

552 Extracting Chords from MIDI (Make

Chords)

553 Controlling MIDI or Audio Playback with

the Chord Track (Follow Chords)

554 Assigning Chord Events to MIDI Effects

or VST Instruments

555 Expression maps (Cubase only)

555 Introduction 556 Using expression maps in Cubase 560 Creating and editing expression maps

565 Note Expression

565 Introduction 567 Setting up the Note Expression Inspector

tab

569 Mapping controllers 570 Recording 572 Editing Note Expression data 576 Note Expression and MIDI 579 HALion Sonic SE

580 The Logical Editor, Transformer,

and Input Transformer

580 Introduction 581 Opening the Logical Editor 581 Window overview 581 Setting up filter conditions 590 Selecting a function 591 Specifying actions 594 Applying the defined actions 594 Working with presets 595 The Input Transformer

597 The Project Logical Editor

(Cubase only)

597 Introduction 598 Opening the Project Logical Editor 598 Window overview 598 Setting up filter conditions 605 Specifying actions 607 Selecting a function 608 Applying Macros 608 Applying the defined actions 608 Working with presets

610 Editing tempo and signature

610 Background 611 Tempo and signature display 613 Editing tempo and signature 616 Process Tempo (Cubase only) 617 The Process Bars dialog (Cubase only) 618 The Beat Calculator 619 Merge Tempo From Tapping (Cubase

only)

619 The Time Warp tool (Cubase only) 625 Tempo Detection (Cubase only) 628 Adjusting the audio to the project tempo

629 The Project Browser (Cubase only)

629 Window Overview 630 Editing tracks

638 Export Audio Mixdown

638 Introduction 639 Mixing down to audio files 640 The Export Audio Mixdown dialog 645 The available file formats

650 Synchronization

650 Background 651 Timecode (positional references) 653 Clock sources (speed references) 653 The Project Synchronization Setup dialog 658 Synchronized operation 659 Example scenario (Cubase only) 660 Working with VST System Link 663 Activating VST System Link

670 Video

670 Introduction 670 Before you start 672 Preparing a video project in Cubase 674 Video files in the Project window 675 Playing back video 678 Editing video 678 Extracting audio from a video file 679 Replacing the audio in a video file

680 ReWire

680 Introduction 680 Launching and quitting 681 Activating ReWire channels 682 Using the transport and tempo controls 682 How the ReWire channels are handled in

Cubase

683 Routing MIDI via ReWire2 683 Considerations and limitations

684 File handling

684 Importing audio 690 Exporting and importing OMF files

(Cubase only)

692 Exporting and importing standard MIDI

files

695 Exporting and importing MIDI loops 696 Exporting and importing track archives

(Cubase only)

698 Customizing

698 Background 698 Workspaces 700 Using the Setup options 702 Customizing track controls 704 Appearance 706 Applying colors in the Project window 709 Where are the settings stored?

711 Key commands

711 Introduction 712 Setting up key commands 716 Setting up tool modifier keys 717 The default key commands

724 Part II:

Score layout and printing

(Cubase only)

725 How the Score Editor works

725 About this chapter 725 Welcome! 725 How the Score Editor operates 726 MIDI notes vs. score notes 726 Display Quantize 729 Entering notes by hand vs. recording

notes

730 The basics

730 About this chapter 730 Preparations 730 Opening the Score Editor 731 The project cursor 731 Playing back and recording 731 Page Mode 733 Changing the zoom factor 734 The active staff 734 Making page setup settings 734 Designing your work space 737 About the Score Editor context menus 737 About dialogs in the Score Editor 738 Setting clef, key, and time signature 744 Transposing instruments 744 Printing from the Score Editor 745 Exporting pages as image files 746 Working order 746 Force update

747 Transcribing MIDI recordings

747 About this chapter 747 About transcription 747 Getting the parts ready 747 Preparing parts for score printout 748 Staff settings 749 Situations which require additional

techniques

750 Inserting Display Quantize changes 751 The Explode function 752 Using “Scores Notes To MIDI”

753 Entering and editing notes

753 About this chapter 753 Score settings 754 Note values and positions 756 Adding and editing notes 759 Selecting notes 760 Moving notes 762 Duplicating notes 763 Cut, copy, and paste 763 Editing pitches of individual notes 765 Changing the length of notes 766 Splitting a note in two 766 Working with the Display Quantize tool 766 Split (piano) staves 767 Strategies: Multiple staves 768 Inserting and editing clefs, keys, or time

signatures

770 Deleting notes

771 Staff settings

771 About this chapter 771 Staff settings 771 Making settings 772 Working with staff presets 772 Staff names 773 Key and clef 773 Display Quantize and Interpretation

Options

776 Display Transpose 777 The Options tab 778 The Polyphonic tab 778 The Tablature tab

779 Polyphonic voicing

779 About this chapter 779 Background: Polyphonic voicing 781 Setting up the voices 783 Strategies: How many voices do I need? 783 Entering notes into voices 784 Checking which voice a note belongs to 784 Moving notes between voices 785 Handling rests 786 Voices and Display Quantize 787 Creating crossed voicings 788 Automatic polyphonic voicing – Merge All

Staves

789 Converting voices to tracks – Extract

Voices

790 Additional note and rest formatting

790 About this chapter 790 Background: Note stems 790 Setting stem direction 792 Stem length 793 Accidentals and enharmonic shift 794 Changing the note head shape 795 Other note details 796 Coloring notes 797 Copying settings between notes 797 Handling beaming 803 About tied notes 805 Graphic moving of notes 806 Cue notes 807 Grace notes 808 Tuplets

811 Working with symbols

811 About this chapter 811 Background: The different layers 812 The Symbols Inspector 815 Important! – Symbols, staves, and voices 815 Adding symbols to the score 825 Selecting symbols 826 Moving and duplicating symbols 830 Changing length, size, and shape 831 Deleting symbols 831 Copy and paste 832 Alignment 832 Symbol details

841 Working with chords

841 About this chapter 841 Inserting chord symbols 844 Global chord settings

845 Working with text

845 About this chapter 845 Adding and editing text symbols 848 Different types of text 854 Text functions

858 Working with layouts

858 About this chapter 858 Background: Layouts 859 Creating a layout 859 Opening a layout 859 Layout operations 860 Using layouts – an example 861 Marker Track to Form

862 Working with MusicXML

862 Introduction 863 Importing and exporting MusicXML files

866 Designing your score: additional

techniques

866 About this chapter 866 Layout settings 868 Staff size 868 Hiding/showing objects 870 Coloring notes 870 Multiple rests 871 Editing existing bar lines 872 Creating upbeats 873 Setting the number of bars across the

page

874 Moving bar lines 876 Dragging staves 878 Adding brackets and braces 878 Displaying the Chord Symbols from the

Chord Track

879 Auto Layout 881 Reset Layout 882 Breaking bar lines

883 Scoring for drums

883 About this chapter 883 Background: Drum maps in the Score

Editor

884 Setting up the drum map 886 Setting up a staff for drum scoring 886 Entering and editing notes 886 Using “Single Line Drum Staff”

887 Creating tablature

887 About this chapter 887 Creating tablature automatically 888 Creating tablature manually 889 Tablature number appearance 890 Editing 890 Note head shape

891 The score and MIDI playback

891 About this chapter 891 Scores and the Arranger mode 891 Working with mapped dynamics

895 Tips and Tricks

895 Overview 895 Useful editing techniques 897 Frequently asked questions 900 If you wish you had a faster computer

901 Index

About the Program Versions

The documentation covers two different operating systems or “platforms”, Windows and Mac OS X. Some features and settings are specific to one of the platforms.

This is clearly stated in the applicable cases. If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for both Windows and Mac OS X.

The screenshots are taken from the Windows version of Cubase.

Key Command Conventions

Many of the default key commands in Cubase use modifier keys, some of which are different depending on the operating system. For example, the default key command for Undo is [Ctrl]-[Z] on Windows and [Command]-[Z] on Mac OS X systems.

When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier key first, in the following way:

[Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key]

Introduction

For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z] means “press [Ctrl] on Windows or [Command] on Mac OS X systems, then press [Z]”.

Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] on Windows or [Option] on Mac OS X systems, then press [X]”.

Ö This manual often refers to right-clicking, for example, to open context menus. If you

are using a Mac with a single-button mouse, hold down [Ctrl] and click.

Part I:

Getting into the details

Setting up audio

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

Connecting audio

Exactly how to set up your system depends on many different factors, e. g. the kind of project you wish to create, the external equipment you want to use, or the computer hardware available to you. Therefore, the following sections can only serve as examples.

How you connect your equipment, i. e. whether you use digital or analog connections, also depends on your individual setup.

Stereo input and output – the simplest connection

If you only use a stereo input and output from Cubase, you can connect your audio hardware, e. input source and the outputs to a power amplifier and speaker.

Setting up your system

g. the inputs of your audio card or your audio interface, directly to the

Simple stereo audio setup

This is probably the simplest of all setups – once you have set up the internal input and output busses, you can connect your audio source, e. audio interface and start recording.

g. a microphone, to your

Multi-channel audio setup using an external mixer

Setting up audio

Multi-channel input and output

Most likely however, you will have other audio equipment that you want to integrate with Cubase, using several input and output channels. Depending on the equipment available to you, there are two ways to go: either mixing using an external mixing desk, or mixing using the MixConsole inside Cubase.

• External mixing means having a hardware mixing device with a group or bus system that can be used for feeding inputs on your audio hardware.

In the example below, four busses are used for feeding signals to the audio hardware’s inputs. The four outputs are connected back to the mixer for monitoring and playback. Remaining mixer inputs can be used for connecting audio sources like microphones, instruments, etc.

Mixing inside Cubase

Ö When connecting an input source (like a mixer) to the audio hardware, you should use

output busses, sends or similar that are separate from the mixer’s master output, to avoid recording what you are playing back. You may also have mixing hardware that can be connected via FireWire.

• When using the MixConsole inside Cubase, you can use the inputs on your audio hardware to connect microphones and/or external devices. Use the outputs to connect your monitoring equipment.

Cubase only: You can create very complex setups using external instruments and external effects, and integrate Cubase seamlessly with all your external equipment using the Control Room feature (see the chapters

“VST Connections” on page 26

and “The Control Room (Cubase only)” on page 211).

Setting up your system

Surround

sound playback configuration

Setting up audio

Connecting for surround sound (Cubase only)

If you plan to mix for surround sound, you can connect the audio outputs to a multichannel power amplifier, driving a set of surround channels.

Cubase supports a number of surround formats.

Recording from a CD player

Most computers come with a CD-ROM drive that can also be used as a regular CD player. In some cases the CD player is internally connected to the audio hardware so that you can record the output of the CD player directly into Cubase (consult the audio hardware documentation if you are uncertain).

• All routing and level adjustments for recording from a CD (if available) are done in the audio hardware setup application (see below).

• You can also grab audio tracks directly from a CD in Cubase (see the chapter “File

handling” on page 684).

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. Please refer to the documentation that came with the audio hardware for details.

It is very important that word clock synchronization is set up correctly, or you may experience clicks and crackles in your recordings.

About recording levels and inputs

When you connect your equipment, you should make sure that the impedance and levels of the audio sources and inputs are matched. Typically, different inputs may be designed for use with microphones, consumer line level (-10 level (+4

dBV), or you may be able to adjust input characteristics on the audio

dBV) or professional line

interface or in its control panel. Please check the audio hardware documentation for details.

Using the correct types of input is important to avoid distortion or noisy recordings.

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

Setting up your system

Making settings for the audio hardware

Most audio cards come with one or more small applications that allow you to configure the inputs of the hardware to your liking. This includes:

- Selecting which inputs/outputs are active.

- Setting up word clock synchronization (if available).

- Turning monitoring via the hardware on/off (see “About monitoring” on page 18).

- Setting levels for each input. This is very important!

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

- Selecting digital input and output formats.

- Making settings for the audio buffers.

In many cases all available settings for the audio hardware are gathered in a control panel, which can be opened from within Cubase as described below (or opened separately, when Cubase isn’t running). In some cases, there may be several different applications and panels – please refer to the audio hardware documentation for details.

Plug and Play support for ASIO devices

Setting up audio

The Steinberg UR824 hardware series supports Plug and Play in Cubase. These devices can be plugged in and switched on while the application is running. Cubase will automatically use the driver of the UR824 series and will re-map the VST connections accordingly.

Steinberg cannot guarantee that this will work with other hardware. If you are unsure of whether your device supports plug and play, please consult its documentation.

If a device that does not support Plug and Play is connected/disconnected while the computer is running, it may get damaged.

Selecting a driver and making audio settings in Cubase

The first thing you need to do is select the correct driver in Cubase to make sure that the program can communicate with the audio hardware:

1. Launch Cubase and select Device Setup from the Devices menu.

2. In the Devices list to the left, click on “VST Audio System”.

The VST Audio System page is shown.

Setting up your system

Setting up audio

3. On the ASIO Driver menu, select your audio hardware driver. There may be several options here that all refer to the same audio hardware. When

you have selected a driver, it is added to the Devices list.

Under Windows, we strongly recommend that you access your hardware via an ASIO driver written specifically for the hardware. If no ASIO driver is installed, we recommend that you check with your audio hardware manufacturer if they have an ASIO driver available, for example, for download via the Internet. You can use the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver if no specific ASIO driver is available.

4. Select the driver in the Devices list to open the driver settings for your audio hardware.

5. Bring up the control panel for the audio hardware and adjust the settings as recommended by the audio hardware manufacturer.

• Under Windows, you open the control panel by clicking the Control Panel button. The control panel that opens when you click this button is provided by the audio

hardware manufacturer – not Cubase (unless you use DirectX, see below). Hence it will be different for each audio card brand and model. The control panels for the ASIO DirectX driver and the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver (Windows only) are exceptions, in that they are provided by Steinberg and described in the dialog help, opened by clicking the Help button in the dialog. See also the notes on DirectX below.

• Under Mac OS X, the control panel for your audio hardware is opened by clicking the “Open Config App” button on the settings page for your audio device in the Device Setup dialog.

Note that this button is available only for some hardware products. If “Open Config App” is not available in your setup, refer to the documentation that came with your audio hardware for information on where to make hardware settings.

6. If you plan to use several audio applications simultaneously, you may want to activate the “Release Driver when Application is in Background” option on the VST Audio System page. This will allow another application to play back via your audio hardware even though Cubase is running.

The application that is currently active (i. e. the “top window” on the desktop) gets access to the audio hardware. Make sure that any other audio application accessing the audio hardware is also set to release the ASIO (or Mac OS X) driver so Cubase can use it when it becomes the active application again.

7. If your audio hardware receives clock signals from an external sample clock source, you may want to activate the “Externally Clocked” option on the page for the driver.

This is described in detail in the section “If your hardware setup is based on an

external clock source” on page 17.

8. If your audio hardware and its driver support ASIO Direct Monitoring, you may want to activate the Direct Monitoring checkbox on the page for the driver.

Read more about monitoring later in this chapter and in the chapter “Recording” on page 110.

9. Click Apply and then OK to close the dialog.

Setting up your system

Setting up audio

If your hardware setup is based on an external clock source

For proper audio playback and recording, it is essential that you set the project’s sample rate to the sample rate of the incoming clock signals. If you load a project with a sample rate that is different from your clock source, the program will try to change the settings of the clock source, which may not be what you want.

By activating the “Externally Clocked” option, you “tell” Cubase that it receives external clock signals and therefore derives its speed from that source. The program will not try to change the hardware sample rate any longer. The sample rate mismatch is accepted and playback will therefore be faster or slower. For more information about the Sample Rate setting, see

“The Project Setup dialog” on page 62.

Ö When a sample rate mismatch occurs, the Record Format field on the status line is

highlighted in a different color.

If you are using audio hardware with a DirectX driver (Windows only)

A DirectX driver is the next best option to a specific ASIO driver and the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver.

Cubase comes with a driver called ASIO DirectX Full Duplex, available for selection on the ASIO Driver pop-up menu (VST Audio System page).

Ö To take advantage of DirectX Full Duplex, the audio hardware must support WDM

(Windows Driver Model).

When the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver is selected in the Device Setup dialog, you can open the ASIO Control Panel and adjust the following settings (for more details, click the Help button in the control panel):

• Direct Sound Output and Input Ports In the list on the left in the window, all available Direct Sound output and input

ports are listed. In many cases, there will be only one port in each list. To activate or deactivate a port in the list, click the checkbox in the left column. If the checkbox is ticked, the port is activated.

• You can edit the Buffer Size and Offset settings in this list if necessary, by doubleclicking on the value and typing in a new value.

In most cases, the default settings will work fine. Audio buffers are used when audio data is transferred between Cubase and the audio card. While larger buffers ensure that playback will occur without glitches, the latency (the time between the moment Cubase sends out the data and when it actually reaches the output) will be higher.

• Offset If a constant offset is audible during playback of Audio and MIDI recordings, you

can adjust the output or input latency time using this value.

Setting up your system

Setting up the input and output ports

Once you have selected the driver and made the settings as described above, you need to specify which inputs and outputs will be used and name these:

1. In the Device Setup dialog, select your driver in the Devices list on the left to display the driver settings for your audio hardware.

Setting up audio

All input and output ports on the audio hardware are listed.

2. To hide a port, click in the “Visible” column for the port (deselecting the checkbox). Ports that are not visible cannot be selected in the VST Connections window

where you set up your input and output busses – see the chapter

Connections” on page 26.

If you attempt to hide a port that is already used by a bus you will be asked whether this is really what you want – note that this will disable the port!

3. To rename a port, click on its name in the “Show as” column and type in a new name.

• It is a good idea to give your ports names that are related to the channel configuration (rather than to the actual hardware model)!

For example, if you are using a 5.1 surround audio setup (Cubase only), you could name the six ports Left, Right, Center, LFE, Left Surround, and Right Surround. This makes it easier to transfer your projects between different computers, e.g. in different studios – if the same port names are used on both computers, Cubase will automatically handle the bus connections properly when you open the project on the other computer.

4. Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog and apply your changes.

About monitoring

In Cubase, monitoring means listening to the input signal while preparing to record or while recording. There are three ways to monitor:

“VST

External monitoring

External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it goes into Cubase) requires an external mixer for mixing the audio playback with the input signal. This can be a classic mixing desk or a mixer application for your audio hardware, if this has a mode in which the input audio is sent back out again (usually called “Thru”, “Direct Thru” or similar).

Setting up your system

Setting up MIDI

Via Cubase

In this case, the audio passes from the input into Cubase, possibly through Cubase effects and EQ and then back to the output. You control monitoring via settings in Cubase.

This allows you to control the monitoring level from Cubase and add effects to the monitored signal only.

ASIO Direct Monitoring

If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may support ASIO Direct Monitoring (this feature may also be available for audio hardware with Mac OS X drivers). In this mode, the actual monitoring is done in the audio hardware, by sending the input signal back out again. However, monitoring is controlled from Cubase. This means that the audio hardware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off automatically by Cubase.

Monitoring is described in detail in the chapter “Recording” on page 110. However, when setting up, there is one thing to note:

• If you want to use the external monitoring via your audio hardware, make sure that the corresponding functions are activated in the card’s mixer application.

Ö If you are using RME Audio Hammerfall DSP audio hardware, make sure that the pan

law is set to -3

dB in the card’s preferences.

Setting up MIDI

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

This section describes how to connect and set up MIDI equipment. If you have no MIDI equipment, you can skip this section. Note that this is only an example – you might need or want to hook things up differently!

Connecting the MIDI equipment

In this example we assume that you have a MIDI keyboard and an external MIDI sound module. The keyboard is used both for feeding the computer with MIDI messages for recording and for playing back MIDI tracks. The sound module is used for playback only. Using Cubase’s MIDI Thru feature (described later) you will be able to hear the correct sound from the sound module while playing the keyboard or recording.

A typical MIDI Setup

Setting up your system

If you want to use even more instruments for playback, simply connect MIDI Thru on

When “MIDI Thru” is active in Cubase, MIDI data received is immediately “echoed” back out.

When you press a key, it is sent out via MIDI to Cubase.

MIDI data coming in to the instrument is played by the “Synth” inside it.

When Local Control is turned on in the instrument, the keys you press will be played by the “Synth” inside the instrument. When Local Control is turned off, this connection is cut off.

“Synth”

the sound module to MIDI In on the next instrument, and so on. In this hook-up, you will always play the first keyboard when recording. But you can still use all your devices for providing sounds on playback.

If you plan to use more than three sound sources, we recommend that you either use an interface with more than one output, or a separate MIDI Thru box instead of the Thru jacks on each unit.

Setting MIDI Thru and Local On/Off

On the MIDI page in the Preferences dialog (located on the File menu under Windows and on the Cubase menu under Mac OS X), you will find a setting called “MIDI Thru Active”. This is related to a setting in your instrument called “Local On/Off” or “Local Control On/Off”.

- If you use a MIDI keyboard instrument, as described earlier in this chapter, MIDI Thru should be activated and that instrument should be set to Local Off (sometimes called Local Control Off – see the instrument’s operation manual for details). The MIDI signal from the keyboard will be recorded in Cubase and at the same time be re-routed back to the instrument so that you hear what you are playing, without the keyboard “triggering” its own sounds.

Setting up MIDI

- If you use a separate MIDI keyboard – one that does not produce any sounds itself for any Local On/Off setting in your instruments.

- The only case where MIDI Thru should be deactivated is if you use Cubase with only one keyboard instrument and that instrument cannot be set to Local Off mode.

- MIDI Thru will be active only for MIDI tracks that are record enabled and/or have the Monitor button activated. See the chapter information.

– MIDI Thru in Cubase should also be activated, but you don’t need to look

“Recording” on page 110 for more

Setting up your system

Setting up MIDI ports in Cubase

The Device Setup dialog lets you set up your MIDI system as follows:

Ö When you change MIDI port settings in the Device Setup dialog, these are

automatically applied.

Showing or hiding MIDI Ports

The MIDI ports are listed in the Device Setup dialog on the MIDI Port Setup page. By clicking in the “Visible” column for a MIDI input or output, you can specify whether or not it is listed on the MIDI pop-up menus in the program.

If you are trying to hide a MIDI port which is already selected for a track or a MIDI device, a warning message will appear, allowing you to hide – and disconnect – the port or to cancel the operation and keep the MIDI port visible.

Setting up the “All MIDI Inputs” option

When you record MIDI in Cubase, you can specify which MIDI input each recording MIDI track should use. However, you can also select the “In ‘All MIDI Inputs’” option for an input port, which causes any MIDI data from any MIDI input to be recorded.

The “In ‘All MIDI Inputs’” option on the MIDI Port Setup page allows you to specify which inputs are included when you select All MIDI Inputs for a MIDI track. This can be especially useful if your system provides several instances of the same physical MIDI input – by deactivating the duplicates you make sure only the desired MIDI data is recorded.

Ö If you have a MIDI remote control unit connected, you should also make sure to

deactivate the “In ‘All MIDI Inputs’” option for that MIDI input. This will avoid accidentally recording the data from the remote control when the “All MIDI Inputs” option is selected as input for a MIDI track.

Connecting a synchronizer

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

When using Cubase with external tape transports, you will most likely need to add a synchronizer to your system. All connections and setup procedures for synchronization are described in the chapter

Setting up video

Cubase plays back video files in a number of formats, such as AVI, QuickTime, or MPEG. QuickTime is used as playback engine. Which formats can be played back depends on the video codecs installed on your system, see the chapter

page 670.

There are several ways to play back video, e. g. without any special hardware, using a FireWire port, or using dedicated video cards, see

671.

If you plan to use special video hardware, install it and set it up as recommended by the manufacturer.

Before you use the video hardware with Cubase, we recommend that you test the hardware installation with the utility applications that came with the hardware and/or the QuickTime Player application.

“Synchronization” on page 650.

“Video” on

“Video output devices” on page

Setting up your system

Optimizing audio performance

This section gives you some hints and tips on how to get the most out of your Cubase system, performance-wise. Some of this text refers to hardware properties and can be used as a guide when upgrading your system. This text is very brief. Look for details and current information on the Cubase web site.

Two aspects of performance

There are two distinct aspects of performance with respect to Cubase.

Tracks and effects

Simply put: the faster your computer, the more tracks, effects and EQ you will be able to play. Exactly what constitutes a “fast computer” is almost a science in itself, but some hints are given below.

Short response times (latency)

Another aspect of performance is response time. The term “latency” refers to the “buffering”, i. steps of the recording and playback process on a computer. The more and larger those chunks, the higher the latency.

High latency is most irritating when playing VST instruments and when monitoring through the computer, i. MixConsole and effects. However, very long latency times (several hundred milliseconds) can also affect other processes like mixing, e. fader movement is heard only after a noticeable delay.

While Direct Monitoring and other techniques reduce the problems associated with very long latency times, a system that responds fast will always be more convenient to work with.

e. the temporary storing, of small chunks of audio data during various

e. when listening to a live audio source via the Cubase

Optimizing audio performance

g. when the effect of a

• Depending on your audio hardware, it may be possible to “trim” your latency times, usually by lowering the size and the number of buffers.

For details, refer to the audio hardware documentation, or, if you are using a DirectX driver under Windows, the dialog help.

System factors that affect performance

RAM

Generally speaking, the more RAM is installed in your computer, the better.

On computers running a Windows 32-bit operating system, a running application can address a maximum of 2 this limit is 4 considerably more than 4

This limitation is imposed by the operating system, and it is independent of the amount of RAM that you may have installed in your computer.

Some program functions may “eat up” all the available memory, e. g. recording, the use of effect plug-ins, and the pre-loading of samples (see also

for recording” on page 114 and “Smart plug-in processing” on page 228).

When a function has used up all the memory made available by the operating system, the computer will crash.

GB.The 64-bit versions of Windows and Mac OS X are able to assign

GB of RAM. On a Macintosh computer running Mac OS X,

GB of RAM to a running 64-bit application.

“RAM requirements

Always keep in mind the RAM limitation of your operating system when setting up your projects.

Setting up your system

Optimizing audio performance

CPU and processor cache

It goes without saying that the faster the computer processor, the better. But there are a number of factors that affect the apparent speed of a computer: the bus speed and type (PCI is strongly recommended), the processor cache size and of course, the processor type and brand. Cubase relies heavily on floating point calculations. When shopping for a processor, please make sure that you get one that is powerful in calculating floating point arithmetics.

Note also that Cubase features full support for multi-processor systems. So, if you own a computer system with more than one processor, Cubase can take advantage of the total capacity and evenly distribute the processing load to all available processors. For further information, see

“Multi processing” on page 24.

Hard disk and controller

The number of hard disk tracks you can record and play back at the same time also depends on the speed of your hard disk and hard disk controller. If you use E-IDE disks and controllers, make sure that the transfer mode is DMA Busmaster. Under Windows, you can check the current mode by launching the Windows Device Manager and looking for properties of the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller’s primary and secondary channel. DMA transfer mode is enabled by default, but may be turned off by the system should hardware problems occur.

Audio hardware and driver

The hardware and its driver can have some effect on regular performance. A badly written driver can reduce the performance of your computer. But where the hardware driver design makes the most difference is with latency.

Again, we strongly recommend that you use audio hardware for which there is a specific ASIO driver!

This is especially true when using Cubase for Windows:

• Under Windows, ASIO drivers written specifically for the hardware are more efficient than the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver or a DirectX driver and produce shorter latency times.

• Under Mac OS X, audio hardware with properly written Mac OS X (Core Audio) drivers can be very efficient and produce very low latency times.

However, there are additional features currently only available with ASIO drivers, such as the ASIO Positioning Protocol.

Making settings that affect performance

Audio buffer settings

Audio buffers affect how audio is sent to and from the audio hardware. The size of the audio buffers affects both the latency and the audio performance. Generally, the smaller the buffer size, the lower the latency. On the other hand, working with small buffers can be demanding for the computer. If the audio buffers are too small, you may get clicks, pops or other audio playback problems.

• Under Mac OS X, you can adjust the size of the buffers on the VST Audio System page in the Device Setup dialog.

You may also find buffer settings in the control panel for the audio hardware.

• Under Windows, you adjust the buffer size settings in the control panel for the audio hardware (opened by clicking the Control Panel button on the driver page in the Device Setup dialog).

Setting up your system

The VST Performance Window

Optimizing processor scheduling (Windows only)

To get the lowest possible latencies when using ASIO under Windows (on a singleCPU system), the “system performance” has to be optimized for background tasks:

1. Open the Control Panel and select the System settings.

2. On the left, select the “Advanced system settings” option.

The System Properties dialog opens.

3. Select the Advanced tab and click the “Settings…” button in the Performance section.

The Performance Options dialog opens.

4. Select the Advanced tab and activate the “Adjust for best performance of: Background services” option.

5. Click OK to close the dialogs.

Multi processing

On the VST Audio System page you will find the “Advanced options” section. Here you find advanced settings for the VST Engine, including a Multi Processing option. When this is activated and there is more than one CPU in your system, the processing load is distributed evenly to all available CPUs, allowing Cubase to make full use of the combined power of the multiple processors.

The VST Performance Window

The VST Performance window shows the audio processing load and the hard disk transfer rate. This allows you to verify that you do not run into performance problems when adding effects or plug-ins, for example.

• To open the VST Performance window, open the Devices menu and select “VST Performance”.

• The “Average Load” indicator shows how much of the available CPU power is used for audio processing.

• The “Real-time Peak” indicator shows the processing load in the realtime path of the audio engine.

The higher this value, the higher the risk that drop outs might occur.

• The Overload indicator to the right indicates overloads of the average or real-time indicator.

If it lights up, try decreasing the number of EQ modules, active effects, and audio channels that play back simultaneously. You can also activate the ASIO-Guard, see

“The ASIO-Guard Option” on page 25.

• The disk indicator shows the hard disk transfer load.

Setting up your system

• The overload indicator to the right of the disk indicator lights up, if the hard disk does not supply data fast enough.

Try using the Disable Track function to reduce the number of tracks playing back. If this does not help, you need a faster hard disk.

Ö You can show a simple view of the performance meter on the Transport panel and on

the Project window toolbar. These meters only feature the average and the disk indicator.

The ASIO-Guard Option

The ASIO-Guard option in the VST Audio System page of the Device Setup dialog allows you to shift as much processing as possible from the ASIO realtime path to the ASIO-Guard processing path. This results in a more stable system.

The ASIO-Guard allows you to preprocess all audio channels that do not need to be calculated in realtime. This leads to less drop-outs, the ability to process more tracks or plug-ins, and the ability to use smaller buffer sizes.

To activate ASIO-Guard, proceed as follows:

1. Open the Devices menu, and select “Device Setup…”.

2. Open the VST Audio System page and activate the ASIO-Guard option.

This is only available if the Multi Processing option is activated, see “Multi

processing” on page 24.

The ASIO-Guard Option

Restrictions

Only the audio channels with their plug-ins as well as VST instruments support the ASIO-Guard technology. To get an overview of the plug-ins that support it, open the Devices menu and select “Plug-in Information” to open the Plug-in Information window. To activate or deactivate the processing of a plug-in in the ASIO-Guard path, check or uncheck it in the ASIO-Guard column.

The ASIO-Guard cannot be used for:

- Realtime-dependent signals

- VST instruments with more than on e MIDI source

- External effects and instruments

- Plug-ins that have a different bit version than the operating system If you activate the monitoring for an input channel, the audio channel is

automatically switched from ASIO-Guard to realtime processing and vice versa. This results in a gentle fade out and fade in of the audio channel.

Setting up your system

About this chapter

This chapter focuses on the settings you can perform in the VST Connections window. Here you can set up input and output busses, group and FX channels, external effects, and external instruments. Furthermore you can use this window to configure the Control Room (Cubase only) and access the Control Room itself.

Since input and output busses are vital for working with Cubase, a large part of this chapter concentrates on busses and this is also the reason why you find this chapter at the beginning of the Operation Manual. How to use the busses is described in detail in the section

“Setting up the Routing” on page 190.

The VST Connections window

VST Connections

The VST Connections window is opened from the Devices menu. It contains the following tabs:

- The Inputs and Outputs tabs allow you to set up and configure input and output busses, see

- The Group/FX tab allows you to create group and FX channels/tracks and to make output assignments for these, see

- The External FX tab (Cubase only) allows you to create send effect/return busses for connecting external effects which can then be selected via the effect pop-up menus from inside the program. For further information, see

instruments/effects (Cubase only)” on page 32 and “Using external effects (Cubase only)” on page 242.

- The External Instruments tab (Cubase only) allows you to create input/output busses for connecting external instruments. For further information, see

instruments/effects (Cubase only)” on page 32 and the chapter “VST instruments and instrument tracks” on page 252.

- The Studio tab (Cubase only) is where you enable and configure the Control Room, see

“Setting up busses” on page 27.

“Setting up group and FX channels” on page 31.

“External

“Setting Up the Control Room Channels” on page 212.

Setting up busses

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 on your audio hardware into the program. This means that when you record audio, you will always do this through one or several input busses.

- Output busses let you route audio from the program to the outputs on your audio hardware. When you play back audio, you will always do this through one or several output busses.

Once you understand the bus system and know how to set up the busses properly, it will be easy to go on with recording, playing back, mixing, and doing surround work (Cubase only).

Strategies

The bus configuration is saved with the project – therefore it is a good idea to add and set up the busses you need and save these in a template project (see

Template” on page 58).

When you start working on new projects, you start from this template. That way you get your standard bus configuration without having to make new bus settings for each new project. If you need to work with different bus configurations in different projects, you can either create several different templates or save your configurations as presets (see settings that you regularly use – sample rate, record format, a basic track layout, etc.

So, which type of busses do you need? This depends on your audio hardware, your general audio setup (e. with.

Setting up busses

“Save as

“Presets” on page 31). The templates can of course also contain other

g. surround speaker setup) and what kind of projects you work

Let’s say you are using audio hardware with eight analog inputs and outputs and digital stereo connections (10 inputs and outputs all in all). Furthermore, you work with a surround setup in 5.1 format (Cubase only). In this scenario, you may want to add the following busses:

Input busses

- Most likely you need at least one stereo input bus assigned to an analog input pair. This will let you record stereo material. If you want to be able to record in stereo from other analog input pairs as well, you add stereo input busses for these, too.

- Although you can record mono tracks from one side of a stereo input, it may be a good idea to add a dedicated mono input bus. This can be assigned to an analog input to which you have connected a dedicated microphone pre-amp, for example. Again, you can have several different mono busses.

- You probably want a dedicated stereo input bus assigned to the digital stereo input, for digital transfers.

- Cubase only: If you want to transfer surround material directly to a surround track, e.

g. from surround-configured location recording equipment, you need an input

bus in that surround format – in this example, this will be a 5.1 input bus.

Output busses

- You probably want one or several stereo output busses for monitoring and listening to stereo mixes.

- For digital transfers, you need a stereo bus assigned to the digital stereo output as well.

VST Connections

Different busses can use the same inputs/outputs on the audio hardware! For example, you may want a stereo output bus assigned to the same outputs as the front stereo channels in your surround bus – this enables you to listen to stereo mixes without having to reconnect your speakers.

Preparations

Before you set up busses, you should name the inputs and outputs on your audio hardware. For example, if you are using a 5.1 surround speaker setup, you should name the outputs according to which speaker they are connected to (Left, Right, Center, and so on).

The reason for this is compatibility – it makes it easier to transfer 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 both you and the other studio owner have given your inputs and outputs names according to the surround setup (rather than names based on the audio hardware model), Cubase will automatically find the correct inputs and outputs for your busses and you will be able to play and record without having to change the settings.

Setting up busses

- Cubase only: You need a surround bus in the format of your speaker configuration (in this example, 5.1) assigned to the correct outputs (which in turn are connected to the correct speakers). You may want additional surround busses if you tend to work in different surround formats.

To assign names to the inputs and outputs of your audio hardware, proceed as follows:

1. Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.

2. On the VST Audio System page, make sure that the correct driver for your audio

hardware is selected. If this is the case, your audio card is listed in the Devices list on the left of the

Device Setup window.

3. In the Devices list, select your audio card. The available input and output ports on your audio hardware are listed on the right.

4. To rename a port, click on its name in the Show As column and enter a new name.

• If needed, you can also disable ports by deactivating them in the Visible column. Disabled ports are not shown in the VST Connections window. If you attempt to

disable a port that is used by a bus, you will be asked whether this is really what you want – note that this will remove the port from the bus!

5. Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog.

Ö If you open a project created on another computer and the port names do not match

(or the port configuration is not the same – e.

g. the project is created on a system with multi-channel i/o and you open it on a stereo in/out system), the Missing Ports dialog will appear. This allows you to manually re-route ports used in the project to ports available in your system.

Mac OS X only: Port selection and activation

On the settings page for your audio card (opened via the Device Setup dialog, see above), you can specify which input and output ports are active. This allows you to use the Microphone input instead of the Line input or even to deactivate the audio card input or output completely, if required.

Ö This function is only available for Built-In Audio, standard USB audio devices and a

certain number of other audio cards.

VST Connections

Adding input and output busses

Depending on whether you have selected the Inputs or the Outputs tab in the VST Connections window, the corresponding busses are listed, with the following information:

Column Description

Bus Name Lists the busses. You can select and rename busses by clicking

Speakers Indicates the speaker configuration (mono, stereo, surround

Audio Device This shows the currently selected ASIO driver.

Device Port If a bus entry is expanded to show all speaker channels, this

Click (Outputs tab only) You can route the click to a specific output bus, regardless of

Setting up busses

on them in this column.

formats (Cubase only)) of each bus.

column shows which physical inputs/outputs on your audio hardware are used by the bus. If the bus entry is collapsed, only the first port used by this bus is visible here.

the actual Control Room output, or even when the Control Room is disabled.

To add an input or output bus, proceed as follows:

1. Open the Inputs or Outputs tab depending on the type of bus that you want to

add.

2. Click the Add Bus button.

A dialog opens.

3. Select a (channel) configuration.

The Configuration pop-up menu contains a Mono and a Stereo option as well as several surround formats (Cubase only). Additional surround formats are listed on the “More…” submenu.

4. Enter a name for the bus.

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

5. Click the Add Bus button.

The new bus appears with the ports visible.

6. For each of the speaker channels in the bus, click in the Device Port column to

select a port on your audio hardware. The pop-up menu that opens lists the ports with the names you have assigned in

the Device Setup dialog.

VST Connections

Setting the Main Mix bus (the default output bus)

The Main Mix is the output bus that each new audio, group or FX channel is automatically routed to.

Any of the output busses in the VST Connections window can be the default output bus. By right-clicking on the name of an output bus, you can set it as the Main Mix bus.

The Main Mix is indicated by an orange colored speaker icon next to its name.

Adding child busses (Cubase only)

Setting up busses

A surround bus is essentially a set of mono channels – 6 channels in the case of the

5.1 format. If you have a mono track in the project, you can route it to a separate speaker channel in the bus (or route it to the parent surround bus and use the SurroundPanner to position it in the surround image). But what if you have a stereo track that you simply want to route to a stereo channel pair within the bus (Left and Right or Left Surround and Right Surround, for example)? For this you need to create a child bus.

Proceed as follows:

1. In the Bus Name column, select the surround bus and right-click on it to open the

context menu.

2. Select a channel configuration from the “Add Child Bus” submenu.

As you can see, you can create stereo child busses (routed to various speaker channel pairs in the surround bus) or other surround bus formats (with fewer channels than the “parent bus”).

The child bus that you created will be available for routing in the MixConsole. It is a part of the parent surround bus, which means that it has no separate channel.

Although child busses are probably most useful in output busses, you can also create child busses within a surround input bus – for example if you want to record a stereo channel pair (e.

g. front left-right) in the surround bus to a separate stereo track.

VST Connections

Presets

Setting up group and FX channels

On the Inputs and Outputs tabs you will find a Presets menu. Here you can find three different types 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 provided by your audio hardware and creates a number of hardware-dependent presets with the following possible configurations:

- One stereo bus.

- Various combinations of stereo and mono busses.

- A number of mono busses.

- Cubase only: One 5.1 bus (if you have 6 or more inputs).

- Cubase only: Various combinations of 5.1 and stereo busses (if you have 6 or more inputs).

- Cubase only: Various combinations of 5.1 and mono busses (if you have 6 or more inputs).

• Your own user presets that you can save by clicking the Store button (“+” symbol). You can then select the stored configuration directly from the Presets pop-up menu at any time. To remove a stored preset, select it and click the Delete button (“-” symbol).

Setting up group and FX channels

The Group/FX tab in the VST Connections window shows all group channels and FX channels in your project. You can create new group or FX channels by clicking the corresponding Add button. This is the same as creating group channel tracks or FX channel tracks in the Project window, see the chapter “Audio effects” on page 227.

However, the VST Connections window also allows you to create child busses for group and FX channels (Cubase only). This is useful if you have group or FX channels in surround format and want to route stereo channels to specific channel pairs in these.

Creating a child bus for a group or FX channel in surround format is similar to creating a child bus for input and output busses, see

page 30.

About monitoring

The VST Connections window allows you to set up the busses used for monitoring, activate/deactivate the Control Room and open the Control Room Mixer. For details about using the Control Room and setting up the Studio tab in the VST Connections window, see the chapter

When the Control Room is disabled on the Studio tab of the VST Connections window, the Main Mix bus is used for monitoring. In this case you can adjust the monitoring level in the MixConsole, see the chapter

Ö In Cubase Artist, the Main Mix bus is always used for monitoring.

“The Control Room (Cubase only)” on page 211.

“About Group Channels” on page 192 and

“Adding child busses (Cubase only)” on

“The MixConsole” on page 177.

VST Connections

External instruments/effects (Cubase only)

Cubase supports the integration of external effect devices and external instruments, e.

g. hardware synthesizers, into the sequencer signal flow.

You can use the External Instruments tab and the External FX tab in the VST Connections window to define the necessary send and return ports and access the instruments/effects through the VST Instruments window.

External instruments and effects are indicated by an “x” icon in the list next to their names in the respective pop-up menus.

Requirements

• To use external effects, you need audio hardware with multiple inputs and outputs.

To use external instruments, a MIDI interface must be connected to your computer. An external effect will require at least one input and one output (or input/output

pairs for stereo effects) in addition to the input/output ports you use for recording and monitoring.

• As always, audio hardware with low-latency drivers is a good thing to have. Cubase will compensate for the input/output latency and ensure that the audio

processed through external effects is not shifted in time.

Connecting the external effect/instrument

To set up an external effect or instrument, proceed as follows:

1. Connect an unused output pair on your audio hardware to the input pair on your external hardware device.

In this example, we assume that the hardware device has stereo inputs and outputs.

2. Connect an unused input pair on your audio hardware to the output pair on your hardware device.

Please note that it is possible to select input/output ports for external effects/instruments that are already used (i. inputs/outputs in the VST Connections window). If you select a used port for an external effect/instrument, the existing port assignment will be broken. Note that you will not get a warning message!

Once the external device is connected to the audio hardware of your computer, you have to set up the input/output busses in Cubase.

e. that have been selected as

VST Connections

Setting up external effects

To set up an external effect in the VST Connections window, proceed as follows:

1. Open the External FX tab and click the “Add External FX” button. A dialog opens.

2. Enter a name for the external effect and specify the send and return configurations. Depending on the type of effect, you can specify mono, stereo or surround

configurations.

External instruments/effects (Cubase only)

• You also need a MIDI device that corresponds with the external effect. You can then click the “Associate MIDI Device” button to connect the two.

You can use the MIDI Device Manager to create a new MIDI device for the effect. Note that delay compensation will only be applied for the effect when you use MIDI devices. For information about the MIDI Device Manager and user device panels see the chapter

3. Click OK. This adds a new external FX bus.

4. Click in the Device Port column for the “left” and “right” ports of the Send Bus and select the outputs on your audio hardware that you want to use.

5. Click in the Device Port column for the “left” and “right” ports of the Return Bus and select the inputs on your audio hardware that you want to use.

6. If you like, make additional settings for the bus. These are found in the columns to the right. Note that you can adjust these while

actually using the external effect – which may be easier as you can hear the result.

The following options are available:

Setting Description

Delay If your hardware effect device has an inherent delay (latency), enter

Send Gain Allows you to adjust the level of the signal being sent to the external

Return Gain Allows you to adjust the level of the signal coming in from the external

“Using MIDI devices” on page 460.

this value here, as it allows Cubase to compensate for that delay during playback. You can also let the delay value be determined by the program: Right-click the Delay column for the effect and select “Check User Delay”. Note that you do not have to take the latency of the audio hardware into account – this is handled automatically by the program.

effect.

effect. Note however that excessive output levels from an external effect device may cause clipping in the audio hardware. The Return Gain setting cannot be used to compensate for this – you have to lower the output level on the effect device instead.

VST Connections

External instruments/effects (Cubase only)

Measure Effect’s Loop Delay button

Setting Description

MIDI Device When you click in this column, a pop-up menu opens where you can

disconnect the effect from the associated MIDI device, select a MIDI device, create a new device or open the MIDI Device Manager to edit the MIDI device.

Used Whenever you insert an external effect into an audio track, this

column shows a checkmark (“x”) to indicate that the effect is being used.

Ö Note that external device ports are exclusive, see “Connecting the external

effect/instrument” on page 32.

How to use the external effect

If you now click an insert effect slot for any channel, you will find the new external FX bus listed on the “External Plug-ins” submenu.

When you select it, the following happens:

- The external FX bus is loaded into the effect slot just like a regular effect plug-in.

- The audio signal from the channel is sent to the outputs on the audio hardware, through your external effect device and back to the program via the inputs on the audio hardware.

- A parameter window opens, showing the Delay, Send Gain and Return Gain settings for the external FX bus. You can adjust these as necessary while playing back. The parameter window also provides the “Measure Effect’s Loop Delay for Delay Compensation” button. This is the same function as the “Check User Delay” option in the VST Connections window. It provides Cubase with a Delay value to be used for delay compensation. When you have defined a MIDI device for the effect, the corresponding Device window will be opened.

The default parameter window for an external effect

Like any effect, you can use the external FX bus as an insert effect or as a send effect (an insert effect on an FX channel track). You can deactivate or bypass the external effect with the usual controls.

Setting up external instruments

To set up an external instrument in the VST Connections window, proceed as follows:

1. Open the External Instrument tab and click the “Add External Instrument” button. A dialog opens.

VST Connections

External instruments/effects (Cubase only)

2. Enter a name for the external instrument and specify the number of required mono and/or stereo returns.

Depending on the type of instrument, a specific number of mono and/or stereo return channels is required.

• You also need a MIDI device that corresponds with the external instrument. You can then click the “Associate MIDI Device” button to connect the two.

You can use the MIDI Device Manager to create a new MIDI device. For information about the MIDI Device Manager and user device panels, see the chapter

3. Click OK. This adds a new external instrument bus.

4. Click in the Device Port column for the “left” and “right” ports of the Return Bus and select the inputs on your audio hardware to which you connected the external instrument.

5. If you like, make additional settings for the bus. These are found in the columns to the right. Note that you can adjust these while

actually using the external instrument – which may be easier as you can hear the result. The following options are available:

“Using MIDI devices” on page 460.

Setting Description

Delay If your hardware device has an inherent delay (latency), enter this value

here. This allows Cubase to compensate for that delay during playback. Note that you do not have to take the latency of the audio hardware into account – this is handled automatically by the program.

Return Gain Allows you to adjust the level of the signal coming in from the external

instrument. Note however that excessive output levels from an external device may cause clipping in the audio hardware. The Return Gain setting cannot be used to compensate for this – you have to lower the output level on the device instead.

MIDI Device When you click in this column, a pop-up menu opens where you can

disconnect the instrument from the associated MIDI device, select a MIDI device, create a new device or open the MIDI Device Manager to edit the MIDI device.

Used Whenever you insert the external instrument into a VST instrument

slot, this column shows a checkmark (“x”) to indicate that the instrument is being used.

Ö Note that external device ports are exclusive, see “Connecting the external

effect/instrument” on page 32.

How to use the external instrument

Once you have set up the external instrument in the VST Connections window, you can use it as a VST instrument. Open the VST Instruments window and click on an empty instrument slot. On the Instrument pop-up menu, your external instrument is listed on the External Plug-ins submenu.

VST Connections

When you select the external instrument in the VST Instruments window, the following

happens:

- A parameter window for the external device opens automatically. This may either be the Device window, allowing you to create a generic device panel, an OPT editor window or a default editor. For information about the Device window, the MIDI Device Manager and User device panels, see the chapter

devices” on page 460.

To send MIDI notes to the external instrument, open the Output Routing pop-up menu in the Inspector for the corresponding MIDI track and select the MIDI device to which the external instrument is connected. This ensures use of delay compensation. The instrument will now play any MIDI notes it receives from this track and return them to Cubase through the return channel(s) you have set up.

The external instrument will behave like any other VST instrument in Cubase.

About the Favorites buttons

In the VST Connections window, both the External FX tab and the External Instruments tab feature a Favorites button.

External instruments/effects (Cubase only)

“Using MIDI

Favorites are device configurations that you can recall at any time, like a library of external devices that are not constantly connected to your computer. They also allow you to save different configurations for the same device, e. effect that provides both a mono and a stereo mode.

To save a device configuration as a favorite, proceed as follows:

• When you have added a new device in the VST Connections window, select it in the Bus Name column and click the Favorites button.

A context menu is displayed showing an option to add the selected effect or instrument to the Favorites.

• You can recall the stored configuration at any time by clicking the Favorites button and selecting the device name from the context menu.

About the “plug-in could not be found” message

When you open a project that uses an external effect/instrument, you may get a “plugin could not be found” message. This will happen when you remove an external device from the VST Connections window although it is used in a saved project, or when transferring a project to another computer on which the external device is not defined. You may also see this message when opening a project created with an earlier version of Cubase.

In the VST Connections window, the broken connection to the external device is indicated by an icon in the Bus Name column.

To reestablish the broken connection to the external device, simply right-click the entry for the device in the Bus Name column and select “Connect External Effect”. The icon is removed, and you can use the external device within your project as before.

g. a multi-effect board or an

Note that busses set up for external effects or external instruments are saved “globally”, i.

e. for your particular computer setup.

VST Connections

Freezing external effects/instruments

Just as when working with regular VST instruments and effects, you can also choose to freeze external effects and instruments. The general procedure is described in detail in the chapters

instrument tracks” on page 252.

Note that you have to perform Freeze in realtime. Otherwise external effects will not be taken into account.

When freezing external instruments or effects, you can adjust the corresponding tail value in the Freeze Channel Options dialog:

• Use the arrow buttons next to the Tail Size value field to set the desired Tail length, i.

e. the range after the part boundary is also to be included in the freeze. You can also click directly in the value field and enter the desired value manually (the maximum value being 60

• When the Tail Size is set to 0 s (default), the freezing will only take into account the data within the Part boundaries.

“Audio effects” on page 227 and “VST instruments and

s).

Editing operations

On the different tabs of the VST Connections window the corresponding busses or channels are shown in a table containing a tree view with expandable entries. After you have set up all the required busses for a project it might be necessary to edit the names and/or change port assignments. Cubase provides a number of features to make such tasks easier.

Expanding and collapsing entries

• Bus entries can be expanded or collapsed to show or hide the corresponding

speaker channels or sub-busses by clicking the “+” or “-” sign in front of the corresponding list entry.

• To expand or collapse all entries on a tab at the same time, use the “+ All” button or the “-

Determining how many busses a device port is connected to

To give you an idea how many busses a given port is already connected to, the busses are shown in square brackets on the Device Port pop-up menu, to the right of the port name.

Up to three bus assignments can be displayed in this way. If more connections have been made, this is indicated by a number at the far right.

Therefore, if you see the following:

Adat 1 [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)…

this means that the Adat 1 port is already assigned to three stereo busses plus two additional busses.

All” button (respectively) above the tree view.

VST Connections

Editing operations

Identifying exclusive port assignments

In some cases (i. e. for certain channel types such as cue channels), 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.

To help you identify such exclusive port assignments and avoid accidental reassignment, the corresponding ports are marked in red on the Device Port pop-up menu.

Selecting/Deselecting multiple entries

• Using the key commands [Ctrl]/[Command]-[A] (Select All) and [Shift]-

[Ctrl]/[Command]-[A] (Select None), you can select and deselect all entries in the Bus Name column.

Note that for this to work, the table on the current tab needs to have the focus. This can be achieved by clicking anywhere on the background of the table.

• By holding [Shift] when selecting entries in the Bus Name column, you can select multiple entries at the same time.

This is useful for automatic renaming or changing the port assignments globally, see below.

Ö If you select a subentry (e. g. a speaker channel in a bus) the parent entry is

automatically selected as well.

Selecting entries by typing the name

In the Bus Name list you can jump to an entry by typing the first letter of the bus name on the keyboard.

This will only work if the table has the focus. To do this, simply select any list entry.

Navigating the Bus Name list using the [Tab] key

By pressing the [Tab] key you can jump to the next entry in the Bus Name list, allowing you to rename your busses quickly. Similarly, by pressing [Shift]-[Tab] you can return to the previous list entry.

Automatically renaming selected 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 eight 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, proceed as with numbers, but enter a capital letter instead of a number.

For example, if you have three 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 then 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 will be skipped.

When using letters instead of numbers, it is important to note that these must be preceded by a space. If you leave out the space before the letter or if you do enter neither a letter nor a number, only the first selected entry is renamed.

VST Connections

Editing operations

Ö You do not have to begin renaming with the topmost selected entry. The renaming will

start from the bus where you edit the name, will go down the list to the bottom and then continue from the top until all selected busses have been renamed.

Changing the port assignment for a single bus

To change the port assignment for a single bus, you proceed as when you added it: Make sure that the channels are visible and click in the Device Port column to select ports.

Changing the port assignment for multiple busses

To change the port assignment (or the output routing in case of groups/FX channels) for multiple entries in the Bus Name column at the same time, you need to select the corresponding busses first.

• To assign different ports to the selected busses, press [Shift], open the Device Port pop-up menu for the first selected entry (i.

e. the topmost bus) and select a

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

Cubase only: Exclusive ports (e. g. ports already assigned to Control Room channels) will be skipped!

• To assign the same port to all selected busses, press [Shift]-[Alt]/[Option], open the Device Port pop-up menu for the first selected entry (i.

e. the topmost bus) and

select a device port.

Ö You can also set all selected busses or channels to Not Connected.

Removing busses

To remove a bus you do not need, select it in the list, right-click and select Remove Bus from the pop-up menu, or press [Backspace].

VST Connections

Window Overview

Project

overview

Event display

Inspector

Ruler

Status line

Toolbar

Track list

Info line

The Project window is the main window in Cubase. This provides you with an overview of the project, allowing you to navigate and perform large scale editing. Each project has one Project window.

The Project window

About tracks

The Project window is divided vertically into tracks, with a timeline running horizontally from left to right. The following track types are available:

Track type Description

Audio For recording and playing back audio events and audio parts. Each

Folder Folder tracks function as containers for other tracks, making it easier to

FX Channel FX channel tracks are used for adding send effects. Each FX channel

audio track has a corresponding audio channel in the MixConsole. An audio track can have any number of automation tracks for automating channel parameters, effect settings, etc.

organize and manage the track structure. They also allow you to edit several tracks at the same time, see on page 97.

can contain up to eight effect processors – by routing sends from an audio channel to an FX channel, you send audio from the audio channel to the effect(s) on the FX channel. Each FX channel has a corresponding channel in the MixConsole – in essence an effect return channel, see the chapter All FX channel tracks are automatically placed in a special FX channel folder in the track list, for easy management. An FX channel can also have any number of automation tracks for automating channel parameters, effect settings, etc.

“Audio effects” on page 227.

“Organizing tracks in folder tracks”

Window Overview

Track type Description

Group Channel By routing several audio channels to a Group channel, you can submix

them, apply the same effects to them, see

page 192.

A Group channel track contains no events as such, but displays settings and automation curves for the corresponding Group channel. Each Group channel track has a corresponding channel in the MixConsole. In the Project window, Group channels are organized as tracks in a special Group Tracks folder.

Instrument This allows you to create a track for a dedicated instrument, making

VST instrument handling easier and more intuitive. Instrument tracks have a corresponding channel in the MixConsole. Each instrument track can have any number of automation tracks in the Project window. However, Volume and Pan are automated from within the MixConsole. It is possible to edit instrument tracks directly in the Project window, using the Edit In-Place function (see

512). For more information on instrument tracks, see the chapter “VST instruments and instrument tracks” on page 252.

MIDI For recording and playing back MIDI parts. Each MIDI track has a

corresponding MIDI channel in the MixConsole. It is possible to edit MIDI tracks directly in the Project window, using the Edit In-Place function (see A MIDI track can have any number of automation tracks for automating MixConsole channel parameters, insert and send effect settings, etc.

Marker Marker tracks display markers which can be moved and renamed

directly in the Project window (see the chapter

page 169). A project can have only one marker track.

Arranger The arranger track is used for arranging your project, by marking out

sections in the project and determining in which order they are to be played back. See the chapter details.

Ruler Ruler tracks contain additional rulers, displaying the timeline from left to

right. You can use any number of ruler tracks, each with a different display format if you wish. See information about the ruler and the display formats.

Signature Time signature events can be added and edited on the signature track,

or in the Tempo Track Editor. A project can have only one signature track. See the chapter details.

Tempo You can create tempo changes within a project using the tempo track.

A project can have only one tempo track. See the chapter

tempo and signature” on page 610 for details.

Transpose The transpose track allows you to set global key changes. A project can

have only one transpose track, see the chapter

functions” on page 161.

Video For playing back video events. A project can only have one video track.

Chord The chord track allows you to create chord events, see “Working with

the Chord Functions” on page 542.

“The In-Place Editor” on page 512).

“The arranger track” on page 152 for

“The ruler” on page 50 for more

“Editing tempo and signature” on page 610 for

“About Group Channels” on

“The In-Place Editor” on page

“Using markers” on

“Editing

“The transpose

The Project window

About parts and events

The tracks in the Project window contain parts and/or events. Events are the basic building blocks in Cubase. Different event types are handled differently in the Project window:

- Video events and automation events (curve points) are always viewed and rearranged directly in the Project window.

- MIDI events can always be found in MIDI parts, which are containers for one or more MIDI events. MIDI parts are rearranged and manipulated in the Project window. To edit the individual MIDI events in a part, you have to open the part in a MIDI editor (see

- Audio events can be displayed and edited directly in the Project window, but you can also work with audio parts containing several events. This is useful if you have a number of events which you want to treat as one unit in the project. Audio parts also contain information about the time position in the project.

An audio event and an audio part

The track list

“The MIDI editors” on page 481).

Getting on-the-fly info with the Object Selection tool

If the “Object Selection tool: Show Extra Info” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tools page), a tooltip will be shown for the Object Selection tool, displaying information depending on where you point it. For example, in the Project window event display, the tool will show the current pointer position and the name of the track and event you are pointing at.

The track list

The track list displays all the tracks used in a project. It contains name fields and settings for the tracks. Different track types have different controls in the track list. To see all available controls, you may have to resize the track in the track list (see

“Resizing tracks” on page 88).

The track list showing a MIDI track, an audio track with an automation track, and a VST instrument track

• Using the Track Controls Settings dialog you can decide which controls are visible for each track type, see

“Customizing track controls” on page 702.

The Project window

The Inspector

The area to the left of the track list is called the Inspector. This shows additional controls and parameters for the track you have selected in the track list. If several tracks are selected, the Inspector shows the setting for the first (topmost) selected track.

Opening the Inspector

To show the Inspector, proceed as follows:

1. On the toolbar, click the “Set up Window Layout” button.

2. Activate the Inspector option.

The Inspector

Inspector handling

For most track classes, the Inspector is divided into a number of sections, each containing different controls for the track. Which sections are available in the Inspector depends on the selected track.

• You can hide or show sections by clicking on their names. Clicking the name for a hidden section brings it into view and hides the other

sections. [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking the section name allows you to hide or show a section without affecting the other sections. [Alt]/[Option]-clicking a section name shows or hides all sections in the Inspector.

• You can also use key commands to show different Inspector sections. These are set up in the Key Commands dialog, see “Setting up key commands” on

page 712.

Ö Hiding a section does not affect its functionality. For example, if you have set up a

track parameter or activated an effect, your settings will still be active even if you hide the respective Inspector section.

The Project window

The Inspector

Not all Inspector tabs are shown by default. You can show/hide Inspector sections by right-clicking on an Inspector tab and activating/deactivating the desired options on the Inspector context menu.

Ö Make sure that you right-click on an Inspector tab and not on the empty area below

the Inspector, as this will open the Quick context menu instead.

Inspector sections

The Inspector contains the controls that can be found on the track list, plus some additional buttons and parameters. In the table below, these additional settings and the different sections are listed.

Parameter Description

Auto Fades Settings button

Edit Channel Settings

Volume Use this to adjust the level for the track. Changing this setting will

Pan Use this to adjust the panning of the track. As with the Volume

Delay This adjusts the playback timing of the audio track. Positive values

Input Routing This lets you specify the input bus or MIDI input for the track. See

Output Routing Here you decide to which output the track is routed. For audio tracks

Chord Track section

Opens a dialog in which you can make separate Auto Fade settings for the audio track, see

tracks” on page 150.

Opens the Channel Settings window for the track, allowing you to view and adjust effect and EQ settings, etc., see

Settings” on page 205.

move the track’s fader in the MixConsole, and vice versa. See

“Setting the Volume in the MixConsole” on page 189 to learn more

about setting levels.

setting, this corresponds to the Pan setting in the MixConsole.

delay the playback while negative values cause the track to play earlier. The values are set in milliseconds.

“Setting up busses” on page 27 for information about input busses.

you select an output bus (see Group channel, for MIDI tracks you select a MIDI output and for instrument tracks, you select the instrument to which it is routed.

Here you can decide how the track follow the chord track, see

“Working with the Chord Functions” on page 542.

“Making Auto Fade settings for individual

“Using Channel

“Setting up busses” on page 27) or

The Project window

The Inspector

Parameter Description

Inserts section Allows you to add insert effects to the track, see the chapters “Audio

effects” on page 227 and “MIDI realtime parameters and effects” on page 449. The Edit button at the top of the section opens the control

panels for the added insert effects.

Strip section Here you can set up the channel strip modules, see “Using Channel

Strip Modules” on page 198.

Equalizers section Lets you adjust the EQs for the track. You can have up to four bands

of EQ for each track, see Edit button at the top of the section opens the Channel Settings window for the track.

Sends section Allows you to route an audio track to one or several FX channels, see

the chapter slot opens the control panel for the first effect in each FX channel. For MIDI tracks, this is where you assign MIDI send effects. Clicking the Edit button above a slot opens the control panel for the corresponding MIDI effect.

Cue Sends section (Cubase only)

Surround Pan section (Cubase only)

Channel Fader section

Notepad section This is a standard text notepad, allowing you to jot down notes about

Device Panel section (Cubase only)

Quick Controls section

The Cue Sends are used to route cue mixes to Control Room cues. For a detailed description of cues and cues sends, see the chapter

“The Control Room (Cubase only)” on page 211.

When the SurroundPanner is used for a track, this is also available in the Inspector. For further information, see

V5” on page 269.

Shows a duplicate of the corresponding MixConsole channel. The channel overview strip to the left lets you activate and deactivate insert effects, EQs and sends.

the track. If you open the File menu and select “Notepad Data…” from the Export submenu, your data will be exported as text file and opened in an external text editor from where you can print it. Note that you have to save your project first. If you have entered any notes about a track, the icon next to the “Notepad” heading will light up to indicate this. Moving the pointer over the icon will display the Notepad text in a tooltip.

Here you can display device panels, e. g. for external MIDI devices, audio track panels or VST insert effect panels. For information on how to create or import MIDI device panels, see the separate PDF document “MIDI Devices”.

Here you can configure quick controls, e. g. to use remote devices, see the chapter

“Audio effects” on page 227. The Edit button above a

“Track Quick Controls” on page 430.

“Making EQ Settings” on page 196. The

“Using the SurroundPanner

Instrument tracks

The Inspector for an instrument track shows some of the sections from VST instrument channels and MIDI tracks, see

page 252.

MIDI tracks

When a MIDI track is selected, the Inspector contains a number of additional sections and parameters, affecting the MIDI events in realtime (e. sections are available for MIDI tracks is described in the chapter

parameters and effects” on page 449.

The Project window

“VST instruments and instrument tracks” on

g. on playback). Which

“MIDI realtime

The Inspector

Arranger track

For the arranger track, the Inspector displays the lists of available arranger chains and arranger events. See the chapter

Folder tracks

When a folder track is selected, the Inspector shows the folder and its underlying tracks, much like a folder structure in the Windows Explorer or Mac OS X Finder.

Ö You can click one of the tracks shown under the folder in the Inspector to have the

Inspector show the settings for that track. This way, you do not have to “open” a folder track to make settings for tracks within it.

FX channel tracks

FX channel tracks are automatically placed in a special folder, for easier management. When this folder track is selected, the Inspector shows the folder and the FX channels it contains. You can click one of the FX channels shown in the folder to have the Inspector show the settings for that FX channel – this way you do not have to “open” a folder track to access the settings for the FX channels in it.

Group channel tracks

“The arranger track” on page 152 for details.

Just like FX channel tracks, all group channel tracks are placed in a separate folder – when this is selected, the Inspector shows the folder and the group channels it contains. You can click one of the group channels shown in the folder to have the Inspector show the settings for that group channel – this way, you do not have to “open” a folder track to access the settings for the group channels in it.

Marker tracks

When the marker track is selected, the Inspector shows the marker list. For more information, see the chapter

Ruler tracks

For ruler tracks, the Inspector is not used.

Transpose track

The transpose track controls are described in detail in the chapter “The transpose

functions” on page 161.

Signature track and tempo track

For the signature track and the tempo track, the Inspector displays a list of all time signature events or tempo events. See the chapter

page 610 for details.

Video tracks

When a video track is selected, the Inspector contains a lock button for locking the track (see the section video playback and two settings for video thumbnails: Show Frame Numbers and Show Thumbnails (see the section

Video tracks make use of the Notepad Inspector tab.

“Using markers” on page 169.

“Editing tempo and signature” on

“Locking events” on page 78), a Mute button for interrupting

“Video files in the Project window” on page 674).

Chord track

When the chord track is selected, the Inspector contains a number of settings for the chord events. For more information, see the chapter

Functions” on page 542.

The Project window

“Working with the Chord

The toolbar

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

You can show/hide most of the toolbar elements (except the Activate Project and “Set up Window Layout” buttons) by activating/deactivating the corresponding options on the context menu. The following options are available:

Option Description

Constrain Delay Compensation

Media & MixConsole Windows

Automation Mode When this is activated, the automation mode and a button to

Auto-Scroll When this is activated, buttons for the options “Auto-Scroll”

Locators When this is activated, the left and right locator positions are

Transport Buttons When this is activated, the transport buttons from the Transport

Arranger Controls When this is activated, the controls used when working with the

Time Display When this is activated, the Transport panel’s time display is

Markers When this is activated, the Transport panel’s marker buttons are

Tool Buttons When this is activated, tool buttons for editing in the Project

Color Menu This shows/hides the color pop-up menu, see “Applying colors

Nudge Palette Activate this to display the nudge buttons. These buttons can

Project Root Key Activate this to display the Project Root Key. For details, see the

Snap/Quantize The Snap to Zero Crossings option is described in the section

Performance Meter When this is activated, meters for ASIO time usage and hard

The toolbar

This is described in the section “Constrain Delay

Compensation” on page 265.

When this is activated, buttons for opening or closing the MediaBay, the Pool, the MixConsole, and the Control Room Mixer (Cubase only) are displayed on the toolbar.

open/close the Automation panel are displayed on the toolbar. For details, see the chapter

and “Suspend Auto-Scroll when Editing” are displayed, see

“Auto-Scroll” on page 54.

displayed on the toolbar.

panel are also displayed on the toolbar.

arranger track are displayed, see the chapter

track” on page 152.

displayed on the toolbar.

window are displayed on the toolbar. The tools are also accessible via the toolbox, see

in the Project window” on page 706.

be used to nudge events or parts in the Project window or for trimming (see

events” on page 76).

chapter

“Snap to Zero Crossing” on page 54. The other options are

described in the sections “The Snap function” on page 52 and

“Quantizing MIDI and Audio” on page 134.

disk transfer load are displayed.

“Moving events” on page 72 and “Resizing

“The transpose functions” on page 161.

“Automation” on page 279.

“The arranger

“Using the toolbox” on page 48.

Ö How to further set up the toolbar is described in the section “Using the Setup

options” on page 700.

The Project window

Using the toolbox

The toolbox can be opened instead of the standard context menus in the event display and editors. It makes the editing tools from the toolbar conveniently available at the mouse pointer position.

• To open the toolbox by right-clicking (Win)/[Ctrl]-clicking (Mac), activate the “Pop-up Toolbox on Right-Click” option in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tools page).

When this option is activated, you need to press any modifier key and right-click (Win)/[Ctrl]-click (Mac) to open the context menu. When it is deactivated, you need to press a modifier key to open the toolbox instead of the context menu.

• To change the number of rows in which the tools are arranged on the toolbox, keep the right mouse button pressed on the toolbox until the mouse pointer changes to a double arrow, and drag to the bottom or right.

The tools can be arranged in one, two, or three horizontal or vertical rows.

The status line

The status line is displayed below the toolbar in the Project window.

The status line

It displays the following information:

Option Description

Record Time Max This displays the time you have left for recording, depending

on your project settings and the available hard disk space. Click in this field to display the remaining record time in a separate window.

Record Format This displays the sample rate and the bit resolution used for

recording.

Project Frame Rate This displays the frame rate used in the project.

Project Pan Law This displays the current Pan Law setting.

Ö Clicking on any of the fields except the Record Time Max display opens the Project

Setup dialog, where you can adjust the settings (see

page 62).

Cubase permits different sample rate settings for a project and the audio hardware. However, as a result the audio files in a project will not play back in their original pitch. If the “Record Format” field is highlighted in a different color, there is a sample rate mismatch and you should check the settings in the Project Setup dialog.

• To show or hide the status line, click the “Set up Window Layout” button on the toolbar and activate or deactivate the Status Line option.

“The Project Setup dialog” on

The info line

The info line is displayed below the status line in the Project window.

The info line shows information about the currently selected event or part in the Project window. You can edit almost all values on the info line using regular value editing. Length and position values are displayed in the format currently selected for the ruler (see

“The ruler” on page 50).

The Project window

• To show or hide the info line, click the “Set up Window Layout” button on the toolbar and activate or deactivate the Info Line option.

The following elements can be selected for display and editing on the info line:

- Audio events

-Audio parts

-MIDI parts

- Video events

-Markers

- Automation curve points

- Transpose events

- Arranger events

- Chord events

When several elements are selected

• If you have selected several elements, the info line shows information about the

first item in the selection. The values are displayed in color to indicate that several elements are selected.

• If you edit a value on the info line, the value change is applied to all selected elements, relatively to the current values.

If you have selected two audio events, the first being one bar long and the second two bars, the info line shows the length of the first event (one bar). If you now change this value to 3 bars in the info line, the other event will be resized by the same amount – and will thus be 4 bars long.

• To enter absolute values for the selected elements, press [Ctrl]/[Command] while modifying the value on the info line. In the example above, both events would be resized to 3 bars.

[Ctrl]/[Command] is the default modifier key for this – you can change this in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tool Modifiers page, in the Info Line category).

The info line

Editing transpose and velocity for MIDI parts

When one or several MIDI parts are selected, the info line contains Transpose and Velocity fields.

• Adjusting the Transpose field transposes the selected parts in semitone steps. Note that this transposition does not change the actual notes in the part – it is just

a “play parameter”, affecting the notes on playback. The transposition you specify for a part on the info line is added to the transposition set for the whole track. For more information on transposing, see the chapter

page 161.

• Adjusting the Velocity field shifts the velocity for the selected parts – the value you specify is added to the velocities of the notes in the parts.

Again, this velocity shift only affects the notes on playback, and again, the value you specify is added to the Vel.Shift. value set for the whole MIDI track in the Inspector.

“The transpose functions” on

The Project window

The overview line

The overview line is displayed below the info line in the Project window. In the overview line, events and parts on all tracks are displayed as boxes.

• To show or hide the overview line, click the “Set up Window Layout” button on the toolbar and activate or deactivate the Overview Line option.

You can use the overview line to zoom in or out, and for navigating to other sections of the project. This is done by moving and resizing the track view rectangle in the overview line.

• The track view rectangle indicates the section of the project currently displayed in the event display.

• You zoom in or out horizontally by resizing the rectangle. Resize it by dragging the edges of the rectangle.

The overview line

The ruler

• You can drag the track view rectangle to view other sections of the project.

This can also be done by clicking anywhere in the upper part of the overview – the track view rectangle will be moved to where you clicked.

The ruler at the top of the event display shows the timeline. Initially, the Project window ruler uses the display format specified in the Project Setup dialog (see

Project Setup dialog” on page 62), as do all other rulers and position displays in the

project. However, you can select an independent display format for the ruler by clicking the arrow button to the right of it and selecting an option from the pop-up menu (you can also bring up this pop-up menu by right-clicking anywhere in the ruler).

Option Positions and lengths displayed as

Bars+Beats Bars, beats, sixteenth notes and ticks. By default there are 120 ticks

per sixteenth note, but you can adjust this with the “MIDI Display Resolution” setting in the Preferences dialog (MIDI page).

Seconds Hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds.

Timecode This format displays hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. The

number of frames per second (fps) is set in the Project Setup dialog with the Frame Rate pop-up menu (see

page 62).

Samples Samples.

fps (User) Hours, minutes, seconds and frames, with a user-definable number of

frames per second. You set the desired number of fps in the Preferences dialog (Transport page).

Time Linear When this is selected, the ruler will be linear relative to time. This

means that if there are tempo changes on the tempo track, the distance between the bars will vary in Bars+Beats mode.

“The Project Setup dialog” on

“The

The Project window

The ruler

Option Positions and lengths displayed as

Bars+Beats Linear When this is selected, the ruler will be linear relative to the meter

position – bars and beats. This means that if there are tempo changes on the tempo track, there still will be the same distance between bars in Bars+Beats mode. If the ruler is set to a time-based mode, the distance between seconds will vary depending on the tempo changes.

• The selection you make here affects the ruler, the info line and tooltip position values (which appear when you drag an event in the Project window).

You can also select independent formats for other rulers and position displays.

• To set the display format globally (for all windows), use the primary display format pop-up on the Transport panel, or hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and select a display format in any ruler.

• If you use the “Timecode” or “User” options and the “Show Timecode Subframes” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Transport page), the frames will also display subframes.

There are 80 subframes per frame.

Using multiple rulers – ruler tracks

As described above, the Cubase Project window contains a main ruler at the top of the event display, displaying the timeline from left to right.

If needed, you can have several rulers in the Project window, by adding ruler tracks to the project. Each ruler track contains an additional ruler.

• To add a ruler track, open the “Add Track” submenu from the Project menu and select “Ruler”.

A ruler track showing an additional ruler is added to the track list.

You can add any number of ruler tracks to a project, and position them as needed by dragging them up or down in the track list. Each of the rulers can show a separate display format.

• To select a display format for a ruler track, click on its name in the track list and select an option from the pop-up menu.

Note that ruler tracks are completely independent from the main event display ruler, as well as rulers and position displays in other windows. This means that:

- Each ruler track in a project can have its own display format.

- Ruler tracks are not affected by the display format setting in the Project Setup dialog (see

- Ruler tracks are not affected if you set the display format globally with the primary time display in the Transport panel.

Ö Ruler tracks are affected by the “Show Timecode Subframes” option in the

Preferences dialog (Transport page, see above).

“The Project Setup dialog” on page 62).

The Project window

The Snap function

The Snap function helps you to find exact positions when editing in the Project window. It does this by restricting horizontal movement and positioning to certain positions. Operations affected by Snap include moving, copying, drawing, sizing, splitting, range selection, etc.

• You turn Snap on or off by clicking the Snap icon on the toolbar.

When you are moving audio events with Snap activated, it is not necessarily the beginning of the event that is used as Snap position reference. Instead, each audio event has a snap point, which you can set to a relevant position in the audio (such as a downbeat, etc.).

The snap point is preferably set in the Sample Editor since it allows for a higher degree of precision (see also set the snap point directly in the Project window, in the following way:

1. Select an event.

2. Place the project cursor at the desired position within the selected audio event.

The Snap function

“Adjusting the snap point” on page 334). However, you can

3. Open the Audio menu and select “Snap Point To Cursor”. The snap point is set at the cursor position.

The snap point for an event is displayed as a vertical line in the Project window.

The Snap Type pop-up menu

To determine how the Snap function works, open the Snap Type pop-up menu and select one of the available options.

Grid

If you select this Snap type, the Snap positions are set with the Grid Type pop-up menu. The options depend on the display format selected for the ruler. For example, if the ruler is set to show bars and beats, the grid can be set to bars, beats, or the quantize value set with the selected quantize preset. If a time or frame-based ruler format is selected, the Grid Type pop-up menu contains time or frame-based grid options, etc.

When Seconds is selected as ruler format, the Grid Type pop-up menu contains time-based grid options.

The Project window

The Snap function

12345

52431

Dragging event 2 past event 4…

…changes the order of events 2, 3 and 4.

Grid Relative

If you select this Snap type, events and parts will not be “magnetic” to the grid. Rather, the grid determines the step size for moving the events. This means that a moved event will keep its original position relative to the grid.

For example, if an event starts at the position 3.04.01 (one beat before bar 4), Snap is set to Grid Relative and the Grid Type pop-up menu is set to “Bar”, you can move the event in steps of one bar – to the positions 4.04.01, 5.04.01 and so on. The event will keep its relative position to the grid, i.

e. stay one beat before the bar lines.

• This only applies when dragging existing events or parts – when you create new events or parts this snap type works like “Grid”.

Events

This grid type makes the start and end positions of other events and parts become “magnetic”. This means that if you drag an event to a position near the start or end of another event, it is automatically aligned with the start or end of the other event. For audio events, the position of the snap point is also magnetic (see

“Adjusting the snap

point” on page 334).

• Note that this includes marker events on the marker track. This allows you to snap events to marker positions, and vice versa.

Shuffle

Shuffle is useful when you want to change the order of adjacent events. If you have two adjacent events and drag the first one to the right, past the second event, the two events will change places.

The same principle works when changing the order of more than two events:

Magnetic Cursor

This grid type lets the project cursor become “magnetic”. Dragging an event near the cursor causes the event to be aligned with the cursor position.

Grid + Cursor

This is a combination of “Grid” and “Magnetic Cursor”.

Events + Cursor

This is a combination of “Events” and “Magnetic Cursor”.

Events + Grid + Cursor

This is a combination of “Events”, “Grid” and “Magnetic Cursor”.

The Project window

Snap to Zero Crossing

When this option is activated on the toolbar, splitting and sizing of audio events is done at zero crossings (positions in the audio where the amplitude is zero). This helps you avoid pops and clicks which might otherwise be caused by sudden amplitude changes.

Auto-Scroll

When the Auto-Scroll option is activated, the waveform display will scroll during playback, keeping the project cursor visible in the window. You can find the AutoScroll button on the toolbars of the Project window and all editors.

“Auto-Scroll” and “Suspend Auto-Scroll when Editing” are activated.

• If the “Stationary Cursors” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Transport page), the project cursor will be positioned in the middle of the screen (if possible).

Suspending Auto-Scroll

Auto-Scroll

When editing parts or events during playback with Auto-Scroll enabled, you may suddenly “lose sight” of the edited material as the display follows the project cursor.

If you do not want the Project window display to change when editing during playback, you can activate the “Suspend Auto-Scroll when Editing” button. You will find this button right next to the Auto-Scroll button. When this option is enabled, autoscrolling is suspended as soon as you click anywhere in the event display during playback.

Proceed as follows:

1. Open a project that contains audio or MIDI parts/events.

2. Enable both the “Auto-Scroll” and the “Suspend Auto-Scroll when Editing”

buttons.

3. Start playback.

4. Edit an audio or MIDI part/event of your project (e. g. click and drag it to a different

location on its track). The Auto-Scroll button turns orange.

Auto-Scrolling is now suspended, i. e. when the project cursor moves to the right edge of the Project window, the display will not follow to keep the cursor visible.

As soon as playback stops or when you click the Auto-Scroll button again, Cubase will return to the normal Auto-Scroll behavior.

The Project window

Creating new projects

Category bar

Template list

Location options

The New Project command on the File menu allows you to create new projects, either as empty projects or based on a template. Depending on the settings on the General page in the Preferences dialog, either Steinberg Hub or the Project Assistant dialog opens.

Steinberg Hub

When you start Cubase or create new projects using the File menu, Steinberg Hub opens. Steinberg Hub keeps you up to date with the latest information and assists you with organizing your projects. Steinberg Hub shows two sections:

• The News and Tutorials section displays Steinberg news, tutorial videos as well as links to the user forum, downloads, and Knowledge Base. Ensure that you have an active internet connection to access this material.

Working with projects

• The Projects section lets you create new projects, which can either be empty or

based on a template, and specify where to save the projects. It also allows you to access recently opened projects or projects that are stored in other locations. For further information about the individual functions, see the following sections.

Ö To start Cubase or to create new projects without Steinberg Hub, you can deactivate

the Use Steinberg Hub option on the General page in the Preferences dialog. This starts Cubase without opening a project and opens the Project Assistant when you create a new project using the File menu. You can still open Steinberg Hub through the Steinberg Hub menu.

Project Assistant

When you deactivate Steinberg Hub and create new projects, the Project Assistant dialog opens. This dialog offers the same functions as the Projects section in Steinberg Hub.

Opening recent projects

The Recent category in the category bar of the Projects section contains a list of recently opened projects. When you select an item in this category, the Create button changes to “Open”, allowing you to open the corresponding project. This list is similar to the list in the Recent Projects submenu of the File menu.

Choosing a template

In the category bar of the Projects section, the available factory templates are sorted into the predefined categories Recording, Production, Scoring, and Mastering. Furthermore, there is a More category which contains the default project template (see

“Setting up a default template” on page 59) and all templates that are not

assigned to any of the other categories.

When you click on one of the category items, the list below the category bar shows the available factory templates for this category that were installed with Cubase. Any new templates that you create (see top of the corresponding list for convenient access.

• To create an empty project that is not based on a template, select the “Empty” entry in the More category and click the Create button.

An empty project is also created if no template is selected in the currently shown category.

• You can rename or delete a template by right-clicking it in the list and selecting the corresponding option on the context menu.

• To open the folder in which the selected template is stored in the Windows Explorer/Mac OS Finder, right-click the template in the list and select “Show in Explorer” (Win) or “Reveal in Finder” (Mac).

Creating new projects

“Save as Template” on page 58) are added at the

Choosing a project location

The location options in the Projects section allow you to specify where the project is stored.

• Select “Use default location” to create the project in the default project location (as shown in the path field), and click Create.

In the “Project folder” field you can specify a name for the project folder. If you do not specify a project folder here, the project will reside in a folder named “Untitled”.

Ö To change the default project location, simply click in the path field. A file dialog

opens, allowing you to specify a new default location.

• Select “Prompt for project location” and click Continue to create the project in a different location.

In the dialog that appears, specify a location and a project folder.

Open Other

The “Open Other” button allows you to open any project file on your system. This is identical to using the Open command from the File menu, see below.

Working with projects

Opening projects

The “Open…” command on the File menu is used for opening saved project files.

If you open a project saved with a different program version that contains data for functions not available in your version, this data may be lost when saving the project with your version.

• Several projects can be open at the same time. This is useful if you want to copy parts or entire sections from one project to

another.

• If there is already an open project, you will be asked if you want to activate the new project.

• Click No to open the project inactive. This significantly reduces load times, especially for large projects.

• Click Activate to open and activate the new project. The active project is indicated by the lit Activate Project button in the upper left

corner of the Project window. To activate a different project, simply click its Activate Project button.

Opening projects

• You can also open project files by selecting an entry from the “Recent Projects” submenu of the File menu.

This submenu lists the projects you have recently worked with, with the most recent at the top of the list. When you create new projects, the Recent category in the Projects section of Steinberg Hub also displays a list of the recently opened projects. For further information, see

• You can drag projects from the MediaBay into the Cubase application window (not into an existing Project window) to open them.

About the “Missing Ports” dialog

If you open a Cubase project created on a different system (other audio hardware), the program tries to find matching audio inputs and outputs for the i/o busses (this is one of the reasons why you should use descriptive, generic names for your input and output ports – see

If the program cannot resolve all audio/MIDI inputs and outputs used in the project, a Missing Ports dialog will open. This allows you to manually re-route any ports specified in the project to ports available in your system.

“Preparations” on page 28).

Closing projects

The Close command on the File menu closes the active window. If a Project window is active, selecting this closes the corresponding project.

• If the project contains unsaved changes, you are asked whether you want to save it before closing.

If you select “Don’t Save” and have recorded or created new audio files since saving, you will be asked if you want to delete or keep these.

“Creating new projects” on page 55.

Working with projects

Saving projects

Save and Save As

The commands Save and Save As allow you to save the active project as a project file (file extension “.cpr”). The Save command stores the project under its current name and location, while Save As allows you to rename and/or relocate the file. If a project has not been saved yet or if it has not been changed since it was last saved, only Save As is available.

Generally, we recommend that you save project files in their project folders, to keep the projects as manageable as possible.

A word about file extensions

On Windows systems, file types are indicated by three letter file name extensions (such as *.cpr for Cubase project files).

On Mac OS X systems, it is not necessary to use file name extensions, since the file types are stored internally in the files. However, if you want your Cubase projects to be compatible with both platforms, make sure that the “Use File Extension in File Dialog” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (General page). When this is activated, the proper file name extension is automatically added when you save a file.

Saving projects

Save New Version

This function is only available as a key command, by default [Ctrl]/[Command][Alt]/[Option]-[S]. When you use this function, an identical, new project file is being created and activated.

The new file will get the same name as the original project, but with an incremental number attached. For example, if your project is called “My Project”, you will get new versions called “My Project-01”, “My Project-02”, and so on.

Save New Version is useful if you are experimenting with edits and arrangements and want to be able to go back to a previous version at any time. The newest versions are always listed on the Recent Projects submenu of the File menu for instant access (see also

“Opening recent projects” on page 56).

Save as Template

This function allows you to save the current project as a template. When you create a new project, the available templates are listed, allowing you to base the new project on a template.

Proceed as follows:

1. Set up a project.

2. Select “Save As Template…” from the File menu, and in the New Preset section,

enter a name for the new project template.

• In the Attribute Inspector section you can assign the template to one of the four template categories shown in the Projects section (see on page 55) and/or enter a description for the template.

Simply select a category value from the Template Category pop-up menu and/or enter a description in the Content Summary field.

Ö If you do not choose a Template Category attribute, the new template will be shown in

the More category in the Projects section.

“Creating new projects”

3. Click OK to save the template.

Working with projects

Saving projects

• Templates can contain clips and events just like regular projects. If this is not what you want, make sure to remove all clips from the Pool before you

save the project as a template.

Templates are always stored in the Templates folder, see “Where are the settings

stored?” on page 709.

Setting up a default template

If you always want the same default project to open when you launch Cubase, you can save a default template. Proceed as follows:

1. Set up a project.

2. Select “Save As Template…” from the File menu and save the project template

with the name “default”.

3. Open the Preferences dialog and select the General page.

4. Open the “On Startup” pop-up menu and select “Open ‘Default’ Template”.

The next time you launch Cubase, the default template will automatically be opened.

Ö In the Projects section of Steinberg Hub, the default project template is found in the

More category.

Reverting to the last saved version

If you select “Revert” from the File menu, you will be asked whether you really want to revert to the last saved version of the project. If you click “Revert”, all changes you have made since saving will be discarded.

If you have recorded or created new audio files since saving, you will be asked whether you want to delete or keep these.

Auto Save

If you activate the Auto Save option in the Preferences dialog (General page), Cubase will automatically save backup copies of all open projects with unsaved changes.

These backup copies are named “<project name>-xx.bak”, where xx is an incremental number. Unsaved projects are backed up in a similar way as “UntitledX-xx.bak”, with X being the incremental number for unsaved projects. All backup files are saved in the project folder.

• Use the “Auto Save Interval” setting to specify the time intervals in which a backup copy will be created.

• Use the “Maximum Backup Files” option to specify how many backup files will be created with the Auto Save function.

When the maximum number of backup files is reached, the existing files will be overwritten (starting with the oldest file).

Ö With this option only the project files themselves will be backed up. If you want to

include the files from the Pool and save your project in a different location, you need to use the “Back up Project” function.

Working with projects

The Archive and Backup functions

Prepare Archive

The “Prepare Archive” function verifies that every clip referenced in the project is located in the same folder, and takes actions if that is not the case:

• Any files that are located outside the current project folder will be copied into it. Please note that audio files residing within the project folder are not copied to the

audio folder. Therefore, you have to copy them there manually before backing up the audio folder or save them separately during backup, see below.

• If any processing has been applied, you will be asked whether you want to Freeze Edits.

If you do this, you do not have to archive the Edits folder. Everything belonging to the project will be contained in the project file and the Audio folder.

Once you have performed a Prepare Archive operation, you can use the “Back Up Project” function to create a backup of the project file, containing copies of all necessary media files (with the exception of VST Sound content, see below).

It is not necessary to archive the Images folder, since these images can be recreated by Cubase. You may also find a file with the extension “.csh” in the project folder. This contains image information for edited clips and other data that can be recreated, so it can safely be deleted.

The Archive and Backup functions

Video clips are always referenced and not stored in the project folder.

Back up Project

This function is very useful if you want to create a backup copy of a project for your archive. It can also be used to prepare projects for delivery so that they only contain the necessary work data (while leaving the original project untouched). When you back up a project, all media files (except those coming from VST Sound archives) can be included as a copy.

VST Sound content provided by Steinberg is copy-protected and will not be included in the backup project. If you want to use a backup copy of a project using such data on a different computer, make sure that the corresponding content is also available on that computer.

1. Select “Back up Project…” from the File menu.

2. Click OK.

A file dialog opens in which you can choose an existing empty folder or create a new folder to save the project.

The “Back up Project Options” dialog opens.

Working with projects

The Archive and Backup functions

This dialog contains the following options:

Option Description

Project Name Enter a project name if you want to change it from the default (the

current name of the project).

Keep Current Project Active

Minimize Audio Files

Freeze Edits This will perform a Freeze Edits operation, making all processing and

Remove Unused Files

Do Not Back up Video

When this option is activated, the current project will still be the active project after clicking OK. If you wish to switch to the new backup project instead, deactivate this option.

If this is activated, only the audio file portions that are actually used in the project will be included. This can significantly reduce the size of the project folder (if you are using small sections of large files), but it also means you cannot use other portions of the audio files if you continue working with the project in its new folder.

applied effects permanent to each clip in the Pool, see on page 316.

When this is activated, only files in the Pool that are actually used in the project will be stored in the new folder.

When this is activated, any video clips on the video track or in the Pool of the current project will not be included in the backup project.

“Freeze Edits”

Cleanup

3. Make the desired settings.

4. Click OK.

A copy of the project is saved in the new folder. The original project is not affected.

The Cleanup function on the File menu helps you to save hard disk space by locating and – if you like – deleting unused audio files in the project folders on your disk.

1. Select “Cleanup…” from the File menu. If there are any open projects, an alert shows. Clicking “Close” closes all open

projects and brings up the dialog “Cleanup Cubase Project Folders”.

2. To restrict the Cleanup function to a certain folder, click the “Search Folder” button and select the folder.

The default setting is that the Cleanup function is applied to all folders on all hard disks. Only select a specific folder if you are certain it does not contain audio files used in other projects (outside the folder), see below. You can reset the function to search all folders by opening the “Search Folder” dialog again and clicking “Cancel”.

3. Click the Start button. Cubase will now scan the selected folder (or all hard disks) for Cubase project

folders and check for audio and image files (in the Audio, Edits and Images subfolders) that are not used by any project. The found files are listed in the dialog.

4. When the scan is complete, you can select files by clicking in the list. Use [Ctrl]/[Command]-click to select several files, and [Shift]-click to select a

range of files. You can also click the Select All button to select all files in the list.

Working with projects

In the following situations, the Cleanup function will list files that are not unused:

- If you have moved or renamed files or folders (without updating the project files to use the new paths), there is no way for Cubase to know that these files are used in a project.

- If you perform the Cleanup function on a folder in which there are audio files belonging to other projects (outside the folder), these files will be considered “unused”.

• Also, make sure that you do not delete any files used in other applications, or files that you generally want to keep!

However, you can always safely delete image files since these can be reconstructed by the program, if necessary.

5. Delete any files you do not want to keep by selecting them and clicking Delete.

6. Close the dialog by clicking the Close button.

The Project Setup dialog

General settings for the project are made in the Project Setup dialog. This is opened by selecting “Project Setup…” from the Project menu.

Ö If the “Run Setup on Create New Project” option is activated in the Preferences dialog

(General page), the Project Setup dialog will open automatically when you create a new project.

The Project Setup dialog

The following settings are available in the Project Setup dialog:

Setting Description

Author Here you can add a name that will be written as the project author

into the iXML chunk when exporting audio files with the corresponding option activated (see default setting for this can be set in the Preferences dialog (General– Personalization page).

Working with projects

“AIFF files” on page 645). The

The Project Setup dialog

Setting Description

Company Here you can add a name that will be written as the company name

into the iXML chunk when exporting audio files with the corresponding option activated (see default setting for this can be set in the Preferences dialog (General– Personalization page).

Start The start time of the project. Allows you to have the project start at

another time than zero. Also used for setting the sync start position when synchronizing Cubase to external devices (see the chapter

“Synchronization” on page 650). The format of this value is always in

timecode. When you change this setting you will be asked whether you want to keep the project content at its timecode positions. “Yes” means that all events will stay at their original timecode positions – i.

e. they will be moved in relation to the start of the project. “No”

means that all events keep their position relative to the project start.

Length The length of the project.

Frame Rate This setting determines both the timecode standard and frame rate

for the project, see the section The frame rate of a video file used in a project should match the frame rate set for a project. The “Get From Video” button allows you to set the project frame rate to the frame rate of an imported video file, see the section synchronizing Cubase to an external device, make sure that this setting corresponds to the frame rate of any incoming timecode. However, there might be situations where perfect synchronization does not matter to you and you do not want to change the project frame rate. In this case, the frame rate mismatch will be indicated on the Transport panel in the Sync section.

Display Format This is the global display format used for all rulers and position

displays in the program, except ruler tracks (see

page 46). However, you can make independent display format

selections for the individual rulers and displays if you like. For descriptions of the different display format options, see “The

ruler” on page 50.

Display Offset Offsets the time positions displayed in the ruler, etc., allowing you to

compensate for the Start position setting. Typically, if you synchronize Cubase to an external source starting at a frame other than zero, you set the Start position to this value. However, if you still want the display in Cubase to start at zero, set the Display Offset to the same value.

Bar Offset This works just like “Display Offset” described above, in that it offsets

the time positions in the ruler by a number of bars, allowing you to compensate for the Start position setting. The difference is that Bar Offset is only used when the “Bars+Beats” display format is selected (see

“Adopting the video frame rate” on page 673. When

“The ruler” on page 50).

“AIFF files” on page 645). The

“Timecode standards” on page 651.

“Ruler tracks” on

Working with projects

Zoom and view options

Setting Description

Sample Rate The sample rate at which Cubase records and plays audio. The order

of the menu items depends on the sample rates available for your audio hardware. Supported settings are displayed in the upper part of the menu, non-supported settings are displayed in the lower part. Regarding the sample rate, there are two possible scenarios: Either your audio hardware generates the audio clock signals itself or it is clocked externally, i. source (see

source” on page 17).

If the sample rate is generated internally, the following applies: When you select a sample rate non-supported by your audio hardware (from the lower part of the menu), it is highlighted in a different color and the corresponding tooltip shows a warning. In this case you must set a different sample rate to make your audio files play back properly. When you specify a project sample rate that your audio hardware supports but which is different from the current audio hardware sample rate, and you confirm your settings by clicking OK, the sample rate setting of the audio hardware is automatically changed to the project sample rate.

Bit Resolution/ Record File Type

Stereo Pan Law Decides whether panning uses power compensation or not, see

Volume Max The maximum fader level. By default this value is set to +12 dB. If you

HMT Type (MIDI only)

HMT Depth (MIDI only)

When you record audio in Cubase, the files that are created will be of this resolution and file type, see

page 113.

“Stereo Pan Law” on page 187.

load projects created with Cubase versions before 5.5, this value is set to the old default value of +6 impact on the sound of your project.

When working with MIDI, you can select a Hermode Tuning type for your project. For further information on the different tuning modes, see

“HMT: Follow” on page 454.

Determines the overall degree of retuning. With a setting of 100 %, fifths and thirds get maximum purity. For an equal tempered scale, deactivate hermode tuning or set the depth to 0

e. receives signals from an external sample clock

“If your hardware setup is based on an external clock

“Selecting a recording file format” on

dB. Note that this will have a direct

While most Project Setup settings can be changed at any time, you should set the sample rate directly after creating a new project! If you change the sample rate at a later stage, you must convert all audio files in the project to the new sample rate to make them play back properly.

Zoom and view options

Zooming in the Project window is done according to the standard zoom techniques, with the following special notes:

• When you are using the Zoom tool (magnifying glass), the result depends on the “Zoom Tool Standard Mode: Horizontal Zooming Only” option in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tools page).

If this is activated and you drag a selection rectangle with the Zoom tool, the window will only be zoomed horizontally (track height will not change). If the option is off, the window will be zoomed both horizontally and vertically.

• When using the vertical zoom sliders, the tracks are scaled relatively. In other words, if you have made any individual track height adjustments (see

below), the relative height differences are maintained.

Working with projects

Zoom and view options

You find the following options are available on the Zoom submenu on the Edit menu:

Option Description

Zoom In Zooms in one step, centering on the project cursor.

Zoom Out Zooms out one step, centering on the project cursor.

Zoom Full Zooms out so that the whole project is visible. “The whole project”

means the timeline from the project start to the length set in the Project Setup dialog (see above).

Zoom to Selection

Zooms in horizontally and vertically so that the current selection fills the screen.

Zooms in horizontally so that the current selection fills the screen.

(Horiz.)

Zoom to Event This option is available only in the Sample Editor (see “Zooming”

on page 332).

Zoom In Vertically Zooms in one step vertically.

Zoom Out Vertically Zooms out one step vertically.

Zoom In Tracks Zooms in on the selected track(s) one step vertically.

Zoom Out Tracks Zooms out the selected track(s) one step vertically.

Zoom Selected Tracks

This zooms in vertically on the selected track(s) and minimizes the height of all other tracks.

Undo/Redo Zoom These options allow you to undo/redo the last zoom operation.

• If the “Zoom while Locating in Time Scale” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Transport page), you can also zoom by clicking in the ruler and dragging up or down with the mouse button pressed.

Drag up to zoom out; drag down to zoom in.

• You can zoom the contents of parts and events vertically, using the waveform zoom slider in the top right corner of the event display.

This is useful when viewing quiet audio passages.

To get an approximate reading on the level of the audio events by viewing the waveforms, make sure this slider is all the way down. Otherwise, zoomed waveforms may be mistaken for clipped audio.

• If you activate the option Quick Zoom in the Preferences dialog (Editing page), the contents of parts and events will not be continuously redrawn when you zoom manually.

Instead, the contents are redrawn once you have stopped changing the zoom – activate this if screen redraws are slow on your system.

Working with projects

Zoom presets and cycle markers

Click here…

…to open the

pop-up menu.

The pop-up menu to the left of the horizontal zoom control allows you to select, create and organize zoom presets. These are useful if you want to set up different zoom settings (e. another with a high zoom factor for detailed editing). With this pop-up menu, you can also zoom in on the area between cycle markers in the project.

g. one where the whole project is displayed in the project window and

Zoom and view options

The upper part of the menu lists the zoom presets:

• To save the current zoom setting as a preset, select Add from the pop-up menu. A dialog opens, allowing you to type in a name for the preset.

• To select and apply a preset, select it from the pop-up menu.

• The “Zoom Full” preset is always available. Selecting this option zooms out so that

the whole project is visible. “The whole project” means the timeline from the project start to the length set in the Project Setup dialog (see

“The Project Setup

dialog” on page 62).

• If you want to delete a preset, select “Organize…” from the pop-up menu. In the dialog that opens, select the preset in the list and click the Delete button.

The preset is removed from the list.

• If you want to rename a preset, select “Organize…” from the pop-up menu. In the dialog that opens, select the desired preset in the list and click the Rename

button. A second dialog opens, allowing you to type in a new name for the preset. Click OK to close the dialogs.

Zoom presets are global for all projects, i. e. they are available in all projects you open or create.

The middle part of the pop-up menu lists any cycle markers you have added to the project:

• If you select a cycle marker from this menu, the event display is zoomed in to encompass the marker area.

• You cannot edit the cycle markers in this pop-up menu. For information on editing markers, see

“The Marker window” on page 170.

Only the cycle markers you create in the current project are available on the menu.

Working with projects

The Zoom history

Cubase maintains a history of recent zoom stages, allowing you to undo and redo zoom operations. This way you can zoom in several steps and then easily go back to the zoom stage at which you started.

There are two ways to invoke Undo Zoom and Redo Zoom:

• Use the items on the Zoom submenu on the Edit menu. You can also assign key commands for these.

• Double-click with the Zoom tool (magnifying glass) to Undo Zoom. Press [Alt]/[Option] and double-click to Redo Zoom.

Adjusting how parts and events are shown

The Preferences dialog on the File menu (the Cubase menu, under Mac OS X) contains several settings for customizing the display in the Project window.

The Event Display page contains common settings for all track types:

Option Description

Show Event Names

Hide Truncated Event Names

Show Overlaps When events overlap in the Project window, this setting allows you to

Grid Overlay Intensity

Event Handling Opacity

Smallest Track Height To Show Data

Smallest Track Height To Show Name

Determines whether the names of parts and events are shown in the Project window.

When zooming or resizing elements in the Project window, the events can become very small so that the name is no longer completely visible (the name gets truncated). When this option is activated, event names are hidden from the Project window if they do not fit into the event.

specify when the overlapping areas are displayed.

Increases or decreases the overlay intensity of the displayed grid lines in the Project window.

Increases or decreases the opacity of an overlying event background when you move it in the Project window.

Specifies from which track height the track contents are displayed.

Specifies from which track height the track names are displayed.

Zoom and view options

The Event Display–Audio page contains settings for audio events:

Option Description

Interpolate Audio Images

Show Event Volume Curves Always

Show Waveforms Determines whether audio waveforms are shown at all.

Waveform Brightness

Waveform Outline Intensity

If the option is deactivated, single sample values are drawn as “steps”. If the option is activated they are interpolated to form “curves”.

If this is activated the “volume curves” created with the volume and fade handles are always shown – if not, the curves are only shown for selected events.

Increases or decreases the brightness of the displayed waveforms.

Increases or decreases the intensity of the waveform outline.

Working with projects

Zoom and view options

Option Description

Fade Handle Brightness

Background Color Modulation

The Event Display–MIDI page contains settings for MIDI parts:

Option Description

Default Edit Action Determines which editor is opened when you double-click a MIDI

Part Data Mode Determines if and how events in MIDI parts are shown in the Project

Show Controllers Governs whether non-note events (controllers, etc.) are shown in

Note Brightness Increases or decreases the brightness of note events.

Controller Brightness

Edit as Drums when Drum Map is assigned

Increases or decreases the brightness of the set fade lines within audio events.

When this is activated, the backgrounds of audio waveforms are displayed in a different way, reflecting the waveform dynamics. This is especially useful to get an overview when working with small track heights.

part, or select it and press [Ctrl]/[Command]-[E]. Note that this setting is overridden for tracks with drum maps if the “Edit as Drums when Drum Map is assigned” option (see below) is activated.

window: as lines, as score notes, as drum notes, or as blocks. If “No Data” is selected, events will not be shown at all. Note that this setting is overridden for tracks with drum maps if the “Edit as Drums when Drum Map is assigned” option (see below) is activated.

MIDI parts in the Project window.

Increases or decreases the brightness of controller events.

If this is activated, parts on MIDI tracks with drum maps assigned will be shown with drum note symbols in the Project window. Also, the parts will automatically open in the Drum Editor when double-clicked (overriding the Default Edit Action setting above).

The Event Display–Chords page contains settings for chords:

Option Description

Pitch Notation

Chord Font Allows you to specify a font for all chord symbols.

Chord Symbols These options allow you to determine how chord types are

The Note Name pop-up menu lets you determine how chords are be displayed. The Naming Format pop-up menu lets you determine how MIDI note names (pitches) are displayed in editors, etc. The options “Display ‘Bb’ as ‘B’” and “Display ‘B’ as ‘H’” allow you to change the corresponding pitch names.

displayed.

Working with projects

Audio handling

When you work with audio files, it is crucial to understand how audio is handled in Cubase:

When you edit or process audio in the Project window, you always work with an audio clip that is automatically created on import or during recording. This audio clip refers to an audio file on the hard disk that itself remains untouched. This means, that audio editing and processing is “non-destructive”, in the sense that you can always undo changes or revert to the original versions.

An audio clip does not necessarily refer to just one original audio file! If you apply some processing to a specific section of an audio clip, for example, this will create a new audio file containing only this section. The processing will then be applied to the new audio file only, leaving the original audio file unchanged. Finally, the audio clip is automatically adjusted, so that it refers both to the original file and to the new, processed file. During playback, the program will switch between the original file and the processed file at the correct positions. You will hear this as a single recording, with processing applied to one section only. This feature makes it possible to undo processing at a later stage, and to apply different processing to different audio clips that refer to the same original file.

An audio event is the object that you place on a time position in Cubase. If you make copies of an audio event and move them to different positions in the project, they will still all refer to the same audio clip. Furthermore, each audio event has an Offset value and a Length value. These determine at which positions in the clip the event will start and end, i. example, if you resize the audio event, you will just change its start and/or end position in the audio clip – the clip itself will not be affected.

An audio region is a section within a clip with a length value, a start time, and a snap point. Audio regions are shown in the Pool and are best created and edited in the Sample Editor.

Audio handling

e. which section of the audio clip will be played back by the audio event. For

Ö If you want to use one audio file in different contexts, or if you want to create several

loops from one audio file, convert the corresponding regions of the audio clip to events and bounce them into separate audio files. This is necessary since different events that refer to the same clip access the same clip information.

Auditioning audio parts and events

Audio parts and events can be auditioned in the Project window with the Play tool:

When auditioning, audio will be routed directly to the Control Room (Cubase only), if the Control Room is activated. When the Control Room is deactivated, the audio will be routed to the default output bus, bypassing the audio channel’s settings, effects and EQs. In Cubase Artist, the Main Mix bus is always used for monitoring.

1. Select the Play tool.

2. Click where you want playback to start, and keep the mouse button pressed.

Only the track on which you click is played back, starting at the click position.

3. Release the mouse button to stop playback.

Working with projects

Scrubbing audio

The Scrub tool allows you to locate positions in the audio part or event by playing back, forwards or backwards, at any speed:

1. Select the Play tool and click a second time on the icon. A pop-up menu opens.

2. Select “Scrub”.

3. Click at the desired position of your audio event or part and keep the mouse button

pressed. The project cursor moves to the position where you click. The mouse pointer is not

visible anymore.

4. Drag to the left or right. The project cursor moves correspondingly and the audio is played back. The

speed and thus the pitch of the playback depend on how fast you move the mouse.

You can adjust the volume of the Scrub function in the Preferences dialog (Transport– Scrub page).

Scrubbing audio

Ö When scrubbing with the mouse, insert effects are always bypassed.

Ö It is also possible to “scrub” all audio and video tracks of your project with the Jog

wheel and Shuttle Speed control on the Transport panel see

shuttle speed control” on page 105.

Scrubbing can be quite a burden on your system. If playback problems occur, try deactivating the “Use High Quality Scrub Mode” option in the Preferences dialog (Transport–Scrub page). The resampling quality will then be lower, but scrubbing will be less demanding on the processor. This can be useful when scrubbing in large projects.

Editing parts and events

This section describes techniques for editing in the Project window. If not explicitly stated, all descriptions apply to both events and parts, even though we use the term “event” for convenience.

Ö When you are using the tools for editing, you can in many cases get additional

functions by pressing modifier keys (e. Object selection tool creates a copy of the dragged event).

On the following pages, the default modifier keys are described – you can customize these in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tool Modifiers page), see

modifier keys” on page 716.

Selecting events

“Playing back with the

g. pressing [Alt]/[Option] and dragging with the

“Setting up tool

Selecting events is done using any of the following methods:

• Use the Object Selection tool. The standard selection techniques apply.

Working with projects

Editing parts and events

• Use the Select submenu on the Edit menu. The following options are available:

Option Description

All Selects all events in the Project window.

None Deselects all events.

Invert Inverts the selection – all selected events are deselected and all

events that were not selected are selected instead.

In Loop Selects all events that are partly or wholly between the left and

right locator.

From Start to Cursor Selects all events that begin to the left of the project cursor.

From Cursor to End Selects all events that end to the right of the project cursor.

Equal Pitch These are available in the MIDI Editors (see “Selecting notes” on

page 494) and the Sample Editor (see “Using the Select menu”

on page 335).

Select Controllers in Note Range

This is available in the MIDI Editors (see “Selecting controllers

within the note range” on page 495).

All on Selected Tracks Selects all events on the selected track.

Events under Cursor Automatically selects all events on the selected track(s) that are

“touched” by the project cursor.

Select Event This is available in the Sample Editor (see “Window overview” on

page 325).

Left/Right Selection Side to Cursor

These two functions are only used for range selection editing (see

“Creating a selection range” on page 80).

Note that these functions work differently when the Range Selection tool is selected (see

“Creating a selection range” on page 80).

• Select all events on a track by right-clicking on it in the track list and selecting “Select All Events” from the context menu.

• It is also possible to select ranges, regardless of the event and track boundaries. This is done using the Range Selection tool (see “Range editing” on page 80).

• Use the arrow keys on the computer keyboard to select the closest event to the left, right, above, or below.

If you press [Shift] and use the arrow keys, the current selection will be kept, allowing you to select several events.

By default, tracks are selected with the up/down arrow keys on the computer keyboard. Therefore using these to select events, too, can be confusing. If you want to use the navigation controls for track selection only (a most vital operation in both editing and mixing), you can activate the “Use Up/Down Navigation Commands for selecting Tracks only” option in the Preferences dialog (Editing page). The following applies:

- When this option is deactivated and no event/part is selected in the Project window, the up/down arrow keys on the computer keyboard are used to step through the tracks in the track list.

- When this option is deactivated and an event/part is selected in the Project window, the up/down arrow keys still step through the tracks in the track list – but on the currently selected track, the first event/part will automatically be selected as well.

Working with projects

- When this option is activated, the up/down arrow keys are only used to change the

track selection – the current event/part selection in the Project window will not be altered.

• If the “Auto Select Events under Cursor” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Editing page), all events on the selected track(s) that are “touched” by the project cursor are automatically selected.

This can be helpful when rearranging your project, because it allows you to select whole sections (on all tracks) by selecting all tracks and moving the project cursor.

Using the cross-hair cursor

Also in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tools page), you can find the Cross-Hair Cursor section. When enabled, a cross-hair cursor is displayed when working in the Project window and in the editors, facilitating navigation and editing, especially when arranging large projects. You can set up the colors for the line and the mask of the cross-hair cursor, and define its width. The cross-hair cursor works as follows:

• When the Selection tool (or one of its subtools) is selected, the cross-hair cursor appears when you start moving/copying a part/event, or when using the event trim handles.

Editing parts and events

• When the Object Selection tool, the Cut tool, or any other tool that makes use of

• The cross-hair cursor is only available for tools where such a function is of any use.

Moving events

To move events in the Project window, use the following methods:

• Click and drag to a new position.

You will note that there is a slightly delayed response when you move an event by dragging. This helps you avoid accidentally moving events when you click on them in the Project window. You can adjust this delay with the Drag Delay setting in the Preferences dialog (Editing page).

• Select the event and edit the Start position in the info line.

• Use the “Move to” options on the Edit menu.

The following options are available:

this function is selected, the cross-hair cursor appears as soon as you move the mouse over the event display.

The Mute tool, for example, does not use a cross-hair cursor, as you have to click directly on an event to mute it.

All selected events are moved, maintaining their relative positions. You can only drag events to tracks of the same type. If Snap is activated, this determines to which positions you can move the events (see Note also that you can restrict movement to be either horizontal or vertical only, by holding down [Ctrl]/[Command] while dragging.

“The Snap function” on page 52).

Option Description

Cursor Moves the selected event to the project cursor position. If there are

several selected events on the same track, the first event will start at the cursor, and the following will be lined up end-to-start after the first one.

Origin Moves the selected events to their original positions, i. e. the

positions at which they were originally recorded.

Working with projects

Editing parts and events

Option Description

Front/Back This function does not actually change the position of the events, but

moves the selected events to the front or back, respectively. This is useful if you have overlapping events and want to see one that is partially obscured. For audio events, this is an extra important feature, because only the visible sections of events will be played back. Moving an obscured audio event to front (or moving the obscuring event to back) will allow you to hear the whole event on playback. Note that it is also possible to use the “To Front” function on the event context menu for this.

• Use the Nudge buttons on the toolbar. These move the selected events to the left or right. The amount of movement

depends on the selected display format (see

“The Project Setup dialog” on page

62) and the value set on the Grid pop-up menu.

When the Range Selection tool is used, the Nudge buttons move the selection range (see “Moving and duplicating” on page 82).

Ö The Nudge buttons are not visible on the toolbar by default. You can decide which

items are visible by right-clicking on the toolbar and activating the corresponding option on the context menu (see

• Use the Up/Down key commands, found in the Nudge category in the Key Commands dialog.

These commands allow you to nudge one or more events (except folder parts) up or down to the nearest track.

Nudging up/down will not create new tracks: If there is no destination track that matches the track configuration of the nudged event, nothing happens.

Exceptions

• If you select events in Lane Display mode, these are moved to the upper or lower

lane.

• If you select MIDI events in the In-Place Editor, the MIDI events are nudged up or down.

Duplicating events

Events can be duplicated in the following ways:

• Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag the event to a new position. If Snap is activated, this determines to which positions you can copy the events

(see

“The setup context menus” on page 700).

“The Snap function” on page 52).

If you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] as well, movement direction is restricted to either horizontal or vertical. That means if you drag an event vertically it cannot be moved horizontally at the same time.

Working with projects

Editing parts and events

• Audio and MIDI parts can also be duplicated by clicking on the part, pressing [Alt]/[Option]-[Shift], and dragging.

This creates a shared copy of the part. If you edit the contents of a shared copy, all other shared copies of the same part are automatically edited in the same way.

Shared copies are indicated by an equal sign (=) in the top right corner.

Note:

• When you duplicate audio events, the copies are always shared. This means that shared copies of audio events always refer to the same audio clip (see

“Audio

processing” on page 302).

• You can convert a shared copy to a real copy by selecting “Convert to Real Copy” from the Functions submenu on the Edit menu. This creates a new version of the clip (that can be edited independently) and adds this to the Pool. Note that no new files are created by this operation – for that you need to use the “Bounce Selection” function from the Audio menu (see

“Exporting regions as audio files” on

page 388).

• Selecting “Duplicate” from the Functions submenu on the Edit menu creates a copy of the selected event and places it directly after the original.

If several events are selected, all of these are copied “as one unit”, maintaining the relative distance between the events.

• Selecting “Repeat…” from the Functions submenu on the Edit menu opens a dialog, allowing you to create a number of copies (regular or shared) of the selected events.

This works just like the Duplicate function, but you can specify the number of copies.

• You can also perform the Repeat function by dragging: Select the events to repeat, press [Alt]/[Option], click the handle in the lower right corner of the last selected event and drag to the right.

The longer to the right you drag, the more copies are created (as shown by the tooltip).

• Selecting “Fill Loop” from the Functions submenu on the Edit menu creates a number of copies starting at the left locator and ending at the right locator.

The last copy is automatically shortened to end at the right locator position.

Working with projects

Using Cut, Copy and, Paste

You can cut or copy selected events, and paste them in again, using the functions on the Edit menu.

• When you paste an audio event, it is inserted on the selected track, positioned so that its snap point is aligned with the cursor position.

If the selected track is of the wrong type, the event will be inserted on its original track. See

• If you use the “Paste at Origin” function on the Function submenu of the Edit menu, the event is pasted at its original position (the position from which you cut or copied it).

“The Snap function” on page 52 for information about the snap point.

Renaming events

By default, audio events show the name of their clip, but you can enter a separate descriptive name for separate events if you like. This is done by selecting the event and typing in a new name in the “Description” field on the info line.

• You can also give all events on a track the same name as the track by changing the track name, holding down a modifier key and pressing [Return].

See “Audio handling” on page 69.

Editing parts and events

Splitting events

You can split events in the Project window in the following ways:

• Click with the Cut tool on the event you want to split. If Snap is activated, this determines the exact split position (see “The Snap

function” on page 52). You can also split events by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and

clicking with the Object Selection tool.

• Select “Split at Cursor” from the Edit menu, Functions submenu. This splits the selected events at the position of the project cursor. If no events are

selected, all events (on all tracks) that are intersected by the project cursor will be split.

• Select “Split Loop” from the Edit menu, Functions submenu. This splits events on all tracks at the left and right locator positions.

Ö If you split a MIDI part so that the split position intersects one or several MIDI notes,

the result depends on the “Split MIDI Events” option in the Preferences dialog (Editing–MIDI page). If the option is activated, the intersected notes will be split (creating new notes at the beginning of the second part). If it is deactivated, the notes will remain in the first part, but “stick out” after the end of the part.

Gluing events together

You can glue events together using the Glue tool. There are three possibilities:

• Clicking on an event with the Glue tool glues it together with the next event on the track. The events do not have to touch one another.

The result is a part containing the two events, with one exception: If you first split an event and then glue the two sections together again (without moving or editing them first), they become a single event again.

• You can select several events on the same track and click on one of them with the Glue tool.

A single part is created.

Working with projects

• When you hold down [Alt]/[Option] while clicking on an event with the Glue tool, this event will be glued together with all following events on this track.

You can change the default key command for this in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tool Modifiers page).

Resizing events

Resizing events means to move their start or end positions individually. In Cubase, there are three modes for resizing:

Resizing mode Description

Normal Sizing The contents of the event stay fixed, and the start or end point of

Sizing Moves Contents

Sizing Applies Time Stretch

To select one of the resizing modes, select the Object Selection tool and then click again on the Object Selection tool icon on the toolbar. This opens a pop-up menu from which you can select one of the options.

Editing parts and events

the event is moved to “reveal” more or less of the contents.

The contents follow the moved start or end of the event (see the figure below).

The contents will be time stretched to fit the new event length (see the separate section

“Resizing events using time stretch” on page

77).

Normal sizing

Sizing moves contents

The toolbar icon indicates the resizing mode

The actual resizing is done by clicking and dragging the lower left or right corner of the event. If Snap is activated, the Snap value determines the resulting length (see

“The Snap function” on page 52).

• If several events are selected, all will be resized in the same way.

• It is also possible to resize events by using the Trim buttons (located in the Nudge

palette) on the toolbar. This will move the start or end position of the selected event(s) by the amount set

on the Grid Type pop-up menu. The sizing type currently selected applies to this method too, with the exception of “Sizing Applies Time Stretch” which is not possible with this method. You can also use key commands for this (by default, press [Ctrl]/[Command] and use the left and right arrow key).

Working with projects

Ö Note that the Nudge palette is not visible on the toolbar by default. See “The setup

context menus” on page 700 for instructions on how to show and hide items on the

toolbar.

• You can also resize events with the Scrub tool. For further information on the Scrub tool, see “Scrubbing audio” on page 70.

Ö When resizing events, any automation data will not be taken into account.

Resizing events using time stretch

If you want to resize a part and make its contents “fit” the new size, you should use this sizing mode. Proceed as follows:

1. Click the Object Selection tool on the toolbar and click again to select the “Sizing Applies Time Stretch” option from the pop-up menu.

2. Point close to the end point of the part you want to stretch.

3. Click and drag left or right.

When you move the mouse, a tooltip shows the current mouse position and length of the part. Note that the snap value applies, as with any part operation.

Editing parts and events

4. Release the mouse button. The part is “stretched” or “compressed” to fit the new length.

• For MIDI parts, this means that the note events are stretched (moved and resized). Controller data and Note Expression data will be stretched, too.

• For audio parts, this means that the events are moved, and that the referenced audio files are time stretched to fit the new length.

A dialog shows the progress of the time stretch operation.

Ö In the Preferences dialog (Editing–Audio page), you can adjust which algorithm is

used for the time stretch algorithm. For more information about time stretch, see

Stretch” on page 312.

Sliding the contents of an event or part

You can move the contents of an event or part without changing its position in the Project window. By default, this is done by pressing [Alt]/[Option]-[Shift], clicking in the event or part and dragging to the left or right.

When sliding the contents of an audio event, you cannot slide past the start or end of the actual audio clip. If the event plays the whole clip, you cannot slide the audio at all.

“Time

Working with projects

Grouping events

The padlock symbol indicates that one or more of the lock options are activated for the event.

Sometimes it is useful to treat several events as one unit. This can be done by grouping them: Select the events (on the same or different tracks) and select “Group” from the Edit menu.

Grouped events are indicated by a group icon on the right.

If you edit one of the grouped events in the Project window, all other events in the same group are affected too (if applicable).

Group editing operations include:

- Selecting events.

- Moving and duplicating events.

- Resizing events.

- Adjusting fade-in and fade-out (audio events only, see “Creating fades” on page

143).

- Splitting events (splitting one event will automatically split any other grouped events that are intersected by the split position).

- Locking events.

- Muting events.

- Deleting events.

Editing parts and events

Locking events

If you want to make sure that you do not edit or move an event by accident, you can lock it. Locking can affect one (or any combination) of the following properties:

Lock Options Description

Position If this is locked, the event cannot be moved.

Size If this is locked, the event cannot be resized.

Other If this is locked, all other editing of the event is disabled. This includes

• To specify which of these properties are affected by the Lock function, use the

• To lock events, select them and select “Lock…” from the Edit menu.

adjusting the fades and event volume, processing, etc.

“Lock Event Attributes” pop-up menu in the Preferences dialog (Editing page).

The events will be locked according to the options specified in the Preferences dialog.

Working with projects

• You can adjust the lock options for a locked event by selecting it and selecting

• To unlock an event (turn off all lock options), select it and select “Unlock” from the

• It is also possible to lock a whole track, by clicking the padlock symbol in the track

Muting events

To mute events in the Project window, proceed as follows:

• You can mute events by selecting them and selecting “Mute” from the Edit menu.

• To mute or unmute a single event, click on it with the Mute tool.

Editing parts and events

“Lock…” from the Edit menu again. This opens a dialog in which you can activate or deactivate the desired lock

options.

Edit menu.

list or in the Inspector. This disables all editing of all events on the track.

Similarly, you can unmute the selected events by selecting “Unmute” from the Edit menu.

• To mute or unmute several events, click in an empty area with the Mute tool and drag a selection rectangle around several events.

All selected events will be muted.

• You can also change the mute status of selected events by [Shift]-clicking them.

Muted events can be edited as usual (with the exception of adjusting fades), but are not played back.

Muted events are “grayed out”.

• You can also mute whole tracks by clicking the Mute (“M”) button in the track list, the Inspector or the MixConsole.

Clicking the Solo (“S”) button for a track mutes all other tracks. Note that there are two modes for the track solo function: If the “Enable Solo on Selected Track” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Project selecting another track in the track list will automatically solo that track instead – the solo state “moves” with the track selection. If the option is not activated, the track you solo stays soloed, regardless of the selection.

Removing events

& MixConsole page) and you have soloed a track,

To remove an event from the Project window, use any of the following methods:

• Click on the event with the Erase tool. Note that if you press [Alt]/[Option] while you click, all following events on the

same track will be deleted, but not the event you clicked and all events before it.

• Select the event(s) and press [Backspace], or select “Delete” from the Edit menu.

Working with projects

Creating new files from events

An audio event plays a section of an audio clip, which in turn refers to one or more audio files on the hard disk. However, in some situations you may want to create a new file that consists only of the section played by the event. This is done with the function “Bounce Selection” on the Audio menu:

1. Select one or several audio events.

2. Set up fade in, fade out and event volume (on the info line or using the volume

handle) as desired. These settings will be applied to the new file. For details on fades and event

volume, see

3. Select “Bounce Selection” from the Audio menu. You are asked whether you want to replace the selected event or not.

• If you click “Replace”, a new file is created, containing only the audio in the original event. A clip for the new file is added to the Pool, and the original event is replaced by a new event playing the new clip.

• If you click “No”, a new file is created and a clip for the new file is added to the Pool.

The original event is not replaced.

You can also apply the Bounce Selection function to an audio part. In that case, the audio from all events in the part will be combined into a single audio file. If you choose “Replace” when asked, the part will be replaced with a single audio event playing a clip of the new file.

“Creating fades” on page 143.

Range editing

Editing in the Project window is not necessarily restricted to handling whole events and parts. You can also work with selection ranges, which are independent from the event/part and track boundaries.

The Range Selection tool can also be used for comping. Furthermore you can define Edit groups with the range selection tool. These allow you to quickly group events and parts across multiple tracks without having to select all the events or parts (see

“About Group Editing (Cubase only)” on page 99).

Creating a selection range

To make a selection range, drag with the Range Selection tool.

When the Range Selection tool is selected, the Select submenu on the Edit menu has the following items for making selection ranges:

Option Description

All Makes a selection that covers all tracks, from the start of the project

None Removes the current selection range.

Invert Only used for event selection (see “Selecting events” on page 70).

In Loop Makes a selection between the left and right locator, on all tracks.

From Start to Cursor Makes a selection on all tracks, from the start of the project to the

to the end (as defined by the Length setting in the Project Setup dialog).

project cursor.

Working with projects

Range editing

Option Description

From Cursor to End Makes a selection on all tracks, from the project cursor to the end of

the project.

All on Selected Tracks

Select Event This is available in the Sample Editor (see “Using the Select menu”

Left Selection Side to Cursor

Right Selection Side to Cursor

• Double-clicking on an event with the Range Selection tool creates a selection range encompassing the event.

If you hold down [Shift] you can double-click several events in a row, and the selection range will expand to encompass them all. Double-clicking a second time on an event opens it for editing in the Sample Editor.

Making selection ranges for several non-contiguous tracks

You can create selection ranges that cover several tracks. It is also possible to exclude tracks from a selection range:

Only used for event selection (see “Selecting events” on page 70).

on page 335).

Moves the left side of the current selection range to the project cursor position.

Moves the right side of the current selection range to the project cursor position.

1. Create a selection range from the first to the last desired track.

2. Press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click in the selection range on the tracks that you

want to exclude from the selection.

3. In the same manner, you can add a track to the selection range by [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking in the selection range area on the track.

Editing selection ranges

Adjusting the size of the selection range

You can adjust the size of a selection range in the following ways:

• By dragging its edges. The pointer takes the shape of a double arrow when you move it over an edge of

the selection range.

• By holding down [Shift] and clicking. The closest selection range edge will be moved to the position at which you

clicked.

• By adjusting the selection range start or end position on the info line.

Working with projects

Range editing

• By using the Trim buttons on the toolbar. The left Trim buttons will move the start of the selection range and the right

buttons will move the end. The edges will be moved by the amount specified on the Grid pop-up menu.

• By using the Nudge buttons on the toolbar. These will move the whole selection range to the left or the right. The amount of

movement depends on the selected display format (see

“The Project Setup

dialog” on page 62) and the value specified on the Grid pop-up menu.

Note that the contents of the selection are not moved – using the Nudge buttons is the same as adjusting the start and end of the selection range at the same time, by the same amount.

Ö The Trim buttons and the Nudge buttons are located in the Nudge palette, which is

not visible on the toolbar by default.

See “The setup context menus” on page 700 for instructions on how to show and hide items on the toolbar.

Moving and duplicating

• To move a selection range, click and drag it to a new position.

This will move the contents of the selection range to the new position. If the range intersected events or parts, these will be split before moving, so that only the sections within the selection range are affected.

• To duplicate a selection range, hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag. You can also use the Duplicate, Repeat and Fill Loop functions, just as when

duplicating events (see

“Duplicating events” on page 73).

Using Cut, Copy, and Paste

When working with selection ranges, you can either use Cut, Copy and Paste on the Edit menu, or use the functions “Cut Time” and “Paste Time” on the Range submenu on the Edit menu. These work differently to their related functions on the Edit menu:

Function Description

Cut Cuts out the data in the selection range and moves it to the clipboard.

The selection range is replaced by empty track space in the Project window, meaning that events to the right of the range keep their positions.

Copy Copies the data in the selection range to the clipboard.

Paste Pastes the clipboard data at the start position and track of the current

selection. Existing events are not moved to make room for the pasted data.

Paste at Origin Pastes the clipboard data back at its original position. Existing events

are not moved to make room for the pasted data.

Cut Time Cuts out the selection range and moves it to the clipboard. Events to

the right of the removed range are moved to the left to fill out the gap.

Paste Time Pastes the clipboard data at the start position and track of the current

selection. Existing events are moved to make room for the pasted data.

Paste Time at Origin

Pastes the clipboard data back at its original position. Existing events are moved to make room for the pasted data.

Working with projects

Deleting selection ranges

Again, you can either use “regular” Delete or “Delete Time”:

• If you use the Delete function on the Edit menu (or press [Backspace]), the data within the selection range is replaced by empty track space.

Events to the right of the range keep their position.

• If you use “Delete Time” on the Edit menu’s Range submenu, the selection range is removed and events to the right are moved to the left to close up the gap.

Other functions

On the Range submenu on the Edit menu, you will find three more range editing functions:

Function Description

Global Copy This copies everything in the selection range.

Split Splits any events or parts that are intersected by the selection range,

Crop All events or parts that are partially within the selection range are

Insert Silence Inserts empty track space from the start of the selection range. The

Region operations

at the positions of the selection range edges.

cropped, that is, sections outside the selection range are removed. Events that are fully inside or outside the selection range are not affected.

length of the silence equals the length of the selection range. Events to the right of the selection range start are moved to the right to “make room”. Events that are intersected by the selection range start are split, and the right section is moved to the right.

Region operations

Regions are sections within a clip, with various uses. While regions are perhaps best created and edited in the Sample Editor (see the following region functions are available in the Advanced submenu of the Audio menu:

Function Description

Event or Range as Region

Events from Regions

“Working with regions” on page 338),

This function is available when one or several audio events or selection ranges are selected. It creates a region in the corresponding clip, with the start and end position of the region determined by the start and end position of the event or selection range within the clip.

This function is available if you have selected an audio event whose clip contains regions within the boundaries of the event. The function will remove the original event and replace it with event(s) positioned and sized according to the Region(s).

Working with projects

The Edit History dialog

In the Edit History dialog you can undo and redo many edit actions. Actions that can be undone include all functions in the Project window as well as in the editors. It is also possible to undo audio processes or applied plug-in effects. However, these are better removed and modified using the Offline Process History (see

Process History dialog” on page 315).

Ö In the Preferences dialog (General page) you can limit the Undo function by setting

the number in the “Maximum Undo Steps” field to the desired value. This is useful if you run out of hard disk space, for example.

To undo and redo your actions, proceed as follows:

1. On the Edit menu, select “History…”. The Edit History dialog opens.

The Edit History dialog

“The Offline

The dialog contains a list of all your edits, with the most recent action at the bottom of the list. The Action column displays the name of the action while the Time column tells you when this action was performed. In the Details column further details are shown. Here you can enter new text by double-clicking in the column.

2. Move the horizontal, colored line upwards to the desired position to undo your actions.

You can only undo your actions in reverse order, i. e. the last performed action is the first action to be undone.

3. Move the line down the List again to redo an action that was undone previously.

Working with projects

The Preferences dialog

When you open the File menu (the Cubase menu on a Mac) and select “Preferences…”, the Preferences dialog opens. This dialog provides a large number of options and settings that control the global behavior of Cubase.

The dialog has a number of pages, each containing options and settings belonging to a particular topic.

• In the list on the left, click on one of the entries to open the corresponding page.

• You can find detailed descriptions of all Preferences options in the dialog help,

opened by clicking the Help button at the bottom left of the dialog.

About preference presets

In the Preferences dialog it is possible to save complete or partial preference settings as presets. This lets you recall settings quickly and easily.

Saving a preference preset

When you have made your preferences settings, proceed as follows to save all settings as a preset:

1. Make sure that the “Store marked preferences only” option is not activated. This is because this option is used for saving partial settings (see below), as

opposed to complete settings.

2. Click the Store button in the lower left section of the Preferences dialog.

A dialog opens, allowing you to type in a name for the preset.

3. Click OK to save the preset. Your saved settings are now available from the Preference Presets pop-up menu.

Working with projects

The Preferences dialog

Loading a preference preset

To load a saved preference preset, simply select a preset from the Preference Presets pop-up menu. The preset is applied immediately.

Saving partial preferences settings

It is also possible to save partial preferences settings. This is useful when you have made settings that only relate to a certain project or situation, for example. When you apply a saved partial preference preset, you only change the saved settings. All other preferences will be left unchanged.

When you have made your specific preferences settings, proceed as follows to save the partial settings as a preset:

1. Activate “Store marked preferences only”. A new “Store” column is added to the Preferences list.

2. Click in the Store column of the Preferences items you wish to save. Note that if you activate a Preferences page that contains subpages, these will

also be activated. If this is not what you want, simply deactivate the subpages.

3. Click the Store button in the lower left section of the Preferences dialog. A dialog opens, asking you to type in a name for the preset. It is a good idea to

choose a descriptive name for a partial preference preset, preferably relating to the saved settings (for example “Editing–Controls”).

4. Click OK to save. Your saved settings are now available from the Preference Presets pop-up menu.

Working with projects

Setting up tracks

Adding tracks

To add a track to the project, proceed as follows:

1. Open the “Add Track” submenu from the Project menu or from the track list context menu.

Working with tracks and lanes

2. Select a track type. If you select the Audio, MIDI, Group Channel, or Instrument option from the Add

Track submenu, a dialog opens, allowing you to insert several tracks in one go. Just enter the desired number of tracks in the Count field.

• For Audio, MIDI, and Group Channel tracks, you can also specify a track name.

• For audio and group channel tracks, the channel configuration – mono, stereo or

surround configuration (Cubase only) – can be set on the Configuration pop-up menu.

Ö The “Add Track Using Track Preset” option allows you to select a Track Preset. This is

described in the chapter

Once you have created tracks, you can manipulate and rearrange them in various ways. This is explained in the following sections.

Removing tracks

To remove tracks, you have the following options:

• Select the track you want to remove, open the Project menu, and select “Remove Selected Tracks”.

• In the track list, right-click on the track you want to remove, and select “Remove Selected Tracks” from the context menu.

• You can also remove all tracks not containing any events by selecting “Remove Empty Tracks” from the Project menu.

“Working with track presets” on page 422.

Naming tracks

To rename a track, proceed as follows:

1. Double-click in the name field and type in a new name for the track.

2. Press [Return] to close the name field.

• If you want all events on the track to get the same name, hold down any modifier while pressing [Return].

• If “Parts get Track names” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Editing page) and you move an event from one track to another, the moved event will automatically be named according to its new track. Otherwise the event will retain the name of the track it was previously on.

Coloring tracks

All tracks are automatically assigned a color.

• To control which colors are used for new tracks, use the “Auto Track Color Mode” pop-up menu in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Project & MixConsole page).

The available options are described in the section “Applying track colors

automatically” on page 706.

• To change the color for existing tracks, use the Select Colors pop-up menu on the toolbar.

This is described in detail in the section “About the Select Colors pop-up menu” on page 707.

Setting up tracks

• To change the color for a track you can also press [Ctrl]/[Command], point the mouse at the strip where the track color is shown and click.

The color strip is shown, allowing you to select the desired color.

• To override the track color for individual events and parts, use the Select Colors pop-up menu.

For more information, see “Coloring tracks, parts, or events manually” on page

707.

Resizing tracks

• To change the width of the track list area, drag the border between the track list

and the event display.

• To change the height of an individual track, click on its lower border in the track list and drag up or down.

• To change the height of all tracks simultaneously, hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and resize one of the tracks in this way.

If “Snap Track Heights” is activated on the Track Scale pop-up menu (see below), the track height will change in fixed increments when you resize it.

This behavior is different when “Enlarge Selected Track” is activated on the Edit menu (see

“About the Enlarge Selected Track option” on page 89).

Working with tracks and lanes

Setting up tracks

• To set the number of tracks to view in the current Project window, use the Track Scale pop-up menu (opened by clicking the arrow button above the vertical zoom control).

The track height will be adjusted to show only the number of tracks specified on the pop-up menu. By selecting “Zoom N Tracks” from the pop-up you can manually set the number of tracks to fit in the current Project window.

By default, lanes have a track height of 4 rows (see “Working with lanes” on page 94). If you have difficulties to discern the recorded takes, you can size the lanes individually as usual.

Data display on the tracks

Changing the width and the height of tracks naturally has an effect on how the track controls and the parts or events on the track are displayed. The following happens when you resize a track’s height or width:

• The track controls will be placed where they best “fit in” by default. The controls shown for tracks in the track list will adapt to the track size.

If you prefer to have the controls in fixed positions, deactivate the “Wrap Controls” option in the Track Controls settings dialog (see

page 702).

• The contents of events and parts will not be shown if the height of a track is very small.

You can change this behavior by activating “Show Event Data on Small Track Heights” in the Preferences dialog (Event Display).

About the Enlarge Selected Track option

When this option is activated on the Edit menu (or in the Preferences dialog, Editing– Project & MixConsole page), the selected track is enlarged automatically. This is useful if you are stepping through the tracks in the track list, to check or edit the settings. The tracks will revert to the size they had before when they are deselected. You can adjust the size directly in the track list if the default enlargement factor does not suit you.

“Customizing track controls” on

While this is the program behavior you will want in most cases, it may be a disadvantage when changing the track height you started out with for one or more tracks (i. soon as you try to resize a track, it is selected and automatically enlarged. Instead of turning off “Enlarge Selected Track”, resizing the desired track(s) and the activating “Enlarge Selected Track” again, you can resize a track in the track list without selecting it.

e. their “original” height, before “Enlarge Selected Track” was activated). As

Working with tracks and lanes

Proceed as follows:

1. Move the mouse pointer over the lower border of the (unselected) track you want to resize.

The mouse pointer turns into a divider symbol.

2. Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag the lower border of the track until it reaches the desired height.

Now, when you select this track, (and “Enlarge Selected Track” is activated), it will be enlarged. It will revert to the changed size, when you select a different track.

Defining the track time base

In the Inspector or track list you can set the time base individually for each track, by clicking on the “Toggle Time base” button. Tracks can be either musical (tempo) or linear (time) based or follow the Transport Main display:

• Musical On a track using musical time base, the positions of events are represented as

meter values (bars, beats, 1/16th notes and ticks, with 120 ticks per 1/16th note). If you change the playback tempo, the events will play back at an earlier or later time. Musical time base is indicated by a note symbol.

Setting up tracks

• Time Linear On a track using linear time base, the events will be positioned on specific time

positions – changing the playback tempo will not affect the time position of events. Linear time base is indicated by a clock symbol.

• Follow Transport Main Display This uses the primary time format setting on the Transport panel. When this is set

to “Bars+Beats”, tracks with musical time base will be added. When this is set to any of the other options (Seconds, Timecode, Samples, etc.), all new tracks will use linear time base.

Which time base suits better depends on the type of project and recording situation.

Internally, events on musical time based tracks use the same high precision for positioning (64 bit floating point values) as linear time based events. However, switching between linear and musical time base results in a very small loss of precision (introduced by the mathematical operations used for scaling values in the two different formats). Therefore you should avoid switching repeatedly between the two modes.

Ö In the Preferences dialog (Editing page), you can find the “Default Track Time Type”

option (Cubase only). This allows you to specify the default track time type for new tracks (audio, group/FX, MIDI, and marker tracks).

For more information about tempo changes, see the chapter “Editing tempo and

signature” on page 610.

Working with tracks and lanes

Editing tracks

Adding events to a track

There are a number of ways to add events to a track:

• By recording (see “Basic recording methods” on page 110).

• By dragging files and dropping them on the track at the desired position.

You can drag from the following locations: the desktop, the MediaBay and its related windows (see the chapter library (a Pool file that is not attached to a project) (Cubase only), the “Find media” dialog, another open Project window, the Audio Part Editor, the Sample Editor (press [Ctrl]/[Command] and drag to create an event of the current selection, or click in the left column of the region list and drag to create an event from a region).

When you drag the clip into the Project window, its position will be indicated by a marker line and a numerical position box.

• By importing an audio or video file using the Import submenu on the File menu. When you import a file this way, a clip is created for the file and an event that plays

the whole clip is inserted on the selected track, at the position of the project cursor.

Editing tracks

“The MediaBay” on page 393), the Pool, a

• By importing a MIDI file using the Import submenu. See “Exporting and importing standard MIDI files” on page 692.

• By grabbing audio CD tracks and converting them to audio files. See “Importing audio CD tracks” on page 685.

• By importing only the audio portion of a video file and converting it to an audio file. See “About thumbnail cache files” on page 674.

• By using Copy and Paste on the Edit menu. This allows you to copy all kinds of events between projects. You can also copy

events within the project, e.

• By drawing. This is possible for marker and automation tracks e. g. For audio, MIDI and

instrument tracks, you can only draw parts (see

g. from the Sample Editor.

“Creating parts” on page 92).

Working with tracks and lanes

Creating parts

This track is selected.

Parts are containers for MIDI or audio events, or even for tracks (see “Working with

folder parts” on page 98).

Creating MIDI parts

A MIDI part is automatically created when you record. This will contain the recorded events. However, you can also create empty MIDI parts and later add events to them.

There are two ways to do this:

• Draw a part on a MIDI track with the Draw tool.

• Double-click with the Object Selection tool on a MIDI track, between the left and

Editing tracks

You can also draw parts by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and using the Object Selection tool.

right locator.

To add events to a MIDI part, you use the tools and functions in a MIDI editor (see

“The Key Editor – Overview” on page 483).

Creating audio parts

There is no way of automatically creating audio parts on recording. On recording audio events are created always. To create audio parts, you have the following possibilities:

• Use the “Events to Part” function on the Audio menu to gather existing audio

• Draw a part on an audio track with the Draw tool.

• Double-click with the Object Selection tool on an audio track, between the left and

Ö You can use Copy and Paste or Drag and Drop in the Audio Part Editor to add events

to existing audio parts (see

Selecting tracks

events into a part. This creates an audio part containing all selected audio events on the same track.

To remove the part and make the events appear as independent objects on the track again, select the part and use the “Dissolve Part” function on the Audio menu.

You can also draw parts by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and using the Object Selection tool.

right locator.

“Window overview” on page 371).

• To select a track, click on it in the track list. A selected track is indicated by a light gray color in the track list.

• To select several tracks press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click on them.

Working with tracks and lanes

Editing tracks

• To select a continuous range of tracks [Shift]-click on them.

You can also set up Cubase to select tracks on the following actions by activating Preferences:

• Selecting a channel in the MixConsole The respective track is automatically displayed in the track list as well. For this to

work you have to select “Track” on the “Scroll to Selected…” pop-up menu in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Project & MixConsole).

• Selecting an event in the Project Window The corresponding track is automatically selected, if the “Track Selection Follows

Event Selection” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Editing).

• Activating the solo button for the track The track gets automatically selected, if the “Select Channel/Track on Solo”

option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Project & MixConsole).

• Clicking the Edit button (e) for the track The track gets automatically selected, if the “Select Channel/Track on Edit

Settings” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Project & MixConsole).

Duplicating tracks

• To duplicate a track together with all contents and channel settings, right-click the

track list and select “Duplicate tracks” from the context menu, or select “Duplicate tracks” from the Project menu.

The duplicated track will appear below the original track.

Moving tracks

• To move a track, click and drag it up or down in the list.

• To move one or several selected tracks to a folder, select “Move Selected Tracks

to New Folder” from the context menu.

Disabling tracks

Audio tracks can be disabled by selecting “Disable Track” from the track list context menu. Disabling a track “zeroes” the output volume from the track, shuts down all disk activity and processing for it, and hides the corresponding channel in the MixConsole. For more information, see

Track folding

On the Project menu you will find the Track Folding submenu, allowing you to quickly show, hide or invert what is displayed in the Project window event display. This enables you for example to divide the project into several parts (by creating several folder tracks for the different project elements) and showing/hiding their contents by selecting a menu function (or using a key command). You can also fold in automation tracks this way. The following options are available:

• Toggle Selected Track When you select this menu option, the fold state of the selected track is reversed,

e. if the track was folded in (its elements (subtracks) were hidden), it is now

unfolded (all subtracks displayed) and vice versa.

• Fold Tracks Select this menu option to fold in all open folder tracks in the Project window.

Please note that the exact behavior of this function depends on the “Deep Track Folding” setting in the Preferences dialog, see below.

“About track disable/enable” on page 106.

Working with tracks and lanes

Working with lanes

The “Show Lanes” button

• Unfold Tracks Select this menu option to unfold all folder tracks in the Project window. Please

note that the exact behavior of this function depends on the “Deep Track Folding” setting in the Preferences dialog, see below.

• Flip Fold States Select this menu option to flip the fold states of the tracks in the Project window.

This means that all tracks that were folded in will be unfolded and all unfolded tracks will be folded in, respectively.

• Move Selected Tracks to New Folder This menu option is available, if at least one folder track is available. Selecting this

option moves all selected tracks to the folder track.

Ö You can assign key commands for these menu options in the Key Commands dialog

(Project category).

In the Preferences dialog (Editing–Project & MixConsole page), you can find the following option affecting the track folding behavior:

• Deep Track Folding When this is activated, any folding settings you make in the Track Folding

submenu of the Project menu also affect the subelements of the tracks, i. fold in a folder track which contains 10 audio tracks 5 of which have several automation tracks open, all these audio tracks within the folder track will be folded in as well.

e. if you

Working with lanes

Ö To simplify matters, the descriptions in the following paragraphs focus on cycle

recordings with takes. However, you can also apply lane operations and comping methods on overlapping events or parts that you assemble on one track.

If you perform a cycle recording in the “Keep History” or “Cycle History + Replace” modes (audio) or in the “Stacked” or “Mix-Stacked” modes (MIDI), the recorded cycle laps are shown on the track with the last recorded take active and on top.

The “Show Lanes” mode provides a very comfortable working environment and gives you a good overview of all your takes. If you activate the “Show Lanes” button, the recorded takes are shown on separate lanes.

Working with tracks and lanes

Lanes are handled differently, depending on whether you work with audio or MIDI:

• Audio As each audio track can only play back one single audio event at a time, you only

hear the take that is activated for playback, for example, the last lap of a cycle recording.

• MIDI Overlapping MIDI takes (parts) can be played back simultaneously. If you recorded

in “Mix-Stacked” mode, you hear all takes from all cycle laps.

Lanes can be reordered, sized, and zoomed like regular tracks.

To solo a lane, you can activate the Solo button for it. This allows you to hear the lane in the project context. If you want to hear the take without the project context, you also have to activate the main track’s Solo button.

In the following you will learn how to play back, cut, and activate takes to combine the best parts of your recording in a final take.

Assembling a perfect take

1. Select the Comp tool or the Object Selection tool.

2. Bring a take to front to select it for playback, and listen to it.

3. Audition different takes to compare them in more detail.

Working with lanes

4. If necessary, cut your takes into smaller sections, create new ranges and bring them to front.

5. Proceed until you are satisfied with the result.

Assembling operations

Unless it is clearly stated, all operations can be performed in the Project window and in the Audio Part Editor. Snap is taken into account, and all operations can be undone.

To assemble a perfect take, you can use the Comp tool or the Object/Range Selection tool:

• The Comp tool modifies all takes on all lanes simultaneously. This is useful if the recorded takes have the same start and end positions.

• The Object/Range Selection tool affects single takes on individual lanes. If this is not what you want, you can either perform your edits on the main track or

use the Comp tool.

The following operations can be performed:

Operation Comp tool Object/Range Selection tool

Select Hold down [Shift] and click on a take. Click on a take.

Bring to front (Project window only)

Comp (create a new range and bring it to front, Project window only)

Click on a take. Click twice to toggle. Position the mouse pointer over the

middle of the lower border of a take until it changes to a Comp symbol, and click.

Click and drag on a lane. All takes are cut at the range start and end. If the audio takes are adjacent without gaps or fades and the material itself matches, the takes are merged within the range.

Click twice to toggle. For MIDI this mutes/unmutes a take.

–

Working with tracks and lanes

Working with lanes

Operation Comp tool Object/Range Selection tool

Audition Press [Ctrl]/[Command] to activate the

Speaker tool and click at the position where you want playback to start.

Move Click and drag on the main track. Click and drag on any lane.

Resize Drag the resize handles. All takes with

the same start and end positions are affected. Resizing is constrained to the end or start of the adjacent takes. This ensures that you do not create overlaps accidentally.

Correct timing (Slip Event)

Cut [Alt]/[Option]-click on a take. If you cut

Adjust cuts Position the mouse pointer over a cut

Glueing cuts Bring a new range to front. Select a range spanning all the cuts that

Select a take, hold down [Alt]/[Option][Shift] (the tool modifier for Slip Event) and drag with the mouse.

a MIDI part and the cut position inter sects one or several MIDI notes, the result depends on the “Split MIDI Events” option in the Preferences dia log, see “Splitting events” on page 75.

and drag to the left or to the right.

See left.

Drag the resize handles.

See left.

you want to glue, and double-click.

Ö If you assemble stacked events on an audio track, make sure that the option “Treat

Muted Audio Events like Deleted” setting in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Audio page) is deactivated. Otherwise it will come to unexpected results.

Additional steps

After assembling your perfect take, you can perform additional steps:

• Open the track context menu and select “Clean Up Lanes”. This resolves overlaps and removes empty lanes.

For audio, proceed as follows:

1. Apply auto fades and crossfades to the comped takes.

2. Select all takes and select “Delete Overlaps” from the Advanced submenu on the

Audio menu to put all takes on a single lane, and remove all takes in the background.

3. Open the Audio menu and select the “Bounce Selection” function to create a new and continuous event of all selected takes.

For MIDI, proceed as follows:

1. Open your takes in a MIDI editor to perform fine adjustments like removing or editing notes.

2. Select all takes and use the “Bounce MIDI” function on the MIDI menu to create a new and continuous part of all selected takes that is placed on a single lane.

You can also use the “Merge MIDI in Loop” option to create a new part and place it on a new track.

Finally, clean up the lanes as follows:

• Select “Create Tracks from Lanes” from the track list context menu. The lane is converted into a new track.

Working with tracks and lanes

Organizing tracks in folder tracks

A folder track

Tracks in the folder

Creating folder tracks

Moving tracks into a folder is a way to structure and organize tracks in the Project window. By grouping tracks in folder tracks, you can solo and mute them in a quicker and easier way and perform editing on several tracks as one entity. Folder tracks can contain any type of track including other folder tracks.

Working with folder tracks

• Creating a folder track

On the Project menu open the “Add Track” submenu and select “Folder”, or rightclick the track list and select “Add Folder Track” from the context menu.

• Moving tracks into a folder Open the Project menu and use the “Move Selected Tracks To New Folder”

command from the Track folding submenu, right-click on the track in the track list and select the command from the context menu or set up and use the corresponding key command (found in the Project category of the Key Commands dialog).

Organizing tracks in folder tracks

• Removing tracks from a folder Drag a track out of the folder and release it in the track list to remove it from the

folder.

• Hiding/showing tracks in a folder Click on the “Expand/Collapse Folder” button (the folder icon) to hide or show the

tracks located in a folder or use the corresponding options in the Track Folding submenu of the Project menu (see played back as usual.

“Track folding” on page 93). Hidden tracks are

Working with tracks and lanes

Organizing tracks in folder tracks

• Hiding/showing data on folder tracks Right-click on the folder track to open the context menu and from the “Show Data

on Folder Tracks” submenu select one of the options. This menu is also available in the Preferences dialog (Editing page). The following options are available:

Option Description

Always Show Data The data on the folder track is always visible.

Never Show Data The data on the folder track is never visible.

Hide Data When Expanded The data on the folder track is only visible if the folder is not

expanded.

• Muting and soloing folder tracks Click the Mute or Solo button on the folder track to mute or solo all tracks in the

folder as one unit.

Working with folder parts

A folder part is a graphic representation of events and parts on the tracks in the folder. Folder parts indicate the position and length of the events and parts, as well as on which track they are (their vertical position). If part colors are used, these are also shown in the folder part.

Any Project window editing you perform to a folder part affects all the events and parts it contains. You can select several folder parts if you like – this allows you to handle and edit them together. The editing you can perform includes:

- Moving a folder part. This will move its contained events and parts (possibly resulting in other folder parts, depending on how the parts overlap).

- Using cut, copy and paste.

- Deleting a folder part. This will delete its contained events and parts.

- Splitting a folder part with the Cut tool.

- Gluing folder parts together with the Glue tool. This will only work if the adjacent folder parts contain events or parts on the same track.

- Resizing a folder part resizes the contained events and parts according to the selected resizing method.

- Muting a folder part. This will mute its contained events and parts.

Tracks inside a folder can be edited as one entity by performing the editing directly on the folder part containing the tracks. You can also edit individual tracks within the folder by showing the contained tracks, selecting parts and opening editors as usual.

Working with tracks and lanes

Double-clicking a folder part opens the editors for the corresponding track classes present in the folder. The following applies:

• All MIDI parts located on the tracks within the folder are displayed as if they were on the same track, just like when opening the Key Editor with several MIDI parts selected.

To be able to easily discern the different tracks in the editor, give each track a different color in the Project window and use the “Part Colors” option in the editor (see

“Coloring notes and events” on page 490).

• If the folder contains tracks with audio events and/or audio parts, the Sample and/or Audio Part Editors are opened with each audio event and audio part in a separate window.

About Group Editing (Cubase only)

The Group Editing mode for folders allows you to quickly group events and parts across multiple tracks without having to select all the events or parts. This is useful for multi-track recordings of drum sets, where you often want to edit the different drum tracks (bass drum, snare, toms, etc.) together. Edit groups are also useful if you want to quantize multiple tracks.

Organizing tracks in folder tracks

You activate the Group Editing mode by clicking the Group Editing button (the “=” sign) for a folder in the track list.

If the Group Editing mode is activated and you select an event, a part or a range on a track inside the folder track, other events, parts or ranges that have the same start and end time and the same playback priority, are also selected and temporarily grouped.

Temporarily means that on every new selection with the Object Selection or the Range Selection tool, Cubase looks for corresponding events or parts inside the folder and groups them. If you edit the start or end point of a single event or part before activating the “=” button for group editing, will cause this event or part to be excluded from the group.

Edit actions in Group Editing mode affect all grouped events, parts or ranges. If you select another take by using the small “To Front” arrow at the right side of one event of an Edit Group e.g., all other tracks inside the Edit Group also switch to the corresponding take. This is very useful for comparing takes of a multi-track recording.

Ö The Group Editing setting overwrites any regular group settings in the edit group. For

further information, see

“Grouping events” on page 78.

Working with tracks and lanes

Dividing the track list

It is possible to divide the track list into two parts. Both sections will have independent zoom and scroll controls (if needed), but resizing the window vertically will affect the lower section only (if possible). This is useful if you are working with a video track along with multi-track audio, for example. This way, you can place the video track in the upper track list, letting you scroll the audio tracks separately in the lower track list, referencing them against the video track.

• To divide the track list, click the “Divide Track List” button in the top right corner of the Project window just below the ruler.

• To revert to a single track list, click the button again.

When the track list is divided into two parts, the following applies:

• If you add tracks from the Add Track submenu of the Project menu, video tracks, marker tracks, and arranger tracks are automatically placed in the upper part of the track list.

If the track list already contains any video, marker, or arranger tracks, these are automatically moved to the upper part when you divide the track list. All other types of tracks are placed in the lower part.

Dividing the track list

• If you add tracks from the context menu invoked by right-clicking the track list, the tracks are added to the part of the track list in which you click.

• You can move any type of track from the lower track list to the upper and vice versa by right-clicking it in the track list and selecting “Toggle Track List” from the context menu.

• You can resize the upper part by clicking and dragging the divider between the track list sections.

100

Working with tracks and lanes

Steinberg Cubase Artist - 7.0, Cubase 7.5, Cubase 7.0 Operation Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Table of Contents

About the Program Versions

Key Command Conventions

Introduction

Setting up audio

Setting up your system

Setting up MIDI

Connecting a synchronizer

Setting up video

Optimizing audio performance

The VST Performance Window

The ASIO-Guard Option

About this chapter

The VST Connections window

VST Connections

Setting up busses

Setting up group and FX channels

About monitoring

External instruments/effects (Cubase only)

Editing operations

Window Overview

The Project window

The track list

The Inspector

The toolbar

The status line

The info line

The overview line

The ruler

The Snap function

Auto-Scroll

Creating new projects

Working with projects

Opening projects

Closing projects

Saving projects

The Archive and Backup functions

The Project Setup dialog

Zoom and view options

Audio handling

Auditioning audio parts and events

Scrubbing audio

Editing parts and events

Range editing

Region operations

The Edit History dialog

The Preferences dialog

Setting up tracks

Working with tracks and lanes

Editing tracks

Working with lanes

Organizing tracks in folder tracks

Dividing the track list