Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual
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![Page 27
VST Connections
VST Connections Window
27
Up to three bus assignments can be displayed in this way. If more
connections have been made, this is indicated by a number at the end of the
port name.
For example, “Adat 1 [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)” means that the
Adat
1 port is already assigned to three stereo busses plus two additional
busses.
Delay
Allows you to enter a value to compensate for an inherent delay (latency) of
your hardware effect device during playback. You can right-click the...](http://img.usermanuals.tech/thumb/86/98229/w64_d_1507296127-steinberg-cubase-8-manual_d-26.png "Page 27
VST Connections
VST Connections Window
27
Up to three bus assignments can be displayed in this way. If more
connections have been made, this is indicated by a number at the end of the
port name.
For example, “Adat 1 [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)” means that the
Adat
1 port is already assigned to three stereo busses plus two additional
busses.
Delay
Allows you to enter a value to compensate for an inherent delay (latency) of
your hardware effect device during playback. You can right-click the...")
![Page 29
VST Connections
Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs
29
For example, “Adat 1 [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)” means that the
Adat
1 port is already assigned to three stereo busses plus two additional
busses.
RELATED LINKS
Control Room (Cubase Pro only) on page 352
Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs
Before you set up busses, you should rename the default inputs and outputs of your
audio hardware. This allows transferring projects between different computers and
setups.
For example, if...](http://img.usermanuals.tech/thumb/86/98229/w64_d_1507296127-steinberg-cubase-8-manual_d-28.png "Page 29
VST Connections
Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs
29
For example, “Adat 1 [Stereo1] [Stereo2] [Stereo3] (+2)” means that the
Adat
1 port is already assigned to three stereo busses plus two additional
busses.
RELATED LINKS
Control Room (Cubase Pro only) on page 352
Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs
Before you set up busses, you should rename the default inputs and outputs of your
audio hardware. This allows transferring projects between different computers and
setups.
For example, if...")
VST Connections Adding Child Busses (Cubase Pro only) 31 5. Click Add Bus. The new bus is added to the bus list. 6. For each of the speaker channels in the bus, click in the Device Port column and select a port of your audio hardware. Setting the Default Output Bus (Main Mix) The Main Mix is the default output bus to which each new audio, group, or FX channel is automatically routed. If only one bus is available, this bus is automatically used as the default output bus. PREREQUISITE Add an output bus. PROCEDURE 1. In the VST Connections dialog, right-click the output bus that you want to use as default output bus. 2. Select Set as Main Mix. RESULT The selected bus is used as default bus. The Main Mix is indicated by a speaker icon next to its name. Adding Child Busses (Cubase Pro only) Child busses allow you to route tracks to particular channels within a bus. For example, you can route a stereo track to a stereo channel pair within a surround bus. Or you can record a stereo channel pair in the surround bus to a separate stereo track. PROCEDURE 1. On the Inputs tab, Outputs tab, or Group/FX tab, right-click a surround bus. 2. Click Add Child Bus and select a channel configuration. RESULT The child bus is created and can be used for routing.
VST Connections Presets for Input and Output Busses32 Presets for Input and Output Busses For input and output bus configurations, you can use different kinds of presets. • A number of standard bus configurations. • Automatically created presets tailored to your specific hardware c onfiguration. On startup, Cubase analyzes the ph ysical inputs and outputs that are provided by your audio hardware and creates a number of hardware-dependent presets. • Your own presets. Saving a Bus Configuration Preset You can save your own input and outp ut bus configuration and the studio configuration as presets. PROCEDURE 1. Select Devices > VST Connections . 2. Set up your bus configuration. 3. Click Store . The Type in Preset Name dialog opens. 4. Enter a name. 5. Click OK. RESULT The preset is available in the Pr esets menu. Deleting a Bus Configuration Preset PROCEDURE 1. Select Devices > VST Connections . 2. From the Presets menu, select the preset that you want to delete. 3. Click Delete . R ESULT The preset is deleted.
VST Connections Adding Group and FX Channels 33 Adding Group and FX Channels Group channels and FX channels allow you to group bus configurations. Adding group and FX channels in the VST Connections window is identical to creating group channel tracks or FX channel tracks in the Project window. PROCEDURE 1. In the VST Connections dialog, click the Group/FX tab. 2. Do one of the following: • To create a group channel, click Add Group. • To create an FX channel, click Add FX. 3. Configure the channel. 4. Optional: Enter a name for the group channel track. 5. Click Add Track. The group channel or FX channel is added to the bus list. 6. For each of the speaker channels in the bus, click in the Output Routing column and select a port of your audio hardware. RELATED LINKS Audio Effects on page 372 About Monitoring In the VST Connections window, you can set up the busses that are used for monitoring, activate/deactivate the Control Room, and open the Control Room Mixer. When the Control Room is disabled on the Studio tab of the VST Connections window, the Main Mix bus is used for monitoring. In this case, you can adjust the monitoring level in the MixConsole. In Cubase Artist, the Main Mix bus is always used for monitoring. RELATED LINKS Control Room (Cubase Pro only) on page 352 MixConsole on page 291 External Instruments and Effects (Cubase Pro only) You can integrate external effect devices and external instruments, for example, hardware synthesizers, into the sequencer signal flow.
VST Connections External Instruments and Effects (Cubase Pro only) 34 Requirements • To use external effects, you need audio hardware with multiple inputs and outputs. An external effect requires at least one input and one output or input/output pairs for stereo effects in addition to the input/output ports that you use for recording and monitoring. • To use external instruments, a MIDI interface must be connected to your computer. • Audio hardware with low-latency drivers. Cubase compensates for the input/output latency and ensures that the audio that is processed through external effects is not shifted in time. Connecting an External Instrument/Effect PREREQUISITE The hardware device has stereo inputs and outputs. PROCEDURE 1. Connect an unused output pair on your audio hardware to the input pair on your external hardware device. 2. Connect an unused input pair on your audio hardware to the output pair on your hardware device. IMPORTANT If you select input/output ports for external instruments/effects that are already used, the existing port assignment breaks without warning. AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK Once the external device is connected to the audio hardware of your computer, you must set up the input/output busses in Cubase. Setting Up External Effects PROCEDURE 1. In the VST Connections window, click the External FX tab. 2. Click Add External FX. 3. In the Add External FX dialog, enter a name for the external effect and specify the send and return configurations. Depending on the type of effect, you can specify mono, stereo, or surround configurations. 4. Click Associate MIDI Device and select a MIDI device.
VST Connections External Instruments and Effects (Cubase Pro only) 35 You can also select MIDI Devices > Create Device and create a new MIDI device association. NOTE Delay compensation is only applied for the effect when you use MIDI devices. 5. Click OK. This adds a new external FX bus. 6. Click in the Device Port column for the left and right ports of the send bus and select the outputs of your audio hardware that you want to use. 7. Click in the Device Port column for the left and right ports of the return bus and select the inputs of your audio hardware that you want to use. 8. Make additional settings for the bus. You can also adjust the settings while using the external effect. This allows you to hear the result. RELATED LINKS Using MIDI devices on page 658 Delay Compensation on page 609 Adding External Effects You can use the external FX bus as an insert effect or as a send effect, which is an insert effect on an FX channel track. PREREQUISITE Set up your external effects in the VST Connections window. PROCEDURE 1. In the Inspector, open the Inserts panel. 2. Open the Select Insert menu.
VST Connections External Instruments and Effects (Cubase Pro only) 36 3. Select an external effect from the External Plug-ins submenu. External effects are indicated by an x icon in the list next to their names in the Select Insert pop-up menu. RESULT The external FX bus is loaded into the effect slot. A parameter window opens, showing the Delay, Send Gain, and Return Gain settings for the external FX bus. You can adjust these settings while playing back. The audio signal from the channel is sent to the outputs on the audio hardware, through your external effect device, and back to the program via the inputs on the audio hardware. RELATED LINKS Setting Up External Effects on page 34 External Effect Parameter Window This window allows you to make delay and gain settings for the selected external effect. When you select an external effect from the Select Insert menu in the Inspector, the External Effect Parameter window opens. Activate Effect Activates/Deactivates the external effect. Bypass Effect Allows you to bypass the external effect. Measure Effect’s Loop Delay for Delay Compensation If this option is activated, Cubase automatically determines the delay value that is used for delay compensation. This is the same function as the Check User Delay option in the VST Connections window. When you have defined a MIDI device for the effect, the corresponding device window opens. Delay Allows you to adjust the delay for the external effect.
VST Connections External Instruments and Effects (Cubase Pro only)37 Send GainAllows you to adjust the send gain for the external effect. Return Gain Allows you to adjust the return gain for the external effect. Setting Up External Instruments PROCEDURE 1. In the VST Connections window, click the External Instruments tab. 2. Click Add External Instrument . 3. In the Add External Instrument dialog, enter a name for the external instrument and specify the number of required mono and/or stereo returns. Depending on the type of instrument, a specific number of mono and/or stereo return channels is required. 4. Click the Associate MIDI Device button and select a MIDI device. 5. Click OK. This adds a new external instrument bus. 6. Click in the Device Port column for the left and ri ght ports of the return bus and select the inputs of your audio hardware to which you connected the external instrument. 7. Make additional settings for the bus. You can also adjust the settings while using the external instrument. This allows you to hear the result. RELATED LINKS Using MIDI devices on page 658 Adding External Instruments PREREQUISITE Set up your external instruments in the VST Connections window. PROCEDURE 1. Select Devices > VST Instruments . The VST Instruments window opens. 2. Click Add Track Instrument . The Add Instrument Track window opens. 3. Select an external instrument from the Instrument pop-up menu. External instruments are indicated by an x icon in the list next to their names in the Instrument pop-up menu.
VST Connections External Instruments and Effects (Cubase Pro only) 38 4. Click Add Track. RESULT The external instrument is added to the VST instruments list. A parameter window for the external instrument opens. This can either be the device window, that allows you to create a generic device panel, an OPT editor window, or a default editor. External Instruments Parameter Window This window allows you to make delay and gain settings for the selected external instrument. When you select an external instrument in the VST Instruments window, the External Instrument Parameter Window opens. Activate External Instrument Activates/Deactivates the external instrument. Bypass External Instrument Allows you to bypass the external instrument. Delay Allows you to adjust the delay for the external instrument. Return Gain Allows you to adjust the return gain for the external instrument.
VST Connections External Instruments and Effects (Cubase Pro only) 39 Sending MIDI Notes to External Instruments PREREQUISITE Set up your external instruments in the VST Connections window and add a MIDI track. PROCEDURE 1. In the Inspector, open the Output Routing pop-up menu for the corresponding MIDI track. 2. Select the MIDI device to which the external instrument is connected. RESULT The instrument plays any MIDI notes that it receives from the track and returns them to Cubase through the return channels that you have set up. Delay compensation is used. The external instrument behaves like any other VST instrument in Cubase. RELATED LINKS Delay Compensation on page 609 Saving External Instrument and Effect Configurations as Favorites You can save external instruments and external effects as favorites. Favorites are device configurations that you can recall. They also allow you to save different configurations for the same device, for example, a multi-effect board or an effect that provides both a mono and a stereo mode. You can save and restore the favorites in the External Instruments and External FX tabs of the VST Connections window. • To save an external instrument or effect configuration as a favorite, select the Bus Name, click Favorites, and select Add Selected Effect to Favorites. • To recall a favorite, click Favorites and select the configuration that you want to recall. Freezing External Instruments/Effects You can freeze external instruments and effects to save processing power. NOTE You must perform the freeze function in realtime. Otherwise external effects are not taken into account.
VST Connections Editing the Bus Configurations 40 When freezing external instruments or effects, you can adjust the corresponding Tail Size value in the Freeze Channel Options dialog. When the Tail Size is set to 0 s, freezing only takes into account the data within the part boundaries. RELATED LINKS VST Instruments on page 599 Audio Effects on page 372 Freezing Instruments on page 608 Freezing Insert Effects for a Track on page 381 Missing Plug-ins The “Plug-in could not be found” message appears in the following situations: • When you remove an external device from the VST Connections window although it is used in a saved project. • When you transfer a project to another computer on which the external device is not defined. • When you open a project that is created with an earlier version of Cubase. In the VST Connections window, the broken connection to the external device is indicated by an icon in the Bus Name column. • To reestablish the broken connection to the external device, right-click the entry for the device in the Bus Name column and select Connect External Effect. NOTE Busses that are set up for external instruments or external effects are saved globally, that is, for your particular computer setup. Editing the Bus Configurations After you have set up all the required busses for a project you can edit the names and change port assignments. The bus configuration is saved with the project.