Steinberg Cubase 4 Operation Manual

21
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
As always, audio hardware with low-latency drivers is a 
good thing to have.
Cubase will compensate for the input/output latency and ensure that the 
audio processed through external effects isn’t shifted in time.
Connecting the external effect/instrument
To set up an external effect or instrument, proceed as fol-
lows:
1.Connect an unused output pair on your audio hard-
ware to the input pair on your external hardware device.
In this example, we...

22
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
8.When you are done, close the VST Connections win-
dow.
ÖNote that external device ports are exclusive, see 
“Connecting the external effect/instrument” on page 21.
How to use the external effect
If you now click an insert effect slot for any channel and 
look at the effect pop-up menu, you will find the new exter-
nal FX bus listed on the “External Plug-ins” submenu.
When you select it, the following happens:
 The external FX bus is loaded into the...

23
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
7.When you are done, close the VST Connections win-
dow.
ÖNote that external device ports are exclusive, see 
“Connecting the external effect/instrument” on page 21.
How to use the external instrument
Once you have set up the external instrument in the VST 
Connections window, you can use it as a VST Instrument. 
Open the VST Instruments window and click on an empty 
instrument slot. In the instrument pop-up menu, your ex-
ternal instrument is listed...

24
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
About the “plug-in could not be found” 
message
When you open a project that uses an external effect/in-
strument, you may get a “plug-in could not be found” mes-
sage. This will happen when you remove an external 
device from the VST Connections window although it is 
used in a saved project, or when transferring a project to 
another computer on which the external device is not de-
fined. You may also see this message when opening a 
project last...

3
The Project window 

26
The Project window
Background
The Project window is the main window in Cubase. This 
provides you with an overview of the project, allowing you 
to navigate and perform large scale editing. Each project 
has one Project window.
About tracks
The Project window is divided vertically into tracks, with a 
timeline running horizontally from left to right. The follow-
ing track types are available:
About parts and events
Events are the basic building blocks in Cubase. Different 
event types are handled...

27
The Project window
Audio handling
When you work with audio files, it is crucial to understand 
how audio is handled in Cubase:
When you edit or process audio in the project window, 
you always work with an audio clip that is automatically 
created on import or when you record audio. This audio 
clip refers to the audio file on the hard disk that remains 
untouched. This means, that audio editing and processing 
is “non-destructive”, in the sense that you can always 
undo changes or revert to the...

28
The Project window
Window Overview
The Track list
The Track list displays all the tracks used in a project. It 
contains name fields and settings for the tracks. Different 
track types have different controls in the Track list. To see 
all the controls you may have to resize the track in the Track 
list (see “Resizing tracks in the Track list” on page 37).The Track list area for an audio track:
The Project overview
The event display, showing audio parts and 
events, MIDI parts, automation, markers,...

29
The Project window
The Track list area for an automation subtrack (opened 
by clicking the Show/Hide Automation button on a track):
The Track list area for a MIDI track:
The Inspector
The area to the left of the Track list is called the Inspector. 
This shows additional controls and parameters for the track 
you have selected in the Track list. If several tracks are se-
lected (see “Handling tracks” on page 40), the Inspector 
shows the setting for the first (topmost) selected track.
To hide or show...

30
The Project window
ÖPlease note that not all Inspector tabs are shown by 
default. You can show/hide Inspector sections by right-
clicking on an Inspector tab and activating/deactivating 
the desired option(s).
Make sure you right-click on an inspector tab and not on the empty area 
below the Inspector, as this will open the Quick context menu instead.
The Inspector Setup context menu.
Sections
The Inspector contains the controls that can be found on 
the Track list, plus some additional buttons and...