Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual
Have a look at the manual Steinberg Cubase 8 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+.
Audio processing and functions Audio processing 411 Curve Kind These buttons determine whether the envelope curve consists of spline curve segments (left button), damped spline segments (middle button) or linear segments (right button). Spline curve segment envelope The same envelope with damped spline segments selected The same envelope with linear segments selected Range This parameter determines the vertical pitch range of the envelope. If set to “4”, moving a curve point to the top of the display corresponds to pitch shifting by + 4 semitones. The maximum range is ± 16 semitones. Transpose and Fine-Tune These parameters allow you to adjust the value of a curve point numerically: 1) Click on a curve point to select it. The selected point is shown in red. 2) Adjust the Transpose and Fine-Tune parameters to change the pitch of the curve point in semitones and cents, respectively. Pitch Shift Mode This is where you can make settings for the MPEX 4 algorithm. For each quality setting you can choose between the regular setting and a setting where the formants are preserved. If you are processing vocal material, select the Preserve Formant setting in order to preserve the vocal characteristics of the pitch-shifted audio and to avoid a “chipmunk voice” effect.
Audio processing and functions Audio processing 412 RELATED LINKS Algorithm Settings on page 410 Example Let’s say that you wish to create a pitchbend effect, so that the pitch is raised linearly by exactly 2 semitones in a specific part of the selected audio. PROCEDURE 1. Remove all curve points by clicking the Reset button. 2. Select a linear curve by clicking the Curve Kind button to the right. 3. Make sure that the Range parameter is set to 2 semitones or higher. 4. Create a point where you want the pitchbend to start by clicking on the envelope line. Since this is the starting point for the pitchbend, you want its pitch to be zero (the envelope line should still be straight). If necessary, use the Fine-Tune parameter to set the curve point to 0 cents, because this point governs the start point, where you want the pitch transition to begin. 5. Create a new curve point at the horizontal position where you want the pitchbend to reach the full value. This curve point determines the rise time of the pitchbend effect, i. e. the further away from the starting point the new point is positioned, the longer it will take for the pitchbend to reach the full value, and vice versa. 6. With the second point still selected, use the Transpose and Fine-Tune parameters to set the pitch to exactly 2 semitones. 7. Create a new curve point to set the duration of the pitchbend, i. e. the time the pitch will remain transposed by 2 semitones. 8. Finally, create a point where you want the pitchbend to end. You do not have to create a new point if you are at the end of the audio file, since there is always an end point at the right side of the waveform display. 9. If necessary, make additional settings in the Pitch Shift Mode section. 10. Click Process. The pitchbend is applied according to the specified settings. RELATED LINKS Algorithm Settings on page 410 Remove DC Offset This function will remove any DC offset in the audio selection. A DC offset is when there is too large a DC (direct current) component in the signal, sometimes visible as the signal not being visually centered around the “zero level axis”. DC offsets do not affect what you actually hear, but they affect zero crossing detection and certain processing, and it is recommended that you remove them.
Audio processing and functions Audio processing 413 IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT It is recommended that this function is applied to complete audio clips, since the DC offset (if any) is normally present throughout the entire recording. There are no parameters for this function. Note that you can check for DC Offset in an audio clip using the Statistics function. 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.
Audio processing and functions Audio processing 414 Stereo Flip This function works with stereo audio selections only. It allows you to manipulate the left and right channel in various ways. The dialog contains the following parameters: Mode This pop-up menu determines what the function does: •Flip Left-Right Swaps the left and right channel. •Left to Stereo Copies the left channel sound to the right channel. •Right to Stereo Copies the right channel sound to the left channel. •Merge Merges both channels on each side for mono sound. •Subtract Subtracts the left channel information from the right. This is typically used as a “Karaoke effect”, for removing centered mono material from a stereo signal. Time Stretch This function allows you to change the length and “tempo” of the selected audio without affecting the pitch.
Audio processing and functions Audio processing 415 The dialog contains the following parameters: Define Bars section In this section, you set the length of the selected audio and the time signature: •Bars If you use the tempo setting (see below), specify the length of the selected audio here, in bars. •Beats If 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. Original Length section This section contains information and settings regarding the audio selected for processing: •Length in Samples The length of the selected audio, in samples. •Length in Seconds The length of the selected audio, in seconds. •Tempo in BPM If 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. 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). •Samples The desired length in samples. •Seconds The desired length in seconds. •BPM The 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. Seconds Range section These settings allow you to set the desired range for the time stretch. •Range Allows you to specify the desired length as a range between two time positions.
Audio processing and functions Applying plug-ins (Cubase Pro only) 416 •Use Locators Clicking the diamond-shaped button below the Range fields sets the Range values to the left and right Locator positions, respectively. 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. RELATED LINKS About time stretch and pitch shift algorithms on page 428 Applying plug-ins (Cubase Pro only) You can add plug-in effects in realtime during playback. However, sometimes it is useful to “permanently” apply effects to one or several selected events. This is done in the following way: PROCEDURE 1. Make a selection in the Project window, the Pool or an editor. Effects are applied according to the same rules as Processing. 2. Select “Plug-ins” from the Audio menu. 3. Select the desired effect from the submenu. The Process Plug-in dialog opens. RELATED LINKS Audio Effects on page 372 Common settings and features on page 402 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.
Audio processing and functions Applying plug-ins (Cubase Pro only) 417 The process plug-in dialog 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 process plug-in dialog for the StudioChorus effect 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.
Audio processing and functions The Offline Process History dialog 418 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. IMPORTANT The sum of the Pre-Crossfade and Post-Crossfade times cannot be larger than the length 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 make adjustments during Preview playback, but the changes are not applied until the start of the next “lap”. Some changes may automatically restart the Preview playback from the beginning. You can change the effect settings during Preview playback if needed. NOTE To start or stop previewing, you can also press [Space]. Process button Applies the effect and closes the dialog. NOTE To perform the process, you can also press [Enter] or [Return]. Cancel button Closes the dialog without applying the effect. The Offline Process History dialog If you w an t to remo ve or m odify som e or all proc essing fr om a c lip, th is c an 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 Pro only), and Sample Editor operations such as Cut, Paste, Delete and drawing with the Draw tool. NOTE Due to the clip-file relationship, 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.
Audio processing and functions The Offline Process History dialog 419 PROCEDURE 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. 2. Select “Offline Process History…” from the Audio menu. The Offline Process History dialog opens. 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. RELATED LINKS Restrictions on page 420 Status on page 502
Audio processing and functions Freeze Edits 420 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: PROCEDURE 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). • 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. IMPORTANT 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.