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.

7 Introduction

7Platform-Independent Documentation

7About the Documentation

8Conventions

9Key Commands

10Getting Into the Details

11Setting Up Your System

11 Setting Up Audio

19 Setting Up MIDI

21Connecting a Synchronizer

22Setting Up Video

23VST Connections

23VST Connections Window

24Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

25Adding Input and Output Busses

26Presets for Input and Output Busses

27About Monitoring

27 Editing the Bus Configurations

29Project Window

30Showing/Hiding Zones

30Project Zone

40Left Zone

46Lower Zone

51Right Zone

56Keyboard Focus in the Project Window

57Zooming in the Project Window

60Snap Function

63Cross-Hair Cursor

63Edit History Dialog

65 Project Handling

65Creating New Projects

66Hub

67Project Assistant

68About Project Files

68About Template Files

69Project Setup Dialog

73Opening Project Files

74Saving Project Files

75Reverting to the Last Saved Version

75Choosing a Project Location

75Removing Unused Audio Files

76Creating 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)

101Arranger Track

102Chord Track

105 FX Channel Tracks

109Folder Tracks

110Group Channel Tracks

115Marker Track

116Ruler Track

117Video Track

119 Track Handling

119 Adding Tracks

121Removing Tracks

122Moving Tracks in the Track List

122Renaming Tracks

122Coloring Tracks

123Showing Track Pictures

125Setting the Track Height

126Selecting Tracks

127Duplicating Tracks

127Disabling Tracks (Cubase Elements only)

127Organizing Tracks in Folder Tracks

128Handling Overlapping Audio

128How Events are Displayed on Folder Tracks

128Modifying Event Display on Folder Tracks

129Track Presets

134 Parts and Events

134 Events

138Parts

139Editing 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

163Transport

164Left and Right Locators

165Setting the Project Cursor Position

166Auto-Scroll

167Time Formats

Table of Contents

167Punch In and Punch Out

168Metronome

170Chase

171Virtual Keyboard

171Recording MIDI With the Virtual Keyboard

172Virtual Keyboard Options

173Recording

173 Basic Recording Methods

176 Monitoring

179 Audio Recording Specifics

183 MIDI Recording Specifics

189Remaining Record Time

189Lock Record

190Quantizing MIDI and Audio

190Quantize Functions

191Quantizing MIDI Event Starts

192Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths

192Quantizing MIDI Event Ends

193Quantizing Audio Event Starts

193Quantize Panel

200 Fades and Crossfades

200 Event-Based Fades

204 Creating Clip-Based Fades

206 Crossfades

209 Auto Fades and Crossfades

213Arranger Track (Cubase Elements only)

214Adding Arranger Events on the Arranger Track

214 Arranger Editor

218Setting up an Arranger Chain and Adding Events

220 Jump Mode

222Arranging Music to Video

223Markers

223Position Markers

223Cycle Markers

224Markers Window

228Marker Track

229Importing and Exporting Markers

231 MixConsole

231MixConsole in Lower Zone

232MixConsole Window

266 Audio Effects

266 Insert Effects and Send Effects

268 Insert Effects

274 Send Effects

277Dither Effects (Cubase Elements only)

278Effect Control Panel

279Effect Presets

284 Plug-In Information Window

287Audio Processing and Functions

287Common settings and features

288Envelope

289Fade In and Fade Out

290Gain

291Merge Clipboard

291Noise Gate

292Normalize

292Phase Reverse

293Remove DC Offset

293Resample

294Reverse

294	Silence
294	Stereo Flip
294	Time Stretch

296Freeze Edits

297Detect Silence

299Spectrum Analyzer

302Statistics

303Time Stretch Algorithms

305 Sample Editor

307 Toolbar

311 Info Line

311Overview Line

312Sample Editor Inspector

313Ruler

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

329Creating a Groove Quantize Map

329Creating Markers

330Creating Regions

330 Creating Events

330 Creating MIDI Notes

333Audio Part Editor

334Toolbar

339Info Line

339The Ruler

340About Lanes

340Operations

344Controlling Sample Playback with Sampler Tracks (Cubase Elements only)

344Creating Sampler Tracks

345Sampler Control

355 Sample Editing and Playback Functions

357Transferring Samples from Sampler Control to VST Instruments

358Pool

358 Pool Window

362 Working with the Pool

377 MediaBay

377MediaBay in Right Zone

378MediaBay Window

392 Working With the MediaBay

Table of Contents

396 Working with MediaBay-Related Windows

398 Working With Volume Databases

400MediaBay Settings

401MediaBay Key Commands

402Automation

402Recording your Actions

402Automation Curves

403Static Value Line

403Write/Read Automation

404MIDI Part Data vs. Track Automation

404Writing Automation Data

406Editing Automation Events

409Automation Tracks

411 VST Instruments

411Adding VST Instruments (not in Cubase LE)

412Creating Instrument Tracks

412VST Instruments in the Right Zone (not in Cubase LE)

413VST Instruments Window (not in Cubase LE)

413VST Instruments Toolbar (not in Cubase LE)

414VST Instrument Controls (not in Cubase LE)

415Presets 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

427Compiling a New Effects Collection

428Remote controlling Cubase

428 Setting Up

430Operations

431The Generic Remote device

436The Remote Control Editor (Cubase Elements only)

442 Apple Remote (Macintosh only)

444 MIDI Realtime Parameters

444 MIDI Track Parameters

444 MIDI Modifiers

449Transpose and Velocity on the Info Line

450Using MIDI devices

450MIDI devices – general settings and patch handling

458 MIDI Processing

458 MIDI functions vs. MIDI modifiers

458What is affected by the MIDI functions?

459Transpose

460Making your settings permanent

462Dissolve Part

463Repeat Loop

464Other 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

543Chord Functions

543Chord Track

544Chord Events

548Scale Events

549Voicings

551Converting Chord Events to MIDI

552Controlling MIDI Playback using the Chord Track

555Assigning Voices to Notes

556Extracting Chord Events from MIDI

557Recording Chord Events with a MIDI Keyboard

559 Chord Pads

562Functions Menu

563Preparations

563Chord Assistant

564Assigning Chords to Chord Pads

567Moving and Copying Chord Pads

567Playing Back and Recording Chords

569Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control

572Chord Pad Settings – Players

575Chord Pad Settings – Pad Layout

575Chord Pads Presets

576Creating 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

583Beat Calculator

584Set Definition From Tempo

585Export Audio Mixdown

586Mixing Down to Audio Files

587Available Channels for Export

587File Location

589File Format

597Audio Engine Output

598Import Into Project

598Post Process

600Synchronization

600Background

601Timecode (positional references)

602Clock sources (speed references)

603The Project Synchronization Setup dialog

606Synchronized operation

607Working with VST System Link

611Activating VST System Link

Table of Contents

619	Video
619	Before You Start
622	Preparing a Video Project
625	Playing Back Video
628	Editing Video

628Extracting Audio From a Video File

629Replacing the Audio in a Video File

630ReWire (not in Cubase LE)

630 Introduction

630Launching and quitting

631Activating ReWire channels

632Using the transport and tempo controls

632How the ReWire channels are handled

633Routing MIDI via ReWire

633Considerations and limitations

634Key Commands

634Introduction

635Setting up key commands

638Setting up tool modifier keys

639The default key commands

650 File handling

650 Importing audio

655 Exporting and importing standard MIDI files

659Exporting and importing MIDI loops

660Customizing

660Using the Setup options

661Appearance

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

689General

690MIDI

695MediaBay

695Metering

696Record

698Transport

700VST

703Video

704 Index

Introduction

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

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

Platform-Independent Documentation

The documentation applies to the operating systems Windows and 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:

•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

Allows you to select a driver.

Release Driver when Application is in Background

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

Input Latency

Shows the input latency of the audio hardware.

Output Latency

Shows the output latency of the audio hardware.

ASIO-Guard Latency

Shows the ASIO-Guard latency.

HW Sample Rate

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

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

Adjust for Record Latency

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

Record Shift

Allows you to shift the recordings by the specified value.

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 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

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

Direct Monitoring

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

Ports Reset

Allows you to reset all port names and visibilities.

I/O

The port input/output status.

Port System Name

The system name of the port.

Show As

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

Visible

Allows you to activate/deactivate audio ports.

State

The state of the audio port.

Using External Clock Sources

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

PROCEDURE

1.Select 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

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

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.

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 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

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

VST Connections

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

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 popup menu.

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

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:

•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.

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.

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