Steinberg Cubase Essential - 4.0 Plug-in Reference

Plug-in Reference

Original manual by Anders Nordmark

Revision: Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer

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.

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are registered trademarks.

Release Date: January 30, 2008

© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2008.

All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

5 The included effect plug-ins

6 Introduction
6 Delay plug-ins
7 Distortion plug-ins
8 Dynamics plug-ins
12 Filter plug-ins
15 Mastering – UV 22 HR
15 Modulation plug-ins
20 Other plug-ins
22 Restoration plug-ins
22 Reverb plug-ins
23 Spatial plug-ins

24 HALionOne

25 Introduction
25 HALionOne parameters

27 MIDI effects

28 Introduction
28 Arpache 5
29 Autopan
30 Chorder
31 Compress
32 Density
32 Micro Tuner
32 MIDIControl
33 MIDIEcho
34 Note to CC
34 Quantizer
35 Step Designer
37 Track Control
38 Track FX
39 Transformer

45 Index

4

Table of Contents

1

The included effect plug-ins

Introduction

Delay plug-ins

This chapter contains descriptions of the included plug-in
effects and their parameters.

In Cubase Essential, the plug-in effects are arranged in a
number of different categories. This chapter is arranged in
the same fashion, with the plug-ins listed in separate sec­tions for each effect category.

Ö Most of the included effects are compatible with
VST3, this is indicated by an icon in front of the name of
the plug-in as displayed in plug-in selection menus (for
further information, see the chapter “Audio Effects” in the
Operation Manual).

This section contains descriptions of the plug-ins in the
“Delay” category.

MonoDelay

This is a mono delay effect that can either be tempo-based
or use freely specified delay time settings.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Delay This is where you specify the base note value for the delay

Tempo sync
on/off

Feedback This sets the number of repeats for the delay.

Filter Lo This filter affects the feedback loop of the effect signal

Filter Hi This filter affects the feedback loop of the effect signal

Mix Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the ef-

if tempo sync is on (1/1–1/32, straight, triplet or dotted). If
tempo sync is off, it sets the delay time in milliseconds.

The button below the Delay Time knob is used to turn
tempo sync on or off. If set to off, the delay time can be set
freely with the Delay Time knob, without sync to tempo.

and allows you to roll off low frequencies from 10Hz up
to 800Hz. The button below the knob activates/deacti­vates the filter.

and allows you to roll off high frequencies from 20kHz
down to 1.2kHz. The button below the knob activates/
deactivates the filter.

fect. If MonoDelay is used as a send effect, this should be
set to maximum as you can control the dry/effect balance
with the send.

6

The included effect plug-ins

PingPongDelay

This is a stereo delay effect that alternates each delay re­peat between the left and right channels. The effect can
either be tempo-based or use freely specified delay time
settings.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Delay This is where you specify the base note value for the delay

Tempo sync
on/off

Feedback This sets the number of repeats for the delay.

Filter Lo This filter affects the feedback loop and allows you to roll

Filter Hi This filter affects the feedback loop and allows you to roll

Spatial This parameter sets the stereo width for the left/right re-

Mix Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the

if tempo sync is on (1/1–1/32, straight, triplet or dotted). If
tempo sync is off, it sets the delay time in milliseconds.

The button below the Delay Time knob is used to turn
tempo sync on or off. If set to off, the delay time can be set
freely with the Delay Time knob, without sync to tempo.

off low frequencies up to 800 Hz. The button below the
knob activates/deactivates the filter.

off high frequencies from 20kHz down to 1.2kHz. The
button below the knob activates/deactivates the filter.

peats. Turn clockwise for a more pronounced stereo
“ping-pong” effect.

effect. If PingPongDelay is used as a send effect, this
should be set to maximum as you can control the dry/
effect balance with the send.

Distortion plug-ins

This section contains descriptions of the plug-ins in the
“Distortion” category.

AmpSimulator

AmpSimulator is a distortion effect, emulating the sound
of various types of guitar amp and speaker cabinet combi­nations. A wide selection of amp and cabinet models is
available.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Drive Governs the amount of amp overdrive.

Bass Tone control for the low frequencies.

Middle Tone control for the mid frequencies.

Treble Tone control for the high frequencies.

Presence Use this to boost or damp the higher frequencies.

Volume This controls the overall output level.

Amplifier This allows you to select between various amplifier mod-

Cabinet Various speaker cabinet models. Click on the currently

Damping Lo/Hi Further tone controls for shaping the sound of the se-

els. Click on the currently selected amplifier name to
open a pop-up with all the available amplifier models.
This section can be bypassed by selecting “No Amp”.

selected cabinet name to open a pop-up with all the
available amplifier models. This section can be bypassed
by selecting “No Speaker”.

lected speaker cabinet. Click on the values, enter a new
value and press the [Enter] key.

7

The included effect plug-ins

DaTube

This effect emulates the characteristic warm, lush sound
of a tube amplifier.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Drive Regulates the pre-gain of the “amplifier”. Use high values

Balance This controls the balance between the signal processed

Output Adjusts the post-gain, or output level, of the “amplifier”.

if you want an overdriven sound just on the verge of
distortion.

by the Drive parameter and the dry input signal. For max­imum drive effect, set this to its highest value.

Distortion

Distortion will add crunch to your tracks.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Boost Increases the distortion amount.

Feedback This parameter feeds part of the output signal back to the

Tone Lets you select a frequency range to which to apply the

Spatial Changes the distortion characteristics of the left and

Output Raises or lowers the signal going out of the effect.

effect input, increasing the distortion effect.

distortion effect.

right channel, thus creating a stereo effect.

Dynamics plug-ins

This section contains descriptions of the plug-ins in the
“Dynamics” category.

Gate

Gating, or noise gating, silences audio signals below a
certain set threshold level. As soon as the signal level ex­ceeds the set threshold, the gate opens to let the signal
through.

The available parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Threshold
(-60–0dB)

state LED This indicates whether the gate is open (LED lights up in

Filter buttons When the Side-chain button (see below) is activated, you

Side-chain
(Off/On)

Center
(50Hz–
20000Hz)

Q-Factor
(0.01–10000)

Monitor
(Off/On)

This setting determines the level where Gate is activated.
Signal levels above the set threshold trigger the gate to
open, and signal levels below the set threshold will close
the gate.

green), closed (LED lights up in red) or something in be­tween (LED lights up in yellow).

can use these buttons to set the filter type to either Low
Pass, Band Pass or High Pass.

This button (below the Center knob) activates the filter. The
input signal can then be shaped according to set Center
and Q-Factor parameters which may be useful in tailoring
how the Gate operates.

Sets the center frequency of the filter.

Sets the Resonance of the filter.

Allows you to monitor the filtered signal.

8

The included effect plug-ins

Parameter Description

Attack
(0.1–1000
ms)

Hold
(0–2000ms)

Release
(10–1000ms
or “Auto”)

Analysis
(0–100)
(Pure Peak to
Pure RMS)

Live mode
(On/Off)

This parameter sets the time it takes for the gate to open af­ter being triggered. If the Live button (see below) is deacti­vated, it will ensure that the gate will already be open when a
signal above the threshold level is played back. Gate man­ages this by “looking ahead” in the audio material, checking
for signals loud enough to pass the gate.

This determines how long the gate stays open after the sig­nal drops below the threshold level.

This parameter sets the amount of time it takes for the gate
to close (after the set hold time). If the “Auto” button is ac­tivated, Gate will find an optimal release setting, depending
on the audio program material.

This parameter determines whether the input signal is anal­ysed according to Peak or RMS values (or a mixture of
both). A value of 0 is pure Peak and 100 pure RMS. RMS
mode operates using the average power of the audio signal
as a basis, whereas Peak mode operates more on peak lev­els. As a general guideline, RMS mode works better on ma­terial with few transients such as vocals, and Peak mode
better for percussive material, with a lot of transient peaks.

When activated, Live mode disengages the “look ahead”
feature of the Gate. Look ahead does produce more accu­rate processing but will add a certain amount of latency as
a trade-off. When Live mode is activated, there is no la­tency, which might be better for “live” processing.

Limiter

Limiter is designed to ensure that the output level never
exceeds a certain set output level, to avoid clipping in fol­lowing devices. Limiter can adjust and optimize the Re­lease parameter automatically according to the audio
material, or it can be set manually. Limiter also features
separate meters for the input, output and the amount of
limiting (middle meters).

The available parameters are the following:

Parameter Description

Input
(-24–+24dB)

Output
(-24–+6dB)

Release
(0.1–1000ms
or
Auto mode)

Allows you to adjust the input gain.

This setting determines the maximum output level.

This parameter sets the amount of time it takes for the gain
to return to its original level. If the “Auto” button is activated,
Limiter will automatically find an optimal release setting that
varies depending on the audio material.

9

The included effect plug-ins

MIDI Gate

Gating, in its fundamental form, silences audio signals be­low a certain set threshold level. That means, when a sig­nal rises above the set level, the Gate opens to let the
signal through while signals below the set level are cut off.
MIDI Gate, however, is a Gate effect that is not triggered
by threshold levels, but instead by MIDI notes. Hence it
needs both audio and MIDI data to function.

Setting up

MIDI Gate requires both an audio signal and a MIDI input
to function.

To set it up, proceed as follows:

1. Select the audio to be affected by the MIDI Gate.

This can be audio material from any audio track, or even a live audio input
(provided you have a low latency audio card).

2. Select the MIDI Gate as an insert effect for the audio
track.

The MIDI Gate control panel opens.

3. Select a MIDI track to control the MIDI Gate.

This can be an empty MIDI track, or a MIDI track containing data, it
doesn’t matter. However, if you wish to play the MIDI Gate in real-time –
as opposed to having a recorded part playing it – the track has to be
selected for the effect to receive the MIDI output.

4. Open the Output Routing pop-up menu for the MIDI
track and select the MIDI Gate option.

The MIDI Output from the track is now routed to the MIDI Gate.

What to do next depends on whether you are using live or
recorded audio and whether you are using real-time or re­corded MIDI. We will assume for the purposes of this
manual that you are using recorded audio, and play the
MIDI in real-time.

Make sure the MIDI track is selected and start playback.

5. Now play a few notes on your MIDI keyboard.

As you can hear, the audio track material is affected by what you play on
your MIDI keyboard.

The following MIDI Gate parameters are available:

Parameter Description

Attack This is used for determining how long it should take for

Hold Regulates how long the Gate remains open after a Note

Release This determines how long it takes for the Gate to close

Note To
Attack

Note To
Release

Velocity To
VCA

Hold Mode Use this switch to set the Hold Mode. In Note-On mode,

the Gate to open after receiving a signal that triggers it.

On or Note Off message (see Hold Mode below).

(in addition to the value set with the Hold parameter).

The value you specify here determines to which extent
the velocity values of the MIDI notes should affect the At­tack. The higher the value, the more the Attack time will
increase with high note velocities. Negative values will
give shorter Attack times with high velocities. If you do
not wish to use this parameter, set it to the 0 position.

The value you specify here determines to which extent
the velocity values of the MIDI notes should affect the Re­lease. The higher the value, the more the Release time
will increase. If you do not wish to use this parameter, set
it to the 0 position.

This controls to which extent the velocity values of the
MIDI notes determine the output volume. A value of 127
means that the volume is controlled entirely by the veloc­ity values, while a value of 0 means that velocities will
have no effect on the volume.

the Gate will only remain open for the time set with the
Hold and Release parameters, regardless of the length of
the MIDI note that triggered the Gate. In Note-Off mode
on the other hand, the Gate will remain open for as long
as the MIDI note plays, and then apply the Hold and Re­lease parameters.

10

The included effect plug-ins

VSTDynamics

Gate

Compressor

VSTDynamics is an advanced dynamics processor. It com­bines three separate processors: Gate, Compressor and
Limiter, covering a variety of dynamic processing functions.
The window is divided into three sections, containing con­trols and meters for each processor.

Activating the individual processors

You activate the individual processors using the buttons
at the bottom of the plug-in panel.

The Gate section

Gating, or noise gating, is a method of dynamic processing
that silences audio signals below a certain set threshold
level. As soon as the signal level exceeds the set threshold,
the gate opens to let the signal through. The Gate trigger
input can also be filtered using an internal side-chain.

The available parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Threshold
(-60–0dB)

state This indicates whether the gate is open (LED lights up in

Side-chain
(On/Off)

LP (Lowpass),
BP (Bandpass),
HP (Highpass)

Center
(50–22000Hz)

Q-Factor
(0.001–10000)

This setting determines the level where Gate is activated.
Signal levels above the set threshold trigger the gate to
open, and signal levels below the set threshold will close
the gate.

green), closed (LED lights up in red) or something in be­tween (LED lights up in yellow).

This button activates the internal side-chain filter. This
lets you filter out parts of the signal that might otherwise
trigger the gate in places you don’t want it to, or to boost
frequencies you wish to accentuate, allowing for more
control over the gate function.

These buttons set the basic filter mode.

This sets the center frequency of the filter.

This sets the resonance or width of the filter.

Limiter

Routing selector

Parameter Description

Monitor
(Off/On)

Attack
(0.1–100ms)

Hold
(0–2000ms)

Release
(10–1000ms
or “Auto”)

Allows you to monitor the filtered signal.

This parameter sets the time it takes for the gate to open
after being triggered.

This determines how long the gate stays open after the
signal drops below the threshold level.

This parameter sets the amount of time it takes for the
gate to close (after the set hold time). If the “Auto” button
is activated, Gate will find an optimal release setting, de­pending on the audio program material.

The Compressor section

Compressor reduces the dynamic range of the audio,
making softer sounds louder or louder sounds softer, or
both. Compressor functions like a standard compressor
with separate controls for threshold, ratio, attack, release
and make-up gain parameters. Compressor features a
separate display that graphically illustrates the compres­sor curve shaped according to the Threshold, Ratio and
MakeUp Gain parameter settings. Compressor also fea­tures a Gain Reduction meter that shows the amount of
gain reduction in dB, and a program dependent Auto fea­ture for the Release parameter.

The available parameters work as follows:

Parameter Description

Threshold
(-60–0dB)

Ratio
(1:1–8:1)

Make-Up
(0–24dB)

Attack
(0.1–100ms)

Release
(10–1000ms
or “Auto”)

Graphic
display

This setting determines the level where Compressor “kicks
in”. Signal levels above the set threshold are affected, but
signal levels below are not processed.

Ratio determines the amount of gain reduction applied to
signals over the set threshold. A ratio of 3:1 means that for
every 3dB the input level increases, the output level will in­crease by only 1dB.

This parameter is used to compensate for output gain loss,
caused by compression. When Auto is on, gain loss will be
compensated automatically.

This determines how fast Compressor will respond to sig­nals above the set threshold. If the attack time is long, more
of the early part of the signal (attack) will pass through un­processed.

Sets the amount of time it takes for the gain to return to its
original level when the signal drops below the Threshold
level. If the “Auto” button is activated, Compressor will au­tomatically find an optimal release setting that varies de­pending on the audio material.

Use the graphic display to graphically set the Threshold or
the Ratio value.

11

The included effect plug-ins

The Limiter section

Limiter is designed to ensure that the output level never
exceeds a certain set output level, to avoid clipping in fol­lowing devices. Conventional limiters usually require very
accurate setting up of the attack and release parameters,
to prevent the output level from going beyond the set
threshold level. Limiter adjusts and optimizes these pa­rameters automatically, according to the audio material.
You can also adjust the Release parameter manually.

The available parameters are the following:

Parameter Description

Output
(-24–+6dB)

Soft Clip
(On/Off)

Release
(10–1000ms
or “Auto”)

This setting determines the maximum output level. Signal
levels above the set threshold are affected, but signal levels
below are left unaffected.

Soft Clipper acts differently compared to the limiter. When
the signal level exceeds -6dB, SoftClip starts limiting (or
clipping) the signal “softly”, at the same time generating
harmonics which add a warm, tubelike characteristic to the
audio material.

This parameter sets the amount of time it takes for the gain
to return to its original level when the signal drops below
the threshold level. If the “Auto” button is activated, Limiter
will automatically find an optimal release setting that varies
depending on the audio material.

The Module Configuration button

Filter plug-ins

This section contains descriptions of the plug-ins in the
“Filter” category.

DualFilter

This effect filters out certain frequencies while allowing
others to pass through.

The following parameters are available:

Parameter Description

Position This parameter sets the filter cutoff frequency. If you set

Resonance Sets the sound characteristic of the filter. With higher

this to a negative value, DualFilter will act as a low-pass
filter. Positive values cause DualFilter to act as a high­pass filter.

values, a ringing sound is heard.

In the bottom right corner of the plug-in panel you will find
a button with which you can set the signal flow order for
the three processors. Changing the order of the proces­sors can produce different results, and the available op­tions allow you to quickly compare what works best for a
given situation. Simply click the Module Configuration but­ton to change to a different configuration. There are three
routing options:

• C-G-L (Compressor-Gate-Limit)

• G-C-L (Gate-Compressor-Limit)

• C-L-G (Compressor-Limit-Gate)

The included effect plug-ins

StepFilter

StepFilter is a pattern-controlled multimode filter that can
create rhythmic, pulsating filter effects.

12

General operation

StepFilter can produce two simultaneous 16-step patterns
for the filter cutoff and resonance parameters, synchronized
to the sequencer tempo.

Setting step values

• Setting step values is done by clicking in the pattern
grid windows.

• Individual step entries can be freely dragged up or down
the vertical axis, or directly set by clicking in an empty grid
box. By click-dragging left or right, consecutive step entries
will be set to the pointer position.

Setting filter cutoff values in the grid window.

• The horizontal axis shows the pattern steps 1–16 from
left to right, and the vertical axis determines the (relative)
filter cutoff frequency and resonance setting.

The higher up on the vertical axis a step value is entered, the higher the
relative filter cutoff frequency or filter resonance setting.

• By starting playback and editing the patterns for the cut­off and resonance parameters, you can hear how your filter
patterns affect the sound source connected to StepFilter
directly.

Using pattern copy and paste to create variations

You can use the Copy and Paste buttons below the pattern
selector to copy a pattern to another pattern memory loca­tion, which is useful for creating variations on a pattern.

• Select the pattern you wish to copy, click the Copy but­ton, select another pattern memory location and click Paste.

The pattern is copied to the new location, and can now be edited to cre­ate variations using the original pattern as a starting point.

StepFilter parameters

Parameter/
Value

Base Cutoff This sets the base filter cutoff frequency. Cutoff values

Base
Resonance

Glide This will apply glide between the pattern step values,

Filter Mode This slider selects between lowpass (LP), bandpass (BP)

Sync 1/1 to
1/32 (Straight,
Triplet or Dotted)

Output Sets the overall volume.

Mix Adjusts the mix between dry and processed signal.

Description

set in the Cutoff grid window are values relative to the
Base Cutoff value.

This sets the base filter resonance. Resonance values set
in the Resonance grid window are values relative to the
Base Resonance value. Note that very high Base Reso­nance settings can produce loud ringing effects at cer­tain frequencies.

causing values to change more smoothly.

or highpass (HP) filter modes (from left to right respec­tively).

This sets the pattern beat resolution, i.e. what note values
the pattern will play in relation to the tempo.

Selecting new patterns

• Created patterns are saved with the project, and up to 8
different cutoff and resonance patterns can be saved in­ternally.

Both the cutoff and resonance patterns are saved together in the 8 Pattern
memories.

• To select new patterns you use the pattern selector.

New patterns are all set to the same step value by default.

Pattern Selector

The included effect plug-ins

13

ToneBooster

ToneBooster is a filter that allows you to raise the gain in a
selected frequency range. It is particularly useful when in­serted before AmpSimulator in the plug-in chain (see

“AmpSimulator” on page 7), greatly enhancing the tonal

varieties available.

The following parameters are available:

Parameter Description

Tone This sets the center filter frequency.

Gain Allows you to adjust the gain of the selected frequency

Width This sets the resonance of the filter.

Mode This sets the basic operational mode of the filter; Peak or

range by up to 24dB.

Bandpass.

WahWah

WahWah is a variable slope bandpass filter that can be
auto-controlled via MIDI modeling the well-known analog
pedal effect (see below). You can independently specify
the frequency, width and the gain for the Lo and Hi Pedal
positions. The crossover point between the Lo and Hi
Pedal positions is at 50.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Pedal This controls the filter frequency sweep.

Freq Lo/Hi Sets the frequency of the filter for the Lo and Hi Pedal

Width Lo/Hi Sets the width (resonance) of the filter for the Lo and Hi

Gain Lo/Hi Sets the gain of the filter for the Lo and Hi Pedal posi-

Slope Specifies the slope of the filter; 6dB or 12 dB.

MIDI control

For real-time MIDI control of the Pedal parameter, MIDI
must be directed to the WahWah plug-in.

• Whenever the WahWah has been added as an insert
effect (for an audio track or an FX channel), it will be avail­able on the Output Routing pop-up menu for MIDI tracks.

If WahWah is selected on the Output Routing menu, MIDI will be di­rected to the plug-in from the selected track.

positions.

Pedal positions.

tions.

14

The included effect plug-ins

Mastering – UV 22 HR

The UV22 HR is a dithering plug-in, based on an advanced
algorithm developed by Apogee. For an introduction to the
concept of dithering, see the chapter “Audio Effects” in the
Operation Manunal.

The following options can be set in the UV 22 HR control
panel:

Option Description

Hi Try this first, it is the most “all-round” setting.

Low This applies a lower level of dither noise.

Auto black When this is activated, the dither noise is gated (muted)

Bit Resolution The UV22 HR supports dithering to multiple resolutions:

!

Dither should always be applied post output bus
fader.

during silent passages in the material.

8, 16, 20 or 24 bits. You select the desired resolution by
clicking the corresponding button.

Modulation plug-ins

This section contains descriptions of the plug-ins in the
“Modulation” category.

Chorus

This is a single stage chorus effect. It works by doubling
whatever is sent into it with a slightly detuned version.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Tempo sync
on/off

Rate If tempo sync is on, this is where you specify the base

Width This determines the depth of the chorus effect. Higher

Spatial This sets the stereo width of the effect. Turn clockwise

Mix Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the ef-

Delay This parameter affects the frequency range of the modu-

Shape This changes the shape of the modulating waveform, al-

Filter Lo/Hi These parameters allow you to roll off low and high fre-

The button below the Rate knob is used to switch tempo
sync on or off. The button is lit when tempo sync is on.

note value for tempo syncing the chorus sweep (1/1 to
1/32, straight, triplet or dotted).
If tempo sync is off, the sweep rate can be set freely with
the Rate knob, without sync to tempo.

settings produce a more pronounced effect.

for a wider stereo effect.

fect. If Chorus is used as a send effect, this should be set
to maximum as you can control the dry/effect balance
with the send.

lation sweep, by adjusting the initial delay time.

tering the character of the chorus sweep. Sine and trian­gle waveforms are available.

quencies of the effect signal, respectively.

15

The included effect plug-ins

Flanger

Metalizer

Flanger is a classic flanger effect with added stereo
enhancement.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Tempo sync
on/off

Rate If tempo sync is on, this is where you specify the base

Range Lo/Hi This sets the frequency boundaries for the flanger sweep.

Feedback This determines the character of the flanger effect.

Spatial This sets the stereo width of the effect. Turn clockwise

Mix Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the ef-

Shape This changes the shape of the modulating waveform, al-

Delay This parameter affects the frequency range of the modu-

Manual If this is activated, the flanger sweep will be static, i.e. no

Filter Lo/Hi These parameters allow you to roll off low and high fre-

The button below the Rate knob is used to switch tempo
sync on or off. The button is lit when tempo sync is on.

note value for tempo syncing the flanger sweep (1/1 to
1/32, straight, triplet or dotted).
If tempo sync is off, the sweep rate can be set freely with
the Rate knob, without sync to tempo.

Higher settings produce a more “metallic” sounding
sweep.

for a wider stereo effect.

fect. If the Flanger is used as a send effect, this should be
set to maximum as you can control the dry/effect balance
with the send.

tering the character of the flanger sweep.

lation sweep, by adjusting the initial delay time.

modulation. You can instead change the sweep position
manually by turning this knob.

quencies of the effect signal, respectively.

The Metalizer feeds the audio signal through a variable
frequency filter, with tempo sync or time modulation and
feedback control.

Parameter Description

Feedback The higher the value, the more “metallic” the sound.

Sharpness Governs the character of the filter effect. The higher the

Tone Governs the feedback frequency. The effect of this will

On button Turns filter modulation on and off. When turned off, the

Mono button When this is on, the output of the Metalizer will be in mono.

Speed If tempo sync is on, this is where you specify the base

Tempo sync
on/off

Output Sets the overall volume.

Mix Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the ef-

value, the narrower the affected frequency area, produc­ing sharper sound and a more pronounced effect.

be more noticeable with high Feedback settings.

Metalizer will work as a static filter.

note value for tempo-syncing the effect (1/1 to 1/32,
straight, triplet or dotted). Note that there is no note value
modifier for this effect.
If tempo sync is off, the modulation speed can be set
freely with the Speed knob, without sync to tempo.

The button above the Speed knob is used to switch tempo
sync on or off. The button is lit when tempo sync is on.

fect. If Metalizer is used as a send effect, this should be
set to maximum as you can control the dry/effect balance
with the send.

16

The included effect plug-ins

Phaser

Phaser produces the well-known “swooshing” phasing
effect with additional stereo enhancement.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Tempo sync
on/off

Rate If tempo sync is on, this is where you specify the base

Width The width of the modulation effect between higher and

Feedback This determines the character of the phaser effect.

Spatial When using multi-channel audio, Spatial creates a 3-di-

Mix Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the ef-

Manual If this is activated, the phaser sweep will be static, i.e. no

Filter Lo/Hi These parameters allow you to roll off low and high fre-

The button below the Rate knob is used to switch tempo
sync on or off. The button is lit when tempo sync is on.

note value for tempo syncing the phaser sweep (1/1 to
1/32, straight, triplet or dotted).
If tempo sync is off, the sweep rate can be set freely with
the Rate knob, without sync to tempo.

lower frequencies.

Higher settings produce a more pronounced effect.

mensional impression by delaying modulation in each
channel.

fect. If the Phaser is used as a send effect, this should be
set to maximum as you can control the dry/effect balance
with the send.

modulation. You can instead change the sweep position
manually by turning this knob.

quencies of the effect signal, respectively.

Ringmodulator

The Ringmodulator can produce complex, bell-like enhar­monic sounds. Ring modulators work by multiplying two
audio signals. The ring modulated output contains added
frequencies generated by the sum of, and the difference
between, the frequencies of the two signals.

The Ringmodulator has a built-in oscillator that is multi­plied with the input signal to produce the effect.

Parameter Description

Oscillator LFO
Amount

Oscillator Env.
Amount

Oscillator
Wave

Oscillator
Range

Oscillator
Frequency

Oscillator
Roll-Off

LFO Speed Sets the LFO Speed.

LFO Env.
Amount

Controls how much the oscillator frequency is affected
by the LFO.

Controls how much the oscillator frequency is affected
by the envelope (which is triggered by the input signal).
Positive and negative values can be set, with center posi­tion representing no modulation. Left of center, a loud in­put signal will decrease the oscillator pitch, whereas right
of center the oscillator pitch will increase when fed a loud
input.

Selects the oscillator waveform; square, sine, saw or
triangle.

Determines the frequency range of the oscillator in Hz.

Sets the oscillator frequency +/- 2 octaves within the se­lected range.

Cuts high frequencies in the oscillator waveform, to
soften the overall sound. This is best used when harmon­ically rich waveforms are selected (e.g. square or saw).

Controls how much the input signal level – via the enve­lope generator – affects the LFO speed. Positive and
negative values can be set, with center position repre­senting no modulation. Left of center, a loud input signal
will slow down the LFO, whereas right of center a loud in­put signal will speed it up.

17

The included effect plug-ins

Parameter Description

LFO Waveform Selects the LFO waveform; square, sine, saw or triangle.

Invert Stereo This inverts the LFO waveform for the right channel of the

Envelope
Generator
(Attack and
Decay dials)

Lock L<R When this button is enabled, the L and R input signals

Output Sets the overall volume.

Mix Adjusts the mix between dry and processed signal.

oscillator, which produces a wider stereo perspective for
the modulation.

The Envelope Generator section controls how the input
signal is converted to envelope data, which can then be
used to control oscillator pitch and LFO speed. It has two
main controls:
Attack sets how fast the envelope output level rises in re­sponse to a rising input signal.
Decay controls how fast the envelope output level falls in
response to a falling input signal.

are merged, and produce the same envelope output level
for both oscillator channels. When disabled, each chan­nel has its own envelope, which affects the two channels
of the oscillator independently.

Parameter Description

Fast Fine adjustment of the high rotor Fast speed.

Amp Mod High rotor amplitude modulation.

Freq Mod High rotor frequency modulation.

Slow Fine adjustment of the low rotor Slow speed.

Fast Fine adjustment of the low rotor Fast speed.

Accel Fine adjustment of the low rotor acceleration time.

Amp Mod. Adjusts amplitude modulation depth.

Level Adjusts overall bass level.

Phase Adjusts the phasing amount in the sound of the high rotor.

Angle Sets the simulated microphone angle. 0 = mono, 180 =

Distance Sets the simulated microphone distance from the

Output Adjusts the overall output level.

Mix Adjusts the mix between dry and processed signals.

one mic on each side.

speaker in inches.

Rotary

The Rotary plug-in simulates the classic effect of a rotary
speaker. A rotary speaker cabinet features variable speed
rotating speakers to produce a swirling chorus effect, com­monly used with organs. Rotary features all the parameters
associated with the real thing.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Speed (Stop/
Slow/Fast)

Mode Selects whether the Slow/Fast setting is a switch or a

Speed Mod Selects the Rotary speed from 0 (Stop) to 100 (Fast).

Overdrive Applies a soft overdrive or distortion.

Crossover
Freq.

Slow Fine adjustment of the high rotor Slow speed.

Accel. Fine adjustment of the high rotor acceleration time.

This controls the speed of the Rotary in three steps.

variable control. When switch mode is selected and Pitch
Bend is the controller, the speed will switch with an up or
down flick of the bender. Other controllers switch at 64.

Sets the crossover frequency (200–3000Hz) between
the low and high frequency loudspeakers.

Directing MIDI to the Rotary

For real-time MIDI control of the Speed parameter, MIDI
must be directed to the Rotary.

• Whenever the Rotary has been added as an insert ef­fect (for an audio track or an FX channel), it will be avail­able on the Output Routing pop-up menu for MIDI tracks.

If Rotary is selected on the “out:” menu, MIDI will be directed to the plug­in from the selected track.

18

The included effect plug-ins

Tranceformer

Tranceformer is a ring modulator effect, in which the in­coming audio is ring modulated by an internal, variable fre­quency oscillator, producing new harmonics. A second
oscillator can be used to modulate the frequency of the
first oscillator, in sync with the Song tempo if needed.

Parameter Description

Waveform
buttons

Tone Sets the frequency (pitch) of the modulating oscillator

Depth Governs the depth of the pitch modulation.

Speed If tempo sync is on, this is where you specify the base

Tempo sync
on/off

On button Turns modulation of the pitch parameter on or off.

Mono button Governs whether the output will be stereo or mono.

Output Adjusts the output level of the effect.

Mix Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the

Ö Note that clicking and dragging in the display allows
you to adjust the Tone and Depth parameters at the same
time!

Sets the pitch modulation waveform.

(1 to 5000Hz).

note value for tempo-syncing the effect (1/1 to 1/32,
straight, triplet or dotted). Note that there is no note value
modifier for this effect. If tempo sync is off, the modula­tion speed can be set freely with the Speed knob, without
sync to tempo.

The button above the Speed knob is used to switch tempo
sync on or off. The button is lit when tempo sync is on.

effect.

Tremolo

Tremolo produces amplitude (volume) modulation.

Parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Tempo sync
on/off

Rate If tempo sync is on, this is where you specify the base

Depth This governs the depth of the amplitude modulation.

Spatial This will add a stereo effect to the modulation.

Output Adjusts the output volume.

The button below the Rate knob is used to switch tempo
sync on or off. The button is lit when tempo sync is on.

note value for tempo-syncing the effect (1/1 to 1/32,
straight, triplet or dotted).
If tempo sync is off, the modulation speed can be set
freely with the Rate knob, without sync to tempo.

Vibrato

The Vibrato plug-in produces pitch modulation.

Parameter Description

Tempo sync
on/off

Rate If tempo sync is on, this is where you specify the base

Depth This governs the depth of the pitch modulation.

Spatial This will add a stereo effect to the modulation.

The button below the Rate knob is used to switch tempo
sync on or off. The button is lit when tempo sync is on.

note value for tempo-syncing the effect (1/1 to 1/32,
straight, triplet or dotted).
If tempo sync is off, the modulation speed can be set
freely with the Rate knob, without sync to tempo.

19

The included effect plug-ins

Other plug-ins

This section contains descriptions of the plug-ins in the
“Others” category.

Bitcrusher

If you’re into lo-fi sound, Bitcrusher is the effect for you. It
offers the possibility of decimating and truncating the in­put audio signal by bit reduction, to get a noisy, distorted
sound. You can for example make a 24-bit audio signal
sound like an 8 or 4-bit signal, or even render it completely
garbled and unrecognizable. The parameters are:

Parameter Description

Mode Select one of four operating modes for the Bitcrusher.

Sample Divider This sets the amount by which the audio samples are

Depth Use this to set the desired bit resolution. A setting of 24

Output Governs the output level from the Bitcrusher. Drag the

Mix This slider regulates the balance between the output from

Each mode will produce a result sounding a bit different.
Modes I and III are nastier and noisier, while modes II and
IV are more subtle.

decimated. At the highest setting (65), nearly all of the in­formation describing the original audio signal will be elim­inated, turning the signal into unrecognizable noise.

gives the highest audio quality, while a setting of 1 will
create mostly noise.

slider upwards to increase the level.

the Bitcrusher and the original audio signal. Drag the slider
upwards for a more dominant effect, and drag it down­wards if you want the original signal to be more prominent.

Chopper

Chopper is a combined tremolo and autopan effect. It can
use different waveforms to modulate the level (tremolo) or
left-right stereo position (pan), either using tempo sync or
manual modulation speed settings. The parameters are as
follows:

Parameter Description

Waveform
buttons

Depth Sets the depth of the Chopper effect. This can also be

Speed If tempo sync is on, this is where you specify the base

Tempo sync
on/off

Stereo/Mono
button

Mix Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the ef-

Sets the modulation waveform.

set by clicking in the graphic display.

note value for tempo-syncing the effect (1/1 to 1/32,
straight, triplet or dotted). Note that there is no note value
modifier for this effect.
If tempo sync is off, the tremolo/auto-pan speed can be
set freely with the Speed knob, without sync to tempo.

The button above the Speed knob is used to switch
tempo sync on (the button lights up) or off.

Determines whether the Chopper will work as an auto­panner (button set to “Stereo”) or a tremolo effect (but­ton set to “Mono”).

fect. If Chopper is used as a send effect, this should be
set to maximum.

20

The included effect plug-ins

Octaver

Tuner

This plug-in can generate two additional voices that track
the pitch of the input signal one octave and two octaves
below the original pitch, respectively. Octaver is best used
with monophonic signals. The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Direct This adjusts the mix of the original signal and the gener-

Octave 1 This adjusts the level of the generated signal one octave

Octave 2 This adjusts the level of the generated signal two octaves

ated voice(s). A value of 0 means only the generated and
transposed signal is heard. By raising this value, more of
the original signal is heard.

below the original pitch. Set to 0 means the voice is
muted.

below the original pitch. Set to 0 means the voice is
muted.

This is a guitar tuner. Simply connect a guitar or other in­strument to an audio input and select the Tuner as an in­sert effect (make sure you deactivate any other effect that
alters pitch, like chorus or vibrato). When the instrument is
connected, proceed as follows:

• Play a note.

The key is shown in the middle of the display. In addition, the frequency in
Hz is shown in the bottom left corner and the octave range in the bottom
right corner. If the key is wrong (e.g. if you wish to tune the E string and the
key is shown as Fb), first tune the string so that the correct key is shown.

• The two arrows indicate any deviation in pitch by their
position. If the pitch is flat, they will be positioned in the
left half of the display, if the pitch is sharp they will be in
the right half.

The deviation is also shown (in Cent) in the upper area of the display.

• Tune the instrument so that the two arrows are in the
middle.

Repeat this procedure for each string.

21

The included effect plug-ins

Restoration plug-ins

Reverb plug-ins

This section contains descriptions of the plug-ins in the
“Restoration” category.

Grungelizer

The Grungelizer adds noise and static to your recordings
– kind of like listening to a radio with bad reception, or a
worn and scratched vinyl record. The available parameters
are as follows:

Parameter Description

Crackle This adds crackle to create that old vinyl record sound.

RPM switch When emulating the sound of a vinyl record, this switch

Noise This dial regulates the amount of static noise added.

Distort Use this dial to add distortion.

EQ Turn this dial to the right to cut off the low frequencies,

AC This emulates a constant, low hum of AC current.

Frequency
switch

Timeline This dial regulates the amount of overall effect. The far-

The farther to the right you turn the dial, the more crackle
is added.

lets you set the RPM (revolutions per minute) speed of
the record (33/45/78 RPM).

and create a more hollow, lo-fi sound.

This sets the frequency of the AC current (50 or 60Hz),
and thus the pitch of the AC hum.

ther to the right (1900) you turn this dial, the more notice­able the effect.

This section contains descriptions of the plug-ins in the
“Reverb” category.

RoomWorks SE

RoomWorks SE is a high-quality reverb plug-in. Room­Works SE has the following parameters:

Parameter Description

Pre-Delay The amount of time before the onset of reverb. This al-

Reverb Time Reverb Time in seconds.

Diffusion This affects the character of the reverb tail. Higher diffu-

High Level
Amount

Low Level
Amount

Mix Determines the blend of dry (unprocessed) signal to wet

lows you to simulate larger spaces by increasing the time
it takes for first reflections to reach the listener.

sion is smoother while less diffusion can be clearer. This
emulates changing the types of surfaces in a room (brick
vs. carpet for instance).

This affects the decay time of high frequencies. Normal
room reverb decays quicker in the high and low frequency
range than in the midrange. Lowering the level percentage
will cause high frequencies to decay quicker. Values above
100% will cause high frequencies to decay longer than
the midrange.

This affects the decay time of low frequencies. Normal
room reverb decays quicker in the high and low frequency
range than in the midrange. Lowering the level percentage
will cause low frequencies to decay quicker. Values above
100% will cause low frequencies to decay longer than the
midrange.

(processed) signal. When using RoomWorks SE inserted
in an FX channel, you will most likely want to set this to
100% or use the Send button.

22

The included effect plug-ins

Spatial plug-ins

This section contains descriptions of the plug-ins in the
“Spatial” category.

MonoToStereo

This effect will turn a mono signal into a “pseudo-stereo”
signal. The plug-in must be inserted on a stereo track
playing a mono file to work.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Width This controls the width or depth of the stereo enhance-

Delay This parameter increases the amount of differences be-

Color This parameter also generates differences between the

Mono This switches the output to mono, to check for possible

ment. Turn clockwise to increase the enhancement.

tween the left and right channels to further increase the
stereo effect.

channels to increase the stereo effect.

unwanted coloring of the sound which sometimes can
occur when creating an artificial stereo image.

StereoEnhancer

This plug-in will expand the stereo width of (stereo) audio
material. It cannot be used with mono files.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Width This controls the width or depth of the stereo enhance-

Delay This parameter increases the amount of differences be-

Color This parameter also generates differences between the

Mono This switches the output to mono, to check for possible

ment. Turn clockwise to increase the enhancement.

tween the left and right channels to further increase the
stereo effect.

channels to increase the stereo enhancement.

unwanted coloring of the sound which sometimes can
occur when enhancing the stereo image.

23

The included effect plug-ins

2

HALionOne

Introduction

HALionOne is a sample player that can play sound content
in the *.hsb (HALion Sound Bank) format. These samples
have associated preset files that store the panel settings
and reference the HSB samples. Included are several pre­sets (as *.vstpreset and *.trackpreset files).

The operation of HALionOne is very simple; load a preset
(*.vstpreset or *.trackpreset file for an Instrument Track) and
start playing! You do, however, have the option to tweak the
basic parameters to tailor the sound to your liking.

Parameter Description

DCA Decay Controls the time it takes the DCA signal to decay to the

DCA Sustain Controls the DCA signal level after the Decay phase, as

DCA Release Controls the DCA signal after a key is released.

DCA Amount Controls the amount of the DCA (amplifier) envelope.

sustain level.

long as you press the key on your MIDI keyboard.

These parameter assignments are used for many of the
HALionOne presets, but not for all. As stated above, other
parameters may be shown; these will be clearly labelled
on the panel. For most of the presets there are also asso­ciated effects – the effect parameters are usually as­signed to the quick controls on the right and typically
control the dry/wet mix of the effect.

Effect Bypass

• This button, located at the bottom right in the box dis­playing the preset name, allows you to bypass any effects.

The blue LED beside the button is lit if any effects are used in the preset.

HALionOne parameters

The HALionOne differs from other VST Instruments in that
the panel parameters shown can vary according to which
parameters are stored in the HSB file. HSB files cannot
be created with HALionOne – you need the full version of
HALion to do this – but when created, certain parameters
are assigned as part of the file and the associated pro­gram (or preset). This means that for each preset, only
these assigned parameters are shown on the instrument
panel. Typically, these are filter cutoff, DCA and DCF pa­rameters and any assigned effect parameters (the effects
are “built in”).

If you load HALionOne for an Instrument track and select,
for example, the “Draw Organ” preset, the following pa­rameters are shown:

Parameter Description

Cutoff This allows you to adjust filter frequency or cutoff. The fil-

Resonance Raising the filter resonance value will emphasize the fre-

DCF Amount Controls the amount of the DCF (filter) envelope.

DCA Attack Controls the time it takes for the DCA signal to reach its

ter used is a Waldorf Low Pass filter with a 24dB slope.

quencies around the set filter frequency.

highest level.

Efficiency slider

The Efficiency slider provides a way of balancing audio
quality vs. conservation of computer power. The lower the
setting, the more voices are available. As a trade-off,
sound quality is reduced.

Voices allocated

• The Voices field dynamically displays the number of
voices currently used.

MIDI and Disk activity LEDs

The MIDI activity LED indicates received MIDI input. The
Disk LED will light up green when samples are streamed
from disk, and red when samples cannot be loaded from
disk in time. In such a case you should consider lowering
the Efficiency slider. When the disk LED doesn’t light up,
samples are read from memory.

25

HALionOne

Locate Contents

If you have moved the HALionOne content files to a differ­ent location (i.e. any other location than the folder in which
it was stored at installation time), you need to use the Lo­cate Contents function to inform HALion One about
where to find its files. This is done as follows:

• Right-click anywhere on the control panel and select
“Locate contents”.

A file dialog opens where you can navigate to the folder location.

HALionOne and MIDI files

When the Preferences option “Import to Instrument Tracks”
is activated (on the MIDI–MIDI File page), importing a MIDI
file into Cubase Essential will automatically set up instru­ment tracks, with HALionOne as the associated instrument.
This allows you to quickly audition any imported MIDI files,
to change parameter settings or to add effects, etc.

26

HALionOne

3

MIDI effects

Introduction

This chapter describes the included MIDI realtime effects
and their parameters.

How to apply and handle MIDI effects is described in the
chapter “MIDI realtime parameters and effects” in the Op­eration Manual.

Arpache 5

A typical arpeggiator accepts a chord (a group of MIDI
notes) as input, and plays back each note in the chord
separately, with the playback order and speed set by the
user. The Arpache 5 arpeggiator does just that, and more.
Before describing the parameters, let’s look at how to cre­ate a simple, typical arpeggio:

1. Select a MIDI track and activate monitoring (or record
enable it) so that you can play “thru” the track.

Check that the track is properly set up for playback to a suitable MIDI in­strument.

2. Select and activate the arpeggiator.

For now, use it as an insert effect for the selected track.

3. In the arpeggiator panel, use the Quantize setting to
set the arpeggio speed.

The speed is set as a note value, relative to the project tempo. For exam­ple, setting Quantize to “16” means the arpeggio will be a pattern of six­teenth notes.

4. Use the Length setting to set the length of the arpeg­gio notes.

This allows you to create staccato arpeggios (Length smaller than the
Quantize setting) or arpeggio notes that overlap each other (Length
greater than Quantize).

5. Set the Semi-Range parameter to 12.

This will make the notes arpeggiate within an octave.

6. Play a chord on your MIDI instrument.

Now, instead of hearing the chord, you will hear the notes of the chord
played one by one, in an arpeggio.

7. Try the different arpeggio modes by clicking the Play­mode buttons.

The symbols on the buttons indicate the playback order for the notes (up,
down, up+down, etc.). The Play Order settings are described below.

Parameters

The Arpache 5 has the following settings:

Setting Description

Playmode
buttons

Quantize Determines the speed of the arpeggio, as a note value re-

Length Sets the length of the arpeggio notes, as a note value re-

Semi-Range Determines the arpeggiated note range, in semitones

Thru If this is activated, the notes sent to the arpeggiator (i.e.

Play Order If the “Order on” playmode is selected, you can use these

Allows you to select the playback order for the arpeggi­ated notes. The options are down+up, up+down, up,
down, random (“?” button) and “Order off”, in which case
you can set the playback order manually with the Play Or­der fields below.

lated to the project tempo. The range is 32T (1/32 note
triplets) to 1. (dotted note values).

lated to the project tempo. The range is the same as for
the Quantize setting.

counted from the lowest key you play. This works as fol­lows:
– Any notes you play that are outside this range will be
transposed in octave steps to fit within the range.
– If the range is more than one octave, octave-trans­posed copies of the notes you play will be added to the
arpeggio (as many octaves as fit within the range).

the chord you play) will be passed through the plug-in
(sent out together with the arpeggiated notes).

“slots” to specify a custom playback order for the arpeg­gio notes:
Each slot corresponds to a position in the arpeggio pat­tern. For each slot, you specify which note should be
played on that position by selecting a number. The num­bers correspond to the keys you play, counted from the
lowest pressed key.
So, if you play the notes C3-E3-G3 (a C major chord),
“1” would mean C3, “2” would mean E3, and “3” would
mean G3. Note that you can use the same number in sev­eral slots, creating arpeggio patterns that are not possi­ble using the standard play modes.

28

MIDI effects

Autopan

This plug-in works a bit like an LFO in a synthesizer, allow­ing you to send out continuously changing MIDI controller
messages. One typical use for this is automatic MIDI pan­ning (hence the name), but you can select any MIDI Con­tinuous Controller event type. The Autopan effect has the
following parameters:

Waveform selectors

These determine the shape of the controller curves sent
out. The results of most of these waveforms are obvious
from looking at the buttons, but a few of them require
some extra explanations:

This generates a “random” controller curve.

Density

This determines the density of the controller curves sent
out. The value can be set in ticks (1/480ths of quarter
notes), or as rhythmically exact note values (by clicking the
arrow buttons next to the value). The higher the note value,
the smoother the controller curve. For example, if you set
this to 60 (shown as “32th”) a new controller event will be
sent out every 60th tick (at every 1/32 note position).

!

You should probably avoid extremely low Density val­ues, as these will generate a very large number of
events (which may cause the MIDI instrument to
“choke”, delaying notes etc.).

AmpMod

This is only used for the two waveforms with “periodical
envelopes” (see above). The period value (set in beats)
determines the length of the envelope. In the following fig­ure, Period is set to 4th and the AmpMod is 4 beats. This
results in a quarter note-based curve in which the top am­plitude decreases gradually, repeated each bar.

Controller

Determines which Continuous Controller type is sent out.
Typical choices would include pan, volume and brightness
but your MIDI instrument may have controllers mapped to
various settings, allowing you to modulate the synth pa­rameter of your choice – check the MIDI implementation
chart for your instrument for details!

These generate curves with a “periodical envelope”. The amplitude will
gradually increase or decrease over a time, set with the Period parame­ter (see below).

Period

This is where you set the speed of the Autopan, or rather
the length of a single controller curve cycle. The value can
be set in ticks (1/480ths of quarter notes), or as rhythmi­cally exact note values (by clicking the arrow buttons next
to the value). The lower the note value, the slower the
speed. For example, if you set this to 240 (“8th”) the
waveform will be repeated every eighth note.

MIDI effects

Min and Max

These determine the minimum and maximum controller
values sent out, i.e. the “bottom” and “top” of the control­ler curves.

29

Chorder

The Chorder is a MIDI chord processor, allowing you to as­sign complete chords to single keys in a multitude of varia­tions. There are three main modes of operation: Normal,
Octave and Global. You switch between these modes by
clicking the respective button to the left below the key­board.

Normal mode

In this mode, you can assign a different chord to each sin­gle key on the keyboard. Proceed as follows:

1. Select the key to which you want to assign a chord, by
clicking in the lower “Trigger Note” keyboard display.

2. Set up the desired chord for that key by clicking in the
upper “Chord Setup” keyboard display.

Clicking a key adds it to the chord; clicking it again removes it.

3. Repeat the above with any other keys you wish to use.

If you now play the keys you have set up, you will instead
hear the assigned chords.

Global mode

In the Global mode, you only set up a single chord, using
the Chord Setup keyboard display (the lower keyboard dis­play is hidden). This chord is then played by all keys on the
keyboard, but transposed according to the note you play.

Using switches

The Switch Setup section at the bottom of the panel al­lows you to set up variations to the defined chords. This
works with all three modes and provides a total of eight
variations for each assignable key (that is, a maximum of 8
different chords in Global mode, 12 x 8 chords in Octave
mode and 128 x 8 chords in Normal mode).

The variations can be controlled by velocity or note range.
Here’s how you set it up:

1. Select one of the two switch modes: velocity or note.

How to use these is explained below.

Octave mode

The Octave mode is similar to the Normal mode, but you
can only set up one chord for each key in an octave (that
is, twelve different chords). When you play a C note (re­gardless of whether it’s a C3, C4 or any other octave) you
will hear the chord set up for the C key.

MIDI effects

The velocity switch mode selected.

2. Specify how many variations you want to use with the
Use value box.

3. Click the first Switch Select button and set up the
chord(s) you want for the first variation.

4. Click the next Switch Select button and set up the
chord(s) you want for that variation.

5. Repeat this for the number of variations you specified
with the Use setting.

Each Switch Select button corresponds to a variation.

30

6. Now you can play the keyboard and control the varia­tions according to the selected switch modes.

These work as follows:

Switch mode Description

Velocity The full velocity range (1–127) is divided into “zones”,

Note In this mode, the chorder will play one chord at a time –

according to the number of variations you specified. For
example, if you’re using two variations (Max is set to 2)
there will be two velocity “zones”: 1–63 and 64–127.
Playing a note with velocity at 64 or higher will trigger the
second variation, while playing a softer note will trigger
the first variation.

you cannot play several different chords simultaneously.
When the Note switch mode is selected, you play a key to
determine the base note for the chord, then press a higher
key to select a variation. The variation number will be the
difference between the two keys. To select variation 1,
press a key one semitone higher than the base note, for
variation 2, press a key two semitones higher, and so on.

• To turn the variation switch feature off, select the “No
Switch” mode.

Compress

This MIDI compressor is used for evening out or expanding
differences in velocity. Though the result is similar to what
you get with the Velocity Compression track parameter, the
Compress plug-in presents the controls in a manner more
like regular audio compressors. The parameters are:

Parameter Description

Threshold Only notes with velocities over this value will be affected

Ratio This determines the rate of compression applied to the

Gain This adds or subtracts a fixed value from the velocities.

by the compression/expansion.

velocity values above the threshold level. Ratios greater
than 1:1 result in compression (i.e. less difference in ve­locity) while ratios lower than 1:1 result in expansion (i.e.
greater difference in velocity).
What actually happens is that the part of the velocity
value that is above the threshold value is divided by the
ratio value.

Since the maximum range for velocity values is 0–127,
you may need to use the Gain setting to compensate,
keeping the resulting velocities within the range. Typi­cally, you would use negative Gain settings when ex­panding and positive Gain settings when compressing.

31

MIDI effects

Density

This generic control panel affects the “density” of the
notes being played from (or thru) the track. When this is
set to 100%, the notes are not affected. Lowering the
Density setting below 100% will randomly filter out or
“mute” notes. Raising the setting above 100% will instead
randomly add new notes.

Micro Tuner

The Micro Tuner lets you set up a different microtuning
scheme for the instrument, by detuning each key.

• Each Detune field corresponds to a key in an octave (as indi­cated by the keyboard display). Adjust a Detune field to raise
or lower the tuning of that key, in cents (hundreds of a semi­tone).

• Set the Convert setting according to whether the track is
routed to a VST instrument or a “real” standard MIDI instru­ment (capable of receiving microtuning information).

The Micro Tuner comes with a number of presets, includ­ing both classical and experimental microtuning scales.

MIDIControl

This generic control panel allows you to select up to eight
different MIDI controller types, and use the value fields or
sliders (which are displayed when you click on a value field
while holding down the [Alt]/[Option] key) to set values for
these. A typical use for this would be if you’re using a MIDI
instrument with parameters that can be controlled by MIDI
controller data (e.g. filter cutoff, resonance, levels, etc.). By
selecting the correct MIDI controller types, you can use the
plug-in as a control panel for adjusting the sound of the in­strument from within Cubase Essential, at any time.

• To select a controller type, use the pop-up menus to the right.

• To deactivate a controller slider, set it to “Off” (drag the slider
all the way down).

32

MIDI effects

MIDIEcho

This is an advanced MIDI Echo, which will generate addi­tional echoing notes based on the MIDI notes it receives.
It creates effects similar to a digital delay, but also features
MIDI pitch shifting and much more. As always it is impor­tant to remember that the effect doesn’t “echo” the actual
audio, but the MIDI notes which will eventually produce
the sound in the synthesizer.

The following parameters are available:

Quantize

The echoed notes will be moved in position to a quantizing
grid, as set up with this parameter. You can either use the
slider or type to set the value in ticks (1/480 ticks of quar­ter notes) or click the arrow buttons to step between the
“rhythmically exact” values (displayed as note values – see
the table below). This makes it easy to find rhythmically
relevant quantize values, but still allows experimental set­tings in between.

An example: setting this to “16th” will force all echo notes
to be played on exact 16th note positions, regardless of
the timing of the original notes and the Echo-Quant. set­ting.

Ö To disable quantizing, set this parameter to its lowest
value (1).

Length

This sets the length of the echoed notes. This can either
be the same as their original notes (parameter set to its
lowest value, “Source”) or the length you specify manually.
You can either set the length in ticks or click the arrow
buttons to step between the “rhythmically exact” lengths
(displayed as note values – see the table below).

Ö The length can also be affected by the Length Decay
parameter.

Repeat

This is the number of echoes (1 to 12) from each incom­ing note.

Echo-Quant.

The Echo-Quant. parameter sets the delay time, i.e. the
time between a played note and its first echo note. You can
either use the slider or type to set the value in ticks (1/480
ticks of quarter notes) or click the arrow buttons to step be­tween the “rhythmically exact” delay times (displayed as
note values – see the table below).

For example, setting this to “8th” will cause the echo
notes to sound an eighth note after their original notes.

Ö The echo time can also be affected by the Echo Decay
parameter.

Velocity Decay

This parameter allows you to add or subtract to the veloc­ity values for each repeat so that the echo fades away or
increases in volume (provided that the sound you use is
velocity sensitive). For no change of velocity, set this to 0
(middle position).

Pitch Decay

If you set this to a value other than 0, the repeating (echo­ing) notes will be raised or lowered in pitch, so that each
successive note has a higher or lower pitch than the pre­vious. The value is set in semitones.

For example, setting this to -2 will cause the first echo
note to have a pitch two semitones lower than the original
note, the second echo note two semitones lower than the
first echo note, and so on.

Echo Decay

This parameter lets you adjust how the echo time should
be changed with each successive repeat. The value is set
as a percentage.

• When set to 100% (middle position) the echo time will be the
same for all repeats (as set with the Echo-Quant. parameter).

• If you raise the value above 100, the echoing notes will play with
gradually longer intervals (i.e. the echo will become slower).

• If you lower the value below 100, the echoing notes will be­come gradually faster, like the sound of a bouncing ball.

33

MIDI effects

Length Decay

This parameter lets you adjust how the length of the ech­oed notes should change with each successive repeat.
The higher the setting (25 –100), the longer the echoed
notes will be compared to their original notes.

About ticks and note values

The timing and position-related parameters (Echo-Quant.,
Length and Quantize) can all be set in ticks. There are 480
ticks to each quarter note. While the parameters allow you
to step between the rhythmically relevant values (dis­played as note values), the following table can also be of
help, showing you the most common note values and their
corresponding number of ticks:

Note Value Ticks

1/32 note 60

1/16 note triplet 90

1/16 note 120

1/8 note triplet 160

1/8 note 240

Quarter note triplet 320

Quarter note 480

Half note 960

Note to CC

This effect will generate a MIDI continuous controller
event for each incoming MIDI note. The value of the con­troller event corresponds to the note number (pitch) and
the single parameter allows you to select which MIDI con­troller should be sent out (by default controller 7, MIDI vol­ume). The incoming MIDI notes pass through the effect
unaffected.

For example, if MIDI volume (controller 7) is selected,
notes with low note numbers (pitches) will lower the vol­ume in the MIDI instrument, while higher note numbers will
raise the volume. This way you can create “keyboard
tracking” of volume or other parameters.

!

Note that a controller event is sent out each time a
new note is played. If high and low notes are played
simultaneously, this could lead to somewhat confus­ing results. Therefore, the Note to CC effect is prob­ably best applied to monophonic tracks (playing one
note at a time).

Quantizer

Quantizing is a function that changes the timing of notes
by moving them towards a “quantize grid”. This grid may
consist of e.g. straight sixteenth notes (in which case the
notes would all get perfect sixteenth note timing), but
could also be more loosely related to straight note value
positions (applying a “swing feel” to the timing, etc.).

Ö The main Quantize function in Cubase Essential is de­scribed in the Operation manual.

While the Quantize function on the MIDI menu applies the
timing change to the actual notes on a track, the Quantizer
effect allows you to apply quantizing “on the fly”, changing
the timing of the notes in real time. This makes it easier to
try out different settings when creating grooves and
rhythms. Note however, that the main Quantize function
contains settings and features that are not available in the
Quantizer.

34

MIDI effects

The Quantizer has the following parameters:

Parameter Description

Quantize Note This sets the note value on which the quantize grid is

Swing This allows you to offset every second position in the

Strength This determines how close the notes should be moved to

Delay This delays (positive values) or advances (negative val-

based. Straight notes, triplets and dotted notes are avail­able. For example, “16” means straight sixteenth notes
and “8T” means eighth note triplets.

grid, creating a swing or shuffle feel. The value is a per­centage – the higher you set this, the farther to the right
every even grid position is moved.

the quantize grid. When set to 100%, all notes will be
forced to the closest grid position; lowering the setting
will gradually loosen the timing.

ues) the notes in milliseconds. Unlike the Delay setting in
the Track Parameters, this delay can be automated.

Step Designer

4. Click in the note display to insert notes.

You can insert notes on any of the 32 steps, but the Step Designer will
only play back the number of steps set with the Length parameter.

• The display spans one octave (as indicated by the pitch

list to the left). You can scroll the displayed octave up or
down by clicking in the pitch list and dragging up or down.

This way you can insert notes at any pitch. Note that each step can contain
one note only – the Step Designer is monophonic.

Click and drag to view other octaves.

• To remove a note from the pattern, click on it again.

5. Select “Velocity” on the Controllers pop-up menu.

This pop-up menu determines what is shown in the lower controller dis­play.

6. Adjust the velocity of the notes by dragging the veloc-

ity bars in the controller display.

The Step Designer is a MIDI pattern sequencer that sends
out MIDI notes and additional controller data according to
the pattern you set up. It does not make use of the incom­ing MIDI, other than automation data (such as recorded
pattern changes).

Creating a basic pattern

1. Use the Pattern selector to choose which pattern to
create.

Each Step Designer can hold up to 200 different patterns.

2. Use the Quantize setting to specify the “resolution” of
the pattern.

In other words, this setting determines how long each step is. For exam­ple, if Quantize is set to “16th” each step will be a sixteenth note.

3. Specify the number of steps in the pattern with the
Length setting.

As you can see in the note display, the maximum number of steps is 32.
For example, setting Quantize to 16 and Length to 32 would create a
two bar pattern with sixteenth note steps.

MIDI effects

7. To make notes shorter, select “Gate” on the Controllers

pop-up menu and lower the bars in the controller display.

When a bar is set to its maximum value (fully up), the corresponding note
will be the full length of the step (as set with the Quantize parameter).

8. To make notes longer, you can tie two notes together.

This is done by inserting two notes and clicking the Tie
button below the second note.

When the Tie button is lit for a note, it won’t retrigger – instead the pre­vious note will be lengthened. Also, the tied (second) note will automati­cally get the same pitch as the first note. You can add more notes and tie
them in the same way, creating longer notes.

9. If you now start playback in Cubase Essential, the pat-

tern will play as well, sending out MIDI notes on the track’s
MIDI output and channel (or, if you have activated the
Step Designer as a send effect, on the MIDI output and
channel selected for the send in the Inspector).

35

Adding controller curves

The Controllers pop-up menu has two more items: two
controller types.

• You can select which two controller types (filter cutoff,
resonance, volume, etc.) should be available on the pop­up menu by clicking the Setup button and selecting con­trollers from the lists that appears.

This selection is global to all patterns.

• To insert controller information in a pattern, select the
desired controller from the pop-up menu and click in the
controller display to draw events.

The MIDI controller events will be sent out during playback along with the
notes.

Ö If you drag a controller event bar all the way down, no
controller value will be sent out on that step.

Other pattern functions

The following functions make it easier to edit, manipulate
and manage patterns:

Function Description

Shift Oct These buttons allow you to shift the entire pattern up or

Shift Time Moves the pattern one step to the left or right.

Reverse Reverses the pattern, so that it plays backwards.

Copy/Paste Allows you to copy the current pattern and paste it in an-

Reset Clears the pattern, removing all notes and setting con-

Random Generates a completely random pattern – useful for ex-

Swing The Swing parameter allows you to offset every second

Presets Note that a stored Preset contains all 200 patterns in the

down in octave steps.

other pattern location (in the same Step Designer or an­other).

troller values to default.

perimenting.

step, creating a swing or shuffle feel. The value is a per­centage – the higher you set this, the farther to the right
every even step is moved.

Step Designer.

Automating pattern changes

You can create up to 200 different patterns in each Step
Designer – just select a new pattern and add notes and
controllers as described above.

Typically, you want the pattern selection to change during
the project. You can accomplish this by automating the Pat­tern selector, either in real time by activating the Write auto­mation and switching patterns during playback or by
drawing in the automation subtrack for the Step Designer’s
MIDI track. Note that you can also press a key on your MIDI
keyboard to change patterns. For this, you have to set up
the Step Designer as an insert effect for a record enabled
MIDI track. Press C1 to select pattern 1, C#1 to select pat­tern 2, D1 to select pattern 3, D#1 to select pattern 4 and
so on. If you want, you can record these pattern changes as
note events on a MIDI track. Proceed as follows:

1. Select the desired MIDI track or create a new one and

activate the Step Designer as an insert effect.

2. Set up several patterns as described above.

3. Press the Record button and press the desired keys

on your keyboard to select the corresponding patterns.

The pattern changes will be recorded on the MIDI track.

4. Stop recording and play back the MIDI track.

You will now hear the recorded pattern changes.

Ö This will only work for the first 92 patterns.

36

MIDI effects

Track Control

The Track Control effect contains three ready-made con­trol panels for adjusting parameters on a GS or XG com­patible MIDI device. The Roland GS and Yamaha XG
protocols are extensions of the General MIDI standard, al­lowing for more sounds and better control of various in­strument settings. If your instrument is compatible with
GS or XG, the Track Controls effect allows you to adjust
sounds and effects in your instrument from within Cubase
Essential.

Selecting a control panel

At the top of the Track Controls effect window you will
find a pop-up menu. This is where you select which of the
available control panels to use:

Control panel Description

GS Basic
Controls

XG Effect +
Sends

XG Global Global settings (affecting all channels) for instruments

Effect sends and various sound control parameters for
use with instruments compatible with the Roland GS
standard.

Effect Sends and various sound control parameters for
use with instruments compatible with the Yamaha XG
standard.

compatible with the Yamaha XG standard.

About the Reset and Off buttons

Regardless of the selected mode, you will find two buttons
labelled “Off” and “Reset” at the top of the control panel:

• Clicking the Off button will set all controls to their low-

est value, without sending out any MIDI messages.

• Clicking the Reset button will set all parameters to their

default values, and send out the corresponding MIDI mes­sages.

For most parameters, the default values will be zero or “no adjustment”,
but there are exceptions to this. For example, the default Reverb Send
settings are 64.

GS Basic Controls

The following controls are available when the GS Basic
Controls mode is selected:

Control Description

Send 1 Send level for the reverb effect.

Send 2 Send level for the chorus effect.

Send 3 Send level for the “variation” effect.

Attack Adjusts the attack time of the sound. Lowering the value

Decay Adjusts the decay time of the sound. Lowering the value

Release Adjusts the release time of the sound. Lowering the value

Cutoff Adjusts the filter cutoff frequency.

Resonance Adjusts the filter resonance.

Express Allows you to send out expression pedal messages on

Ch.Press. Allows you to send out aftertouch (channel pressure)

Breath Allows you to send breath control messages on the

Modul. Allows you to send modulation messages on the track’s

shortens the attack, while raising it gives a slower attack.
Middle position (64) means no adjustment is made.

shortens the decay, while raising it makes the decay
longer.

shortens the release, while raising it makes the release
time longer.

the track’s MIDI channel.

messages on the track’s MIDI channel. This is useful if
your keyboard cannot send aftertouch, but you have
sound modules that respond to aftertouch. The default
value for this parameter is zero.

track’s MIDI channel.

MIDI channel (just as you normally do with a modulation
wheel on a MIDI keyboard).

37

MIDI effects

XG Effects + Sends

The following controls are available when the XG Effects
+ Sends mode is selected:

Control Description

Send 1 Send level for the reverb effect.

Send 2 Send level for the chorus effect.

Send 3 Send level for the “variation” effect.

Attack Adjusts the attack time of the sound. Lowering this value

Release Adjusts the release time of the sound. Lowering this value

Harm.Cont Adjusts the harmonic content of the sound.

Bright Adjusts the brightness of the sound.

CutOff Adjusts the filter cutoff frequency.

Resonance Adjusts the filter resonance.

shortens the attack, while raising it gives a slower attack.
Middle position means no adjustment is made.

shortens the release, while raising it makes the release
time longer. Middle position means no adjustment is
made.

XG Global Settings

In this mode, the parameters affect global settings in the
instrument(s). Changing one of these settings for a track
will in fact affect all MIDI instruments connected to the
same MIDI output, regardless of the MIDI channel setting
of the track. Therefore, to avoid confusion it might be a
good idea to create an empty track and use this only for
these global settings.

The following controls are available:

Control Description

Eff. 1 This allows you to select which type of reverb effect should

Eff. 2 This allows you to select which type of chorus effect

Eff. 3 This allows you to select one of a large number of “varia-

Reset Sends an XG reset message.

MastVol This is used to control the Master Volume of an instru-

be used: No effect (the reverb turned off), Hall 1–2, Room
1–3, Stage 1–2 or Plate.

should be used: No effect (the chorus turned off), Chorus
1–3, Celeste 1–3 or Flanger 1–2.

tion” effect types. Selecting “No Effect” is the same as
turning off the variation effect.

ment. Normally you should leave this in its highest posi­tion and set the volumes individually for each channel
(with the volume faders in the Cubase Essential mixer or
in the Inspector).

Track FX

This plug-in is essentially a duplicate of the Track Parame­ter section. This can be useful if you e.g. need extra Ran­dom or Range settings, or if you prefer to have your track
parameters in a separate window (to get this, [Alt]/[Op­tion]-click the Edit button for the effect).

The Track FX also includes an additional function that isn’t
available among the track parameters:

Scale Transpose

This allows you to transpose each incoming MIDI note, so
that it fits within a selected musical scale. The scale is
specified by selecting a key (C, C#, D, etc.) and a scale
type (major, melodic or harmonic minor, blues, etc.).

Ö To turn Scale Transpose off, select “No Scale” from
the Scale pop-up menu.

38

MIDI effects

Transformer

With the Transformer you can perform very powerful MIDI
processing on the fly, without affecting the actual MIDI
events on the track.

Setting up filter conditions

The upper list is where you set up the filter conditions, de­termining which events to find. The list contains one or sev­eral conditions, each on a separate line.

• To add a new line (condition) click the Add Line button
to the right.

The new line is added at the bottom of the list. If there are many lines, you
may need to use the scrollbar to the right to view them.

• To remove a line, select it and click the Delete Line but­ton to the right.

You set up a filter condition line by clicking in the columns
and selecting options from the pop-up menus that appear.
Here is a brief description of the columns:

Column Description

Left bracket This is used for “bracketing” several lines together when

Filter Target Here you select which property to look for when finding

creating conditions with multiple lines and the boolean
operators And/Or. See “Combining multiple condition

lines” on page 42.

events. Your choice here affects the available options in
the other columns as well, see below.

Column Description

Condition This determines how the Transformer should compare

Parameter 1 Here you set which value the event properties should be

Parameter 2 This column is only used if you have selected one of the

Right bracket This is used for “bracketing” several lines together. See

bool This allows you to insert the boolean operators And/Or,

the property in the Filter Target column to the values in
the Parameter columns (Equal, Unequal, Bigger, etc. –
see the separate table below). The available options de­pend on the Filter Target setting.

compared to (a numeric value or a choice from a pop-up
menu, depending on the Filter Target).

“Range” options in the Condition column. Typically, this
allows you to find all events with values inside (or out­side) the range between Parameter 1 and Parameter 2.

“Combining multiple condition lines” on page 42.

when creating conditions with multiple lines. see “Com-

bining multiple condition lines” on page 42.

Conditions

The options in the Condition column have the following
meaning (note that the available Condition options de­pend on the Filter Target setting):

Condition Events will be found if their Filter Target property…

Equal …has the exact same value as set up in the Parameter 1

Unequal …has any value other than the one set up in the Parameter 1

Bigger …has a value higher than the one set up in the Parameter 1

Bigger or
Equal

Less …has a value lower than the one set up in the Parameter 1

Less or
Equal

Inside
Range

Outside
Range

Note is
equal to

column.

column.

column.

…has a value that is the same as or higher than the one set
up in the Parameter 1 column.

column.

…has a value that is the same as or lower than the one set
up in the Parameter 1 column.

…has a value that is between the values set up in the Param­eter 1 and Parameter 2 columns. Note that Parameter 1
should be the lower value and Parameter 2 the higher.

…has a value that is not between the values set up in the Pa­rameter 1 and Parameter 2 columns.

…is the note specified in the Parameter 1 column, regard­less of octave (Pitch only). Lets you find e.g. all C notes, in all
octaves.

Ö The Conditions for the “Property” filter target are dif­ferent, see “Searching for properties” on page 41.

Below, the different Filter Targets (and their correspond­ing Condition and Parameter options) are described in
more detail.

39

MIDI effects

Searching for notes of certain lengths

Only note events have lengths (actually, a note is made up
of separate note-on and note-off events but in Cubase
Essential it is considered as a single event with a length).
Therefore, the “Length” Filter Target is only valid if you’re
specifically searching for notes – there has to be another
condition line with the Filter Target “Type”, Condition
“Equal” and Parameter 1 set to “Note”. See “Combining

multiple condition lines” on page 42 for more information

about using multiple filter conditions.

Searching for Value 1 or Value 2

A MIDI event is composed of several values. The mean­ings of value 1 and 2 depend on the type of event:

Event type Value 1 Value 2

Notes The Note Number/Pitch. The velocity of the note.

PolyPressure The key that was pressed. The amount of pressure for

Controller The type of Controller,

Program
Change

Aftertouch The amount of pressure. Not used.

Pitchbend The “fine tune” of the

displayed as a number.

The Program Change
number.

bend. Not always used.

Ö System Exclusive events are not included in the table
above, since they don’t use value 1 and 2.

Since value 1 and 2 have different meanings for different
events, searching for e.g. value 2 = 64 would both find
notes with the velocity 64 and controllers with the amount
64, etc. If this is not what you want, you have to add an ad­ditional filter condition line with the Filter Target “Type”,
specifying which type of events to find (see below).

!

This is particularly useful when searching for note
pitch or velocity values, as described below.

the key.

The amount of Control
Change.

Not used.

The coarse amount of
bend.

The general procedures when searching for value 1 or 2
are:

• If you select any Condition other than the Range options,

you set up a specific value in the Parameter 1 column.

Here, the Transformer will find all events with a value 2 less than 80.

• If you select the Inside or Outside Range option in the

Condition column, the range consists of the values be­tween Parameter 1 and Parameter 2.

Note that Parameter 1 must have the lower value.

Searching for note pitch or velocity

If you add another condition line with the Filter Target
“Type”, Condition “Equal” and Parameter 1 set to “Note”,
the Transformer will “know” you are searching for pitch or
velocity. This has the following benefits:

• The Filter Targets Value 1 and Value 2 will be displayed as
“Pitch” and “Velocity” respectively, making it easier to grasp
the function of the filter condition.

• Pitch values in the Parameter columns will be displayed as
note names (C3, D#4, etc.). When entering pitch values you
can either type a note name or a MIDI note number (0–127).

• When Value 1 (pitch) is selected as Filter Target, an additional
option appears in the Condition column: “Note is equal to”.
When this is selected, you specify a note name in the Param­eter 1 column but without any octave number (C, C#, D, D#,
etc.). The Transformer can then find all notes of a certain key,
in all octaves.

See “Combining multiple condition lines” on page 42 for
more information on working with multiple filter condition
lines.

Searching for controllers

There is similar extended functionality when searching for
controllers: If you’ve added an additional “Type = Control­ler” condition line, the Transformer will “know” you are
searching for controllers. The Parameter 1 column will
then show the names of the MIDI controllers (Modulation,
Volume, etc.) when Value 1 is selected as Filter Target.

40

MIDI effects

Searching for MIDI channels

Each MIDI event contains a MIDI channel setting (1-16).
Normally, these settings are not used, since the MIDI event
plays back on the MIDI channel set for its track. However,
you can come across MIDI parts with events set to differ­ent channels, for example in the following scenarios:

• If you have recorded MIDI from an instrument sending on sev­eral different channels (e.g. a master keyboard with different
key zones).

• If you have imported a MIDI file of type 0 (with a single track,
containing MIDI events with different channel settings).

Searching for MIDI channel values is straightforward; you
select a Condition and enter a MIDI channel (1–16) in the
Parameter 1 column (and, if you’ve selected one of the
Range Conditions, a higher channel in the Parameter 2
column, creating a value range).

When the Property option is selected, the Condition col­umn has two options: “Property is set” and “Property is not
set”. Which property to look for is specified in the Parame­ter 1 column. The options are “muted” and “selected”. Two
examples:

Here, the Transformer will find all muted events.

Here, the Transformer will find all events that are selected and muted.

Searching for event types

Selecting Type as the Filter Target allows you to find events
of a certain type only.

The Condition column contains only three options: Equal,
Unequal and All Types.

Clicking the Parameter 1 column displays a pop-up menu,
listing the available event types (Note, PolyPressure, Con­troller, etc.).

The Transformer will find all events matching or not match­ing the selected type (depending on the Condition).

!

As mentioned above, selecting “Type = Note” or
“Type = Controller” adds some additional functional­ity to the Transformer. You should make it a habit to
add a Type condition when applicable.

Searching for properties

On the Filter Target pop-up menu you will find an option
called Property. This allows you to search for properties
that are not part of the MIDI standard but rather event­specific program settings.

Searching for event contexts

On the Filter Target pop-up menu you will find an option
called “Last Event”. This can be used to perform context­dependent searches.

“Last Event” indicates the state of an event which has al­ready passed the Transformer. The condition has to be
combined with Parameter 1 and Parameter 2.

Below follow a few examples on how the Last Event filter
target can used.

Here, the action will only be performed when the sustain
pedal is down:

Fiter Target Condition Parameter 1 Parameter 2

Last Event Equal MIDI Status 176/Controller

Last Event Equal Value 1 64

Last Event Bigger Value 2 64

In this example, the action will be performed when the
note C1 is pressed:

Fiter Target Condition Parameter 1 Parameter 2

Type is Equal Note

Last Event Equal Note is playing 36/C1

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MIDI effects

In this example, the action will be performed after playing
the C1 note:

Fiter Target Condition Parameter 1 Parameter 2

Last Event Equal Value 1 36/C1

Combining multiple condition lines

As described above, you can add condition lines by click­ing the Add Line button to the right of the list. The result of
combining condition lines depends on the boolean And/
Or operators and the brackets.

The bool column

By clicking in the “bool” column to the right in the list, you
can select a boolean operator: “And” or “Or”. A boolean
operator combines two condition lines and determines the
result in the following way:

Ö If two condition lines are combined with a boolean And,
both conditions must be fulfilled for an event to be found.

The Transformer will only find events that are notes and are muted.

If two condition lines are combined with a boolean Or, one
of the conditions (or both) must be fulfilled for an event to
be found.

Using brackets

The bracket (parenthesis) columns let you enclose two or
more condition lines, dividing the conditional expression
into smaller units. This is only relevant when you have three
or more condition lines and want to use the boolean Or op­erator. This is how it works:

Ö Without brackets, the conditional expressions are
evaluated according to their order in the list.

In this case we have the expression Type = Note AND Event is muted
OR Channel = 1, without brackets. This means that the Transformer will
find all muted MIDI notes, as well as all events (regardless of their type)
set to MIDI channel 1.

Maybe you wanted to find all notes that are either muted
or use the MIDI channel 1 (but no non-note events)? Then
you need to add some brackets:

Here the expression is Type = Note AND (Event is muted OR Channel
= 1), which will find what you want. The rule behind this is:

Ö Expressions within brackets are evaluated first.

If there are several layers of brackets, these are evaluated “from the in­side out”, starting with the innermost brackets.

You add brackets by clicking in the bracket columns and
selecting an option. Up to triple brackets can be selected.

The Input Transformer will find all events that are notes (regardless of
mute status) and all events that are muted (regardless of their type).

!

When you add a new condition line, the boolean set­ting defaults to And. Therefore, if all you want to do is
set up two or more conditions that all must be met for
an event to be found, you don’t have to think about the
boolean column – just add the required lines and
make the usual filter settings.

Editing filter conditions as text

The area directly below the filter condition list shows you
the current filter conditions as text. It also allows you to
enter and edit the filter conditions in textual form. For tips
on the syntax, please study the included presets.

42

MIDI effects

Ö There is no additional functionality involved when edit­ing filter conditions as text; it is simply another way to make
settings.

When you enter something in the text field you will see the correspond­ing settings appear in the filter condition list (provided that you have used
the correct syntax).

Selecting a function

The pop-up menu in the top left corner of the Transformer
is where you select the function – the basic type of editing
to be performed. When you select an option from the pop­up menu, the field to the right displays a clarifying text,
making it easier to see what the function does.

The current settings are automatically applied in real time
during playback or live playing.

The following options are available:

Delete

This function will remove (or “mute”) all found events from
the “output stream” – the actual events on the track are
not affected.

Transform

Changes one or several aspects of the found events. You
set up exactly what should be changed in the action list,
see below.

Insert

This will create new events and insert these into the out­put stream. The new events will be based on the events
found by the Transformer effect’s filter conditions, but with
any changes you have set up in the action list applied.

Another way of expressing this is that the Insert function
copies the found events, transforms them according to the
action list and inserts the transformed copies among the
existing events.

Insert Exclusive

This will transform the found events according to the action
list. Then, all events that were not found (that didn’t meet
the filter conditions) are removed from the output stream.

Specifying actions

The lower list in the Transformer window is the action list.
This is where you specify any changes that should be
made to the found events (relevant for all function types
except Delete).

The handling of the action list is similar to the filter condi­tion list, but without the brackets and booleans. You sim­ply add lines by clicking the Add Line button to the right,
and fill out the columns as required. To remove a superflu­ous action line, select it and click the Delete Line button.

Action Target

This is where you select the property that should be
changed in the events:

Option Description

Value 1 This adjusts value 1 in the events. As described in the

Value 2 This adjusts value 2 in the events. As described in the

Channel Allows you to change the MIDI channel setting. See

Type Allows you to change an event from one type to another,

Value 3 This adjusts value 3 in the events, which is used for han-

section “Searching for Value 1 or Value 2” on page 40,
the property of value 1 depends on the event type. For
notes, value 1 is the pitch.

section “Searching for Value 1 or Value 2” on page 40,
the property of value 2 depends on the event type. For
notes, value 2 is the velocity value.

“Searching for MIDI channels” on page 41.

e.g. transform aftertouch events to modulation events.

dling note-off velocity when searching for properties. See

“Searching for properties” on page 41.

43

MIDI effects

Operation

This setting determines what to do with the Action Target.
The options on this pop-up menu are different depending
on the selected Action Target. Below, all available opera­tions are listed:

Add

Adds the value specified in the Parameter 1 column to the
Action Target.

Subtract

Subtracts the value specified in the Parameter 1 column
from the Action Target.

Multiply by

Multiplies the Action Target value with the value specified
in the Parameter 1 column.

Divide by

Divides the Action Target value by the value specified in
the Parameter 1 column.

Round by

This “rounds” the Action Target value using the value
specified in the Parameter 1 column. In other words, the
Action Target value is changed to the closest value that
can be divided by the Parameter 1 value.

Set Random Values between

This will set the Action Target value to a random value
within the range specified with Parameter 1 and 2.

Set Relative Random Values between

This will add a random value to the current Action Target
value. The added random value will be within the range
specified with Parameter 1 and 2. Note that these can be
set to negative values.

For example, if you set Parameter 1 to -20 and Parameter
2 to +20, the original Action Target value will get a ran­dom variation, never exceeding ±20.

Set to fixed value

This sets the Action Target to the value specified in the
Parameter 1 column.

Transpose to Scale

This is only available when Action Target is set to Value 1,
and when the filter conditions are specifically set up to
find notes (a “Type = Note” filter condition line has been
added). When “Transpose to Scale” is selected, you can
specify a musical scale using the Parameter 1 and 2 col­umns. Parameter 1 is the key (C, C#, D, etc.) while Pa­rameter 2 is the type of scale (major, melodic or harmonic
minor, etc.).

Each note will be transposed to the closest note in the se­lected scale.

Use Value 2

This is only available when Action Target is set to Value 1.
If this option is selected, the Value 2 setting in each event
will be copied to the Value 1 setting.

For example, this would be useful if you are transforming
all Modulation controllers to Aftertouch events (since con­trollers use Value 2 for their amount, while Aftertouch uses
Value 1 – see “Searching for Value 1 or Value 2” on page

40).

Use Value 1

This is only available when Action Target is set to Value 2.
If this option is selected, the Value 1 setting in each event
will be copied to the Value 2 setting.

Mirror

This is only available when Action Target is set to Value 1
or Value 2. When this option is selected, the values will be
“mirrored” or “flipped” around the value set in the Parame­ter 1 column.

In the case of notes, this will invert the scale, with the key
set in the Parameter 1 column as “center point”.

Applying the defined actions

When using the Transformer effect, the processing is ap­plied to the events played back from the track (or played
live “thru” the track) as soon as you set it up.

Since no existing events on the track are affected by the
Transformer setting, there is no need for undo.

44

MIDI effects

Index

A

Apogee UV22 HR 15
Arpache 5 28
Arpeggiator 28
Autopan (MIDI effect) 29

B

Bitcrusher 20

C

Chopper 20
Chorder (MIDI effect) 30
Compress (MIDI effect) 31

P

Pattern Sequencer 35
Phaser 17
PingPongDelay 7

Q

Quantizer (MIDI effect) 34

R

Ringmodulator 17
Roland GS Control Panel 37
RoomWorks SE 22
Rotary 18

D

DaTube 8
Density (MIDI Effect) 32
Dither 15

F

Flanger 16

G

Gate 8
GS Control Panel 37

H

HALionOne 25

L

Limiter 9

M

Metalizer 16
Micro Tuner (MIDI Effect) 32
MIDI Echo (MIDI effect) 33
MIDI Step Sequencer 35
MIDIControl (MIDI Effect) 32
MonoDelay 6
MonoToStereo 23

S

Step Designer (MIDI effect) 35
StepFilter 12
StereoEnhancer 23

T

ToneBooster 14
Track Control (MIDI Effect) 37
Track FX (MIDI Effect) 38
Tranceformer 19
Transformer (MIDI effect) 39
Tremolo 19

U

UV22 HR 15

V

VSTDynamics 11

X

XG Control Panel 37

Y

Yamaha XG Control Panel 37

N

Note to CC (MIDI effect) 34

O

Octaver 21

46

Index