Steinberg Cubase 6 Manual

							31
VST Connections
•You also need a MIDI device that corresponds with the 
external effect. You can then click the “Associate MIDI 
Device” button to connect the two.
You can use the MIDI Device Manager to create a new MIDI device for 
the effect. Note that delay compensation will only be applied for the ef-
fect when you use MIDI devices. For information about the MIDI Device 
Manager and user device panels see the chapter 
“Using MIDI devices” on page 356.
3.Click OK.
This adds a new external FX bus.
4.Click in the Device Port column for the “left” and 
“right” ports of the Send Bus and select the outputs on 
your audio hardware that you want to use.
5.Click in the Device Port column for the “left” and 
“right” ports of the Return Bus and select the inputs on 
your audio hardware that you want to use.
6.If you like, make additional settings for the bus.
These are found in the columns to the right. Note that you can adjust 
these while actually using the external effect – which may be easier as 
you can hear the result. 
The following options are available:
ÖNote that external device ports are exclusive, see 
“Connecting the external effect/instrument” on page 30.
How to use the external effect
If you now click an insert effect slot for any channel, you 
will find the new external FX bus listed on the “External 
Plug-ins” submenu.
When you select it, the following happens:
• The external FX bus is loaded into the effect slot just like a 
regular effect plug-in.
• The audio signal from the channel is sent to the outputs on the 
audio hardware, through your external effect device and back 
to the program via the inputs on the audio hardware.
• A parameter window opens, showing the Delay, Send Gain and 
Return Gain settings for the external FX bus. You can adjust 
these as necessary while playing back. The parameter window 
also provides the “Measure Effect’s Loop Delay for Delay Com
-
pensation” button. This is the same function as the “Check User 
Delay” option in the VST Connections window. It provides Cu
-
base with a Delay value to be used for delay compensation. 
When you have defined a MIDI device for the effect, the corre
-
sponding Device window will be opened. When Studio Man-
ager 2 is installed, and you have set up a corresponding OPT 
editor, this OPT editor is displayed.
The default parameter window for an external effect
Like any effect, you can use the external FX bus as an in-
sert effect or as a send effect (an insert effect on an FX 
channel track). You can deactivate or bypass the external 
effect with the usual controls.
SettingDescription
DelayIf your hardware effect device has an inherent delay (la-tency), enter this value here, as it allows Cubase to com-pensate for that delay during playback. You can also let 
the delay value be determined by the program: Right-
click the Delay column for the effect and select “Check 
User Delay”. Note that you do not have to take the latency 
of the audio hardware into account – this is handled auto
-matically by the program.
Send GainAllows you to adjust the level of the signal being sent to 
the external effect.
Return GainAllows you to adjust the level of the signal coming in from 
the external effect. 
Note however that excessive output levels from an external 
effect device may cause clipping in the audio hardware. 
The Return Gain setting cannot be used to compensate for 
this – you have to lower the output level on the effect de
-vice instead.
MIDI DeviceWhen you click in this column, a pop-up menu opens 
where you can disconnect the effect from the associated 
MIDI device, select a MIDI device, create a new device or 
open the MIDI Device Manager to edit the MIDI device. 
When Studio Manager 2 is installed, you may also select 
an OPT editor to access your external effect.
UsedWhenever you insert an external effect into an audio 
track, this column shows a checkmark (“x”) to indicate 
that the effect is being used.
Measure Effect’s Loop Delay button 
						

							32
VST Connections
Setting up external instruments
To set up an external instrument in the VST Connections 
window, proceed as follows:
1.Open the External Instrument tab and click the “Add 
External Instrument” button.
A dialog opens.
2.Enter a name for the external instrument and specify 
the number of required mono and/or stereo returns.
Depending on the type of instrument, a specific number of mono and/or 
stereo return channels is required.
•You also need a MIDI device that corresponds with the 
external instrument. You can then click the “Associate 
MIDI Device” button to connect the two.
You can use the MIDI Device Manager to create a new MIDI device. For 
information about the MIDI Device Manager and user device panels, see 
the chapter 
“Using MIDI devices” on page 356.
3.Click OK.
This adds a new external instrument bus.
4.Click in the Device Port column for the “left” and 
“right” ports of the Return Bus and select the inputs on 
your audio hardware to which you connected the external 
instrument.
5.If you like, make additional settings for the bus.
These are found in the columns to the right. Note that you can adjust 
these while actually using the external instrument – which may be easier 
as you can hear the result. The following options are available:
ÖNote that external device ports are exclusive, see 
“Connecting the external effect/instrument” on page 30.
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 external device opens automati-
cally. This may either be the Device window, allowing you to 
create a generic device panel, an OPT editor window or a de
-
fault editor. For information about the Device window, the 
MIDI Device Manager and User device panels, see the chap
-
ter “Using MIDI devices” on page 356.
The external instrument will behave like any other VST in-
strument in Cubase.
SettingDescription
DelayIf your hardware device has an inherent delay (latency), 
enter this value here. This allows Cubase to compensate 
for that delay during playback. Note that you do not have 
to take the latency of the audio hardware into account – 
this is handled automatically by the program.
Return GainAllows you to adjust the level of the signal coming in from 
the external instrument. 
Note however that excessive output levels from an exter-nal device may cause clipping in the audio hardware. The 
Return Gain setting cannot be used to compensate for 
this – you have to lower the output level on the device in
-stead.
MIDI DeviceWhen you click in this column, a pop-up menu opens 
where you can disconnect the instrument from the asso-ciated MIDI device, select a MIDI device, create a new 
device or open the MIDI Device Manager to edit the MIDI 
device. 
When Studio Manager 2 is installed, you may also select 
an OPT editor to access your external instrument.
UsedWhenever you insert the external instrument into a VST 
instrument slot, this column shows a checkmark (“x”) to 
indicate that the instrument is being used.
!To send MIDI notes to the external instrument, open 
the Output Routing pop-up menu in the Inspector for 
the corresponding MIDI track and select the MIDI 
device to which the external instrument is connected. 
This ensures use of delay compensation. The instru
-
ment will now play any MIDI notes it receives from 
this track and return them to Cubase through the re
-
turn channel(s) you have set up. 
Setting Description 
						

							33
VST Connections
About the Favorites buttons
In the VST Connections window, both the External FX tab 
and the External Instruments tab feature a Favorites but
-
ton.
Favorites are device configurations that you can recall at 
any time, like a library of external devices that are not con
-
stantly connected to your computer. They also allow you 
to save different configurations for the same device, e.
 g. a 
multi-effect board or an effect that provides both a mono 
and a stereo mode.
To save a device configuration as a favorite, proceed as 
follows:
•When you have added a new device in the VST Con-
nections window, select it in the Bus Name column and 
click the Favorites button.
A context menu is displayed showing an option to add the selected ef-
fect or instrument to the Favorites.
•You can recall the stored configuration at any time by 
clicking the Favorites button and selecting the device 
name from the context menu.
About the “plug-in could not be found” 
message
When you open a project that uses an external effect/in-
strument, you may get a “plug-in could not be found” mes-
sage. This will happen when you remove an external 
device from the VST Connections window although it is 
used in a saved project, or when transferring a project to 
another computer on which the external device is not de
-
fined. You may also see this message when opening a 
project created with an earlier version of Cubase.
In the VST Connections window, the broken connection 
to the external device is indicated by an icon in the Bus 
Name column.
To reestablish the broken connection to the external de-
vice, simply right-click the entry for the device in the Bus 
Name column and select “Connect External Effect”. The 
icon is removed, and you can use the external device 
within your project as before.
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 187 and “VST in-
struments and instrument tracks” on page 206.
When freezing external instruments or effects, you can ad-
just the corresponding tail value in the Freeze Channel 
Options dialog:
•Use the arrow buttons next to the Tail Size value field to 
set the desired Tail length, i.
 e. the range after the part 
boundary is also to be included in the freeze. You can also 
click directly in the value field and enter the desired value 
manually (the maximum value being 60
 s).
•When the Tail Size is set to 0 s (default), the freezing will 
only take into account the data within the Part boundaries.
!Note that busses set up for external effects or exter-
nal instruments are saved “globally”, i. e. for your par-
ticular computer setup.
!Note that you have to perform Freeze in realtime. 
Otherwise external effects will not be taken into ac
-
count. 
						

							34
VST Connections
Editing operations
On the different tabs of the VST Connections window the 
corresponding busses or channels are shown in a table 
containing a tree view with expandable entries. After you 
have set up all the required busses for a project it might 
be necessary to edit the names and/or change port as
-
signments. Cubase provides a number of features to make 
such tasks easier.
Expanding and collapsing entries
•Bus entries can be expanded or collapsed to show or 
hide the corresponding speaker channels or sub-busses 
by clicking the “+” or “-” sign in front of the corresponding 
list entry.
•To expand or collapse all entries on a tab at the same 
time, use the “+
 All” button or the “- All” button (respec-
tively) above the tree view.
Determining how many busses a device port is 
connected to
To give you an idea how many busses a given port is al-
ready connected to, the busses are shown in square 
brackets on the Device Port pop-up menu, to the right of 
the port name.
Up to three bus assignments can be displayed in this way. 
If more connections have been made, this is indicated by a 
number at the far right.
Therefore, if you see the following:
Adat 1   [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)…
this means that the Adat 1 port is already assigned to 
three stereo busses plus two additional busses.
Identifying exclusive port assignments
In some cases (i. e. for certain channel types such as Stu-
dio channels), the port assignment is exclusive. Once a 
port has been assigned to such a bus or channel, it must 
not be assigned to another bus, otherwise the connection 
to the first bus will be broken.
To help you identify such exclusive port assignments and 
avoid accidental reassignment, the corresponding ports 
are marked in red on the Device Port pop-up menu.
Selecting/Deselecting multiple entries
•Using the key commands [Ctrl]/[Command]-[A] (Select 
All) and [Shift]-[Ctrl]/[Command]-[A] (Select None), you 
can select and deselect all entries in the Bus Name col
-
umn.
Note that for this to work, the table on the current tab needs to have the 
focus. This can be achieved by clicking anywhere on the background of 
the table.
•By holding [Shift] when selecting entries in the Bus 
Name column, you can select multiple entries at the same 
time.
This is useful for automatic renaming or changing the port assignments 
globally, see below.
ÖIf you select a subentry (e. g. a speaker channel in a 
bus) the parent entry is automatically selected as well.
Selecting entries by typing the name
In the Bus Name list you can jump to an entry by typing the 
first letter of the bus name on the keyboard.
Navigating the Bus Name list using the [Tab] key
By pressing the [Tab] key you can jump to the next entry in 
the Bus Name list, allowing you to rename your busses 
quickly. Similarly, by pressing [Shift]-[Tab] you can return 
to the previous list entry.
Automatically renaming selected busses
You can rename all the selected busses at once using in-
crementing numbers or letters.
•To use incrementing numbers, select the busses that 
you want to rename and enter a new name for one of the 
busses, followed by a number.
For example, if you have eight inputs that you want to be named “In 1, 
In
 2, …, In 8”, you select all the busses and enter the name “In 1” for the 
first bus. All other busses are then renamed automatically.
!This will only work if the table has the focus. To do 
this, simply select any list entry. 
						

							35
VST Connections
•To use letters from the alphabet, proceed as with num-
bers, but enter a capital letter instead of a number.
For example, if you have three FX channels that you want to be named 
“FX A, FX B, and FX C”, you select all the channels and enter the name 
“FX
 A” for the first. All other channels are then renamed automatically. 
The last letter that can be used is Z. If you have more selected entries 
than there are letters available, the remaining entries will be skipped.
ÖYou do not have to begin renaming with the topmost 
selected entry. The renaming will start from the bus where 
you edit the name, will go down the list to the bottom and 
then continue from the top until all selected busses have 
been renamed.
Changing the port assignment for a single bus
To change the port assignment for a single bus, you pro-
ceed as when you added it: Make sure that the channels 
are visible and click in the Device Port column to select 
ports.
Changing the port assignment for multiple busses
To change the port assignment (or the output routing in 
case of groups/FX channels) for multiple entries in the 
Bus Name column at the same time, you need to select 
the corresponding busses first.
•To assign different ports to the selected busses, press 
[Shift], open the Device Port pop-up menu for the first se
-
lected entry (i. e. the topmost bus) and select a device 
port.
All subsequent busses are automatically connected to the next available 
port.
•To assign the same port to all selected busses, press 
[Shift]-[Alt]/[Option], open the Device Port pop-up menu 
for the first selected entry (i.
 e. the topmost bus) and select 
a device port.
ÖYou can also set all selected busses or channels to 
Not Connected.
Removing busses
To remove a bus you do not need, select it in the list, right-
click and select Remove Bus from the pop-up menu, or 
press [Backspace].
!When using letters instead of numbers, it is impor-
tant to note that these must be preceded by a space. 
If you leave out the space before the letter or if you 
do enter neither a letter nor a number, only the first 
selected entry is renamed.
!Cubase only: Exclusive ports (e. g. ports already as-
signed to Control Room channels) will be skipped! 
						

							4
The Project window 
						

							37
The Project window
Window Overview
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:
Project 
overview
The event display, showing audio parts and events, MIDI parts, automation, markers, etc. InspectorRuler Status lineToolbar
The track list with various track typesInfo line
Track typeDescription
AudioFor recording and playing back audio events and audio 
parts. Each audio track has a corresponding audio chan-nel in the Mixer.An audio track can have any number of automation tracks 
for automating Mixer channel parameters, effect settings, 
etc. 
FolderFolder tracks function as containers for other tracks, mak-ing it easier to organize and manage the track structure. 
They also allow you to edit several tracks at the same 
time, see 
“Organizing tracks in folder tracks” on page 79.
FX ChannelFX channel tracks are used for adding send effects. Each 
FX channel can contain up to eight effect processors – by 
routing effect sends from an audio channel to an FX chan
-nel, you send audio from the audio channel to the effect(s) 
on the FX channel. Each FX channel has a corresponding 
channel strip in the Mixer – in essence an effect return 
channel, see the chapter 
“Audio effects” on page 187. All FX channel tracks are automatically placed in a special 
FX channel folder in the track list, for easy management.
An FX channel can also have any number of automation 
tracks for automating Mixer channel parameters, effect 
settings, etc. 
Group  ChannelBy routing several audio channels to a Group channel, 
you can submix them, apply the same effects to them, etc. 
(see 
“Using group channels” on page 165).A Group channel track contains no events as such, but 
displays settings and automation curves for the corre-sponding Group channel. Each Group channel track has 
a corresponding channel strip in the Mixer. In the Project 
window, Group channels are organized as tracks in a 
special Group Tracks folder. 
Track type Description 
						

							38
The Project window
About parts and events
The tracks in the Project window contain parts and/or 
events. Events are the basic building blocks in Cubase. 
Different event types are handled differently in the Project 
window:
• Video events and automation events (curve points) are always 
viewed and rearranged directly in the Project window.
• MIDI events can always be found in MIDI parts, which are con-
tainers for one or more MIDI events. MIDI parts are rearranged 
and manipulated in the Project window. To edit the individual 
MIDI events in a part, you have to open the part in a MIDI edi
-
tor (see “The MIDI editors” on page 374). 
• Audio events can be displayed and edited directly in the Proj-
ect window, but you can also work with audio parts containing 
several 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
Getting on-the-fly info with the Arrow tool
If the “Select Tool: Show Extra Info” option is activated in 
the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tools page), a tooltip will 
be shown for the Arrow tool, displaying information de
-
pending on where you point it. For example, in the Project 
window event display, the tool will show the current pointer 
position and the name of the track and event you are point
-
ing at.
InstrumentThis allows you to create a track for a dedicated instru-ment, making VST instrument handling easier and more in-tuitive. Instrument tracks have a corresponding channel 
strip in the Mixer. Each instrument track can have any num-ber of automation tracks in the Project window. However, 
Volume and Pan are automated from within the Mixer. It is 
possible to edit instrument tracks directly in the Project 
window, using the Edit In-Place function (see 
“The In-Place Editor” on page 396). For more information on in-strument tracks, see the chapter “VST instruments and in-strument tracks” on page 206.
MIDIFor recording and playing back MIDI parts. Each MIDI 
track has a corresponding MIDI channel strip in the Mixer. 
It is possible to edit MIDI tracks directly in the Project 
window, using the Edit In-Place function (see 
“The In-Place Editor” on page 396). A MIDI track can have any number of automation tracks 
for automating Mixer channel parameters, insert and send 
effect settings, etc. 
MarkerMarker tracks display markers which can be moved and 
renamed directly in the Project window (see the chapter 
“Using markers” on page 138). A project can have only one marker track. 
Arranger The arranger track is used for arranging your project, by 
marking out sections in the project and determining in 
which order they are to be played back. See the chapter 
“The arranger track” on page 124 for details.
RulerRuler tracks contain additional rulers, displaying the time-line from left to right. You can use any number of ruler 
tracks, each with a different display format if you wish. 
See 
“The ruler” on page 44 for more information about the ruler and the display formats.
SignatureTime signature events can be added and edited on the 
signature track, or in the Tempo Track Editor. A project 
can have only one signature track. See the chapter 
“Edit-ing tempo and signature” on page 462 for details.
TempoYou can create tempo changes within a project using the 
tempo track. A project can have only one tempo track. 
See the chapter 
“Editing tempo and signature” on page 462 for details.
TransposeThe transpose track allows you to set global key changes. 
A project can have only one transpose track, see the 
chapter 
“The transpose functions” on page 131.
VideoFor playing back video events. A project can only have 
one video track.
Track type Description 
						

							39
The Project window
The track list
The track list displays all the tracks used in a project. It con-
tains name fields and settings for the tracks. Different track 
types have different controls in the track list. To see all 
available controls, you may have to resize the track in the 
track list (see 
“Resizing tracks” on page 73).
The track list showing a MIDI track, an audio track with an automation 
track, and a VST instrument track
•Using the Track Controls Settings dialog you can de-
cide which controls are visible for each track type, see 
“Customizing track controls” on page 535.
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 selected, the Inspector shows the setting for the first 
(topmost) selected track.
Opening the Inspector
To show the Inspector, proceed as follows:
1.On the toolbar, click the “Set up Window Layout” 
button.
A transparent pane appears, covering the Project window.
2.In the gray area in the middle, activate the Inspector 
option.
Inspector handling
For most track classes, the Inspector is divided into a 
number of sections, each containing different controls for 
the track. Which sections are available in the Inspector 
depends on the selected track.
•You can hide or show sections by clicking on their 
names. 
Clicking the name for a hidden section brings it into view and hides the 
other sections. [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking the section name allows you 
to hide or show a section without affecting the other sections. [Alt]/[Op
-
tion]-clicking a section name shows or hides all sections in the Inspector.
•You can also use key commands to show different In-
spector sections.
These are set up in the Key Commands dialog, see “Setting up key com-mands” on page 542.
ÖHiding a section does not affect its functionality. For 
example, if you have set up a track parameter or activated 
an effect, your settings will still be active even if you hide 
the respective Inspector section. 
						

							40
The Project window
Not all Inspector tabs are shown by default. You can 
show/hide Inspector sections by right-clicking on an In
-
spector tab and activating/deactivating the desired op-
tions on the Inspector Setup context menu.
ÖMake sure that you right-click on an Inspector tab and 
not on the empty area below the Inspector, as this will 
open the Quick context menu instead.
Inspector sections
The Inspector contains the controls that can be found on 
the track list, plus some additional buttons and parame
-
ters. In the table below, these additional settings and the 
different sections are listed. Which sections are available 
for which track type is described in the following sections.
Audio tracks
For audio tracks, all settings and sections listed above are 
available.
ParameterDescription
Auto Fades 
Settings 
buttonOpens a dialog in which you can make separate Auto 
Fade settings for the audio track, see “Making Auto Fade settings for individual tracks” on page 123. 
Edit Channel 
SettingsOpens the Channel Settings window for the track, allow-ing you to view and adjust effect and EQ settings, etc., 
see “Using Channel Settings” on page 158.
VolumeUse this to adjust the level for the track. Changing this 
setting will move the track’s fader in the Mixer window, 
and vice versa. See 
“Setting volume in the Mixer” on page 152 to learn more about setting levels.
PanUse this to adjust the panning of the track. As with the 
Volume setting, this corresponds to the Pan setting in the 
Mixer.
DelayThis adjusts the playback timing of the audio track. Positive 
values delay the playback while negative values cause the 
track to play earlier. The values are set in milliseconds.
Input  RoutingThis lets you specify the input bus or MIDI input for the 
track. See “Setting up busses” on page 26 for informa-tion about input busses.
Output 
RoutingHere you decide to which output the track is routed. For 
audio tracks you select an output bus (see “Setting up busses” on page 26) or Group channel, for MIDI tracks you select a MIDI output and for instrument tracks, you 
select the instrument to which it is routed.
Inserts sectionAllows you to add insert effects to the track, see the chap-ters “Audio effects” on page 187 and “MIDI realtime pa-rameters and effects” on page 348. The Edit button at the top of the section opens the control panels for the added 
insert effects.
Equalizers 
sectionLets you adjust the EQs for the track. You can have up to 
four bands of EQ for each track, see “Making EQ set-tings” on page 159. The Edit button at the top of the sec-tion opens the Channel Settings window for the track. 
Equalizer  Curve sectionLets you adjust the EQs for the track graphically, by click-ing and dragging points in a curve display.
Sends sectionAllows you to route an audio track to one or several FX 
channels, see the chapter “Audio effects” on page 187. The Edit button above a slot opens the control panel for 
the first effect in each FX channel.  For MIDI tracks, this is where you assign MIDI send ef-fects. Clicking the Edit button above a slot opens the 
control panel for the corresponding MIDI effect.
Studio Sends 
(Cubase only)The Studio Sends are used to route cue mixes to Control 
Room Studios. For a detailed description of Studios and 
Studio Sends, see the chapter 
“Control Room (Cubase only)” on page 172.
Surround Pan 
(Cubase only)When the SurroundPanner is used for a track, this is also 
available in the Inspector. For further information, see 
“Using the SurroundPanner V5” on page 220.
Channel 
sectionShows a duplicate of the corresponding Mixer channel 
strip. The channel overview strip to the left lets you acti-vate and deactivate insert effects, EQs and sends.
Notepad 
sectionThis is a standard text notepad, allowing you to jot down 
notes about the track. If you open the File menu and se-lect “Notepad Data…” from the Export submenu, your 
data will be exported as text file and opened in an external 
text editor from where you can print it. Note that you have 
to save your project first.
If you have entered any notes about a track, the icon next 
to the “Notepad” heading will light up to indicate this. 
Moving the pointer over the icon will display the Notepad 
text in a tooltip. 
User Panel  (Cubase only)Here you can display device panels, e. g. for external MIDI 
devices, audio track panels or VST insert effect panels. 
For information on how to create or import MIDI device 
and user panels, see the separate PDF document “MIDI 
Devices”.
Quick ControlsHere you can configure quick controls, e. g. to use remote 
devices, see the chapter “Track Quick Controls” on page 337.
Parameter Description