Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual
Have a look at the manual Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual online for free. It’s possible to download the document as PDF or print. UserManuals.tech offer 523 Steinberg manuals and user’s guides for free. Share the user manual or guide on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
331 The Sample EditorWindow overview •To zoom in or out, horizontally, resize the viewing area by dragging its left or right edge. •To define a new viewing area, click in the upper half of the Overview and drag a rectangle. The ruler The Sample Editor ruler is located between the overview line and the waveform display. The ruler is explained in detail in the section “The ruler” on page 50. When the Definition tab is open, an additional ruler displays the musical structure of the audio file. The waveform display and the level scale The waveform display shows the waveform image of the edited audio clip according to the wave image style set in the Preferences dialog (Event Display–Audio page), see “Adjusting how parts and events are shown” on page 67. To the left of the waveform display a level scale is shown, indicating the amplitude of the audio. •You can select whether the level is shown as a percentage or in dB. This is done by opening the level scale pop-up menu at the top of the level scale and selecting an option.
332 The Sample EditorGeneral functions •Select the “Show Half Level Axis” option on the context menu of the waveform display, if you want the half level axes to be shown. General functions Zooming Zooming in the Sample Editor is done according to the standard zoom procedures, with the following special notes to keep in mind: •The vertical zoom slider changes the vertical scale relative to the height of the editor window, in a way similar to the waveform zooming in the Project window (see “Zoom and view options” on page 64). The vertical zoom will also be affected if the “Zoom Tool Standard Mode: Horizontal Zooming Only” preference (Editing–Tools page) is deactivated and you drag a rectangle with the Zoom tool. The following options relevant to the Sample Editor are available on the Zoom submenu of the Edit menu or the context menu: •When the VariAudio tab is active (see “VariAudio (Cubase only)” on page 353), you can also zoom by holding down [Alt]/[Option] while drawing a selection rectangle around the segments that you want to zoom in on. You can zoom out by holding down [Alt]/[Option] and clicking in an empty area of the waveform. Half-level axis OptionDescription Zoom InZooms in one step, centering on the position cursor. Zoom OutZooms out one step, centering on the position cursor. Zoom FullZooms out so that the whole clip is visible in the editor. Zoom to SelectionZooms in so that the current selection fills the editor display. Zoom to Selection (Horiz.)Zooms in horizontally so that the current selection fills the editor display. Zoom to EventZooms in so that the editor shows the section of the clip corresponding to the edited audio event. This is not available if you have opened the Sample Editor from the Pool (in which case the whole clip is opened for editing, not an event). Zoom In/Out VerticallyThis is the same as using the vertical zoom slider (see above). Undo/Redo ZoomThese options allow you to undo/redo the last zoom operation.
333 The Sample EditorGeneral functions •The current zoom setting is shown in the info line, as a “samples per screen pixel” value. ÖYou can zoom in horizontally to a scale of less than one sample per pixel! This is required for drawing with the Draw tool (see “Drawing in the Sample Editor” on page 335). •If you have zoomed in to one sample per pixel or less, the appearance of the samples depends on the “Interpolate Audio Images” option in the Preferences dialog (Event Display–Audio page). If the option is deactivated, single sample values are drawn as “steps”. If the option is activated, they are interpolated to a “curve” form. Auditioning While you can use the regular play commands to play back audio when the Sample Editor is open, it is often useful to listen to the edited material only. ÖCubase only: When auditioning, audio is routed to the Control Room (if activated) or to the Main Mix (the default output bus). In Cubase Artist, the Main Mix bus is always used for all auditioning. For information about routing, see “Setting up the Routing” on page 190. Clicking the Audition icon on the toolbar plays back the edited audio, according to the following rules: - If you have made a selection, this selection will be played back. - If there is no selection and “Show Event” is deactivated, playback will start at the cursor position. - If the Audition Loop icon is activated, playback will continue repeatedly until you deactivate the Audition Loop icon. Otherwise, the section will be played back once. ÖThere is a separate Play button for auditioning regions, see “Auditioning regions” on page 339. Using the Speaker tool If you click somewhere in the waveform display with the Speaker (“Play”) tool and keep the mouse button pressed, the clip is played back from the position where you click. Playback will continue until you release the mouse button. Using Acoustic Feedback If you activate the “Acoustic Pitch Feedback” button on the toolbar, the audio will be played back when you edit it vertically, i. e. when you change the pitch. This way you can easily audition your modifications. Using key commands If you activate the “Playback Toggle triggers Local Preview” option in the Preferences dialog (Transport page), you can start/stop auditioning by pressing [Space]. This is the same as clicking the Audition icon on the toolbar. The Sample Editor also supports the “Preview start” and “Preview stop” key commands in the Media category of the Key Commands dialog. These key commands stop the current playback, whether you are in normal playback or in audition mode.
334 The Sample EditorGeneral functions Scrubbing The Scrub tool allows you to locate positions in the audio by playing back, forwards, or backwards, at any speed: 1.Select the Scrub tool. 2.Click in the waveform display and keep the mouse button pressed. The project cursor is moved to the position where you clicked. 3.Drag to the left or right. The audio is played back. The speed and pitch of the playback depend on how fast you drag. Adjusting the snap point The snap point is a marker within an audio event. It is used as a reference position when you move events with snap activated, so that the snap point is “magnetic” to whatever snap positions you have selected. By default, the snap point is set at the beginning of the audio event, but often it is useful to move the snap point to a “relevant” position in the event, such as a downbeat. To adjust the snap point, proceed as follows: 1.Activate the “Show Audio Event” option on the toolbar, so that the event is displayed in the editor. 2.If needed, scroll until the event is visible, and locate the “S” flag in the event. If you have not adjusted this previously, it is located at the beginning of the event. 3.Click on the “S” flag and drag it to the desired position. ÖIf you adjust the snap point with the Scrub tool, the audio is played back. •You can also adjust the snap point by setting the project cursor at the desired position and selecting “Snap Point To Cursor” on the Audio menu. The snap point will be set to the position of the cursor. This method can also be used in the Project window and the Audio Part Editor. It is also possible to define a snap point for a clip (for which there is no event yet). !When you set the grid start on the Definition tab, the snap point is moved to the grid start (see “Correcting the local definition grid” on page 343).
335 The Sample EditorGeneral functions To open a clip in the Sample Editor, double-click it in the Pool. After having set the snap point, you can insert the clip into the project from the Pool or the Sample Editor with the set snap point position. Drawing in the Sample Editor It is possible to edit the audio clip at sample level by drawing with the Draw tool. This can be useful if you need to manually edit out a spike or click, etc. Proceed as follows: 1.Zoom in to a zoom value lower than 1. This means that there is more than one screen pixel per sample. 2.Select the Draw tool. 3.Click at the beginning of the section that you want to correct and draw in the new curve. A range selection covering the edited section is automatically applied. ÖThe Draw tool cannot be used when the VariAudio tab is open. Making selections To select an audio section in the Sample Editor, click and drag with the Range Selection tool. •If “Snap to Zero Crossing” is activated on the toolbar, the selection’s start and end are always at zero crossings. •You can resize the selection by dragging its left and right edge or by [Shift]- clicking. •The current selection is indicated in the corresponding fields on the Range tab of the Sample Editor Inspector. You can fine-tune the selection by changing these values. Note that the values are relative to the start of the clip, rather than to the project timeline. Using the Select menu On the Select menu on the Range tab and on the Select submenu of the Edit menu you find the following options: !Events and clips can have different snap points. If you open a clip from the Pool, you can edit the clip snap point. If you open a clip from within the project window, you can edit the event snap point. The clip snap point serves as a template for the event snap point. However, it is the event snap point that is taken into account when snapping. OptionDescription AllSelects the whole clip. NoneSelects no audio (the selection length is set to “0”). In LoopSelects all audio between the left and right locator. A selected range
336 The Sample EditorGeneral functions ÖSeveral of these options are also available on the Sample Editor context menu. Editing selection ranges Selections in the Sample Editor can be processed in several ways. If you attempt to edit an event that is a shared copy (i. e. the event refers to a clip that is used by other events in the project), you are asked whether you want to create a new version of the clip. •Select “New Version” if you want the editing to affect the selected event only. Select “Continue” if you want the editing to affect all shared copies. ÖIf you activate the “Please, don’t ask again” option in the dialog, any further editing will conform to the selected method (“Continue” or “New Version”). You can change this setting at any time with the “On Processing Shared Clips” pop-up menu in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Audio page). •Any changes to the clip are shown in the Offline Process History, making it possible to undo them later (see “The Offline Process History dialog” on page 315). Select EventSelects only the audio that is included in the edited event. This is grayed out if you have opened the Sample Editor from the Pool (in which case the whole clip is opened for editing, not an event). Cubase only: If the VariAudio tab is open and your audio file is split into separate segments (see “Segments mode” on page 356), all segments that start or end within the event boundaries are selected. Locators to Selection (Range tab only) Sets the locators to encompass the current selection. This is available if you have selected one or several events or made a selection range. Locate Selection (Range tab only)Moves 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. Loop Selection (Range tab only)This activates playback from the start of the current selection and keeps starting over again when reaching the selection end. From Start to Cursor (Edit menu only)Selects all audio between the clip start and the project cursor. From Cursor to End (Edit menu only)Selects all audio between the project cursor and the end of the clip. For this to work, the project cursor must be within the clip boundaries. Equal Pitch - all Octaves/same Octave (Cubase only) This function requires that the audio event has been analyzed using the VariAudio features and that one or several notes are selected. These options select all notes of this event that have the same pitch as the currently selected note(s) (in any octave or in the current octave). Left Selection Side to Cursor (Edit menu only) Moves the left side of the current selection range to the project cursor position. For this to work, the cursor must be within the clip boundaries. This function is not available for VariAudio segments. Right Selection Side to Cursor (Edit menu only) Moves the right side of the current selection range to the project cursor position (or the end of the clip, if the cursor is to the right of the clip). This function is not available for VariAudio segments. Option Description
337 The Sample EditorGeneral functions Cut, Copy, and Paste The Cut, Copy, and Paste commands (on the Edit menu, on the Process tab of the Sample Editor Inspector, or on the main Edit menu) work according to the following rules: •Selecting Copy copies the selection to the clipboard. •Selecting Cut removes the selection from the clip and moves it to the clipboard. The section to the right of the selection is moved to the left to fill the gap. •Selecting Paste copies the data from the clipboard into the clip. If there is a selection in the editor, this is replaced by the pasted data. If there is no selection, the pasted data is inserted starting at the project cursor. The section to the right of the line is moved to make room for the pasted material. Delete Selecting Delete (on the Edit menu, on the Process tab of the Sample Editor Inspector, or on the main Edit menu) removes the selection from the clip. The section to the right of the selection is moved to the left to fill the gap. Insert Silence Selecting “Insert Silence” (on the Edit menu, on the Process tab of the Sample Editor Inspector, or on the Range submenu of the main Edit menu) inserts a silent section with the same length as the current selection, at the selection start. •The selection is not replaced, but moved to the right to make room. If you want to replace the selection, use the “Silence” function instead (see “Silence” on page 311). Processing The Processing features (on the Select Process menu, on the Process tab of the Sample Editor Inspector, or on the Process submenu of the Audio menu) can be applied to selections in the Sample Editor, as well as the effects (on the Select Plug- in menu on the Process tab of the Sample Editor Inspector or on the Plug-ins submenu of the Audio menu). For more information, see the chapter “Audio processing and functions” on page 302. Creating a new event from the selection using drag & drop To create a new event that plays only the selected range, proceed as follows: 1.Make a selection range. 2.Drag the selection range to an audio track in the Project window. Creating a new clip or audio file from the selection To extract a selection from an event and either create a new clip or a new audio file, proceed as follows: 1.Make a selection range. 2.Open the context menu and select “Bounce Selection” from the Audio submenu. A new clip is created and added to the Pool, and another Sample Editor window opens with the new clip. This clip refers to the same audio file as the original clip, but contains the audio corresponding to the selection range only.
338 The Sample EditorGeneral functions Handling Several Audio Events When you open the Sample Editor with several events selected, the editor contains a few functions that facilitates working with multiple audio events. These functions are designed to display and edit the VariAudio segments of several audio events in context. For further information on VariAudio, see “VariAudio (Cubase only)” on page 353. •The “Currently Edited Audio Event” pop-up menu on the toolbar lists all audio events that are opened in the Sample Editor. Here, you can select which audio event is active for editing. •The “Edit Active Audio Event Only” button on the toolbar lets you restrict editing operations to the active audio event. Working with regions Regions are sections within a clip. One of the main uses for regions is Cycle recording, in which the different “takes” are stored as regions (see “Recording audio” on page 120). You can also use this feature for marking important sections in the audio clip. Regions can be dragged into the Project window from the Sample Editor or the Pool to create new audio events. Creating and removing regions 1.Select the range that you want to convert into a region. 2.Click the “Set up Window Layout” button and activate the Regions option. The regions list is displayed on the right. 3.Click the Add Region button above the regions list (or select “Event or Range as Region” from the Advanced submenu of the Audio menu). A region is created, corresponding to the selected range. 4.To name the region, double-click on it in the list and enter a new name. Using this procedure, regions can be renamed at any time. •When you click on a region in the regions list, it is instantly displayed in the Sample Editor. •To remove a region from a clip, select it in the list and click the Remove Region button above the list. Creating regions from hitpoints If your audio event contains calculated hitpoints, you can choose to automatically create regions from hitpoints. This can be useful to isolate recorded sounds. For further information on hitpoints, see “Working with hitpoints and slices” on page 347.
339 The Sample EditorGeneral functions Editing regions The region selected in the list is displayed in gray in the waveform display and the overview line. There are two ways to edit the start and end positions of a region: •Click and drag the region start and end handles in the waveform display (with any tool). When you move the pointer over the handles, it automatically changes to indicate that you can drag the handles. •Edit the Start and End positions in the corresponding fields in the regions list. The positions are shown in the display format selected for the ruler and info line, but are relative to the start of the audio clip rather than the project timeline. Auditioning regions You can listen to a region by selecting it in the list and clicking the Play Region button above the list. The region will play back once or repeatedly, depending on whether the Loop icon on the toolbar is activated or not. You can also listen to a region by selecting it in the list and clicking the Audition icon on the toolbar. This way you can preview separate regions by clicking on them in the list or by selecting them with the up/down arrow keys on your computer keyboard. Making selections from regions If you select a region in the list and click the Select Region button above, the corresponding section of the audio clip is selected (as if you had selected it with the Range Selection tool) and zoomed. This is useful if you want to apply processing to the region only. ÖYou can also double-click a region in the Pool to have its audio clip opened in the Sample Editor with the area of the region automatically selected. Creating audio events from regions To create new audio events from regions using drag & drop, proceed as follows: 1.In the list, click on the region and keep the mouse button pressed. 2.Drag the region to the desired position in the project and release the mouse button. A new event is created. •You can also use the “Events from Regions” function from the Advanced submenu of the Audio menu (see “Region operations” on page 83). Exporting regions as audio files If you create a region in the Sample Editor, the region can be exported to disk as a new audio file. This is done from the Pool, see “Exporting regions as audio files” on page 388.
340 The Sample EditorGeneral functions Selecting an algorithm for realtime playback On the Algorithm pop-up menu on the toolbar you can select the algorithm preset to be applied during realtime playback. This setting affects warp changes in Musical Mode, FreeWarp, and Swing. For the VariAudio warping and pitching features, the “Standard – Solo” preset must be used and is applied automatically. The pop-up menu contains various options that govern the audio quality of the realtime time stretching. There are presets for common uses and a Custom option that allows you to manually set warp parameters. The presets are sorted into categories, according to the technology used (élastique or Standard). For a detailed description of the available presets, see “About time stretch and pitch shift algorithms” on page 322. Musical Mode Musical Mode allows you to lock audio clips to the project tempo by using realtime time stretching. This is very useful if you want to use audio in your project without worrying too much about timing. If you want to use Musical Mode, verify that the length in bars corresponds to the audio file you imported. If necessary, listen to your audio and enter the correct length in bars and beats. When Musical Mode is activated, audio events will adapt to any tempo changes in Cubase, just like MIDI events. You can activate Musical Mode on the AudioWarp tab, the Definition tab, and the toolbar. ÖIt is also possible to activate/deactivate Musical Mode from within the Pool by clicking the corresponding checkbox in the Musical Mode column. !Cubase supports ACID® loops. These loops are standard audio files but with embedded tempo/length information. When ACID® files are imported into Cubase, Musical Mode is automatically activated and the loops will adapt to the project tempo.