Steinberg Cubase 6 Manual
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332 Working with track presets Introduction Track presets are templates from audio, MIDI or instru- ment tracks that can be applied to newly created or exist- ing tracks of the same type. They contain sound and channel settings, and allow you to quickly browse, pre - view, select and change sounds, or reuse channel set- tings across projects. Track presets are organized in the MediaBay (see the chapter “The MediaBay” on page 311), where you can categorize them with attributes. Types of track presets There are four kinds of track presets (audio, instrument, MIDI and Multi) and two kinds of VST presets (VST instru - ment presets and VST effect plug-in presets). These are described in the following sections. ÖTrack preset settings for volume, pan, input gain and input phase will be applied only when creating a new track from a track preset. Audio track presets Track presets for audio tracks include all settings that de- fine the sound. You can use the factory presets as a start- ing point for your own editing and save the audio settings that you optimized for an artist you often work with as a preset for future recordings. The following data is saved in audio track presets: • Insert effects settings (including VST effect presets) •EQ settings • Volume + pan • Input gain + phase Instrument track presets Instrument track presets offer both MIDI and audio fea- tures and are the best choice when handling sounds of simple, mono-timbral VST instruments. Use instrument track presets for auditioning your tracks, or saving your preferred sound settings, for example. You can also ex - tract sounds from instrument track presets for use in in- strument tracks, “Extracting sound from an instrument track or VST preset” on page 335. The following data is saved in instrument track presets: • Audio insert effects •Audio EQ • Audio volume + pan • Audio input gain + phase • MIDI insert effects • MIDI track parameters • Input Transformer settings • The VST instrument used for the track • Staff settings • Color settings • Drum map settings MIDI track presets MIDI tracks should be used for multi-timbral VST instru- ments and external instruments. When creating MIDI track presets you can either include the currently set channel, or the currently set patch. See “Creating a track preset” on page 335 for details. •To ensure that saved MIDI track presets for external in- struments will work again with the same instrument, install the instrument as a MIDI device, see the separate PDF document “MIDI Devices”. The following data is saved in MIDI track presets: • MIDI modifiers (Transpose, etc.) • MIDI insert effects • Output + Channel or Program Change • Input Transformer settings •Volume + pan • Staff settings • Color settings • Drum map settings
333 Working with track presets Multi-track presets You can use multi-track presets, for example, when re- cording setups that require several microphones (a drum set or a choir, where you always record under the same conditions) and you have to edit the resulting tracks in a similar way. Furthermore, they can be used when working with layered tracks, where you use several tracks to gener - ate a certain sound instead of manipulating only one track. If you select more than one track when creating a track preset, the settings of all selected tracks will be saved as one multi-track preset. Multi-track presets can only be ap - plied if the target tracks are of the same type, number and sequence as the tracks in the track preset, therefore, they should be used in recurring situations with very similar tracks and settings. VST (instrument) presets VST instrument presets (extension “.vstpreset”) behave like instrument track presets and contain a VST instrument and its settings but no modifiers, MIDI inserts, inserts, or EQ settings. You can extract sounds from VST presets for use in instrument tracks, see “Extracting sound from an in- strument track or VST preset” on page 335. The following data is saved in VST instrument presets: • VST instrument • VST instrument settings VST effect plug-ins are available in VST3 and VST2 for- mat. Presets for these effects are also saved as VST pre- sets. These that can be part of audio track presets (see “Audio track presets” on page 332). ÖIn this manual, “VST presets” stands for VST3 instru- ment presets, unless stated otherwise. Pattern banks Pattern banks are presets created for the Beat Designer MIDI effect. They behave much like track presets. For de - tailed information, see “Previewing pattern banks” on page 320 and the chapter “MIDI effects” in the separate PDF document “Plug-in Reference”. Applying track presets When you apply a track preset, all the settings saved in the preset are applied. Track presets can be applied to tracks of their own type only, i. e. audio track presets to au- dio tracks, etc. The only exception are instrument tracks: for these, VST presets are also available. Note that apply - ing VST presets to instrument tracks leads to removal of modifiers, MIDI inserts, inserts, or EQs, since these set - tings are not stored in VST presets. Applying track or VST presets via drag and drop 1.Open the MediaBay from the Media menu. 2.Select a MIDI or instrument track preset, or a VST preset. 3.Preview the preset using the functions in the Pre- viewer section (for further information, see “Previewing files” on page 318). 4.Drag and drop it onto a track of the same type. !Once a track preset is applied, you cannot undo the changes! It is not possible to remove an applied pre - set from a track and return to the previous state. If you are not satisfied with the track settings, you have to either edit the settings manually or apply another preset.
334 Working with track presets ÖYou can also drag and drop track presets from the Windows Explorer or the Mac OS Finder, but in this case, no preview for track presets is possible. Loading track or VST presets in the Inspector or the context menu of the track 1.In the Project window, select a track. 2.Click in the Load Track Preset field at the top of the In- spector (above the track name) or right-click the track in the track list and select “Load Track Preset”. The Presets browser opens. 3.Select a track or VST preset from the Results list. If needed, filter the list by activating the attributes you are looking for in the Filters section. This section is similar to the Filters section in the MediaBay, see “The Filters section” on page 321. 4.Start playback to preview the selected audio, MIDI, instrument track, or VSTpreset. All settings from the track preset are applied in realtime to the selected track. If you set up your target track to a cycle and play back in loop, pre -viewing will be very comfortable. Note that you cannot preview multi- track presets. 5.When you have found the preset that you want, dou- ble-click on it (or click outside the Presets browser). The preset is applied. •To return to the preset that was selected when you opened the Presets browser, click the “Revert to Last Setting” button. Applying a multi-track preset 1.Select several tracks in your project. Multi-track presets can only be applied if track type, number, and se-quence are identical for the selected tracks and the track preset. 2.Right-click the track to open the context menu and se- lect “Load Track Preset”. The Presets browser opens. Only multi-track presets corresponding to the selection of tracks in the project are shown. 3.Select a multi-track preset from the Results list. 4.When you have found the preset that you want, dou- ble-click on it (or click outside the Presets browser). The preset is applied. •To return to the preset that was selected when you opened the Presets browser, click the “Revert to Last Set - ting” button. Reloading track or VST presets When you have modified the settings of a track or VST preset and are not satisfied with the results, you can revert to the default settings of the preset by clicking the “Re - load Track Preset” button. Applying inserts and EQ settings from track presets Instead of handling complete track presets, it is also pos- sible to apply insert or equalizer settings from track pre- sets. Proceed as follows: 1.Select the desired track, open the Inspector or the Channel Settings window and click the VST Sound button on the Inserts or Equalizers tab/section. The Preset Management pop-up menu opens. 2.On the pop-up menu, select “From Track Preset…”. The Presets browser opens, showing all available track presets that con- tain inserts or EQ settings. 3.Select a track preset and click outside the browser. For information on the general handling of inserts presets, see “Effect presets” on page 200. The general handling of EQ presets is described in the section “Using EQ pre- sets” on page 161. …to open the Presets browser.Click here…
335 Working with track presets Extracting sound from an instrument track or VST preset For instrument tracks, you can extract the “sound” of an instrument track preset or VST preset, that means the VST instrument and its settings. Proceed as follows: 1.Select the instrument track to which you want to apply a sound. 2.Click the VST Sound button below the Output Rout- ing field in the Inspector. The Presets browser opens, showing a list of all available presets. 3.Select an instrument track preset or VST preset by double-clicking on it. The VST instrument and its settings (but no inserts, EQs, or modifiers) on the existing track are overwritten with the data of the track preset. The previous VST instrument for this instrument track is removed and the new VST instrument with its settings is set up for the instrument track. Creating a track preset A track preset can be created from an existing audio, MIDI, or instrument track – or a combination of these. Pro - ceed as follows: 1.In the Project window, select one or more tracks. If several tracks are selected, all of them are stored in one combined multi-track preset, see “Multi-track presets” on page 333. 2.Right-click one of the selected tracks in the track list and select “Save Track Preset” from the context menu. The Save Track Preset dialog opens. 3.In the New Preset section, enter a name for the new preset. The track preset file name extension .trackpreset is assigned automatically. •If you want to save attributes for the preset, click the button below the “New Preset” section at the bottom left. The Attribute Inspector section opens, allowing you to define attributes for the preset. For further information about attributes, see “The Attribute Inspector” on page 323. •If you create a track preset for a MIDI track, you can de- cide whether you want to include the MIDI channel or the MIDI patch. Select “Include MIDI channel” when working with a pre-configured multi- timbral external instrument (for example, a sampler). That way the correct channel will be called up. Select “Include MIDI Patch” when working with a multi-timbral external instrument (e. g. a MIDI expander), where all sounds are available on all channels so that the sounds (patches) can be changed on the fly. 4.Click OK to save the preset and exit the dialog. Track presets are saved within the application folder in the “Track Presets” folder (in default subfolders named accord - ing to their track type: audio, MIDI, instrument, and multi). ÖYou cannot change the default folders, but you can add further subfolders (by clicking the New Folder button).
336 Working with track presets In the MediaBay, all presets are available under the (vir- tual) VST Sound node, see “The VST Sound node” on page 314. ÖIf you want to use a MIDI track preset for a pre-config- ured VST instrument setup, load the VST instrument(s) in the VST Instruments window, select a VST instrument patch, save the track preset, and do not change the patch afterwards. To ensure this, use a template project with the VSTi setup included and save the sounds (track presets) of this template project in specific subfolders, as they only work within this setup. Creating tracks from track presets or VST presets Using drag and drop 1.Open the MediaBay from the Media menu. 2.Select a track or VST preset from the list of all presets. 3.Start playback to preview the selected VSTpreset. All settings are applied in realtime to the selected track. If you set up your target track to a cycle and play back in loop, previewing will be very com- fortable. Note that you cannot preview multi-track presets. 4.Drag and drop the preset onto the track list in the Proj- ect window. One or more (in case of multi-track presets) tracks are created. If you drag and drop a VST instrument preset, an instrument track is created. ÖYou can also drag and drop from the Windows Ex- plorer or the Mac OS Finder, but in this case, no preview for MIDI and instrument track presets is possible. Using the Choose Track Preset dialog 1.Right-click the track list to open the context menu and on the Add Track submenu select “Add Track Using Track Preset…”. The Choose Track Preset dialog opens, showing a list of the available presets. 2.Select a preset from the Results list. The Results section of the Choose Track Preset dialog displays all pre- set sounds for all track types and VST instruments. •Using the Filters section, you can narrow down the list by selecting the attributes that you are looking for. This section is similar to the Filters section in the MediaBay, see “The Fil-ters section” on page 321. •Open the Location Tree section to select the folder in which you want to look for presets. To show the Location Tree section, click the “Set Up Window Layout” button and activate the Location Tree option. 3.To preview MIDI and instrument track presets or VST presets, you have to play MIDI notes on a MIDI keyboard or load a MIDI file because there is no track connected. The previewing options are described in detail in the section “Previewing VST presets and track presets for MIDI and instrument tracks” on page 319. 4.When you have found the right preset, click the Add Track button to close the dialog. One or more tracks (in case of multi-track presets) are created. Using the Add Track function 1.Right-click the track list and select one of the Add Track options on the context menu. 2.Click the Browse button to expand the Add Track dialog. The Presets Browser opens. The options are the same as when applying a preset to an existing track, see “Loading track or VST presets in the In-spector or the context menu of the track” on page 334. The view is fil- tered to show only the corresponding track presets. 3.Select a track or VST preset. 4.Click the Add Track button to create the track. ÖThis method is not available for multi-track presets. !The Preview functions work in the same way in the MediaBay and its related dialogs. Note however that not all Preview functions available in the MediaBay are also available in the dialogs.
338 Track Quick Controls Introduction Cubase can give you instant access to up to eight differ- ent parameters (e. g. track, effect, or instrument controls). This is done with the aid of the so-called quick controls, set up on the Quick Controls Inspector tab for the corre - sponding track. The Quick Controls tab can be used as a kind of track control center, an area in which your most important pa - rameters are assembled in one place. This saves you from having to click your way through the various windows and sections pertaining to your track. Also, Cubase allows you to assign these quick controls very quickly to an external remote control device. This does not only give you manual control of your most impor - tant track parameters, but also allows you to conviently use an external MIDI device such as a foot controller to control effect parameters. •Quick control assignments are saved with the current project. •Since quick control settings are part of the track setup, you can save them as track presets, allowing you to re-use your settings across different projects. Track presets are described in the chapter “Working with track presets” on page 331. •You can automate the parameter settings on the Quick Controls tab using the Read/Write buttons (R and W). The automation features of Cubase are described in detail in the chapter “Automation” on page 227. Assigning parameters to quick controls The Quick Controls tab shows eight slots, one for each quick control. To start with, these slots are empty. Para - meters can be assigned manually or retrieved automati- cally, see below. Assignment via the Learn function Using the “QC Learn Mode” button on the Quick Controls tab in the Inspector, you can assign a parameter by mov - ing the corresponding control: •Activate the “QC Learn Mode” button, select the slot to which you want to assign a parameter and use the desired control. All automatable controls can be learned this way. Assignment via a plug-in panel You can assign effect parameters to quick control slots di- rectly from within the plug-in panel: •To assign an effect parameter to the topmost quick con- trol slot, right-click the parameter and select the “Add x to Quick Controls” option (where “x” is the name of the pa - rameter). •To assign an effect parameter to a specific quick control slot, right-click the parameter, select the “Add x to Quick Controls Slot” option (where “x” is the name of the param - eter), and select the desired slot from the submenu. ÖThese options are only available for VST 3 plug-ins that support this function. Get default QCs from Plug-inRemove all QC Assignments QC Learn Mode
339 Track Quick Controls Manual assignment via the Inspector tab Proceed as follows to manually assign track parameters: 1.On the Quick Controls tab, click on the first quick con- trol slot. A pop-up menu opens. It lists all parameters currently accessible for this particular track. 2.Double-click the parameter that you want to assign to the first quick control slot. The parameter name and its value are displayed in the slot. You can change the value by dragging the slider. The track’s main volume parameter is assigned to quick control 1. 3.Repeat these steps for each quick control slot until all eight slots are associated with track parameters. You can now control the 8 functions most important to you via one single Inspector section. •To rename a quick control, double-click on the name in the slot to select it, enter a new name and press [Enter]. •To replace a parameter assignment with a different pa- rameter, click on the corresponding quick control slot and double-click a different parameter. Automatic assignment of VST instrument parameters When you create an instrument track or load a VST instru- ment via the VST Instruments window (including creating an associated MIDI track), the main parameters of the in - strument are automatically assigned to the slots on the Quick Controls tab in the Inspector (if the VST instrument supports this feature). •To retrieve the default assignments for the main param- eters of the VST instrument, click the “Get Default QCs from Plug-in” button on the Inspector tab. This is useful if you have changed the parameter assignment or if you manually route a MIDI track to a VST instrument. Removing parameter assignments •To remove a parameter from a slot, double-click the pa- rameter name to select it and press the [Delete] or [Back- space] key. Confirm by pressing [Return]. •Alternatively, you can click in the corresponding slot and select “No parameter” from the pop-up menu. •To remove the quick control assignments for all slots, press [Alt]/[Option] and click the “Remove All QC Assign - ments” button. Connecting quick controls with remote controllers Quick controls become really powerful when used in com- bination with a remote controller. Setting up the connec- tion between the slots on the Quick Controls Inspector tab and a remote control device is easy. Proceed as follows: 1.In Cubase, open the Device Setup dialog from the De- vices menu. 2.In the Devices list on the left, select the Quick Con- trols option.
340 Track Quick Controls This will open the Quick Controls section on the right of the dialog: 3.With your remote control device connected to Cubase via MIDI, select the corresponding MIDI port on your com - puter in the MIDI Input pop-up menu (or select “All MIDI In- puts”). If your remote controller has its own MIDI input and supports MIDI feed- back, you can connect your computer to the device input. Then, select the corresponding MIDI port in the MIDI Output pop-up menu. 4.Click “Apply” to use the new MIDI port assignment. 5.Activate the Learn option. 6.In the “Control Name” column, select “QuickControl1”. 7.Move the control (knob, fader or other) on your remote control device that you want to use for the first quick control. 8.To assign further controls, select different slots in the “Control Name” column and repeat the last steps. ÖIn addition to using the Learn function to set up the ta- ble in the Quick Controls section, you can modify the val- ues manually. The available options are identical to the ones available for the Generic Control device, see “The Generic Remote device” on page 345. You have now associated the slots on the Quick Control tab with control elements on your external remote control - ler. Moving a control element will automatically change the value of the parameter assigned to the corresponding quick control. The remote controller setup for quick controls is saved globally, i. e. independent of any projects. If you have vari- ous remote controllers, you can store and load several quick control setups using the Export and Import buttons. Quick controls and automatable parameters The quick controls feature has one special extension: you can use quick controls not only to access certain parame - ters of the current track, but also to control all automatable parameters. This makes it possible to use the Quick Con - trols tab of a dedicated track as a kind of “mini mixer”, controlling parameters on other tracks. Use this function with caution, however, as you might accidentally modify parameters on other tracks. Proceed as follows: 1.Create a new, empty audio track and open its Quick Controls tab. This track has no events or parts. 2.Hold down the [Ctrl]/[Command] key and click on the slot for quick control 1. The parameter selection context menu opens, but it lists not the parame-ters of the current track, but all automatable parameters. 3.Open the VST Mixer folder. The pop-up menu lists all channels available in the Mixer of your current project.