Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual
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41 The Project windowWindow Overview Group ChannelBy routing several audio channels to a Group channel, you can submix them, apply the same effects to them, see “About Group Channels” on page 192. A Group channel track contains no events as such, but displays settings and automation curves for the corresponding Group channel. Each Group channel track has a corresponding channel in the MixConsole. In the Project window, Group channels are organized as tracks in a special Group Tracks folder. InstrumentThis allows you to create a track for a dedicated instrument, making VST instrument handling easier and more intuitive. Instrument tracks have a corresponding channel in the MixConsole. Each instrument track can have any number of automation tracks in the Project window. However, Volume and Pan are automated from within the MixConsole. It is possible to edit instrument tracks directly in the Project window, using the Edit In-Place function (see “The In-Place Editor” on page 512). For more information on instrument tracks, see the chapter “VST instruments and instrument tracks” on page 252. MIDIFor recording and playing back MIDI parts. Each MIDI track has a corresponding MIDI channel in the MixConsole. It is possible to edit MIDI tracks directly in the Project window, using the Edit In-Place function (see “The In-Place Editor” on page 512). A MIDI track can have any number of automation tracks for automating MixConsole channel parameters, insert and send effect settings, etc. MarkerMarker tracks display markers which can be moved and renamed directly in the Project window (see the chapter “Using markers” on page 169). A project can have only one marker track. Arranger The arranger track is used for arranging your project, by marking out sections in the project and determining in which order they are to be played back. See the chapter “The arranger track” on page 152 for details. RulerRuler tracks contain additional rulers, displaying the timeline from left to right. You can use any number of ruler tracks, each with a different display format if you wish. See “The ruler” on page 50 for more information about the ruler and the display formats. SignatureTime signature events can be added and edited on the signature track, or in the Tempo Track Editor. A project can have only one signature track. See the chapter “Editing tempo and signature” on page 610 for details. TempoYou can create tempo changes within a project using the tempo track. A project can have only one tempo track. See the chapter “Editing tempo and signature” on page 610 for details. TransposeThe transpose track allows you to set global key changes. A project can have only one transpose track, see the chapter “The transpose functions” on page 161. VideoFor playing back video events. A project can only have one video track. ChordThe chord track allows you to create chord events, see “Working with the Chord Functions” on page 542. Track type Description
42 The Project windowThe track list About parts and events The tracks in the Project window contain parts and/or events. Events are the basic building blocks in Cubase. Different event types are handled differently in the Project window: - Video events and automation events (curve points) are always viewed and rearranged directly in the Project window. - MIDI events can always be found in MIDI parts, which are containers for one or more MIDI events. MIDI parts are rearranged and manipulated in the Project window. To edit the individual MIDI events in a part, you have to open the part in a MIDI editor (see “The MIDI editors” on page 481). - Audio events can be displayed and edited directly in the Project window, but you can also work with audio parts containing several events. This is useful if you have a number of events which you want to treat as one unit in the project. Audio parts also contain information about the time position in the project. An audio event and an audio part Getting on-the-fly info with the Object Selection tool If the “Object Selection tool: Show Extra Info” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tools page), a tooltip will be shown for the Object Selection tool, displaying information depending on where you point it. For example, in the Project window event display, the tool will show the current pointer position and the name of the track and event you are pointing at. The track list The track list displays all the tracks used in a project. It contains name fields and settings for the tracks. Different track types have different controls in the track list. To see all available controls, you may have to resize the track in the track list (see “Resizing tracks” on page 88). The track list showing a MIDI track, an audio track with an automation track, and a VST instru- ment track •Using the Track Controls Settings dialog you can decide which controls are visible for each track type, see “Customizing track controls” on page 702.
43 The Project windowThe Inspector The Inspector The area to the left of the track list is called the Inspector. This shows additional controls and parameters for the track you have selected in the track list. If several tracks are selected, the Inspector shows the setting for the first (topmost) selected track. Opening the Inspector To show the Inspector, proceed as follows: 1.On the toolbar, click the “Set up Window Layout” button. 2.Activate the Inspector option. Inspector handling For most track classes, the Inspector is divided into a number of sections, each containing different controls for the track. Which sections are available in the Inspector depends on the selected track. •You can hide or show sections by clicking on their names. Clicking the name for a hidden section brings it into view and hides the other sections. [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking the section name allows you to hide or show a section without affecting the other sections. [Alt]/[Option]-clicking a section name shows or hides all sections in the Inspector. •You can also use key commands to show different Inspector sections. These are set up in the Key Commands dialog, see “Setting up key commands” on page 712. ÖHiding a section does not affect its functionality. For example, if you have set up a track parameter or activated an effect, your settings will still be active even if you hide the respective Inspector section.
44 The Project windowThe Inspector Not all Inspector tabs are shown by default. You can show/hide Inspector sections by right-clicking on an Inspector tab and activating/deactivating the desired options on the Inspector context menu. ÖMake sure that you right-click on an Inspector tab and not on the empty area below the Inspector, as this will open the Quick context menu instead. Inspector sections The Inspector contains the controls that can be found on the track list, plus some additional buttons and parameters. In the table below, these additional settings and the different sections are listed. ParameterDescription Auto Fades Settings buttonOpens a dialog in which you can make separate Auto Fade settings for the audio track, see “Making Auto Fade settings for individual tracks” on page 150. Edit Channel SettingsOpens the Channel Settings window for the track, allowing you to view and adjust effect and EQ settings, etc., see “Using Channel Settings” on page 205. VolumeUse this to adjust the level for the track. Changing this setting will move the track’s fader in the MixConsole, and vice versa. See “Setting the Volume in the MixConsole” on page 189 to learn more about setting levels. PanUse this to adjust the panning of the track. As with the Volume setting, this corresponds to the Pan setting in the MixConsole. DelayThis adjusts the playback timing of the audio track. Positive values delay the playback while negative values cause the track to play earlier. The values are set in milliseconds. Input RoutingThis lets you specify the input bus or MIDI input for the track. See “Setting up busses” on page 27 for information about input busses. Output RoutingHere you decide to which output the track is routed. For audio tracks you select an output bus (see “Setting up busses” on page 27) or Group channel, for MIDI tracks you select a MIDI output and for instrument tracks, you select the instrument to which it is routed. Chord Track sectionHere you can decide how the track follow the chord track, see “Working with the Chord Functions” on page 542.
45 The Project windowThe Inspector Instrument tracks The Inspector for an instrument track shows some of the sections from VST instrument channels and MIDI tracks, see “VST instruments and instrument tracks” on page 252. MIDI tracks When a MIDI track is selected, the Inspector contains a number of additional sections and parameters, affecting the MIDI events in realtime (e. g. on playback). Which sections are available for MIDI tracks is described in the chapter “MIDI realtime parameters and effects” on page 449. Inserts sectionAllows you to add insert effects to the track, see the chapters “Audio effects” on page 227 and “MIDI realtime parameters and effects” on page 449. The Edit button at the top of the section opens the control panels for the added insert effects. Strip sectionHere you can set up the channel strip modules, see “Using Channel Strip Modules” on page 198. Equalizers sectionLets you adjust the EQs for the track. You can have up to four bands of EQ for each track, see “Making EQ Settings” on page 196. The Edit button at the top of the section opens the Channel Settings window for the track. Sends sectionAllows you to route an audio track to one or several FX channels, see the chapter “Audio effects” on page 227. The Edit button above a slot opens the control panel for the first effect in each FX channel. For MIDI tracks, this is where you assign MIDI send effects. Clicking the Edit button above a slot opens the control panel for the corresponding MIDI effect. Cue Sends section (Cubase only)The Cue Sends are used to route cue mixes to Control Room cues. For a detailed description of cues and cues sends, see the chapter “The Control Room (Cubase only)” on page 211. Surround Pan section (Cubase only) When the SurroundPanner is used for a track, this is also available in the Inspector. For further information, see “Using the SurroundPanner V5” on page 269. Channel Fader sectionShows a duplicate of the corresponding MixConsole channel. The channel overview strip to the left lets you activate and deactivate insert effects, EQs and sends. Notepad sectionThis is a standard text notepad, allowing you to jot down notes about the track. If you open the File menu and select “Notepad Data…” from the Export submenu, your data will be exported as text file and opened in an external text editor from where you can print it. Note that you have to save your project first. If you have entered any notes about a track, the icon next to the “Notepad” heading will light up to indicate this. Moving the pointer over the icon will display the Notepad text in a tooltip. Device Panel section (Cubase only)Here you can display device panels, e. g. for external MIDI devices, audio track panels or VST insert effect panels. For information on how to create or import MIDI device panels, see the separate PDF document “MIDI Devices”. Quick Controls sectionHere you can configure quick controls, e. g. to use remote devices, see the chapter “Track Quick Controls” on page 430. Parameter Description
46 The Project windowThe Inspector Arranger track For the arranger track, the Inspector displays the lists of available arranger chains and arranger events. See the chapter “The arranger track” on page 152 for details. Folder tracks When a folder track is selected, the Inspector shows the folder and its underlying tracks, much like a folder structure in the Windows Explorer or Mac OS X Finder. ÖYou can click one of the tracks shown under the folder in the Inspector to have the Inspector show the settings for that track. This way, you do not have to “open” a folder track to make settings for tracks within it. FX channel tracks FX channel tracks are automatically placed in a special folder, for easier management. When this folder track is selected, the Inspector shows the folder and the FX channels it contains. You can click one of the FX channels shown in the folder to have the Inspector show the settings for that FX channel – this way you do not have to “open” a folder track to access the settings for the FX channels in it. Group channel tracks Just like FX channel tracks, all group channel tracks are placed in a separate folder – when this is selected, the Inspector shows the folder and the group channels it contains. You can click one of the group channels shown in the folder to have the Inspector show the settings for that group channel – this way, you do not have to “open” a folder track to access the settings for the group channels in it. Marker tracks When the marker track is selected, the Inspector shows the marker list. For more information, see the chapter “Using markers” on page 169. Ruler tracks For ruler tracks, the Inspector is not used. Transpose track The transpose track controls are described in detail in the chapter “The transpose functions” on page 161. Signature track and tempo track For the signature track and the tempo track, the Inspector displays a list of all time signature events or tempo events. See the chapter “Editing tempo and signature” on page 610 for details. Video tracks When a video track is selected, the Inspector contains a lock button for locking the track (see the section “Locking events” on page 78), a Mute button for interrupting video playback and two settings for video thumbnails: Show Frame Numbers and Show Thumbnails (see the section “Video files in the Project window” on page 674). Video tracks make use of the Notepad Inspector tab. Chord track When the chord track is selected, the Inspector contains a number of settings for the chord events. For more information, see the chapter “Working with the Chord Functions” on page 542.
47 The Project windowThe toolbar The toolbar The toolbar contains tools and shortcuts for opening other windows and various project settings and functions. You can show/hide most of the toolbar elements (except the Activate Project and “Set up Window Layout” buttons) by activating/deactivating the corresponding options on the context menu. The following options are available: ÖHow to further set up the toolbar is described in the section “Using the Setup options” on page 700. OptionDescription Constrain Delay CompensationThis is described in the section “Constrain Delay Compensation” on page 265. Media & MixConsole WindowsWhen this is activated, buttons for opening or closing the MediaBay, the Pool, the MixConsole, and the Control Room Mixer (Cubase only) are displayed on the toolbar. Automation ModeWhen this is activated, the automation mode and a button to open/close the Automation panel are displayed on the toolbar. For details, see the chapter “Automation” on page 279. Auto-ScrollWhen this is activated, buttons for the options “Auto-Scroll” and “Suspend Auto-Scroll when Editing” are displayed, see “Auto-Scroll” on page 54. LocatorsWhen this is activated, the left and right locator positions are displayed on the toolbar. Transport ButtonsWhen this is activated, the transport buttons from the Transport panel are also displayed on the toolbar. Arranger ControlsWhen this is activated, the controls used when working with the arranger track are displayed, see the chapter “The arranger track” on page 152. Time DisplayWhen this is activated, the Transport panel’s time display is displayed on the toolbar. MarkersWhen this is activated, the Transport panel’s marker buttons are displayed on the toolbar. Tool ButtonsWhen this is activated, tool buttons for editing in the Project window are displayed on the toolbar. The tools are also accessible via the toolbox, see “Using the toolbox” on page 48. Color MenuThis shows/hides the color pop-up menu, see “Applying colors in the Project window” on page 706. Nudge PaletteActivate this to display the nudge buttons. These buttons can be used to nudge events or parts in the Project window or for trimming (see “Moving events” on page 72 and “Resizing events” on page 76). Project Root KeyActivate this to display the Project Root Key. For details, see the chapter “The transpose functions” on page 161. Snap/QuantizeThe Snap to Zero Crossings option is described in the section “Snap to Zero Crossing” on page 54. The other options are described in the sections “The Snap function” on page 52 and “Quantizing MIDI and Audio” on page 134. Performance MeterWhen this is activated, meters for ASIO time usage and hard disk transfer load are displayed.
48 The Project windowThe status line Using the toolbox The toolbox can be opened instead of the standard context menus in the event display and editors. It makes the editing tools from the toolbar conveniently available at the mouse pointer position. •To open the toolbox by right-clicking (Win)/[Ctrl]-clicking (Mac), activate the “Pop-up Toolbox on Right-Click” option in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tools page). When this option is activated, you need to press any modifier key and right-click (Win)/[Ctrl]-click (Mac) to open the context menu. When it is deactivated, you need to press a modifier key to open the toolbox instead of the context menu. •To change the number of rows in which the tools are arranged on the toolbox, keep the right mouse button pressed on the toolbox until the mouse pointer changes to a double arrow, and drag to the bottom or right. The tools can be arranged in one, two, or three horizontal or vertical rows. The status line The status line is displayed below the toolbar in the Project window. It displays the following information: ÖClicking on any of the fields except the Record Time Max display opens the Project Setup dialog, where you can adjust the settings (see “The Project Setup dialog” on page 62). •To show or hide the status line, click the “Set up Window Layout” button on the toolbar and activate or deactivate the Status Line option. The info line The info line is displayed below the status line in the Project window. The info line shows information about the currently selected event or part in the Project window. You can edit almost all values on the info line using regular value editing. Length and position values are displayed in the format currently selected for the ruler (see “The ruler” on page 50). OptionDescription Record Time MaxThis displays the time you have left for recording, depending on your project settings and the available hard disk space. Click in this field to display the remaining record time in a separate window. Record FormatThis displays the sample rate and the bit resolution used for recording. Project Frame RateThis displays the frame rate used in the project. Project Pan LawThis displays the current Pan Law setting. !Cubase permits different sample rate settings for a project and the audio hardware. However, as a result the audio files in a project will not play back in their original pitch. If the “Record Format” field is highlighted in a different color, there is a sample rate mismatch and you should check the settings in the Project Setup dialog.
49 The Project windowThe info line •To show or hide the info line, click the “Set up Window Layout” button on the toolbar and activate or deactivate the Info Line option. The following elements can be selected for display and editing on the info line: - Audio events -Audio parts -MIDI parts - Video events -Markers - Automation curve points - Transpose events - Arranger events - Chord events When several elements are selected •If you have selected several elements, the info line shows information about the first item in the selection. The values are displayed in color to indicate that several elements are selected. •If you edit a value on the info line, the value change is applied to all selected elements, relatively to the current values. If you have selected two audio events, the first being one bar long and the second two bars, the info line shows the length of the first event (one bar). If you now change this value to 3 bars in the info line, the other event will be resized by the same amount – and will thus be 4 bars long. •To enter absolute values for the selected elements, press [Ctrl]/[Command] while modifying the value on the info line. In the example above, both events would be resized to 3 bars. [Ctrl]/[Command] is the default modifier key for this – you can change this in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tool Modifiers page, in the Info Line category). Editing transpose and velocity for MIDI parts When one or several MIDI parts are selected, the info line contains Transpose and Velocity fields. •Adjusting the Transpose field transposes the selected parts in semitone steps. Note that this transposition does not change the actual notes in the part – it is just a “play parameter”, affecting the notes on playback. The transposition you specify for a part on the info line is added to the transposition set for the whole track. For more information on transposing, see the chapter “The transpose functions” on page 161. •Adjusting the Velocity field shifts the velocity for the selected parts – the value you specify is added to the velocities of the notes in the parts. Again, this velocity shift only affects the notes on playback, and again, the value you specify is added to the Vel.Shift. value set for the whole MIDI track in the Inspector.
50 The Project windowThe overview line The overview line The overview line is displayed below the info line in the Project window. In the overview line, events and parts on all tracks are displayed as boxes. •To show or hide the overview line, click the “Set up Window Layout” button on the toolbar and activate or deactivate the Overview Line option. You can use the overview line to zoom in or out, and for navigating to other sections of the project. This is done by moving and resizing the track view rectangle in the overview line. •The track view rectangle indicates the section of the project currently displayed in the event display. •You zoom in or out horizontally by resizing the rectangle. Resize it by dragging the edges of the rectangle. •You can drag the track view rectangle to view other sections of the project. This can also be done by clicking anywhere in the upper part of the overview – the track view rectangle will be moved to where you clicked. The ruler The ruler at the top of the event display shows the timeline. Initially, the Project window ruler uses the display format specified in the Project Setup dialog (see “The Project Setup dialog” on page 62), as do all other rulers and position displays in the project. However, you can select an independent display format for the ruler by clicking the arrow button to the right of it and selecting an option from the pop-up menu (you can also bring up this pop-up menu by right-clicking anywhere in the ruler). OptionPositions and lengths displayed as Bars+BeatsBars, beats, sixteenth notes and ticks. By default there are 120 ticks per sixteenth note, but you can adjust this with the “MIDI Display Resolution” setting in the Preferences dialog (MIDI page). SecondsHours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds. TimecodeThis format displays hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. The number of frames per second (fps) is set in the Project Setup dialog with the Frame Rate pop-up menu (see “The Project Setup dialog” on page 62). SamplesSamples. fps (User)Hours, minutes, seconds and frames, with a user-definable number of frames per second. You set the desired number of fps in the Preferences dialog (Transport page). Time LinearWhen this is selected, the ruler will be linear relative to time. This means that if there are tempo changes on the tempo track, the distance between the bars will vary in Bars+Beats mode.