Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

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RecordingOptions and Settings
About Pre-roll and Post-roll
The pre-roll and post-roll value fields (below the left/right locator fields) on the 
Transport panel have the following functionality:
•By setting a pre-roll value, you instruct Cubase to “roll back” a short section 
whenever playback is activated.
This applies whenever you start playback, but is perhaps most relevant when 
recording from the left locator (punch in activated on the Transport panel) as 
described below.
•By setting a post-roll value, you instruct Cubase to play back a short section after 
automatic punch out before stopping.
This is only relevant when punch out is activated on the Transport panel and “Stop 
after Automatic Punch Out” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Transport 
page).
•To turn pre-roll or post-roll on or off, click the corresponding button on the 
Transport panel (next to the pre/post-roll value) or use the “Use Pre-roll” and “Use 
Post-roll” options on the Transport menu.
An example:
1.Set the locators to where you want to start and end recording.
2.Activate “Auto Punch In” and “Auto Punch Out” on the Transport panel.
3.Activate the “Stop after Automatic Punch Out” option in the Preferences dialog 
(Transport page).
4.Set suitable pre-roll and post-roll times by clicking in the corresponding fields on 
the Transport panel and typing in time values.
5.Activate pre-roll and post-roll by clicking the buttons next to the pre-roll and post-
roll times so that they light up.
6.Activate recording.
The project cursor “rolls back” by the time specified in the pre-roll field and 
playback starts. When the cursor reaches the left locator, recording is 
automatically activated. When the cursor reaches the right locator, recording is 
deactivated, but playback continues for the time set in the post-roll field before 
stopping.
Using the metronome
The metronome can output a click that can be used as a timing reference. The two 
parameters that govern the timing of the metronome are tempo and time signature, as 
set on the tempo track and signature track, or in the Tempo Track Editor (see 
“Editing 
the tempo curve” on page 613). The metronome can use a either an audio click 
played back via the audio hardware, send MIDI data to a connected device which will 
play back the click or both.
You can also set up a precount (count-in) that will be heard when you start recording 
from Stop mode. This can be musical or time based. 
•To activate the metronome click, activate the Click button on the Transport panel. 
You can also select the “Metronome On” option on the Transport menu or use the 
corresponding key command (by default [C]). 
Post-roll value field and on/off switch
Pre-roll value field and on/off switch 
						

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RecordingOptions and Settings
•To activate the precount, click the Precount button on the Transport panel.
You can also select the “Precount On” option on the Transport menu or set up a 
key command for this.
Metronome settings
You make settings for the metronome in the Metronome Setup dialog, opened from 
the Transport menu.
In the Metronome Options section, the following options are available:
The following precount options are available: 
OptionDescription
Metronome in 
Record/PlayAllows you to specify whether the metronome is heard during 
playback, recording or both (when Click is activated on the Transport 
panel).
OptionDescription
Precount BarsSets the number of bars the metronome counts in before recording 
starts.
Use Project Count 
BaseIf this option is activated, the metronome plays one click per beat 
according to the project count base. 
Use Count BaseIf this option is activated, a field appears to the right where you 
specify the “rhythm” of the metronome. For example, setting this to 
“1/8”, gives you eighth notes (two clicks per beat). It is also possible 
to create unusual metronome rhythms such as triplets.
Use Time Sign. at 
Rec. Start TimeWhen this is activated, the precount automatically uses the time 
signature and tempo set at the position where recording starts.
Use Time Sign. at 
Project TimeWhen this is activated, the precount uses the time signature set on 
the tempo track. Furthermore, any tempo changes on the tempo 
track during the precount are applied.
Use SignatureThis lets you set a time signature for the precount. In this mode, 
tempo changes on the tempo track do not affect the precount.
Click on/offPrecount on/off 
						

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RecordingOptions and Settings
Further configuration options for MIDI and audio clicks are available in the Click 
Outputs section:
Lock and Unlock Record
During recording it can happen that you accidentally deactivate the record mode, e. g. 
by pressing [Space]. In order to prevent this, you can set up a key command for this in 
the Key Commands dialog. If you use the Lock Record key command, the Record 
button will turn gray and the record mode is locked until you use the Unlock Record 
key command or enter Stop mode.
•If Lock Record is activated and you want to enter Stop mode (by clicking Stop or 
pressing [Space]), you will see a dialog in which you need to confirm that you want 
to stop recording. You can also use the Unlock Record key command first and 
then enter Stop mode as usual.
•By default, no key commands are assigned to these functions. In the Key 
Commands dialog, you will find the corresponding key command entries in the 
Transport category (see the chapter 
“Key commands” on page 711 for more 
information on how to set up key commands).
ÖThese key commands are especially useful when combined with other commands 
(e.
 g. with Record/Stop) using the macro functions. That way you will receive powerful 
macros that can greatly enhance your workflow.
ÖNote that an automatic punch-out at the right locator position that you may have set 
on the transport panel, will be ignored in Lock Record mode.
Record Time Max display
The Record Time Max display lets you see how much time you have left for recording. 
The available time depends on the current setup, for example, on the amount of tracks 
that are record-enabled, your project setup (e.
 g. the sample rate), and the amount of 
hard disk space available. You can show and hide the display using the “Record Time 
Max” option on the Devices menu.
ÖThe remaining record time is also shown in the status line above the track list.
OptionDescription
Activate MIDI ClickSelects whether or not the metronome sounds via MIDI.
MIDI Port/ChannelThis is where you select a MIDI output and channel for the 
metronome click.
For the metronome click you can also select a VST instrument 
previously set up in the VST Instruments window.
Hi Note/VelocitySets the MIDI note number and velocity value for the “high note” (the 
first beat in a bar). 
Lo Note/VelocitySets the MIDI note number and velocity for the “low notes” (the other 
beats). 
Activate Audio 
ClickSelects whether or not the metronome sounds via the audio 
hardware. You can set the level of the click with the slider. 
BeepsWhen this is selected, the audio clicks will be beeps generated by 
the program. Adjust the pitch and level of the beeps for the 
“Hi”
 (first) beat and “Lo” (other) beats using the sliders below.
SoundsWhen this is selected, you can click in the “Sound” fields below to 
load any audio files for the “Hi” and “Lo” metronome sounds. The 
sliders set the level of the click.
!If you are storing your tracks on different drives (by using individual record folders), the 
time display refers to the medium with the least storage space available. 
						

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Quantizing MIDI and Audio
Introduction
Quantizing means moving recorded audio or MIDI and positioning it on the nearest 
grid position that is musically relevant. Quantizing is designed to correct errors, but 
you can also use it in a creative way. 
You can quantize audio and MIDI to a grid or to a groove. You can also quantize 
multiple audio tracks simultaneously. 
Audio and MIDI can be quantized at the same time. However, what exactly happens 
during quantizing differs for audio and MIDI:
•Audio quantizing affects the audio event starts or the content of your audio, see 
“Quantizing Audio Event Starts” on page 134 and “AudioWarp Quantize (Cubase 
Only)” on page 134.
•MIDI quantizing can affect the starts of MIDI events in a part, the MIDI event 
lengths, or the MIDI event ends, see 
“Quantizing MIDI Event Starts” on page 135, 
“Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths” on page 135, and “Quantizing MIDI Event Ends” 
on page 135).
ÖQuantizing is based on the original position of the events. Therefore, you can freely try 
out different quantize settings without the risk of destroying anything.
The Quantize function is found on the Edit menu. You can also use the key command 
[Q] or the “Quantize” button on the Quantize Panel.
Quantizing Audio Event Starts
If you select audio events or a sliced loop and use the Quantize function, the audio 
events are quantized based on their snap points or event starts. 
The snap points that do not match exact note positions on the selected grid are 
moved to the closest grid positions. The grid is set up on the Quantize pop-up menu. 
If no snap points are available, the event start is moved.
ÖIf you use the Quantize function on an audio part, the event starts inside the part are 
quantized.
AudioWarp Quantize (Cubase Only)
If you want to quantize the content of your audio event by applying time stretch, use 
the “AudioWarp Quantize” function. This function quantizes the audio event by 
aligning the warp markers to the defined quantize grid.
The following happens:
•Warp markers are created at hitpoint positions. If no hitpoints are available, they 
are automatically created. Furthermore, warp markers are created at every event 
start and end. For further information on hitpoints, see 
“Working with hitpoints and 
slices” on page 347.
•The audio sections between the warp markers are stretched or compressed to fit 
into the time interval set up on the “Quantize Presets” pop-up menu. 
						

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Quantizing MIDI and AudioQuantizing MIDI Event Starts
AudioWarp quantize prevents warp markers from ending up on the same position. If 
conflicts occur, only one of the warp markers is quantized. For example, if you use a 
quantize value of 1/4 on audio that is based on sixteenth notes, the warp markers at 
the quarter-note positions are quantized to the grid, and the remaining warp markers 
are moved, keeping the relative distances between the warp markers.
You can also apply AudioWarp quantizing to selection ranges in the Project window 
and in the Sample Editor. To avoid moving transient positions that lie outside the 
selection range, additional warp markers are created at the closest hitpoint positions 
outside the range.
Applying AudioWarp Quantizing
1.Select the audio event that you want to quantize.
2.On the toolbar, activate the “AudioWarp Quantize” button, open the “Quantize 
Presets” pop-up menu, and select a preset to determine the quantize grid.
3.Open the Edit menu, and select Quantize.
You can also use the Quantize Panel for applying AudioWarp quantizing. The 
Quantize Panel provides more parameters for defining the quantize grid, see 
“The 
Quantize Panel” on page 136.
Quantizing MIDI Event Starts
If you select MIDI notes in a part and use the Quantize function on the Edit menu, the 
MIDI note starts are quantized, that is, the starts of MIDI notes that do not match exact 
note positions are moved to the closest grid positions. The grid is set up on the 
Quantize pop-up menu. The note lengths are maintained. 
ÖIf you quantize MIDI parts, all events are quantized, even if none is selected.
Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths
The “Quantize MIDI Event Lengths” function on the Edit menu, Advanced Quantize 
submenu, quantizes the lengths of MIDI notes without changing their start positions. 
At its most basic level, this function sets the lengths of the notes to the Length 
Quantize value on the MIDI editor toolbar by cutting off the note ends.
However, if you have selected the “Quantize Link” option on the “Length Quantize” 
pop-up menu, the function resizes the notes according to the quantize grid, taking the 
Swing, Tuplet, and Catch Range settings into account. 
Quantizing MIDI Event Ends
The “Quantize MIDI Event Ends” function on the Edit menu, Advanced Quantize 
submenu, moves the ends of your MIDI notes to the nearest grid positions, taking the 
Quantize pop-up menu setting into account.
Quantizing Multiple Audio Tracks (Cubase Only)
You can quantize multiple audio tracks at the same time. To maintain phase 
coherence, all tracks have to be sliced at exactly the same start and end positions. 
Only then the resulting slices can be quantized without risk of getting phase errors.
ÖFor this to work, the audio tracks must reside in the same folder track and the “=” 
button for Group Editing must be activated. Furthermore, at least one of the tracks 
must contain hitpoints. 
						

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Quantizing MIDI and AudioAudioWarp Quantizing Multiple Audio Tracks (Cubase Only)
Proceed as follows:
1.Create an edit group for the audio tracks that you want to quantize.
2.In the Sample Editor, create hitpoints for at least one of the audio tracks that you 
want to quantize, and fine-tune the hitpoint detection result with the Threshold 
slider.
3.Open the Quantize Panel.
4.Set up the parameters in the “Slice Rules” section and click the Slice button.
5.Set up the parameters in the Quantize section and click the Quantize button.
6.Set up the parameters in the Crossfades section and click the Crossfade button to 
correct for overlaps or gaps in the quantized audio.
AudioWarp Quantizing Multiple Audio Tracks (Cubase Only)
Instead of slicing the audio events and using the slices for quantizing, you can use 
warp markers for quantizing multiple audio tracks. Note that AudioWarp quantizing 
does not maintain phase coherence.
To quantize multiple audio tracks using the AudioWarp quantize function, proceed as 
follows:
1.Create an edit group for the audio tracks that you want to quantize.
2.In the Sample Editor, create hitpoints for at least one of the audio tracks that you 
want to quantize, and fine-tune the hitpoint detection result with the Threshold 
slider.
3.Open the Quantize Panel, activate the “AudioWarp Quantize” button, and set up 
the parameters in the “Warp Marker Creation Rules” section.
4.Click the Create button.
5.Set up the other parameters on the Quantize Panel, and click the Quantize button.
AudioWarp quantizing is applied to all tracks in the edit group.
The Quantize Panel
The Quantize Panel provides further parameters for defining how to quantize audio or 
MIDI. These parameters allow you to set up a more sophisticated quantization.
Using the Quantize Panel, you can quantize audio or MIDI to the grid or to a groove. 
Depending on what method you choose, different parameters are shown on the 
Quantize Panel. There is also a set of common settings. 
You can open the Quantize Panel by clicking the corresponding button on the toolbar 
or by opening the Edit menu and selecting “Quantize Panel”. 
						

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Quantizing MIDI and AudioThe Quantize Panel
Common Settings
Quantize Presets Pop-Up Menu
On this pop-up menu, you can select a quantize or a groove preset.
Save/Remove Preset
The preset controls allow you to save the current settings as a preset, making them 
available on all “Quantize Presets” pop-up menus. This includes Swing, “Catch 
Range”, etc.
•To save a preset, click the “Save Preset” button (the plus sign) to the right of the 
Quantize Presets pop-up menu.
A preset name is generated automatically, according to your settings. 
•To rename a preset, open the “Quantize Presets” pop-up menu, select “Rename 
Preset” and enter the new name in the dialog that appears.
•To remove a user preset, select it and click the “Remove Preset” button.
Non-Quantize
This setting allows you to create a safe zone before and after the quantize positions, 
by specifying a “distance” in ticks (120 ticks = one 16th note). Events that lie within 
this zone are not quantized. This allows you to keep slight variations when you 
quantize, but correct notes that are too far away from the grid positions.
Grid Display
In the middle of the Quantize Panel the grid display is shown. The green lines indicate 
the quantize grid, that is, the positions that audio or MIDI is moved to.
Randomize
This setting allows you to set a distance in ticks, so that your audio or MIDI is 
quantized to random positions within the specified distance from the quantize grid. 
This allows for slight variations and, at the s a m e  t i m e ,  p r e v e n t s  y o u r  a u d i o  o r  M I D I  f r o m  
ending up too far away from the grid.
MIDI CC
If you activate this button, controllers related to MIDI notes (pitchbend, etc.) are 
automatically moved with the notes when these are quantized.
Auto Apply 
If you activate this button, any changes you make are immediately applied to the 
selected parts or events. A way of using this feature is to set up a playback loop and 
adjust the settings until you are satisfied with the result.
iQ Mode and Iterative Strength Setting
If you quantize your audio or MIDI with the “iQ Mode” (iterative quantize) option 
activated, a “loose” quantization is applied. This means that your audio or MIDI moves 
only part of the way to the closest quantize grid position. You can specify an “Iterative 
Strength” value to the right of the “iQ Mode” option. This value determines how close 
your audio or MIDI moves towards the grid. 
ÖIterative quantizing is based on the current, quantized positions and not on the original 
event positions. This makes it possible to repeatedly use iterative Quantize, gradually 
moving your audio or MIDI closer to the quantize grid until you have found the right 
timing. 
						

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Quantizing MIDI and AudioThe Quantize Panel
Reset Quantize 
This button is identical with the “Reset Quantize” function on the Edit menu (see 
“Reset Quantize” on page 142). 
Quantize 
Clicking this button applies your settings. 
Options For Quantizing to a Musical Grid
Grid
On this pop-up menu you can determine the basic value for the quantize grid. 
Swing
This parameter lets you offset every second position in the grid, creating a swing or 
shuffle feel.
This setting is only available when a straight value is selected for the grid and Tuplet is 
off (see below). 
Catch Range
This parameter allows you to specify that quantizing affects only audio or MIDI within 
a certain distance from the grid lines, the so-called catch range. This allows for 
complex quantization tasks, for example, if you want to quantize only the heavy beats 
near each beat, and not the events in-between. 
With a value of 0 %, all audio or MIDI is affected by quantizing. With higher 
percentages, wider catch ranges are shown around the green lines in the grid display.
Tuplet
This parameter allows you to create rhythmically more complex grids by dividing the 
grid into smaller steps, and thereby creating n-tuplets.
!If you move an audio event manually, the actual event start changes. Therefore, the 
“Reset Quantize” function has no effect on an event that was moved manually. 
						

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Quantizing MIDI and AudioThe Quantize Panel
Options for Quantizing to a Groove
Groove quantizing is intended for recreating existing rhythmic feels by matching your 
recorded music to a timing grid generated from a MIDI part or an audio loop.
To extract the groove from a MIDI part, from an audio loop, an audio event with 
hitpoints, or sliced audio, select the material and drag it onto the grid display in the 
middle of the Quantize Panel. Alternatively, you can use the “Create Groove Quantize 
Preset” function, see 
“Creating Groove Quantize Presets” on page 142.
Position
This parameter lets you determine how much the timing of the groove affects the 
music. 0
 % means that the timing of the music remains unaffected, while 100 % means 
that the timing is adjusted to match the groove completely.
Velocity (MIDI Only)
This parameter lets you determine how much the velocity values within the groove 
affect the music. Note that not all grooves contain velocity information.
Length (MIDI Only)
This parameter lets you specify how much the length of the notes is affected by the 
groove. This is done by modifying the note-off value.
ÖFor drums, the Length setting is ignored as drum sounds cannot be sustained.
Pre-Quantize
This pop-up menu lets you quantize your audio or MIDI to a musical grid before groove 
quantizing. This helps you to get the notes closer to their groove destination. 
For example, if you apply a shuffle groove to a 16th-note pattern, you can set up a Pre-
Quantize value of 16 to straighten up the timing before applying the groove quantizing.
Max. Move
Here, you can select a note value to specify a maximum distance that the audio or 
MIDI is moved.
Orig. Position
If you activate this option, the starting point of the quantizing operation is not the first 
bar of the project, but the original starting position of the audio or MIDI material used 
to find the groove. This allows you to synchronize material that does not start from 
bar
 1 of the project. 
						

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Quantizing MIDI and AudioThe Quantize Panel
Options for Quantizing Multiple Audio Tracks
In the “Slice Rules” section, you determine how the audio events are sliced at the 
hitpoints. 
Hitpoint Tracks
This column lists all audio tracks of your edit group that have hitpoints.
Priority
In this column, you can define a priority for each track. This specifies which hitpoints 
are used to slice your audio events. The track with the highest priority defines where 
the audio is sliced. The audio on all tracks is sliced at all hitpoints of this track. 
If you set up the same priority for several tracks, the cutting position is defined by the 
track that contains the first hitpoint within the specified range. This is decided for each 
cutting position anew.
•Click and drag to the right or to the left to specify a priority.
If you drag the mouse to the far left so that no star is shown, the hitpoints on the 
corresponding track are not taken into account.
If the zoom factor is high enough, cutting positions are marked in the Project window 
by vertical lines:
- The red lines indicate the cutting positions on the main track, that is, on the track 
whose hitpoint defines the cutting position.
- The black lines indicate the cutting positions on all other tracks.
Range
Two hitpoints on different tracks are considered to mark the same beat if they are 
located within a certain distance from each other. The Range parameter lets you 
specify this distance. The following rules apply: 
- If one of the tracks has a higher priority, its hitpoint is used as the cutting position.
- If the tracks have the same priority, the first hitpoint in the range is used.
Offset
With this parameter, you can determine an offset, allowing for slight variations of the 
cutting position. The Offset value determines how far before the actual hitpoint 
position an audio event is sliced. This is useful if you want to create crossfades at the 
slice positions, see 
“The Crossfades Section” on page 141). Furthermore, it helps to 
avoid cutting off signals on tracks that do not contain any hitpoints.
Slice
If you click the Slice button, all audio events of the edit group are sliced at exactly the 
same positions according to your settings. The event snap points are set to the 
position of the hitpoint with the highest priority.