Steinberg Cubase 5 Operation Manual

201
Automation
The Line tool in Parabola mode works in the same way, 
but aligns the automation events with a parabolic curve in-
stead, resulting in more “natural” curves and fades.
Note that the result depends on the direction from which you draw the 
parabolic curve.
The Sine, Triangle and Square Line tool modes create 
automation events aligned with continuous curves.
If snap is activated and set to Grid, the period of the curve (the length of 
one curve “cycle”) is determined by the grid setting. If...

202
Automation
MIDI Controller automation
Merging automation data
When working with Cubase, it is possible to record auto-
mation data for MIDI controller data in two places: as MIDI 
part data and as data on an automation track. 
If you have such “conflicting” automation data, you can 
specify separately for every parameter how these will be 
combined during playback. This is done by selecting an 
Automation Merge mode in the Track list for the automa-
tion track.
The following options are available:...

203
Automation
The following options are available:
3.On the “Automation Merge mode (global)” pop-up 
menu, specify the global Automation Merge Mode, i. e. the 
mode that will be used for all automation tracks with the 
setting “Use Global Settings”, see above.
By default, this is set to “Average”.
In the table in the lower section of the dialog, you can 
specify the Record destination and the Automation Merge 
mode separately for all the available MIDI controllers. This 
gives you full control over the...

15
Audio processing and functions 

205
Audio processing and functions
Background
Audio processing in Cubase can be called “non-destruc-
tive”, in the sense that you can always undo changes or 
revert to the original versions. This is possible because 
processing affects audio clips rather than the actual audio 
files, and because audio clips can refer to more than one 
audio file. This is how it works:
1.If you process an event or a selection range, a new au-
dio file is created in the Edits folder, within your project 
folder. 
This new...

206
Audio processing and functions
Common settings and features
If there are any settings for the selected Audio processing 
function, these will appear when you select the function 
from the Process submenu. While most settings are spe-
cific for the function, some features and settings work in 
the same way for several functions:
The “More…” button
If the dialog has a lot of settings, some options may be 
hidden when the dialog appears. To reveal these, click the 
“More…” button.
To hide the settings,...

207
Audio processing and functions
Gain
Allows you to change the gain (level) of the selected audio. 
The dialog contains the following settings:
Gain
This is where you set the desired gain, between -50 and 
+20 dB. The setting is also indicated below the Gain dis-
play as a percentage.
Clipping detection text
If you use the Preview function before applying the pro-
cessing, the text below the slider indicates whether the 
current settings result in clipping (audio levels above 
0 dB). If that is the...

208
Audio processing and functions
Linked Channels
This is available for stereo audio only. When it is activated, 
the Noise Gate is opened for both channels as soon as 
one or both channels exceed the Threshold level. When 
Linked Channels is deactivated, the Noise Gate works in-
dependently for the left and right channel.
Dry/Wet mix
Allows you to specify a mix ratio between “dry” and pro-
cessed sound.
Pre- and Post-Crossfade
See “Pre/Post-Crossfade” on page 206.
Normalize
The Normalize function...

209
Audio processing and functions
To specify a transpose interval, click on one of the keys.
The key is indicated in blue, and the program plays test tones in the base 
pitch and transpose pitch to give you an audible confirmation.
If “Multi Shift” is activated (see below), you can click on 
several keys to create “chords”.
Clicking on a blue (activated) key removes it.
Pitch Shift settings
The “Semitones” and “Fine tune” settings allow you to 
specify the amount of pitch shift. You can transpose the...

210
Audio processing and functions
Envelope display
Shows the shape of the envelope curve over the wave-
form image of the audio selected for processing. Envelope 
curve points above the center line indicate positive pitch 
shift, while curve points below the center line indicate 
negative pitch shift. Initially, the envelope curve will be a 
horizontal, centered line, indicating zero pitch shift.
You can click on the curve to add points, and click and 
drag existing points to change the shape. To remove...