Steinberg Cubase 4 Remote Control Devices Manual

							Remote Control Devices 
						

							Revision and Quality Control:
Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part 
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Release Date: October 19, 2007
© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2007.
All rights reserved. 
						

							Table of Contents 
						

							4
Table of Contents
5Remote controlling Cubase
6About this manual
6Setting Up
7Operations
8The Generic Remote device
10Track Quick Controls
10The supported remote control devices
21Index 
						

							1
Remote controlling Cubase 
						

							6
Remote controlling Cubase
About this manual
It is possible to control Cubase via MIDI. A large number of 
MIDI control devices is supported. This manual describes 
how to set up Cubase for remote control, and lists the sup-
ported devices.
•There is also a Generic Remote Device option, allowing 
you to use any MIDI controller to remote control Cubase.
How to set this up is described in the section “The Generic Remote de-
vice” on page 8.
Setting Up
Connecting the remote device
Connect the MIDI Out on the remote unit to a MIDI In on 
your MIDI interface. Depending on the remote unit model, 
you may also need to connect a MIDI Out on the interface 
to a MIDI In on the remote unit (this is necessary if the re-
mote unit features “feedback devices” such as indicators, 
motorized faders, etc.).
If you will be recording MIDI tracks, you don’t want any 
MIDI data from the remote unit to accidentally be recorded 
as well. To avoid this, you should also make the following 
setting:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.
2.Select “MIDI Port Setup” in the list to the left.
3.Check the table to the right and locate the MIDI input 
to which you have connected the MIDI remote unit.
4.Deactivate the check box in the “In ’All MIDI Inputs’” 
column for that input, so that the State column reads “In-
active”.
5.Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog.
Now you have removed the remote unit input from the “All 
MIDI Inputs” group. This means that you can record MIDI 
tracks with the “All MIDI Inputs” port selected without risk-
ing to record the data from the remote unit at the same time.
Selecting a remote device
1.Pull down the Devices menu and select Device Setup.
A dialog window opens with a list of device categories and devices shown 
in the left part of the window. 
2.If you can’t find the remote device you are looking for, 
click on the plus sign in the top left corner and select the 
device from the pop-up that appears.
The selected device is added to the Devices list.
Note that it is possible to select more than one remote 
device of the same type.
If you have more than one remote device of the same type, these will be 
numbered in the Devices list. For example, to be able to use a Mackie 
Control Extender, you must install a second Mackie control device.
3.Now select your MIDI control device model from the 
Devices list.
Depending on the selected device, either a list of programmable function 
commands or a blank panel is shown in the right half of the dialog window.
A JL Cooper MCS-3000 selected as remote control device.
4.Select the correct MIDI input from the pop-up menu.
If necessary, select the correct MIDI output from the pop-up menu. 
						

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Remote controlling Cubase
5.Click OK to close the dialog.
You can now use the MIDI control device to move faders and knobs, ac-
tivate Mute and Solo, etc. The exact parameter configuration depends on 
which external MIDI control device you are using.
Operations
Writing automation using remote controls
Automating the mixer in Touch mode using a remote control 
device is done in the same way as when you operate on-
screen controls in Write mode. However, when it comes to 
replacing existing automation data, there is one important 
difference:
If you activate Write mode and move a control on the re-
mote control device, all data for the corresponding para-
meter is replaced from the position where you moved the 
control, up until the position where playback is stopped!
In other words, as soon as you move a control in Write mode, it remains 
“active” until you stop playback. The reason for this is explained below.
As a consequence, an additional precaution must be taken:
Make sure you move only the controller you want to re-
place!
In order to replace existing automation data for a control in 
Touch mode, the computer needs to know how long the 
user actually “grabbed” or used the control. When doing 
this “on screen”, the program simply detects when the 
mouse button is pressed and released. When you are us-
ing an external remote control device, however, there is no 
mouse button involved, and Cubase cannot tell whether you “grab and hold” a fader, or simply move it and release 
it. Instead, you have to indicate that you have “released” 
the control by stopping playback.
Assigning remote key commands
For some of the supported remote devices, you can as-
sign any Cubase function (to which a key command can 
be assigned) to generic buttons, wheels or other controls. 
As of this writing, these devices are:
 JL Cooper MCS 3000
 JL Cooper CS-10

 Yamaha 01x
 Yamaha DM 2000v2
 Yamaha DM 1000v2


Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog and select one of the 
remote devices that support this feature.
On the right side of the window you will find a three column table. This is 
where you assign commands.
2.Use the “Button” column to locate a remote device con-
trol or button to which you wish to assign a Cubase func-
tion.
3.Click in the “Category” column for the control, and se-
lect one of the Cubase function categories from the pop-
up menu that appears.
4.Click in the “Command” column, and select the desired 
Cubase function from the pop-up menu that appears.
The available items on the pop-up menu depend on the selected category.
5.Click “Apply” when you are done.
The selected function is now assigned to the button or 
control on the remote device.
!Sometimes communication between Cubase and a 
remote device is interrupted or the handshaking pro-
tocol fails to create a connection. To re-establish 
communication with any device in the Devices list, se-
lect it and click the Reset button in the Device Setup 
dialog. Also, the “Send Reset Message to all Devices” 
button at the top of the dialog will reset every device in 
the Devices list.!The above does not apply to the JLCooper MCS 
3000 or any other remote control device with touch 
sensitive controls. These devices will stop writing as 
they have touch sensitive faders, which means that 
they stop writing as soon as you release the fader.
!This is only relevant when you are using a remote 
control device in Touch mode and Write mode is 
activated in the mixer. 
						

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Remote controlling Cubase
A note about remote controlling MIDI tracks
While most remote control devices will be able to control 
both MIDI and audio channels in Cubase, the parameter 
setup may be different. For example, audio-specific con-
trols (such as EQ) will be disregarded when controlling 
MIDI channels.
Accessing user panel parameters via remote 
control devices (Cubase only)
Cubase allows you to control external MIDI devices 
through user device panels. When you have assigned 
project parameters to a device panel to be displayed in 
the Mixer (i.e. when creating the panel, you must select the 
Channel Strip Size option in the Add Panel dialog), you 
can access these parameters through some of the remote 
control devices supported by Cubase.
This feature is supported for the following devices:

 Mackie Control

 Yamaha DM 2000
 CM Motormix

These remote control devices provide an extra display 
page in the Inserts section for the selected channel.
This page is called User and is displayed as the 9th insert 
page for audio channels and as the 5th insert page for MIDI 
channels. It allows you to control the parameters assigned 
to your user device panel from your remote control device.
The Generic Remote device
If you have a generic MIDI controller, you can use this for 
remote control of Cubase by setting up the Generic Re-
mote device:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog on the Devices menu.
If the Generic Remote device isn’t on the Devices list, you need to add it.
2.Click the “+” sign in the top left corner and select the 
“Generic Remote” device from the pop-up menu.
When the Generic Remote device is added in the Device 
Setup dialog, you can open the corresponding window by 
selecting “Generic Remote” from the Devices menu.
The Generic Remote window
3.Select the Generic Remote device in the Devices list 
to the left.
The settings for the Generic Remote device are displayed, allowing you 
to specify which control on your device should control which parameter 
in Cubase.
4.Use the MIDI Input and Output pop-up menus to se-
lect the MIDI port(s) to which your remote device is con-
nected. 
						

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Remote controlling Cubase
5.Use the pop-up menu to the right to select a bank.
Banks are combinations of a certain number of channels, and are used 
because most MIDI devices can control only a limited number of chan-
nels at a time (often 8 or 16). For example, if your MIDI control device has 
16 volume faders, and you are using 32 mixer channels in Cubase, you 
would need two banks of 16 channels each. When the first bank is se-
lected you control channel 1 to 16; when the second Bank is selected 
you control channel 17 to 32. Since you can control Transport functions 
as well, you may need several banks.
6.Set up the table at the top according to the controls 
on your MIDI control device.
The columns have the following functionality:
If you find that the table at the top holds too many or too 
few controls, you can add or remove controls with the Add 
and Delete buttons to the right of the table.If you are uncertain of which MIDI message a certain 
controller sends, you can use the Learn function:
Select the control in the upper table (by clicking in the Control Name co-
lumn), move the corresponding control on your MIDI device and click the 
Learn button to the right of the table. The MIDI Status, MIDI Channel and 
Address values are automatically set to those of the moved control.
7.Use the table at the bottom to specify which Cubase 
parameters you want to control.
Each row in the table is associated to the controller in the corresponding 
row in the first table (as indicated by the Control Name column). The 
other columns have the following functionality:
8.If necessary, select another bank and make settings 
for it.
Note that you only need to make settings in the bottom table for this bank. 
The table at the top is already set up according to the MIDI remote device.
If necessary, you can add banks by clicking the Add 
button below the Bank pop-up.
Clicking the Rename button allows you to assign a new name to the cur-
rently selected bank, and you can remove an unneeded bank by select-
ing it and clicking the Delete button.
Column Description
Control  Name Double clicking this field allows you to enter a descriptive 
name for the control (typically a name written on the con-
sole). This name is automatically reflected in the Control 
Name column in the lower table.
MIDI Status Clicking in this column pulls down a pop-up menu, allow-
ing you to specify the type of MIDI message sent by the 
control. The options are Controller, Program Change, 
Note On, Note Off, Aftertouch and Polyphonic Pressure. 
Also available are Continuous Control NRPN and RPN, a 
way to extend the available control messages. The “Ctrl 
JLCooper” option is a special version of a Continuous 
Controller where the 3rd byte of a MIDI message is used 
as address instead of the 2nd byte (a method supported 
by various JL-Cooper remote devices).
MIDI Channel Clicking in this column opens a pop-up menu, allowing 
you to select the MIDI channel on which the controller is 
transmitted.
Address The Continuous Controller number, the pitch of a note or 
the address of a NRPN/RPN Continuous Controller.
Max. Value The maximum value the control will transmit. This value is 
used by the program to “scale” the value range of the 
MIDI controller to the value range of the program para-
meter.
Flags Clicking in this column pulls down a pop-up menu, allow-
ing you to activate or deactivate three flags:
Receive – activate this if the MIDI message should be 
processed on reception.
Transmit – activate this if a MIDI message should be 
transmitted when the corresponding value in the program 
changes.
Relative – activate this if the control is an “endless” dial, 
which reports the number of turns instead of an absolute 
value.Column Description
Device Clicking in this column pulls down a pop-up menu, used 
for determining which device in Cubase should be con-
trolled. The special option “Command” allows you to per-
form certain command actions by remote control. One 
example of this is the selection of remote banks.
Channel/
CategoryThis is where you select the channel to be controlled or, if 
the “Command” Device option is selected, the Command 
category.
Value/Action Clicking in this column pulls down a pop-up menu, allow-
ing you to select the parameter of the channel to be 
controlled (typically, if the “VST Mixer” Device option is 
selected you can choose between volume, pan, send 
levels, EQ, etc.).
If the “Command” Device option is selected, this is where 
you specify the “Action” of the category.
Flags Clicking in this column pulls down a pop-up menu, allow-
ing you to activate or deactivate three flags:
Push Button – When activated, the parameter is only 
changed if the received MIDI message shows a value 
unequal to 0.
Toggle – When activated, the parameter value is 
switched between minimum and maximum value each 
time a MIDI message is received. The combination of 
Push Button and Toggle is useful for remote controls 
which do not latch the state of a button. One example is 
controlling mute status with a device on which pressing 
the Mute button turns it on, and releasing the Mute button 
turns it off. If Push Button and Toggle are activated, the 
Mute status will change between on and off whenever 
the button is pressed on the console.
Not Automated – When activated, the parameter will not 
be automated.  
						

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Remote controlling Cubase
9.When you are finished, close the Device Setup window.
Now, you can control the specified Cubase parameters from the MIDI re-
mote device. To select another bank, use the pop-up menu in the Re-
mote Status window (or use a control on the MIDI remote device, if you 
have assigned one for this).
Importing and exporting remote setups
The Export button in the top right corner of the Generic 
Remote Setup window allows you to export the current 
setup, including the Control configuration (the table at the 
top) and all banks. The setup is saved as a file (with the 
Windows file extension “.xml”). Clicking the Import button 
allows you to import saved remote setup files.
The last imported or exported remote setup will auto-
matically be loaded when the program starts or the Ge-
neric Remote control is added in the Device Setup dialog.
Track Quick Controls
If you have an external remote control device, you can set 
it up to control up to eight parameters of each audio track, 
MIDI track or instrument track, using the Track Quick Con-
trols feature in Cubase. How to set up your device and 
how to assign parameters to it is described in the Track 
Controls chapter in the Operation Manual.
The supported remote control 
devices
In the following sections, the remote control devices sup-
ported by Cubase are listed along with a brief description 
of the corresponding feature set.
Apple Remote (Macintosh only)
Many Apple computers come with an Apple Remote Con-
trol, a small hand-held device akin to TV remote controls. It 
allows you to remotely control certain features in Cubase.
1.Open the Device Setup dialog and select Apple Re-
mote Control from the Add Device pop-up.
2.In the list on the right, the Apple Remote’s buttons are 
listed. For each button you can open a pop-up menu from 
which you can select a Cubase parameter.
The parameter you select will be assigned to the corresponding button 
on the Apple Remote.
By default, the Apple Remote always controls the applica-
tion that currently has the focus on your Macintosh com-
puter (provided that this application supports the Apple 
Remote).
When the option “Disable when application is not in 
front” is not selected, the Apple Remote will control Cu-
base even if it does not have the focus.
CM Automation Motor Mix
The CM Motor Mix can control any number of channels in 
groups of 8.
Press the “” buttons (at the top of the View 
section) to select channels 1–8, 9–16 etc. Hold down 
Shift and press “” to shift the fader assignment in 
steps of one channel.
Press F1 to disable/enable the fader motors.
Use the Select buttons (the row of buttons next to the 
display) to select a single track for detailed settings.
The Mute and Solo buttons are used to mute or solo a 
track.
The assignment of the buttons in the first row below the 
dials depends on the selected parameter group.
In the View section, select Rec/Rdy to use the second 
row of buttons below the dials for arming a track for re-
cording.