Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual
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MediaBay MediaBay Preferences 551 Show Managed Locations Only If this option is activated, all folders that are not scanned for files are hidden. This keeps the tree view in the Define Locations section less cluttered. Use Current Selection as Base Location If this option is activated, only the selected folder and its subfolders are shown. Scan Folders only when MediaBay is open If this option is activated, Cubase only scans for media files when the MediaBay window is open. If this is deactivated, the folders are scanned in the background even when the MediaBay window is closed. However, Cubase never scans folders while playing back or recording. Maximum Items in Results List Specifies the maximum number of files that are displayed in the Results list. This avoids unmanageably long lists of files. NOTE The MediaBay does not warn you if the maximum number of files has been reached. There might be situations where a certain file you are looking for cannot be found because the maximum number of files was reached. Allow Editing in Results List If this option is activated, you can edit attributes in the Results list. If this option is deactivated, attributes can only be edited in the Attribute Inspector. Show File Extensions in Results List I f t h i s o p t i o n i s a c t i v a t e d , f i l e name extensions are displayed in the Results list. Scan unknown File Types When scanning for media files, the MediaBay ignores files with an unknown file extension. If this option is activated, the MediaBay tries to open and scan any file in the search location and ignores those files that cannot be recognized.
MediaBay MediaBay Key Commands 552 MediaBay Key Commands You can display the available MediaBay key commands from within the MediaBay window. This is useful if you want to get a quick overview over the assigned and the available MediaBay key commands. • To open the key commands pane, click the Key Commands button in the lower left corner of the MediaBay. • To close the key commands pane, click anywhere outside of the pane. • To assign or modify a key command, click the corresponding key command. RELATED LINKS Key Commands on page 997 Working with MediaBay-Related Windows The MediaBay concept can be found throughout the program, for example, when adding new tracks or when choosing presets for VST instruments or effects. The workflow in all MediaBay-related windows is the same as in the MediaBay. Adding Tracks If you add a track by selecting Project > Add Track, the following dialog opens:
MediaBay Working with MediaBay-Related Windows 553 Click the Browse button to expand the dialog to show the Results list. Only file types that can be used in this context are shown. Applying Effect Presets If you have added an insert effect to a track, you can choose from a variety of presets via the Results browser for the effect slot. PROCEDURE 1. In the Inserts tab of the Inspector, click the Select Preset icon below the preset name. 2. In the Results browser, double-click a preset to apply it.
MediaBay Working with MediaBay-Related Windows 554 Applying Track Presets You can choose from a variety of track presets. PROCEDURE 1. In the Inspector, click the Preset Management icon on the right of the Inserts tab. 2. Select From Track Preset. 3. In the Results browser, double-click a track preset to apply it. RELATED LINKS Track Presets on page 160 Applying Instrument Presets When working with VST instruments, you can choose from a variety of presets via the Results browser. PROCEDURE 1. In the track list, right-click the instrument track and select Load Track Preset. 2. In the Results browser, double-click a preset to apply it. Instrument Presets Results Browser The Results browser for instrument track presets lets you preview VST presets and apply them to your instrument track. To open the Results browser, right-click an instrument track, and select Load Track Preset.
MediaBay Working With Volume Databases 555 VST presets for instruments can be divided into the following groups: Presets Presets contain the settings of the entire plug-in. For multi-timbral instruments, this means the settings for all sound slots as well as the global settings. Programs Programs contain only the settings for one program. For multi-timbral instruments, this means only the settings for one sound slot. Working With Volume Databases Cubase stores all media file information used in the MediaBay, such as paths and attributes, in a local database file on your computer. However, in some cases, it might be necessary to browse and manage this kind of metadata on an external volume. For example, a sound editor might have to work both at home and in a studio, on two different computers. Therefore, the sound effects are stored on an external storage medium. To be able to connect the external device and directly browse its contents in the MediaBay without having to scan the device, you have to create a volume database for the external device. Volume databases can be created for drives of your computer or for external storage media. They contain the same kind of information about the media files on these drives as the regular MediaBay database.
MediaBay Working With Volume Databases 556 NOTE When you launch Cubase, all available volume databases are automatically mounted. Databases that are made available while the program is running have to be mounted manually. Rescanning and Refreshing Volume Databases If you have modified the scan settings on a different system, you must rescan or refresh the MediaBay. RELATED LINKS Updating the MediaBay on page 525 Creating a Volume Database PROCEDURE • In the Define Locations section, right-click the external storage medium, drive, or partition of your computer system that you want to create a database for, and select Create Volume Database. IMPORTANT You must select the topmost level (root) for this. You cannot create a database file for a lower-level folder. RESULT The file information for this drive is written into a new database file. When the new database file is available, this is reflected by the symbol to the left of the drive name. NOTE If the drive contains a large amount of data, this process may take a while. Volume databases are automatically mounted when Cubase is launched. They are shown in the Define Locations section and their data can be viewed and edited in the Results list.
MediaBay Working With Volume Databases 557 Removing a Volume Database If you have worked on another computer using an external hard disk and return to your own computer and connect the external device again as part of your system setup, you do not need a separate volume database for it any more. Any data on this drive can then be included in the local database file again, by removing the extra database file. PROCEDURE • In the Define Locations section, right-click the volume database and select Remove Volume Database RESULT The metadata is integrated in the local MediaBay database file and the volume database file is deleted. NOTE If the drive contains a large amount of data, this process may take a while. Mounting and Unmounting Volume Databases Volume databases that are made available while Cubase is running must be mounted manually. • To mount a volume database manually, right-click the external storage medium, drive, or partition of your computer system that you want to mount and select Mount Volume Database. • To unmount a volume database, right-click it and select Unmount Volume Database.
558 Surround Sound (Cubase Pro only) Cubase has integrated surround sound features with support for several formats. This support goes all the way through the audio path: all audio-related channels (i. e. audio and instrument tracks as well as group channels) and busses can handle multi-channel speaker configurations. A channel in the MixConsole can either carry complete surround mixes, or an individual speaker channel which is part of a surround setup. Cubase offers the following surround-related features: • Audio-related tracks can be routed freely to surround channels. • The SurroundPanner V5 plug-in is automatically applied to audio-related tracks with a mono or stereo configuration that are routed to output channels with a multi-channel configuration (other than stereo). It is available in the Inspector and MixConsole and can be used to graphically position channels in the surround field. •Cubase Pro only: The MixConvert V6 plug-in is used to convert a surround channel into a different format if the corresponding input/output configuration is not handled by the SurroundPanner V5. Cubase places MixConvert V6 automatically where needed. Furthermore, the plug-in is described in detail in the separate PDF document “Plug-In Reference”. • Cubase supports surround-specific plug-ins, that is, plug-ins with multi-channel support specifically designed for surround sound mixing tasks (the included “Mix6to2” plug-in is an example of this). Furthermore, any VST 3 plug-in features multi-channel support and can therefore be used in a surround configuration, even if it was not specifically designed for surround. All plug-ins are described in the separate PDF document “Plug-in Reference”. • You configure Cubase for surround sound by defining input and output busses in the desired surround format and specifying which audio inputs and outputs are used for the different channels in the busses. RELATED LINKS Using the SurroundPanner V5 on page 562 Using the MixConvert V6 plug-in on page 574 Preparations on page 560 Effects in Multi-Channel Configurations (Cubase Pro only) on page 377
Surround Sound (Cubase Pro only) Deliverables 559 Deliverables The result of a surround mix in Cubase is either the multi-channel audio sent from the surround output bus to your dubber, or (if you use the Export Audio Mixdown feature) audio file(s) on your hard disk. Exported surround mixes can either be split (one mono file per speaker channel) or interleaved (a single file containing all the surround channels). Available surround configurations The following surround configurations are supported in Cubase: LRCS LRCS refers to Left Right Center Surround, where the surround speaker is center-rear positioned. This is the original surround format that first appeared as Dolby Stereo in cinema and later as the home cinema format Dolby ProLogic. 5.0 This is the same as 5.1 (see below) but without the LFE channel. The LFE channel is optional in 5.1 and if you do not plan to use it, you might find this option more convenient. 5.1 This format is one of the most popular in cinema and DVD. In its various cinema and DVD encoding implementations (established by different manufacturers) it is referred to as Dolby Digital, AC-3, DTS and MPEG 2 Multichannel. 5.1 has one center speaker (mainly used for speech) and four surround speakers (for music and sound effects). Additionally a subchannel (LFE – Low Frequency Effects) with lower bandwidth is used for special low frequency effects. LRC Same as LRCS, but without the surround speaker channel. LRS Left-Right-Surround, with the surround speaker positioned at center-rear. LRC+LFE Same as LRC but with an LFE subchannel added. LRS+LFE Same as LRS but with an LFE subchannel added.
Surround Sound (Cubase Pro only) Preparations 560 Quadro The original Quadraphonic format for music, with one speaker in each corner. This format was intended for vinyl record players. LRCS+LFE Same as LRCS but with an LFE subchannel added. Quadro+LFE Same as Quadro but with an LFE subchannel added. 6.0 Cine A Left-Right-Center front speaker arrangement with 3 (Left-Right-Center) surround channels. 6.0 Music This uses 2 (Left/Right) front channels with Left and Right surround channels and Left and Right Side channels. Preparations Output bus configuration Before you can start working with surround sound, you have to configure a surround output bus, through which all the speaker channels of the selected surround format are routed. RELATED LINKS Adding Input and Output Busses on page 30 Child busses A child bus is a bus within a (wider) bus. The most obvious application of a child bus is to create stereo busses within your surround bus – this allows you to route stereo tracks directly to a stereo speaker pair within the surround bus. You may also want to add child busses in other surround formats (with fewer channels than the “parent bus”). Once you have created a surround bus, you can add one or several child busses to it by right-clicking the bus and selecting “Add Child Bus”. RELATED LINKS Adding Child Busses (Cubase Pro only) on page 31