Steinberg Cubase Ai 5 Manual

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VST Instruments and Instrument tracks
4.If you now look in the Project window Track list, you 
will find that a dedicated folder for the chosen instrument 
has been added, within a “VST Instruments” folder (where 
all your VST Instrument channels will be listed).
The separate folder for the added VST Instrument contains two types of 
automation tracks: one for automating the plug-in parameters and one for 
each mixer channel used by the VST Instrument. For example, if you add a 
VST Instrument with four separate outputs (four separate mixer channels), 
the folder will contain five automation tracks. To keep the screen less clut-
tered, you may want to close the folder for the VST Instrument until you 
need to view or edit any of the automation tracks. For details about auto-
mation, see the chapter “Automation” on page 108.
When you select the MIDI track routed to the VST in-
strument, you will see that the Inspector contains a sepa-
rate section for the instrument.
This section contains the audio channel settings for the VST Instrument 
(inserts, EQs, Sends and fader settings). The tab has two buttons for 
opening the Channel Settings window (for the VST Instrument channel) 
and the Edit Instrument button which opens the control panel for the VST 
Instrument.
5.Depending on the selected VST Instrument, you may 
also need to select a MIDI channel for the track.
For example, a multitimbral VST Instrument can play back different 
sounds on different MIDI channels – check the documentation for the 
VST Instrument for MIDI implementation details.
6.Make sure the option “MIDI Thru Active” is activated in 
the Preferences dialog (MIDI page).
7.Activate the Monitor button for the MIDI track (in the 
Track list, Inspector or mixer). 
When this is activated (or when the track is record enabled), incoming 
MIDI is passed on to the selected MIDI output (in this case the VST In-
strument), see the chapter “Recording” on page 48.
8.Open the mixer.
You will find one or more channel strips for the audio outputs of the VST 
Instrument. VST Instrument channel strips have the same features and 
functionality as group channel strips, with the addition of an Edit button at 
the bottom of the strip for opening the VST Instrument control panel. In 
the Inspector you will also find an Output Routing pop-up menu for rout-
ing the VST instrument, e.g. to an output channel or group. Routing is de-
scribed in detail in the chapter “VST Connections: Setting up input and 
output busses” on page 9.
9.Play the VST Instrument from your MIDI keyboard.
You can use the mixer settings to adjust the sound, add EQ or effects, etc., 
just as with regular audio channels. Of course, you can also record or man-
ually create MIDI parts that play back sounds from the VST Instrument.
VST Instrument channels give you full access to multi-
timbral instruments.
You can have several MIDI tracks routed to the VST Instrument, each 
playing a different part.
Similarly, you can route channels to any available output 
provided by the VST Instrument.
The VST Instruments window
When a VST Instrument is loaded, six controls are dis-
played for this slot in the VST Instruments window.
The On/Off button is used to activate or deactivate the 
VST Instrument.
When an instrument is selected from the instrument pop-up menu, it is 
activated automatically, i. e. the on/off control lights up in blue.
For some instruments you may also bypass the instrument by clicking the 
Bypass button to the right of the on/off button.
Click the Edit (“e”) button to open the control panel for 
the VST Instrument. 
Below the Edit button is a small LED that will light up 
when MIDI data is received by the instrument.
The rightmost button allows you to activate the desired 
output for the instrument.
This is useful when you are using VST Instruments that have a large num-
ber of audio busses, which may be confusing. Click one of the entries in 
the pop-up list to activate/deactivate output busses for this instrument.
Opens the Channel 
Settings window. Opens the control 
panel for the VST 
Instrument.
!You can have up to 2 VST Instruments activated at the 
same time, either different instruments or two in-
stances of the same instrument.
Instrument 
on/offActivate 
outputs Bypass 
instrument
Open instrument panel
Event received 
						

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VST Instruments and Instrument tracks
Instrument tracks
An instrument track is a combination of a VST Instrument, a 
MIDI track, and a VST Instrument channel, in other words: 
it is a track coupled with a sound – it allows you to think in 
terms of sounds rather than in terms of track and instru-
ment settings.
Adding Instrument tracks
To open and use an Instrument track, proceed as follows:
1.Open the Project menu and select Instrument from the 
Add Track submenu.
You can also right-click in the Track list and select “Add Instrument 
Track” on the context menu.
2.The Add Instrument Track dialog is opened.
You can select an instrument for the track from the pop-up (but you can 
also leave this until later if you wish). Specify the number of instrument 
tracks you wish to create in the “count” field. If you click the “Browse 
Presets” button, the dialog expands to show the Presets browser, where 
you can browse for sounds.
3.Click OK to add the Instrument track.
When you select an Instrument in the Add Track dialog, the new track 
will get the name of the instrument. When no instrument is selected, the 
track is named “Instrument track”.
An instrument track in the Track list
Properties
Each Instrument track has a corresponding channel 
strip in the mixer.
In the Inspector, you can select a VST Instrument from 
the Instrument pop-up menu.
When you select an instrument from this pop-up, its control panel will 
open automatically.
You can also exchange the “sound” of an instrument 
track (i. e. the VST Instrument and its settings) by extract-
ing these data from another instrument track or a VST pre-
set, see “Extracting sound from an instrument track or VST 
preset” on page 158.
On the Input Routing pop-up menu, you can select a 
MIDI input.
Instrument tracks have only one MIDI input.
To open the control panel for the VST Instrument, click 
the “Edit Instrument” button in the Inspector.
As with MIDI tracks, you can perform the usual MIDI edit-
ing procedures on the instrument track, like duplicate, split, 
or repeat the track, drag and drop the MIDI parts of an in-
strument track etc. For more information, see the chapter 
“MIDI realtime parameters” on page 166.
As with the MIDI track inspector and track controls, you 
can adjust track delay, choose MIDI input, work with VST 
Instrument panels, choose drum maps etc. For more infor-
mation, see the chapter “MIDI realtime parameters” on 
page 166.
Instrument tracks have all options that VST Instrument 
channels have, i.e. Inserts, Sends, EQ, etc.
ÖVST Instruments used in Instrument tracks do not ap-
pear in the VST Instruments window.
For an overview of all used VST Instruments, open the Plug-in Information 
window via the Devices menu. For further information, see the section “The 
Plug-in Information window” on page 97.
Restrictions
MIDI volume and pan cannot be controlled (there is no 
“MIDI fader” tab in the Inspector); instead, the VST Instru-
ment volume and pan are used (via the “Channel” tab in the 
Inspector). This applies also to the respective automation 
parameters.
ÖDue to there being only one volume and pan control for 
the instrument track, the Mute button will mute the com-
plete track including the VST Instrument. (As opposed to a 
MIDI track with an assigned VST Instrument, for which mut-
ing the MIDI track still allows you to monitor and record the 
VST Instrument.)
Instrument tracks always have one stereo output chan-
nel only. This means that VST Instruments that do not pro-
vide a stereo output as their first output channel cannot be 
used with instrument tracks, and must be loaded via the 
VST Instruments window. 
						

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VST Instruments and Instrument tracks
Due to the limitation to one output channel, instrument 
tracks play only the first voice of a multi-timbral VST In-
strument. If you want to use all voices, you have to load the 
instrument via the VST Instruments window and set up a 
MIDI channel to play it.
Exporting instrument tracks as MIDI file
You can also export instrument tracks as standard MIDI 
files, see “Exporting MIDI files” on page 259.
Please note: 
As there is no MIDI patch information in an instrument 
track, this information is missing in the resulting MIDI file.
If you activate “Export Inspector Volume/Pan”, volume 
and pan information of the VST Instrument will be con-
verted and written into the MIDI file as controller data.
What do I need? Instrument channel 
or Instrument track?
If you need a particular sound without knowing which 
VST Instrument to use, create an instrument track and use 
the preview features to find the sound you want.
Do likewise if the Instrument track restrictions described 
above do not matter.
If you are planning to create an instrument track preset, 
complete with inserts and EQ settings, you have to use an 
instrument track.
If you need to use multitimbral parts and/or multiple out-
puts, set up a VST Instrument channel. 
VST instruments and processor load
If you are working with VST 3 instruments, another way to 
relieve processor load is the option “Suspend VST3 plug-in 
processing when no audio signals are received” in the Pre-
ferences dialog (VST–Plug-ins page). This is described in 
the section “Smart plug-in processing” on page 86. 
Using presets for VSTi configuration
About track presets and VST presets
Track presets and VST presets allow you to quickly set up 
tracks or instruments with all the settings required for the 
sound you want. Cubase AI provides various types of pre-
sets for various purposes. Two of these are of relevance 
for VST Instruments:
Track presets for instrument tracks store the parameter 
settings of a VST Instrument together with all track/chan-
nel settings (applied audio insert effects, etc.).
Instrument track presets can only be applied to instrument tracks, not to 
instrument channels activated in the VST Instruments window.
VST presets store all panel settings for a plug-in (VST In-
struments and VST effects), but no track/channel settings.
Note that you can create instrument tracks from VST 3 presets, i. e. se-
lecting a VST 3 preset will create an instrument track with all settings 
stored in the VST preset plus an “empty” track.
As described in the chapter “Audio effects” on page 85, 
there are two types of VST presets that can be used: the 
VST 2 standard “.fxb/.fxp” files and the VST 3 preset stan-
dard with the extension “.vstpreset”. Some of the included 
VST Instruments use the VST 2 preset standard, and oth-
ers use the VST 3 standard. 
All VST 2 instruments can import “.fxb/.fxp” files and also 
convert them to the VST 3 standard. Once converted, you 
can use all VST 3 features, see “About earlier VST Instru-
ment presets” on page 106.
ÖFor further information on Track presets and VST pre-
sets, see the chapter “Working with Track Presets” on 
page 155.
Browsing for sounds
One important and often time-consuming aspect of music 
creation is the search for the right sounds. You might spend 
a huge amount of time trying out the presets for a particular 
instrument only to find out later that the preset for another 
instrument contains the sound you were looking for. 
This is why Cubase AI features extensive browsing possi-
bilities, allowing you to preview all available presets without 
having to load them first! 
In addition, you can filter your search by specifying cate-
gory, style, etc. 
						

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VST Instruments and Instrument tracks
For example, if you are looking for a bass sound, simply 
select the Bass category and you can browse and preview 
all bass sounds for all instruments. If you know you want a 
synth bass sound, select Synth Bass as sub-category and 
all synth bass sounds will be shown, etc.
You can also browse and preview track presets for instru-
ment tracks, i. e. instrument sounds plus all track settings 
and all channel insert effect settings for this track.
These features combined speed up the process of finding 
the right sound immensely. 
When creating your own presets, it is always a good 
idea to set up attributes for them, as it allows you to fully 
use the browsing features for your files, too.
There are two ways of browsing for sounds:
Using the Presets browser.
This will apply preset settings to an existing track.
Using the Browse Sounds dialog.
Use this dialog if you have not set up a track yet.
Using the Presets browser
1.Create an instrument track and select it in the Track list.
You do not have to assign an instrument to the track, but make sure to 
specify a MIDI input.
2.Make sure that the track settings are shown in the 
Inspector.
3.Click in the Track Preset field in the Inspector (the text 
field currently reads “No Track Preset”).4.The Presets browser is opened. It contains three sec-
tions (Browser, Search & Viewer and Filter). By default, only 
the Search & Viewer section is shown. Note that it may take 
a moment before all available sounds appear in the Viewer.
The Viewer section to the right displays all track presets 
for instrument tracks and all VST 3 presets.
Track presets for audio tracks, MIDI tracks or “multi” track setups are not 
displayed. The preset icon to the left of the file name indicates the type of 
preset.
5.Select a preset in the list.
6.Play a few notes on your MIDI keyboard to hear the 
preset sound. You can switch between presets and hear 
the sound when you play. You can also play back/loop a 
MIDI part on a track. Each time you select a preset, all as-
sociated track and/or instrument settings are automati-
cally loaded.
7.Use the Filter section to search for specific attributes if 
you wish.
You can click on the attributes in the respective column (Category, Style 
etc.), to filter out all presets that do not match the selected attribute(s).
8.Double-click the desired preset to select it and close 
the dialog.
Using the “Browse Sounds” dialog
1.Open the Project menu–Add Track submenu and se-
lect “Browse Sounds…”.
The Browse Sounds dialog is opened. It contains the same sections as the 
Apply Track Presets dialog (Browser, Viewer and Filter).
The Viewer section of the Browse Sounds dialog displays 
all preset sounds for all track types and all VST Instru-
ments. To preview the presets, you have play MIDI notes 
on your MIDI keyboard because at this stage there is no 
track connected. 
Click here…
…to open the Presets browser. 
						

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VST Instruments and Instrument tracks
2.When you have found the right sound, click OK to 
close the dialog.
An instrument track is created with all track and/or instrument settings 
that were saved in the preset.
Selecting VST Instrument presets
The previous sections focussed on selecting presets for 
the creation of new instrument tracks, or for changing the 
setup of an existing track. However, you can also use pre-
sets to change the settings of a VST Instrument.
To select a VST Instrument preset, proceed as follows:
1.Load a VST Instrument (either in the VST Instruments 
window or via an instrument track).
2.If you use the VST Instruments window, select a MIDI 
track routed to the instrument. If you use an instrument 
track, select this. 
3.If necessary, click on the track name at the top of the 
Inspector to open the basic track settings.
4.Click in the Programs field in the Inspector.
The Presets browser is opened.
5.Step through the presets during playback to find the 
sound you are looking for.
6.Double-click the desired preset to load it and close 
the Presets browser.You can also open the Presets browser by clicking in 
the preset name field in the control panel of a VST Instru-
ment or by clicking the button next to the Preset name in 
the control panel and selecting “Load Preset…” from the 
pop-up menu.
Selecting another preset in the Presets browser will 
load it directly, replacing the previous preset.
When the Presets browser is open, you can still use 
Project window key commands, allowing you to start/stop 
playback or locate to different positions in the project.
Clicking the Reset button below the Viewer will reload 
the last loaded preset.
Saving VST Instrument presets
You can save your settings as presets for further use (e.g. 
in other projects):
1.In the VST Instrument panel, click the button to the right 
of the preset name and select “Save Preset…” from the 
pop-up menu.
This opens a dialog where you can save the current settings as a preset.
Presets are saved into a default folder named VST3 Pre-
sets. Within this folder, there is a folder called “Steinberg 
Media Technologies” where the included presets are ar-
ranged in subfolders named after each instrument.
You cannot change the default folder, but you can add fur-
ther subfolders inside the instrument’s preset folder.
Under Windows XP, the default preset folder is in the 
following location: \Documents and Settings\\Application data\VST3 Presets.
Under Windows Vista, the default preset folder is in the 
following location: \Users\\AppData\Roam-
ing\VST3 Presets.
Under Mac OS, the default preset folder is in the follow-
ing location: /Users//Library/Audio/Presets/
/.
2.Enter a name for the new preset in the File name field 
in the lower part of the dialog.
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.
3.Click OK to store the preset and exit the dialog.
!Note that the following refers to the selection of VST 3 
presets (.vstpreset). If you want to apply .fxp/.fxb pre-
sets to your VST 2 instruments in this way, see “About 
earlier VST Instrument presets” on page 106. 
						

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VST Instruments and Instrument tracks
Extracting sounds from Track Presets
You can extract a sound from a Track preset (disregarding 
any track/channel settings) and save it as a VST preset. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Click the button “Extract sound from Track Preset” be-
low the Output Routing pop-up menu in the Inspector. 
This opens a dialog where all Track Presets are shown.
2.Select an instrument track preset or VST preset by 
double-clicking it.
The VST Instrument and the settings (but no inserts, EQs or modifiers) of 
the existing track are overwritten using the data of the track preset. The 
previous VST Instrument for this instrument track is removed and the 
new VST Instrument with its settings is set up for the instrument track.
Track Presets are described in detail in the chapter 
“Working with Track Presets” on page 155.
About earlier VST Instrument presets
You can use any VST 2.x Instrument plug-ins in Cubase AI. 
Installing VST Instrument plug-ins works the same way as 
for audio effects – see “Installing additional VST plug-ins” 
on page 96.
When you install a VST 2 instrument, any previously stored 
presets for it will be of the old FX program/bank (.fxp/.fxb) 
standard. You can import such files, but the preset handling 
will be slightly different. You will not be able to use the new 
features like the Preview function until you have converted 
the old “.fxp/.fxb” presets to VST 3 presets. If you save new 
presets for a VST 2 plug-in these will automatically be 
saved in the new “.vstpreset” format in the default location.
Importing and converting FXB/FXP files
To import .fxp/.fxb files, proceed as follows:
1.Load any VST 2 instrument you may have installed, and 
click on the VST Sound button to open the Preset Ma-
nagement pop-up menu.
2.Select “Import FXB/FXP” from the pop-up menu.
This menu item is only available for VST 2 instrument 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 programs. 
If you load a single program, it will replace the currently selected effect pro-
gram only. Note that such files exist only if you created your own .fxp/fxb 
presets with a previous program version (or any other VST 2 application).
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.
When the presets are converted, they will be available in the Presets 
browser. The presets will be stored in the VST3 Preset folder.
About latency
Depending on your audio hardware and its ASIO driver, 
the latency (the time it takes for the instrument to produce 
a sound when you press a key on your MIDI controller) 
may simply be too high to allow comfortable realtime VST 
Instrument playback from a keyboard. 
If this is the case, a workaround is to play and record your 
parts with another MIDI sound source selected, and then 
switch to the VST Instrument for playback.
ÖYou can check the latency for your audio hardware in 
the Device Setup dialog (VST Audio System page).
The input and output latency values are shown below the ASIO Driver 
pop-up menu. For live VST Instrument playing, these values should ide-
ally be a few milliseconds (although the limit for “comfortable” live playing 
is a matter of personal taste).
Constrain Delay Compensation
Cubase AI features full delay compensation throughout 
the entire audio path. This means that any delay inherent in 
the VST plug-ins you use will automatically be compen-
sated for during playback, so that all channels are kept in 
perfect sync (see “About plug-in delay compensation” on 
page 87).
However, when you play a VST Instrument in realtime or 
record live audio (with monitoring through Cubase AI acti-
vated), this delay compensation may sometimes result in 
added latency. To avoid this, you can activate the Con-
strain Delay Compensation button on the Project window 
toolbar. This function tries to minimize the latency effects 
of the delay compensation, while maintaining the sound of 
the mix as far as possible. 
						

							107
VST Instruments and Instrument tracks
In the Preferences dialog (VST page) you will find a set-
ting called Delay Compensation Threshold. Only plug-ins 
with a delay higher than this setting will be affected by the 
Constrain Delay Compensation function.
VST plug-ins (with higher delay than the threshold value) 
which are activated for VST Instrument channels, audio 
track channels that are record enabled, group channels and 
output channels will be turned off when you activate Con-
strain Delay Compensation.
VST plug-ins activated for FX channels are not turned 
off but their delay is disregarded by the program (delay 
compensation is turned off).
After recording or using a VST Instrument with Constrain 
Delay Compensation, you should turn off the function to 
restore full delay compensation. 
						

							10
Automation 
						

							109
Automation
Introduction
In essence, automation means finding and recording, for 
each and every moment of your project, the right values for 
a particular mixer parameter. When you create your final 
mix, you will not have to worry about having to adjust this 
particular parameter control yourself – Cubase AI will do it 
for you.
Cubase AI provides very powerful and yet intuitive auto-
mation of virtually every mixer and effect parameter.
The following sections provide detailed descriptions of the 
Cubase AI automation features.
Enabling and disabling the writing 
of automation data
Tracks and mixer channels in Cubase AI can be “automa-
tion enabled” by activating their automation Write (W) 
buttons.
The following track types feature Write (W) and Read (R) 
buttons in the mixer, in the Track list and in the Channel 
Settings window: Audio, MIDI, Instrument, FX Channel 
and Group Channel tracks. Furthermore, the control pan-
els for all plug-in effects and VST Instruments also feature 
Write and Read buttons.
If you activate Write for a channel, virtually all mixer pa-
rameters you adjust during playback for that specific 
channel will be recorded as automation events.
If Read is activated for a channel, all your recorded 
mixer actions for that channel will be performed during 
playback, just like you performed them in Write mode.
The W and R buttons for a track in the Track list are mir-
rors of the W and R buttons in the corresponding channel 
strip in the mixer.ÖNote that the Read button is automatically enabled 
when you enable the Write button. This allows Cubase AI 
to read existing automation data at any time.
You can separately deactivate Write, if you want to only read existing 
data. There is no status Write on/Read off.
There are also global Read and Write indicator buttons 
(“All Automation to Read/Write Status”) in the common 
panel of the mixer and at the top of the Track list:
These buttons light up as soon as there is a single en-
abled Read or Write button on any channel/track within 
your project.
When “All Automation to Read/Write Status” is dis-
abled and you click on one of these buttons, all Read/
Write buttons on all tracks/channels are enabled.
When “All Automation to Read/Write Status” is enabled, this means that 
at least one of the Read/Write buttons on one of the channels of your 
project is enabled.
When “All Automation to Read/Write Status” is enabled 
and you click on one of these buttons, any enabled Read/
Write buttons on the tracks/channels of your project are 
disabled.
Creating automation data
Within a Cubase AI project, the changes in a parameter 
value over time are reflected as curves on so-called auto-
mation tracks. The curves are drawn in realtime while you 
write the automation data. Most of the tracks in your 
project have automation tracks, one for each automated 
parameter.
ÖAutomation tracks are hidden by default. For informa-
tion on automation track handling, see the sections “Auto-
mation track operations” on page 111 and “Working with 
automation curves” on page 114.
The Write and Read buttons for a channel in the mixer 
and for an automation track in the Track list
The “All Automation to Read/Write Status” buttons in the 
mixer, and in the Track list 
						

							110
Automation
There are two approaches you can use to create automa-
tion curves:
“Offline”, by manually drawing the curves on automation 
tracks in the Project window.
See “Editing automation events” on page 115.
“Online”, by enabling the Write button and adjusting 
parameters in the mixer or channel settings window while 
rolling through the project in realtime. The value settings are 
recorded and displayed as a curve on the automation track.
In the following sections, this online writing of automation data is also re-
ferred to as an “automation pass”.
The methods are not different in terms of how the auto-
mation data is applied. They only differ in the way the au-
tomation events are created – manually drawing them or 
recording them during automation passes. Any applied 
automation data will be reflected in both the mixer (a fader 
will move for example) and in a corresponding automation 
track curve. 
There are no hard and fast rules regarding which method 
you should use. For example, you can create your automa-
tion data online without ever even opening an automation 
track. Or you can stick to drawing automation curves off-
line. Every method has its advantages, but of course it is 
up to you to decide what to use and when.
Editing curves on automation tracks offers a graphical 
overview in relation to the track contents and the time 
position.
This makes it easy to quickly change parameter values at specific points, 
without having to activate playback. For example, this method gives you a 
good overview if you have a voice-over or a dialog on one track and a 
music bed on another track, the level of which needs to be lowered by a 
specific amount every time the dialog occurs.
By using write automation in the mixer you do not have 
to manually select parameters from the Add Parameter list.
You can work much like you would using a “real” physical mixer. Every 
action you perform is automatically recorded on automation tracks which 
you can later open for viewing and editing.
The automation tracks themselves indicate the writing of 
automation data:
While writing automation data, the color of the automa-
tion track in the Track list changes to red.
The delta indicator in the automation track shows the 
relative amount by which the new parameter setting devi-
ates from any previously automated value.
This is an additional visual aid when writing new automation data.
What can be automated?
You can automate virtually every parameter in the Cubase 
AI mixer. 
To find out which parameters can be automated for a 
particular track, click in the Parameter display of the auto-
mation track to open a pop-up menu. Select “More…” to 
open the Add Parameter dialog.
This dialog lists all automatable parameters for a particular track type. It is 
described in detail in the section “Assigning a parameter to an automa-
tion track” on page 112.
Options and Settings
About the Automation Reduction Level preference
This item can be found on the Editing page in the Prefer-
ences dialog. The automation reduction function automati-
cally reduces the number of automation events. During an 
automation pass (or when drawing automation with the 
Pencil tool), these are added as a continuous stream of 
densely packed break-points. This is necessary because 
the program cannot “guess” what you will be doing next.
The delta indicator