Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

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Audio effectsInsert effects
Using effects in multi-channel configurations (Cubase only)
Whether an effect plug-in supports mono, stereo, or multi-channel processing 
depends on the capabilities of the corresponding plug-in. Regardless of this, all VST2 
and VST3 plug-ins can be inserted on tracks with a multi-channel configuration. 
Surround-capable plug-ins are applied to all speaker channels (or a subset of these), 
while mono or stereo effects can only process one or two channels.
For example, if...

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Audio effectsInsert effects
Operations
You can change the input/output assignment of the channels by moving connections 
to the left or right. To do this, use the arrow buttons to the right.
•The upper arrow buttons move the input connections, and the lower arrow buttons 
move the output connections.
If the Link checkbox is activated, the input and output connections are always 
moved together. This is the mode to use when you simply want to process other 
channels than the default.
•If you move...

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Audio effectsInsert effects
Dithering
Dithering is a method for controlling the noise produced by quantization errors in 
digital recordings. The theory behind this is that during low level passages, only a few 
bits are used to represent the signal, which leads to quantization errors and hence 
distortion. 
For example, when “truncating bits”, as a result of moving from 24 to 16 bit resolution, 
quantization errors are added to an otherwise immaculate recording. By adding a 
special kind of noise at...

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Audio effectsInsert effects
Here is another solution:
1.Create a group channel track in stereo and route it to the desired output bus.
2.Add the desired effect to the group channel as an insert effect.
3.Route the mono audio track to the group channel.
Now the signal from the mono audio track is sent directly to the group, where it 
passes through the insert effect, in stereo.
Freezing (rendering) insert effects for a track
Effect plug-ins can sometimes require a lot of processor power. If you are...

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Audio effectsSend effects
Unfreezing
If you need to edit the events on a frozen track or make settings for the insert effects, 
you can unfreeze the track:
1.Click the Freeze button in the Inspector for the track.
You will be asked whether you really want to unfreeze the channel and if you wish 
to keep or delete the freeze files.
2.Click “Unfreeze” or “Keep Freeze files”.
This reactivates the frozen insert effects. Clicking “Keep Freeze Files” will unfreeze 
the channel but not delete the freeze...

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Audio effectsSend effects
4.Click the Add Track button.
An FX channel track is added to the track list, and the selected effect, if any, is 
loaded into the first insert effect slot for the FX channel (in that case, the lit Inserts 
tab for the FX channel track in the Inspector indicates that an effect has been 
assigned and automatically activated).
•All FX channel tracks you create will appear in a dedicated “folder” track in the 
track list.
This makes it easy to manage and keep track of all your...

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Audio effectsSend effects
•The handling and operation of insert plug-ins for FX channels is the same as for 
audio channels.
See “Routing an audio channel or bus through insert effects” on page 229.
•You can adjust level, pan and EQ for the send in the Channel Settings window.
This can also be done in the MixConsole or in the Inspector.
Making settings for the sends
The next step is to set up a send for an audio channel and route it to the FX channel. 
This can be done in the MixConsole, in the...

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Audio effectsSend effects
•On the toolbar of the Channel Settings window, select the FX channel from the 
Channel Name selector and adjust its effect return level.
By adjusting the return level, you control the amount of the signal sent from the FX 
channel to the output bus.
6.If you want the signal to be sent to the FX channel before the audio channel’s volume 
fader in the MixConsole, right-click on a send and select “Move to Pre-Fader”.
A triangle in the lower left corner of a send indicates that...

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Audio effectsSend effects
•You can also bypass the send effects by clicking the “Bypass Inserts” button for 
the FX channel.
This bypasses the actual effects which may be used by several different channels. 
Bypassing a send affects that send and that channel only. If you bypass the insert 
effects, the original sound will be passed through. This may lead to unwanted side 
effects (higher volume). To deactivate all effects, use the mute button in the FX 
channel.
Setting pan for the sends (Cubase...

240
Audio effectsUsing the side-chain input
•If the FX channel is configured in a surround format, the pan control will be a 
miniature surround panner.
You can click and drag the “ball” in the miniature panner display to position the 
send in the surround field, or double-click in the display to bring up the surround 
panner. See the chapter 
“Surround sound (Cubase only)” on page 266 for details.
ÖIf both the send (the audio channel) and the FX channel are in mono, the pan control 
is not available....