Steinberg Cubase Ai 5 Manual

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Audio effects
Setting up send effects
Adding an FX channel track
1.Pull down the Project menu and select “FX Channel” 
from the “Add Track” submenu.
A dialog appears.
2.Select a channel configuration for the FX channel track.
Normally, stereo is a good choice since most effect plug-ins have stereo 
outputs.
3.Select an effect for the FX channel track.
This is not strictly necessary at this point – you can also leave the plug-in 
pop-up menu set to “No Effect” and add effects to the FX channel later.
4.Click OK.
An FX channel track is added to the Track list, and the selected effect, if 
any, is loaded into the first insert effect slot for the FX channel (in that 
case, the lit Inserts tab for the FX channel track in the Inspector indicates 
that an effect has been assigned and automatically activated).
All FX channel tracks you create will appear in a dedi-
cated “folder” track in the Track list.
This makes it easy to manage and keep track of all your FX channel 
tracks, and also allows you to save screen space by folding in the FX 
Channel folder.
FX channel tracks are automatically named “FX 1”, “FX 2” etc., but you 
can rename them if you wish. Just double-click the name of an FX chan-
nel track in either the Track list or the Inspector and type in a new name.
Adding and setting up effects
As mentioned above, you can add a single insert effect 
when you create the FX channel track. To add and set up 
effects after the FX channel track is created, you can ei-
ther use the Inspector for the track (click the Inserts tab) 
or the VST FX Channel Settings window:
1.Click the Edit (“e”) button for the FX channel track (in 
the Track list, mixer or Inspector).
The VST FX Channel Settings window appears, similar to a regular 
Channel Settings window.
On the left in the window you can find the Inserts section with eight ef-
fect slots.
2.Make sure the FX channel is routed to the correct out-
put bus.
This is done with the Output Routing pop-up menu at the top of the fader 
section (also available in the Inspector).
3.To add an insert effect in an empty slot (or to replace 
the current effect in a slot), click in the slot and select an 
effect from the pop-up menu.
This works just like when selecting insert effects for a regular audio 
channel.
4.When you add an effect, its control panel will automat-
ically appear. When you set up send effects, you would 
normally set the wet/dry Mix control to all “wet”.
This is because you control the balance between the wet and the dry sig-
nal with the effect sends. For more information, see “Editing effects” on 
page 94.
You can add up to eight effects for an FX channel.
The signal will pass through all the effects in series. It is not possible to 
adjust the send and return levels separately for the effects – this is done 
for the FX channel as a whole. If what you want is several separate send 
effects (where you can control the send and return levels independently), 
you should instead add more FX channel tracks – one for each effect. 
						

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Audio effects
You can reorder the effects by clicking in the area above 
the name field and dragging the effect onto another slot.
You can copy an effect into another effect slot (for the 
same channel or between channels) by holding down [Ctrl]/
[Command] and dragging it onto another effect slot.
To remove an insert effect from a slot, click in the slot 
and select “No Effect” from the pop-up menu.
You should do this for all effects that you do not intend to use, to reduce 
the CPU load.
You can bypass individual effects (or all effects) by 
clicking the corresponding Bypass button(s) for the FX 
channel track.
See “Routing an audio channel or bus through insert effects” on page 88.
You can also adjust level, pan and EQ for the effect re-
turn in the FX Channel Settings window.
This can also be done in the mixer or in the Inspector.
ÖRemember that the more effect units you use, the 
higher the CPU load.
Making settings for the sends
The next step is to set up a send for an audio channel and 
route it to the FX channel. This can be done in the Chan-
nel Settings window or in the Inspector for the audio track. 
The example below shows the Channel Settings window, 
but the procedure is similar for all the sections:
1.Click the “e” button for an audio channel to bring up its 
Channel Settings window.
By default, the send section is located to the left of the 
channel strip. Each of the eight sends has the following 
controls:
 An On/Off button for activating/deactivating the effect
 A send level slider
 A pre/post-fader switch
 An “e” (edit) button
Note that the last three items are not shown until the send 
is activated and an effect has been loaded.2.Pull down the Routing pop-up menu for a send by 
clicking in the empty slot, and select the desired routing 
destination.
 If the first item on this menu (“No Bus”) is selected, the send is 
not routed anywhere.
 Items called “FX 1”, “FX 2” etc. correspond to existing FX 
tracks. If you renamed an FX track (see “Adding an FX channel 
track” on page 91), that name will appear on this menu instead 
of the default.
 The menu also allows for routing a send directly to output bus-
ses, separate output bus channels or Group channels.
3.Select an FX channel track from the pop-up menu.
Now the send is routed to the FX channel.
4.Click the power button for the effect send so that it 
lights up in blue.
This activates the send. 
5.Click and drag the send level slider to a moderate 
value.
The send level determines how much of the signal from the audio chan-
nel is routed to the FX channel via the send.
Setting the Send level. 
						

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Audio effects
In the mixer, you can use the level fader for the FX chan-
nel to set the effect return level.
By adjusting the return level, you control the amount of the signal sent 
from the FX channel to the output bus.
Setting the effect return level.
6.If you want the signal to be sent to the FX channel be-
fore the audio channel’s volume fader in the mixer, click on 
the Pre-Fader button for the send so that it lights up.
A send set to pre-fader mode.
Normally you want the effect send to be proportional to 
the channel volume (post-fader send). The picture below 
shows where the sends are “tapped” from the signal in 
pre and post-fader mode:ÖYou can choose whether a send in pre-fader mode 
should be affected by the channel’s Mute button or not.
This is done with the option “Mute Pre-Send when Mute” in the Prefe-
rences dialog (VST page).
When one or several sends are activated for a channel, 
the Send Effects buttons light up in blue.
Bypassing the sends
In the mixer, you can click on the lit (blue) Sends State 
button for a channel to bypass (disable) all its sends.
When the sends are bypassed, the button is yellow. Click the button again 
to enable the sends.
In the Inspector and the Channel Settings window, click 
the button to the left of the Sends button (so that it lights 
up yellow) to bypass the sends.
You can also bypass individual sends in the channel 
overview.
See “Insert effects in the channel overview” on page 89.
You can also bypass the send effects by clicking the 
“Bypass Inserts” button for the FX channel.
This bypasses the actual effects which may be used by several different 
channels. Bypassing a send affects that send and that channel only. If 
you bypass the insert effects, the original sound will be passed through. 
This may lead to unwanted side effects (higher volume). To deactivate all 
effects, use the mute button in the FX channel.
FX channels and the Solo Defeat function
When mixing, you might sometimes want to solo specific 
audio channels, and listen only to these while other chan-
nels are muted. However, this will mute all FX channels as 
well. If the soloed audio channels have sends routed to FX 
channels, this means you will not hear the send effects for 
the channels.
To remedy this, you can use the Solo Defeat function for 
the FX channel:
1.[Alt]/[Option]-click the Solo button for the FX channel.
This activates the Solo Defeat function for the FX channel. In this mode, 
the FX channel will not be muted if you solo another channel in the mixer.
Insert effects 1–6
EQ
Volume (fader)
Pre-fader sends
Post-fader sends
Insert effects 7–8Input gain 
						

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Audio effects
2.You can now solo any of the audio channels without 
having the effect return (the FX channel) muted.
To turn off the Solo Defeat function for the FX channel, 
[Alt]/[Option]-click the Solo button for the FX channel 
again.
Editing effects
All inserts and sends have an Edit (“e”) button. Clicking 
this opens the control panel for the effect, in which you 
can make parameter settings.
The contents, design and layout of the control panel de-
pends on the selected effect. However, all effect control 
panels have an On/Off button, a Bypass button, Read/
Write automation buttons (for automating effect parame-
ter changes, see the chapter “Automation” on page 108), 
a preset pop-up menu and a Preset Management pop-up 
menu for saving and loading effect presets.
The Rotary effect control panel
Please note that all effects can be edited using a simpli-
fied control panel (horizontal sliders only, no graphics). This 
panel is opened by pressing [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Alt]/[Op-
tion]-[Shift] and clicking on the Edit button for the effect 
send or slot.
Effect control panels may have any combination of knobs, 
sliders, buttons and graphic curves. 
ÖThe included effects and their parameters are de-
scribed in detail in the separate manual “Plug-in Refer-
ence”.
If you edit the parameters for an effect, these settings 
are saved automatically with the project.
You can also save the current settings as a preset, see 
below.
Effects parameters can be automated – see the chapter 
“Automation” on page 108.
Effect presets
Effect preset management in Cubase AI is very versatile. 
In the Save Preset dialog you can assign attributes to pre-
sets which allow you to organize and browse them ac-
cording to various criteria. Cubase AI comes with 
categorized track and VST presets that you can use 
straight out of the box. You can also preview effect pre-
sets before loading them which considerably speeds up 
the process of finding the right effect preset.
Selecting effect presets
Most VST effect plug-ins come with a number of useful 
presets for instant selection.
To select an effect preset in the Presets browser, proceed 
as follows:
1.Load an effect, either as a channel insert or into an FX 
channel.
The control panel for the effect is displayed.
2.Click in the preset field at the top of the control panel.
This opens the Presets browser.
You can also open the Presets browser from the In-
spector (Inserts tab) or the Channel Settings window.
3.Select the desired preset in the list.
4.Activate playback to audition the selected preset.
Simply step through the presets until you found the right sound. It may be 
helpful to set up cycle playback of a section to make comparisons be-
tween different preset settings easier. 
						

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Audio effects
5.Double-click on the desired preset (or click outside 
the Presets browser) to apply the preset.
To return to the preset that was selected when you 
opened the Presets browser, click the Reset button.
You can also open the Presets browser by clicking the 
button to the right of the preset field an selecting “Load 
Preset” from the Preset Management pop-up menu.
The preset handling for VST 2 plug-ins is slightly differ-
ent, see “About earlier VST effect presets” on page 96.
The Browser sections
The Presets browser contains the following sections:
The “Search & Viewer” section (displayed by default) 
lists the available presets for the selected effect.
The Filter section (displayed when you click the Catego-
ries button) shows the available preset attributes for the 
selected effect.
If no attributes have been specified for the effect presets, the columns 
will be empty. If attributes have been assigned to a preset for this effect, 
you can click on the attribute in the respective column (Category, Style 
etc.), to filter out all presets that do not match the selected attribute(s).
If you also activate the “Show Location” button, the 
Browser & Filter section is displayed, allowing you to 
specify the Presets folder that should be searched for 
preset files.
Saving effect presets
You can save your edited effect settings as presets for 
further use (e.g. in other projects):
1.Open the Preset Management pop-up menu.2.Select “Save Preset…” from the pop-up menu.
This opens a dialog where you can save the current settings as a preset.
3.In the File name field in the lower part of the Save Pre-
set dialog, enter a name for the new preset.
If you wish to assign attributes to the preset, click the 
Tag Editor button.
Click in the Value column to select an appropriate “tag” for one or sev-
eral of the available categories in the Attributes column. 
4.Click OK to store the preset and exit the dialog.
User-defined presets are saved in the following location:
 Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\\Appli-
cation data\VST3 presets\\
 Windows Vista: \Users\\AppData\Roaming\
VST3 presets\\
 Mac: /Users//Library/Audio/Presets//
You cannot change the default folder, but you can add fur-
ther subfolders inside the individual effect preset folders. 
						

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Audio effects
About earlier VST effect presets
As stated previously, you can use any VST 2.x plug-ins in 
Cubase AI. For a description of how to add VST plug-ins, 
see “Installing and managing effect plug-ins” on page 96.
When you add a VST 2 plug-in, any previously stored pre-
sets for it will be in the old FX program/bank format (.fxp/
.fxb). You can import such files, but the preset handling will 
be slightly different. You will not be able to use the new fea-
tures until you have converted the old “.fxp/.fxb” presets to 
VST 3 presets. If you save new presets for the included 
VST 2 plug-ins, these will automatically be saved in the new 
“.vstpreset” format.
Importing and converting FXB/FXP files
To import .fxp/.fxb files, proceed as follows:
1.Load any VST 2 effect you may have installed, and 
open the Preset Management pop-up menu.
2.Select “Import FXB/FXP…” from the pop-up.
This menu item is only available for VST 2 plug-ins.
3.In the file dialog that opens, locate the .fxp file and 
click Open.
If you load a bank (.fxb), it will replace the current set of all effect pro-
grams. If you load a single program, it will replace the currently selected 
effect program only. Note that such files exist only if you created your 
own .fxp/.fxb presets with a previous version of Cubase AI (or any other 
VST 2 application).
4.After importing, you can convert the current program 
list to VST presets by selecting “Convert Program List to 
VST Presets” from the Preset Management pop-up.
After converting, the presets will be available in the Presets browser. The 
new converted presets will be stored in the VST3 Preset folder.
Installing and managing effect 
plug-ins
Cubase AI supports two plug-in formats; the VST 2 format 
(with the file name extensions “.dll” on the PC and “.VST” 
on the Mac) and the VST 3 format (extension “.vst3” on 
both platforms). The formats are handled differently when 
it comes to installation and organizing.
Installing additional VST plug-ins
Installing VST 3 plug-ins under Mac OS X
To install a VST 3.x plug-in under Mac OS X, quit Cubase 
AI and drag the plug-in file into one of the following folders:
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
This is only possible if you are the system administrator. Plug-ins in-
stalled in this folder will be available to all users, for all programs that 
support them.
/Users//Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
“” is the name you use to log on to the computer (the easi-
est way to open this folder is to go to your “Home” folder and use the 
path /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/ from there). Plug-ins installed in this 
folder are only available to you.
When you launch Cubase AI again, the new effects will ap-
pear on the effect pop-up menus. In the VST 3 protocol, the 
effect category, sub-folder structure etc. are built-in and 
cannot be changed. The effect(s) will simply show up in the 
assigned category folder(s) on the Effect pop-up menu.
Installing VST 2.x plug-ins under Mac OS X
To install a VST 2.x plug-in under Mac OS X, quit Cubase 
AI and drag the plug-in file to one of the following folders:
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
This is only possible if you are the system administrator. Plug-ins in-
stalled in this folder will be available to all users, for all programs that 
support them.
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
“” is the name you use to log on to the computer (the easi-
est way to open this folder is to go to your “Home” folder and use the 
path /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/ from there). Plug-ins installed in this 
folder are only available to you.
When you launch Cubase AI again, the new effects will 
appear on the effect pop-up menus.
!All VST 2 presets can be converted to VST 3 presets. 
						

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Audio effects
ÖIf an effect plug-in comes with its own installation ap-
plication, you should use this.
As a general rule, always read the documentation or readme files before 
installing new plug-ins.
Installing VST 3 plug-ins under Windows
Under Windows, VST 3 plug-ins are installed by dragging 
the files (with the extension “.vst3”) into the vst3 folder in 
the Cubase AI application folder. When you launch Cubase 
AI again, the new effects will appear on the Effect pop-up 
menus. In the VST 3 protocol, the effect category, sub-
folder structure etc. are built-in and cannot be changed. 
The installed new effect(s) will simply show up in the as-
signed category folder(s) on the effect pop-up menu.
Installing VST 2 plug-ins under Windows
Under Windows, VST 2.x plug-ins are installed by dragging 
the files (with the extension “.dll”) into the Vstplugins folder 
in the Cubase AI application folder, or into the Shared VST 
Plug-in folder – see below. When you launch Cubase AI 
again, the new effects will appear on the effect pop-up 
menus.
ÖIf an effect plug-in comes with its own installation ap-
plication, you should use this.
As a general rule, always read the documentation before installing new 
plug-ins.
Organizing VST 2 plug-ins
If you have a large number of VST 2 plug-ins, having them 
all on a single pop-up menu in the program may become 
unmanageable. For this reason, the VST 2 plug-ins in-
stalled with Cubase AI are placed in appropriate subfold-
ers according to the effect type.
Under Windows, you can organize VST plug-ins by mov-
ing, adding or renaming subfolders within the Vstplugins 
folder. 
When you launch the program and pull down an effects pop-up menu, 
the subfolders will be represented by hierarchical submenus, each listing 
the plug-ins in the corresponding subfolder.
Under Mac OS X, you cannot change the hierarchic ar-
rangement of the “built-in” VST plug-ins.
However, you can arrange any additional plug-ins you have installed (in the 
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/ folders, see above) by placing them in sub-
folders. In the program, the subfolders will be represented by hierarchical 
submenus, each listing the plug-ins in the corresponding subfolder.
The Plug-in Information window
On the Devices menu, you will find an item called “Plug-in 
Information”. Selecting this opens a dialog listing all the 
available VST compatible plug-ins in your system (includ-
ing VST Instruments).
Managing and selecting VST plug-ins
To display all available VST plug-ins, open the “VST 
PlugIns” tab.
To enable a plug-in (make it available for selection), put 
a check mark in the left column.
Only the enabled plug-ins will appear on the effect menus.
The Instances column indicates how many instances of 
the plug-in are currently used in Cubase AI.
Clicking in this column for a plug-in which is already in use produces a 
pop-up showing exactly where each use occurs.
ÖA plug-in may be in use even if it is not enabled in the 
left column. 
You might for example have opened a project containing effects that are 
currently disabled on the menu. The left column only determines whether 
or not the plug-in will be visible on the effect menus.
All columns can be resized by dragging the divider in 
the column header.
The other columns show the following information about 
each plug-in:
Column Description
Name The name of the plug-in.
Vendor The manufacturer of the plug-in.
File This shows the complete name of the plug-in (with extension).
Category This indicates the category of each plug-in (such as VST In-
struments, etc.).
Version Shows the version of the plug-in. 
						

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Audio effects
Update button
Clicking this button will make Cubase AI re-scan the des-
ignated VST folders for updated plug-in information.
VST 2.x Plug-in Paths button
This opens a dialog where you can see the current paths 
to where VST 2.x plug-ins are located. You can add/re-
move folder locations by using the corresponding buttons. 
If you click “Add”, a file dialog is opened, where you can 
select a folder location.
About the “shared” plug-ins folder (Windows and VST 
2.x only)
You can designate a “shared” VST 2.x plug-ins folder. 
This will allow VST 2.x plug-ins to be used by other pro-
grams that support this standard.
You designate a shared folder by selecting a folder in the 
list and clicking the “Set As Shared Folder” button in the 
VST 2.x Plug-in Paths dialog.
Exporting plug-in information files
You can also save plug-in information as an .xml file, e. g. 
for archiving purposes or troubleshooting. The Export func-
tion is available for VST, MIDI and Audio Codec plug-ins. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Right-click on the desired tab in the Plug-in Information 
window to open the context menu and select “Export”.
A file dialog opens.
2.In the dialog, specify a name and location for the Plug-
in Information export file and click OK to export the file.
The Plug-in Information file contains information on the 
installed/available plug-ins, their version, vendor, etc.
The .xml file can then be opened in any editor applica-
tion supporting the xml format.
SDK Shows with which version of the VST protocol a plug-in is 
compatible.
Latency This shows the delay (in samples) that will be introduced if the 
effect is used as an Insert. This is automatically compensated 
for by Cubase AI.
I/O This column shows the number of inputs and outputs for each 
plug-in.
Path The path and name of the folder in which the plug-in file is 
located. Column Description 
						

							9
VST Instruments and Instrument tracks 
						

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VST Instruments and Instrument tracks
Introduction
VST Instruments are software synthesizers (or other sound 
sources) that are contained within Cubase AI. They are 
played internally via MIDI. You can add effects or EQ to 
VST Instruments, just as with audio tracks.
The VST Instrument HALionOne is included with Cubase 
AI, others can be purchased separately from Steinberg 
and other manufacturers.
ÖThis chapter describes the general procedures for 
setting up and using VST Instruments.
For a description of HALionOne and its parameters, see the separate 
PDF document “Plug-in Reference”.
ÖDepending on the VST version the instrument is com-
patible with, an icon may be displayed in front of the in-
strument name, see “About VST 3” on page 86.
VST Instrument channels vs. 
instrument tracks
Cubase AI allows you to make use of VST Instruments in 
two different ways:
By activating instruments in the VST Instruments window.
This creates a VST Instrument channel, which can be played by one (or 
several) MIDI track(s) routed to it.
By creating instrument tracks.
Instrument tracks are a combination of a VST Instrument, an instrument 
channel and a MIDI track. You play and record MIDI note data directly for 
this track.
Both methods have their advantages, and should be se-
lected according to what best suits your needs. The fol-
lowing sections describe the two approaches.
VST Instrument channels
You can access a VST Instrument from within Cubase AI 
by creating a VST Instrument channel and associating this 
channel with a MIDI track. Proceed as follows:
1.On the Devices menu, select “VST Instruments”.
The VST Instruments window opens.
2.Click in one of the empty slots to open the instrument 
pop-up menu and select the desired instrument.
3.You will be asked if you want to create an associated 
MIDI track connected to the VST Instrument. Do so.
The instrument is loaded and activated, and its control panel is opened. 
A MIDI track with the name of the instrument is added to the Track list. 
The output of this track is routed to the instrument.
In the Preferences dialog (VST–Plug-ins page), you can 
specify what should happen when loading a VST instru-
ment in an instrument slot. Open the pop-up menu “Cre-
ate MIDI track when loading VSTi” and select one of the 
available options:
 When you select “Always”, a corresponding MIDI track will al-
ways be created.
 When you select “Do not”, no track will be created and only 
the instrument will be loaded.
 Select “Always ask to” if you want to decide whether a MIDI 
track should be created whenever you load an instrument.
You can also use modifiers to specify what should happen 
when you load a VST instrument (overriding the Prefer-
ence setting):
 When you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] while selecting a VST 
Instrument for an instrument slot, a corresponding MIDI track 
with the name of the instrument is automatically created.
 When you hold down [Alt]/[Option] while selecting a VST In-
strument for an instrument slot, no MIDI track will be created 
for the instrument.
If you do not want the plug-in control panels to open ev-
ery time you load a plug-in, open the Preferences dialog 
(VST–Plug-ins page) and deactivate “Open Effect Editor 
After Loading it”.
You can open a plug-in panel at any time by clicking the “e” button of the 
corresponding plug-in slot.