Steinberg Nuendo - 2.0 Getting Started
Getting Started
Manual by Ludvig Carlson, Anders Nordmark, Roger Wiklander
Quality Control: C. Bachmann, H. Bischoff, S. Pfeifer, C. Schomburg
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 2000 and Windows XP are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Mac
logo is a trademark used under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh are registered
trademarks.
© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2003.
All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
7 Introduction
8 Welcome!
10 About the manuals and the
Help
15 How you can reach us
17 Installation and
Requirements for
Windows
18 About this chapter
18 Requirements
22 Hardware installation
25 Installing Nuendo
29 Installation and
Requirements for
Mac OS X
30 About this chapter
30 Requirements
33 Hardware installation
34 Installing Nuendo
37 Setting up your system
38 Setting up audio
49 Setting up MIDI
53 Connecting a synchronizer
54 Setting up video
55 Optimizing audio
performance
59 Guided Tour
60 The main windows in
Nuendo
71 Tutorial 1:
Recording and
playing back audio
72 About this tutorial
73 Creating a new project
75 Preparing to record
83 Recording
83 Playing back what you just
recorded
84 Recording more events
85 Playing back in a cycle
87 Tutorial 2: Recording
and playing back MIDI
88 About this tutorial
89 Setting up for recording
MIDI
92 Recording MIDI
92 Playing back what you just
recorded
93 Playing back in a cycle
94 Transposing the MIDI track
97 Tutorial 3: Mixing
98 About this tutorial
98 Preparations
100 Setting levels
101 Setting pan
102 Using Mute and Solo
103 Adding EQ to an audio
channel
107 Audio effects
112 Automation
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4 Table of Contents
115 Tutorial 4: Creating a
surround mix
155 Tutorial 7:
Editing audio
116 About this tutorial
116 Preparations
116 Creating a Project
120 Creating a surround bus
122 Setting up a surround mix
128 Exporting to a surround
audio file
131 Tutorial 5: Editing in
the Project window
132 About this tutorial
132 Preparations
133 Overview
134 Moving and copying events
136 Muting and erasing events
137 Splitting and resizing events
139 Adding a fade
141 Tutorial 6: Using
VST Instruments
142 About this tutorial
142 Preparations
143 Activating a VST Instrument
145 Routing
146 Playing back
147 Adding another instrument
149 Playing a VST Instrument in
real time
151 Recording
152 Making parameter settings
154 Automating the changes
156 About this tutorial
156 The Sample Editor
159 Processing audio
160 Applying an effect plug-in
161 Using the Offline Process
History dialog
163 Tutorial 8:
Editing MIDI
164 About this tutorial
164 Opening the Key Editor
165 Drawing events in the
Key Editor
166 Selecting and moving
events
167 About quantize
169 Editing velocity in the
controller display
171 Tutorial 9:
Customizing
172 About this tutorial
173 Hiding menu items
175 Setting preferences
178 Setting up Key Commands
182 Changing the look of the
Transport panel
184 Creating a template
188 Setting up Zoom presets
190 Creating window layouts
Table of Contents 5
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193 Basic Nuendo
concepts
194 About this chapter
194 The project
196 Audio terminology
198 MIDI terminology
198 Video terminology
199 Basic Methods
200 About this chapter
200 Using menus
202 Using tools
203 Changing values
208 Selecting objects
209 Zoom and view techniques
212 Window handling
215 Undo
219 Shortcuts &
key commands
220 About this chapter
220 The default key commands
229 Index
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6 Table of Contents
1
Introduction
Welcome!
Thank you for choosing Steinberg´s Nuendo! Nuendo has been around
a mere three years – and already it is being used in studios all over the
world. Audio engineers and editors, producers and artists from the fields
of film, television, radio, multimedia and music are choosing Nuendo today as their preferred tool for recording, editing and mixing.
With Nuendo 2.0, the Steinberg programming team has again managed to implement a large set of new features that offer even more
possibilities than ever before. Support for even more new file formats,
a completely redesigned mixer with all channels and busses with up to
12 channels, the time-saving Inspector in the Project Window giving
instant access to all track parameters and a batch processing function
– to name just a few. Nuendo 2 also includes the possibility for network collaboration, allowing multiple users on various Nuendo stations
to work on the same project in parallel, each committing their work to
the group via TCP/IP and receiving updates from others if desired.
MIDI functionality has been drastically extended in Nuendo 2. Not only
have new editors found their way into the program but also new MIDI
processing functionalities, MIDI plug-ins and the MIDI Device Manager
are included. And as you will discover there is more – a lot more; all in
all, no less than 200 new features have been implemented for this new
version of the Nuendo Media Production System.
Despite the massive set of features that Nuendo now offers, we still
managed to guarantee a quick workflow and intuitive handling. You can
now fully customize Nuendo. You might have seen this on other computer workstations but nowhere ever to the extent that Nuendo offers
now. First of all, the complete menu structure of Nuendo 2 can be configured to your liking. This means that if you know you are never going to
use certain functionality, you can easily remove it from all menus. Or you
can configure Nuendo differently depending on your project. If you do
not require the extensive new MIDI sound and editing features for a certain project, you simply remove this entire section from all menus. And
isn’t it good to know it is still there waiting for you in the background in
case you need it later? Nuendo also displays only what you need on the
Transport panel, the toolbar and the tracks in the project. Almost every
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1 – 8 Introduction
button or display can be hidden or moved to a less central spot to create an interface which is just as complex as you want it to be. This way
Nuendo 2 gives you everything you need for your work. No more and of
course no less.
The Nuendo team is very grateful for the input we have received from
Nuendo users in the past. In fact most of the new features implemented
were user requests from the worldwide Nuendo community. Due to this
direct communication and because of the encouraging feedback from
the people actually using Nuendo in their professional working lives we
at Steinberg have committed ourselves to continue with the current
concept of the Nuendo Media Production System:
No matter whether you are working for film, television, radio broadcast
or if you are involved in music, game sound, multimedia or innovative
surround production, Nuendo will continue to deliver the right tool for
any kind of audio production.
Please continue to visit www.nuendo.com and give us your feedback
and suggestions.
See you there!
Your Steinberg Nuendo team.
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Introduction 1 – 9
About the manuals and the Help
The Nuendo documentation is divided into several sections:
Printed books
Getting Started
This is the book you are reading now. The Getting Started book covers
the following areas:
• Computer requirements.
• Installation issues.
• Setting up your system for audio, MIDI and/or video work.
• A guided tour of the main Nuendo windows.
• Tutorials describing the most common procedures for recording, playing
back, mixing and editing in Nuendo.
• Basic concepts and terminology.
• A description of the general methods used when working in Nuendo.
In other words, this book does not go into detail on any Nuendo windows, functions or procedures.
The Operation Manual
The Operation Manual is the main Nuendo reference documentation,
with detailed descriptions of Nuendo operations, parameters, functions
and techniques. You should be familiar with the concepts and methods
described in the Getting Started book before moving on to the Operation Manual.
❐
Both the Getting Started book and the Operation Manual are available as
Acrobat pdf documents as well – see below.
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1 – 10 Introduction
Acrobat pdf documents
Parts of the documentation are included as documents in the Adobe
Acrobat format (extension “.pdf”), accessed in the following ways:
• You can open the pdf documents from the Help menu in the program.
• Under Windows you can also open these documents from the Nuendo Documentation subfolder on the Windows Start menu.
• Under Mac OS X the pdf documents are located in the folder /Library/Documentation/Nuendo/.
• To read the pdf documents you need to have the Acrobat Reader application installed on your computer.
An Acrobat installer is provided on the program CD.
The following documents are included in pdf format:
Getting Started
This is the same document as the Getting Started book with cross references and index entries as clickable hyperlinks.
Operation Manual
This is the same document as the printed Operation Manual with
cross references and index entries as clickable hyperlinks.
MIDI Devices and Features
Contains descriptions of the included MIDI effect plug-ins, how to
manage MIDI devices, how to work with MIDI System Exclusive messages and how to use the Logical Editor.
Audio Effects and VST Instruments
Describes the features and parameters of the included VST plug-ins
(real-time audio effects and VST instruments).
Networking
This pdf document describes how you can use Nuendo’s project sharing and networking features to collaborate with other users of Nuendo
(version 2.0 or later) in a TCP/IP based peer-to-peer network.
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Introduction 1 – 11
Remote Control Devices
This pdf document lists the supported MIDI remote control devices
and describes how to set up and use them with Nuendo.
Score Layout and Printing
Describes the score editing features in Nuendo.
Using Nuendo with DSP Factory (Windows only)
Describes how to set up and use a Yamaha DSP Factory audio card
with Nuendo.
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1 – 12 Introduction
The Help System
Nuendo comes with a detailed help system, making it easy to look up
procedures and descriptions from within the program. The contents of
the help basically mirror the complete Operation Manual text. The help
systems are slightly different depending on which operating system
you use, Windows or Mac OS X:
HTML Help (Windows)
You use the HTML Help in the following way:
• To open the HTML Help for browsing, select “HTML Help” from the Help
menu in the program.
This brings up the HTML Help browser in which you can browse the help table of contents, search the index or perform a free text search.
• To get information about the active window or a dialog, press [F1] on the
computer keyboard or click the Help button in the actual dialog.
Within a topic, related topics are sometimes directly accessible via clickable links.
Apple Help (Mac OS X)
You use the Apple Help in the following way:
• To open the Apple Help for browsing, select “Nuendo Help” from the Help
menu in the program.
This brings up the Apple Help Viewer window. There, you can either browse the help
table of contents, use the index or type any words into the Search field at the top of the
window.
• To get information about the active window or a dialog, press [F1] on the
computer keyboard or click the Help button in the actual dialog.
Within a topic, related topics are sometimes directly accessible via clickable links.
Please note that you can open the Nuendo Help even when the program isn’t running:
1.
Select “Mac Help” from the Help menu in the Finder.
2.
In the Apple Help Viewer, bring up the “Help Center”.
3.
Click the “Nuendo Help” link in the Help Center.
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Introduction 1 – 13
About the program versions
The documentation covers two different operating systems or “platforms”; Windows and Mac OS X.
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:
• If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid both under Windows and Mac OS X.
The screenshots are taken from the Windows version.
Key command conventions
Many of the default key commands in Nuendo 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
form:
[Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key]
For example,
[Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z]
means “press [Ctrl] under Win-
dows 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]”.
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1 – 14 Introduction
How you can reach us
On the Help menu in Nuendo, you will find items for getting additional
information and help:
•
On the “Steinberg on the Web” submenu you can find links to various
Steinberg websites. 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.
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Introduction 1 – 15
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1 – 16 Introduction
2
Installation and Requirements
for Windows
About this chapter
This chapter describes the system requirements and installation procedures for Nuendo for Windows. Installing Nuendo for Mac OS X is
described on page 30.
Requirements
To use Nuendo, you need the following:
•
A PC with either Windows XP or Windows 2000 installed.
A USB Port is also required.
For more details about the computer requirements, see below.
•
Compatible audio hardware.
By audio hardware we mean a card capable of recording and playing back digital audio
using your hard disk as a storage medium. It must also have an appropriate ASIO
driver, see page 20, or be Windows Multimedia compatible. Also, to take full advantage
of Nuendo’s multi-channel i/o bus architecture and surround features, you need audio
hardware with multiple inputs and outputs.
For MIDI
•
At least one MIDI interface.
•
At least one MIDI instrument.
•
Any audio equipment necessary to listen to the sound from your MIDI
devices.
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2 – 18 Installation and Requirements for Windows
Computer requirements
Hardware – PC
The absolute minimum requirements for running Nuendo on a PC are
as follows:
• A 650 MHz Pentium processor or Athlon processor.
• 256 MB of RAM.
• Monitor and video hardware supporting 1024 x 768 resolution.
For optimum performance we recommend the following:
• Pentium or Athlon processor at 1.4 GHz or faster
• 512 MB of RAM.
• 1152 x 864 screen resolution or higher.
RAM
Audio work requires a lot of RAM! In fact, there is a direct relation between the amount of available RAM and the number of audio channels
that you can have running. As specified earlier, 256 MB 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 Nuendo 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 regular mouse will work fine with Nuendo, we recommend
that you use a wheel mouse, as this will speed up value editing and
scrolling considerably. See page 204 and page 209.
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Installation and Requirements for Windows 2 – 19
Audio hardware
Nuendo will run with audio hardware that meets the following basic
specifications:
• Stereo.
• 16 bit.
• Support of at least the 44.1kHz sampling rate.
• Is supplied with a special ASIO driver, or a DirectX or Windows Multimedia
compatible driver as described below.
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 Nuendo
to use the audio hardware. For audio hardware, there are three different
cases, each 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
Nuendo 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 Nuendo 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.
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2 – 20 Installation and Requirements for Windows
If the audio card communicates via DirectX
DirectX is a Microsoft “package” for handling various types of Multimedia under Windows. Nuendo 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 Nuendo to communicate with
DirectX. This driver is included with Nuendo, and does not require any special
installation.
If the audio card communicates via Windows Multimedia system
If the card is Windows compatible, it can be used in Nuendo. The card
then communicates with Windows Multimedia system, which in turn
communicates with Nuendo. This requires two types of drivers:
• A Windows Multimedia driver for the audio card, allowing it to communicate
with the Windows Multimedia system. This driver should be supplied by the
audio card manufacturer, and is normally installed when you install the audio
card.
• The ASIO Multimedia driver, allowing Nuendo to communicate with the Windows Multimedia system. This driver is included with Nuendo, and does not
require any special installation.
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Installation and Requirements for Windows 2 – 21
Hardware installation
Installing the copy protection key – please read!
Included with the Nuendo package, you will find a hardware key (sometimes referred to as a “dongle”) that is part of the Nuendo copy protection scheme. Nuendo will not run if this key isn’t installed properly.
• The copy protection key should be plugged into the computer’s USB
port after installing Nuendo and restarting the computer!
When the copy protection key is plugged into the USB port, Windows will automatically register it as a new hardware device and will attempt to find drivers for it – these
necessary drivers won’t be there until Nuendo has been installed and the computer restarted.
Installing the audio hardware and its driver
1. Install the audio card and related equipment in the computer, as de-
scribed in the card’s documentation.
2. Install the driver for the card.
There are three types of drivers that could apply: card-specific ASIO drivers, DirectX
drivers and Windows Multimedia drivers:
Specific ASIO driver
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.
DirectX driver
If your audio card is DirectX compatible, its DirectX drivers will most
likely be installed when you install the card (as with the Windows Multimedia driver). If you have downloaded special DirectX drivers for the audio card, you should follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
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2 – 22 Installation and Requirements for Windows
Windows Multimedia driver
These drivers are normally included with all types of regular PC audio
cards. Some are even included with Windows itself. Depending on
whether the audio card is “Plug’n’Play compatible” or not, the installation of the card is done differently:
• If the card is “Plug’n’Play compatible”, Windows will detect the
card once it is plugged in, and ask for the necessary driver disks.
• If not, you need to use the “Add New Hardware” feature in the Control
Panel to install the card and its drivers.
Refer to the documentation that comes with the card.
❐
Should you have an audio card but no driver, please check the manufacturer’s web site, or ask your music or computer dealer for help.
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 Windows driver, use the Media
Player application (included with Windows) to play back audio.
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Installation and Requirements for Windows 2 – 23
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.
It is likely that you will need a CD ROM or floppy disk supplied by the manufacturer of
the MIDI interface. You should also make sure to check the manufacturer’s web site for
the latest driver updates.
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2 – 24 Installation and Requirements for Windows
Installing Nuendo
Defragment the hard disk
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. In Windows XP, for example, you might look for the “Disk
Defragmenter” utility.
❐
It is crucial to the audio recording performance that your hard disk is optimized (defragmented). You should make sure to defragment regularly.
Installing the files from the CD-ROM
The installation procedure puts all files in the right places, automatically.
1. Insert the Nuendo CD-ROM.
2. A pop-up dialog appears automatically, containing three items for in-
stalling, browsing the CD and exiting.
If this dialog doesn’t appear, open the CD-ROM on the desktop, and double click the
“Autorun.EXE”.
3. To start the installation process, select “Install”.
Now the Nuendo installation procedure starts. A number of dialogs will appear, allowing you to select in which folder on your hard disk you want to install the program, etc.
To advance to the next “page” in the installation procedure, click the “Next” button. The
“Previous” button takes you back to the previous page.
• In one dialog you will need to fill in your name and the serial number of
your Nuendo copy, and click OK.
You will find the serial number on the registration card that comes with the Nuendo
package. Check the name and number in the confirmation dialog and click “Yes” if they
are correct. Clicking “No” brings back the previous dialog.
• You will be asked to read and confirm the licence agreement (shown
on screen).
This is required for the installation to proceed.
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Installation and Requirements for Windows 2 – 25
• At one point you will be asked whether Nuendo should be available to
all users of the computer or just to you.
Choose the option that suits you best.
• You will also be asked whether you want to install audio effect plug-
ins from earlier Nuendo versions.
This is primarily intended to ensure compatibility with songs created with earlier versions,
but will of course also give you a wider palette of plug-ins to choose from. You can either
just select to install or to ignore all previous plug-ins and instruments (by activating/deactivating the checkbox), or click the Details button to select from a list where you can decide which plug-ins to install.
4. Finally, a dialog box informs you that the installation was successful
and recommends that you restart your computer.
5. After restarting the computer, plug in the hardware protection key into
the USB port.
If you are unsure over which port this is, consult the computer’s documentation.
6. The first time the copy protection device is plugged in, it will be regis-
tered as a new hardware device, and a dialog will appear asking you
whether you would like to find drivers for the device manually or automatically. You should select to find drivers automatically.
The dialog closes.
7. You are now ready to launch Nuendo!
Remove the CD-ROM and store it in a safe place.
This completes the installation of your Nuendo program!
❐
For information about product updates, you should check the Steinberg
website regularly. Open the “Steinberg on the Web” submenu on the
Help menu and select “Product Updates”. The website that opens contains a list with the recent updates.
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2 – 26 Installation and Requirements for Windows
The items on the start menu
If you open the Windows Start menu, you will find a Nuendo group on
the “Programs” submenu. This contains the following items:
• Documentation.
On this submenu you can access the various Nuendo documentation files in the Acrobat pdf format. These documents are also available on the Help menu from within the
program.
• ASIO DirectX Full Duplex Setup.
This is where you make settings if your audio hardware uses DirectX for audio playback and recording.
• ASIO Multimedia Setup.
This opens a dialog with settings for the ASIO (Audio Stream Input Output) system,
which handles audio recording and playback in Nuendo, if you are using the ASIO
MME driver. This dialog can also be opened from within Nuendo. See the chapter
“Setting up your system” in this book.
• Nuendo.
This launches the actual program.
On the “Programs” submenu you will also find an item called Syncrosoft
(License Control Center). This item shows all Syncrosoft protection devices and valid licences currently installed.
There may also be additional items (such as Readme files) available on
the Start menu. Please read all such files before launching Nuendo,
since they may contain late information not included in the manuals.
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Installation and Requirements for Windows 2 – 27
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2 – 28 Installation and Requirements for Windows
3
Installation and Requirements
for Mac OS X
About this chapter
This chapter describes the system requirements and installation procedures for Nuendo for Mac OS X. Installing Nuendo for Windows is
described on page 18.
Requirements
To use Nuendo, you need the following:
• A Macintosh computer running Mac OS X.
A USB Port is also required.
For more details about the computer requirements, see below.
• Mac OS X compatible audio hardware.
While the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh may be adequate for basic audio
playback, we strongly recommend audio hardware that is specifically designed for audio
recording and music applications. Also, to take full advantage of Nuendo’s multi-channel
i/o bus architecture and surround features, audio hardware with multiple inputs and outputs is required.
For MIDI
• At least one MIDI interface.
• At least one MIDI instrument.
• Any audio equipment necessary to listen to the sound from your MIDI
devices.
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3 – 30 Installation and Requirements for Mac OS X
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