Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

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Audio processing and functionsAudio processing
Resample
The Resample function can be used for changing the length, tempo and pitch of an 
event.
The original sample rate of the event is listed in the dialog. Resample the event to a 
higher or lower sample rate by either specifying a sample rate or by specifying the 
difference (as a percentage value) between the original sample rate and the desired 
new one.
•Resampling to a higher sample rate will make the event longer and cause the audio 
to play back at a slower speed with a lower pitch.
•Resampling to a lower sample rate will make the event shorter and cause the audio 
to play back at a faster speed with a higher pitch.
•You can audition the result of the resampling by entering the desired value and 
clicking “Preview”.
The event will then be played back as it will sound after the resampling.
•When you are satisfied with the preview result, click “Process” to close the dialog 
and apply the processing.
Reverse
Reverses the audio selection, as when playing a tape backwards. There are no 
parameters for this function.
Silence
Replaces the selection with silence. There are no parameters for this function.
Stereo Flip
This function works with stereo audio selections only. It allows you to manipulate the 
left and right channel in various ways.  
						

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Audio processing and functionsAudio processing
The dialog contains the following parameters:
Mode
This pop-up menu determines what the function does:
Time Stretch
This function allows you to change the length and “tempo” of the selected audio 
without affecting the pitch. The dialog contains the following parameters:
Define Bars section
In this section, you set the length of the selected audio and the time signature:
OptionDescription
Flip Left-RightSwaps the left and right channel.
Left to StereoCopies the left channel sound to the right channel.
Right to StereoCopies the right channel sound to the left channel.
MergeMerges both channels on each side for mono sound.
SubtractSubtracts the left channel information from the right. This is typically 
used as a “Karaoke effect”, for removing centered mono material 
from a stereo signal.
OptionDescription
BarsIf you use the tempo setting (see below), specify the length of the 
selected audio here, in bars.
BeatsIf you use the tempo setting, specify the length of the selected audio 
here, in beats.
Sign.If you use the tempo setting, specify the time signature here. 
						

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Audio processing and functionsApplying plug-ins (Cubase only)
Original Length section
This section contains information and settings regarding the audio selected for 
processing:
Resulting Length section
These settings are used if you want to stretch the audio to fit within a specific time 
span or tempo. The values will change automatically if you adjust the Time Stretch 
Ratio (see below).
Seconds Range section
These settings allow you to set the desired range for the time stretch.
Time Stretch Ratio section
The Time Stretch Ratio determines the amount of time stretch as a percentage of the 
original length. If you use the settings in the Resulting Length section to specify the 
amount of time stretch, this value will change automatically.
Algorithm section
In this section you can select a time stretch algorithm. The pop-up menu contains 
various presets sorted into category submenus based on the underlying technology: 
élastique, MPEX, and Standard. For a description of the available presets, see 
“About 
time stretch and pitch shift algorithms” on page 322.
Applying plug-ins (Cubase only)
You can add plug-in effects in realtime during playback (see the chapter “Audio 
effects” on page 227). However, sometimes it is useful to “permanently” apply effects 
to one or several selected events. In Cubase, this is done in the following way: 
1.Make a selection in the Project window, the Pool or an editor.
Effects are applied according to the same rules as Processing (see “Common 
settings and features” on page 303).
2.Select “Plug-ins” from the Audio menu.
OptionDescription
Length in SamplesThe length of the selected audio, in samples.
Length in SecondsThe length of the selected audio, in seconds.
Tempo in BPMIf you are processing music, and know the actual tempo of the audio, 
you can enter it here as beats per minute. This makes it possible to 
time-stretch the audio to another tempo, without having to compute 
the actual time stretch amount.
OptionDescription
SamplesThe desired length in samples.
SecondsThe desired length in seconds.
BPMThe desired tempo (beats per minute). For this to work, you have to 
know the actual tempo of the audio, and specify this (along with time 
signature and length in bars) in the Original Length section to the left.
OptionDescription
RangeAllows you to specify the desired length as a range between two time 
positions.
Use LocatorsClicking the diamond-shaped button below the Range fields sets the 
Range values to the left and right Locator positions, respectively. 
						

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Audio processing and functionsApplying plug-ins (Cubase only)
3.Select the desired effect from the submenu.
The Process Plug-in dialog opens.
About stereo and mono
If you are applying an effect to mono audio material, only the left side of the effect’s 
stereo output will be applied.
The process plug-in dialog
The process 
plug-in dialog 
for the Studio-
Chorus effect
The upper section of the process plug-in dialog contains the effect parameters of the 
selected plug-in. For details on the parameters of the included plug-ins, see the 
separate PDF document “Plug-in Reference”.
The lower section of the dialog contains settings for the actual processing. These are 
common to all plug-ins.
•If the lower section is hidden, click the “More…” button to display it.
Clicking the button again (now labeled “Less…”) will hide the lower section.
The following settings and functions are available in the common, lower section of the 
dialog:
Wet mix/Dry mix
These two sliders allow you to specify the balance between wet (processed) and dry 
(original) signal in the resulting clip. 
Normally the two sliders are “reverse-ganged”, so that raising the Wet mix slider 
lowers the Dry mix slider by the same amount. However, if you press [Alt]/[Option] and 
drag a slider, you can move it independently. This allows you to set 80
 % dry and 80 % 
wet signal, for example. Be careful to avoid distortion.
Tail
This parameter is useful if you are applying an effect that adds material after the end of 
original audio (such as reverb and delay effects). When the checkbox is activated, you 
can specify a tail length using the slider. The tail time is included when playing back 
with the Preview function, allowing you to find the appropriate tail length. 
						

							315
Audio processing and functionsThe Offline Process History dialog
Pre/Post-Crossfade
These settings allow you to gradually mix the effect in or out. For example, if you 
activate Pre-Crossfade and specify a value of 1000
 ms, the effect is applied gradually 
from the start of selection, reaching full effect 1000
 ms after the start. Similarly, if you 
activate Post-Crossfade, the processing is gradually removed, starting at the 
specified interval before the end of the selection.
Preview button
Allows you to listen to the result of the processing with the current settings. Playback 
will continue repeatedly until you click the button again (the button is labeled “Stop” 
during Preview playback). You can change the effect settings during Preview 
playback if needed.
Process button
Applies the effect and closes the dialog.
Cancel button
Closes the dialog without applying the effect.
The Offline Process History dialog
If you want to remove or modify some or all processing from a clip, this can be done in 
the Offline Process History dialog. Processing that can be modified in the Offline 
Process History dialog includes the functions on the Process menu, any applied plug-
in effects (Cubase only), and Sample Editor operations such as Cut, Paste, Delete 
and drawing with the Draw tool. 
ÖDue to the clip-file relationship (see “Background” on page 302), it is even possible to 
modify or remove some processing “in the middle” of the Process History, while 
keeping later processing! This feature depends on the type of processing performed 
(see 
“Restrictions” on page 316).
Proceed as follows:
1.Select the clip in the Pool or one of its events in the Project window.
You can see which clips have been processed by checking the Status column in 
the Pool – the waveform symbol indicates that processing or effects have been 
applied to the clip (see 
“About the Status column symbols” on page 379).
2.Select “Offline Process History…” from the Audio menu.
The Offline Process History dialog opens.
!The sum of the Pre-Crossfade and Post-Crossfade times cannot be larger than the 
length of the selection. 
						

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Audio processing and functionsFreeze Edits
The left part of the dialog contains a list of all processing you have added to the clip, 
with the most recent operations at the bottom of the list. The “Start” and “Length” 
columns indicate which section of the clip was affected by each operation. The 
“Status” column indicates if the operation can be modified or undone.
3.Locate the operation you want to edit and select it by clicking on it in the list.
•To modify the settings of the selected processing, click the “Modify” button.
This opens the dialog for the processing function or applied effect, allowing you to 
change the settings. This works just as when you applied the processing or effect 
the first time.
•To replace the selected operation with another processing function or effect, 
select the desired function from the pop-up menu and click the “Replace By” 
button.
If the selected function has settings, a dialog will appear as usual. The original 
operation will then be removed and the new processing will be inserted in the 
Offline Process History.
•To remove the selected operation, click the “Remove” button.
The processing is removed from the clip.
•To undo the selected operation and remove the processing from the clip click the 
“Deactivate” button.
The processing is removed from the clip, but the operation remains in the list. To 
redo the operation and apply the processing again, click the button, now renamed 
to “Activate”, again.
4.Click “Close” to close the dialog.
Restrictions
•If there are no settings for the processing function, you cannot modify it.
•If you have applied processing that changes the length of the clip (such as Cut, 
Insert or Time Stretch), you can only remove this if it is the most recent processing 
in the Offline Process History (at the bottom of the list in the dialog). If an operation 
cannot be removed or modified, this is indicated by an icon in the “Status” column. 
Also, the corresponding buttons will be grayed out.
Freeze Edits
The Freeze Edits function on the Audio menu allows you to make all processing and 
applied effects permanent for a clip:
1.Select the clip in the Pool or one of its events in the Project window.
2.Select “Freeze Edits…” from the Audio menu.
•If there is only one edit version of the clip (no other clips refer to the same audio 
file), the following dialog will appear:
If you select “Replace”, all edits will be applied to the original audio file (the one listed 
in the clip’s Path column in the Pool). If you select “New File”, the Freeze Edits 
operation will create a new file in the Audio folder within the project folder (leaving the 
original audio file unaffected). 
						

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Audio processing and functionsDetect Silence
•If the selected clip (or the clip played by the selected event) has several edit 
versions (i.
 e. there are other clips referring to the same audio file), the following 
alert will appear:
As you can see, you do not have the option to Replace the original audio file in this 
case. This is because that audio file is used by other clips. Select “New File” to have 
a new file created in the Audio folder within the project folder.
Detect Silence
The Detect Silence function searches for silent sections in an event and either splits 
the event, removing the silent parts from the project, or creates regions corresponding 
to the non-silent sections. 
•To open the Detect Silence dialog, select one or several audio events in the 
Project window or the Audio Part Editor. On the Audio menu, open the Advanced 
submenu and select “Detect Silence”. 
If you select more than one event, the Detect Silence dialog allows you to process 
the selected events successively with individual settings or to apply the same 
settings to all selected events at once.
Adjustments in the waveform display
The upper part of the dialog displays a waveform image of the selected audio event. In 
case you have selected several audio events, the waveform of the event that you have 
selected first is shown. You can make the following adjustments:
•With the zoom slider below the waveform to the right, zoom in and out on the 
waveform.
You can also click in the waveform, keep the mouse button pressed, and move the 
mouse for zooming. Move the mouse down to zoom in and move it up to zoom out.
!After a Freeze Edits, the clip refers to a new, single audio file. If you open the Offline 
Process History dialog for the clip, the list will be empty. 
						

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Audio processing and functionsDetect Silence
•If you have zoomed in on the waveform, it may not be completely visible anymore. 
In this case, the scrollbar to the left of the zoom slider allows you to scroll through 
the waveform.
You can also use the mouse wheel for scrolling through the waveform.
•If the Linked option in the Detection section is deactivated, you can use the green 
square at the beginning and the red square at the end of the audio file to 
graphically adjust the Open and Close Threshold values (respectively). When 
“Linked” is activated, you can use either square to adjust both values.
The Open and Close Threshold values in the Detection section reflect these 
changes.
Making settings and processing
The lower part of the Detect Silence dialog provides settings for the detection and 
processing of “silent” sections. Proceed as follows:
1.Adjust the settings in the Detection section to the left.
The settings have the following functionality:
2.Click the Compute button.
The audio event is analyzed, and the waveform display is redrawn to indicate which 
sections are considered “silent” according to your settings. Above the Compute 
button, the number of detected regions is displayed.
ÖIf you activate the Auto checkbox next to the Compute button, the audio event is 
analyzed (and the display is updated) automatically every time you change the settings 
in the Detection section of the dialog. Deactivate this option when you are working 
with very long files, as this process might take some time.
SettingDescription
Open ThresholdWhen the audio level exceeds this value, the function “opens”, i. e. 
lets the sound pass. Audio material below the set level is detected as 
“silence”. Set this value low enough to open when a sound starts, but 
high enough to remove unwanted noise during “silent” sections.
Close ThresholdWhen the audio level drops below this value, the function “closes”, 
i.
 e. sounds below this level are detected as “silence”. This value 
cannot be higher than the Open Threshold value. Set this value high 
enough to remove unwanted noise during “silent” sections.
LinkedIf this checkbox is activated, the Open and Close Threshold values 
are always set to the same value.
Min. time openDetermines the minimum time that the function will remain “open” 
after the audio level has exceeded the Open Threshold value.
If the audio contains repeated short sounds, and you find that this 
results in too many short “open” sections, try raising this value.
Min. time closedDetermines the minimum time that the function will remain “closed” 
after the audio level has dropped below the Close Threshold value.
Set this to a low value to avoid removing sounds.
Pre-rollAllows you to cause the function to “open” slightly before the audio 
level exceeds the Open Threshold value. In other words, the start of 
each “open” section is moved to the left according to the time you set 
here.
This is useful to avoid removing the attack of sounds.
Post-rollAllows you to cause the function to “close” slightly after the audio 
level drops below the Close Threshold value.
This is useful to avoid removing the natural decay of sounds. 
						

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Audio processing and functionsThe Spectrum Analyzer
3.Click “Preview” to listen to the result.
The event is played back repeatedly in its entire length, but with the “closed” 
sections silenced.
4.Adjust the settings in the Detection section until you are satisfied with the result.
5.In the Output section, activate the “Add as Regions” or the “Strip Silence” option, 
or both.
“Add as Regions” will create regions according to the non-silent sections. “Strip 
Silence” will split the event at the beginning and end of each non-silent section, 
and remove the silent sections in between.
ÖIf you activate the “Add as Regions” option, you can specify a name for the regions in 
the Region Name field. In addition to the name, the regions will be numbered, starting 
with the number specified in the “Auto Number Start” field.
ÖIf you have selected more than one event, you can activate the “Process all selected 
Events” checkbox to apply the same settings to all selected events. 
6.Click the Process button.
The event is split and/or regions are added.
ÖIf you have selected more than one event and did not activate the “Process all 
selected Events” option in the Output section, the dialog opens again after 
processing, allowing you to make separate settings for the next event.
The Spectrum Analyzer
This function analyzes the selected audio, computes the average “spectrum” (level 
distribution over the frequency range) and displays this as a two-dimensional graph, 
with frequency on the x-axis and level on the y-axis.
1.Make an audio selection (a clip, an event or a range selection).
2.Select “Spectrum Analyzer” from the Audio menu.
A dialog with settings for the analysis appears. 
						

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Audio processing and functionsThe Spectrum Analyzer
The default values give good results in most situations, but you can adjust the settings 
if you like:
3.Click the Process button.
The spectrum is computed and displayed as a graph.
4.You can adjust the display with the settings in the display window:
OptionDescription
Size in SamplesThe function divides the audio into “analysis blocks”, the size of 
which is set here. The larger this value, the higher the frequency 
resolution of the resulting spectrum.
Size of OverlapThe overlap between each analysis block.
Window usedAllows you to select which window type is used for the FFT (Fast 
Fourier Transform, the mathematical method used for computing 
the spectrum). 
Normalized ValuesWhen this is activated, the resulting level values are scaled, so that 
the highest level is displayed as “1” (0
 dB).
From StereoWhen analyzing stereo material, there is a pop-up menu with the 
following options:
Mono mix – the stereo signal is mixed to mono before analyzing.
Mono left/right – the left or right channel signal is used for analysis.
Stereo – both channels are analyzed (two separate spectrums will 
be displayed).
SettingDescription
dBWhen this is activated, the vertical axis shows dB values. When it is 
deactivated, values between 0 and 1 are shown.
Freq. logWhen this is activated, frequencies (on the horizontal axis) are displayed 
on a logarithmic scale. When it is deactivated, the frequency axis is linear.
PrecisionIndicates the frequency resolution of the graph. This value cannot be 
changed here, but is governed by the Size in Samples setting in the 
previous dialog.
Frequency/ 
Note
Allows you to select whether you want the frequencies to be displayed in 
Hertz or with note names.
Min.Sets the lowest frequency shown in the graph.