Steinberg Cubase Studio - 5.0 User Manual [es]
Getting Started
Cómo Empezar
Tutorials by Steve Kostrey
Revision and Quality Control:
Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer
Thanks to: Georg Bruns
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.
All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Windows XP is a trademark of
Microsoft Corporation. Windows Vista is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and/or other countries. The Mac logo is a trademark used under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh
are registered trademarks.
Release Date: January 7, 2009
© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2009.
All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
1 Getting Started
Cómo Empezar
3 Table of Contents
6 Introduction
7 Welcome
7 About the manuals and the help
8 About the program versions
8 Key command conventions
8 How you can reach us
9 System requirements and installation
10 About this chapter
10 Minimum requirements
12 Hardware installation
13 Installing Cubase
13 Defragmenting the hard disk (Windows only)
13 Register your software
14 Setting up your system
15 Setting up audio
19 Setting up MIDI
20 Connecting a synchronizer
21 Setting up video
21 Optimizing audio performance
23 Tutorial 1: Recording audio
24 Creating a new project
25 Setting up the VST connections
26 Level settings and recording
28 Playback
29 Recording modes with cycle off
29 Cycle recording
31 Stacked recording
32 Tutorial 2: Editing audio
33 Event operations
38 Event envelopes
38 Processing audio
39 Offline process history
40 Tutorial 3: Recording and editing MIDI
41 Introduction
41 Creating an Instrument Track
42 Browsing sounds
42 MIDI recording
43 MIDI playback
44 Recording modes with cycle off
44 Cycle recording
45 The Key Editor
46 The Controller lane
47 Tutorial 4: Working with loops
48 Loop Browser
48 Adding loops
49 Making copies
49 Insert into Project
50 Tutorial 5: External MIDI instruments
(Cubase only)
51 Introduction
51 Setting up MIDI devices
51 Setting up VST connections for external instru-
ments
52 Monitoring external MIDI instruments
53 Recording MIDI and external instruments
54 Tutorial 6: Mixing and effects
55 Introduction
55 Setting levels
56 Setting panorama
56 Mute and solo
57 Adding EQ
58 Audio effects
60 About automation
61 Exporting
63 Tutorial 7: Surround production (Cu-
base only)
64 Surround busses
66 Setting up a surround mix
67 Recording in surround
68 Exporting a surround file
4
Table of Contents
69 Tutorial 8: Editing audio II – tempo and
groove
70 Background
70 Drum loop, tempo known
71 Drum loop, Auto Adjust
72 Drum loop, Manual Adjust
73 Working with selections
74 Changing pitch using VariAudio
75 Editing segments using VariAudio
77 Tilting notes using VariAudio
78 VariAudio and vocals
81 Tutorial 9: Media management
82 Background
82 MediaBay, Loop Browser and Sound Browser
84 Scanning with the browser
85 Searching for media
86 Auditioning media with the Scope
86 Tagging
88 Index
5
Table of Contents
1
Introduction
Welcome
Congratulations and thank you for your purchase of Steinberg Cubase/Cubase Studio. 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH and our
key message “Creativity First” has never had more meaning than today. Over many years and many product generations Cubase has grown from a classic MIDI sequencer
to possibly the most powerful music production software
money can buy. And as a Cubase user, you have now become a member of the largest community of music software users on the planet!
With Cubase you have chosen an advanced music production system, which will take you from the very first idea
to the final mix. Maybe you’re a keyboard player, a songwriter, an instrumentalist or a mixing engineer. Maybe
you’re a professional, a hobby musician, a student or a
teacher – Cubase has it all covered and gives you the
tools you need to record, edit, mix and master your music.
Unique features such as the Arranger Track, VST Sound,
Control Room (Cubase only) and the introduction of industry standards like VST and ASIO are good examples
for how Steinberg technology has always driven music
technology and paved ways for others to follow.
Designed by the software engineers at Steinberg and the
hardware experts at Yamaha, Steinberg Advanced Integration hardware is the ideal choice for you as a valued
Cubase customer. Full plug&play connectivity and True Integrated Monitoring™ are only two of the many advantages that come with hardware and software that have
been made for each other.
Cubase 5 puts new creative tools into your hands, which
allow you to realize your musical ideas more easily and intuitively than ever before. LoopMash (Cubase only) is a
revolutionary virtual instrument offering a fresh and innovative way of producing stunning new beats and loop variations. Groove Agent One pairs powerful drum sampling
with detailed sound shaping – all seamlessly integrated
into Cubase and working hand in hand with the new Beat
Designer plug-in, so you can capture your ideas faster and
experiment freely.
VariAudio offers completely integrated pitch and note
length editing for individual notes in monophonic vocal recordings - bridging the gap between traditional MIDI and
audio editing. The new Pitch Correct plug-in in Cubase introduces easy and automatic intonation control and scale
correction of vocal and monophonic instrument recordings. If you are into composing, you will be excited about
VST Expression which takes the pain out of working with
multiple instrument articulations of huge libraries by introducing customizable and transparently integrated editing
with precision access in the Key and Score Editors. These
are just a few examples of how Cubase supports and expands your creative vision.
Don’t forget to register at MySteinberg and get access to
online support offers and additional exclusive services.
We also welcome you to the Cubase community at our
online forum cubase.net.
See you around! Your Steinberg Cubase Team
About the manuals and the help
The Cubase documentation is divided into several sections, as listed below. Some of the documents are in
Adobe Acrobat format (extension “.pdf”) – these can be
accessed in the following ways:
• You can open the pdf documents from the Documentation
submenu on the Help menu in the program.
• Under Windows you can also open these documents from the
Cubase Documentation subfolder on the Windows Start menu.
• Under Mac OS X the pdf documents are located in the folder
“/Library/Documentation/Steinberg/Cubase 5”.
Ö To read the pdf documents, you need to have a suitable pdf reader application installed on your computer.
An installer for Adobe Reader is provided on the program DVD.
The Getting Started manual
This is the manual you are reading now. It covers the following areas:
• Computer requirements.
• Installation issues.
• Setting up your system for audio, MIDI and/or video work.
• Tutorials describing the most common procedures for record-
ing, playing back, mixing and editing in Cubase.
In other words, this manual does not go into detail on any
Cubase windows, functions or procedures.
7
Introduction
The Operation Manual
The Operation Manual is the main Cubase reference documentation, with detailed descriptions of Cubase operations,
parameters, functions and techniques. It also includes detailed information about the Score Editor. You should be familiar with the concepts and methods described in the Getting Started manual before moving on to the Operation
Manual.
Similarly, some features and settings are specific to one of
the platforms, Windows or Mac OS X. This is clearly
stated in the applicable cases. In other words:
Ö If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures
in the documentation are valid for both Cubase and Cubase Studio, under Windows and Mac OS X.
The screenshots are taken from the Windows version of Cubase.
MIDI Devices
This pdf document contains descriptions of how to manage MIDI Devices and device panels.
Plug-in Reference
This manual describes the features and parameters of the
included VST plug-ins, realtime audio effects, VST Instruments and the MIDI effects.
Remote Control Devices
This pdf document lists the supported MIDI remote control
devices.
Menu Reference
This pdf document provides a list of all menus and their
options with a brief description, for quick reference.
The dialog help
To get information about the active dialog, click its Help
button.
About the program versions
The documentation covers two program versions; Cubase
and Cubase Studio, for two different operating systems or
“platforms”; Windows and Mac OS X.
Some features described in the documentation are only
applicable to the Cubase version. Whenever this is the
case this will be clearly indicated in the heading of the related subject.
Key command conventions
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] under Windows and [Command]-[Z] under 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] un-
der Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press
[Z]”. Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] under
Windows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”.
Ö Please note that this manual often refers to “rightclicking”, e.g. to open context menus. If you are using a
Macintosh computer with a single-button mouse, hold
down [Ctrl] and click.
How you can reach us
On the Help menu in Cubase you will find items for getting
additional information and help:
• On the “Steinberg on the Web” submenu, you can find
links to various Steinberg web sites. Selecting one will automatically launch your browser application and open the
page.
You can find support and compatibility information, answers to frequently
asked questions, links for downloading new drivers, etc. This requires
that you have a web browser application installed on your computer, and
a working Internet connection.
8
Introduction
2
System requirements and installation
About this chapter
!
General notes on how to set up your system
This chapter describes the requirements and installation
procedures for the Windows version and the Mac version
of Cubase.
Minimum requirements
To use Cubase, your computer must meet the following
minimum requirements:
Windows
• Windows XP (Home or Professional, Service Pack 2),
or Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit – see below)
• 2 GHz processor (Dual Core processor recommended)
•1024MB RAM
• Windows DirectX compatible audio hardware;
ASIO compatible audio hardware recommended for low
latency performance.
• Display resolution of 1280x800 pixels recommended
• 4GB of free hard disk space
• Steinberg Key and USB component connector
• DVD ROM drive with dual layer support required for installation
• Internet connection required for license activation
Macintosh
• Mac OS X 10.5.5
• PowerPC G5 (Intel Core Duo processor recommended)
•1024MB RAM
• CoreAudio compatible audio hardware
• Display resolution of 1280x800 pixels
• 4GB of free hard disk space
• Steinberg Key and USB component connector
• DVD ROM drive with dual layer support required for installation
• Internet connection required for license activation
On the Steinberg web site, under “Support–DAW
Components”, you can find detailed information on
what to consider when setting up a computer system
dedicated to audio work.
• RAM – There is a direct relation between the amount of
available RAM and the number of audio channels that you
can have running.
The amount of RAM specified above is the minimum requirement, but as
a general rule “the more the better” applies.
• Hard disk size – The size of the hard disk determines
how many minutes of audio you will be able to record.
Recording one minute of stereo CD quality audio requires 10 MB of hard
disk space. That is, eight stereo tracks in Cubase use up at least 80 MB
of disk space per recording minute.
• Hard disk speed – The speed of the hard drive also determines the number of audio tracks you can run.
That is the quantity of information that the disk can read, usually expressed as “sustained transfer rate”. Again, “the more the better” applies.
• Wheel mouse – Although a mouse without a wheel will
work fine with Cubase, we recommend that you use a
wheel mouse.
This will speed up value editing and scrolling considerably.
MIDI requirements
If you intend to use the MIDI features of Cubase, you need
the following:
• A MIDI interface to connect external MIDI equipment to your
computer.
•A MIDI instrument.
• Any audio equipment required to listen to the sound from your
MIDI devices.
Ö If you want to install the 64-bit version of Cubase,
make sure you read the ReadMe document on this topic
before proceeding.
You will find this document, called “Windows_Vista_64bit_[language].rtf”, on the installation DVD, in the ReadMe Files folder.
10
System requirements and installation
Audio hardware
!
!
Cubase will run with audio hardware that meets the following specifications:
•Stereo.
•16 bit.
• Support of at least the 44.1kHz sampling rate.
• Windows – The audio hardware must be supplied with a special ASIO driver, or a DirectX compatible driver, see below.
• Windows Vista only – If there is no dedicated ASIO driver
available, you can also use the Generic Low Latency ASIO
Driver.
• Mac – The audio hardware must be supplied with Mac OS Xcompatible drivers (CoreAudio or ASIO).
Using the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh
(Mac only)
Although Cubase is designed with multi-channel input
and output in mind, it’s of course possible to use the program with “basic” stereo inputs and outputs. As of this
writing, all current Macintosh models provide at least builtin 16 bit stereo audio hardware. For detailed information,
refer to the documentation describing your computer.
Depending on your preferences and requirements, using
the built-in audio hardware may be sufficient for use with
Cubase. It is always available for selection in Cubase –
you don’t need to install any additional drivers.
Some Macintosh models have audio outputs but no
inputs. This means that you can only play back audio
– recording is not possible without additional audio
hardware.
About drivers
A driver is a piece of software that allows a program to
communicate with a certain piece of hardware. In this
case, the driver allows Cubase to use the audio hardware.
For audio hardware, there are two different cases, requiring different driver configurations:
If the audio hardware has a specific ASIO driver
Professional audio cards often come with an ASIO driver
written especially for the card. This allows for communication directly between Cubase and the audio card. As a result, audio cards with specific ASIO drivers can provide
lower latency (input-output delay), which is crucial when
monitoring audio via Cubase or using VST Instruments.
The ASIO driver may also provide special support for multiple inputs and outputs, routing, synchronization, etc.
Audio card-specific ASIO drivers are provided by the card
manufacturers. Make sure to check the manufacturer’s
web site for the latest driver versions.
If your audio hardware comes with a specific ASIO
driver we strongly recommend that you use this.
If the audio card communicates via the Generic Low
Latency ASIO driver (Windows Vista only)
If you are working with Windows Vista, you can use the
Generic Low Latency ASIO driver. This is a generic ASIO
driver that provides ASIO support for all audio cards supported by Windows Vista, thus allowing for low latency.
The Generic Low Latency ASIO driver provides the Windows Vista Core Audio technology in Cubase. No additional driver is needed.
Ö Though the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver provides low latency for all audio cards, you might get better
results with on-board audio cards than with external USB
audio devices.
If the audio card communicates via DirectX
(Windows only)
DirectX is a Microsoft “package” for handling various
types of multimedia data under Windows. Cubase supports DirectX, or to be more precise, DirectSound, which
is a part of DirectX used for playing back and recording
audio. This requires two types of drivers:
• A DirectX driver for the audio card, allowing it to communicate
with DirectX. If the audio card supports DirectX, this driver
should be supplied by the audio card manufacturer. If it isn’t
installed with the audio card, please check the manufacturer’s
web site for more information.
• The ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver, allowing Cubase to communicate with DirectX. This driver is included with Cubase,
and does not require any special installation.
11
System requirements and installation
Hardware installation
!
Copy protection
Please read the following section before installing
the Cubase software.
Many Steinberg products use the Steinberg Key (also referred to as a “dongle” or “eLicenser”), a hardware copy
protection device. Cubase will not run if there is no Steinberg Key containing an activated license.
The Steinberg Key
The Steinberg Key is, in fact, a little computer on which your
Steinberg software licenses are stored. All hardware-protected Steinberg products use the same type of key, and
you can store more than one license on one key. Also, licenses can (within certain limits) be transferred between
keys – which is helpful, e.g. if you want to sell a piece of
software.
The Syncrosoft License Control Center (which can be
found on the Start menu on Windows systems or the Applications folder on a Mac) is the place where you can
check the licenses installed on your Steinberg Key.
• If you are using other copy-protected Steinberg products, you may want to transfer all licenses for your applications to only one Steinberg Key, thus using up only one
USB port of your computer.
To transfer licenses between keys, launch the License Transfer wizard of
the Syncrosoft License Control Center and follow the instructions.
• The full version of Cubase is sold with a Steinberg Key
and an Activation Code, which is found on the Essential
Product License Information card within the product package. The Steinberg Key already contains a time-limited license that allows you to use Cubase out-of-the-box for a
total of 25 non-consecutive hours. However, to be able to
make unlimited use of your version of Cubase, you must
activate your permanent license manually, using the activation code.
To do so, launch the License Download wizard of the Syncrosoft License
Control Center and follow the instructions.
• Steinberg software products always come with a li-
cense activation code, but not always with a Steinberg
Key.
If you want to activate a license for such a Steinberg software (e. g. an
update/upgrade, or a VSTi) on the Steinberg Key you received with your
original version of Cubase, launch the License Download wizard of the
Syncrosoft License Control Center and follow the instructions.
More information on the transfer or activation of licenses
can be found in the help for the Syncrosoft License Control Center.
Installing the audio hardware and its driver
1. Install the audio card and related equipment in the
computer, as described in the card’s documentation.
2. Install the driver for the card.
Depending on the operating system of your computer, there are different
types of drivers that could apply: card-specific ASIO drivers, the Generic
Low Latency ASIO Driver (Windows Vista only), DirectX drivers (Windows) or Mac OS X (Mac) drivers.
Specific ASIO drivers
If your audio card has a specific ASIO driver, it may be included with the audio card, but you should always make
sure to check the audio card manufacturer’s web site for
the most recent drivers. For details on how to install the
driver, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver (Windows Vista only)
On Windows Vista systems, you can also use the Generic
Low Latency ASIO Driver if there is no specific ASIO
driver available. This driver is included with Cubase and
does not require any special installation.
DirectX drivers (Windows only)
If your audio card is DirectX compatible, its DirectX drivers
will most likely be installed when you install the card. If you
have downloaded special DirectX drivers for the audio
card, you should follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
Mac OS X drivers (Mac only)
If you are using a Macintosh computer, make sure you are
using the latest Mac OS X drivers for your audio hardware.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to install the driver.
12
System requirements and installation
Testing the card
!
To make sure the audio card will work as expected, perform
the following two tests:
• Use any software included with the audio card to make
sure you can record and play back audio without problems.
• If the card is accessed via a standard operating system
driver, try playing back audio using the computer’s standard
audio application (e.g. Windows Media Player or Apple
iTunes).
Installing a MIDI interface/synthesizer card
Installation instructions for a MIDI interface should be included with the product. However, here’s an outline of the
necessary steps:
1. Install the interface (or MIDI synthesizer card) inside
your computer or connect it to a “port” (connector) on the
computer.
Which is right for you depends on which type of interface you have.
2. If the interface has a power supply and/or a power
switch, turn it on.
3. Install the driver for the interface, as described in the
documentation that comes with the interface.
You should also make sure to check the manufacturer’s web site for the
latest driver updates.
Installing Cubase
Macintosh
1. Double-click the file called “Cubase 5.mpkg” or “Cu-
base Studio 5.mpkg”.
2. Follow the instructions on screen.
About the tutorials
The program DVD also contains several tutorial project
files and videos. These are not installed during the installation, but can be added manually from the DVD.
The tutorial chapters in this manual all refer to these tutorial projects. So, to be able to follow the instructions in this
manual, you have to drag the files to your computer.
You will find the Tutorial Projects in the folder “Additional
Content”.
Defragmenting the hard disk (Windows only)
If you plan to record audio on a hard disk where you have
already stored other files, now is the time to defragment it.
Defragmentation reorganizes the physical allocation of
space on the hard disk in order to optimize its performance.
It is done with a special defragmentation program.
It is crucial to the audio recording performance that
your hard disk is optimized (defragmented). You
should make sure to defragment regularly.
The installation procedure puts all files in the right places,
automatically.
Depending on your system, the Cubase 5 Start Center program on the DVD may start automatically. If no interactive
start screen appears, open the DVD and double-click the
file “Cubase 5/Cubase Studio 5 Start Center” to launch the
interactive start screen. From there you can start the installation of Cubase and browse through the additional options
and information presented there.
In case you don’t want to install Cubase via the interactive
start screen, follow the procedure below:
Windows
1. Double-click the file called Setup.exe.
2. Follow the instructions on screen.
System requirements and installation
Register your software
We encourage you to register your software! By doing so
you are entitled to technical support and kept aware of updates and other news regarding Cubase.
You can register in the following ways:
• In Cubase, open the Help menu and select the Regis-
tration option.
This option is an Internet link that will open the Registration page of the
Steinberg web site. To register, simply follow the instructions on screen.
• When you launch Cubase, you will also be prompted to
launch the registration process.
13
3
Setting up your system
Setting up audio
!
Make sure that all equipment is turned off before
making any connections!
Connecting audio
Exactly how to set up your system depends on many different factors, e.g. the kind of project you wish to create,
the external equipment you want to use, the computer
hardware available to you, etc. Therefore, the following
sections can only serve as examples.
How you connect your equipment, i.e. whether you use
digital or analog connections, also depends on your individual setup.
Stereo input and output – the simplest connection
If you only use a stereo input and output from Cubase, you
can connect your audio hardware, e.g. the inputs of your
audio card or your audio interface, directly to the input
source and the outputs to a power amplifier and speaker.
A simple stereo audio setup
This is probably the simplest of all setups – once you have
set up the internal input and output busses, you can connect your audio source, e.g. a microphone, to your audio
interface and start recording.
• External mixing means having a hardware mixing device
with a group or bus system that can be used for feeding
inputs on your audio hardware.
In the example below, four busses are used for feeding signals to the audio hardware’s inputs. The four outputs are connected back to the mixer
for monitoring and playback. Remaining mixer inputs can be used for
connecting audio sources like microphones, instruments, etc.
A multi-channel audio setup using an external mixer
Ö When connecting an input source (like a mixer) to the
audio hardware, you should use output busses, sends or
similar that are separate from the mixer’s master output to
avoid recording what you are playing back. You may also
have mixing hardware that can be connected via FireWire.
• When using the Mixer inside Cubase, you can use the
inputs on your audio hardware to connect microphones
and/or external devices. Use the outputs to connect your
monitoring equipment.
Cubase only: You can create very complex setups using external instruments and external effects, and integrate Cubase seamlessly with all
your external equipment using the Control Room feature (see the chapters “VST Connections: setting up input and output busses” and “The
Control Room” in the Operation Manual for details).
Multi-channel input and output
Most likely however, you will have other audio equipment
that you want to integrate with Cubase, using several input and output channels. Depending on the equipment
available to you, there are two ways to go: either mixing
using an external mixing desk, or mixing using the mixer inside Cubase.
Setting up your system
Mixing inside Cubase
15
Connecting for surround sound (Cubase only)
!
!
If you plan to mix for surround sound, you can connect the
audio outputs to a multi-channel power amplifier, driving a
set of surround channels.
A surround sound playback configuration
Cubase supports surround formats with up to 6 speaker
channels. The figure above shows a 5.1 surround setup.
Recording from a CD player
Most computers come with a CD-ROM drive that can also
be used as a regular CD player. In some cases the CD
player is internally connected to the audio hardware so
that you can record the output of the CD player directly
into Cubase (consult the audio hardware documentation if
you are uncertain).
• All routing and level adjustments for recording from a CD (if
available) are done in the audio hardware setup application
(see below).
• You can also grab audio tracks directly from a CD in Cubase
(see the chapter “File Handling” in the Operation Manual).
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. Please refer to the documentation that came with the audio hardware for details.
It is very important that word clock synchronization is
done correctly or there might be clicks and crackles
in recordings that you make!
About recording levels and inputs
When you connect your equipment, you should make sure
that the impedance and levels of the audio sources and inputs are matched. Typically, different inputs may be designed for use with microphones, consumer line level
(-10dBV) or professional line level (+4dBV), or you may
be able to adjust input characteristics on the audio interface or in its control panel. Please check the audio hardware documentation for details.
Using the correct types of input is important to avoid distortion or noisy recordings.
Cubase does not provide any input level adjustments
for the signals coming in to your audio hardware,
since these are handled differently for each card. Adjusting input levels is either done in a special application included with the hardware or from its control
panel (see below).
Making settings for the audio hardware
Most audio cards come with one or more small applications that allow you to configure the inputs of the hardware to your liking. This includes:
• Selecting which inputs/outputs are active.
• Setting up word clock synchronization (if available).
• Turning monitoring via the hardware on/off (see “About moni-
toring” on page 19).
• Setting levels for each input. This is very important!
• Setting levels for the outputs, so that they match the equipment you use for monitoring.
• Selecting digital input and output formats.
• Making settings for the audio buffers.
In many cases all available settings for the audio hardware
are gathered in a control panel, which can be opened from
within Cubase as described below (or opened separately,
when Cubase isn’t running). In some cases, there may be
several different applications and panels – please refer to
the audio hardware documentation for details.
Plug and Play support for ASIO devices
The Steinberg MR816 hardware series supports Plug and
Play in Cubase. These devices can be plugged in and
switched on while the application is running. Cubase will
automatically use the driver of the MR816 series and will
re-map the VST connections accordingly.
16
Setting up your system
• Please note that Steinberg cannot guarantee that this
!
!
!
will work with other hardware. If you are unsure of whether
your device supports plug and play, please consult its
documentation.
If a device that does not support Plug and Play is
connected/disconnected while the computer is running, it may get damaged.
Selecting a driver and making audio settings
in Cubase
The first thing you need to do is select the correct driver in
Cubase to make sure that the program can communicate
with the audio hardware:
1. Launch Cubase, select Device Setup from the Devices
menu and click on VST Audio System in the Devices list to
the left.
The VST Audio System page in the Device Setup dialog
2. Select your audio hardware driver from the ASIO
Driver menu.
There may be several options here that all refer to the same audio hardware. When you have selected a driver, it is added to the Devices list.
Under Windows, we strongly recommend that you
access your hardware via an ASIO driver written
specifically for the hardware, if available. If no ASIO
driver is installed, we recommend that you check
with your audio hardware manufacturer if they have
an ASIO driver available, for example for download
via the Internet.
On Windows Vista systems, you can also use the
Generic Low Latency ASIO driver if no specific
ASIO driver is available.
3. Select the driver in the Devices list to open the Driver
settings for your audio hardware.
4. Bring up the control panel for the audio hardware and
adjust the settings as recommended by the audio hardware manufacturer.
• Under Windows, you open the control panel by clicking
the Control Panel button.
The control panel that appears when you click this button is provided by
the audio hardware manufacturer – not Cubase (unless you use DirectX,
see below). Hence it will be different for each audio card brand and
model.
The control panels for the ASIO DirectX driver and the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver (Windows Vista only) are exceptions, in that they are
provided by Steinberg and described in the dialog help, opened by clicking the Help button in the dialog. See also the notes on DirectX below.
• Under Mac OS X, the control panel for your audio hard-
ware is opened by clicking the “Open Config App” button
on the settings page for your audio device in the Device
Setup dialog.
Note that this button is available only for some hardware products. If
“Open Config App” is not available in your setup, refer to the documentation that came with your audio hardware for information on where to
make hardware settings.
5. If you plan to use several audio applications simulta-
neously, you may want to activate the option “Release
Driver when Application is in Background” on the VST
Audio System page. This will allow another application to
play back via your audio hardware even though Cubase is
running.
The application that is currently active (i.e. the “top window” on the desktop) will get access to the audio hardware. Make sure that any other audio application accessing the audio hardware is also set to release the
ASIO (or Mac OS X) driver so Cubase can use it when it becomes the
active application again.
6. If your audio hardware and its driver support ASIO Di-
rect Monitoring, you may want to activate the Direct Monitoring checkbox on the page for the driver.
Read more about monitoring later in this chapter and in the chapter “Recording” in the Operation Manual.
7. Click Apply and then OK to close the dialog.
17
Setting up your system
If you are using audio hardware with a DirectX driver
!
!
(Windows only)
If your audio hardware does not have a specific
ASIO driver and your Windows version does not
support the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver, a DirectX driver is the next best option.
Cubase comes with a driver called ASIO DirectX Full Duplex, available for selection on the ASIO Driver pop-up
menu (VST Audio System page).
Ö To be able to take full advantage of DirectX Full Duplex, the audio hardware must support WDM (Windows
Driver Model) in combination with DirectX version 8.1 or
higher.
In all other cases, the audio inputs will be emulated by DirectX (see the
dialog help for the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex Setup dialog for details
about how this is reported).
Ö During the installation of Cubase, the latest DirectX
will be installed on your computer.
When the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver is selected in
the Device Setup dialog, you can open the ASIO Control
Panel and adjust the following settings (for more details,
click the Help button in the control panel):
• Direct Sound Output and Input Ports
In the list to the left in the window, all available Direct Sound output and
input ports are listed. In many cases, there will be only one port in each
list. To activate or deactivate a port in the list, click the checkbox in the
left column. If the checkbox is ticked, the port is activated.
• You can edit the Buffer Size and Offset settings in this
list if necessary, by double-clicking on the value and typing in a new value.
In most cases, the default settings will work fine. Audio buffers are used
when audio data is transferred between Cubase and the audio card.
While larger buffers ensure that playback will occur without glitches, the
latency (the time between the moment Cubase sends out the data and
when it actually reaches the output) will be higher.
• Offset
If a constant offset is audible during playback of Audio and MIDI recordings, you can adjust the output or input latency time using this value.
Setting up the input and output ports
Once you have selected the driver and made the settings
as described above, you need to specify which inputs and
outputs should be used and name these:
1. In the Device Setup dialog, select your driver in the De-
vices list on the left to display the Driver settings for your
audio hardware.
All input and output ports on the audio hardware are listed.
2. To hide a port, click in the “Visible” column for the port
(deselecting the checkbox).
Ports that aren’t visible cannot be selected in the VST Connections window where you set up your input and output busses – see “Setting up
the VST connections” on page 25 and the chapter “VST Connections:
setting up input and output busses” in the Operation Manual.
If you attempt to hide a port that is already used by a
bus you will be asked whether this is really what you
want – note that this will disable the port!
3. To rename a port, click on its name in the “Show as”
column and type in a new name.
Ö It is a good idea to give your ports names that are related to the channel configuration (rather than to the actual hardware model)!
For example, if you are using a 5.1 surround audio setup (Cubase only),
you could name the six ports Left, Right, Center, Lfe, Left Surround and
Right Surround. This makes it easier to transfer your projects between
different computers, e.g. in different studios – if the same port names are
used on both computers, Cubase will automatically handle the bus connections properly when you open the project on the other computer.
4. Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog and apply
your changes.
18
Setting up your system
About monitoring
!
!
In Cubase, monitoring means listening to the input signal
while preparing to record or while recording. There are
three ways to monitor:
External monitoring
External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it
goes into Cubase) requires an external mixer for mixing
the audio playback with the input signal. This can be a
classic mixing desk or a mixer application for your audio
hardware, if this has a mode in which the input audio is
sent back out again (usually called “Thru”, “Direct Thru” or
similar).
Via Cubase
In this case, the audio passes from the input into Cubase,
possibly through Cubase effects and EQ and then back to
the output. You control monitoring via settings in Cubase.
This allows you to control the monitoring level from Cubase and add effects to the monitored signal only.
ASIO Direct Monitoring
If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may support ASIO Direct Monitoring (this feature may also be available for audio hardware with Mac OS X drivers). In this
mode, the actual monitoring is done in the audio hardware,
by sending the input signal back out again. However, monitoring is controlled from Cubase. This means that the audio
hardware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off
automatically by Cubase.
Monitoring is described in detail in the chapter “Recording” in the Operation Manual. However, when setting up,
there’s one thing to note:
• If you want to use the external monitoring via your audio
hardware, make sure the corresponding functions are activated in the card’s mixer application.
Ö If you are using RME Audio Hammerfall DSP audio
hardware, make sure that the pan law is set to -3dB in the
card’s preferences.
Setting up MIDI
Make sure that all equipment is turned off before
making any connections!
This section describes how to connect and set up MIDI
equipment. If you have no MIDI equipment, you can skip
this section. Note that this is only an example – you might
need or want to hook things up differently!
Connecting the MIDI equipment
In this example we assume that you have a MIDI keyboard
and an external MIDI sound module. The keyboard is used
both for feeding the computer with MIDI messages for recording and for playing back MIDI tracks. The sound module is used for playback only. Using Cubase’s MIDI Thru
feature (described later) you will be able to hear the correct sound from the sound module while playing the keyboard or recording.
A typical MIDI Setup
If you want to use even more instruments for playback, simply connect MIDI Thru on the sound module to MIDI In on
the next instrument, and so on. In this hook-up, you will always play the first keyboard when recording. But you can
still use all your devices for providing sounds on playback.
If you plan to use more than three sound sources, we
recommend that you either use an interface with
more than one output, or a separate MIDI Thru box
instead of the Thru jacks on each unit.
19
Setting up your system
Setting MIDI Thru and Local On/Off
When “MIDI Thru” is active in
Cubase, MIDI data received is
immediately “echoed” back out.
When you press a key, it is sent out via MIDI to Cubase.
MIDI data coming in to
the instrument is played
by the “Synth” inside it.
When Local Control is turned on in the instrument, the keys you press
will be played by the “Synth” inside the Instrument. When Local Control
is turned off, this connection is cut off.
“Synth”
!
On the MIDI page in the Preferences dialog (located on
the File menu under Windows and on the Cubase menu
under Mac OS X), you will find a setting called “MIDI Thru
Active”. This is related to a setting in your instrument
called “Local On/Off” or “Local Control On/Off”.
• If you use a MIDI keyboard instrument, as described earlier in
this chapter, MIDI Thru should be activated and that instrument should be set to Local Off (sometimes called Local Control Off – see the instrument’s operation manual for details).
The MIDI signal from the keyboard will be recorded in Cubase
and at the same time be re-routed back to the instrument so
that you hear what you are playing, without the keyboard “triggering” its own sounds.
Setting up MIDI ports in Cubase
The Device Setup dialog lets you set up your MIDI system
in the following ways:
Ö When you change MIDI port settings in the Device
Setup dialog, these are automatically applied.
Showing or hiding MIDI Ports
The MIDI ports are listed in the Device Setup dialog on the
MIDI Port Setup page. By clicking in the “Visible” column
for a MIDI input or output, you can specify whether or not it
should be listed on the MIDI pop-up menus in the program.
If you are trying to hide a MIDI port which is already selected for a track or a MIDI device, a warning message will
appear, allowing you to hide – and disconnect – the port
or to cancel the operation and keep the MIDI port visible.
Setting up the “All MIDI Inputs” option
When you record MIDI in Cubase, you can specify which
MIDI input each recording MIDI track should use. However, you can also select the “In ‘All MIDI Inputs’” option for
an input port, which causes any MIDI data from any MIDI
input to be recorded.
The “In ‘All MIDI Inputs’” option on the MIDI Port Setup
page allows you to specify which inputs should be included
when you select All MIDI Inputs for a MIDI track. This can be
especially useful if your system provides several instances
of the same physical MIDI input – by deactivating the duplicates you make sure only the desired MIDI data is recorded.
• If you use a separate MIDI keyboard – one that does not produce any sounds itself – MIDI Thru in Cubase should also be
activated, but you don’t need to look for any Local On/Off setting in your instruments.
• The only case where MIDI Thru should be deactivated is if you
use Cubase with only one keyboard instrument and that instrument cannot be set to Local Off mode.
• MIDI Thru will be active only for MIDI tracks that are record enabled and/or have the Monitor button activated. See the chapter “Recording” in the Operation Manual for more information.
Ö If you have a MIDI remote control unit connected, you
should also make sure to deactivate the “In ‘All MIDI Inputs’” option for that MIDI input.
This will avoid accidentally recording the data from the remote control
when the “All MIDI Inputs” option is selected as input for a MIDI track.
Connecting a synchronizer
Make sure that all equipment is turned off before
making any connections!
When using Cubase with external tape transports, you will
most likely need to add a synchronizer to your system. All
connections and setup procedures for synchronization are
described in the chapter “Synchronization” in the Operation Manual.
20
Setting up your system
Setting up video
!
Always make all connections with all equipment
turned off!
Cubase plays back video files in a number of formats, including AVI, QuickTime or MPEG. Under Windows, video
can be played back using one of the following playback engines: Video for Windows, DirectShow or QuickTime. This
ensures compatibility with as wide a range of video files as
possible. Under Mac OS X, QuickTime is always used as
playback engine. Which formats can be played back depends on the video player and the installed codecs.
Generally there are two ways to play back video:
• Without any special hardware at all, using the computer
CPU.
In this case, the “codec” is in software. While this will be fine in many situations it does put a limit on the size of the video window as well as the
quality of the image.
• Using video hardware that for example connects to an
external monitor.
Mac OS X: Using a FireWire port, you can play back video on an external
monitor using a DV-to-analog converter or a DV camera (see also the
chapter “Video” in the Operation Manual). This is valid for DV video and
QuickTime is used for playback.
Windows: Multi-head graphics cards which support overlay functionality
can be used to display the video picture on an external monitor. The following manufacturers have working (and tested) solutions available:
nVIDIA and Matrox.
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, you
should test the hardware installation with the utility applications that came with the hardware and/or the Windows Media Player or QuickTime Player (Mac OS X) applications.
Optimizing audio performance
This section gives you some hints and tips on how to get
the most out of your Cubase system, performance-wise.
Some of this text refers to hardware properties and can be
used as a guide when upgrading your system. This text is
very brief. Look for details and current information on the
Cubase web site (see “How you can reach us” on page 8)!
Two aspects of performance
There are two distinct aspects of performance in respect
to Cubase:
Tracks and effects
Simply put: the faster your computer, the more tracks, effects and EQ you will be able to play. Exactly what constitutes a “fast computer” is almost a science in itself, but
some hints are given below.
Short response times (latency)
Another aspect of performance is response time. The term
“latency” refers to the “buffering”, i.e. the temporary storing, of small chunks of audio data during various steps of
the recording and playback process on a computer. The
more and larger those chunks, the higher the latency.
High latency is most irritating when playing VST Instruments and when monitoring through the computer, i.e.
when listening to a live audio source via the Cubase mixer
and effects. However, very long latency times (several hundred milliseconds) can also affect other processes like mixing, e.g. when the effect of a fader movement is heard only
after a noticeable delay.
While Direct Monitoring and other techniques reduce the
problems associated with very long latency times, a system that responds fast will always be more convenient to
work with.
• Depending on your audio hardware, it may be possible
to “trim” your latency times, usually by lowering the size
and the number of buffers.
For details, refer to the audio hardware documentation, or, if you are using a DirectX driver under Windows, the dialog help.
System factors that affect performance
CPU and processor cache
It goes without saying that the faster the computer processor, the better. But there are a number of factors that
affect the apparent speed of a computer: the bus speed
and type (PCI is strongly recommended), the processor
cache size and of course, the processor type and brand.
Cubase relies heavily on floating point calculations. When
shopping for a processor, please make sure you get one
that is powerful in calculating floating point arithmetics.
21
Setting up your system
Note also that Cubase features full support for multi-pro-
!
cessor systems. So, if you own a computer system with
more than one processor, Cubase can take advantage of
the total capacity and evenly distribute the processing load
to all available processors. See “The advanced options” on
page 22.
Hard disk and controller
The number of hard disk tracks you can record and play
back at the same time also depends on the speed of your
hard disk and hard disk controller. If you use E-IDE disks
and controllers, make sure that the transfer mode is DMA
Busmaster. Under Windows, you can check the current
mode by launching the Windows Device Manager and
looking for properties of the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller’s
primary and secondary channel. DMA transfer mode is enabled by default, but may be turned off by the system
should hardware problems occur.
Audio hardware and driver
The hardware and its driver can have some effect on regular performance. A badly written driver can reduce the
performance of your computer. But where the hardware
driver design makes the most difference is with latency.
Again, we strongly recommend that you use audio
hardware for which there is a specific ASIO driver!
This is especially true when using Cubase for Windows:
• Under Windows, ASIO drivers written specifically for
the hardware are more efficient than the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver or a DirectX driver and produce shorter
latency times.
• Under Mac OS X, audio hardware with properly written
Mac OS X (Core Audio) drivers can be very efficient and
produce very low latency times.
However, there are additional features currently only available with ASIO
drivers, such as the ASIO Positioning Protocol.
Optimizing processor scheduling (Windows only)
To get the lowest possible latencies when using ASIO under Windows XP (on a single-CPU system), the “system
performance” has to be optimized for background tasks:
1. Open the Windows Control Panel from the Start menu
and select System.
2. Select the Advanced tab and click the Settings button
in the Performance section.
The Performance Options dialog appears.
3. Select the Advanced tab.
4. In the Processor Scheduling section, select “Adjust
for best performance of: Background services”.
5. Click OK to close the dialogs.
Making settings that affect performance
Audio buffer settings
Audio buffers affect how audio is sent to and from the audio
hardware. The size of the audio buffers affects both the latency and the audio performance. Generally, the smaller the
buffer size, the lower the latency. On the other hand, working with small buffers can be demanding for the computer.
If the audio buffers are too small, you may get clicks, pops
or other audio playback problems.
• Under Mac OS X, you can adjust the size of the buffers
on the VST Audio System page in the Device Setup dialog.
You may also find buffer settings in the control panel for the audio hardware.
• Under Windows, you adjust the buffer size settings in
the control panel for the audio hardware (opened by clicking the Control Panel button on the driver page in the Device Setup dialog).
The advanced options
On the VST Audio System page you will find the “Advanced
options” section. Here you find advanced settings for the
VST Engine, including a Multi Processing option. When this
is activated and there is more than one CPU in your system,
the processing load is distributed evenly to all available
CPUs, allowing Cubase to make full use of the combined
power of the multiple processors. See the dialog help for
details.
22
Setting up your system
4
Tutorial 1: Recording audio
Creating a new project
!
The name of the project
In this section we are going to explain how to create a new
project, save a project and open a saved project.
When you first open Cubase, an empty screen appears
before you. You need to either create a new project or
open an existing one.
To create a new project
1. Let’s create a new project by selecting “New Project”
from the “File” menu.
2. The Templates dialog opens.
Templates are described in the “File Handling” chapter in the Operation
Manual.
3. Select “Empty”.
This will create a new project with nothing in it.
4. Click “OK”.
5. Cubase now wants to create a folder on the hard drive
so that your Cubase project file and all of its related files
are stored in one safe place.
It is important that every project gets stored in its own folder. Having many
different projects stored in the same folder only leads to confusion later on.
6. Navigate to where you would like this project to be
created.
8. Follow the usual procedure for your operating system
(Windows or Mac) to give your new folder a name.
If your are going to name your project “My First Project” then you could
call this folder “My First Project” or “First Project”. What’s important here
is that you are creating a folder on the hard drive to store your project
into it. This folder should have a unique name.
9. Click “OK” on the PC or “Open” on the Mac.
10. You should be looking at your very first project in Cu-
base now. Congratulations!
If you look at the top of the window in Cubase (called the Project window)
you’ll see the name of this project is “Untitled1”.
You’re not done yet!
So far we’ve created a blank Cubase project. We
have a folder sitting on the hard drive but we haven’t
saved the actual Cubase project yet.
To save a project
1. Select “Save As…” from the File menu.
The difference between Save and Save As is discussed in the chapter
“File Handling” in the Operation Manual.
2. You will notice that Cubase is in the “My First Project”
folder that you created earlier. This is where you want to
save your project. Type in a name for your Project – you
can use “My First Cubase Project” for example.
3. Click “Save” – and that’s it!
Ö You are not saving the project at this point! You are
creating a folder on the hard drive that your project will get
saved into later. This will be explained very shortly.
7. Click “Make New Folder” on the PC or “New Folder”
on the Mac to create a new folder for your project.
Tutorial 1: Recording audio
To close a project
1. Make sure the Project window is selected.
The Project window is the main window that you work in. See the chapter “The Project window” in the Operation Manual.
2. Select “Close” from the “File” menu.
If you have made any changes to the project since you last saved it, you
will be prompted to “Save”, “Don’t Save” or “Cancel”. Click “Save” if you
want your changes saved.
24
To open a project
!
Now that we have saved and closed your project, let’s
show you how to open it.
Open a project using the “Open” command
1. Select “Open…” from the “File” menu.
Here you can navigate to the folder that has the project you wish to open.
2. Once you have found the project click “Open” and the
project will load.
Open a project using the “Recent Projects” submenu
Cubase remembers recently opened projects and lists
them in the “Recent Projects” submenu under the “File”
menu.
1. Select “Recent Projects” from the “File” menu.
2. Select the project you wish to open by clicking once
on it.
Setting up the VST connections
The VST Connections window allows you to set up the input and output signals of Cubase to your audio card. Cubase calls these “busses”. This section will show you how
to set the busses up so that you can get playback and recording working.
Make sure you read the chapters “System requirements
and installation” on page 9 and “Setting up your system”
on page 14, so that your audio hardware is properly set up
before proceeding.
2. Let’s choose “Output” first. We want to start from
scratch and remove anything that is currently there, just in
case it’s set up incorrectly. If you see anything in the “Bus
Name” column, right-click with the mouse and select “Remove Bus”.
3. Now click the “Add Bus” button. Choose “Stereo” for
configuration and “1” for count and click OK.
This has now added a new stereo bus (Left and Right) allowing us to
have audio in Cubase routed to our audio hardware.
4. Since we mainly listen to our music as a stereo mix, all
we need is a stereo output.
We can still listen to music with more than 2 channels, for example, if using a surround sound setup (Cubase only).
5. Depending on your audio hardware, your outputs
should be set up now. You can however select the outputs of your choice from the “Device Port” pull down
menu.
Normally you’ll want to choose the main stereo outputs of your audio card.
More sophisticated setups may require you to choose different outputs
and even add more busses.
Load the project called “VST Connections” found in
the “Tutorial 1” folder.
Ö By default, the tutorial projects are not installed during
the installation of Cubase. You will find these projects on
the program DVD, in the folder “Additional Content”.
Adding outputs
1. Open the Devices menu and select “VST Connections”.
The default key command for this is [F4].
• You’ll see several tabs at the top of the window. We’re
only going to cover Input and Output right now. See the
chapter “VST Connections” in the Operation Manual for
more details.
25
Tutorial 1: Recording audio
Adding Inputs
!
…to open the Inspector.
Click here…
Now let’s open the “Input” tab and set up the inputs we
are going to use for recording into Cubase.
1. Do the same as mentioned above for the outputs.
Right-click and select “Remove Bus”.
2. Click the “Add Bus” button. Choose “Stereo” for con-
figuration and “1” for count and click “OK”.
This has now added a new stereo bus (Left and Right) allowing us to
have audio from our audio card’s input routed to Cubase for recording.
• Having a stereo input is useful for recording audio with
two channels. An example of this is recording a keyboard
with a left and right audio channel. If we wanted to record
in mono or with one channel we can make separate busses. Let’s do this now.
1. Click the “Add Bus” button. Choose “Mono” for con-
figuration and “2” for count and click “OK”.
This has now added two new mono busses allowing us to have audio
from our audio card’s input routed to Cubase for recording.
2. Next, click in the “Device Port” column to select the
audio inputs of your audio card for the stereo and mono
inputs.
Level settings and recording
For this section, we are going to record a bass guitar in
mono from the input “Mono In”. Make sure you have your
audio card set up and you have read through the section
“Setting up the VST connections” on page 25.
Load the project called “Recording” found in the
“Tutorial 1” folder.
Adding a mono track
1. Now let’s add an audio track to record to. Open the
Project menu and choose “Audio” from the “Add Track”
submenu.
2. Choose “Mono” for Configuration and “1” for Count.
Click “OK”.
This adds a mono audio track to our Project window.
3. Click on the new track you’ve created and make sure
the Inspector is shown.
The Inspector allows us to see and manipulate a lot of information for the
selected track.
That’s it! You should now be ready to record audio in Cubase and then play it back.
26
Tutorial 1: Recording audio
4. Make sure that “Mono In” is selected for the audio
Audio coming into
this track.
Click here to display the
channel fader.
track’s input and that “Stereo Out” is selected for the audio tracks output.
You may have different inputs and outputs depending on your audio hardware. See the chapter “VST Connections” in the Operation Manual for
more detailed information. By setting “Mono In”, we will be able to record
the audio from the left input of our audio card into a track in Cubase. Setting the output to “Stereo Out” allows us to hear what we are recording.
Turning on the metronome click
We’ll want to have a click or metronome play in the background as we record the bass guitar so that what we
record aligns with the bars and beats in Cubase.
1. Activate the “Metronome/Click” button on the Trans-
port panel.
Setting levels
We have a bass guitar playing through an amplifier with a
microphone in front of the amplifier’s speaker. This microphone is plugged directly into the audio card’s input. We
have set the level so that we have enough volume without
clipping.
1. Clicking the Monitor button will allow us to hear the
bass guitar.
You should see and hear the audio coming in to the right of the track.
2. Now click the “Record Enable” button on the track.
Setting the track to Record Enable lets Cubase know that you want to
record on this track and no other one. You can have many tracks Record
Enabled at a time.
3. In the Inspector, open the “Channel” tab.
This will display the channel fader for the selected track.
2. If you would like a two bar count in before you record,
also activate the “Precount/Click” button.
3. We now need to set the speed or the tempo of our
project. This will directly affect how fast the click plays.
You can set the tempo just below the click.
In this picture, we have a setting of 125, which means 125bpm (beats
per minute).
Tutorial 1: Recording audio
27
• Do the best you can to send the maximum amount of
This is the safe area for recording.
Do not allow the audio level to go
past this line!
!
!
Double-click in the
lower half of the
ruler…
…to start playback.
volume to the audio inputs of your audio card before you
hear any distortion. Most audio cards show some kind of
level or volume indication. If yours doesn’t, don’t worry, we
can change the amount here.
4. Move the fader up or down so that the volume is loud
enough without going into the red on the channel meter. If
you go into the red you may cause clipping or distortion.
You will see a line near the top of the channel meter – make
sure the level does not go over this line!
• Once the level is set, you are ready to record!
Playback
We are going to learn how to play back audio in Cubase.
You might think this is very simple – just hit “Play”. It is actually this simple but there are a few tricks to learn so that
you’ll be playing back what you want with precision.
Load the project called “Playback” found in the
“Tutorial 1” folder.
To start playback
There are a few ways you can play back in Cubase.
• Click the “Play” button on the Transport panel.
• Press [Space] on your computer keyboard.
This toggles between start and stop.
• Press the [Enter] key of the numerical computer keypad.
• Double-click in the lower half of the ruler.
Recording bass guitar
1. Position the cursor at the beginning of the project.
This will make sure we start recording on bar 1.
2. Click the Record button to record the bass guitar.
Since the “Precount/Click” button is activated, we’ll hear two bars of
click before recording begins.
3. Click “Stop” when you are finished.
4. Turn off the Monitor and Record Enable buttons on the
track so that we don’t hear the input or record on the track
any more.
Congratulations! You have just recorded your first piece of
audio in Cubase. Move ahead to the next section to learn
how to play back audio.
Tutorial 1: Recording audio
• Select the event and choose “Loop Selection” from the
Transport menu.
The default key command for this is [Shift]-[G]. This
is the quickest way to loop an audio event and start
playback!
28
To stop playback
!
The left locator set to “1”.
The right locator set to “5”.
Cycle
activated.
!
• Click the “Stop” button on the Transport panel.
• Clicking the “Stop” button twice moves the cursor to
the position in the project where you started playback.
• Press [Space] on your computer keyboard.
This toggles between stop and start.
• Press the “0” key of the numerical computer keypad.
Cycle playback
Cubase has the ability to loop or cycle a section of your
project. To set the cycle location you need to use the left
and right locator.
1. On the Transport panel, set the left locator to “1” and
the right locator to “5”.
This tells Cubase that we want to loop or cycle between bars 1 and 5.
Meaning we will have a 4 bar loop since the end of bar 4 is the beginning
of bar 5.
2. Make sure that the “Cycle” button is activated.
3. Click the Play button on the Transport panel and Cu-
base will play looping over and over until you click “Stop”.
Don’t forget – you can set the locators to encompass the selected event, turn on “Cycle” and begin
playback all by the key command [Shift]-[G].
Recording modes with cycle off
There are three different modes for recording when the
cycle is turned off. This is called linear recording. The
three modes are:
• Normal
• Merge
• Replace
When recording audio, “Normal” and “Merge” are the
same. Selecting either of these will allow you to record
over the top of another audio event and it will appear as an
overlap. You can then select between the overlapping
events and determine which one will play. This is discussed in the following section.
“Replace” mode when used will not overlap the audio if
there is already some on the track. It will split or cut the
audio where the recording takes place replacing what was
there previously. Keep in mind though that the audio being
replaced is not permanently deleted. It is only cut or
trimmed away allowing you to recover it later.
Cycle recording
You can record audio while “cycle” is on.
Load the project called “Cycle Recording” found in
the “Tutorial 1” folder.
So far we’ve shown you how to add tracks, record and
playback. Now we are going to add an electric guitar to
our bass guitar using cycle recording. Recording with cycle on allows us to make multiple passes of our recording
and then pick the best take.
If you haven’t reviewed the previous sections in this tutorial, please do as we are going to move a little faster now.
Recording electric guitar
1. Let’s add another “Mono” audio track.
This is described in the section “Adding a mono track” on page 26.
2. You can see now that we have a track called “Audio
01” and “Audio 02”. Up to now we haven’t been concerned about naming the tracks but let’s do this now.
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Tutorial 1: Recording audio
3. Double-click on “Audio 01” and rename it “Bass”.
Cycle Record Mode
!
Current take Available takes
4. Double-click on “Audio 02” and rename it “Elec Gui-
tar”. That looks a lot better now.
• It’s always good to name your tracks before you start to
record. This way the audio event too will take this name.
Since “Audio 01” was the name of our first track the audio
event is named “Audio 01_01”. The suffix “_01” being the
first event recorded on the “Audio 01” track. We’ll show
you how to rename your audio files in the chapter “Tutorial
2: Editing audio” on page 32.
5. Make sure “Cycle” is activated, set the left locator to 2
and the right locator to 18.
This will loop or cycle between bars 2 and 18.
6. On the Transport panel, make sure “Mix (MIDI)” is se-
lected for the “Cycle Record Mode”.
This will allow us to record the electric guitar, and as each cycle repeats
a new take will be created. We will then choose the best take to keep as
our guitar line.
8. Click the “L” button on the Transport panel once.
This will make sure we start recording at the left locator.
9. Click the “Record” button on the Transport panel.
As you record the guitar, let the cycle repeat three times so we have
three different guitar takes.
10. Click “Stop” when you’re finished. We’ve just recorded three different guitar takes. Now let’s figure out
how to select the best sounding one.
Load the tutorial called “Cycle Recording 2” found in
the “Tutorial 1” folder.
Selecting different takes
1. Holding [Alt]/[Option], right-click on the new guitar audio event that we just recorded and choose a take from the
“Set to Region” submenu.
If you right-click without holding a modifier key, you will see the toolbox
instead of the context menu. This behavior is determined by the “Popup
Toolbox on Right Click” option in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tools
page).
Cubase has recorded all of the passes we made when we
were recording in loop mode (Cycle Recording). These
passes are called “Takes”. In our example we have three
different guitar takes. We can pick between them and
choose which one sounds best.
7. Activate the Record Enable and Monitor buttons on
the “Elec Guitar” track.
2. Listen to the different takes and when you are done,
choose “Take 1”.
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Tutorial 1: Recording audio
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