Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

							101
Playback and the Transport panel
Background
This chapter describes the various methods available for controlling playback and 
transport functions in Cubase.
The Transport panel
The Transport panel contains the main transport functions in Cubase, as well as many 
other options related to playback and recording. 
The following sections can be shown on the Transport panel, from left to right:
-Virtual Keyboard, see “The Virtual Keyboard” on page 108.
- Performance, this is related to the VST Performance window, see “The VST 
Performance Window” on page 24.
- Record Mode, see “Recording audio” on page 120 and “Recording MIDI” on page 
126.
- Locators, see “Setting the left and right locators” on page 104 and “About Pre-roll 
and Post-roll” on page 131.
- Jog/Scrub, “Playing back with the shuttle speed control” on page 105 and 
“Project scrubbing – the jog wheel” on page 105.
- Main Transport, see below.
- Arranger, see “The arranger track” on page 152.
- Master + Sync, see “Using the metronome” on page 131. 
- Marker, see “Using markers” on page 169, “Editing tempo and signature” on page 
610, and “Synchronized operation” on page 658.
- MIDI Activity, see below.
- Audio Activity, see below.
- Audio Level Control, see below.
The main transport controls
In the Main Transport area, you will find the basic transport controls, as well as the time 
display options, see 
“Setting the time format on the Transport panel” on page 103.
ÖThe main transport functions (Cycle/Stop/Play/Record) can also be shown on the 
toolbar. In addition, various play options are available on the Transport menu. 
						

							102
Playback and the Transport panelOperations
The MIDI Activity, Audio Activity and Audio Level Control sections
These sections are useful to monitor the MIDI and audio input and output signals. The 
Audio Level Control section furthermore contains clipping indicators and an output 
level control.
ÖThe audio activity and clipping indicator as well as the output level control refer to the 
Control Room channel (Cubase only), if the Control Room is activated. Otherwise, 
these controls refer to the Main Mix Output bus as defined on the Outputs tab in the 
VST Connections window. For information on the Control Room, see the chapter 
“The 
Control Room (Cubase only)” on page 211. In Cubase Artist, the Main Mix bus is 
always used for monitoring.
Hiding and showing the Transport panel
The Transport panel is shown automatically when you launch a new project. To hide or 
show it, select “Transport Panel” on the Transport menu (or use the corresponding 
key command – by default [F2]).
Changing the Transport panel setup
You can customize the appearance of the Transport panel by right-clicking anywhere 
on the panel and selecting/deselecting the corresponding options on the context 
menu.
This is described in detail in the section “The setup context menus” on page 700.
The numeric keypad
In the default Key Command settings, various Transport panel operations are 
assigned to the numeric keypad on the computer keyboard. The keypads are slightly 
different on PC and Macintosh computers:
Operations
Setting the project cursor position
There are several ways to move the project cursor position:
•By using Fast Forward and Rewind.
•By using the Jog/Shuttle/Nudge control on the Transport panel (see “Playing back 
with the shuttle speed control” on page 105).
•By dragging the project cursor in the lower part of the ruler. 
•By clicking in the ruler.
Double-clicking in the ruler moves the cursor and starts/stops playback. 
Numeric KeyFunction
[Enter]Play
[+]Fast Forward
[-]Rewind
[*]Record
[÷] (Win)/[/] (Mac)Cycle On/Off
[,]Return to Zero
[0]Stop
[1]Go to Left Locator
[2]Go to Right Locator
[3-9]Go to marker 3 to 9 
						

							103
Playback and the Transport panelOperations
•If the “Locate when Clicked in Empty Space” option is activated in the Preferences 
dialog (Transport page) you can click anywhere in an empty section of the Project 
window to move the cursor position.
•By changing the value in any of the position displays.
•By using the position slider above the transport buttons in the Transport panel.
The range of the slider relates to the Length setting in the Project Setup dialog. 
Hence, moving the slider all the way to the right will take you to the end of the 
project. 
•By using markers (see the chapter “Using markers” on page 169).
•By using playback options (see “Playback functions” on page 106).
•By using the arranger function (see “The arranger track” on page 152).
•By using functions on the Transport menu.
On the Transport menu, the following functions are available:
ÖIf Snap is activated when dragging the project cursor, the Snap value is taken into 
account. This is helpful for finding exact positions quickly.
ÖThere are also numerous key commands available for moving the project cursor (in the 
Transport category in the Key Commands dialog). For example, you can assign key 
commands to the “Step Bar” and “Step Back Bar” functions, allowing you to move the 
project cursor in steps of one bar, backwards and forwards.
Setting the time format on the Transport panel
Primary time display (left) and secondary time display (right)
The time unit shown in the ruler can be independent from the time unit shown in the 
main time display on the Transport panel. This means that you can display timecode in 
the transport time display and bars and beats in the ruler, for example. In addition, 
there is a secondary time display to the right of the primary time display which is also 
independent, giving you three different time units shown at the same time. In the 
Project window, you can also create additional ruler tracks – see 
“Using multiple 
rulers – ruler tracks” on page 51. 
FunctionDescription
Locate 
Selection/Locate 
Selection EndMoves the project cursor to the beginning or end of the current 
selection. For this to be available, you must have selected one or 
more events or parts, or made a selection range.
Locate Next/Previous 
MarkerThis moves the project cursor to the closest marker to the right or 
left (see 
“Marker tracks” on page 46).
Locate Next/Previous 
EventThis moves the project cursor forwards or backwards respectively, 
to the closest beginning or end of any event on the selected 
track(s). 
						

							104
Playback and the Transport panelOperations
The following rules apply:
•If you change the time format of the primary time display on the Transport panel, 
the time format of the ruler will be changed as well. 
This is the same as changing the display format in the Project Setup. Therefore, to 
have different display formats in the ruler and the main time display you should 
change the format in the ruler. 
•The primary time display format is set on the pop-up menu to the right in the main 
time display. 
•This setting also determines the time format displayed for the left and right locators 
on the Transport panel.
•The secondary time display is completely independent, and the display format is 
set on the pop-up menu to the right in the secondary time display.
•You can swap time formats between the primary and secondary time displays by 
clicking the double arrow symbol (Exchange Time Formats) between them.
Setting the left and right locators
The left and right locators are a pair of position markers used for specifying punch-in 
and punch-out positions during recording, and as boundaries for cycle playback and 
recording. 
ÖWhen cycle mode is activated on the Transport panel, the area between the left and 
right locators will be repeated (cycled) on playback. However, if the right locator is 
positioned before the left, this will work as a “jump” or “skip mode” – when the project 
cursor reaches the right locator it will immediately jump to the left locator position and 
continue playback from there.
There are several ways to set locator positions:
•To set the left locator, press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click at the desired position in 
the ruler.
Similarly, pressing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking in the ruler sets the right locator. You 
can also drag the locator “handles” directly in the ruler.
The locators are indicated by the “flags” in the ruler. The area between the locators is high-
lighted in the ruler and in the Project window (see “Appearance” on page 704). Note that if 
the right locator is before the left locator, the color of the ruler between the locators will 
change.
•Click and drag in the upper half of the ruler to “draw” a locator range.
If you click on an existing locator range, you can drag to move it.
•Pressing [Ctrl]/[Command] and pressing [1] or [2] on the numeric keypad sets the 
left or right locator to the project cursor position.
Similarly, you can press [1] or [2] on the numeric keypad (without 
[Ctrl]/[Command]) to set the project cursor position to the left or right locator 
position. Note that these are default key commands – you can change these if you 
like. 
						

							105
Playback and the Transport panelOperations
•By creating cycle markers you can save any number of left and right locator 
positions, which can be recalled by simply double-clicking on the corresponding 
marker (see 
“Editing markers on the marker track” on page 174).
•The “Locators to Selection” item on the Transport menu (default key command [P]) 
sets the locators to encompass the current selection.
This is available if you have selected one or several events or made a selection 
range.
•You can also adjust the locators numerically on the Transport panel.
Clicking the L/R buttons in the locator section on the Transport panel will move the 
project cursor to the respective locator. If you press [Alt]/[Option] and click the L 
or R button, the corresponding locator will be set to the current project cursor 
position.
Playing back with the shuttle speed control 
The shuttle speed control (the outer wheel on the Transport panel) allows you to play 
back the project at any speed (four times the playback speed at maximum), forwards 
or backwards. This is a quick way to locate or “cue” to any position in the project.
•Turn the shuttle speed wheel to the right to start playback.
The further to the right you move the wheel, the faster the playback speed. 
•If you turn the wheel to the left instead, the project will play backwards.
The speed depends on how far to the left you turn the wheel.
•The “Use Inserts While Scrubbing” option in the Preferences dialog (Transport–
Scrub page) allows you to activate insert effects for scrubbing with the shuttle 
speed control.
By default, insert effects are bypassed.
ÖYou can also access the shuttle speed control via a remote control device.
Project scrubbing – the jog wheel 
The middle wheel on the Transport panel serves as a jog wheel. By clicking and 
turning it to the right or left you will move the playback position manually forwards or 
backwards – much like scrubbing on a tape deck. This helps you pinpoint exact 
locations in the project.
•Note that the jog wheel is an “endless rotary encoder” – you can turn it as many 
times as needed to move to the desired location.
The faster you turn the wheel, the faster the playback speed. The original playback 
speed is the fastest speed possible.
•If you click the jog wheel during playback, playback automatically stops and 
scrubbing starts. 
						

							106
Playback and the Transport panelOptions and Settings
•The “Use Inserts While Scrubbing” option in the Preferences dialog on the 
Transport–Scrub page allows you to activate insert effects for scrubbing with the 
jog wheel.
By default, insert effects are bypassed.
ÖYou can also use a jog wheel on a remote controller for scrubbing.
Nudging the project cursor 
The “+” and “–” buttons in the middle of the Shuttle/Jog section allow you to nudge 
the project cursor position one frame at a time to the right or left.
Options and Settings
The “Return to Start Position on Stop” preference
This setting is found on the Transport page in the Preferences dialog.
•If “Return to Start Position on Stop” is activated when you stop playback, the 
project cursor will automatically return to the position where recording or playback 
last started.
•If “Return to Start Position on Stop” is deactivated, the project cursor will remain at 
the position where you stop playback.
Pressing Stop again will return the project cursor to the position where recording 
or playback last started.
About track disable/enable 
For audio tracks, the track context menu contains an item named “Disable Track”. This 
is useful for tracks that you do not want to play back or process at the moment, but 
want to keep in the project for later use. 
To disable a track, right-click in the track list and select “Disable Track” from the 
context menu. The following happens:
- All disk activity and processing for the track is shut down. 
- The track color changes.
- The corresponding channel in the MixConsole is hidden.
You can enable a disabled track by right-clicking in the track list and selecting “Enable 
Track”. All previous channel settings are restored.
Playback functions
Apart from the standard transport controls on the Transport panel, you can also find a 
number of functions on the Transport menu that can be used to control playback. The 
items have the following functionality:
OptionDescription
Post-roll from Selection 
Start/EndStarts playback from the beginning or end of the currently 
selected range and stops after the time set in the Post-roll 
field on the Transport panel.
Pre-roll to Selection 
Start/EndStarts playback from a position before the start or end of the 
currently selected range and stops at the selection start or 
end, respectively. The playback start position is set in the Pre-
roll field on the Transport panel.
Play from Selection 
Start/EndActivates playback from the beginning or end of the current 
selection. 
						

							107
Playback and the Transport panelOptions and Settings
ÖIn the Preferences dialog (Editing–Audio page) you will find the “Treat Muted Audio 
Events like Deleted” option. When you activate this option, any events overlapped by 
a muted event will become audible.
About Chase
Chase is a function that makes sure your MIDI instruments sound as they should when 
you locate to a new position and start playback. This is accomplished by the program 
transmitting a number of MIDI messages to your instruments each time you move to a 
new position in the project, making sure all MIDI devices are set up correctly with 
regard to program change, controller messages (such as MIDI Volume), etc.
For example, let’s say you have a MIDI track with a program change event inserted at 
the beginning. This event makes a synth switch to a piano sound.
At the beginning of the first chorus you have another program change event which 
makes the same synth switch to a string sound.
You now play back the song. It begins with the piano sound and then switches to the 
string sound. In the middle of the chorus you stop and rewind to some point between 
the beginning and the second program change. The synth will now still play the string 
sound although in this section it really should be a piano!
The Chase function takes care of that. If program change events are set to be chased, 
Cubase will track the music back to the beginning, find the first program change and 
transmit it to your synth, setting it to the correct sound.
The same thing can apply to other event types as well. The Chase Events settings in 
the Preferences dialog (MIDI page) determine which event types will be chased when 
you locate to a new position and start playback.
ÖEvent types for which the checkbox is activated here will be chased.
Play until Selection 
Start/EndActivates playback two seconds before the start or end of the 
current selection and stops at the selection start or end, 
respectively.
Play until Next MarkerThis activates playback from the project cursor and stops at 
the next marker.
Play Selection RangeThis activates playback from the start of the current selection 
and stops at the selection end.
Loop SelectionThis activates playback from the start of the current selection 
and keeps starting over again when reaching the selection 
end.
Option Description
!The functions listed above (except “Play until Next Marker”) are only available if you 
have selected one or more events or made a selection range. 
						

							108
Playback and the Transport panelThe Virtual Keyboard
•In this section of the Preferences dialog, you will also find the “Chase not limited to 
Part Boundaries” option.
When you activate this option, MIDI controllers are also chased outside the part 
boundaries, i.
 e. the Chase will be performed on the part touched by the cursor as 
well as on all the parts to the left of it. Please note that this option should be 
deactivated for very large projects, as it considerably slows down operations such 
as positioning and soloing. When you deactivate this option, the MIDI controllers 
are only chased within the parts under the position cursor.
•Never Reset Chased Controllers
Activate this, if you work with Quick Controls, for example, and want to prevent 
controllers to be reset to zero when you stop playback or move to a new position in 
the project. This function is deactivated by default.
The Virtual Keyboard 
The Virtual Keyboard can be displayed in the Transport panel. It allows you to play and 
record MIDI notes by using your computer keyboard or mouse. This is useful if you 
have no external MIDI instrument at hand and you do not want to draw in notes with 
the Draw tool. The Virtual Keyboard can perform all functions that can be controlled by 
external MIDI keyboards, e.
 g. playing and recording MIDI notes.
•You can choose between two different keyboard display modes: computer 
keyboard and piano keyboard. To switch between these two modes, click the 
“Change Virtual Keyboard Display Type” button in the lower right corner of the 
Virtual Keyboard section or use the [Tab] key.
The Virtual Keyboard in computer keyboard display mode
The Virtual Keyboard in piano keyboard display mode
To record MIDI using the Virtual Keyboard, proceed as follows: 
1.Create or choose a MIDI or an instrument track and activate the “Record Enable” 
button for it.
2.Open the Virtual Keyboard by selecting “Virtual Keyboard” on the Devices menu, 
by pressing [Alt]/[Option]-[K] or by right-clicking on the Transport panel and 
selecting “Virtual Keyboard” on the context menu.
The Virtual Keyboard is displayed in the Transport panel.
3.Activate the Record button and press a key on your computer keyboard to enter a 
note.
You can also click on the keys of the Virtual Keyboard to enter notes.
•You can also press several keys simultaneously to enter polyphonic parts. The 
maximum number of notes that can be played at one time varies between the 
different operating systems and hardware configurations.
!When the Virtual Keyboard is displayed, the usual key commands are blocked 
because they are reserved for the Virtual Keyboard. The only exceptions are: 
[Ctrl]/[Command]-[S] (Save), Num [*] (Start/Stop Record), [Space] (Start/Stop 
Playback), Num
 [1] (Jump to left locator), [Delete] or [Backspace] (Delete), Num [/] 
(Cycle on/off), [F2] (Show/Hide Transport panel), and [Alt]/[Option]-[K] (Show/Hide 
Virtual Keyboard). 
						

							109
Playback and the Transport panelThe Virtual Keyboard
4.Use the fader “Note velocity level” to the right of the virtual keyboard to adjust the 
volume.
You can also use the up and down arrow keys for this.
5.Enter the desired notes this way.
6.When you are done, hit the Stop button and close the Virtual Keyboard.
When the Virtual Keyboard is hidden, all key commands are available again.
Options and settings
•In piano keyboard mode, you have a wider range of keys at your disposal, allowing 
you to enter two voices simultaneously, for example bass and lead voice or bass 
drums and hi-hats.
In computer keyboard mode, you can use the two rows of keys that are displayed 
on the Virtual Keyboard to enter notes. In piano keyboard mode, you can also use 
the two rows of keys below these.
•You have seven full octaves at your disposal. Use the “Octave Offset” buttons at 
the bottom of the virtual keyboard to offset the octave range of the keyboard. 
You can also use the left and right arrow keys to switch the keyboard range to a 
lower or higher octave, respectively.
•In piano keyboard mode, you can use the two sliders to the left of the keyboard to 
introduce pitchbend (left slider) or modulation (right slider).
You can also click on a key, hold the mouse button pressed until the mouse pointer 
becomes a cross-hair cursor and drag upwards/downward to introduce 
modulation or left/right to create pitchbend. 
						

							110
Recording
Background
This chapter describes the various recording methods that you can use in Cubase. As 
it is possible to record both audio and MIDI tracks, both recording methods are 
covered in this chapter.
Before you start
This chapter assumes that you are reasonably familiar with certain basic recording 
concepts, and that the following initial preparations have been made:
•You have properly set up, connected and calibrated your audio hardware. 
•You have opened a project and set the project setup parameters to your 
specifications.
Project setup parameters determine the record format, sample rate, project length, 
etc. that affect the audio recordings you make during the course of the project, see 
“The Project Setup dialog” on page 62.
•If you plan to record MIDI, your MIDI equipment has to be set up and connected 
correctly.
Basic recording methods
This section describes the general methods used for recording. However, there are 
additional preparations and procedures that are specific to audio and MIDI recording 
respectively. Make sure to read these sections before you start recording (see 
“Audio 
recording specifics” on page 113 and “MIDI recording specifics” on page 124).
Record-enabling tracks
Cubase can record on a single track or on several tracks (audio and/or MIDI) 
simultaneously. To make a track ready for recording, activate the Record Enable 
button for the track in the track list, in the Inspector, or in the MixConsole.
ÖIf “Enable Record on Selected Audio Track” or “Enable Record on Selected MIDI 
Track” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Project & MixConsole page), 
audio or MIDI tracks are automatically record-enabled when you select them in the 
track list.