Steinberg Nuendo - 4.0 Getting Started

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Getting Started

Einführung

Prise en Main

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Tutorials by Steve Kostrey Working with Video and Audio Editing to Picture by Ashley Shepherd Revision and Quality Control: Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer

Thanks to: Georg Bruns, Mert Ergün 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.

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6 Introduction

7 About the manuals and the help 7 About the program versions 7 Key command conventions 8 How you can reach us

52 Tutorial 4: Working with loops

53 Loop Browser 53 Adding loops 54 Making copies 54 Insert into Project

9 System requirements and installation

10 About this chapter 10 Minimum requirements 11 Hardware installation 12 Installing Nuendo 13 Defragmenting the hard disk (Windows only) 13 Register your software

14 Setting up your system

15 Setting up audio 19 Setting up MIDI 21 Connecting a synchronizer 21 Setting up video 22 Optimizing audio performance

24 Tutorial 1: Recording audio

25 Creating a new project 26 Setting up the VST Connections 27 Level settings and recording 30 Playback 31 Recording modes with cycle off 31 Cycle recording 32 Stacked recording

34 Tutorial 2: Editing audio

35 Event operations 41 Event envelopes 41 Processing audio

43 Tutorial 3: Recording and editing MIDI

44 Introduction 44 Creating an Instrument Track 45 Browsing sounds 46 MIDI recording 47 MIDI playback 47 Recording modes with cycle off 48 Cycle recording 49 The Key Editor 51 The Controller lane

55 Tutorial 5: External MIDI instruments

56 Introduction 56 Setting up MIDI devices 56 Setting up VST connections for external

instruments

57 Monitoring external MIDI instruments 58 Recording MIDI and external instruments

59 Tutorial 6: Mixing and effects

60 Introduction 60 Setting levels 61 Setting pan 61 Mute and solo 62 Adding EQ 64 Audio effects 65 About automation 66 Exporting

69 Tutorial 7: Surround production

70 Surround busses 72 Setting up a surround mix 74 Recording in surround 74 Exporting a surround file

77 Tutorial 8: Editing audio II - tempo and

groove

78 Background 78 Example 1: Drum loop, tempo known 79 Example 2: Drum loop, Auto Adjust 80 Example 3: Drum loop, Manual Adjust 82 Example 4: Working with selections

83 Tutorial 9: Media management

84 Background 84 MediaBay, Loop Browser and Sound Browser 86 Scanning with the browser 88 Searching for media 89 Auditioning media with the Scope 90 Tagging

Table of Contents

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91 Working with video

92 Introduction 92 Virtual video playback 92 Video playback engines 92 Video file compatibility 93 Adding a video file to a project 94 Video output devices 94 Video playback speed 94 Editing video 95 Rendering audio into video files 95 Video tape recorders 95 Synchronization and Machine Control 96 Layback to tape 98 Tips

99 Audio editing to picture

100 Introduction 100 Video timeline and the grid 101 Inserting audio into the project 102 Event handles 102 Event envelopes 103 Range selection 104 Range editing 105 Edit Mode 105 Text editing 106 Operations

114 Index

Table of Contents

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Introduction

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About the manuals and the help

The Nuendo 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 Nuendo Documentation subfolder on the Windows Start menu.

• Under Mac OS X the pdf documents are located in the folder “/Library/Documentation/Steinberg/Nuendo 4”.

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 book

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.

• Tutorials describing the most common procedures for recording, playing back, mixing and editing 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.

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, real-time audio effects and the MIDI effects.

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.

Remote Control Devices

This pdf document lists the supported MIDI remote control devices and describes how to set them up and use them with Nuendo.

Mackie Control

This pdf document describes the supported features for the Mackie Control remote device.

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 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:

Ö If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for both Windows and Mac OS X.

The screenshots are taken from the Windows version.

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.

Introduction

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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, etc. 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 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 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.

Introduction

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System requirements and installation

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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 Nuendo.

Minimum requirements

To use Nuendo, your computer must meet the following minimum requirements:

Windows

• Windows XP (Home/Professional with SP 2), or Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit – see below)

• Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 2 GHz processor

•1 GB RAM

• Windows DirectX compatible audio hardware; ASIO compatible audio hardware recommended for low latency performance.

• Display resolution of 1024x768 pixels

• Steinberg Key and USB component connector

• DVD ROM drive required for installation

• Internet connection required for license activation

Macintosh

• Mac OS X 10.4

• Power Mac G4 1 GHz or Core Solo 1.5 GHz

•1 GB RAM

• Display resolution of 1024x768 pixels

• CoreAudio compatible audio hardware

• Steinberg Key and USB component connector

• DVD ROM drive required for installation

• Internet connection required for license activation

Ö If you want to install the 64-bit version of Nuendo, 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.

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 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.

This will speed up value editing and scrolling considerably.

MIDI requirements

If you intend to use the MIDI features of Nuendo, 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.

Audio hardware

Nuendo 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.

• Mac – The audio hardware must be supplied with Mac OS Xcompatible drivers (CoreAudio or ASIO).

System requirements and installation

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Using the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh

(Mac only)

Although Nuendo 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 Nuendo. It is always available for selection in Nuendo – 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 Nuendo 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 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.

If the audio card communicates via DirectX (Windows only)

DirectX is a Microsoft “package” for handling various types of multimedia data 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.

Hardware installation

The Steinberg Key

Please read the following section before installing the Nuendo software.

Included with the Nuendo package, you will find the Steinberg Key (also referred to as a “dongle” or “eLicenser”), a hardware copy protection device that is part of the Nuendo copy protection scheme. Nuendo will not run if there is no Steinberg Key.

The Steinberg Key

The Steinberg Key is, in fact, a little computer on which your Steinberg software licenses are stored. All hardwareprotected 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.

System requirements and installation

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The Syncrosoft License Control Center (which can be found in the Start/Programs menu under Windows 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 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.

• Steinberg software products always come with a license activation code, but not always with a Steinberg Key – if you want to activate a license for such a Steinberg software (e.g. a VSTi) on the Steinberg Key you received with Nuendo, 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, DirectX drivers (Windows) or Mac OS X (Mac) 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 (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.

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 Nuendo

The installation procedure puts all files in the right places, automatically.

Windows

1. Double-click the file called “Nuendo4.msi”.

2. Follow the instructions on screen.

Macintosh

1. Double-click the file called “Nuendo4.mpkg”.

2. Follow the instructions on screen.

System requirements and installation

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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 find the Tutorial Projects in the folder “Additional Content”.

About the Nuendo Expansion Kit

The Nuendo Expansion Kit adds a number of music composition functions from Steinberg’s Cubase (the “Cubase Music Tools”) to the standard Nuendo application. The Nuendo Expansion Kit (NEK) is a separate product and can be purchased through your Steinberg dealer.

Whenever procedures in this manual use functions available only when the NEK is installed, this is indicated in the text by “Nuendo Expansion Kit only”.

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.

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 Nuendo.

There are two ways to register:

• In Nuendo, 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 Nuendo, you will also be prompted to launch the registration process.

• Included on the Nuendo installation DVD, you can find a

registration form in pdf format. To register, print out the form, enter all required information and send it to Steinberg.

It is crucial to the audio recording performance that your hard disk is optimized (defragmented). You should make sure to defragment regularly.

System requirements and installation

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Setting up your system

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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 Nuendo, 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 Nuendo, you can use the

inputs on your audio hardware to connect microphones and/or external devices. Use the outputs to connect your monitoring equipment.

Nuendo only: You can create very complex setups using external instruments and external effects, and integrate Nuendo 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 Nuendo, 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 Nuendo.

Setting up your system

Mixing inside Nuendo

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Connecting for surround sound

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.

Nuendo supports a number of surround formats. The example connection above will work for mixing both LRCS (ProLogic for example) and 5.1, in which case the two surround speakers will be playing the same material (from the single surround channel). The difference between the two formats is the LFE channel, which is not used with LRCS.

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 Nuendo (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 “Making settings for the audio hardware” on page 16).

• You can also grab audio tracks directly from a CD in Nuendo (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.

Nuendo 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.

Setting up your system

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In many cases all available settings for the audio hardware

are gathered in a control panel, which can be opened from within Nuendo as described below (or opened separately, when Nuendo isn’t running). In some cases, there may be several different applications and panels – please refer to the audio hardware documentation for details.

Selecting a driver and making audio settings in Nuendo

The first thing you need to do is select the correct driver in Nuendo to make sure that the program can communicate with the audio hardware:

1. Launch Nuendo, 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.

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 and not Nuendo (unless you use DirectX, see below). Hence it will be different for each audio card brand and model. The Control panel for the ASIO DirectX driver is an exception, as it is provided by Steinberg, and is described in the dialog help, opened by clicking the Help button in the dialog. See also the notes below.

• Under Mac OS X, you will find the control panel for your

audio hardware in the System Preferences (“Other” section), opened from the Apple menu or from the Dock.

If you are using the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh, you use the “Sound” control panel in the System Preferences to set levels, balance, etc. If you are using ASIO audio hardware, you can click the Control Panel button to bring up its panel.

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 Nuendo 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 Nuendo 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.

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.

3. Select the driver in the Devices list to open the Driver settings for your audio hardware.

Setting up your system

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If you are using audio hardware with a DirectX driver

(Windows only)

If your Windows audio hardware does not have a specific ASIO driver, a DirectX driver is the next best option.

Nuendo 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 Nuendo, 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 Nuendo and the audio card. While larger buffers ensure that playback will occur without glitches, the latency (the time between the moment Nuendo 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 26 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, 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, Nuendo 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.

Setting up your system

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About monitoring

In Nuendo, 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 Nuendo) 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 Nuendo

In this case, the audio passes from the input into Nuendo, possibly through Nuendo effects and EQ and then back to the output. You control monitoring via settings in Nuendo.

This allows you to control the monitoring level from Nuendo 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 Nuendo. This means that the audio hardware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off automatically by Nuendo.

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 Nuendo’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.

Setting up your system

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You might want to use even more instruments for playback.

When “MIDI Thru” is active in Nuendo, MIDI data received is immediately “echoed” back out.

When you press a key, it is sent out via MIDI to Nuendo.

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.

MIDI data coming in to the instrument is played by the “Synth” inside it.

“Synth”

If you do, 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.

Setting MIDI Thru and Local On/Off

In the “MIDI” section in the Preferences dialog (located on the File menu under Windows and on the Nuendo 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 Nuendo 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.

• If you use a separate MIDI keyboard – one that does not produce any sounds itself – MIDI Thru in Nuendo 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 Nuendo with only one keyboard instrument and that instrument cannot be set to Local Off mode.

• Note that MIDI Thru will be active only for those MIDI tracks that are record enabled and/or have the Monitor button activated. See the chapter “Recording” in the Operation Manual for more information.

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Setting up MIDI ports in Nuendo

The Device Setup dialog lets you set up your MIDI system in the following ways:

Ö Note: When you change MIDI port settings in the Device Setup dialog, these are automatically applied in the program.

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 Nuendo, you can specify which MIDI input each recording MIDI track should use. However, you can also select the “In All Inputs” option for an input port, which causes any MIDI data from any MIDI input to be recorded.

The “In All 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.

Ö If you have a MIDI remote control unit connected, you should also make sure to deactivate the “In All 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 Nuendo with external tape transports, you will most likely need to add a synchronizer to your system. All connections and setup procedures for synchronization are

chapter

described in the

“Synchronization” in the Opera-

tion Manual.

Setting up video

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

Nuendo plays back video films in AVI, QuickTime or MPEG formats. Under Windows, video playback can be done using the playback engines DirectX, DirectShow or QuickTime. Under Mac OS X, QuickTime is used as playback engine.

There are several ways to play back video:

• Without any special hardware.

While this will be fine in many situations it does put a limit on the size of the internal video window as well as the quality of the image.

• Using FireWire (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 Video chapter in the Operation Manual). This is valid for DV video and QuickTime is used for playback.

• Using Graphics cards (Windows).

Multi-head graphics cards which support overlay functionality can be used to display the video picture on an external monitor. As of this writing, the following manufacturers have working solutions available: nVIDIA and Matrox.

• Using Video cards.

Video cards can also be used to display the video on an external monitor. As of this writing, e.g. Decklink (Blackmagic) can be used.

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 Nuendo, we recommend that you 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.

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Optimizing audio performance

This section gives you some hints and tips on how to get the most out of your Nuendo 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 Nuendo 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 Nuendo:

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 Nuendo 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. Nuendo 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.

Note also that Nuendo features full support for multi-processor systems. So, if you own a computer system with more than one processor, Nuendo can take advantage of the total capacity and evenly distribute the processing load to all available processors. See “The advanced options” on

page 23.

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 Nuendo for Windows:

• Under Windows, ASIO drivers written specifically for

the hardware are more efficient than a DirectX driver and produce shorter latency times.

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• 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.

Making settings that affect performance

Choosing a driver for your audio hardware

As described in the section “Selecting a driver and making

audio settings in Nuendo” on page 17, it is recommended

to install and use a standard ASIO driver if available for your specific hardware. Check the manufacturer’s web site for the latest drivers, etc.

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 (default setting if you have a hyper-threading or multiple-CPU system) and there is more than one CPU in your system, the processing load is distributed evenly to all available CPUs, allowing Nuendo to make full use of the combined power of the multiple processors. See the dialog help for details.

Activating the “Lower Latency” option will basically disable the CPU overload protection, but allow for lower latencies. See the dialog help for details.

Making 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).

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.

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Tutorial 1: Recording audio

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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 Nuendo 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 box will open up.

Templates are discussed in the “File Handling” section of the Operation Manual.

3. Choose “Empty”.

This will create a new project with nothing in it.

4. Click “OK”.

5. Nuendo now wants to create a folder on the hard drive

so that your Nuendo 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.

NOTE: 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 “Create” on the PC or “New Folder” on the Mac to create a new folder for your project.

8. 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 that is different than any other Nuendo project you have created before.

9. Click “OK” on the PC or “Create” on the Mac.

Your project folder is now created on the hard drive!

10. Now click “OK” on the PC or “Choose” on the Mac.

11. You should be looking at your very first project in Nu-

endo now, Congratulations!

If you look at the top of the window in Nuendo (called the Project window) you’ll see the name of this project is “Untitled1”. Proceed further to learn how to save your first project.

You’re not done yet! So far we’ve created a blank Nuendo project. We have a folder sitting on the hard drive but we haven’t saved the actual Nuendo project yet.

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To save a project

1. Select “Save As…” from the File menu.

The difference between Save and Save As are discussed in the chapter “File Handling” in the Operation Manual.

2. You will notice that Nuendo 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 Nuendo Project” for example.

3. Click “Save” – and that’s it!

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.

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

Nuendo remembers recently open projects and lists them in the “Recent Projects” submenu under the “File” menu.

1. Select “Recent Projects” from the “File” Menu.

2. Choose 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 Nuendo to your audio card. Nuendo 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 setup before proceeding.

Load the project called “VST Connections” found in the “Tutorial 1” folder.

Ö Note that the Tutorial projects are not installed by default during the installation of Nuendo. You will find the Tutorial Projects on the program DVD, in the folder “Additional Content”.

Adding outputs

1. Open the “Devices” menu and choose “VST Connec-

tions”.

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.

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 choose “Remove Bus”.

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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 Nuendo route 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 listen to our music with more than 2 channels. If we for example had a surround sound setup.

5. Depending on your audio hardware, your outputs should be setup now. You can however select the outputs of your choice from the “Device Port” pull down menu.

Normally you’ll want to choose “Out 1” and “Out 2” or “Left 1” and “Right 2” as these are the main stereo outputs of your audio card. More sophisticated setups may require you to choose different outputs and even add more busses.

Adding Inputs

Now let’s open the “Input” tab and set up the inputs we are going to use for recording into Nuendo.

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 configuration 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 route to Nuendo 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 configuration 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 route to Nuendo 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.

In our case we have the MI4 interface so we are selecting “MI4 Channel A” and “MI4 Channel B” for our inputs.

That’s it! You should now be ready to record audio in Nuendo and then play it back.

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 26.

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.

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3. Click on the new track you’ve created and make sure

The Inspector

Click to open the Inspector

Audio coming into this track

the Inspector is shown.

The Inspector allows us to see and manipulate a lot of information for the selected track.

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 Nuendo.

1. Activate the “Metronome/Click” button on the Trans-

port panel.

2. If you would like a two bar count in before you record,

also activate the “Precount/Click” button.

4. Make sure that “Mono In” is selected for the audio track’s input and that “Stereo Out” is selected for the audio tracks output.

You may have different inputs and outputs based 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 Nuendo. Setting the output to “Stereo Out” allows us to hear what we are recording.

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).

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 Steinberg MI|4 microphone input. We have set the level on the MI|4 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.

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2. Now click the “Record Enable” button on the track.

Click here to display the channel fader.

Do not allow the audio level to go past this line!

This is the safe area for recording

Setting the track to Record Enable lets Nuendo 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.

• Once the level is set, you are ready to record!

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 Nuendo. Move ahead to the next section to learn how to play back audio.

• Do the best you can to send the maximum amount of 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!

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Playback

Double-click in the lower half of the ruler…

… to start playback

The left locator set to “1”.

The right locator set to “5”. Cycle activated.

We are going to learn how to play back audio in Nuendo. 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 Nuendo.

• Click the “Start” button on the Transport panel.

• Press the space bar 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.

• Select the audio event called “Audio 01_01” 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!

To stop playback

• 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 the space bar on your computer keyboard.

This toggles between stop and start.

• Press the “0” key of the numerical computer keypad.

Cycle playback

Nuendo 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 Nuendo 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 Start button on the Transport panel and Nu-

endo 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].

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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 section “Cycle recording” on page 31.

“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.

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.

3. Double-click on “Audio 01” and re-name it “Bass”.

4. Double-click on “Audio 02” and re-name 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 will take the name of the track. 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 re-name your audio files in the chapter

“Tutorial 2: Editing audio” on page 34.

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5. Make sure “Cycle” is activated, set the left locator to 2

Cycle Record Mode

Current take Available takes

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 selected 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.

7. Activate the Record Enable and Monitor buttons on the “Elec Guitar” track.

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.

Selecting different takes

1. Right-click on the new guitar audio event that we just

recorded and choose a take from the “Set to Region” submenu.

Nuendo 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.

2. Listen to the different takes and when you are done,

choose “Take 1”.

Stacked recording

Stacked recording is very similar to cycle recording but with one difference – you can see the “Takes” that you record all the time instead of them being hidden underneath.

1. Create a new “Mono” track.

2. Re-name the track “Guitar 2”.

3. On the Transport panel, select the Cycle Record

Mode “Stacked”.

Load the tutorial called “Cycle Recording 2” found in the “Tutorial 1” folder.

The Cycle Record Mode pop-up menu.

4. Activate the Record Enable and Monitor buttons on

the track “Guitar 2”.

5. Click the Record button on the Transport panel.

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6. When you are done recording, click “Stop”.

You should see the recorded audio events appearing below each other as separate takes.

7. Click the lower border of the “Guitar 2” track and drag downwards to resize it larger.

This allows you to see the audio takes much better.

8. Deactivate the Record Enable and Monitor buttons.

Load the tutorial called “Stacked Recording” found in the “Tutorial 1” folder.

9. Open the Preferences dialog (Editing–Audio page) and make sure that the option “Treat Muted Audio Events like Deleted” is activated.

10. On the toolbar, select the Mute tool.

This will allow us to switch between our stacked recorded takes.

11. You will see three takes. The bottom two are muted

and the top one that is green colored (Take 1) is the one that will currently play.

12. Mute “Take 1” and un-mute “Take 2”.

This allows “Take 2” to be heard. Notice that “Take” 2 is now colored green.

13. You can do the same for “Take 3”.

Continue to the following chapter, as we will show you how to edit what we’ve recorded using some of the tools.

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Tutorial 2: Editing audio

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Event operations

The name has changed from “Audio 01_01” to “Bass”.

There is extra space on either side of the Bass audio event that we don’t want.

Red squares appear on the bottom left and bottom right of the event. Resize the event with these.

In this section we’ll learn how to edit events or parts. This includes rename, resize, split, glue, move, copy, repeat, mute, erase and adding a fade.

Load the project called “Event Operations” found in the “Tutorial 2” folder.

Renaming

If we look at the audio events that we recorded earlier, we notice that the bass track has an audio event on it called “Audio 01_01”. This is because the name of the track was originally “Audio 01” and the suffix “_01” means that it is the 1st audio file to be recorded on the track. The second audio file would be called “Audio 01_02”.

Naming your audio files keeps your project clean and easy to understand. Let’s rename “Audio 01_01” to “Bass”:

1. Choose the Object Selection tool.

2. Click on the event “Audio 01_01”.

3. Make sure “Show Event Infoline” is activated on the

toolbar.

5. Notice that our audio event now says “Bass”.

Resizing

You resize an event by adjusting the start and/or end of the event. Used in combination with the split tool this is usually all the editing you’ll need.

1. Choose the Object Selection tool.

2. Click on the event you wish to resize.

In our case let’s change the “Bass” event.

• The “Event Infoline” gives us detailed information about an object or objects that are currently selected in the event display.

4. Change “Audio 01_01” to “Bass” underneath the word “File”.

This changes the audio file’s name directly on the hard drive – easy!

3. Position the cursor over one of the squares at the bot-

tom right or bottom left of the event. Click and adjust the “Bass” event so that it lines up with “Elec Guitar_01”.

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Splitting

Here are the splits that were made to the Bass event.

There is more to see but your screen resolution may prevent you from seeing everything.

Right-click in the toolbar.

Splitting is used to cut events. You can split or cut an event wherever you want or split them evenly to bars and beats.

Splitting with “Snap” off

Splitting with “Snap” off allows you to cut anywhere without locking to any kind of reference like bars and beats.

1. Choose the Split tool.

2. Make sure “Snap” is off (not highlighted).

Snap allows you to edit to various time frames. The most common one is bars and beats. Meaning you can cut exactly to the bar with “Snap” turned on. With it turned off you can cut anywhere. See more about “Snap” in the chapter “The Project window” in the Operation Manual.

3. You can now split or cut the audio anywhere by clicking on the event.

Splitting with “Snap” on

Having “Snap” on allows you to split or cut to a time reference. For example, if you want to cut the “Elec Guitar” track to bars or beats.

1. Choose the Split tool.

2. Make sure “Snap” is on.

3. If you are having trouble seeing anything beyond the

“Tool Buttons”, right-click in the toolbar (the top bar that the “Tool Buttons” are on).

This allows you to change what you see at the top of the Project window. Customization is in the heart of Nuendo.

4. Undo your actions by choosing “Undo Split” from the Edit menu as many times as you used the Split tool.

Make sure there are no splits in the “Bass” event any more.

4. Choose “Default” so that if you changed anything it

will return to the default settings.

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5. Next, right click again and choose “Automation Mode” so that the automation tools are hidden from view.

Now we can see enough for us to continue on with the Split tool.

6. With most of the snap features in view, choose “Grid” from the Snap mode pop-up menu to the right of the Snap button.

Splitting with [Alt]/[Option]

1. Choose the Split tool.

2. Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and click on the bass event

at bar 3 and the length of the split will be repeated until the end of the event.

You can try this with “Snap” on or off.

3. Select “Undo Split” from the Edit menu and return the

bass to the way it was.

This means we’ll be snapping to a grid.

7. Next choose “Bar” as the “Grid Type”.

This means you will split to bars.

8. You can now split the “Elec Guitar_01” event precisely to the bar. Cut on bars 6, 10 and 14.

Gluing or joining events

Using the Glue tool allows you to join events together that have been cut using the Split tool.

1. Choose the Glue tool.

2. Glue together the split events in the “Elec Guitar”

track by clicking just before each split.

Let’s make sure we glue all of them.

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Moving events

1. Choose the Object Selection tool.

2. Move all the events in the Project window from bar 2

to bar 1. Click and hold the mouse on an empty area of the Project window. Drag to create a selection of all the events. When you release the mouse button, all the events will be selected.

3. With all the events selected, click and drag them to bar 1.

Copying events

Copying can be used to copy an event to another area in the Project window. If you want to make several copies in one go, see “Repeating” on page 39.

Using Copy and Paste

1. To copy an audio event, click on the desired event and

choose “Copy” from the Edit menu.

In our case let’s choose the “Elec Guitar_01” event.

2. Position the cursor at the point in the project that you

wish the copy to be made.

We’ll put our cursor at bar 17.

3. Make sure you click on the track that you want the

copied event to be copied to. Choose “Paste” from the Edit menu.

It is possible that you may have another track selected. If so the “Paste” command would paste it to a different track. Always note the track you have selected before choosing “Paste”.

4. Click on an empty area of the Project window so that no event is selected.

Tutorial 2: Editing audio

4. Now we have two guitar events. Note that we also

copied the takes that were on the guitar track. We can use these later.

Using the [Alt]/[Option] key

1. Choose the Object Selection tool and hold down [Alt]/

[Option].

2. We are going to copy the “Guitar 2” events. Remem-

ber that there are three events since we used stacked recording to record them. Select all of the “Guitar 2” events by clicking and dragging as described above.

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3. Click and hold the selected events and drag to the position you wish the copy to be made. Then release the mouse button.

Don’t worry about the “Scissor” icon that appears. As soon as you click and hold on the event you are copying it switches to an arrow with a “+” sign indicating that you are copying.

Repeating

Repeats are great for repeating something over and over directly after the event you want to repeat.

1. Click the bass event with the Object Selection tool.

2. Choose “Repeat” from the Edit menu.

3. In the dialog that opens, choose how many copies you

wish to make by increasing the “Count” field.

• You can choose to select “Shared Copies” if you want.

Shared copies allow you to make aliases to the original event. This means that if you make changes to the original event (such as processing or editing), the copies will reflect those changes. This is a big time saver!

4. Click “OK” and the repeat will be placed directly after

the Bass event.

Muting

Muting an event stops you from hearing just that event. You may want to mute events on a track so that the track continues to play except for the events you mute. Note that this is different from muting a track.

1. Choose the Mute tool.

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2. Click on the event you wish to mute.

Notice the blue triangles that appear at the top left and top right of the event.

3. To un-mute an event, click on the muted event with the Mute tool again and it returns to normal.

• If you drag with the Mute tool you can mute a number of events at a time. Equally this will un-mute events that are muted.

Erasing

1. Choose the Erase tool.

2. Click on the events you wish to erase.

Adding a fade

You can add a fade to an event to give the effect that the event is fading in or fading out.

1. Choose the Object Selection tool.

2. Click on the event you wish to add a fade to.

3. Click on one of the blue triangles and move it so that a

fade appears.

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4. For more advanced fades you can double-click on the

Double-click here to open the fade dialog.

fade area to open up the fade dialog. See the chapter “Fades and Crossfades” in the Operation Manual for more information.

Processing audio

Nuendo has the ability to make changes to the audio in more ways than splitting and resizing. You can normalize, reverse, pitch shift and time stretch, to name a few. For a full explanation on processing audio, see the chapter “Audio processing and Functions” in the Operation Manual.

Load the project called “Processing Audio” found in the “Tutorial 2” folder.

You can process the whole audio event or use the Range Selection tool and select just the section of audio you want.

Let’s show you how to Normalize and Reverse an audio event.

Event envelopes

An envelope is a volume curve for an audio event. This allows you to adjust the volume of the event over time.

1. Select the Pencil tool.

When you move the Pencil tool over an audio event, a small volume curve symbol is shown next to the tool.

2. Click on the “Elec Guitar_01” event and notice that an envelope point appears.

Clicking either high or low on the event will change the event volume to either loud of soft.

3. Clicking further on will create more points.

As you create more and more envelope points, you are adjusting the volume of the event over time. The waveform reflects the changes you make.

Load the project called “Event Operations 2” found in the “Tutorial 2” folder. This project has all the event operation changes you’ve learned so far.

Normalize

Normalize raises the volume of the audio to the desired amount. Usually you adjust the slider to “0” dB or “-1” dB so that you get the maximum volume without clipping your audio. A common use for Normalizing is to raise the level of audio that was recorded at too low an input level.

Ö Please note that in some situations, this function may lead to distortion. Therefore, you should use it carefully and listen to the audio material afterwards, to make sure it sounds as intended.

1. With the Object Selection tool, click on the audio

event you wish to change.

You can also use the Range Selection tool and select the section of audio you want.

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2. On the Audio menu–Process submenu, select “Nor-

malize”.

3. If you have copied events in the Project window, this di-

alog box will open. It asks if you want all the copied events changed (Continue) or if a new version is to be created so that only your selection is affected (New Version).

4. Clicking either “Continue” or “New Version” will re-

verse your audio.

3. Adjust the slider to the amount you desire. A setting of “0” db or “-1” db is common.

4. Click the Process button and your audio is now normalized.

For a description of the “More” and “Preview” buttons, see the chapter “Audio Processing and Functions” in the Operation Manual.

Reverse

The “Reverse” command reverses the audio selection. This will sound as if you were playing a tape backwards.

1. With the Object Selection tool, click on the audio event you wish to change. In our case, let’s pick the bass audio event.

You can also use the “Range Selection” tool and select the section of audio you want.

2. On the Audio menu–Process submenu, select “Reverse”.

Audio processing in Nuendo is “non-destructive”, in the sense that you can always undo changes or revert to the original versions. See the chapter “Audio Processing and Functions” in the Operation Manual.

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Tutorial 3: Recording and editing MIDI

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Introduction

In this chapter, we are going to add some more instruments to our song. In the previous tutorials, we have recorded audio. Now we are going to record using MIDI.

There are two ways in which we can have MIDI sounds appear in Nuendo: via virtual instruments, that is a synthesizer inside your computer or through the use of a traditional hardware keyboard.

This tutorial will focus on virtual instruments, while the chapter “Tutorial 5: External MIDI instruments” on page 55 will show you how to record via a hardware synthesizer.

Creating an Instrument Track

Load the project called “Recording MIDI 1” found in the “Tutorial 3” folder.

1. Let’s start by adding a string part to our song. From the Project menu–Add Track submenu, select “Instrument”.

In previous versions of Nuendo, you needed a MIDI track routed to a virtual instrument found in the “VST Instruments” window. You can still use this method but instrument tracks are far more convenient.

2. From the “Instrument” pop-up menu, choose “HALion-

One” (Nuendo Expansion Kit only), then click “OK”.

An instrument track is created below the selected track in the Project window.

3. Make sure the “Inspector” is shown.

4. Click in the name field of the instrument track. It should

be the only instrument track you created, so the name should be “HALionOne 01”. We can double-click on this and change it to “Strings”.

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5. Click on the “Edit Instrument” button to open the con-

Right-click here to select “Always on Top”.

Category Sub Category Filtered List

trol panel for “HALionOne”.

6. If you want “HALionOne” to stay always on top while you are working you can right click on the bar near the top of the instrument and select “Always on Top”.

Browsing sounds

We are now going to load sounds into our virtual instrument “HALionOne”.

Load the project called “Recording MIDI 2” found in the “Tutorial 3” folder.

1. Click the “Preset” button in “HALionOne” and choose

“Load Preset” from the pop-up menu.

2. In the “Category” section, make sure only “Strings” is

selected by deselecting anything else and clicking on “Strings”. In the “Sub Category” click on “Synth”. You have filtered the list to only show synth strings. Choose a string sound from the list on the right. Then click “OK”.

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MIDI recording

The MIDI input routing pop-up menu.

Record Enable

Monitor

Now that we have our sound, let’s record something. Recording MIDI is very similar to recording audio, see the chapter “Tutorial 1: Recording audio” on page 24.

Setting MIDI input

1. Make sure you have a MIDI keyboard connected to your computer either directly through USB or a MIDI interface.

See the chapter “Setting up your system” on page 14 for information on setting up MIDI in your computer.

2. We want to have our MIDI keyboard routed to this track and play “HALionOne”. Make sure the “Inspector” is shown so we can see our MIDI input and output routing.

3. Next, on the input routing pop-up menu, choose the MIDI input you wish to use. Most people leave this on “All MIDI Inputs” since you don’t have to worry about which input is which. “All MIDI Inputs” takes the MIDI signal from all your inputs and routes it to this track. There are some cases where you wouldn’t want this but for 99% of the time you’ll be safe with this option selected.

5. Activate the Record Enable and Monitor buttons on

the track and play some notes on your MIDI keyboard.

You should see and hear the MIDI signals coming in to the right of the track.

Setting the track to Record Enable lets Nuendo know that you want to record on this track. You can have many tracks Record Enabled at a time.

6. Set the left locator to bar “1” and the right locator to

bar “57”.

7. Make sure Cycle is turned off.

We are going to record without looping. We’ll cover MIDI cycle recording in the section “Cycle recording” on page 48.

8. Press [1] on the numeric keypad of your computer

keyboard.

This will move the cursor to the left locator.

9. Click the Record button and record a few bars of mu-

sic.

10. Click the Stop button when you are finished.

11. 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.

4. Below the MIDI input routing pop-up menu, you can set the MIDI output. This is set to our virtual instrument “HALionOne”. If for any reason you need to change this to another instrument you can do this here.

Congratulations! You have just created your first MIDI recording in Nuendo. Move ahead to the next section to learn how to play back MIDI.

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MIDI playback

The left locator set to “1”.

The right locator set to “5”.

Cycle activated

We are now going to learn how to play back MIDI in Nuendo. 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.

For this section, make sure you load the project “MIDI Playback” found in the “Tutorial 3” folder.

To start playback

• Click the Start button on the Transport panel.

1. On the Transport panel, set the left locator to “1” and

the right locator to “5”.

This tells Nuendo 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 Start button on the Transport panel and Nu-

endo will play looping over and over until you click Stop.

• Press the space bar 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.

• Select the MIDI event called “Strings” and choose

“Loop Selection” from the Transport menu.

The default key command for this is [Shift]+[G]. This is the quickest way to loop the selected MIDI event and start playback!

To stop playback

• 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 the space bar on your computer keyboard.

This toggles between stop and start.

• Press the “0” key of the numerical computer keypad.

Cycle playback

Nuendo 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.

Recording modes with cycle off

There are three different modes for recording when the cycle is turned off. This is called linear recording.

• Normal

“Normal” allows you to record on top of previously recorded MIDI. You will be able to see both MIDI parts on the screen overlapping each other.

• Merge

“Merge” joins or merges any MIDI data previously recorded on the track. An example of this is when recording drums – adding the kick drum on one pass and then the snare drum on another pass. The MIDI data is then joined together as one MIDI part.

• Replace

“Replace” mode will replace or overwrite any previous MIDI recording that was on the track.

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Cycle recording

Cycle Record Mode

You can record MIDI while the Cycle is activated.

Load the project called “Cycle Recording MIDI” found in the “Tutorial 3” folder.

Recording MIDI drums

1. Let’s add another “Instrument” track and choose “HALionOne” (Nuendo Expansion Kit only) as our instrument.

2. Click in the program field in the Inspector and load up a drum sound of your choice found under the category “Drums&Perc”, sub-category “Drumset”.

3. Rename this new track to “Drums”.

4. Make sure the Cycle button is activated and set the

left locator to “9” and the right locator to “13”.

This will loop or cycle between bars 9 and 13.

5. On the Transport panel, make sure “Mix (MIDI)” is selected for the “Cycle Record Mode”.

This will allow us to record the drums, and as each cycle repeats, the MIDI will mix together into one part. This makes it easy to create complex drum rhythms.

6. Activate the “AUTO Q” button. This is the automatic

quantize function which will lock our MIDI to the beat as we record it. Great if we play off time a bit.

7. Next we have to set the value of our quantize. This is

so Nuendo knows what to lock our MIDI notes to. Choose “1/8” notes from the “Quantize Type” pop-up menu.

8. Activate the Record Enable and Monitor buttons on

the “Drums” track.

9. Click the “L” button on the Transport panel once.

This will make sure we start recording at the left locator.

10. Activate the Record button on the Transport panel and

let’s record hi-hat on the first pass, kick on the second pass and then finally snare on the third.

11. Hit “Stop” when you’re finished.

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12. Now move and copy this drum part so that the rest of

The Drum MIDI notes

The Drum MIDI velocities

Keyboard notes

Time ruler

the song has a drum beat.

Move and copy were discussed in the chapter “Tutorial 2: Editing audio” on page 34.

13. Glue all the parts together as one.

The Glue tool was discussed in the chapter “Tutorial 2: Editing audio” on

page 34.

The Key Editor

Erasing MIDI notes

1. Double-click on the “Drums” part so that the Key Editor

opens.

Here we can see our drum notes lined up with a keyboard on the left. At the bottom we have the velocity of each of the MIDI notes and at the top we can see the time ruler.

The Key Editor is where we can make changes to our MIDI data.

Load the project called “Key Editor” found in the “Tutorial 3” folder.

Tutorial 3: Recording and editing MIDI

2. We want the song to start off with hi-hat and kick

drum. Erase the snare by clicking once and holding the mouse while dragging a selection over the snare drum. Make your selection from bars 1 through 8.

A common term for this is to “lasso” the notes.

3. Press the [Delete] key to delete the snare notes.

4. Zoom in on the bar 1 and delete all the hit-hat notes

with the Erase tool of the Key Editor so that you only hear 1/4 notes.

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5. Now erase all the other hi-hat notes from bar 2

Click and drag with the Pencil tool

through 8 using any method you like.

Copying MIDI notes

Let’s copy the MIDI notes in bar 1 to bars 2 through 8.

1. Lasso the hi-hat notes in bar 1. Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag the notes in bar 1 to bar 2. This copies them.

Creating or drawing in MIDI notes

Now we need to draw in a cymbal crash in bar 25.

1. Scroll over to bar 25 and click on the piano roll on the

left hand side of the Key Editor. Click on the notes until you hear a crash cymbal that you like. There is a good one at C#2.

2. Select the Pencil tool of the Key Editor and draw in the

crash cymbal note at bar 25 by clicking and dragging for a full bar.

2. Continue copying until bar 9.

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The Controller lane

Pick one from the list or choose setup for more controllers.

The “Controller Lane” allows us to add in or modify MIDI data such as velocity and controller information. The most common use for this is to edit velocity, pitch bend and controller numbers for things like filter etc.

If you find that the MIDI velocity is too loud or quiet on certain notes, you can view and edit them at the bottom of the Key Editor.

1. Make sure you can see the Controller Lane by clicking on the “Controller Lane Presets” button at the bottom left of the Key Editor.

2. Choose “Velocity Only” to view the velocity.

3. You can choose the MIDI information you wish view or

change from the pop-up menu.

4. You can also select “Setup” to view more controllers.

5. Use the Pencil tool of the Key Editor to draw in new

velocities for the notes. You can even draw in curves and ramps.

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Tutorial 4: Working with loops

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Loop Browser

Search for sounds here

Your Loops

Audition loops

Audition controls (Start, Stop, Pause, Cycle and level slider)

Play in Project context button

Auto Play – this automatically starts playback for the selected file.

Drag from the Loop Browser into your project

The “Loop Browser” allows you to have a single window that gives you quick and easy access to all your loops. In the “Loop Browser” you can search for audio files, use tags to categorize, audition the audio in the open project’s tempo and a whole lot more.

Load the project called “Loops” found in the “Tutorial 4” folder.

Adding loops

1. Select “Open Loop Browser” from the Media menu.

2. Once the Loop Browser has finished scanning your

hard disk(s) for loop files, they will be displayed in the Viewer section.

3. Selecting a loop file in the Viewer section will display it graphically below in the Scope section.

4. Click the Start button to listen to the loop. The “Play in

Project context” option allows you to audition the loop in the project’s tempo. This is handy if the loop you are auditioning has a tempo that is different from the one you are using in your project.

5. If you have many loops you can search for them using

the Filter options at the top of the Viewer section.

6. Once you have found the loop you like, drag and drop

it into your project. If you haven’t made an extra audio track for the loop, one will be created automatically for you.

7. Rename the new track to “Loop 1”.

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Making copies

Now that we have our loop let’s copy it using the “Repeat” function.

1. Click on the loop event in the Project window to select it.

2. Choose “Repeat” from the Edit menu.

3. In the dialog that opens, set the “Count” field to “13”.

4. Click “OK”. The loop will be copied 13 times and all

repeats will be placed one after the other.

Insert into Project

5. Use the “Repeat” command to repeat the loop out un-

til the end of the project. Make sure you read up on the “Loop Browser” in the

chapter “The MediaBay” in the Operation Manual.

We are now going to add one more loop. This time we’ll use the “Insert into Project” command.

1. Create a new stereo audio track.

2. Rename the track to “Loop 2” and make sure it is se-

lected, as “Insert into Project” works using a selected track.

3. Position your cursor where you would like the loop to be inserted. In our case, let’s choose bar 9.

4. In the “Loop Browser” right-click on the loop you want and choose “Insert into Project at cursor”. This will drop the loop into the Project window at bar 9 on the “Loop 2” track.

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Tutorial 5: External MIDI instruments

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Introduction

In this tutorial we are going to show you how to set up your MIDI devices and how to record them into Nuendo. You may have a MIDI keyboard that is playing back MIDI data from Nuendo and you want the data recorded as audio for further processing for the final mix. Learning to use the right tools will make these steps easy.

By adding External instruments in Nuendo you can have a MIDI keyboard’s audio outputs plugged directly into your audio card’s inputs so that Nuendo can monitor and record the signal in realtime.

Setting up MIDI devices

3. We can then add a MIDI output to the “K2000”. Se-

lect it in the “Output” pop-up menu.

This will make things very handy later on!

First let’s set up the MIDI devices that you have connected to your computer. Please note that every setup is different and that you’ll have to do some further reading in the Operation Manual to get everything 100% the way you want it. This tutorial covers a basic setup with the Steinberg MI4 interface and the Kurzweil K2000 keyboard.

Load the project called “External MIDI 1” found in the “Tutorial 5” folder.

1. Start off by first opening the “MIDI Device Manager” from the Devices menu.

2. Next click the “Install Device” button, so we can add the K2000. Select it in the list and then click “OK”.

You may have another keyboard other than the Kurzweil K2000 in this list. Feel free to select it now.

4. Close the MIDI Device Manager when you are done.

• MIDI devices contain all the necessary information to

select patches on the MIDI device that you are using. If your device is in the list, make sure you have it set up. If your MIDI device is not in the list, you can choose “Define New…” to create it. Make sure you read the separate pdf document “MIDI Devices” for more detailed information.

Setting up VST connections for external instruments

Now we have our MIDI device all set up. We are now going to set up our inputs so that we can listen to the audio output of our keyboard play into the Steinberg MI4’s audio inputs. This is what is meant by “external instruments”: having your external MIDI instruments play into Nuendo.

Load the project called “External MIDI 2” found in the “Tutorial 5” folder.

1. On the Devices menu, choose “VST Connections”.

The default key command for this is [F4].

2. Open the “External Instruments” tab.

3. Click on the “Add External Instrument” button and type

in “K2000” into the “Name” field.

You can use any name you choose if you have a different setup than what we are using in this tutorial.

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4. We want the audio from the K2000 to be in stereo.

To create a new MIDI Device (e.g. if you didn’t find yours on the list), select “Create Device”.

K2000’s audio playing through Nuendo

MIDI in and MIDI out indicators

This means we are going to physically plug audio cables from the K2000’s output into the MI4 input. Since the MI4 has 4 inputs we are going to plug them into the Line In 3 and 4. Choose “1” for “Stereo Return(s)” since the K2000 has a left and right output.

5. We created a MIDI device earlier, so let’s click on “Associate MIDI Device” and choose the “K2000”.

6. Click “OK” to close the dialog.

7. Make sure you set the correct inputs and outputs for

your new external instrument bus in the Device Port column. This is what our external instrument bus should look like.

9. Open the Project menu and, on the “Add Track” sub-

menu, select “Instrument”.

10. For “instrument”, choose the external instrument that

we created. In our case it’s the “K2000”. For “count” choose “1”.

11. Click “OK” to close the dialog.

Now let’s go to the next section and monitor our external instrument. We’ll also choose a sound and record some MIDI.

Monitoring external MIDI instruments

Load the project called “External MIDI 3” found in the “Tutorial 5” folder.

1. Activate the Record Enable and Monitor buttons on the

“K2000” track.

2. Play some notes on the actual K2000 keyboard. You’ll

see the MIDI indicators on the Transport panel light up and you’ll be able to hear the K2000 playing through Nuendo.

Play whichever keyboard you have created in the MIDI Device Manager for this tutorial.

8. Close the “VST Connections” window and select the “Loop 2” track.

We are going to add a new track. By selecting the “Loop 2” track, the new track will be added below this.

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3. Let’s rename the track “K2000” to “Piano” since it’s

Click the “Programs” button to select a piano sound.

piano that we’ll be recording on this track.

This doesn’t rename the external instrument name in the “VST Connections” window, but only in the Project window.

4. Remember that we created a MIDI device in the MIDI Device Manager. MIDI Devices contain valuable information about patch names, bank selections and a few other things. This helps us in that we already have all the program names for the K2000 at our disposal. Click on the “Programs” button in the inspector and choose the “Stereo Grand” piano sound.

If your MIDI device is different from the one in this tutorial choose a piano sound from your device.

Recording MIDI and external instruments

Load the project called “External MIDI 4” found in the “Tutorial 5” folder.

Now let’s record some MIDI on our instrument track.

1. Activate the Record Enable and Monitor buttons on the

Piano track if they aren’t already on.

2. If you find the levels low, you can click on the “Edit In-

strument” button and move the “Return Gain” slider so that you hear more of the external instrument.

3. Click the Record button on the Transport panel and

record a piano line.

That’s it. We are now monitoring and playing our external

4. Click the Stop button when you are finished.

instrument. You can add effects and EQ to the external instrument just like a virtual instrument or an audio track. We’ll do this in the next tutorial. For now let’s record some MIDI.

5. Turn off the “Record Enable” and “Monitor” buttons on

the “Piano” track so that you don’t hear the input any more and that you won’t accidentally record on it.

Congratulations! You’ve just recorded your first external MIDI instrument. Move on to the next tutorial as we will discuss mixing, EQs, effects, automation and exporting.

Load up the project called “External MIDI 5” found in the “Tutorial 5” folder to hear all the changes we’ve made so far.

Tutorial 5: External MIDI instruments

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Tutorial 6: Mixing and effects

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Introduction

Channel meters

Channel fader

Channel Level

Peak Meter Value

In this section we’ll draw from the last 5 tutorials and finally get a mix ready with proper levels, EQs and effects. Automation will be added and then we’ll export the audio.

Load the project called “Mixing 1” found in the “Tutorial 6” folder.

Setting levels

The first thing we want to do is to set the levels for our project. This helps us get a preliminary balance of the mix so we can add EQ and effects later.

1. Select the Mixer from the Devices menu.

The default key command for this is [F3].

2. Hide the input channels from view (we won’t be using them any more), by clicking the “Hide Input Channels” button in the common panel to the left of the Mixer.

4. Move the faders for each track so that you can hear all

of the mix the way you like it.

5. If for any reason you need to get the fader back to 0dB

(the default setting), you can [Ctrl]/[Command]-click directly in the fader area.

6. You can also change the fader by double-clicking in

the “Channel Level” area and entering the level manually.

7. Be careful when it comes to how loud you raise the

faders. Make sure you keep levels at a good volume so that they are as loud as possible without clipping. You will always know when you are clipping: when the “CLIP” indi-

3. Click the Start button on the Transport panel and listen to your mix.

cator lights up on the output channel. If it does, lower your levels and click on “CLIP”. This will reset the warning light.

• That’s it for setting the levels. Let’s look at pan next.

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Setting pan

Panner

Pan amount

Right click the pan area to open the pan mode pop-up menu.

Solo

Mute

Load the project called “Mixing 2” found in the “Tutorial 6” folder.

1. Setting the pan for each track moves its position in the stereo mix. It will either keep the signal balanced in the middle of the left and right speaker, lean to the left or lean to the right or be completely in the left or right speaker.

4. Keep the “Drums” track in the middle but let’s move

“Loop 1” a bit to the left and “Loop 2” a bit to the right.

This will give our rhythm section a larger, more spacious sound.

2. Right-clicking in the panner for certain track types presents you with three different types of pan options.

The different pan options are described in detail in the chapter “The Mixer” in the Operation Manual.

• To get the panner back to the middle (the default position), [Ctrl]/[Command]-click anywhere in the panner area.

3. Let’s pan our two guitars slightly left and slightly right. This will spread them out a bit.

That’s it for pan, let’s move on to Mute and Solo.

Mute and solo

Load the project called “Mixing 3” found in the “Tutorial 6” folder.

• For each track there is an “M” for mute and “S” for solo

button. Mute will prevent you from hearing the track and solo will only play that track or tracks which have “S” highlighted.

• You can have several tracks muted or soloed at a time.

• When you solo a track, the other tracks become muted.

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• If you want to clear or deactivate all the mutes or solos,

“Deactivate all Mute”

“Deactivate all Solo”

Click the “EQ Band Active” button to turn on an EQ.

Click in the EQ curve area to turn on an EQ.

click on the “Deactivate all Mute” or “Deactivate all Solo” buttons in the common panel to the left of the Mixer.

• There may be times when you want certain tracks to always play even if another track has solo active. If you [Alt]/ [Option]-click on the “S” button, this will place the track in “Solo Defeat” mode. This allows the track to always play even if you solo another track.

• To take a track out of “Solo Defeat” mode simply [Alt]/ [Option]-click it again.

That’s it for mute and solo, let’s move on to adding EQ.

1. Solo the Drums track and click the “Edit Instrument

Channel Settings” button.

2. This will open the Channel settings window, where

you can e.g. make EQ settings. Make sure you have a section of music looping so that you can hear the EQ changes you are making.

• There are four bands of EQ on each track.

3. Click the “EQ Band Active” button for each of the EQs

to turn them on. You can also click in the EQ curve area to turn on an EQ.

Adding EQ

Load up the project called “Mixing 4” found in the “Tutorial 6” folder.

EQ or equalization amplifies or attenuates frequencies so that we can place each instrument correctly in the mix. EQ is subjective and can be influenced greatly by the style of music that you are mixing.

We’re going to run through the EQ features that Nuendo has to offer, but feel free to experiment and try out the different presets on your mix.

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4. Click and move the EQ point up, down, right or left.

Move the EQ up or down to raise or lower the gain.

“EQ Band Gain” amount

“EQ Band Freq” amount

Move the EQ left or right to change the frequency

“EQ Band Q” amount

Moving the EQ up or down while holding down [Shift] changes the Q

Moving the EQ point up or down raises or lowers the gain of the EQ. The gain makes that particular EQ louder or softer. The “EQ Band Gain” at the bottom of the EQ window gives you the value of gain.

If you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command], you can restrict the movement of the EQ to just up and down.

5. Moving the EQ point right or left changes the frequency of the EQ. The “EQ Band Freq” setting at the bottom of the EQ window gives you the value of the frequency.

If you hold down [Alt]/[Option], you can restrict the movement of the EQ to just right or left.

6. Holding down [Shift] while moving the EQ point up or

down changes the quality of the EQ. Many people refer to this as the width of the EQ. The “EQ Band Q” setting at the bottom of the EQ window gives you the value of the quality.

7. The “Preset Management” button allows you to recall

and store presets. Choose from the list to get a sound that’s close to what you want and then adjust it slightly. You can then store it as a new preset.

8. You can bypass the EQs by clicking on the “Bypass

Equalizers” button. If you [Alt]/[Option]-click, you can reset the EQ. A dialog window will open to confirm if you are sure you want to reset the EQs. If you are sure, click “Yes”.

Experiment with the EQs on all your tracks in this tutorial. A good tip when using EQ is that it’s usually better to take away EQ (lower the gain) than to add it.

We’ve made a whole bunch of EQ changes to this tutorial. Listen and see the changes by loading the project “Mixing 5” found in the “Tutorial 6” folder.

Now let’s move on to effects.

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Audio effects

Load the project called “Mixing 6” found in the “Tutorial 6” folder.

Now let’s start using some effects. We can add effects by inserting the effect directly on a track or we can create an FX channel and use the auxiliary sends of each track to send to that FX channel.

Insert effects

1. Make sure the Mixer is open.

You can open the Mixer from the Devices menu or by pressing [F3].

2. Begin playback and loop or cycle a section of music so that you can hear everything.

The tutorial project has its locators and cycle already set for this. Feel free to change this if you like.

3. Click on the “Edit Audio Channels Settings” button on the Bass track to open the VST Audio Channel Settings window.

5. Make changes to the compression. At the end of this

section, you can load the next tutorial that will contain all of the changes we have made.

FX channels

Now let’s show you how to create and use FX channels.

1. Close the Mixer and choose “FX Channel” from the

Add Track submenu of the Project menu.

4. Let’s add compression to the Bass track to smooth it out. Click on the “Select Insert Type 1” slot and choose “Compressor” from the Dynamics submenu.

2. Choose “Stereo” for “Configuration”, select the “Ste-

reoDelay” effect and click OK.

3. We are going to put delay on the “Elec Guitar” track.

Let’s set the delay so that the left side and right side have different delay settings and make sure the “Mix” is set to “100.0”.

Giving the stereo delay different left and right settings creates a more dynamic effect.

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4. With the delay set, click the “Edit Channels Settings”

button of the “Elec Guitar” track.

5. Select “FX 1-StereoDelay” from the “Select Send Destination” pop-up menu.

8. The great thing about FX Channels is that the channel

looks and feels just like a regular audio channel. When you set an EQ for an FX Channel, only this effect will be changed by the EQ. In our case changing the EQ on the “FX 1 – StereoDelay” FX channel will only change the EQ of the delay.

6. Click the “Activate Send 1” button to turn on the send. This will allow you to send the guitar to the “StereoDelay”.

7. Move the slider to the right to raise the level of the send to the “StereoDelay” effect. You will begin to hear the guitar being delayed. Clicking the “S” (solo) button on the track will allow you to hear this more clearly.

About automation

Automation allows us to make objects such as faders and knobs move by themselves. This is very handy in that we can tell Nuendo to make changes over a period of time and those changes will be remembered and will occur again without our attention.

Load up the project called “Mixing 7” found in the “Tutorial 6” folder.

1. We created a fade in on the “Elec Guitar” track earlier.

Let’s remove the fade on this audio event and create some automation instead. Zoom in so that you can see the first audio event more clearly.

2. Select the event and choose “Remove Fades” from

the Audio menu.

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3. Click the “Show/Hide Automation” button at the far

left of the track.

You may need to hover your mouse over the far left bottom area until you see the button appear as this is only shown when you need it.

4. Select the Pencil tool.

5. In the subtrack that appears below the audio event

use the “Draw” tool to draw in automation so that it resembles a fade in.

• You may have noticed that when we used the Pencil

tool to place in automation, the “R” button (Read Enable) for the track became highlighted. This means that the automation on this track is being read or played back. You can turn this off and the automation will not be read. In our case we drew in volume automation, and so in turning it off the volume will not fade in but stay at one level.

There are so many examples to show when it comes to automation. For example we could have automated our effects or our send levels. We could have even automated objects while Nuendo was playing back. The automation can be placed into write mode and moving almost any thing will create automation that we can edit for fine tuning later!

Make sure you read the chapter “Automation” in the Operation Manual to fully realize how exciting automation can be.

Exporting

6. You can also use the “Line” tool to draw in automation in a straight line. Perfect for fade in automation.

7. Listen to the fade in automation we created.

Tutorial 6: Mixing and effects

Now that we have our project mixed we will want to export it so that we can import it into another program such as a CD burning application like WaveLab.

Load the project “Mixing 8” found in the “Tutorial 6” folder.

• Before we can export our mix we need to tell Nuendo

how many bars to export. We accomplish this by setting the locators.

1. Set the left locator to bar 1 and the right locator to bar

65 on the Transport panel. This will make sure we have all the music for export.

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2. On the File menu–Export submenu, select “Audio Mix-

down…”.

3. The “Export Audio Mixdown” dialog opens.

This dialog is described in detail in the chapter “Export Audio Mixdown” in the “Operation Manual”. Please refer to this for more complete information.

4. “File Name” is for naming the file for export. Let’s name our’s “Mixing Mixdown”.

5. The “Path” is where you wish to save the exported file on your computer. Use the “Choose” button to navigate to the folder you wish to save to. For convenience there is the option “Use Project Audio Folder” which will store the exported file in your project’s audio folder. This is one of the best places to keep it so it won’t accidentally become erased or lost. Make sure “Use Project Audio Folder” is activated for this export.

6. Normally you’ll want to save your exported file as a “Wave File” under “File Format”. This of course chiefly depends on what file format the other application such as a CD burning program requires.

7. You can choose whether you want the main stereo

outputs “Stereo Out (Stereo)” to be exported. This means the exported file will be generated through the main stereo outputs that we see in the Mixer. You can also choose the individual outs of each audio channel for flexibility in your export. Let’s choose “Stereo Out (Stereo)”.

8. Choose the “Sample Rate” and “Bit Depth” that will

be required for your export. 44.100 kHz and 16 bit are common for CD burning.

9. Activate the three options at the bottom of the dialog,

as these will import the audio back into Nuendo after you export it and automatically create an audio track. The “Export Audio Mixdown” window will also close after export.

Important Feature – “Real-Time Export”!

10. Before we finish, there is one very important feature that

we must select. This is “Real-Time Export”. Since we have an external MIDI instrument that is playing a physical keyboard and its audio is coming back into Nuendo, we need the audio mixdown to happen in real-time. This ensures that the MIDI data is properly sent to the external MIDI instrument and recorded back in. Don’t forget this step!

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11. When you are done making all the settings, click the

Export button.

12. You will now see the exported stereo mix on a new stereo track.

13. You can check to see if the audio mixdown sounds the way you want it by soloing the mixdown track

Load the project called “Mixing 9” found in the “Tutorial 6” folder to see the results of this export.

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Tutorial 7: Surround production

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Surround busses

Using surround sound in Nuendo is effortless. Surround becomes an extension of what we’ve already learned - just with a few more channels added. Let’s set up our inputs and outputs so that we are surround-ready.

To fully use surround sound on your computer, you will need an audio card that has 6 or more inputs and outputs. If your audio card only has between 2-5 inputs or outputs, there may be sections of this tutorial that will not apply to your configuration.

To learn more about surround beyond this tutorial, consult the chapter “Surround Sound” in the Operation Manual.

Load the project called “Surround 1” found in the “Tutorial 7” folder.

Setting up surround outputs

1. Go to the Devices menu and choose “VST Connections”.

The default key command for this is [F4].

2. Let’s choose the “Output” tab 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 choose “Remove Bus”.

4. Click in the Device Port column for the channels in the

bus and select the desired outputs (those connected to your speakers) from the context menu.

Since 5.1 surround requires 6 speakers (or 6 individual outputs), make sure you select 6 separate outputs in the Device Port column.

Setting up surround inputs

Now let’s open the “Input” tab and set up the inputs we are going to use for recording surround sound into Nuendo.

1. Do the same as mentioned above for the outputs.

Right-click and select “Remove Bus”.

2. Now click the “Add Bus” button. Choose “5.1” for

configuration and “1” for count and click “OK”.

This has now added a new surround sound 5.1 bus (Left, Right, Center, LFE, Left Surround and Right Surround), allowing us to record audio into Nuendo in 5.1 surround.

3. Click the “Add Bus” button. Choose “5.1” for configuration and “1” for count and click “OK”.

This will add a new surround sound 5.1 bus (Left, Right, Center, LFE, Left Surround and Right Surround) allowing us to have audio in Nuendo route to our audio hardware.

Tutorial 7: Surround production

3. Click in the Device Port column for the channels in the

bus and select the desired inputs on your audio card from the context menu.

Since 5.1 surround requires 6 individual inputs, make sure you select 6 separate inputs in the Device Port column.

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Recording with a 5.1 input bus

Having a 5.1 bus allows you to record surround as one multi-channel audio file on one audio track. This is very convenient and keeps the files aligned so they don’t go out of phase. Below is an example of recording with a 5.1 bus.

Recording with 6 mono input busses

You can however create separate mono busses for your

5.1 inputs. This allows for greater flexibility in terms of routing, EQ, effects, etc. Below is an example of recording with 6 separate mono busses.

2. Click the “Add Bus” button. Choose “Mono” for con-

figuration and “6” for count and click “OK”.

This will add 6 separate mono busses that we will configure as a surround input setup.

3. Click in the Device Port column for the busses and se-

lect the desired inputs on your audio card from the context menu.

Since 5.1 surround requires 6 individual inputs, make sure you select 6 separate inputs in the Device Port column.

Let’s show you how to record in surround sound using separate mono busses.

1. Right-click on our “5.1 In” bus and select “Remove Bus”.

Tutorial 7: Surround production

4. Rename the inputs “Left”, “Right”, “Center”, “LFE”,

“Left Surround” and “Right Surround”.

That’s it for the “VST Connections” window. You are now ready to set up your tracks.

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Setting up a surround mix

Step 1 - Select the track.

Step 2 - Open the “Input Routing” pop-up menu and select the input for the track.

We have our inputs and outputs set up in the “VST Connections” window, now we need to set up the tracks in Nuendo so that they’ll be properly named, have the right inputs and will output the audio correctly to our audio card.

Load the project called “Surround 2” found in the “Tutorial 7” folder.

Setting up the track inputs

1. Close the “VST Connections” window and create 6 mono audio tracks.

2. Rename the tracks “Left”, “Right”, “Center”, “LFE”, “Left Surround” and “Right Surround”.

Remember that naming your tracks before you record is the recommended way of recording. This allows your audio files to have proper names like “Left Surround_01” and “LFE_01” instead of “Audio 07_09” which can lead to confusion.

At this point we’ve made a lot of changes to our tracks. Feel free to load the project called “Surround 3” found in the “Tutorial 7” folder. This will make sure your project corresponds to this tutorial.

3. We now need to give each track its proper input. Set the track named “Left” to the “Left” input on the “Input Routing” pop-up menu. Set the track “Right” to the “Right” input and so on.

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Setting up the track outputs

Step 1 - Select the track.

Step 2 - Open the “Output Routing” pop-up menu and select the output for the track.

Load the project called “Surround 3” found in the “Tutorial 7” folder.

1. Open the “Output Routing” pop-up menu for each of the tracks and assign them to their corresponding outputs. “Left” to the “Left” output, “Right” to the “Right” output, etc.

• In this case you could have a surround panner for each

track.

Make sure you look up the chapter “Surround Sound” in the Operation Manual for more detailed information on the surround panner.

• Alternatively you can select the “5.1” output for each of the tracks.

We now have all the inputs and outputs set up. Move on to the next section for information on surround recording.

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Recording in surround

Record Enable

Monitor

We are now ready to record in surround sound. This means we are going to record 6 channels at a time. These channels are routed to the 5.1 output we’ve set up in the “VST Connections” window. We have 6 mono inputs as the inputs. We could have used one audio track that is configured as a 5.1 track as discussed previously, but using 6 mono tracks allows us flexibility for future changes and edits.

Load the project called “Surround 4” found in the “Tutorial 7” folder.

• The basic recording procedures are described in the chapter “Tutorial 1: Recording audio” on page 24. For more detailed information see the “Recording” chapter in the Operation Manual.

Behind the scenes we have 6 channels of audio (a surround sound mix) coming in our 6 mono inputs. You’ll be able to hear this once you load the next project.

1. Activate the “Record Enable” and “Monitor” buttons for the tracks.

2. Make sure “Cycle” is turned off (not highlighted) and

that you are starting recording at bar 1.

3. Click the “Record” button to record.

4. Click the “Stop” button when you are finished record-

ing.

5. Turn off the “Record Enable” and “Monitor” buttons for

all the tracks so that we don’t hear the inputs or record on the tracks any more.

Congratulations! You have just recorded a 5.1 mix in Nuendo. Move ahead to the next section to learn how to export a surround file.

Exporting a surround file

Now that we have a surround mix recorded, we will want to export it so that we can import it into another program such as a DVD authoring application.

Load the project called “Surround 5” found in the “Tutorial 7” folder.

• Before we can export the surround mix to another pro-

gram, we need to tell Nuendo how many bars to export. We accomplish this by setting the locators.

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1. Set the left locator to bar 1 and the right locator to bar

Left Locator

Right Locator

26 on the Transport panel. This will make sure we have all the music for export.

2. Next, open the File menu, and on the Export submenu, select “Audio Mixdown...”.

3. The “Export Audio Mixdown” dialog opens.

This is described in detail in the chapter “Export Audio Mixdown” in the “Operation Manual”. Please refer to this for more complete information.

4. “File Name” is for naming the file for export. Let’s name

ours “Surround Tutorial Export”.

5. The “Path” is where you wish to save the exported file

on your computer. Use the “Choose” button to navigate to the folder you wish to save to. For convenience, there is the option “Use Project Audio Folder” which stores the exported file in your project’s audio folder. This is one of the best places to keep it, so it won’t accidentally become erased or lost. Make sure “Use Project Audio Folder” is activated for this export.

6. Normally you’ll want to save your exported file as a

“Wave File” under “File Format”. This of course chiefly depends on what file format the other application such as a DVD authoring program requires.

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7. You can choose whether you want a complete 5.1 ex-

Individual audio channel export

5.1 main output export

ported mix by selecting “5.1 Out (5.1)”. This means the exported file will be generated through the main 5.1 outputs that we see in the Mixer. You can also choose the individual outs of each audio channel for flexibility in your export. Let’s choose “5.1 Out (5.1)”.

8. Choose the “Sample Rate” and “Bit Depth” that will be required for your export.

9. Select the three options in the bottom left corner as these will import the audio back into Nuendo after you export it and automatically create an audio track. The “Export Audio Mixdown” window will also close after export.

11. You will now see your newly exported surround mix on

one audio track as a 5.1 multiple channel audio file.

Load the project called “Surround 6” found in the “Tutorial 7” folder to see the results of this export.

10. When you are done making all your settings, click the “Export” button.

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Tutorial 8: Editing audio II - tempo and

groove

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Background

120bpm

Definition tab

Enter the tempo of the drum loop

Number of bars

In this section we’ll walk you through various examples of audio files that have no tempo information and will show you how they can follow the project tempo of Nuendo in a few simple steps.

Load the project called “Tempo and Groove 1” found in the “Tutorial 8” folder.

Example 1: Drum loop, tempo known

In this example we have imported a drum loop and we know its tempo. This is one of the quickest ways to match the tempo of the drum loop with the project tempo.

Here we have a drum loop and we know its tempo, 100 beats per minute.

2. Activate Stop on the Transport panel and deactivate

the Click.

3. Double-click on the drum loop and the Sample Editor

will open.

4. Click on the Definition tab, and in the tempo field,

enter 100.

This way Nuendo knows that the tempo of this audio file is 100 bpm. With this information Nuendo can then time stretch the audio properly. In addition to typing in the tempo, you can type in the number of bars whatever is known. In both cases, the audio will be stretched properly.

The project tempo of Nuendo is 120bpm, different from the drum loop.

We are going to set the tempo of the drum loop to match the project tempo.

1. Activate Start on the Transport panel.

You will hear that the drum loop is off time with the click.

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5. Activate Preview.

Activate Preview

Definition tab

Activate Preview

Zoom slider

1-8

9-16

17-18

The drum loop is now matched to the tempo of the project.

6. Close the Sample Editor.

7. Select the drum loop in the project window and select

Loop Selection from the Transport menu.

You can also use the corresponding key command [Shift]+[G].

Example 2: Drum loop, Auto Adjust

Load the project called “Tempo and Groove 2” found in the “Tutorial 8” folder.

In this example we have imported a drum loop and we do not know the tempo. This is one of the quickest ways to match the tempo of the drum loop with the project tempo.

1. Activate Start on the Transport panel.

You will hear that the drum loop is off time with the click.

2. Activate Stop and deactivate the Click.

3. Double-click on the drum loop.

The Sample Editor will open.

4. Click on the Definition tab and activate Preview.

Activating Preview allows you to hear any tempo changes directly.

5. Zoom in on the first bar.

You can use the zoom slider on the bottom right. Zoom in so that you can see about 18 waveform shaker hits.

You can now hear that the drum loop is in perfect time with the project tempo. Feel free to change the tempo on the Transport panel by deactivating the Tempo Track. The drum loop will follow.

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6. Select the first bar of the loop (the first 16 hits, up to

Audition Loop

Audition

Auto Adjust

Activate Preview

the 17th). Activate Audition Loop and click the Audition button.

7. As you listen back you may need to tweak the end of the loop to get it to loop smoothly.

Example 3: Drum loop, Manual Adjust

Load the project called “Tempo and Groove 3” found in the “Tutorial 8” folder.

This builds on what we have learned already in the previous examples. In this example we have a drum loop of unknown tempo and with timing issues that need to be corrected. You will learn how to manually correct this by adjusting the Timing Grid in the Sample Editor.

1. Activate Start on the Transport panel.

You will hear that the drum loop is off time with the click.

2. Activate Stop.

3. Double-click on the drum loop.

The Sample Editor will open.

4. Open the Definition tab and activate Preview.

Activating Preview allows you to hear any tempo changes directly.

8. Zoom out and click Auto Adjust on the Definition tab.

5. Enter the number of bars the drum loop’s length

equals. In our case it’s 4.

The drum loop is now matched to the project tempo.

6. Activate Playback on the Transport panel.

9. Close the Sample Editor and listen to the loop play in

time!

Tutorial 8: Editing audio II - tempo and groove

You will hear that the drum loop doesn’t exactly match with the Click. It’s close, but not exact. This is because the loop has timing variations. Let’s correct them.

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7. Activate Manual Adjust.

Manual Adjust

This allows us to manually adjust the Timing Grid to correct any timing variations.

8. Zoom in to the bars of the drum loop. In our case it will be bars 2, 3 and 4.

9. Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and move the bar Grid lines

close to the beginning of the attacks of the waveform display. Make sure you are only moving the Grid lines that are on Bars 2, 3 and 4. You should see the flag “Stretch Previous - Move Next” appear.

Holding down [Alt]/[Option] and moving the Grid lines at bar positions allows us to change the tempo of the previous bar while the following bars will be moved.

Load the project called “Tempo and Groove 4” found in the “Tutorial 8” folder to see the bar grid line adjustments. Click on the Definition Tab in the Sample Editor and activate Manual Adjust.

10. Now hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] to move the beat

grid lines close to the beginning of the attacks of the waveform display.

Zoom in to line up the beat grid lines exactly. Do this for the entire drum loop in all the locations that appear to be off time.

Load the project called “Tempo and Groove 5” found in the “Tutorial 8” folder to see the beat grid line adjustments. Click on the Definition Tab in the Sample Editor and activate Manual Adjust.

11. Close the Sample Editor.

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12. Click on the drum loop and select Loop Selection from

Range Selection tool

Range tab

Hitpoints tab

Slice & Close

the Transport menu. You can now hear that the drum loop is in perfect time

with the project’s tempo. Feel free to change the tempo on the Transport by first deactivating the Tempo Track and notice that the drum loop will follow.

Example 4: Working with selections

Load the project called “Tempo and Groove 6” found in the “Tutorial 8” folder.

In this example we have an audio file with unknown tempo. We only want to use a small section of the audio file to create a drum loop.

1. Activate Start on the Transport panel and hear that the drum loop is off time with the click.

2. Activate Stop and deactivate the Click.

3. Double-click on the drum loop.

The Sample Editor will open.

4. We are going to create a 2-bar loop from this audio file. Make sure the Range Selection tool is selected. Click and drag to make a selection to a portion of the audio file that you will use as a drum loop. Somewhere just after bar 5 and just after bar 7.

To get the selection to match our example click on the Range tab and enter 411427 in the Start field and 616843 in the End Field.

5. Click on the Hitpoints tab and choose Slice & Close.

You now have a loop that is cut to the selection you made and can now loop to the project tempo. The Sample Editor will close and you will be returned to the Project window.

6. Click on the drum loop and select Loop Selection from

the Transport menu. You can now hear that the drum loop is in perfect time

Tutorial 8: Editing audio II - tempo and groove

with the project’s tempo. Feel free to change the tempo on the Transport by first deactivating the Tempo Track and notice that the drum loop will follow.

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Tutorial 9: Media management

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Background

MediaBay, Loop Browser, Sound Browser

The MediaBay is an area in Nuendo that helps to find, identify, tag and organize your sounds (VST 3 Presets and track presets), audio/MIDI loops, video and project files.

You’ll hear and read about two different terms associated with the MediaBay: VST Sound and MediaBay.

VST Sound is the overall concept of managing the evergrowing number of plug-ins, instruments, presets, etc. The tool that links all of the plug-ins, instruments and presets together is the MediaBay.

Why is the MediaBay important to me?

The MediaBay:

• Provides different views allowing you to find and tag media files, quickly import media files into projects. Media files include: audio files, MIDI files, MIDI loops and video.

• Allows you to find sounds easily so that you can begin working on your music quickly without endlessly searching for the ‘right’ instrument.

• Allows you to find and apply audio, MIDI and instrument presets quickly to your tracks.

• Shows you all of the Nuendo project files that are on your computer to quickly load them.

• MediaBay frees you from thinking in a folder structure or by instrument. Just think about the sound you are looking for and find it across your entire library.

MediaBay, Loop Browser and Sound Browser

There are three menu options on the Media menu that allow you to call up the various MediaBay views.

It really doesn’t matter which one you pick as they all provide the same functionality. The reason you would pick one from the other is that they have various buttons and features turned on or off so that you can easily find what you are looking for.

For example, if you are looking for loops you would select the Loop Browser as this has been pre-configured for searching specifically for loops. Or if you were looking for Track Presets or VST Plug-in Presets, the Sound Browser would suit you best.

Load the project “Media Management” found in the “Tutorial 9” folder.

To open the MediaBay

We are going to use the MediaBay view as this view has been pre-configured to allow all of the controls by default to be visible. Everything we learn in the MediaBay can be applied to the Loop or Sound Browser.

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1. On the Media menu, select “Open MediaBay” and

Category tab

Browser, Scope and Tag Editor

Viewer display

Filter section

Browser section

Click here to show/hide the Browser section

click on the Category tab.

The MediaBay by default opens with the Details tab activated. For the purpose of this tutorial, the Category tab will be needed.

1. Hide the Browser, Scope and Tag Editor sections.

We are left with the Viewer display and Filter section. These two sections allow us to view and find files.

Making visible the different sections of the MediaBay

At the bottom left hand side of the MediaBay window there are 3 buttons allowing you to show/hide the different MediaBay sections. These are:

•Browser

•Scope

•Tag Editor

2. Show the Browser section.

This is where you can specify locations on your computer so that the MediaBay can find all of your media files.

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3. Show the Scope section.

Click here to show/hide the Scope section

Scope section

Tag Editor section

The Scope section allows you to view and play back files selected in the Viewer section.

Physical and virtual scanning locations

There are 2 different locations that you can scan for media files on your computer. The File system location and the VST Sound location.

4. Show the Tag Editor section.

When a file is selected in the Viewer section, you can view and/or assign tags to the file to make organizing and searching for the file easier.

Scanning with the browser

When you open the MediaBay, the Loop Browser or the Sound Browser, a scan for the media files is performed. Specify which folders or directories should be included in the scan by activating their check boxes to the left of the name. The result of the scan is saved in the MediaBay database.

File System

The File system locations are the physical or actual locations on your computer. These locations include local and removable disks such as hard drives, external drives, CD or DVD-ROM drives, etc.

By default File system is checked, however, it contains many locations you would not want scanned. Be sure to check which areas/folders you want MediaBay to manage. The areas/folders that you pick will automatically be scanned and the result of that scan can be seen in the Viewer section.

VST Sound

The VST Sound locations are the virtual locations on your computer to any factory content or user presets created for plug-ins, instruments or MIDI-loops. Make sure that this is not turned off.

Choosing scanning locations

Generally you’ll want to make sure that VST Sound is always checked since this is the factory content or content that either came with Nuendo or other compatible product such as Steinberg’s Sequel. This is also the location of any user presets that were created.

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1. Click the plus symbol on File system to reveal its scan-

Deep Results

ning locations.

These are the physical locations on your computer that you can specify so that MediaBay will search for media content. Be sure to check the areas/folders that you want the MediaBay to scan.

2. Click the plus symbol on VST Sound to reveal the

scanning locations found there.

Deep Results

Before we begin the scan of all our media on the computer, make sure the “Deep Results” button is activated.

Activating “Deep Results” will show any files inside the currently selected folder, as well as any sub folder in a “flat” view - as if they were inside the same folder. This allows you to look at your media files sorted by attributes, even if they reside in a complex folder structure.

There are many locations that do not need to be checked. Spend the time un-checking the locations you feel do not need to be searched. By doing this the MediaBay is kept clean of any useless information which speeds up searches and general handling.

If you are in doubt about any of the locations, don’t worry – just leave them checked.

Selecting a location (folder) automatically initiates a scan and updates the database.

Tutorial 9: Media management

1. Right-click on Media and select “Refresh” from the context menu to begin scanning.

This starts the scanning process and now the MediaBay is looking for media on your computer within the locations you have specified.

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Scanning indicator and status

Scanning indicator

Viewer display

Filter section

When the MediaBay is scanning for media on your computer, a visual indicator in the upper right hand corner of the Viewer section will be displayed.

The scanning status for the individual folders in the Browser section is indicated by the color of the icons:

• A red icon means that this folder is currently being scanned.

• A light blue icon means this folder has been scanned.

• Orange folder icons are displayed when a scanning process was interrupted.

• Yellow icons are displayed for folders that have not been scanned.

Searching for media

Now that we have selected the folders on our computer and scanned for media we can now search for an audio file and drop it into our project.

You should still have the project called “Media Management” loaded for this tutorial.

We are now going to shift our attention to the Viewer section. The Viewer section consists of two panes: the filter section at the top and below it, the Viewer display.

For the purpose of this tutorial, we need to adjust the default appearance of the filter section so that we can find the desired audio file easily.

The filter section shows six tag columns. The first two columns from the left need to be changed as follows:

• Select “Category” instead of “Application Type” and “Sub Category” instead of “Category Post”.

1. Choose a main category from the filter section (like “Drum/Perc”).

This will show us any files that have been tagged with the category Drum & Perc. See “Tagging” on page 90.

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2. Choose a sub category if appropriate (like “Beats”).

Text Search field

Click here to show/hide the Scope section.

The Scope section displaying an audio file.

Preview level (Volume)

Start, stop, pause and cycle

Play in Project context

Auto Play

This allows us to narrow down our search even more.

There is a list of drum loops that are now available to us in the Viewer display with our filter criteria. We can simply drag and drop any of these audio files into our project. Alternatively we could use the Text Search field and search for a media file by name.

Auditioning media with the Scope

We have narrowed down our search to just drum beats and now we want to audition our results before we drop it into our project.

1. Show the Scope section and select an audio file from

the Viewer display.

You will see the Scope display the audio file as a waveform.

You can start, stop, pause and cycle the audio file to hear what it sounds like. You can also set the preview level.

Play in project context

It’s a good idea to hear our project playing while we audition our audio loop.

2. Activate Play in Project context.

The loop will now play along with our project in the project tempo.

3. Activate Auto Play.

With Auto Play activated we can click on many different audio files in the Viewer display and audition them quickly.

4. Click Start on the Transport panel.

The project will begin to play and the audio files you have selected in the Viewer display will play along in time with the project.

5. Click on different audio files to find the one that works best with the project.

You can use the up and down arrow keys on your computer keyboard to quickly audition many files.

6. When you have selected the file you wish to use, drag and drop it right into the project.

You don’t have to click Stop, the project will continue to play and the MediaBay will stop auditioning the file automatically.

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Tagging

Click here to show/hide the Tag Editor section.

Attribute name

Select the Managed tab

Click here to open the Manage Tags window.

You are able to add musical tags to your media files so that you are able to quickly organize and find your media files for later use. Tagging also helps you to group large amounts of media into a more usable and searchable format.

1. Show the Tag Editor section and select one or multiple

files in the Viewer section.

For even greater search capabilities and organization you can open the Manage Tags window and define even more tags for your media files.

2. Select the Managed tab.

You can apply tags by clicking (double-clicking for Character) in the field next to the attribute name.

The next time you search for media using the search filters (category, sub category, style, etc.) you’ll see the media you have tagged appear in the viewer section along with the other similar tagged media.

For further details refer to the MediaBay chapter in the Operation manual.

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Working with video

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Introduction

Video playback engines

In this chapter we are going to show you how to use video files and video tape machines with Nuendo. Nuendo is a full-featured post production media tool that is capable of dealing with video content in several ways. You can work with video and create complete soundtracks from within Nuendo. The soundtrack can then be rendered into a video file, recorded onto video tape or exported as an audio file that can be married to the video or film later.

Virtual video playback

The most common method of working with video in Nuendo is using video files within the software to play video images in sync with audio and MIDI. Nuendo has its own window to display video (opened by pressing [F8]). This window can be resized to fit an entire screen or be very small and unobtrusive.

To open the video playback window, select “Video” from the devices menu or press [F8]. A blank video window will appear. Once you have imported a video file and placed it in the project window, the video can be viewed in this window.

To resize the window, simply click and drag the lower right hand corner of the window to your preferred size. However, when using the DirectShow playback engine, there are only three choices for the window size; tiny, small and big. The size of the DirectShow window can be changed by accessing the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu. Select Video Player to see the choices of window size.

The DirectShow window size options in the Device Setup dialog.

There are three different playback engines that Nuendo can use to play video files.

• QuickTime (Mac and PC)

• DirectShow (PC only)

• DirectX Video (PC only) Which one to choose depends on your computer configu-

ration and working preferences. The available video playback engines are accessed from the Device Setup dialog.

Typically, PC users can use the native Windows video engines DirectX and DirectShow without installing any additional software. QuickTime requires installation of the QuickTime software in Windows.

For Apple OS X computers, QuickTime is the only available playback engine. It is installed with the operating system.

Video file compatibility

With so many types of video files, determining if one will work on your system can be confusing. The simple test for this is to open the video file with the native media player on your computer.

• For windows systems, open the video file with Windows Media Player and see if it will play.

• For Apple OS X systems open the file with QuickTime and see if it will play.

If the native media player is able to play the video file back properly then Nuendo should also be able to use the video file in a project. If there is a problem playing the video file with the native player, you must either convert the file to a compatible type or install the necessary software on your computer to play that file type on your system. A great deal of confusion arises when trying to figure out why a video file will not play properly on a given computer. Understanding video files and how they work can alleviate much of this and lead to better use of your computer’s video capabilities.

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Container formats

Video and other multi-media files come in a container format. This container holds various streams of information including video and audio but also metadata such as synchronization information used to play back audio and video together. Data regarding creation date, authors, chapter markings and more can also be held within the container format.

• AVI (Microsoft’s standard container format)

• MOV (QuickTime’s standard format)

• MPEG-2 (used for DVD authoring, can contain AC3 multichannel audio as well)

• DV (used by camcorders, high resolution)

These container formats are cross-platform compatible. They can be used on both Mac (OS X) and PC systems. Problems arise when the computer does not have the correct software to decode compressed video and audio streams within the container file. You must also know the type of codec used to create the video file.

Codecs

Codecs are methods of data compression used to make video (and audio) files smaller and more manageable for computers. In order to play a video file, your computer must have the correct codec installed in the operating system to decode the video stream.

Here are some of the most commonly used video codecs:

• MPEG-2 (often used for DVD encoding, also a container format)

•MPEG-4

• DV (native to OS X computers, hi resolution)

• H.264 (for streaming Hi-Def video over the Internet)

• WMV (Windows video compression)

Part of the confusion lies in the names of both codecs and container formats. Since many container formats have the same names as the codecs they use within the file, make sure to differentiate the container format or file type (.wmv, .mov, .dv etc.) from the codec used within it.

If your computer does not have the right codec to play a particular video file, you will most likely be able to download the necessary software to install the codec onto your system. To find available codecs, visit Microsoft’s or Apple’s web site and search for video codecs.

Adding a video file to a project

Adding a video file to your project is very straight forward once you know that you have a compatible video file. It is advisable to store you video files on a separate hard drive from your audio files if possible. This can help prevent data streaming problems when using hi-res video with many audio tracks.

1. On the File menu–Import submenu, select “Video File…”.

You may also open the Pool and click the Import button.

2. Locate and select the desired video file on your computer.

3. Activate “Extract Audio” if you wish to also import any embedded audio streams.

If this is activated and there is no audio stream within the container file, you will get an error message, “No compatible audio stream found…”. Click OK and the video stream will continue to be imported. You may also extract the audio from any video file by selecting “Extract Audio from Video File” from the Media menu.

4. Activate “Generate Thumbnail Cache” if you wish to create thumbnails during the import process.

This may also be done after a video file is imported by selecting “Generate Thumbnail Cache” from the Media menu. Be aware that displaying video thumbnails may use significant CPU resources.

5. Select the video file inside the Pool’s Video folder.

You may have multiple video files of various formats in the Pool.

6. Drag the video file into the Project window.

If you drag the video file into the Project window and a video track has not yet been added to the project, Nuendo will automatically create one for you and place the video file in the timeline at the insertion point.

7. Select one of the “Insert into Project” options from the Media menu.

You can choose to insert the video at the cursor position, at the left locator, at a specific timecode number or at the origin time of the video file. The origin time can also be referred to as the timestamp of the video file. Most video files have a timestamp of 00:00:00:00. The use of a timecode burn-in window in the video can help place the file at the proper location. See “Tips” on page 98.

Now that your video file is placed in the Project window’s timeline, you may play it along with other audio and MIDI data in the project. When you enter Play, and the cursor is within the boundaries of the video file, video will be displayed in the video window ([F8]) and via other video hardware devices you may have configured in your system.

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When stopped, the current frame of video is displayed. If

the cursor is to the left of the start of the video file, the first frame of the video will be displayed. If the cursor is to the right of the video file end point, the last frame of the video will be displayed.

You may have multiple video files of differing formats in the same video track of Nuendo. Assuming you have the proper codecs installed, they will all play together in one project. There can only be one video track per project.

Dedicated video cards

The use of a dedicated video capture and playback card is also supported in Nuendo. These cards are normally used in video editing systems to capture video to disk and display it while editing. They usually have a high resolution and take some strain off the host CPU by providing video compression and decompression processing on the card.

Ö The Decklink cards by Blackmagic Design are automatically recognized by Nuendo. Video will be sent directly to its output.

Video output devices

Viewing video files on-screen in the video window may work just fine for many applications but often it is necessary to display video in a large format for viewing small details and so others involved in the session can also see the video. Nuendo provides the ability to use several types of video output devices in order to accomplish this. The type of devices you can use depends on the configuration of you system and what platform you use.

Multi-head graphics cards

One of the most common methods available to both Mac and PC platforms is the use of multi-head graphics cards installed in the computer. Multi-head graphics cards allow more than one computer monitor to be connected to the card, in some cases up to four monitors on one card. The video output of Nuendo can be directed to one of these outputs and then displayed full screen on a computer monitor or HD television screen.

Ö Instead of a single multi-head graphics card, it is possible to use more than one graphics card to achieve the same results. The use of two dual display cards in one system (a total of four monitors) is a very common setup for film post-production systems. One output is dedicated to video only and the other three can be used for Nuendo and other applications.

Different graphics cards support different types of outputs including standard VGA, DVI, S-Video and component video. These options allow you to choose the type of monitor you use for video. HD televisions and digital projectors provide the largest viewing screens but a normal computer monitor can function as a very high-quality video monitor as well.

FireWire DV Output (Mac OS X only)

On Mac OSX systems, you have the option to use FireWire ports on the computer to output DV video streams to external converters such as various camcorders and standalone FireWire to DV conversion units. These units can be connected to a television or projector for large format viewing.

Video playback speed

Nuendo supports adjustments to the playback speed of video files necessary to compensate for film that has been transferred to video via a telecine process. For detailed information on video pull up/down, please refer to the Video chapter in the Operation Manual.

Editing video

Nuendo supports simple cut and copy style editing of video tracks. You can take a single video and copy it many times for the creation of mix variations. A video file may be trimmed using the event handles to remove a count down for instance. You may also lock video events in the same way as other events in the project window. It is not possible to fade or crossfade video events.

Ö Note that this functionality is limited to the DirectX and QuickTime video players.

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Rendering audio into video files

Once you have edited all audio and MIDI data to the video and created a final mix, you will need to put the new audio back with the video. This is described in detail in the chapter “Audio editing to picture” on page 99. You can do this by embedding the new audio in another stream within the video container file. This requires rendering of the video file again with a new audio stream.

1. Export the audio file you wish to render into the video

container file.

Nuendo treats the rendering process in a separate step. You must first have both the audio and video files prepared before rendering them together. Make sure you place the left locator at exactly the start of the video file in Nuendo before exporting the audio mixdown. This will ensure that your audio and video streams will be synchronized after rendering.

2. On the File menu, select “Replace Audio in Video

File…”.

A navigation window will open prompting you to locate the video file.

3. Locate the video file you wish to render audio into.

Next, you will be prompted to locate the corresponding audio file. This should be the one you created in step 1.

4. Locate the audio file to be rendered.

A progress bar shows the status of the rendering.

5. Once rendering has completed, open the video file in

a native media player and check for proper rendering and synchronization.

Video tape recorders

The second method of working with video and Nuendo is through the use of external video playback hardware such as video tape recorders (VTRs). Video hard disk recorders also fall into this category and function in much the same way as tape machines. With this in mind, “VTR” will also refer to hard disk recorders for the purpose of this chapter.

Whenever you are interfacing Nuendo with external hardware, some additional computer hardware may be necessary. In the case of using VTRs with Nuendo, a device capable of dealing with SMPTE timecode, word clock, video reference clock, MIDI machine control and Sony 9Pin machine control protocols will be needed.

Nuendo must be able to send and receive transport commands to and from the VTR. Speed and position information in the form of word clock, video reference clock and SMPTE must also be fed into Nuendo and the audio hardware.

Synchronization and Machine Control

The most important aspect of working with VTRs is the ability to maintain the best possible synchronization between Nuendo and the tape machine.

Regardless of your hardware setup, Nuendo will have to be configured to synchronize with the VTR using the Project Synchronization Setup dialog.

1. On the Transport menu, select “Project Synchronization Setup”.

This opens the Project Synchronization Setup dialog.

2. Select your timecode source.

In most cases, the VTR will supply the timecode. This can be read by devices like Steinberg Timebase or via Sony 9-pin. Third party TC readers can convert incoming timecode in the form of LTC or VITC to MIDI timecode (MTC) as well.

3. Select your Master Machine Control device.

This is the main external device you are synchronizing with.

4. Make settings for the VTR.

This includes selecting the correct ports. In order to record-enable tracks on the tape machine, you must configure how many audio tracks are available. Most professional VTRs have four audio tracks available.

5. Set the Master Machine Control Preferences.

There are several preferences to select that will determine how the machine control device will behave.

6. Click OK to close the Synchronization Setup dialog.

7. On the Project menu, select “Project Setup…”.

The Project Setup dialog is opened.

8. Set the Project SMPTE frame rate.

The frame rate should be the same for all devices in the synchronization setup. Mixing different frame rates may lead to unpredictable results.

9. Set the correct audio pull up/pull down setting.

Audio pull up/down controls are used to compensate for speed changes in the video that result from the transfer process from film. (See the Operation Manual for more information)

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10. Adjust the Project start time and the time display op-

tions as needed.

If the video starts at 01:00:00:00, the project start time could be 00:59:00:00. This eliminates much blank space before the start of the project but allows for things such as test tones and pre-roll of tape machines.

11. Click OK to apply your settings and close the dialog.

12. Activate Synchronization by clicking the Sync button

in the Transport panel.

This changes the nature of the transport controls by having them send machine control commands to the tape machine which then will send timecode back to Nuendo and Nuendo will start playback in sync with incoming timecode.

This system is intelligent and is designed to appear transparent to the user. When sync is activated, any transport moves you would normally make in Nuendo, such as moving the cursor around the Project window, pressing rewind or return to zero buttons, are immediately turned into machine control commands to locate the tape machine to specific positions. Even shuttle and scrub actions do this.

Once both Nuendo and the tape transport have located to the same position, playback can begin on the tape machine which then will send the corresponding timecode out for Nuendo to synchronize to.

Ö In the Device Settings section for each 9-pin device in the Project Synchronization Setup dialog there is the option “Displays Follow Locating Device” which will make the cursor position follow the actual tape transport as it moves physically to the locate position. This gives you feedback about the tape transport and what it is doing and when it will be ready for playback. When tape machines are located remotely in a dedicated machine room of a studio facility, having this visual feedback can be very helpful.

Once the Project Synchronization Setup has been configured, you should test the system to ensure that audio and video are properly in sync. A reference mix from the video can be helpful for this. Record the audio from the VTR into Nuendo. While listening to the original audio on the VTR and the recorded audio in Nuendo, playback the system and see if you notice any drifting in the audio between the two sources. This will give you an idea of how accurate the sync is. There should be no drift whatsoever in a properly configured system.

Layback to tape

Machine control also allows you to record-enable tracks of the remote machine. This allows you to record your final mix back on to video tape when you are finished. This process is often referred to as “laying back to tape” or simply “layback”.

Two things are needed to perform a layback:

1. Arming of the necessary audio tracks.

This could be as simple as two tracks for stereo or eight tracks for a 5.1 surround mix plus a stereo downmix on tracks 7 and 8. In film mixing it may be necessary to record 24 or more mixdown tracks known as “stems”. Any number is possible.

2. The timecode values to start and stop recording on the tape machine will need to be defined.

You could manually punch in and out on the remote machine but using specific timecode numbers allows more precision and even going back and punching in sections that need remixing later without disturbing the rest of the sound track.

VTRs have two basic record modes:

•Auto-Edit

• Insert Auto-Edit allows you to perform an automated punch-in

and punch-out on selected tracks of the VTR. The VTR is played and using the left and right locators in Nuendo, will enter record at the left locator and go back to play (punchout) at the right locator.

Since VTRs need a certain amount of time to get up to proper speed for playback, the Auto-Edit function allows you to start playback prior to the desired punch-in point, allowing for pre-roll. Precise edit points make it possible to record only a specific portion of the program material if needed for a correction or alteration to the overall project. When working on a feature length film that takes over an hour to layback, a quick edit in the middle can save a lot of time in the studio.

Insert mode records ALL tracks on a VTR at the same time (including the video and timecode tracks!) and is usually not used for audio layback.

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Preparing an audio layback

Once you have completed the editing and mixing of a soundtrack for a video or film, inserted any required test tones and 2-pop, you are ready to layback the mix to a tape machine. Depending on the type of machine control you are using (MMC or 9-pin) the steps required are slightly different.

1. Set the left and right locators at the start and end of the

complete soundtrack.

If you need to record test tones of any sort, include these in this selection. Typically, program video (what the audience actually sees) starts at 01:00:00:00. Any test tones or countdown audio would happen prior to that, yielding a start time of perhaps 00:59:00:00. You may wish to also leave some blank space at the very end of the program in order to avoid clipping any audio when the tape machine punches out.

2. Synchronize Nuendo to the tape machine using ma-

chine control.

If the Project Synchronization Setup dialog has been properly configured, this should be as simple as engaging the sync button in the Transport panel. To accurately layback audio to an external tape machine, Nuendo must be synchronized to the tape machine via timecode and a clock source such as video sync or word clock from a hardware synchronizer. This will ensure that audio remains in sync with the video on the tape machine throughout the layback process. Nuendo must be enabled to control the transport of the layback machine via MMC or 9-pin connections.

Ö In many cases, the only time you would need to synchronize Nuendo with a tape machine is for audio layback. Editing usually goes much faster when using a reference video file within Nuendo. For this reason, make sure the synchronization settings are correct and working properly during this important step.

3. Position the Project cursor somewhere before the left

locator.

Leave enough time for the tape machine to get up to speed (pre-roll) prior to the punch-in point at the left locator.

4. Using either the MMC or 9-pin machine control Transport panels, record-enable the proper tracks on the tape machine.

Depending on the tape machine and mixdown format, you may need to enable six audio tracks or more for a surround mix and alternate downmixes. The machine control transport should have all available tracks shown on the left side.

The MMC Master control transport with six out of eight tracks recordenabled, ready to layback a 5.1 surround mix.

5. For MMC machines, make sure to activate both the punch in and punch out buttons in the Transport panel.

When the cursor reaches the left locator, a record command will be sent to the MMC device, placing it in record on the enabled tracks. Once the right locator is reached, the deck will punch out.

The punch-in and punch-out functions are enabled on the Transport panel. It is not necessary to use pre-roll so long as you start with enough time for the tape transport to come up to speed before the punch-in point. A pre-roll would do the same thing though.

6. For 9-pin control, enable the Auto Edit function.

Many video tape machines that have 9-pin control use the Auto-Edit function as a way to punch-in on only certain tracks of the tape machine. Insert Edits will record on all tracks at the same time and will cause erasure of both video and timecode on the tape.

The Auto-Edit function has been turned on for this 9-pin device allowing Nuendo to punch-in on selected tracks of the video tape machine.

7. Make sure the outputs of your sound card are routed to the inputs of the tape machine.

For those using the Control Room features, remember that the Main outs of Nuendo should be separate from the Control Room speaker outputs to avoid double-bussing and possible overload conditions. See the Control Room chapter in the Operation Manual for more information.

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8. Press play.

Nuendo will start playback on the machine control device which will then send timecode and clock data back to Nuendo. Nuendo will then playback in sync with the tape machine and at the left locator, the tape machine will enter record on the enabled tracks. At the right locator, recording will stop. You can then stop the transport at any time.

During the layback process, try to watch video coming directly from the tape machine while listening to the audio outputs of the tape machine to ensure that proper sync has been maintained. If that is not possible, make sure to view the video afterwards to double-check. Once the program has been reviewed for errors, layback is done and the master can be delivered.

Nuendo has the capacity to have two 9-pin devices and up to 127 MMC devices connected at the same time, providing a multitude of options for tape machine control. Multiple transports may be synchronized with Nuendo at one time, allowing Nuendo to be the machine control hub in a complex system of tape machines typically found in film dub stages.

Since Nuendo may also function as a MMC slave device, it can be integrated into an existing machine control system very easily. A second Nuendo system can take the place of a stem recorder. With an extremely large number of tracks available to even a modest Nuendo system, all the stem tracks of a feature film could be recorded to a second Nuendo system in one pass, given the right amount of IO on each system.

Tips

There are so many variables within the boundaries of a multi-media project that only years of experience can cope with all of them. However, here are a few tips and good ideas you can use to help eliminate some common issues.

Pre-production planning

The single most important tip for making post-production go smoothly for a TV commercial, feature film or even internet media creation is good use of pre-production planning. Try and meet with all the people involved in a project prior to starting in order to decide how the work will flow once you get into post-production. Determining frame rates for film and video, film transfer issues, what format the location audio will be recorded in, delivery formats and other details including a working copy of the script will be invaluable to any post-production audio professional.

TC Burn-In

The timecode burn-in window (BITC) is a section of the video image that contains timecode numbers for each frame of video from the original video editor. Using this, it is possible to align a video perfectly in Nuendo so that all the timecode numbers line up exactly.

BITC is created by the video workstation and is permanently rendered into the video. Certain hardware such as Steinberg’s Timebase have the capacity to insert a timecode window into a video signal in real time. However, having a permanent rendering of the original timecode from the video workstation is the most concrete reference possible. If there is any question regarding the timecode values of a particular video, the timecode burn-in eliminates the chance for error when editing audio to picture in Nuendo.

Timecode burn-in window in a video image.

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Audio editing to picture

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Introduction

Nuendo has been designed from the ground up as a production tool with features that are catered to working with video and film. The depth and versatility of Nuendo’s design allow you to work very precisely and yet retain the freedom and ease that allows greater creativity in creating music and sound design for film and video.

In this chapter, the editing tools in Nuendo will be discussed as they relate to video post-production techniques. In the section “Operations” on page 106, these tools will be applied in real world situations that you would encounter while working with video. Finally, there will be a quick discussion of how to use the Time Warp feature to create tempo maps that are synchronized with video for use in scoring music to picture.

Video timeline and the grid

When working with video, every audio event and part is synchronized to the picture. Unlike music editing with an even grid of bars and beats to work with, video uses a much smaller increment of time as a basic grid: video frames. Since there are a finite number of video frames in each video, the frame becomes the basic measuring block for editing.

Video frames are numbered using SMPTE timecode. Depending on the frame rate of the video, there will be a certain amount of frames per second and then 60 seconds per minute, and 60 minutes per hour. SMPTE is displayed using colons to separate each division of time.

Film frames can be displayed as SMPTE numbers or in feet and frames (a traditional method used by film editors). Nuendo also offers a user-definable frame rate for specialized frame rates including vari-cam HD video. For more information on all the frame rates and time displays available, refer to the Operation Manual.

Subframes and days

Nuendo can also display the time between frames by using the subframe division which divides each frame into 100 subframes. Subframes appear separated from frames by a period. In order to see subframes displayed you must activate “Show Timecode Subframes” in the Preferences dialog (Transport page). If this is activated, subframes will be displayed everywhere that timecode is shown including the Transport panel, Project window, dialogs, Project Browser, Pool and the SMPTE Generator plug-in.

In case a project crosses the 24 hour mark, Nuendo will automatically display a day number to the left of the SMPTE display separated by a space, no colon. It can be necessary to use days in timecode even when the project is shorter than 24 hours. For example, during live events that take place in the evening, if the central timecode generator for the event is running “time-of-day” SMPTE that correlates to the actual time on the clock, it can very easily cross the 24 hour mark at midnight if the event goes that long. In that case, all timecode values after midnight will have a “1” displayed in the days position.

Time-of-day SMPTE that has crossed midnight or the 24 hour mark shows the day number “1” to the left of the SMPTE value. Note that subframes are not displayed in this image.

The SMPTE display from the Time Display window showing 1 hour, 3 minutes, 47 seconds, 12 frames and 25 subframes.

Make sure that the frame rate of the project matches that of the video you are using in the Project Setup dialog. It is possible for Nuendo to detect the video frame rate for you. See the Video chapter in the Operation Manual.

Drop-Frame SMPTE

Drop-frame timecode is used for the 29.97 frame rate used by the NTSC video standard. Since this frame rate does not correlate exactly to the actual time passing on the clock, a system has been devised that omits certain frame numbers in order to match the displayed time with the time of day. Nuendo distinguishes this frame count by separating the frame number with a semi-colon instead of a colon.

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Audio editing to picture

Steinberg Nuendo - 4.0 Getting Started

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Table of Contents

Introduction

About the manuals and the help

About the program versions

Key command conventions

How you can reach us

System requirements and installation

About this chapter

Minimum requirements

Hardware installation

Installing Nuendo

Defragmenting the hard disk (Windows only)

Register your software

Setting up your system

Setting up audio

Setting up MIDI

Connecting a synchronizer

Setting up video

Optimizing audio performance

Tutorial 1: Recording audio

Creating a new project

Setting up the VST Connections

Level settings and recording

Playback

Recording modes with cycle off

Cycle recording

Stacked recording

Tutorial 2: Editing audio

Event operations

Processing audio

Event envelopes

Tutorial 3: Recording and editing MIDI

Introduction

Creating an Instrument Track

Browsing sounds

MIDI recording

MIDI playback

Recording modes with cycle off

Cycle recording

The Key Editor

The Controller lane

Tutorial 4: Working with loops

Loop Browser

Adding loops

Making copies

Insert into Project

Tutorial 5: External MIDI instruments

Introduction

Setting up MIDI devices

Setting up VST connections for external instruments

Monitoring external MIDI instruments

Recording MIDI and external instruments

Tutorial 6: Mixing and effects

Introduction

Setting levels

Setting pan

Mute and solo

Adding EQ

Audio effects

About automation

Exporting

Tutorial 7: Surround production

Surround busses

Setting up a surround mix

Recording in surround

Exporting a surround file

Background

Example 1: Drum loop, tempo known

Example 2: Drum loop, Auto Adjust

Example 3: Drum loop, Manual Adjust

Example 4: Working with selections

Tutorial 9: Media management

Background

MediaBay, Loop Browser and Sound Browser

Scanning with the browser

Searching for media