Steinberg Cubase Elements 9, Cubase AI 9, Cubase LE 9 Operation Manual

Operation Manual

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

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

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

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

Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2016.

7 Introduction

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

10 Getting Into the Details

11 Setting Up Your System

11 Setting Up Audio 19 Setting Up MIDI 21 Connecting a Synchronizer 22 Setting Up Video

23 VST Connections

23 VST Connections Window 24 Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs 25 Adding Input and Output Busses 26 Presets for Input and Output Busses 27 About Monitoring 27 Editing the Bus Configurations

29 Project Window

30 Showing/Hiding Zones 30 Project Zone 40 Left Zone 46 Lower Zone 51 Right Zone 56 Keyboard Focus in the Project Window 57 Zooming in the Project Window 60 Snap Function 63 Cross-Hair Cursor 63 Edit History Dialog

65 Project Handling

65 Creating New Projects 66 Hub 67 Project Assistant 68 About Project Files 68 About Template Files 69 Project Setup Dialog 73 Opening Project Files 74 Saving Project Files 75 Reverting to the Last Saved Version 75 Choosing a Project Location 75 Removing Unused Audio Files 76 Creating Self-Contained Projects

78 Tracks

78 Track Inspector Settings

80 Track Control Settings 82 Audio Tracks 87 Instrument Tracks 92 MIDI Tracks 96 Sampler Tracks(Cubase Elements only) 101 Arranger Track 102 Chord Track 105 FX Channel Tracks 109 Folder Tracks 110 Group Channel Tracks 115 Marker Track 116 Ruler Track 117 Video Track

119 Track Handling

119 Adding Tracks 121 Removing Tracks 122 Moving Tracks in the Track List 122 Renaming Tracks 122 Coloring Tracks 123 Showing Track Pictures 125 Setting the Track Height 126 Selecting Tracks 127 Duplicating Tracks 127 Disabling Tracks(Cubase Elements only) 127 Organizing Tracks in Folder Tracks 128 Handling Overlapping Audio 128 How Events are Displayed on Folder Tracks 128 Modifying Event Display on Folder Tracks 129 Track Presets

134 Parts and Events

134 Events 138 Parts 139 Editing Techniques for Parts and Events

151 Range Editing

151 Creating a Selection Range 153 Editing Selection Ranges

156 Playback and Transport

156 Transport Panel 158 Transport Menu 163 Transport 164 Left and Right Locators 165 Setting the Project Cursor Position 166 Auto-Scroll 167 Time Formats

Table of Contents 

167 Punch In and Punch Out 168 Metronome 170 Chase

171 Virtual Keyboard

171 Recording MIDI With the Virtual Keyboard 172 Virtual Keyboard Options

173 Recording

173 Basic Recording Methods 176 Monitoring 179 Audio Recording Specifics 183 MIDI Recording Specifics 189 Remaining Record Time 189 Lock Record

190 Quantizing MIDI and Audio

190 Quantize Functions 191 Quantizing MIDI Event Starts 192 Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths 192 Quantizing MIDI Event Ends 193 Quantizing Audio Event Starts 193 Quantize Panel

200 Fades and Crossfades

200 Event-Based Fades 204 Creating Clip-Based Fades 206 Crossfades 209 Auto Fades and Crossfades

213 Arranger Track(Cubase Elements only)

214 Adding Arranger Events on the Arranger

Track

214 Arranger Editor 218 Setting up an Arranger Chain and Adding

Events

220 Jump Mode 222 Arranging Music to Video

223 Markers

223 Position Markers 223 Cycle Markers 224 Markers Window 228 Marker Track 229 Importing and Exporting Markers

231 MixConsole

231 MixConsole in Lower Zone 232 MixConsole Window

266 Audio Effects

266 Insert Effects and Send Effects 268 Insert Effects 274 Send Effects 277 Dither Effects(Cubase Elements only) 278 Effect Control Panel 279 Effect Presets 284 Plug-In Information Window

287 Audio Processing and Functions

287 Common settings and features 288 Envelope 289 Fade In and Fade Out

290 Gain 291 Merge Clipboard 291 Noise Gate 292 Normalize 292 Phase Reverse 293 Remove DC Offset 293 Resample 294 Reverse 294 Silence 294 Stereo Flip 294 Time Stretch 296 Freeze Edits 297 Detect Silence 299 Spectrum Analyzer 302 Statistics 303 Time Stretch Algorithms

305 Sample Editor

307 Toolbar 311 Info Line 311 Overview Line 312 Sample Editor Inspector 313 Ruler 313 Waveform Display 315 Range Editing 319 Regions List 322 Snap Point

324 Hitpoints

324 Calculating Hitpoints 327 Locating to Hitpoints in the Project Window 327 Slices 329 Creating a Groove Quantize Map 329 Creating Markers 330 Creating Regions 330 Creating Events 330 Creating MIDI Notes

333 Audio Part Editor

334 Toolbar 339 Info Line 339 The Ruler 340 About Lanes 340 Operations

344 Controlling Sample Playback with Sampler

Tracks(Cubase Elements only)

344 Creating Sampler Tracks 345 Sampler Control 355 Sample Editing and Playback Functions 357 Transferring Samples from Sampler Control

to VST Instruments

358 Pool

358 Pool Window 362 Working with the Pool

377 MediaBay

377 MediaBay in Right Zone 378 MediaBay Window 392 Working With the MediaBay

Table of Contents 

396 Working with MediaBay-Related Windows 398 Working With Volume Databases 400 MediaBay Settings 401 MediaBay Key Commands

402 Automation

402 Recording your Actions 402 Automation Curves 403 Static Value Line 403 Write/Read Automation 404 MIDI Part Data vs. Track Automation 404 Writing Automation Data 406 Editing Automation Events 409 Automation Tracks

411 VST Instruments

411 Adding VST Instruments(not in Cubase LE) 412 Creating Instrument Tracks 412 VST Instruments in the Right Zone(not in

Cubase LE)

413 VST Instruments Window(not in Cubase LE) 413 VST Instruments Toolbar(not in Cubase LE) 414 VST Instrument Controls(not in Cubase LE) 415 Presets for Instruments 417 Playing Back VST Instruments 419 About Latency 419 Import and Export Options 421 VST Quick Controls(not in Cubase LE)

424 Installing and Managing Plug-ins

424 Installing VST plug-ins 424 Plug-in Manager 427 Compiling a New Effects Collection

428 Remote controlling Cubase

428 Setting Up 430 Operations 431 The Generic Remote device 436 The Remote Control Editor(Cubase

Elements only)

442 Apple Remote (Macintosh only)

444 MIDI Realtime Parameters

444 MIDI Track Parameters 444 MIDI Modifiers 449 Transpose and Velocity on the Info Line

450 Using MIDI devices

450 MIDI devices – general settings and patch

handling

458 MIDI Processing

458 MIDI functions vs. MIDI modifiers 458 What is affected by the MIDI functions? 459 Transpose 460 Making your settings permanent 462 Dissolve Part 463 Repeat Loop 464 Other MIDI functions

469 MIDI Editors

469 Common MIDI Editor Functions

476 Key Editor 488 Key Editor Operations 505 Score Editor 512 Score Editor Operations 520 Drum Editor 534 Drum Editor Operations 537 Drum Maps

543 Chord Functions

543 Chord Track 544 Chord Events 548 Scale Events 549 Voicings 551 Converting Chord Events to MIDI 552 Controlling MIDI Playback using the Chord

Track

555 Assigning Voices to Notes 556 Extracting Chord Events from MIDI 557 Recording Chord Events with a MIDI

Keyboard

559 Chord Pads

559 Chord Pads 562 Functions Menu 563 Preparations 563 Chord Assistant 564 Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 567 Moving and Copying Chord Pads 567 Playing Back and Recording Chords 569 Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control 572 Chord Pad Settings – Players 575 Chord Pad Settings – Pad Layout 575 Chord Pads Presets 576 Creating Events from Chord Pads

577 Editing Tempo and Time Signature

577 Project Tempo Modes 577 Tempo Track Editor 579 Setting up Tempo Changes for Projects 581 Setting up a Fixed Project Tempo 583 Beat Calculator 584 Set Definition From Tempo

585 Export Audio Mixdown

586 Mixing Down to Audio Files 587 Available Channels for Export 587 File Location 589 File Format 597 Audio Engine Output 598 Import Into Project 598 Post Process

600 Synchronization

600 Background 601 Timecode (positional references) 602 Clock sources (speed references) 603 The Project Synchronization Setup dialog 606 Synchronized operation 607 Working with VST System Link 611 Activating VST System Link

Table of Contents 

619 Video

619 Before You Start 622 Preparing a Video Project 625 Playing Back Video 628 Editing Video 628 Extracting Audio From a Video File 629 Replacing the Audio in a Video File

630 ReWire(not in Cubase LE)

630 Introduction 630 Launching and quitting 631 Activating ReWire channels 632 Using the transport and tempo controls 632 How the ReWire channels are handled 633 Routing MIDI via ReWire 633 Considerations and limitations

634 Key Commands

634 Introduction 635 Setting up key commands 638 Setting up tool modifier keys 639 The default key commands

650 File handling

650 Importing audio 655 Exporting and importing standard MIDI files 659 Exporting and importing MIDI loops

660 Customizing

660 Using the Setup options 661 Appearance 664 Applying colors in the Project window 669 Where are the settings stored?

671 Optimizing

671 Optimizing Audio Performance

675 Preferences

675 Preferences Dialog 677 Appearance 677 Editing 685 Editors 685 Event Display 689 General 690 MIDI 695 MediaBay 695 Metering 696 Record 698 Transport 700 VST 703 Video

704 Index

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

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

Platform-Independent Documentation

The documentation applies to the operating systems Windows and Mac OS.

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

Some points to consider:

Introduction

•

The screenshots are taken from Windows.

•

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

About the Documentation

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

•

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

•

In the program, select Help> Cubase Help.

Quick Start Guide

Covers the following areas without going into details:

•

System requirements, installation procedure, and license activation.

•

Setting up your system.

Operation Manual

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

Remote Control Devices

Lists the supported MIDI remote control devices.

Introduction Conventions

Plug-in Reference

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

HALion Sonic SE

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

Groove Agent SE

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

Conventions

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

Typographical Elements

The following typographical elements mark the following purposes.

PREREQUISITE

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

PROCEDURE

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

IMPORTANT

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

NOTE

Informs you about issues that you should consider.

EXAMPLE

Provides you with an example.

RESULT

Shows the result of the procedure.

AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK

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

RELATED LINKS

Lists related topics that you can find in this documentation.

Introduction Key Commands

Markup

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

EXAMPLE

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

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

EXAMPLE

Select Project> Add Track.

Key Commands

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

For example, the default key command for Undo is Ctrl-Z on Windows and Cmd-Z on Mac OS. When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier key first, in the following way:

•

Windows modifier key/Mac OS modifier key-key

EXAMPLE

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

Getting Into the Details

Setting Up Your System

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

Setting Up Audio

IMPORTANT

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

Simple Stereo Input and Output Setup

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

Audio Connections

Your system setup depends on many different factors, for example, on the kind of project that you want to create, on the external equipment that you want to use, or on the computer

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

hardware that is available to you. Therefore, the following sections can only serve as examples.

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

About Recording Levels and Inputs

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

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

IMPORTANT

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

Word Clock Connections

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

IMPORTANT

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

Selecting an Audio Driver

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

NOTE

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Devices Setup.

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

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

4. Click OK.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

Setting Up Audio Hardware

PREREQUISITE

You have selected a driver for your audio hardware.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Devices Setup.

2. In the Devices list to the left, select the driver to open the driver settings for your audio

hardware.

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

•

On Windows, click Control Panel.

•

On Mac OS, click Open Config App. This button is available only for some hardware products. If it is not available in

your setup, refer to the documentation of your audio hardware.

NOTE The control panel is provided by the manufacturer of your audio hardware and is

different for each audio interface brand and model. However, control panels for the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver (Windows only) are provided by Steinberg.

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

VST Audio System

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

• To open the VST Audio System section, select Devices> Device Setup and select VST Audio System in the Devices list to the left.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

The following options are available:

ASIO Driver

Release Driver when Application is in Background

Input Latency

Output Latency

ASIO-Guard Latency

HW Sample Rate

Allows you to select a driver.

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

Shows the input latency of the audio hardware.

Shows the output latency of the audio hardware.

Shows the ASIO-Guard latency.

Shows the sample rate of your audio hardware.

HW Pull Up/Down

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

Set to Defaults

Allows you to restore the default settings.

Activate Multi Processing

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

Activate ASIO-Guard

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

ASIO-Guard Level

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

Audio Priority (Windows only)

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

Activate Steinberg Audio Power Scheme

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

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

Disk Preload

Adjust for Record Latency

Record Shift

ASIO Driver Setup

This section allows you to set up your ASIO driver.

• To open the section where you can set up the ASIO driver, select Devices> Device

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

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

Allows you to shift the recordings by the specified value.

Setup and select the audio driver in the Devices list to the left.

The following options are available:

Control Panel

Opens the control panel for the audio hardware.

Input Latency

Shows the input latency of the audio driver.

Output Latency

Shows the output latency of the audio driver.

Clock Source

Allows you to select a clock source.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

Externally Clocked

Direct Monitoring

Ports Reset

I/O

Port System Name

Show As

Activate this option, if you use an external clock source.

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

Allows you to reset all port names and visibilities.

The port input/output status.

The system name of the port.

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

Routing pop-up menus.

Visible

Allows you to activate/deactivate audio ports.

State

The state of the audio port.

Using External Clock Sources

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Devices Setup.

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

3. Activate Externally clocked.

RESULT

Cubase now derives its speed from the external source.

NOTE

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

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

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

Using Several Audio Applications Simultaneously

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

PREREQUISITE

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Devices Setup.

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

3. Activate Release Driver when Application is in Background.

RESULT

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

Audio Hardware Configuration

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

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

Settings include:

•

Selecting which inputs/outputs are active.

•

Setting up word clock synchronization.

•

Turning on/off monitoring via the hardware.

•

Setting levels for each input.

•

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

•

Selecting digital input and output formats.

•

Making settings for the audio buffers.

Plug and Play Support for ASIO Devices

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

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

IMPORTANT

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

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

Setting Up Input and Output Ports

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

PREREQUISITE

You have selected a driver for your audio hardware.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Devices Setup.

2. In the Devices list to the left, select the driver to open the driver settings for your audio

hardware.

3. Make your settings.

4. Click OK.

RELATED LINKS

ASIO Driver Setup on page 15

Audio Bus Setup

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

•

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

•

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

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

RELATED LINKS

VST Connections on page 23

Monitoring

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

The following ways of monitoring are available.

•

Externally by listening to the signal before it reaches Cubase.

•

Via Cubase.

•

By using ASIO Direct Monitoring. This is a combination of the other methods.

RELATED LINKS

External Monitoring on page 177 Monitoring via Cubase on page 176 ASIO Direct Monitoring on page 177

Setting Up Your System Setting Up MIDI

Setting Up MIDI

IMPORTANT

Turn off all equipment before making any connections.

PROCEDURE

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

2. Install the drivers for your MIDI equipment.

RESULT

You can use your MIDI equipment in Cubase.

MIDI Connections

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

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

Connect the MIDI input port of your MIDI device to the MIDI output port of your audio hardware. This way, you can send MIDI data from Cubase to the MIDI device. For example, you can record your own playing, edit the MIDI data in Cubase, and then play it back on the keyboard and record the audio that is coming out of the keyboard for a better edited performance.

Showing or Hiding MIDI Ports

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Device Setup.

2. In the Device Setup dialog, select MIDI Port Setup from the Devices list on the left.

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

4. Click OK.

Setting Up All MIDI Inputs

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Device Setup.

2. In the Device Setup dialog, select MIDI Port Setup from the Devices list on the left.

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

Setting Up Your System Setting Up MIDI

4. Click OK.

RESULT

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

MIDI Port Setup

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

• To open the MIDI Port Setup section, select Devices> Device Setup and activate MIDI

NOTE If you have a MIDI remote control unit connected, make sure to deactivate the In ‘All

MIDI Inputs’ option for that MIDI input. This avoids accidental recording of data from the remote control when All MIDI Inputs is selected as input for a MIDI track.

Port Setup in the Devices list to the left.

The following colums are displayed:

Device

The connected MIDI devices.

I/O

The port input/output status.

Port System Name

The system name of the port.

Show As

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

Setting Up Your System Connecting a Synchronizer

Visible

Allows you to activate/deactivate MIDI ports.

State

The state of the MIDI port.

In 'All MIDI Inputs'

Allows you to record MIDI data from all MIDI inputs.

NOTE

Deactivate this option, if you use remote control devices.

The following options are available:

Use System Timestamp for 'Windows MIDI' Inputs

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

Use Device 'DirectMusic'

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

Use System Timestamp for 'DirectMusic' Inputs

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

Plug and Play Support for USB MIDI Devices

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

Connecting a Synchronizer

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

IMPORTANT

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

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

RELATED LINKS

Synchronization on page 600

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Video

Setting Up Video

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

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

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

NOTE

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

RELATED LINKS

Video on page 619 Video Output Devices on page 621

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

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

VST Connections Window

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

• To open the VST Connections window, select Devices> VST Connections.

Inputs/Outputs Tab

VST Connections

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

The following options are available above the bus list:

+- All

Expands/Collapses all busses in the bus list.

Add Bus

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

Presets

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

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

selected preset.

The following columns are available for the bus list:

Bus Name

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

VST Connections Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

Speakers

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

Audio Device

Shows the selected ASIO driver.

Device Port

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

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

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

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

Click (Outputs tab only)

You can route the metronome click to a specific output bus.

Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

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

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

NOTE

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Device Setup.

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

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

6. Click OK.

VST Connections Adding Input and Output Busses

RELATED LINKS

Re-Routing Missing Ports on page 74

Hiding Ports

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Device Setup.

2. In the devices list, select your audio card.

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

4. Click OK.

Activating and Deactivating Ports (Mac only)

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

NOTE

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Device Setup.

2. In the devices list, select your audio card.

3. Click Control Panel.

4. Activate/Deactivate ports.

5. Click OK.

Adding Input and Output Busses

PROCEDURE

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

2. Click Add Bus.

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

4. Optional: Enter a name for the bus.

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

5. Click Add Bus. The new bus is added to the bus list.

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

VST Connections Presets for Input and Output Busses

Setting the Default Output Bus (Main Mix)

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

PREREQUISITE

Add an output bus.

PROCEDURE

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

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

RESULT

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

Presets for Input and Output Busses

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

•

A number of standard bus configurations.

•

Automatically created presets tailored to your specific hardware configuration. On startup, Cubase analyzes the physical inputs and outputs that are provided by your

audio hardware and creates a number of hardware-dependent presets.

•

Your own presets.

NOTE

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

Saving a Bus Configuration Preset

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> VST Connections.

2. Set up your bus configuration.

3. Click Store .

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

5. Click OK.

VST Connections About Monitoring

RESULT

The preset is available in the Presets menu.

Deleting a Bus Configuration Preset

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> VST Connections.

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

3. Click Delete .

RESULT

The preset is deleted.

About Monitoring

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

RELATED LINKS

Setting the Default Output Bus (Main Mix) on page 26

Editing the Bus Configurations

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

Removing Busses

PROCEDURE

• In the VST Connections window, right-click a bus in the list and select Remove Bus. You can also select the bus and press Backspace.

Changing Port Assignments

You can change the port assignment of busses in the VST Connection window.

•

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

•

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

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

•

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

VST Connections Editing the Bus Configurations

Renaming Multiple Busses

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

•

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

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

•

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

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

NOTE

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

Identifying Exclusive Port Assignments

For certain channel types, the port assignment is exclusive.

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

The corresponding ports are marked in the VST Connections window on the Device Port pop- up menu.

Project Window

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

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

• To open a project, select File> Open.

• To create a new project, select File> New Project.

The Project window is divided into several zones:

1. Left Zone

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

2. Project Zone

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

Project Window Showing/Hiding Zones

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

3. Lower Zone

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

4. Right Zone

The right zone shows the VST Instruments rack (not in Cubase LE) and the MediaBay rack.

RELATED LINKS

Project Zone on page 30 Left Zone on page 40 Lower Zone on page 46 Right Zone on page 51 Toolbar on page 31

Showing/Hiding Zones

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

PROCEDURE

• Do one of the following:

Project Zone

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

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

•

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

•

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

•

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

NOTE The project zone is always shown.

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