Steinberg Cubase 5 Operation Manual

21
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
2.Connect an unused input pair on your audio hardware 
to the output pair on your hardware device.
Once the external device is connected to the audio hard-
ware of your computer, you have to set up the input/out-
put busses in Cubase.
Setting up external effects
1.Open the VST Connections window from the Devices 
menu.
2.Open the External FX tab and click “Add External FX”.
3.In the dialog that appears, enter a name for the exter-
nal effect and...

22
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
 A parameter window appears, showing the Delay, Send Gain 
and Return Gain settings for the external FX bus. You can ad-
just these as necessary while playing back. The parameter 
window also provides the “Measure Effect’s Loop Delay for 
Delay Compensation” button. This is the same function as the 
“Check User Delay” option in the VST Connections window. It 
provides Cubase with a Delay value to be used for delay com-
pensation. When you have...

23
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
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. On the Instrument pop-up menu, your ex-
ternal instrument is listed on the External Plug-ins submenu:
When you select the external instrument in the VST Instru-
ments window, the following happens:
 A parameter window for the...

24
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
Freezing external effects/instruments
Just as when working with regular VST instruments and 
effects, you can also choose to freeze external effects and 
instruments. The general procedure is described in detail 
in the chapters “Audio effects” on page 150 and “VST In-
struments and Instrument tracks” on page 169.
When freezing external instruments or effects, you can ad-
just the corresponding tail value in the Freeze Channel 
Options dialog:
Use...

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
The tracks in the Project window contain parts and/or 
events. Events are the basic...

27
The Project window
 Audio events can be displayed and edited directly in the Project 
window, but you can also work with audio parts containing sev-
eral events. This is useful if you have a number of events which 
you want to treat as one unit in the project. Audio parts also 
contain information about the time position in the project.
An audio event and an audio part
Audio handling
When you work with audio files, it is crucial to understand 
how audio is handled in Cubase:
When you edit or process...

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 35).
The Track list area for an audio track:The Track list area for an automation track (opened by 
clicking the Show/Hide Automation button on a...

29
The Project window
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 38), the Inspector 
shows the setting for the first (topmost) selected track.
To hide or show the Inspector, click the Inspector icon in 
the toolbar.
The Inspector icon
For most track classes, the Inspector is divided into a 
number of sections,...

30
The Project window
Audio tracks
For audio tracks, all settings and sections listed above are 
available.
Instrument tracks
As explained in the chapter “VST Instruments and Instru-
ment tracks” on page 169, the Inspector for an Instrument 
track shows some of the sections you would find for VST 
Instrument channels and MIDI tracks.
MIDI tracks
When a MIDI track is selected, the Inspector contains a 
number of additional sections and parameters, affecting the 
MIDI events in realtime (e.g. on playback)....