Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual
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12 Setting up your system Setting up audio Connecting audio Exactly how to set up your system depends on many different factors, e. g. the kind of project you wish to create, the external equipment you want to use, or the computer hardware available to you. Therefore, the following sections can only serve as examples. How you connect your equipment, i. e. whether you use digital or analog connections, also depends on your individual setup. Stereo input and output – the simplest connection If you only use a stereo input and output from Cubase, you can connect your audio hardware, e. g. the inputs of your audio card or your audio interface, directly to the input source and the outputs to a power amplifier and speaker. Simple stereo audio setup This is probably the simplest of all setups – once you have set up the internal input and output busses, you can connect your audio source, e. g. a microphone, to your audio interface and start recording. !Make sure that all equipment is turned off before making any connections!
13 Setting up your systemSetting up audio Multi-channel input and output Most likely however, you will have other audio equipment that you want to integrate with Cubase, using several input and output channels. Depending on the equipment available to you, there are two ways to go: either mixing using an external mixing desk, or mixing using the MixConsole inside Cubase. •External mixing means having a hardware mixing device with a group or bus system that can be used for feeding inputs on your audio hardware. In the example below, four busses are used for feeding signals to the audio hardware’s inputs. The four outputs are connected back to the mixer for monitoring and playback. Remaining mixer inputs can be used for connecting audio sources like microphones, instruments, etc. Multi-channel audio setup using an external mixer ÖWhen connecting an input source (like a mixer) to the audio hardware, you should use output busses, sends or similar that are separate from the mixer’s master output, to avoid recording what you are playing back. You may also have mixing hardware that can be connected via FireWire. •When using the MixConsole inside Cubase, you can use the inputs on your audio hardware to connect microphones and/or external devices. Use the outputs to connect your monitoring equipment. Cubase only: You can create very complex setups using external instruments and external effects, and integrate Cubase seamlessly with all your external equipment using the Control Room feature (see the chapters “VST Connections” on page 26 and “The Control Room (Cubase only)” on page 211). Mixing inside Cubase
14 Setting up your systemSetting up audio Connecting for surround sound (Cubase only) If you plan to mix for surround sound, you can connect the audio outputs to a multi- channel power amplifier, driving a set of surround channels. Surround sound playback configuration Cubase supports a number of surround formats. Recording from a CD player Most computers come with a CD-ROM drive that can also be used as a regular CD player. In some cases the CD player is internally connected to the audio hardware so that you can record the output of the CD player directly into Cubase (consult the audio hardware documentation if you are uncertain). •All routing and level adjustments for recording from a CD (if available) are done in the audio hardware setup application (see below). •You can also grab audio tracks directly from a CD in Cubase (see the chapter “File handling” on page 684). Word clock connections If you are using a digital audio connection, you may also need a word clock connection between the audio hardware and external devices. Please refer to the documentation that came with the audio hardware for details. About recording levels and inputs When you connect your equipment, you should make sure that the impedance and levels of the audio sources and inputs are matched. Typically, different inputs may be designed for use with microphones, consumer line level (-10 dBV) or professional line level (+4 dBV), or you may be able to adjust input characteristics on the audio interface or in its control panel. Please check the audio hardware documentation for details. Using the correct types of input is important to avoid distortion or noisy recordings. !It is very important that word clock synchronization is set up correctly, or you may experience clicks and crackles in your recordings. !Cubase does not provide any input level adjustments for the signals coming in to your audio hardware, since these are handled differently for each card. Adjusting input levels is either done in a special application included with the hardware or from its control panel (see below).
15 Setting up your systemSetting up audio Making settings for the audio hardware Most audio cards come with one or more small applications that allow you to configure the inputs of the hardware to your liking. This includes: - Selecting which inputs/outputs are active. - Setting up word clock synchronization (if available). - Turning monitoring via the hardware on/off (see “About monitoring” on page 18). - Setting levels for each input. This is very important! - Setting levels for the outputs, so that they match the equipment you use for monitoring. - Selecting digital input and output formats. - Making settings for the audio buffers. In many cases all available settings for the audio hardware are gathered in a control panel, which can be opened from within Cubase as described below (or opened separately, when Cubase isn’t running). In some cases, there may be several different applications and panels – please refer to the audio hardware documentation for details. Plug and Play support for ASIO devices The Steinberg UR824 hardware series supports Plug and Play in Cubase. These devices can be plugged in and switched on while the application is running. Cubase will automatically use the driver of the UR824 series and will re-map the VST connections accordingly. Steinberg cannot guarantee that this will work with other hardware. If you are unsure of whether your device supports plug and play, please consult its documentation. Selecting a driver and making audio settings in Cubase The first thing you need to do is select the correct driver in Cubase to make sure that the program can communicate with the audio hardware: 1.Launch Cubase and select Device Setup from the Devices menu. 2.In the Devices list to the left, click on “VST Audio System”. The VST Audio System page is shown. !If a device that does not support Plug and Play is connected/disconnected while the computer is running, it may get damaged.
16 Setting up your systemSetting up audio 3.On the ASIO Driver menu, select your audio hardware driver. There may be several options here that all refer to the same audio hardware. When you have selected a driver, it is added to the Devices list. 4.Select the driver in the Devices list to open the driver settings for your audio hardware. 5.Bring up the control panel for the audio hardware and adjust the settings as recommended by the audio hardware manufacturer. •Under Windows, you open the control panel by clicking the Control Panel button. The control panel that opens when you click this button is provided by the audio hardware manufacturer – not Cubase (unless you use DirectX, see below). Hence it will be different for each audio card brand and model. The control panels for the ASIO DirectX driver and the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver (Windows only) are exceptions, in that they are provided by Steinberg and described in the dialog help, opened by clicking the Help button in the dialog. See also the notes on DirectX below. •Under Mac OS X, the control panel for your audio hardware is opened by clicking the “Open Config App” button on the settings page for your audio device in the Device Setup dialog. Note that this button is available only for some hardware products. If “Open Config App” is not available in your setup, refer to the documentation that came with your audio hardware for information on where to make hardware settings. 6.If you plan to use several audio applications simultaneously, you may want to activate the “Release Driver when Application is in Background” option on the VST Audio System page. This will allow another application to play back via your audio hardware even though Cubase is running. The application that is currently active (i. e. the “top window” on the desktop) gets access to the audio hardware. Make sure that any other audio application accessing the audio hardware is also set to release the ASIO (or Mac OS X) driver so Cubase can use it when it becomes the active application again. 7.If your audio hardware receives clock signals from an external sample clock source, you may want to activate the “Externally Clocked” option on the page for the driver. This is described in detail in the section “If your hardware setup is based on an external clock source” on page 17. 8.If your audio hardware and its driver support ASIO Direct Monitoring, you may want to activate the Direct Monitoring checkbox on the page for the driver. Read more about monitoring later in this chapter and in the chapter “Recording” on page 110. 9.Click Apply and then OK to close the dialog. !Under Windows, we strongly recommend that you access your hardware via an ASIO driver written specifically for the hardware. If no ASIO driver is installed, we recommend that you check with your audio hardware manufacturer if they have an ASIO driver available, for example, for download via the Internet. You can use the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver if no specific ASIO driver is available.
17 Setting up your systemSetting up audio If your hardware setup is based on an external clock source For proper audio playback and recording, it is essential that you set the project’s sample rate to the sample rate of the incoming clock signals. If you load a project with a sample rate that is different from your clock source, the program will try to change the settings of the clock source, which may not be what you want. By activating the “Externally Clocked” option, you “tell” Cubase that it receives external clock signals and therefore derives its speed from that source. The program will not try to change the hardware sample rate any longer. The sample rate mismatch is accepted and playback will therefore be faster or slower. For more information about the Sample Rate setting, see “The Project Setup dialog” on page 62. ÖWhen a sample rate mismatch occurs, the Record Format field on the status line is highlighted in a different color. If you are using audio hardware with a DirectX driver (Windows only) Cubase comes with a driver called ASIO DirectX Full Duplex, available for selection on the ASIO Driver pop-up menu (VST Audio System page). ÖTo take advantage of DirectX Full Duplex, the audio hardware must support WDM (Windows Driver Model). When the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver is selected in the Device Setup dialog, you can open the ASIO Control Panel and adjust the following settings (for more details, click the Help button in the control panel): •Direct Sound Output and Input Ports In the list on the left in the window, all available Direct Sound output and input ports are listed. In many cases, there will be only one port in each list. To activate or deactivate a port in the list, click the checkbox in the left column. If the checkbox is ticked, the port is activated. •You can edit the Buffer Size and Offset settings in this list if necessary, by double- clicking on the value and typing in a new value. In most cases, the default settings will work fine. Audio buffers are used when audio data is transferred between Cubase and the audio card. While larger buffers ensure that playback will occur without glitches, the latency (the time between the moment Cubase sends out the data and when it actually reaches the output) will be higher. •Offset If a constant offset is audible during playback of Audio and MIDI recordings, you can adjust the output or input latency time using this value. !A DirectX driver is the next best option to a specific ASIO driver and the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver.
18 Setting up your systemSetting up audio Setting up the input and output ports Once you have selected the driver and made the settings as described above, you need to specify which inputs and outputs will be used and name these: 1.In the Device Setup dialog, select your driver in the Devices list on the left to display the driver settings for your audio hardware. All input and output ports on the audio hardware are listed. 2.To hide a port, click in the “Visible” column for the port (deselecting the checkbox). Ports that are not visible cannot be selected in the VST Connections window where you set up your input and output busses – see the chapter “VST Connections” on page 26. 3.To rename a port, click on its name in the “Show as” column and type in a new name. •It is a good idea to give your ports names that are related to the channel configuration (rather than to the actual hardware model)! For example, if you are using a 5.1 surround audio setup (Cubase only), you could name the six ports Left, Right, Center, LFE, Left Surround, and Right Surround. This makes it easier to transfer your projects between different computers, e.g. in different studios – if the same port names are used on both computers, Cubase will automatically handle the bus connections properly when you open the project on the other computer. 4.Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog and apply your changes. About monitoring In Cubase, monitoring means listening to the input signal while preparing to record or while recording. There are three ways to monitor: External monitoring External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it goes into Cubase) requires an external mixer for mixing the audio playback with the input signal. This can be a classic mixing desk or a mixer application for your audio hardware, if this has a mode in which the input audio is sent back out again (usually called “Thru”, “Direct Thru” or similar). !If you attempt to hide a port that is already used by a bus you will be asked whether this is really what you want – note that this will disable the port!
19 Setting up your systemSetting up MIDI Via Cubase In this case, the audio passes from the input into Cubase, possibly through Cubase effects and EQ and then back to the output. You control monitoring via settings in Cubase. This allows you to control the monitoring level from Cubase and add effects to the monitored signal only. ASIO Direct Monitoring If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may support ASIO Direct Monitoring (this feature may also be available for audio hardware with Mac OS X drivers). In this mode, the actual monitoring is done in the audio hardware, by sending the input signal back out again. However, monitoring is controlled from Cubase. This means that the audio hardware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off automatically by Cubase. Monitoring is described in detail in the chapter “Recording” on page 110. However, when setting up, there is one thing to note: •If you want to use the external monitoring via your audio hardware, make sure that the corresponding functions are activated in the card’s mixer application. ÖIf you are using RME Audio Hammerfall DSP audio hardware, make sure that the pan law is set to -3 dB in the card’s preferences. Setting up MIDI This section describes how to connect and set up MIDI equipment. If you have no MIDI equipment, you can skip this section. Note that this is only an example – you might need or want to hook things up differently! Connecting the MIDI equipment In this example we assume that you have a MIDI keyboard and an external MIDI sound module. The keyboard is used both for feeding the computer with MIDI messages for recording and for playing back MIDI tracks. The sound module is used for playback only. Using Cubase’s MIDI Thru feature (described later) you will be able to hear the correct sound from the sound module while playing the keyboard or recording. A typical MIDI Setup !Make sure that all equipment is turned off before making any connections!
20 Setting up your systemSetting up MIDI If you want to use even more instruments for playback, simply connect MIDI Thru on the sound module to MIDI In on the next instrument, and so on. In this hook-up, you will always play the first keyboard when recording. But you can still use all your devices for providing sounds on playback. Setting MIDI Thru and Local On/Off On the MIDI page in the Preferences dialog (located on the File menu under Windows and on the Cubase menu under Mac OS X), you will find a setting called “MIDI Thru Active”. This is related to a setting in your instrument called “Local On/Off” or “Local Control On/Off”. - If you use a MIDI keyboard instrument, as described earlier in this chapter, MIDI Thru should be activated and that instrument should be set to Local Off (sometimes called Local Control Off – see the instrument’s operation manual for details). The MIDI signal from the keyboard will be recorded in Cubase and at the same time be re-routed back to the instrument so that you hear what you are playing, without the keyboard “triggering” its own sounds. - If you use a separate MIDI keyboard – one that does not produce any sounds itself – MIDI Thru in Cubase should also be activated, but you don’t need to look for any Local On/Off setting in your instruments. - The only case where MIDI Thru should be deactivated is if you use Cubase with only one keyboard instrument and that instrument cannot be set to Local Off mode. - MIDI Thru will be active only for MIDI tracks that are record enabled and/or have the Monitor button activated. See the chapter “Recording” on page 110 for more information. !If you plan to use more than three sound sources, we recommend that you either use an interface with more than one output, or a separate MIDI Thru box instead of the Thru jacks on each unit. When “MIDI Thru” is active in Cubase, MIDI data received is immediately “echoed” back out. When you press a key, it is sent out via MIDI to Cubase.MIDI data coming in to the instrument is played by the “Synth” inside it. When Local Control is turned on in the instrument, the keys you press will be played by the “Synth” inside the instrument. When Local Control is turned off, this connection is cut off. “Synth”