Steinberg Cubase 5 Operation Manual

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The mixer
Loading All Mixer Settings
Selecting “Load All Mixer Settings” from the context menu 
allows you to open a saved mixer settings file, and have 
the stored settings applied to all channels for which there 
is information included in the file. All channels, output set-
tings, VST Instruments, sends and “master” effects will be 
affected.
ÖPlease note that if the saved mixer settings were for 
24 channels, for example, and the mixer you apply it to 
currently contains 16 channels, only the settings for chan-
nels 1 to 16 will be applied – this function will not auto-
matically add channels.
About the VST Performance window
The VST Performance window is opened from the Devices 
menu. The window shows two meter displays: The ASIO 
meter, which indicates CPU load, and the Disk meter, 
which shows the hard disk transfer rate. It is recommended 
that you check this from time to time, or keep it always 
open. Even if you have been able to activate a number of 
audio channels in the project without getting any warning, 
you may run into performance problems when adding EQ 
or effects.
The ASIO meter (at the top) shows the ASIO time us-
age, i. e. the time required to complete the current pro-
cessing tasks. The more tracks, effects, EQ etc. you use in 
your project, the longer processing will take, and the 
longer the ASIO meter will show activity.
If the red Overload indicator lights up, you need to decrease the number 
of EQ modules, active effects and/or audio channels playing back simul-
taneously.
The lower bar graph shows the hard disk transfer load.
If the red overload indicator lights up, the hard disk is not supplying data 
fast enough to the computer. You may need to reduce the number of tracks 
playing back by using the Disable Track function (see “About track disable/
enable” on page 63). If this does not help, you need a faster hard disk. 
Note that the overload indicator may occasionally blink, e.g. when you lo-
cate during playback. This does not indicate a problem, but happens be-
cause the program needs a moment for all channels to load data for the 
new playback position.
ÖThe ASIO and Disk load meters can also be shown on 
the Transport panel (as “Performance”) and on the Project 
window toolbar (as “Performance Meter”).
There they are shown as two miniature vertical meters (by default at the 
left side of the panel/toolbar). 
						

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The mixer
VST Mixer Diagrams
Input Objects
Channel Objects
!Note that the AFL/PFL Listen Bus architecture is 
available only in Cubase.
Input Channel External Input Channel (Cubase only) Talkback Channel (Cubase only)
Audio ChannelReWire Channel
VSTi ChannelExternal Instrument (Cubase only) 
						

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The mixer
Summing Objects
Control Room Objects (Cubase only)
Group ChannelFX Channel
Output BusMain Mix Bus
Control Room ChannelPhones Channel
Studio ChannelMonitor 
						

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The mixer
Overall (Cubase only) 
						

							10
Control Room (Cubase only) 
						

							136
Control Room (Cubase only)
Background
Large console Monitoring sections
In traditional analog studios, the audio console maintained 
control over every audio signal in the studio, including the 
control room monitors, headphone systems, external 
2-track tape machines and communications such as the 
talkback system.
The console itself provided a means of creating multiple 
cue mixes for performers in the studio. Using available aux 
sends, the engineer could create multiple cue mixes for 
the various performers, each one having a unique mix tai-
lored for that person or group of performers.
With the advent of the DAW, many of the functions of the 
console started being performed inside the audio soft-
ware, allowing for more flexibility and instant recall of any 
setting. In many studios, the console sat idle except for 
adjusting the playback level of the speakers, switching to 
monitor external devices and routing signals to head-
phones and other cue mix playback systems.
Smaller hardware units have been made to replace the 
monitoring section using a simple volume knob with 
speaker and input switches. Some even include a talkback 
system and headphone amplifiers.
Surround sound
With more and more surround recording and mixing being 
performed in the DAW environment, the needs of the mon-
itoring section have become magnified. Surround speaker 
setups must be able to work with smaller, stereo speakers 
and even mono speaker systems. Switching back and forth 
between them can become quite complicated. Also, the 
ability to perform downmixes of multi-channel audio is 
needed on a regular basis for many audio professionals. 
Virtual Control room – The concept
The concept behind creating the Control Room features in 
Cubase was to divide the studio environment into the per-
forming area (studio) and the engineer/producer area (con-
trol room) common to traditional studios. Previously, an 
analog console or some method of speaker control and 
monitor routing was necessary to provide this functionality 
to the DAW environment.With its Control Room Mixer and Control Room Overview 
features, Cubase provides all the functionality of the ana-
log console’s monitoring section, along with many more 
features, in a virtual, VST-based audio environment where 
flexibility and instant recall are expected.
Control Room features
The following features are available for the Control Room 
Mixer:
 Support for up to four sets of monitors with various speaker 
configurations from mono up to 6.0 Music or Cine speaker 
systems.
 Dedicated Headphone output.
 Support for up to four discrete cue mix outputs called “Studios”.
 Dedicated Talkback channel with flexible routing and automatic 
record defeat.
 Support for up to six external inputs with configurations up to 
6.0 surround.
 Click track routing and level control to all Control Room out-
puts.
 Flexible Listen Bus options with the Listen Dim setting that 
allows Listen-enabled tracks to be heard in context with the 
whole mix.
 Listen Bus Enabling on both Control Room and Headphone 
outputs.
 User-definable downmix settings using the MixConvert plug-in 
for all speaker configurations.
 Individual speaker soloing for all speaker configurations.
 Multiple inserts on each Control Room channel for metering 
and surround de-coding among other possibilities.
 Monitor Dim function with adjustable level.
 User-defined Calibrated Monitor level for post-production 
mixing in a calibrated environment.
 Adjustable Input Gain and Input Phase on all external inputs 
and Speaker outputs.
 Full-sized meters on every Control Room channel.
 Support for up to four aux sends (Studio Sends) for creation 
of discrete cue mixes for performers. Each Studio output has 
its own cue mix.
 The ability to disable the Control Room Section when working 
with an external monitoring solution or console. 
						

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Control Room (Cubase only)
Control Room operations
In traditional analog studios, the control room section of 
the console contained the most used set of controls in the 
whole studio. Often, the studio monitor level had all the 
markings rubbed off from so much use.
The need to constantly be able to switch monitoring 
sources, adjust the volume of monitors and route various 
cue mixes and other sources to headphone systems is the 
norm in most sessions. Meeting the needs of several per-
formers in the studio plus a producer and the engineer be-
comes a constant task that requires flexibility and ease of 
operation. Communication between everyone must be 
flawlessly clear without intruding on the creativity of per-
formers.
With all this in mind, the Cubase Control Room Mixer is 
designed to fill those needs with a simple yet highly flexi-
ble solution. The virtual mixing environment of VST is the 
ideal solution to the varied needs of a control room matrix. 
With a virtual mixer, a high degree of customization and 
precise settings are possible with the ability to completely 
recall these settings at any time.
Configuring the Control Room
The Control Room features are configured in several loca-
tions within Cubase. 
 The VST Connections window has a tab labelled “Studio” in 
which the hardware inputs and output are defined for the 
Control Room channels.
 On the Devices menu you will find the Control Room Over-
view that gives you a visual overview of the Control Room 
channels and signal flow.
 On the Devices menu you will find the Control Room Mixer 
which allows operation of the Control Room features.
 In the Preferences dialog (VST–Control Room page) you will 
find some general Control Room settings.
VST Connections – Studio tab
The Studio tab of the VST Connections window is where 
you configure the inputs and outputs for the Control Room 
Mixer. For more information, see the chapter “VST Connec-
tions: Setting up input and output busses” on page 13. By 
default, one stereo Monitor channel is created after install-
ing Cubase.
Control Room channels
There are five types of channels that you can create, each 
defining either an input or output of the Control Room 
Mixer. As more channels are created, the Control Room 
Mixer expands to display controls for each channel.
 Monitors
Each Monitor channel is a set of outputs that are connected to monitor 
speakers in the Control Room. Each Monitor can be configured for a 
mono, stereo or up to 6.0 surround speaker configuration. Up to four 
Monitors can be created, each with a different speaker configuration.
 Phones
The Phones channel is used by the engineer in the control room for 
checking cue mixes and as another option for listening to the mix or ex-
ternal inputs on a pair of headphones. It is not intended for cue mixes that 
performers use while recording. Only one stereo Headphone channel is 
available.

Studio channels are intended for sending cue mixes to performers in the 
studio during recording. They have talkback and click functions and can 
monitor the main mix, external inputs or a dedicated cue mix. Up to four 
Studios can be created allowing four discrete cue mixes for performers.
 External inputs
External inputs are for monitoring external devices such as CD players, 
multi-channel recorders or any other audio source. Up to six external in-
puts can be created with various configurations from mono up to 6.0 sur-
round.
 Talkback
The Talkback is a mono input used for a communications system be-
tween the control room and performers in the studio. Only one mono 
Talkback channel is available.
Control Room channels cannot share hardware inputs or 
outputs with external FX or external instruments, as de-
fined in the VST Connections window (see “Connecting 
the external effect/instrument” on page 20). As you create 
connections for each channel, only those device ports that 
have not been used for external FX or instruments will be 
available. 
						

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Control Room (Cubase only)
A great deal of confusion can result if outputs and Monitor 
channels share the same device ports. As a starting point, 
set all the outputs to “Not Assigned” while the Control 
Room is set up.
Creating a Control Room channel
To create a new channel, open the the Studio tab of the 
VST Connections window and click on the Add Channel 
button. A pop-up menu lists all available channel types 
along with how many of each type are available. Select the 
type of channel you wish to create. For most channel types 
a dialog opens, allowing you to choose the configuration of 
the channel (stereo, 5.1, etc.).
The Studio tab of the VST Connections window showing several Con-
trol Room channels
After clicking OK, the new channel will appear in the VST 
Connections window. For each audio path an audio device 
must be selected. You can assign device ports to channels 
in the same fashion as assigning any VST connection.
Monitors
Create a Monitor channel for every set of speakers in your 
studio. A typical post-production studio could have one 
set of 5.1 surround speakers, another stereo set of speak-
ers and even a single, mono speaker for checking bal-
ances for mono broadcast. The Control Room Mixer will 
allow you to switch speakers easily. Each set of Monitors 
can have its own custom downmix settings, input gain and 
input phase adjustments.
Phones
Create a Phones channel if you intend to listen to head-
phones in the control room. The Phones channel is not in-
tended for use by performers in the studio. It is designed 
for the engineer to quickly listen to any source in the stu-
dio, including the four cue mixes, as a reference.
Studios
Create a Studio channel for each cue mix you wish to cre-
ate for performers in the studio. For example, if you have 
two available headphone amplifiers for performers to use, 
create two Studio channels, one for each headphone mix. 
There are four available Studio channels. 
!The Control Room Mixer is designed to display infor-
mation and controls only for the channels you have 
defined in the VST Connections dialog. For example, if 
you have not defined any Studio channels, they will 
not appear in the Control Room Mixer. The Control 
Room Overview displays all the possible channels but 
only highlights the ones that have been defined. To 
see all available controls in the Control Room Mixer, 
start by creating the maximum amount of channels on 
the Studio tab of the VST Connections window.
!Note that the port assignments for all Control Room 
channels except Monitor channels are exclusive, 
meaning that you cannot assign the same device 
port to an input or output and a Control Room chan-
nel at the same time.
!Monitor channels, however, can share device ports 
with each other as well as inputs and outputs. This 
can be helpful if you use the same speakers as a ste-
reo pair and also as the left and right channels of a 
surround speaker configuration. Switching between 
monitors that share device ports will be seamless, 
providing any downmix of multi-channel audio to ste-
reo if needed. Only one monitor set can be active at 
a time.
!The Phones channel is stereo only.
!Studio channels can either be mono or stereo. 
						

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Control Room (Cubase only)
External inputs
Create external input channels for every playback device 
you wish to be able to monitor in the Control Room. There 
are six available external inputs with channel configura-
tions from mono up to 6.0 surround. Use external inputs to 
quickly listen to CD players, master recorders, or other 
workstations. 
Talkback
Create a Talkback channel if you have a microphone in the 
control room available for communication with performers 
in the studio. The Talkback channel can be routed to each 
Studio channel with variable levels in order to optimize 
communications between the control room and perform-
ers. It is mono only.
Additionally, the Talkback is available as a possible input 
source for audio tracks. You can record from the Talkback 
just like any other input.
Disabling the Control Room
Once you have created all the channels for your studio con-
figuration, the Control Room functions are available for use. 
If you need to use Cubase without the Control Room func-
tions, you can simply press the Disable Control Room but-
ton on the Studio tab of the VST Connections window. Any 
channels you have created are saved and when you enable 
the Control Room again, that configuration is reloaded.
You can also create presets for the Control Room config-
uration in the same manner as for inputs and outputs, see 
“Other bus operations” on page 17.
Outputs – Main Mix
For the Control Room to function correctly, the Main Mix on 
the Outputs tab must be assigned to the set of outputs that 
actually contains your final mix signal. If you only have one 
output bus, it will be the Main Mix by default.
If you have more than one output bus defined, you can 
choose another bus as Main Mix by right-clicking on the 
name of the output and selecting “Set ‘Out’ as Main Mix”. 
The Main Mix is marked by a small speaker icon to the left 
of its name.
Selecting an output bus as Main Mix in the VST Connections window.
Outputs other than the Main Mix are not routed through the 
Control Room Mixer. They can, however, share the device 
ports of Monitor channels in the Control Room. 
Output click enabling
There may be a situation when you want the click to be 
routed always to a specific output bus, regardless of the 
actual Control Room settings, or indeed when the Control 
Room is disabled. In these cases, enable the click on spe-
cific outputs using the Click column on the Outputs tab in 
the VST Connections window.
The Output tab showing the Main Mix and a second stereo output that 
is click enabled.  
!If you select external inputs as input source of an au-
dio channel, you can record them. In this case, you 
will not need to assign the device ports to the input 
channel (see “Routing” on page 18).
!Inserts are available on the Talkback and all other 
Control Room channels. A compressor/limiter can 
be inserted on the Talkback channel to ensure that 
erratic levels do not bother performers and clear 
communication with everyone is possible.
!The click will only be heard in outputs that are as-
signed to device ports. Be aware that the click can 
also be routed to device ports using the Control 
Room features.  
						

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Control Room (Cubase only)
The Control Room Overview
You can access the Control Room Overview from the De-
vices menu. The Control Room Overview is designed to 
display the current configuration of the Control Room. The 
window shows all possible channels, with active channels 
highlighted once they have been created in the VST Con-
nections window. Channels that are grayed out have not 
been defined in the VST Connections window.
The Control Room Overview allows you to see the signal 
flow through the Control Room Mixer. All the routing func-
tions of the Control Room Mixer are duplicated in the 
Overview.Open the Control Room Mixer and the Control Room Over-
view windows side by side. As you operate the controls in 
the Mixer you will see the various pale green squares light 
up in the Overview, indicating changes in signal flow. You 
can also click the squares in the Overview and watch the 
controls in the Mixer reflect the changes in signal flow.
!Sharing audio device ports between outputs and 
Control Room channels can cause confusing behav-
ior and possible overload of those ports without any 
indication from Cubase. It is advisable to disconnect 
all outputs from all device ports when first configur-
ing the Control Room. 
!Be aware that some audio interfaces allow very flexi-
ble routing within the hardware itself. Certain routing 
configurations could cause overloads and possible 
damage to speaker equipment. Consult the hard-
ware documentation for further information.