Steinberg Cubase LE - 8.0, Cubase Elements - 8.0, Cubase AI - 8.0 Operation Manual

Operation Manual

Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Christina Kaboth, Insa Mingers, Matthias Obrecht, Sabine Pfeifer, Kevin

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

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

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

Quarshie, Benjamin Schütte

7 Introduction

7 About the Program Versions 7 Typographical Conventions

8 Setting Up Your System

8 Setting Up Audio 14 Setting Up MIDI 15 Connecting a Synchronizer 16 Setting Up Video

17 VST Connections

17 VST Connections Window 18 Renaming the Hardware Inputs and

Outputs

20 Adding Input and Output Busses 21 Presets for Input and Output Busses 22 About Monitoring 22 Editing the Bus Configurations

24 Project Window

25 Toolbar 27 Status Line 28 Info Line 28 Overview Line 29 Ruler 30 Inspector 32 Global Track Controls 33 Track List 34 Event Display 34 Racks 35 Zooming in the Project Window 39 Snap Function 41 Cross-Hair Cursor 42 Edit History Dialog

44 Project Handling

44 Creating New Projects 45 Steinberg Hub 46 Project Assistant 47 About Project Files 47 About Template Files 49 Project Setup Dialog 52 Opening Project Files 54 Saving Project Files 55 Reverting to the Last Saved Version 55 Choosing a Project Location 56 Removing Unused Audio Files 56 Creating Self-Contained Projects

59 Tracks

59 Audio Tracks 64 Instrument Tracks 68 MIDI Tracks 72 Arranger Track 73 Chord Track 75 FX Channel Tracks 79 Folder Tracks 81 Group Channel Tracks 85 Marker Track 86 Ruler Track 87 Video Track 88 Customizing Track Controls

91 Track Handling

91 Adding Tracks 92 Removing Tracks 92 Moving Tracks in the Track List 93 Renaming Tracks 93 Coloring Tracks 94 Showing Track Pictures 96 Setting the Track Height 97 Selecting Tracks 98 Duplicating Tracks 98 Disabling Audio Tracks (Cubase Elements

only)

99 Organizing Tracks in Folder Tracks 100 Handling Overlapping Audio 100 How Events are Displayed on Folder Tracks 100 Modifying Event Display on Folder Tracks 101 Track Presets

106 Parts and Events

107 Audio Handling 108 Parts 109 Auditioning Audio Parts and Events 109 Adding Events to a Track 110 Scrubbing 111 Folder Parts 112 Editing Parts and Events

124 Range Editing

124 Creating a Selection Range 126 Editing Selection Ranges

129 Playback and Transport

129 Transport Panel 133 Transport Menu 135 Setting the Project Cursor Position 136 Left and Right Locators 137 Auto-Scroll 138 Time Formats 139 Locating to Specific Time Positions 140 Metronome 142 Chase

143 Virtual Keyboard

143 Recording MIDI With the Virtual Keyboard 144 Virtual Keyboard Options

145 Recording

145 Basic Recording Methods 149 Monitoring 152 Audio Recording Specifics 157 MIDI Recording Specifics 164 Remaining Record Time 165 Lock Record

166 Quantizing MIDI and Audio

166 Quantizing Audio Event Starts 167 Quantizing MIDI Event Starts 167 Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths 167 Quantizing MIDI Event Ends 167 Quantize Panel 172 Additional Quantizing Functions

174 Fades and crossfades

174 Creating fades 177 The Fade dialogs 179 Creating crossfades 180 The Crossfade dialog 182 Auto fades and crossfades

184 Arranger Track (Cubase Elements only)

184 Introduction 184 Setting up the arranger track 185 Working with arranger events 189 Flattening the arranger chain 192 Live mode 194 Arranging your music to video

196 Markers

196 Position Markers 196 Cycle Markers 198 Markers Window 202 Marker Track 204 Importing and Exporting Markers

206 MixConsole

208 Setting Up the MixConsole 208 MixConsole Toolbar 209 Configuring the MixConsole 214 Linking Channels 215 Input Levels 216 Copying and Moving Rack and Channel

Settings

217 Fader Section 220 Working with Channel Racks 236 Using Channel Settings 238 Adding Notes to a MixConsole Channel 239 Keyboard Navigation

240 Audio Effects

240 Overview 242 Insert Effects 247 Send Effects 252 Effect Control Panel 252 Comparing Effect Settings 253 Effect Presets 259 Plug-In Information Window

262 Audio processing and functions

262 Background 262 Audio processing 272 Freeze Edits 273 Detect Silence 276 The Spectrum Analyzer 278 Statistics 279 Time stretch algorithm

281 Sample Editor

281 Window overview 286 General Functions 297 Warping audio 297 Working with hitpoints and slices

306 Audio Part Editor

306 Window Overview 308 Opening the Audio Part Editor 309 Operations 312 Options and Settings

313 Pool

314 Pool Window 318 Working with the Pool

334 MediaBay

335 Working With the MediaBay 335 Setting Up the MediaBay 336 Define Locations Section 337 Scanning Your Content 337 Updating the MediaBay 338 Locations Section 340 Results Section 345 Previewer Section 350 Filters Section 352 Sound Browser and Mini Browser 352 MediaBay Preferences 353 MediaBay Key Commands 354 Working with MediaBay-Related Windows 356 Working With Volume Databases

359 Automation

359 Recording your Actions 360 Automation Curves 360 Static Value Line 360 Write/Read Automation 361 MIDI Part Data vs. Track Automation 361 Writing Automation Data 364 Editing Automation Data 366 Automation Tracks

368 VST Instruments

368 VST Instruments Window 371 Adding VST Instruments 372 Presets for Instruments 374 VST Quick Controls 376 Playing Back VST Instruments 378 About Latency 379 Import and Export Options

382 Installing and Managing Plug-ins

382 Installing VST plug-ins 383 Plug-in Manager 386 Compiling a New Effects Collection

388 Remote controlling Cubase

388 Setting Up 390 Operations 392 The Generic Remote device 396 The Remote Control Editor (Cubase

Elements only)

403 Apple Remote (Macintosh only)

404 MIDI realtime parameters

404 The Inspector – general handling 405 The Inspector sections

413 Using MIDI devices

413 MIDI devices – general settings and patch

handling

421 MIDI Processing

421 MIDI functions vs. MIDI modifiers 422 What is affected by the MIDI functions? 422 Transpose 423 Making your settings permanent 425 Dissolve Part 427 Repeat Loop 427 Other MIDI functions

433 MIDI Editors

433 Opening MIDI editors 434 Changing the Default MIDI Editor 434 Common MIDI Editor Functions 443 Key Editor 451 Key Editor Operations 470 Score Editor 474 Score Editor Operations 483 Drum Editor 493 Drum Editor Operations 500 SysEx Messages

505 Chord Functions

505 Chord Track 506 Chord Events 511 Scale Events 512 Voicings 515 Converting Chord Events to MIDI 515 Controlling MIDI Playback using the Chord

Track

519 Assigning Voices to Notes 520 Extracting Chord Events from MIDI 521 Recording Chord Events with a MIDI

Keyboard

522 Chord Pads

522 Chord Pads Zone 525 Functions Menu 526 Preparations 527 Chord Assistant 528 Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 531 Moving and Copying Chord Pads 531 Playing Back and Recording Chords 533 Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control 536 Chord Pad Settings – Players 539 Chord Pad Settings – Pad Layout 540 Chord Pads Presets 541 Creating Events from Chord Pads

542 Editing tempo and signature

542 Background 543 Tempo and signature display 545 Editing tempo and signature 548 The Beat Calculator 550 Adjusting the audio to the project tempo

551 Export Audio Mixdown

551 Introduction 551 Mixing down to audio files 553 The Export Audio Mixdown dialog 556 The available file formats

564 Synchronization

564 Background 565 Timecode (positional references) 567 Clock sources (speed references) 568 The Project Synchronization Setup dialog 571 Synchronized operation 572 Working with VST System Link 577 Activating VST System Link

585 Video

585 Before You Start 588 Preparing a Video Project 591 Playing Back Video 595 Editing Video 595 Extracting Audio From a Video File 596 Replacing the Audio in a Video File

597 ReWire (not in Cubase LE)

597 Introduction 598 Launching and quitting 599 Activating ReWire channels 599 Using the transport and tempo controls 600 How the ReWire channels are handled 601 Routing MIDI via ReWire 601 Considerations and limitations

602 Key Commands

602 Introduction 603 Setting up key commands 607 Setting up tool modifier keys 607 The default key commands

616 File handling

616 Importing audio 622 Exporting and importing standard MIDI files 626 Exporting and importing MIDI loops

627 Customizing

627 Using the Setup options 629 Appearance 632 Applying colors in the Project window 637 Where are the settings stored?

639 Optimizing

639 Optimizing Audio Performance

645 Preferences

645 Preferences Dialog 647 Appearance 648 Editing 656 Event Display 659 General 661 MIDI 665 MediaBay 666 Metering 667 Record 669 Transport 671 VST 674 Video

675 Index

About the Program Versions

NOTE

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

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

The screenshots are taken from the Windows version of Cubase.

Typographical Conventions

Introduction

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

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

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

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

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

This manual often refers to right-clicking, for example, to open context menus. If you are using a Mac with a single-button mouse, hold down [Ctrl] and click.

Setting Up Your System

IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT

Setting Up Audio

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

Simple Stereo Input and Output Setup

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

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

Connecting Audio

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

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

Setting Up Your System

IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT

IMPORTANT

IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT

NOTE

PROCEDURE

Setting Up Audio

About Recording Levels and Inputs

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

dBV).

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

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

dBV) or professional line level

Word Clock Connections

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

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

Selecting a Driver

You must select the correct driver in Cubase to make sure that the program can communicate with the audio hardware.

On Windows operating systems, we recommend that you access your hardware via an ASIO driver developed specifically for the hardware. If no ASIO driver is installed, refer to your audio hardware manufacturer about available ASIO driver. You can use the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver if no specific ASIO driver is available.

When you start Cubase, a dialog opens that prompts you to select a driver. You can also select your audio hardware driver in the following way.

1. Launch Cubase and select Devices > Devices Setup.

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

Setting Up Your System

NOTE

Setting Up Audio

3. On the ASIO Driver menu, select your audio hardware driver.

The selected driver is added to the devices list.

4. In the devices list, select the driver to open the driver settings for your audio hardware.

5. Open the control panel for the audio hardware in the following way:

• On Windows operating systems, click the Control Panel button.

• On Mac OS X operating systems, click the Open Config App button.

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

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

6. Make the settings as recommended by the audio hardware manufacturer.

7. Click Apply.

8. Click OK.

RELATED LINKS

Using Audio Hardware with a DirectX Driver (Windows only) on page 10

Using Audio Hardware with a DirectX Driver (Windows only)

A DirectX driver is an alternative to a specific ASIO driver and the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver.

Cubase comes with the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver.

• To select the driver, select Devices > Device Setup > VST Audio System and open the ASIO Driver menu.

When the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver is selected, you can open ASIO DirectX

Full Duplex Driver from the Devices List, and click Control Panel button. On the Control Panel for the driver, the following settings are available:

Direct Sound Output and Input Ports

Lists all available Direct Sound output and input ports. To activate/deactivate a port in the list, click the checkbox in the left column.

Buffer Size

Allows you to edit the buffer size. Audio buffers are used when audio data is transferred between Cubase and the audio card. Larger buffers ensure that playback occurs without glitches, but larger buffers also increase the latency.

Offset

Allows you to adjust the output or input latency time, if a constant offset is audible during playback of audio and MIDI recordings.

Setting Up Your System

NOTE

PROCEDURE

Setting Up Audio

Audio Channels

Lists the available audio channels.

Bits Per Sample

Shows the number of bits per sample.

Sync Reference

Shows if the driver is used as sync reference.

To take advantage of DirectX Full Duplex driver, the audio hardware must support Windows Driver Model (WDM).

Using Hardware that is Based on an External Clock Source

For proper audio playback and recording, you must set the sample rate of the project to the sample rate of the incoming clock signals. If you are using an external clock source, Cubase must be notified that it receives external clock signals and derives its speed from that source.

1. Select Devices > Devices Setup.

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

3. Activate Externally clocked.

RESULT

Cubase accepts the sample rate mismatch, and playback is therefore faster or slower.

When a sample rate mismatch occurs, the Record Format field on the status line is highlighted in a different color.

Using Several Audio Applications Simultaneously

If you want to use several audio applications simultaneously, you must allow other applications to play back via your audio hardware even though Cubase is running.

1. Select Devices > Devices Setup.

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

3. Activate Release Driver when Application is in Background.

RESULT

The application that is currently active gets access to the audio hardware.

Setting Up Your System

NOTE

Setting Up Audio

Make sure that any other audio application accessing the audio hardware is also set to release the ASIO or Mac OS X driver.

Setting Up Busses

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

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

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

Once you understand the bus system and know how to set up the busses properly, you can continue with recording, playing back, and mixing.

RELATED LINKS

VST Connections on page 17

Configuring the Audio Hardware

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

This includes:

• Selecting which inputs/outputs are active.

• Setting up word clock synchronization (if available).

• Turning on/off monitoring via the hardware.

• Setting levels for each input.

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

• Selecting digital input and output formats.

• Making settings for the audio buffers.

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

Setting Up Your System

IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT

PROCEDURE

IMPORTANT

Setting Up Audio

Plug and Play Support for ASIO Devices

The Steinberg UR824 hardware series supports plug and play in Cubase. These devices can be plugged in and switched on while the application is running. Cubase automatically uses the driver of the UR824 series and re-maps the VST connections accordingly.

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

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

Setting Up the Input and Output Ports

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

1. Select Devices > Device Setup.

2. In the Device Setup dialog, select your driver from the Devices list on the left.

3. Make your settings.

4. Optional: To hide a port, click its Visible column.

Hiding a port disconnects it.

Ports that are not visible cannot be selected in the VST Connections window where you set up your input and output busses.

5. Optional: To rename a port, click its name in the Show as column and type in a new name.

6. Click OK.

About Monitoring

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

The following ways of monitoring are available.

• Externally by listening to the signal before it reaches Cubase.

•Via Cubase.

Setting Up Your System

IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT

PROCEDURE

Setting Up MIDI

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

RELATED LINKS

External Monitoring on page 150 Monitoring via Cubase on page 149 ASIO Direct Monitoring on page 150

Setting Up MIDI

Turn off all equipment before making any connections.

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

2. Install the drivers for your MIDI equipment.

RESULT

You can use your MIDI equipment in Cubase.

About MIDI Ports

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

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

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

Showing or Hiding MIDI Ports

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

1. Select Devices > Device Setup.

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

Setting Up Your System

PROCEDURE

NOTE

IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT

Connecting a Synchronizer

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

4. Click OK.

Setting Up All MIDI Inputs

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

1. Select Devices > Device Setup.

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

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

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

4. Click OK.

RESULT

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

Connecting a Synchronizer

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

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

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

RELATED LINKS

Synchronization on page 564

Setting Up Your System

NOTE

Setting Up Video

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

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

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

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

RELATED LINKS

Video on page 585 Video Output Devices on page 587

VST Connections

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

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

VST Connections Window

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

• To open the VST Con

Inputs/Outputs Tab

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

dio hardware, on your general audio

nections window, select Devices > VST Connections.

The following options are available above the bus list:

+- All

Expands/Collapses all busses in the bus list.

Add Bus

Opens the Add Inpu configuration.

Presets

Opens the Pres The Store button

Delete button

t Bus dialog, where you can create a new bus

ets menu, where you can select bus configuration presets.

allows you to save a bus configuration as preset. The

deletes the selected preset.

VST Connections

NOTE

Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

The following columns are available for the bus list:

Bus Name

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

Speakers

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

Audio Device

Shows the currently selected ASIO driver.

Device Port

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

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

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

For example, “Adat 1 [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)” means that the Adat

1 port is already assigned to three stereo busses plus two additional

busses.

Click (Outputs tab only)

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

Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

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

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

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

VST Connections

PROCEDURE

NOTE

PROCEDURE

Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

1. Select Devices > Device Setup.

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

If this is the case, your audio card is listed in the Devices list on the left of the Device Setup window.

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

The available input and output ports on your audio hardware are listed on the right.

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

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

6. Click OK.

RELATED LINKS

Re-Routing Missing Ports on page 53

Hiding Ports

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

1. Select Devices > Device Setup.

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

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

4. Click OK.

Activating and Deactivating Ports (Mac only)

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

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

1. Select Devices > Device Setup.

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

3. Click the Control Panel button.

VST Connections

PROCEDURE

Adding Input and Output Busses

4. Activate/Deactivate ports.

5. Click OK.

Adding Input and Output Busses

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

2. Click Add Bus.

The Add Input Bus dialog opens.

3. Configure the bus.

4. Optional: Enter a name for the bus.

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

5. Click Add Bus.

The new bus is added to the bus list.

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

Setting the Default Output Bus (Main Mix)

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

PREREQUISITE

Add an output bus.

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

2. Select Set as Main Mix.

RESULT

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

VST Connections

PROCEDURE

Presets for Input and Output Busses

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

• A number of standard bus configurations.

• Automatically created presets tailored to your specific hardware

onfiguration.

c On startup, Cubase analyzes the physical inputs

provided by your audio hardware and creates a number of hardware-dependent presets.

• Your own presets.

Saving a Bus Configuration Preset

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

1. Select Devices > VST Connections.

2. Set up your bus configuration.

3. Click Store

The Type in Preset Name dialog opens.

4. Enter a name.

5. Click OK.

and outputs that are

RESULT

The preset is available in the Pr

esets menu.

Deleting a Bus Configuration Preset

1. Select Devices > VST Connections.

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

3. Click Delete .

ESULT

The preset is deleted.

VST Connections

PROCEDURE

About Monitoring

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

RELATED LINKS

Setting the Default Output Bus (Main Mix) on page 20

Editing the Bus Configurations

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

Removing Busses

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

You can also select the bus and press [Backspace].

Changing Port Assignments

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

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

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

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

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

VST Connections

NOTE

Editing the Bus Configurations

Renaming Multiple Busses

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

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

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

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

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

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

Identifying Exclusive Port Assignments

For certain channel types, the port assignment is exclusive.

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

The corresponding ports are marked in red in the VST Connections window on the

Device Port pop-up menu.

Project Window

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

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

• To open a project, select File > Open.

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

The Project window is divided into several sections:

1) Toolbar Holds tools and shortcuts for opening other windows and various project

settings and functions.

2) Status Line Shows the most important project settings.

3) Info Line Shows information about the currently selected event or part in the Project window.

Project Window

Toolbar

4) Overview Line Shows events and parts as boxes and allows you to zoom and navigate in the

project.

5) Inspector Shows controls and parameters for the first selected track.

6) Track List Shows the track types and their controls.

7) Add Track Allows you to add a new track.

8) Ruler Shows the timeline and the display format of the project.

9) Event Display Shows the parts and events of the project.

Toolbar

10) Racks Shows the MediaBay.

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

• To display all toolbar elements, right-click in an empty area of the toolbar and select Show All.

The following options are available:

Activate Project

Allows you to activate a project.

Set up Window Layout

Allows you to show or hide the sections Inspector, status line, info line, and overview line.

Constrain Delay Compensation

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

Media & MixConsole Windows

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

Project Window

Toolbar

State buttons

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

Auto-Scroll

Allows you to activate the Auto-Scroll and Suspend Auto-Scroll when Editing options. These determine if the waveform display is scrolled during

playback.

Transport Buttons

Shows the transport controls.

Arranger Controls (Cubase Elements only)

Shows the controls for the arranger track.

Tool Buttons

Shows the buttons for editing in the Project window.

Color Menu

Allows you to define the Project window colors.

Toolbox

Nudge Palette

Allows you to nudge or trim events or parts.

Snap to Zero Crossings

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

Snap

Allows you to restrict horizontal movement and positioning to certain positions.

Quantize

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

Performance Meter

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

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

• To activate the toolbox function, select File > Preferences > Editing > Tools and activate Pop-up Toolbox on Right-Click.

• To open the toolbox, right-click in the event display or editor. If Pop-up Toolbox on Right-Click it is deactivated, the context menu opens.

Project Window

Status Line

• To open the context menu instead of the toolbox, press any modifier key and right-click in the event display or editor.

If Pop-up Toolbox on Right-Click is deactivated, press any modifier key to open the toolbox instead of the context menu.

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

The status line shows the most important project settings.

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

The following information is shown in the status line:

Audio Inputs

Displays the connection state of your audio inputs. Click in this field to open the VST Connections dialog.

Audio Outputs

Displays the connection state of your audio outputs. Click in this field to open the VST Connections dialog.

Record Time Max

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

Record Format

Displays the sample rate and the bit resolution used for recording. Click in this field to open the Project Setup dialog.

Project Frame Rate

Displays the frame rate used in the project. Click in this field to open the

Project Setup dialog.

Project Pan Law

Displays the current pan law setting. Click in this field to open the Project Setup dialog.

Project Window

Info Line

The info line shows information about the currently selected event or part in the Project window.

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

Editing in the Info Line

You can edit almost all event or part data on the info line using regular value editing.

If you select several events or parts, the info line is shown in another color and only the information about the first item in the selection is displayed. The following rules apply:

• Value changes are applied to all selected elements, relatively to the current

• Value changes are applied absolutely to the current values, if you press

• To change the modifier, select File > Preferences > Editing > Tool

Overview Line

The overview line allows you to zoom and navigate to other sections in the Project window.

values. For example, you have selected two audio events. The first event has a length

of 1 bar, the second of 2 bars. If you change the info line value to 3, the first event is resized to 3 bars and the second event to 4 bars.

[Ctrl]/[Command] while modifying the value on the info line. In the example above, both events are resized to 3 bars.

Modifiers and select a new modifier in the Info Line category.

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

In the overview line, events and parts are displayed as boxes. A rectangle indicates the section of the project that is currently displayed in the event display.

• To zoom the event display in or out horizontally, resize the rectangle by dragging the edges.

• To navigate to another section of the event display, drag the rectangle to the left or right, or click in the upper part of the overview.

Project Window

Ruler

The ruler shows the timeline and the display format of the project.

Initially, the Project window ruler uses the display format that is specified in the Project Setup dialog.

• To select an independent display format for the ruler, click the arrow button to the right of the ruler and select an option from the pop-up menu.

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

RELATED LINKS

Project Setup Dialog on page 49

Ruler Display Formats

You can select a display format for the ruler.

• To select a new display format for the ruler, click the arrow button to the right of the ruler and select an option from the pop-up menu.

The selection that you make affects the time display formats in the following areas:

•Ruler

• Info line

• Tooltip position values

The following options are available:

Bars+Beats

Bars, beats, sixteenth notes, and ticks. By default, there are 120 ticks per sixteenth note, but you can adjust this with the MIDI Display Resolution setting (File > Preferences > MIDI).

Second

Hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds.

Project Window

Inspector

Timecode

Hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. The number of frames per second (fps) is set in the Project Setup dialog with the Frame Rate pop-up menu. You can also display subframes by activating Show Timecode Subframes (File

> Preferences > Transport).

Samples

Time Linear

Sets the ruler linear to time.

Bars+Beats Linear

Sets the ruler linear to bars and beats.

The Inspector shows controls and parameters for the first (topmost) selected track type in the track list.

• To show or hide the Inspector, click the Set up Window Layout button on the toolbar and activate or deactivate Inspector.

+ 656 hidden pages

Steinberg Cubase LE - 8.0, Cubase Elements - 8.0, Cubase AI - 8.0 Operation Manual

Table of Contents

About the Program Versions

Typographical Conventions

Introduction

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

Setting Up MIDI

Connecting a Synchronizer

Setting Up Video

VST Connections

VST Connections Window

Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

Adding Input and Output Busses

Presets for Input and Output Busses

About Monitoring

Editing the Bus Configurations

Project Window

Toolbar

Status Line

Info Line

Overview Line

Ruler

Inspector