Steinberg Cubase Pro - 9.5 Operation Manual

Operation Manual

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

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

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

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

Cubase_9.5.40_en-US_2018-10-16

8 Introduction

8 Platform-Independent Documentation 8 About the Documentation 9 Conventions 10 Key Commands

11 Setting Up Your System

11 Setting Up Audio 18 Setting Up MIDI 20 Connecting a Synchronizer

21 Audio Connections

21 Audio Connections Window 27 Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs 28 Adding Input and Output Busses 28 Adding Child Busses (Cubase Pro only) 29 Presets for Input and Output Busses 30 Adding Group and FX Channels (Cubase Pro

only)

30 About Monitoring 30 External Instruments and Effects (Cubase Pro

only)

36 Editing the Bus Congurations

38 Project Window

39 Showing/Hiding Zones 39 Project Zone 51 Left Zone 61 Lower Zone 67 Right Zone 73 Keyboard Focus in the Project Window 74 Zooming in the Project Window 78 Snap Function 81 Cross-Hair Cursor 82 Edit History Dialog

83 Project Handling

83 Creating New Projects 84 Hub 85 Project Assistant 85 About Project Files 86 About Template Files 87 Project Setup Dialog 90 Opening Project Files 91 Saving Project Files 92 Reverting to the Last Saved Version 92 Choosing a Project Location 93 Creating Self-Contained Projects

95 Tracks

95 Track Inspector Settings 96 Track Control Settings 98 Audio Tracks

105 Instrument Tracks 112 MIDI Tracks 118 Sampler Tracks 124 Arranger Track 126 Chord Track 128 FX Channel Tracks 134 Folder Tracks 135 Group Channel Tracks 140 Marker Track 142 Ruler Track 143 Signature Track 144 Tempo Track 145 Transpose Track 146 VCA Fader Track (Cubase Pro only) 148 Video Track

151 Track Handling

151 Adding Tracks 153 Importing Tracks (Cubase Pro only) 156 Exporting Tracks as Track Archive (Cubase Pro

only)

157 Exporting MIDI Tracks as Standard MIDI File 159 Removing Tracks 159 Moving Tracks in the Track List 160 Renaming Tracks 160 Coloring Tracks 161 Showing Track Pictures 162 Setting the Track Height 163 Selecting Tracks 164 Duplicating Tracks 164 Disabling Tracks 164 Organizing Tracks in Folder Tracks 165 Handling Overlapping Audio 166 Track Folding 167 How Events are Displayed on Folder Tracks 167 Modifying Event Display on Folder Tracks 167 Working with Lanes 170 Dening the Track Time Base 171 TrackVersions 179 Track Presets

185 Parts and Events

185 Events 188 Parts 190 Editing Techniques for Parts and Events

204 Range Editing

204 Creating a Selection Range 205 Editing Selection Ranges

208 Playback and Transport

208 Transport Panel 210 Transport Menu

Table of Contents

215 Transport 217 Transport Pop-Up Window 218 Time Display Window 219 Left and Right Locators 220 Setting the Project Cursor Position 221 Auto-Scroll 221 Time Formats 222 Pre-Roll and Post-Roll 223 Punch In and Punch Out 224 Metronome Click 232 Chase

234 On-Screen Keyboard

234 Recording MIDI With the On-Screen Keyboard 235 On-Screen Keyboard Options

236 Recording

236 Basic Recording Methods 239 Monitoring 242 Audio Recording Specics 246 MIDI Recording Specics 252 Remaining Record Time 252 Lock Record

254 Importing Audio and MIDI Files

254 Importing Audio Files 261 Importing MIDI Files

264 Quantizing MIDI and Audio

264 Quantize Functions 265 Quantizing MIDI Event Starts 266 Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths 266 Quantizing MIDI Event Ends 266 Quantizing Audio Event Starts 267 Quantizing Audio Event Lengths (AudioWarp

Quantizing) (Cubase Pro only)

267 Quantizing Multiple Audio Tracks (Cubase Pro

only)

269 Quantize Panel

278 Fades, Crossfades, and Envelopes

278 Event-Based Fades 282 Creating Clip-Based Fades 283 Crossfades 285 Auto Fades and Crossfades 288 Event Envelopes

290 Arranger Track

290 Adding Arranger Events on the Arranger Track 291 Arranger Editor 294 Setting up an Arranger Chain and Adding

Events

296 Jump Mode 298 Arranging Music to Video

299 Transpose Functions

299 Project Root Key 302 Transpose Track 304 Keep Transpose in Octave Range 305 Transpose on the Info Line 306 Excluding Individual Parts or Events from

Global Transpose

307 Markers

307 Position Markers 307 Cycle Markers 308 Markers Window 312 Marker Track

315 Importing and Exporting Markers

317 MixConsole

317 MixConsole in Lower Zone 320 MixConsole Window

365 VCA Faders (Cubase Pro only)

365 VCA Fader Settings 367 Creating VCA Faders 368 Assigning VCA Faders to Link Groups 368 Removing VCA Faders from Link Groups 369 Nested VCA Faders 369 VCA Fader Automation

372 Control Room (Cubase Pro only)

372 Adding Channels to the Control Room 373 Output Routing 373 Exclusive Assignment of Monitor Channels 373 Control Room Channels 374 Control Room - Main Tab 380 Control Room - Inserts Tab 382 Setting Up a Cue Mix 383 Adjusting the Overall Cue Send Level

385 Metering and Loudness (Cubase Pro only)

385 Metering 386 Loudness Measurement

391 Audio Effects

391 Insert Effects and Send Effects 393 Insert Effects 400 Send Effects 405 Side-Chain Input 407 Dither Effects 408 External Effects (Cubase Pro only) 408 Effect Control Panel 409 Effect Presets 414 System Component Information Window

416 Direct Oine Processing

417 Direct Oine Processing Workow 417 Direct Oine Processing Window 425 Built-In Audio Processes 433 Applying Direct Oine Processing Using Key

Commands

435 Time Stretch and Pitch Shift Algorithms

435 élastique 436 MPEX 436 Standard 437 Limitations

438 Audio Functions

438 Detect Silence 440 Spectrum Analyzer 443 Statistics

445 Sample Editor

447 Toolbar 451 Info Line 451 Overview Line 452 Sample Editor Inspector 455 Ruler 455 Waveform Display 457 Range Editing 461 Regions List 463 Snap Point

Table of Contents

465 Hitpoints

465 Calculating Hitpoints 468 Locating to Hitpoints in the Project Window 468 Slices 470 Creating a Groove Quantize Map 470 Creating Markers 471 Creating Regions 471 Creating Events 471 Creating Warp Markers 472 Creating MIDI Notes

474 Tempo Matching Audio

474 Algorithm Presets 475 Stretching Audio Events to the Project Tempo 475 Musical Mode 477 Auto Adjust 477 Manual Adjust 479 Free Warp 481 Flattening Realtime Processing 481 Unstretching Audio Files

483 VariAudio (Cubase Pro only)

483 VariAudio and Oine Processes 484 Segmenting Monophonic Audio 485 Segments and Gaps 485 Manual Editing of Segments 490 Pitch Changes 493 Micro-Pitch Changes 497 Timing Modications 498 Reset Functions 499 Extracting MIDI from Audio 501 Flattening Realtime Processing 502 Harmony Voices for Audio

503 Audio Part Editor

505 Toolbar 509 Info Line 509 The Ruler 510 About Lanes 510 Operations

514 Controlling Sample Playback with Sampler

Tracks

514 Loading Audio Samples into Sampler Control 514 Loading MIDI Parts into Sampler Control 515 Creating Sampler Tracks 515 Sampler Control 524 Sample Editing and Playback Functions 526 Transferring Samples from Sampler Control to

VST Instruments

527 Pool

527 Pool Window 531 Working with the Pool

546 MediaBay

546 Media Rack in Right Zone 552 MediaBay Window 578 Working with MediaBay-Related Windows 580 Working with Volume Databases 582 MediaBay Settings 583 MediaBay Key Commands

584 Surround Sound (Cubase Pro only)

584 Deliverables 585 Available Surround Channel Congurations 586 Preparations for Creating Surround Mixes 589 VST MultiPanner

601 MixConvert V6 605 Surround Mix Export

606 Automation

606 Automation Curves 606 Static Value Line 606 Write/Read Automation 607 Writing Automation Data 609 Editing Automation Events 614 Automation Tracks 615 Virgin Territory vs. Initial Value (Cubase Pro

only)

616 Automation Panel (Cubase Pro only) 625 MIDI Controller Automation

628 VST Instruments

628 Adding VST Instruments 629 Creating Instrument Tracks 629 VST Instruments in the Right Zone 630 VST Instruments Window 630 VST Instruments Toolbar 631 VST Instrument Controls 632 Presets for Instruments 634 Playing Back VST Instruments 635 Latency 636 Import and Export Options 638 VST Quick Controls 639 Side-Chain Input for VST Instruments 640 External Instruments (Cubase Pro only)

641 Installing and Managing Plug-Ins

641 Installing VST Plug-Ins 641 VST Plug-In Manager 644 Compiling a New Effects Collection

645 Track Quick Controls

646 Parameter Assignment 649 Quick Controls and Automatable Parameters 651 Connecting Track Quick Controls with Remote

Controllers

652 Remote Controlling Cubase

652 Connecting Remote Devices 652 Removing the Remote Input from All MIDI

Inputs

653 Setting Up Remote Devices 655 Remote Devices and Automation 655 Assigning Commands to Remote Devices 656 Generic Remote 661 The Remote Control Editor 665 Joysticks 665 Apple Remote (macOS only) 666 Track Quick Controls 667 VST Quick Controls

668 MIDI Realtime Parameters and MIDI Effects

668 MIDI Track Parameters 670 MIDI Modiers 675 MIDI Effects 678 Transpose and Velocity on the Info Line

679 Using MIDI devices

679 MIDI devices – general settings and patch

handling

687 About Device panels (Cubase Pro only)

690 MIDI Functions

690 Transpose Setup

Table of Contents

691 Merging MIDI Events into a New Part 692 Dissolve Part 694 Bouncing MIDI Parts 695 Repeating MIDI Events of Independent Track

Loops

695 Extending MIDI Notes 696 Fixing MIDI Note Lengths 696 Fixing MIDI Note Velocities 696 Rendering Sustain Pedal Data to Note Lengths 697 Deleting Overlaps 697 Editing Velocity 698 Deleting Double Notes 698 Deleting Controller Data 698 Deleting Continuous Controller Data 699 Restricting Polyphonic Voices 699 Thinning Out Controller Data 699 Extracting MIDI Automation 700 Reversing the Playback Order of MIDI Events 700 Inverting the Order of Selected MIDI Events 700 Creating a Tempo Track from Tapping (Cubase

Pro only)

702 MIDI Editors

702 Common MIDI Editor Functions 709 Key Editor 720 Key Editor Operations 737 Basic Score Editor (Cubase Artist only) 743 Score Editor Operations (Cubase Artist only) 750 Drum Editor 764 Drum Editor Operations 767 Drum Maps 771 List Editor 780 List Editor Operations 785 In-Place Editor

788 Expression Maps (Cubase Pro only)

789 Articulations 789 Expression Map Setup 790 Creating and Editing Expression Maps 797 Inserting Articulations

800 Note Expression

800 VST 3 Controller Parameters 801 MIDI Controller Parameters 801 Note Expression Inspector Section 804 Note Expression Tools 805 Controller Parameter Mapping 806 Recording 809 Note Expression Event Editor 814 Trimming Note Expression Data 815 Removing All Note Expression Data 815 Note Expression MIDI Setup Dialog

819 Chord Functions

819 Chord Track 820 Chord Events 827 Scale Events 828 Voicings 830 Converting Chord Events to MIDI 831 Controlling MIDI or Audio Playback Using the

Chord Track

834 Assigning Voices to Notes 834 Extracting Chord Events from MIDI 835 Recording Chord Events with a MIDI Keyboard

837 Chord Pads

837 Chord Pads 840 Functions Menu 840 Preparations 841 Chord Assistant 843 Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 846 Moving and Copying Chord Pads 847 Playing Back and Recording Chords 848 Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control 852 Chord Pad Settings – Players 857 Chord Pad Settings – Pad Layout 858 Chord Pads Presets 858 Creating Events from Chord Pads

860 Logical Editor

860 Window overview 861 Filter Conditions 870 Selecting a function 871 Specifying actions 874 Applying the Dened Actions 874 Presets

876 Project Logical Editor (Cubase Pro only)

876 Window Overview 877 Filter Conditions 886 Specifying Actions 889 Selecting a Function 890 Applying Macros 890 Applying the Dened Actions 890 Presets

892 Editing Tempo and Time Signature

892 Project Tempo Modes 892 Track Time Base 893 Tempo Track Editor 894 Tempo Track 896 Setting up Tempo Changes for Projects 900 Setting up a Fixed Project Tempo 902 Beat Calculator 903 Tempo Detection (Cubase Pro only) 904 Exporting a Tempo Track (Cubase Pro only) 904 Importing a Tempo Track (Cubase Pro only) 905 Process Tempo (Cubase Pro only) 906 Process Bars (Cubase Pro only) 906 Time Warp (Cubase Pro only) 908 Set Denition From Tempo 908 Time Signature Events

911 Project Browser (Cubase Pro only)

911 Toolbar 912 Project Structure 912 Event Display

915 Rendering Audio and MIDI

915 Render Tracks 917 Render Selection

920 Export Audio Mixdown

921 Mixing Down to Audio Files 922 Available Channels for Export 923 File Location 926 File Format 932 Audio Engine Output 933 Import Into Project 934 Post Process

935 Synchronization

935 Background

Table of Contents

936 Timecode (positional references) 938 Clock sources (speed references) 939 The Project Synchronization Setup dialog 943 Synchronized operation 944 Example Scenarios (Cubase Pro only) 945 Working with VST System Link 948 Activating VST System Link

956 Video

956 Video File Compatibility 957 Frame Rates 957 Video Output Devices 958 Preparations for Creating Video Projects 960 Preparations for Video Playback 962 Editing Video

964 Exchanging Files with Other Applications

964 OMF Files (Cubase Pro only)

968 ReWire

968 Introduction 968 Enabling ReWire Applications 969 Launching and quitting 970 Activating ReWire channels 970 Using the transport and tempo controls 971 How the ReWire channels are handled 971 Routing MIDI via ReWire 972 Considerations and limitations

973 Key Commands

973 Adding Key Commands 974 Searching for Key Commands 974 Removing Key Commands 974 Setting Up Macros 975 Saving Key Commands Presets 975 Loading Key Command Presets 976 Importing Key Command Settings 976 Resetting Key Commands 977 The Default Key Commands 988 Setting Up Tool Modier Keys

990 Customizing

990 Workspaces 994 Using the Setup Options 995 Customizing the Meter Colors 996 Customizing the User Interface Colors 997 Color Selector Pane 998 Coloring Tracks, Parts, or Events Manually 998 Auto Track Color Mode 999 Colorizing Track Controls 1000 Project Colors Dialog 1001 Proles (Cubase Pro only) 1005 Where are the Settings Stored?

1007 Optimizing

1007 Optimizing Audio Performance

1011 Preferences

1011 Preferences Dialog 1013 Editing 1020 Editors 1021 Event Display 1024 General 1025 MIDI 1030 MediaBay 1030 Metering 1031 Record 1033 Scores (Cubase Pro only)

1035 Transport 1036 User Interface 1037 VST 1040 VariAudio (Cubase Pro only) 1041 Video

1042 Index

Table of Contents

The documentation covers the following Steinberg products: Cubase Pro and Cubase Artist.

Functions that are only available in Cubase Pro and not in Cubase Artist are clearly indicated. The screenshots are taken from Cubase Pro.

Platform-Independent Documentation

The documentation applies to the operating systems Windows and macOS.

Features and settings that are specic to one of these platforms are clearly indicated. In all other cases, the descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for

Windows and macOS.

Some points to consider:

● The screenshots are taken from Windows.

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

About the Documentation

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

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

● In the program, select Help > Cubase Help.

Quick Start Guide

Covers the following areas without going into details:

● System requirements, installation procedure, and license activation.

● Setting up your system for audio and MIDI work.

Operation Manual

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

Score Layout and Printing (Cubase Pro only)

Describes the professional music notation, score editing, and printing features included in the Score Editor.

Remote Control Devices

Lists the supported MIDI remote control devices.

Plug-in Reference

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

Introduction

HALion Sonic SE

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

Groove Agent SE

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

Retrologue

Describes the features and parameters of the included VST instrument Retrologue.

MIDI Devices

Describes how to manage MIDI Devices and device panels.

VST Connect SE (Cubase Pro only)

Describes how to work with the VST Connect SE features.

Conventions

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

Typographical Elements

The following typographical elements mark the following purposes.

PREREQUISITE

Requires you to complete an action or to fulll a condition before starting a procedure.

PROCEDURE

Lists the steps that you must take to achieve a specic result.

IMPORTANT

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

NOTE

Informs you about issues that you should consider.

EXAMPLE

Provides you with an example.

RESULT

Shows the result of the procedure.

AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK

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

RELATED LINKS

Lists related topics that you can nd in this documentation.

Markup

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

EXAMPLE

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

Introduction Conventions

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

EXAMPLE

Select Project > Add Track.

Key Commands

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

When key commands with modier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modier key rst followed by the macOS and the key:

● Windows modier key/macOS modier key-Z

EXAMPLE

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

Introduction Key Commands

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

Setting Up Audio

IMPORTANT

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

Simple Stereo Input and Output Setup

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

Audio Connections

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

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 example, different inputs can be used, such as consumer line level (-10 dBV) or professional line level (+4 dBu).

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

IMPORTANT

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

Word Clock Connections

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

IMPORTANT

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

Selecting an Audio Driver

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

NOTE

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

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

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

4. Click OK.

Setting Up Audio Hardware

PREREQUISITE

You have selected a driver for your audio hardware.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

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

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

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

● On Windows, click Control Panel.

● On macOS, click Open Cong App.

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

NOTE

The control panel is provided by the manufacturer of your audio hardware and is different for each audio interface brand and model. However, control panels for the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver

(Windows only) are provided by Steinberg.

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

VST Audio System

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

● To open the VST Audio System section, select Studio > Studio Setup and select VST Audio System in the Devices list.

The following options are available:

ASIO Driver

Allows you to select a driver.

Release Driver when Application is in Background

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

Input Latency

Shows the input latency of the audio hardware.

Output Latency

Shows the output latency of the audio hardware.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

ASIO-Guard Latency

Shows the ASIO-Guard latency.

HW Sample Rate

Shows the sample rate of your audio hardware.

HW Pull Up/Down

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

Set to Defaults

Allows you to restore the default settings.

Processing Precision

Allows you to set the audio processing precision to 32 bit oat or 64 bit oat. Depending on this setting, all channels are processed and mixed in 32-bit oating- point or 64-bit oating-point format.

NOTE

A processing precision of 64 bit oat can increase CPU load and memory consumption.

To show all plug-ins that support 64-bit oat processing, open the VST Plug-in

Manager and activate Show Plug-ins That Support 64-Bit Processing in the Display Options pop-up menu.

NOTE

VST2 plug-ins and instruments are always processed with 32-bit precision.

Activate Multi Processing

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

Activate ASIO-Guard

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

ASIO-Guard Level

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

Audio Priority (Windows only)

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

Boost.

Activate Steinberg Audio Power Scheme

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

Disk Preload

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

Adjust for Record Latency

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

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

Record Shift

Allows you to shift the recordings by the specied value.

RELATED LINKS

VST Plug-In Manager Window on page 641

ASIO Driver Setup

This section allows you to set up your ASIO driver.

● To open the section where you can set up the ASIO driver, select Studio > Studio Setup and select the audio driver in the Devices list.

The following options are available:

Control Panel

Opens the control panel for the audio hardware.

Input Latency

Shows the input latency of the audio driver.

Output Latency

Shows the output latency of the audio driver.

Clock Source

Allows you to select a clock source.

Externally Clocked

Activate this option if you use an external clock source.

Direct Monitoring

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

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

Ports Reset

Allows you to reset all port names and visibilities.

I/O

The port input/output status.

Port System Name

The system name of the port.

Show As

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

Visible

Allows you to activate/deactivate audio ports.

State

The state of the audio port.

Using External Clock Sources

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

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

3. Activate Externally clocked.

RESULT

Cubase now derives its speed from the external source.

NOTE

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

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

Using Several Audio Applications Simultaneously

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

PREREQUISITE

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

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

3. Activate Release Driver when Application is in Background.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

RESULT

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

Audio Hardware Conguration

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

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

Settings include:

●

Selecting which inputs/outputs are active.

● Setting up word clock synchronization.

● Turning on/off monitoring via the hardware.

● Setting levels for each input.

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

● Selecting digital input and output formats.

● Making settings for the audio buffers.

Setting Up Input and Output Ports

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

PREREQUISITE

You have selected a driver for your audio hardware.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

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

3. Make your settings.

4. Click OK.

RELATED LINKS

ASIO Driver Setup on page 15

Audio Bus Setup

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

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

●

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

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

RELATED LINKS

Audio Connections on page 21

Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio

Monitoring

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

The following ways of monitoring are available.

●

Externally by listening to the signal before it reaches Cubase.

● Via Cubase.

● By using ASIO Direct Monitoring.

This is a combination of the other methods.

RELATED LINKS

External Monitoring on page 240 Monitoring via Cubase on page 240 ASIO Direct Monitoring on page 240

Setting Up MIDI

IMPORTANT

Turn off all equipment before making any connections.

PROCEDURE

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

2. Install the drivers for your MIDI equipment.

RESULT

You can use your MIDI equipment in Cubase.

MIDI Connections

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

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

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

Showing or Hiding MIDI Ports

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select MIDI Port Setup.

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

4. Click OK.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up MIDI

Setting Up All MIDI Inputs

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

All MIDI Inputs for a MIDI track.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select MIDI Port Setup.

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

NOTE

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

4. Click OK.

RESULT

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

MIDI Port Setup

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

● To open the MIDI Port Setup page, select Studio > Studio Setup and activate MIDI Port Setup in the Devices list.

The following colums are displayed:

Device

The connected MIDI devices.

I/O

The port input/output status.

Setting Up Your System Setting Up MIDI

Port System Name

The system name of the port.

Show As

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

Visible

Allows you to activate/deactivate MIDI ports.

State

The state of the MIDI port.

In 'All MIDI Inputs'

Allows you to record MIDI data from all MIDI inputs.

NOTE

Deactivate this option if you use remote control devices.

The following options are available:

Use System Timestamp for 'Windows MIDI' Inputs

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

Use Device 'DirectMusic'

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

Use System Timestamp for 'DirectMusic' Inputs

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

Plug and Play Support for USB MIDI Devices

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

Connecting a Synchronizer

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

IMPORTANT

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

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

RELATED LINKS

Synchronization on page 935

Setting Up Your System Connecting a Synchronizer

To play back and record in Cubase, you must set up input and output busses in the Audio Connections window. Here, you can also set up group and FX channels, external effects, external instruments, and the Control Room (Cubase Pro only).

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

Audio Connections Window

The Audio Connections window allows you to set up input and output busses, group and FX channels, external effects, and external instruments. Furthermore, you can use this window to access and congure the Control Room (Cubase Pro only).

● To open the Audio Connections window, select Studio > Audio Connections.

Inputs/Outputs Tab

The Input and Output tabs allow you to set up and congure input and output busses.

The following options are available above the bus list:

+- All

Expands/Collapses all busses in the bus list.

Add Bus

Opens the Add Input Bus dialog, where you can create a new bus conguration.

Presets

Opens the Presets menu, where you can select bus conguration presets. Store allows you to save a bus conguration as preset. Delete deletes the selected preset.

The following columns are available for the bus list:

Bus Name

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

Audio Connections

Speakers

Indicates the speaker conguration (mono, stereo, surround formats (Cubase Pro only)) of each bus.

Audio Device

Shows the selected ASIO driver.

Device Port

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

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

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

For example, “Adat 1 [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)” means that the Adat1 port is already assigned to 3 stereo busses plus 2 additional busses.

Group/FX Tab (Cubase Pro only)

This tab allows you to create group and FX channels/tracks and to make output assignments for these.

The following options are available above the bus list:

+- All

Expands/Collapses all busses in the bus list.

Add Group

Opens the Add Group Channel Track dialog, where you can create a new group channel track.

Add FX

Opens the Add FX Channel Track dialog, where you can create a new FX channel track.

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 conguration (mono, stereo, surround formats (Cubase Pro only)) of each bus.

Output Routing

Lets you select the output routing for the corresponding bus.

External FX Tab (Cubase Pro only)

This tab allows you to create send effect or return busses. You can use these to connect external effects which can then be selected via the effect pop-up menus from inside the program.

Audio Connections Audio Connections Window

The following options are available above the bus list:

+- All

Expands/Collapses all busses in the bus list.

Add External FX

Opens the Add External FX dialog, where you can congure a new external FX.

Favorites

Lets you store external effect congurations as favorites that you can recall.

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 conguration (mono, stereo, surround formats (Cubase Pro only)) of each bus.

Audio Device

Shows the selected ASIO driver.

Device Port

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

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

For example, “Adat 1 [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)” means that the Adat1 port is already assigned to 3 stereo busses plus 2 additional busses.

Delay

Allows you to enter a value to compensate for an inherent delay (latency) of your hardware effect device during playback. You can right-click the Delay column for the effect and select Check User Delay to automatically determine the delay value.

NOTE

The latency of the audio hardware is handled automatically by Cubase.

Send Gain

Allows you to adjust the level of the signal that is sent to the external effect.

Return Gain

Allows you to adjust the level of the signal that the external effect sends.

Audio Connections Audio Connections Window

NOTE

Excessive output levels from an external effect device can cause clipping in the audio hardware. You cannot use the Return Gain setting to compensate for this. You must lower the output level on the effect device instead.

MIDI Device

When you click in this column, a pop-up menu opens where you can disconnect the effect from the associated MIDI device, select a MIDI device, create a new device, or open the

MIDI Device Manager to edit the MIDI device.

Used

Whenever you insert an external effect into an audio track, this column shows a checkmark (x) to indicate that the effect is being used.

External Instruments Tab (Cubase Pro only)

This tab allows you to create input/output busses that can be used to connect external instruments.

The following options are available above the bus list:

+- All

Expands/Collapses all busses in the bus list.

Add External Instrument

Opens the Add External Instrument dialog, where you can congure a new external instrument.

Favorites

Lets you store external instrument congurations as favorites that you can recall.

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 conguration (mono, stereo, surround formats (Cubase Pro only)) of each bus.

Audio Device

Shows the selected ASIO driver.

Device Port

Audio Connections Audio Connections Window

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

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

For example, “Adat 1 [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)” means that the Adat1 port is already assigned to 3 stereo busses plus 2 additional busses.

Delay

Allows you to enter a value to compensate for an inherent delay (latency) of your hardware effect device during playback. You can right-click the Delay column for the instrument and select Check User Delay to automatically determine the delay value that is used for delay compensation.

NOTE

The latency of the audio hardware is handled automatically by Cubase.

Return Gain

Allows you to adjust the level of the signal coming in from the external instrument.

NOTE

Excessive output levels from an external effect device can cause clipping in the audio hardware. The Return Gain setting cannot be used to compensate for this. You must lower the output level on the effect device instead.

MIDI Device

When you click in this column, a pop-up menu opens where you can disconnect the instrument from the associated MIDI device, select a MIDI device, create a new device, or open the MIDI Device Manager to edit the MIDI device.

Used

Whenever you insert the external instrument into a VST instrument slot, this column shows a checkmark (x) to indicate that the instrument is being used.

Control Room Tab (Cubase Pro only)

This tab allows you to enable and congure the Control Room.

The following options are available above the bus list:

+- All

Expands/Collapses all busses in the bus list.

Audio Connections Audio Connections Window

Add Channel

Opens a menu where you can select the type of channel that you want to add. You can add the following channels:

● External Input

● Talkback

● Cue

● Headphone

● Monitor

Presets

Opens the Presets menu, where you can select bus conguration presets. Store allows you to save a bus conguration as preset. Delete deletes the selected preset.

Enable/Disable Control Room

Enables/Disables the Control Room.

Open Control Room

Opens the Control Room window.

Conguration

Displays the selected channel conguration.

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 conguration (mono, stereo, surround formats (Cubase Pro only)) of each bus.

Audio Device

Shows the selected ASIO driver.

Device Port

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

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

For example, “Adat 1 [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)” means that the Adat1 port is already assigned to 3 stereo busses plus 2 additional busses.

RELATED LINKS

Control Room (Cubase Pro only) on page 372

Audio Connections Audio Connections Window

Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

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

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

NOTE

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

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

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

4. In the Devices list, select your audio hardware driver.

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

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

7. Click OK.

RELATED LINKS

Re-Routing Missing Ports on page 91

Hiding Ports

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

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

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

4. Click OK.

Activating and Deactivating Ports (macOS only)

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

NOTE

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

Audio Connections Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

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

3. Click Control Panel.

4. Activate/Deactivate ports.

5. Click OK.

Adding Input and Output Busses

PROCEDURE

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

2. Click Add Bus.

3. In the Add Input Bus dialog, congure 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 conguration.

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.

PROCEDURE

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

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

RESULT

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

RELATED LINKS

Inputs/Outputs Tab on page 21

Adding Child Busses (Cubase Pro only)

Child busses allow you to route tracks to particular channels within a bus.

For example, you can route a stereo track to a stereo channel pair within a surround bus. Or you can record a stereo channel pair in the surround bus to a separate stereo track.

PROCEDURE

1. On the Inputs tab, Outputs tab, or Group/FX tab, right-click a surround bus.

Audio Connections Adding Input and Output Busses

2. Click Add Child Bus and select a channel conguration.

RESULT

The child bus is created and can be used for routing.

Presets for Input and Output Busses

For input and output bus congurations, you can use different kinds of presets.

● A number of standard bus congurations.

●

Automatically created presets tailored to your specic hardware conguration.

On startup, Cubase analyzes the physical inputs and outputs that are provided by your audio hardware and creates a number of hardware-dependent presets.

● Your own presets.

NOTE

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

Saving a Bus Conguration Preset

You can save your own input and output bus conguration and the studio conguration as presets.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Audio Connections.

2. Set up your bus conguration.

3. Click Store .

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

5. Click OK.

RESULT

The preset is available in the Presets menu.

Deleting a Bus Conguration Preset

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Audio Connections.

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

3. Click Delete .

RESULT

The preset is deleted.

Audio Connections Presets for Input and Output Busses

Adding Group and FX Channels (Cubase Pro only)

Group channels and FX channels allow you to group bus congurations.

Adding group and FX channels in the Audio Connections window is identical to creating group channel tracks or FX channel tracks in the

Project window.

PROCEDURE

1. In the Audio Connections dialog, click the Group/FX tab.

2. Do one of the following:

●

To create a group channel, click Add Group.

● To create an FX channel, click Add FX.

3. Congure the channel.

4. Optional: Enter a name for the group channel track.

5. Click Add Track.

The group channel or FX channel is added to the bus list.

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

RELATED LINKS

Audio Effects on page 391

About Monitoring

In the Audio Connections window, you can set up the busses that are used for monitoring, activate/deactivate and open the Control Room.

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

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

RELATED LINKS

Control Room (Cubase Pro only) on page 372 MixConsole on page 317

External Instruments and Effects (Cubase Pro only)

You can integrate external effect devices and external instruments, for example, hardware synthesizers, into the sequencer signal ow.

Requirements

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

An external effect requires at least one input and one output or input/output pairs for stereo effects in addition to the input/output ports that you use for recording and monitoring.

● To use external instruments, a MIDI interface must be connected to your computer.

● Audio hardware with low-latency drivers.

Cubase compensates for the input/output latency and ensures that the audio that is processed through external effects is not shifted in time.

Audio Connections Adding Group and FX Channels (Cubase Pro only)

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