Steinberg Cubase Ai 5 Manual

							41
The Project window
The same principle works when changing the order of 
more than two events:
Magnetic Cursor
When this mode is selected, the project cursor becomes 
“magnetic”. Dragging an event near the cursor causes the 
event to be aligned with the cursor position.
Grid + Cursor
This is a combination of the “Grid” and “Magnetic Cursor” 
modes.
Events + Cursor
This is a combination of the “Events” and “Magnetic Cur-
sor” modes.
Events + Grid + Cursor
This is a combination of the “Events”, “Grid” and “Mag-
netic Cursor” modes.
Snap to Zero Crossing
When this option is activated on the toolbar or in the Prefer-
ences (Editing–Audio page), splitting and sizing of audio 
events is done at zero crossings (positions in the audio 
where the amplitude is zero). This helps you avoid pops and 
clicks which might otherwise be caused by sudden ampli-
tude changes.
Autoscroll
“Autoscroll” and “Suspend Autoscroll when Editing” are activated
When the Autoscroll option is activated, the waveform dis-
play will scroll during playback, keeping the project cursor 
visible in the window. You can find the Autoscroll button in 
the toolbars of the Project window and all editors.
If the option “Stationary Cursors” is activated in the 
Preferences (Transport page), the project cursor will be 
positioned in the middle of the screen (if possible).
Suspending autoscroll
When editing parts or events during playback with Auto-
scroll enabled, you may suddenly “loose sight” of the ed-
ited material as the display follows the project cursor.
If you don’t want the Project window display to change 
when editing during playback, you can activate the “Sus-
pend Autoscroll when Editing” button. You will find this 
button right next to the Autoscroll button. When this op-
tion is enabled, autoscrolling is suspended as soon as you 
click anywhere in the event display during playback.
Proceed as follows:
1.Open a project that contains audio or MIDI parts/events.
2.Enable both the “Autoscroll” and the “Suspend Auto-
scroll when Editing” buttons (both buttons turn blue).
3.Start playback.
4.Edit an audio or MIDI part/event of your project (e. g. 
click and drag it to a different location on its track).
The Autoscroll button will turn orange.
Autoscrolling is now suspended, i. e. when the project cur-
sor moves to the right edge of the Project window, the 
display will not follow to keep the cursor visible. 
As soon as playback stops, or when you click the Auto-
scroll button again (so it turns blue), Cubase AI will return 
to the normal Autoscroll behavior.
12345
5 2 4 3 1
Dragging event 2 past event 4…
…changes the order of events 2, 3 and 4. 
						

							4
Playback and the Transport panel 
						

							43
Playback and the Transport panel
Background
This chapter describes the various methods available for 
controlling Playback and Transport functions in Cubase AI.
The Transport panel
Below you can find a brief description of each item on the 
Transport panel.
The pictures below show the Transport panel with all con-
trols visible. The Transport panel is divided into the follow-
ing sections, from left to right.
ÖNote that the Output Activity and Clipping indicator as 
well as the Output Level Control refer to the Main Mix 
Output bus as defined on the Outputs tab in the VST 
Connections window.
The main Transport functions (Cycle/Stop/Play/Record) 
can also be shown on the toolbar.
In addition, various play options are available on the Trans-
port menu.
Hiding and showing the Transport Panel
The Transport panel is shown automatically when you 
launch a new project. To hide or show it, select “Transport 
Panel” on the Transport menu (or use a key command – by 
default [F2]).
About Pre-roll and Post-roll
These items are described in the chapter “Recording”, 
see “About Pre-roll and Post-roll” on page 59.
Changing the Transport panel setup
You can customize the appearance of the Transport panel 
by right-clicking anywhere on the panel and selecting/de-
selecting the corresponding options on the context menu.
This is described in detail in the section “The setup con-
text menus” on page 262.
Octave OffsetNote Velocity Level
Change Virtual Keyboard 
Display Type
Activates Auto 
QuantizeRecord mode 
pop-up menu
Cycle Record mode 
pop-up menu CPU load and 
Disk Cache 
meters
Right locatorPunch InLeft locator
Postroll: value and on/off Preroll: value and on/off
Punch Out
Position 
slider
Record
Play
Fast 
forward
Go to next marker/ project end Nudge position 
right/left
Go to 
previous 
marker/ 
project 
startCycle 
on/off
Stop
Rewind
Tempo track 
on/off 
Synchronization 
on/offThe tempo and time 
signature display Metronome 
click on/offShow Markers (opens 
Marker window)
Jump to Marker Precount on/off
MIDI In/Out 
activity 
(left/right)Output Level 
Control Clipping indicators
Audio input/output activity 
						

							44
Playback and the Transport panel
The numeric keypad
In the default Key Command settings, various Transport 
panel operations are assigned to the numeric keypad on 
the computer keyboard. The keypads are slightly different 
on PC and Macintosh computers:
Operations
Setting the project cursor position
There are several ways to move the project cursor position:
By using Fast Forward and Rewind.
By dragging the project cursor in the lower part of the 
ruler. 
By clicking in the ruler.
Double-clicking in the ruler moves the cursor and starts/stops playback. 
If the option “Locate when Clicked in Empty Space” is 
activated in the Preferences (Transport page) you can click 
anywhere in an empty section of the Project window to 
move the cursor position.
By changing the value in any of the position displays.
By using the position slider above the transport buttons 
in the Transport panel.
The range of the slider relates to the Length setting in the Project Setup 
dialog. Hence, moving the slider all the way to the right will take you to 
the end of the project. 
By using markers (see “Markers” on page 38).
By using playback options (see “Playback functions” on 
page 46).
By using functions on the Transport menu.The following functions are available:
ÖIf Snap is activated when dragging the project cursor, 
the Snap value is taken into account. This is helpful for 
finding exact positions quickly.
ÖThere are also numerous key commands available for 
moving the project cursor (in the Transport category in the 
Key Commands dialog). 
For example, you can assign key commands to the “Step Bar” and “Step 
Back Bar” functions, allowing you to move the project cursor in steps of 
one bar, backwards and forwards.
About the Transport panel display format
The time display in the Transport panel
The time unit shown in the ruler can be independent from 
the time unit shown in the time display on the Transport 
panel. This means that you can display timecode in the 
transport position display and bars and beats in the ruler, 
for example.
The following rules apply:
If you change the time format of the time display on the 
Transport panel, the time format of the ruler will be changed 
as well.
This is the same as changing the display format in the Project Setup. 
Therefore, to have different display formats in the ruler and the time dis-
play you should change the format in the ruler.
The time display format is set on the pop-up menu to 
the right in the position display.
This setting also determines the time format displayed 
for the left and right locators on the Transport panel.
Numeric Key Function
[Enter] Play
[+] Fast Forward
[-] Rewind
[*] Record
[÷] (Win)/[/] (Mac) Cycle On/Off
[,] Return to Zero
[0] Stop
[1] Go to Left Locator
[2] Go to Right Locator
[3-9] Go to marker 3 to 9
Function Description
Locate Selec-
tion/Locate 
Selection EndMoves the project cursor to the beginning or end of the 
current selection. For this to be available, you must 
have selected one or more events or parts, or made a 
selection range.
Locate Next/
Previous MarkerThis moves the project cursor to the closest marker to 
the right or left (see “Marker tracks” on page 19).
Locate Next/
Previous EventThis moves the project cursor forwards or backwards 
respectively, to the closest beginning or end of any 
event on the selected track(s). 
						

							45
Playback and the Transport panel
The left and right locators
The left and right locators are a pair of position markers 
used for specifying punch-in and punch-out positions dur-
ing recording, and as boundaries for cycle playback and 
recording. 
ÖWhen cycle mode is activated on the Transport panel, 
the area between the left and right locator will be repeated 
(cycled) on playback. 
However, if the right locator is positioned before the left, this will work as 
a “jump” or “skip mode” – when the project cursor reaches the right lo-
cator it will immediately jump to the left locator position and continue 
playback from there.
There are several ways to set locator positions:
To set the left locator, press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click 
at the desired position in the ruler.
Similarly, pressing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking in the ruler sets the right lo-
cator. You can also drag the locator “handles” directly in the ruler.
The locators are indicated by the “flags” in the ruler. The area between 
the locators is highlighted in the ruler and in the Project window (see 
“Appearance” on page 265). Note that if the right locator is before the 
left locator, the color of the ruler between the locators will change (from 
blue to red).
Click and drag in the upper half of the ruler to “draw” a 
locator range.
If you click on an existing locator range, you can drag to move it.
Pressing [Ctrl]/[Command] and pressing [1] or [2] on 
the numeric keypad sets the left or right locator to the 
project cursor position.
Similarly, you can press [1] or [2] on the numeric keypad (without [Ctrl]/
[Command]) to set the project cursor position to the left or right locator 
position. Note that these are default key commands – you can change 
these if you like.
By creating cycle markers you can store any number of 
left and right locator positions, which can be recalled by 
simply double-clicking on the corresponding marker (see 
“Editing markers on the Marker track” on page 39).
The “Locators to Selection” item on the Transport menu 
(default key command [P]) sets the locators to encompass 
the current selection.
This is available if you have selected one or several events or made a se-
lection range.
You can also adjust the locators numerically on the 
Transport panel.
Clicking the L/R buttons in the locator section on the Transport panel will 
move the project cursor to the respective locator. If you press [Alt]/[Op-
tion] and click the L or R button, the corresponding locator will be set to 
the current project cursor position.
Options and Settings
The “Return to Start Position on Stop” 
preference
This setting is found on the Transport page in the Prefer-
ences (found on the File menu under Windows, or on the 
Cubase AI menu under Mac OS X).
If “Return to Start Position on Stop” is activated when 
you stop playback, the project cursor will automatically re-
turn to the position where recording or playback last 
started.
If “Return to Start Position on Stop” is deactivated, the 
project cursor will remain at the position where you stop 
playback.
Pressing Stop again will return the project cursor to the position where 
recording or playback last started.
About track disable/enable
For audio tracks, the track context menu contains an item 
named “Disable Track”. This shuts down all disk activity for 
the track, as opposed to using Mute, which merely turns 
down the output volume for a track. For example, if you of-
ten record “alternative takes” you can easily build up a large 
number of takes on different tracks. Even though these 
tracks are muted, they are actually still “playing back” from 
the hard disk during playback. This puts an unnecessary 
load on your disk system, so using “Disable Track” is rec-
ommended for such situations.
S e l e c t  “ D i s a b l e  T r a c k ”  f o r  t r a c k s  t h a t  y o u  w a n t  t o  k e e p  i n  
the project for later use but do not want to play back now.
The track color changes to indicate that the track is disabled.
Select “Enable Track” from the track context menu to 
re-enable disabled tracks. 
						

							46
Playback and the Transport panel
Playback functions
Apart from the standard transport controls on the Trans-
port panel, you can also find a number of functions on the 
Transport menu that can be used to control playback. The 
items have the following functionality:
ÖIn the Preferences dialog (Editing–Audio page) you 
will find the option “Treat Muted Audio Events like De-
leted”. When you activate this option, any events over-
lapped by a muted event will become audible.
About Chase
Chase is a function that makes sure your MIDI instruments 
sound as they should when you locate to a new position 
and start playback. This is accomplished by the program 
transmitting a number of MIDI messages to your instru-
ments each time you move to a new position in the project, 
making sure all MIDI devices are set up correctly with re-
gard to program change, controller messages (such as 
MIDI Volume), etc.
For example, let’s say you have a MIDI track with a pro-
gram change event inserted at the beginning. This event 
makes a synth switch to a piano sound.
At the beginning of the first chorus you have another pro-
gram change event which makes the same synth switch to 
a string sound.You now play back the song. It begins with the piano sound 
and then switches to the string sound. In the middle of the 
chorus you stop and rewind to some point between the be-
ginning and the second program change. The synth will 
now still play the string sound although in this section it re-
ally should be a piano!
The Chase function takes care of that. If program change 
events are set to be chased, Cubase AI will track the music 
back to the beginning, find the first program change and 
transmit it to your synth, setting it to the correct sound.
The same thing can apply to other event types as well. The 
Chase Events settings in the Preferences dialog (MIDI 
page) determine which event types will be chased when 
you locate to a new position and start playback.
ÖEvent types for which the checkbox is activated here 
will be chased.
In this section of the Preferences dialog, you will also 
find the option “Chase not limited to Part Boundaries”.When you activate this option, MIDI controllers are also chased outside 
the part boundaries, i.e. the Chase will be performed on the part touched 
by the cursor as well as on all the parts to the left of it. Please note that 
this option should be deactivated for very large projects, as it consider-
ably slows down operations such as positioning and soloing. When you 
deactivate this option, the MIDI controllers are only chased within the 
parts under the position cursor.
Option Description
Play from Selection 
Start/EndActivates playback from the beginning or end of 
the current selection.
Play until Selection 
Start/EndActivates playback two seconds before the start or 
end of the current selection and stops at the selec-
tion start or end, respectively.
Play until Next Marker This activates playback from the project cursor and 
stops at the next marker.
Play Selection Range This activates playback from the start of the current 
selection and stops at the selection end.
Loop Selection This activates playback from the start of the current 
selection and keeps starting over again when 
reaching the selection end.
!The functions listed above (except “Play until Next 
Marker”) are only available if you have selected one 
or more events or made a selection range. 
						

							47
Playback and the Transport panel
The Virtual Keyboard 
The Virtual Keyboard can be displayed in the Transport 
panel. It allows you to play and record MIDI notes by using 
your computer keyboard or mouse. This is useful if you have 
no external MIDI instrument at hand and you do not want to 
draw in notes with the Pencil tool. The Virtual Keyboard can 
perform all functions that can be controlled by external MIDI 
keyboards, e.g. playing and recording MIDI notes.
You can choose between two different keyboard dis-
play modes: computer keyboard and piano keyboard. To 
switch between these two modes, click the “Change Vir-
tual Keyboard Display Type” button or use the [Tab] key.
The Virtual Keyboard in computer keyboard display mode
The Virtual Keyboard in piano keyboard display mode
To record MIDI using the Virtual Keyboard, proceed as fol-
lows: 
1.Create or choose a MIDI or an instrument track and ac-
tivate the “Record Enable” button for it.
2.Open the Virtual Keyboard by selecting “Virtual Key-
board” on the Devices menu or by pressing [Alt]/[Option]-
[K]. You can also open the Virtual Keyboard by right-click-
ing on the Transport panel and selecting “Virtual Keyboard” 
on the context menu.
The Virtual Keyboard is displayed in the Transport panel.
3.Activate the Record button and press a key on your 
computer keyboard to enter a note.
You can also click on the keys of the Virtual Keyboard to enter notes.
You can also press several keys simultaneously to enter 
polyphonic parts. The maximum number of notes that can 
be played at one time varies between the different operat-
ing systems and hardware configurations.
4.Use the fader “Note velocity level” to the right of the 
virtual keyboard to adjust the volume.
You can also use the up and down arrow keys for this.
5.Enter the desired notes this way.
6.When you are done, hit the Stop button and close the 
Virtual Keyboard.
When the Virtual Keyboard is hidden, all key commands are available 
again.
Options and settings
In piano keyboard mode, you have a wider range of keys 
at your disposal, allowing you to enter two voices simulta-
neously, for example bass and lead voice or bass drums 
and HiHats.
In computer keyboard mode, you can use the two rows of keys that are dis-
played on the Virtual Keyboard to enter notes. In piano keyboard mode, you 
can also use the two rows of keys below these.
You have seven full octaves at your disposal. Use the 
“Octave Offset” buttons at the bottom of the virtual key-
board to offset the octave range of the keyboard. 
You can also use the left and right arrow keys to switch the keyboard range 
to a lower or higher octave, respectively.
In piano keyboard mode, you can use the two sliders to 
the left of the keyboard to introduce pitchbend (left slider) 
or modulation (right slider).
You can also click on a key, hold the mouse button pressed until the 
mouse pointer becomes a crosshair tool and drag upwards/downward to 
introduce modulation or left/right to create pitchbend.
!When the Virtual Keyboard is displayed, the usual key 
commands are blocked because they are reserved for 
the Virtual Keyboard. The only exceptions are: [Ctrl]/
[Command]-[S] (Save), Num [*] (Start/Stop Record), 
[Space] (Start/Stop Playback), Num [1] (Jump to left 
locator), [Delete] or [Backspace] (Delete), Num [/] 
(Cycle on/off), [F2] (Show/Hide Transport panel), and 
[Alt]/[Option]-[K] (Show/Hide Virtual Keyboard). 
						

							5
Recording 
						

							49
Recording
Background
This chapter describes the various recording methods 
that you can use in Cubase AI. As it is possible to record 
both audio and MIDI tracks, both recording methods are 
covered in this chapter.
Before you start
This chapter assumes that you are reasonably familiar with 
certain basic recording concepts, and that the following 
initial preparations have been made:
You have properly set up, connected and calibrated 
your audio hardware. 
You have opened a project and set the project setup 
parameters to your specifications.
Project setup parameters determine the record format, sample rate, project 
length etc. that affect the audio recordings you make during the course of 
the project, see “The Project Setup dialog” on page 22.
If you plan to record MIDI, your MIDI equipment should 
be set up and connected correctly.
Basic recording methods
This section describes the general methods used for re-
cording. However, there are additional preparations and 
procedures that are specific to audio and MIDI recording 
respectively. Make sure to read these sections before you 
start recording (see “Audio recording specifics” on page 
51 and “MIDI recording specifics” on page 55).
Record-enabling tracks
Cubase AI can record on a single track or on several 
tracks (audio and/or MIDI) simultaneously. To make a 
track ready for recording, click the Record Enable button 
for the track in the Track list, in the Inspector or in the 
mixer. When activated, the buttons turn red, indicating 
record ready mode.
Record Enable in the Inspector, Track list and mixer
ÖIf the option “Enable Record on Selected Track” is ac-
tivated in the Preferences (Editing–Project & Mixer page), 
tracks are automatically record-enabled when you select 
them in the Track list.
ÖThe exact number of audio tracks you can record si-
multaneously depends on your computer CPU and hard 
disk performance.
In the Preferences (VST page), you can find the option “Warn on Proces-
sing Overloads”. When this is activated, a warning message will be dis-
played as soon as the CPU clip indicator (on the Transport panel) lights 
up during recording.
Manually activating recording
You activate recording by clicking the Record button on 
the Transport panel or toolbar or by using the correspond-
ing key command (by default [*] on the numeric keypad).
Recording can be activated in Stop mode (from the current 
cursor position or from the left locator) or during playback:
If you activate recording in Stop mode, and the option 
“Start Record at Left Locator” is activated on the Trans-
port menu, recording will start from the left locator.
The pre-roll setting or the metronome count-in will be applied (see 
“About Pre-roll and Post-roll” on page 59).
If you activate recording in Stop mode, and “Start Record 
at Left Locator” is deactivated, recording will start from the 
current project cursor position.
If you activate recording during playback, Cubase AI will 
immediately enter Record mode and start recording from 
the current project cursor position.
This is known as “manual punch in”. 
						

							50
Recording
Activating recording in Sync mode
If you are synchronizing the Cubase AI transport to external 
equipment (Sync is activated on the Transport panel) and 
you activate recording, the program will go into “record 
ready” mode (the record button on the Transport panel will 
light up). In this case, recording will start when a valid time-
code signal is received (or when you click the Play button). 
See the chapter “Synchronization” on page 232 for more 
information.
Automatically activating recording
Cubase AI can automatically switch from playback to re-
cording at a given position. This is known as “automatic 
punch in”. A typical use for this would be if you need to re-
place a section of a recording, and want to listen to what is 
already recorded, up to the recording start position.
1.Set the left locator to the position where you want re-
cording to start.
2.Activate the Punch In button on the Transport panel.
Punch In activated
3.Activate playback from some position before the left 
locator.
When the project cursor reaches the left locator, recording is automati-
cally activated.
Stopping recording
Again, this can be done automatically or manually:
If you click the Stop button on the Transport panel (or 
use the corresponding key command, by default [0] on the 
numeric keypad), recording is deactivated and Cubase AI 
goes into Stop mode.
If you click the Record button (or use the key command 
for recording, by default [*]), recording is deactivated but 
playback continues.
This is known as “manual punch out”.
If the Punch Out button is activated on the Transport 
panel, recording will be deactivated when the project cur-
sor reaches the right locator.
This is known as “automatic punch out”. By combining this with automatic 
punch in, you can set up a specific section to record – again very useful if 
you want to replace a certain part of a recording (see also “Stop after Au-
tomatic Punch Out” on page 59).
Punch In and Out activated
Cycle recording
Cubase AI can record and play back in a cycle – a loop. 
You specify where the cycle starts and ends by setting the 
left and right locators. When the cycle is active, the se-
lected section is seamlessly repeated until you hit Stop or 
deactivate cycle mode.
To activate cycle mode, click the cycle button on the 
Transport panel.
Cycle activated
To record in cycle mode, you can start recording from 
the left locator, from before the locators or from within the 
cycle, in Stop mode or during playback.
As soon as the project cursor reaches the right locator, it will jump back 
to the left locator and continue recording a new lap.
The results of cycle recording depend on the selected 
cycle record mode and are different for audio (see “Re-
cording audio in cycle mode” on page 54) and MIDI (see 
“Recording MIDI in cycle mode” on page 57).