Steinberg Cubase Ai 5 Manual

							61
Recording
Recovery of audio recordings after 
system failure
Normally, when a computer crashes, all changes made to 
your current project since you last saved it will be lost. Usu-
ally, there is no quick and easy way to recover your work.
With Cubase AI, when your system crashes while you are 
recording (because of a power cut or other mishap), you 
will find that your recording is still available, from the mo-
ment when you started recording to the time when your 
computer crashed.When you experience a computer crash during a record-
ing, simply relaunch the system and check the project 
record folder (by default this is the Audio subfolder inside 
the project folder). It should contain the audio file you 
were recording at the time of the crash.
Precount 
OptionsDescription
Precount Bars Sets the number of bars the metronome will count in be-
fore it starts recording if precount is activated on the 
Transport panel.
Use Time 
Signature at 
Record Start 
TimeWhen this is activated, the precount will automatically 
use the time signature and tempo set at the position 
where you start recording.
Use Time 
Signature at 
Project TimeWhen this is activated, the precount will be in the time 
signature set on the tempo track. Furthermore, any tempo 
changes on the tempo track during the precount will be 
applied.
Use Signature This lets you set a time signature for the precount. In this 
mode, tempo changes on the tempo track will not affect 
the precount.
MIDI Click Description
Activate MIDI 
ClickSelects whether or not the metronome will sound via 
MIDI.
MIDI Port/
ChannelThis is where you select a MIDI output and channel for the 
metronome click. Note that you can select a VST Instru-
ment previously set up in the VST Instruments window 
from this menu, allowing you to use a VST Instrument 
sound for the Metronome click.
Hi Note/
VelocitySets the MIDI note number and velocity value for the 
“high note” (the first beat in a bar). 
Lo Note/
VelocitySets the MIDI note number and velocity for the “low 
notes” (the other beats). 
Audio Click Description
Activate 
Audio ClickSelects whether or not the metronome will sound via the 
audio hardware. You can set the level of the click with the 
slider.
!This feature does not constitute an “overall” guaran-
tee by Steinberg. While the program itself was im-
proved in such a way that audio recordings can be 
recovered after a system failure, it is always possible 
that a computer crash, power cut, etc. might have 
damaged another component of the computer, mak-
ing it impossible to save or recover any of the data.
!Please do not try to actively bring about this kind of 
situation to test this feature. Although the internal 
program processes have been improved to cope 
with such situations, Steinberg cannot guarantee 
that other parts of the computer are not damaged as 
a consequence. 
						

							6
Fades, crossfades and envelopes 
						

							63
Fades, crossfades and envelopes
Creating fades
There are two main types of fade-ins and fade-outs in au-
dio events in Cubase AI: fades created by using the fade 
handles (see below) and fades created by processing 
(see “Fades created by processing” on page 64).
Fades created by using the fade handles
Selected audio events have blue handles in the upper left 
and right corners. These can be dragged to create a fade-
in or fade-out respectively.
Creating a fade-in. The fade is automatically reflected in the shape of 
the event’s waveform, giving you a visual feedback of the result when 
you drag the fade handle. 
Fades created with the handles are not applied to the au-
dio clip as such but calculated in realtime during playback. 
This means that several events referring to the same audio 
clip can have different fade curves. It also means that hav-
ing a huge number of fades may demand a lot of processor 
power.
If you select multiple events and drag the fade handles 
on one of them, the same fade will be applied to all se-
lected events.
A fade can be edited in the Fade dialog, as described 
on the following pages. 
You open the dialog by double-clicking in the area above the fade curve, 
or by selecting the event and selecting “Open Fade Editor(s)” from the 
Audio menu (note that this will open two dialogs if the event has both 
fade-in and fade-out curves).
If you adjust the shape of the fade curve in the Fade dialog, this shape 
will be maintained when you later adjust the length of a fade.
You can make the fade longer or shorter at any time, by 
dragging the handle.
You can actually do this even without selecting the event first, i.e. without 
visible handles. Just move the mouse pointer along the fade curve until 
the cursor turns into a bidirectional arrow, then click and drag.
If the option “Fade Handles always on Top” is activated 
in the Preferences dialog (Event Display–Audio page), the 
fade handles stay at the top of the event, and vertical help 
lines indicate the exact end or start points of fades.
This is useful in situations where you want the event volume to be very 
low, as this option allows you to still see the fade handles.
If the option “Show Event Volume Curves Always” is ac-
tivated in the Preferences (Event Display–Audio page), the 
fade curves will be shown in all events, regardless of 
whether they are selected or not.
If the option is deactivated, the fade curves are shown in selected events 
only.
If the option “Thick Fade Lines” is activated in the Prefer-
ences dialog (Event Display–Audio page), the fade lines 
and volume curve are thicker, increasing their visibility.
Fade handles on top of the event and thicker fade and volume lines al-
low you to edit and view fades even in situations where event volume is 
very low.
When the option “Use Mouse Wheel for Event volume 
and Fades” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Edit-
ing–Audio page), you can use the mouse wheel to move 
the volume curve up or down. When you hold down [Shift] 
while moving the mouse wheel, this will change the fade 
curves. This is useful in situations where the fade handles 
are not visible (e. g. because of a very high zoom factor).
When you position the mouse pointer somewhere in the left half of the 
event, the fade in end point is moved. When the mouse pointer is in the 
right half of the event, the fade out start point will move.
ÖYou can set up key commands for changing the event 
volume curve and any fade curves, if you do not want to 
use the mouse for this.
You will find these commands in the Key Commands dialog, in the Audio 
category, see “Key commands” on page 268. 
						

							64
Fades, crossfades and envelopes
Creating and adjusting fades with the Range Selection 
tool
“Handle-type” fades can also be created and adjusted 
with the Range Selection tool, in the following way:
1.Select a section of the audio event with the Range Se-
lection tool.
The result depends on your selection:
 If you select a range from the beginning of the event, a fade-in 
will be created within the range. 
 If you select a range that reaches the end of an event, a fade-
out will be created in the range. 
 If you select a range encompassing a middle section of the 
event, but not reaching neither the start nor the end, both a 
fade-in and a fade-out will be created outside of the selected 
range. In other words, the fade-in will cover the area from the 
beginning of the event to the beginning of the selected range, 
and the fade-out will cover the area from the end of the se-
lected range to the end of the event.
2.Pull down the Audio menu and select “Adjust Fades to 
Range”.
The fade areas are adjusted according to the selection range.
About the volume handle
A selected audio event also has a blue handle in the top 
middle. This is the volume handle, and it provides a quick 
way of changing the volume of an event, directly in the 
Project window. It is linked directly to the volume setting 
on the info line, that is, dragging the volume handle also 
changes the value on the info line.
Removing fades
To remove the fades for an event, select the event and se-
lect “Remove Fades” from the Audio menu.
You can also use the Range Selection tool to remove 
fades and crossfades within the selected range this way.
Fades created by processing
If you have selected an audio event or a section of an au-
dio event (using the Range Selection tool), you can apply 
a fade-in or fade-out to the selection by using the “Fade 
In” or “Fade Out” functions on the Process submenu on 
the Audio menu. These functions open the corresponding 
Fade dialog, allowing you to specify a fade curve.
Fades created this way are applied to the audio clip rather 
than to the event. Please note the following:
 If you later create new events that refer to the same clip, these 
will have the same fades.
If other events refer to the same audio clip, you will be 
asked whether you want the processing to be applied to 
these events or not.
 Continue will apply the processing to all events that refer to 
the audio clip.
 New Version will create a separate, new version of the audio 
clip for the selected event.
You can also activate the option “Do not show this mes-
sage again”. Regardless of whether you then choose “Con-
tinue” or “New Version”, any further processing will conform 
to the option you select.
You can change this setting at any time in the Preferences (Editing–Audio 
page), under “On Processing Shared Clips”.
!You can select multiple audio events on separate 
tracks with the Range Selection tool, and apply the 
fade to all of them simultaneously.
Drag the Volume handle 
up or down to change the 
volume of the event. The volume change is displayed numerically on the info line.
The event waveform reflects the volume change.
!Note that the length of the fade area is determined 
by your selection. In other words, you specify the 
length of the fade before you enter the Fade dialog.
!Also note that you can select multiple events and ap-
ply the same processing to all of them simultaneously. 
						

							65
Fades, crossfades and envelopes
The Fade dialogs
The Fade dialogs appear when you edit an existing fade or 
use the Fade In/Fade Out functions on the Process sub-
menu on the Audio menu. The picture below shows the 
Fade In dialog; the Fade Out dialog has identical settings 
and features.
If you open the Fade dialog(s) with several events se-
lected, you can adjust the fade curves for all these events 
at the same time.
This is useful if you want to apply the same type of fade-in to more than 
one event, etc.
Curve Kind
These buttons determine whether the fade curve should 
consist of spline curve segments (left button), damped 
spline segments (middle button) or linear segments (right 
button).
Fade display
The Fade display shows the shape of the fade curve. The 
resulting waveform shape is shown in dark gray, with the 
current waveform shape in light gray.
You can click on the curve to add points, and click and 
drag existing points to change the shape. To remove a 
point from the curve, drag it outside the display.
Curve shape buttons
These buttons give you quick access to some common 
curve shapes.
Restore button
The Restore button (to the right above the fade display) is 
only available when editing fades made by dragging the 
fade handles. Click this to cancel any changes you have 
made since opening the dialog.
As Default button
The “As Default” button is only available when editing 
fades made by dragging the fade handles. Click this to 
store the current settings as the default fade. This shape 
will be used whenever you create new fades.
Fade Length Value
The Fade Length Value is only available when editing fades 
made by dragging the fade handles. It can be used to enter 
fade lengths numerically. The format of values displayed 
here are determined by the Time Display in the Transport 
Panel.
When you activate the “Apply Length” option, the value en-
tered in the Fade Length value field will be used when click-
ing “Apply” or “OK”. This setting is deactivated by default.
When you set the current Fade as the Default fade, the 
length value is included as part of the default settings.
Presets
If you have set up a fade in or fade out curve that you may 
want to apply to other events or clips, you can store it as a 
preset by clicking the Store button.
To apply a stored preset, select it from the pop-up menu. 
To rename the selected preset, double-click on the 
name and type a new one. 
To remove a stored preset, select it from the pop-up 
menu and click Remove.
!Stored fade in presets will only appear in the Fade In 
dialog, and fade out presets will only appear in the 
Fade Out dialog. 
						

							66
Fades, crossfades and envelopes
Preview, Apply and Process
The buttons in the bottom row are different depending on 
whether you are editing a fade made with the fade handles 
or applying a fade using processing:
The Edit Fade dialogs have the following buttons:
The Process Fade dialogs have the following buttons:
Creating crossfades
Overlapping audio material on the same track can be cross-
faded, for smooth transitions or special effects. You create 
a crossfade by selecting two consecutive audio events and 
selecting the Crossfade command on the Audio menu (or 
by using the corresponding key command, by default [X]). 
The result depends on whether the two events overlap or 
not:
If the events overlap, a crossfade is created in the over-
lapping area.
The crossfade will be of the default shape – initially a linear, symmetric 
crossfade, but you can change this as described below.
If the events do not overlap but are directly consecutive 
(lined up end-to-start, with no gap) it is still possible to 
crossfade them – provided that their respective audio 
clips overlap! In this case, the two events are resized so 
that they overlap, and a crossfade of the default length 
and shape is applied.
The default crossfade length and shape are set in the Crossfade dialog 
(see “Default buttons” on page 68).
An example:
The events themselves do not overlap, but their clips do. Therefore, the 
events can be resized so that they overlap, which is required for a cross-
fade to be created.
When you select the Crossfade function, the two events are resized so that 
they overlap, and a default crossfade is created in the overlapping section.
If the events do not overlap, and cannot be resized 
enough to overlap, a crossfade cannot be created.
Once you have created a crossfade, you can edit it by 
selecting one or both crossfaded events, and selecting 
“Crossfade” from the Audio menu again (or by double-
clicking in the crossfade zone). 
This opens the Crossfade dialog, see below.
Removing crossfades
To remove a crossfade, proceed as follows:
Select the events and select “Remove Fades” from the 
Audio menu.
You can also use the Range Selection tool: drag the Range Selection 
tool so that the selection encloses all the fades and crossfades you wish 
to remove, and select “Remove Fades” from the Audio menu.
You can also remove a crossfade by clicking and drag-
ging it outside the track.
Button Function
OK Applies the set fade curve to the event, and closes the dialog.
Cancel Closes the dialog.
Apply Applies the set fade curve to the event, without closing the 
dialog.
Button Function
Preview Plays back the fade area. Playback will repeat until you click 
the button again (the button is labeled “Stop” during play-
back).
Process Applies the set fade curve to the clip, and closes the dialog.
Cancel Closes the dialog without applying any fade.
The Edit Fade dialog The Process Fade dialog
Overlapping 
section
Audio clips
Audio events 
						

							67
Fades, crossfades and envelopes
The Crossfade dialog
The Crossfade dialog contains separate, but identical, 
sections for the fade-in and fade-out curve settings in the 
crossfade on the left, and common settings on the right.
Fade Displays
Shows the shape of the fade-out and fade-in curve, re-
spectively. You can click on the curve to add points, and 
click and drag existing points to change the shape. To re-
move a point from the curve, drag it outside the display.
Curve kind buttons
These buttons determine whether the corresponding fade 
curve should consist of spline curve segments (left but-
ton), damped spline segments (middle button) or linear 
segments (right button).
Curve shape buttons
These buttons give you quick access to some common 
curve shapes.
Equal Power and Gain
If you activate the “Equal Gain” checkbox, the fade 
curves are adjusted so that the summed fade-in and fade-
out amplitudes will be the same all along the crossfade 
region. This is often suitable for short crossfades.
If you activate the “Equal Power” checkbox, the fade 
curves are adjusted, so that the energy (power) of the 
crossfade will be constant all along the crossfade region.
Play buttons
The “Play Fade Out” and “Play Fade In” buttons allow 
you to audition the fade-out or fade-in part only, without 
the crossfade.
The “Play Crossfade” button plays back the whole 
crossfade.
You can also use the Transport panel controls to play back 
the crossfaded audio events. However, that method will 
play back all unmuted audio events on other tracks as well.
Pre-roll and Post-roll
When auditioning with the Play buttons, you can choose 
to activate pre-roll and/or post-roll. Pre-roll lets you start 
playback before the fade area, and post-roll lets you stop 
playback after the fade area. This can be useful for audi-
tioning the fade in a context.
To specify how long the pre-roll and post-roll should be, 
click in the time fields and enter the desired time (in sec-
onds and milliseconds).
To activate pre-roll and post-roll, click the respective 
button. To deactivate it, click the button again.
Length settings
You can adjust the length of the crossfade area numeri-
cally in the “Length” field. If possible, the length change 
will be applied equally to “both sides” of the crossfade 
(i.e. Cubase AI tries to “center” the crossfade).
Presets
If you have set up a crossfade shape that you may want to 
apply to other events, you can store it as a preset by click-
ing the Store button.
To apply a stored preset, select it from the pop-up menu. 
To rename the selected preset, double-click on the 
name and type in a new one. 
To remove a stored preset, select it from the pop-up 
menu and click Remove.
!Equal Power curves have only one editable curve 
point. You cannot use the Curve kind buttons or the 
presets when this mode is selected.
!To be able to resize a crossfade this way, it must be 
possible to resize the corresponding event. For ex-
ample, if the left crossfaded event already plays its 
audio clip to the end, its endpoint cannot be moved 
any further to the right. 
						

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Fades, crossfades and envelopes
Default buttons
Clicking the “As Default” button stores all of the current 
settings as the default crossfade. These settings will then 
be used whenever you create new crossfades.
The Crossfade Length setting is included in the Default 
settings. However, it is only applied if the events to be 
crossfaded do not overlap, otherwise the crossfade will be 
in the overlap area (see “Creating crossfades” on page 66).
Clicking the “Recall Default” button copies the curves 
and settings of the Default crossfade to the Crossfade 
dialog.
Auto Fades and Crossfades
Cubase AI features an Auto Fade function that can be set 
both globally, i.e. for the entire project, and separately for 
each audio track. The idea behind the Auto Fade function 
is to create smoother transitions between events by ap-
plying short (1–500 ms) fade-ins and fade-outs.
Making global Auto Fade settings
1.To make Auto Fades settings globally for the project, 
select “Auto Fades Settings…” from the Project menu.
This opens the Auto Fades dialog for the project.
2.Use the checkboxes in the upper right corner to acti-
vate or deactivate Auto Fade In, Auto Fade Out and Auto 
Crossfades, respectively.
3.Use the Length value field to specify the length of the 
Auto Fade or Crossfade (1–500 ms).
4.To adjust the shapes of Auto Fade In and Auto Fade 
Out, select the “Fades” tab and make settings as in the 
regular Fade dialogs.
5.To adjust the shape of the Auto Crossfade, select the 
“Crossfades” tab and make settings as in the regular 
Crossfade dialog.
6.If you want to use the settings you have made in future 
projects, click the “As Default” button.
The next time you create a new project, it will use these settings by default.
7.Click OK to close the dialog.
Making Auto Fade settings for a separate track
By default, all audio tracks will use the settings you have 
made in the project’s Auto Fades dialog. However, since 
Auto Fades use computing power, a better approach may 
be to turn Auto Fades off globally and activate them for in-
dividual tracks, as needed:
1.Right-click the track in the Track list and select “Auto 
Fades Settings…” from the context menu (or select the 
track and click the “Auto Fades Settings” button in the In-
spector).
The Auto Fades dialog for the track opens. This is identical to the project’s 
Auto Fades dialog, with the addition of a “Use Project Settings” option.
2.Deactivate the “Use Project Settings” option.
Now, any settings you make will be applied to the track only.
3.Set up the Auto Fades as desired and close the dialog.
Reverting to project settings
If you want a track to use the global Auto Fade settings, 
open the Auto Fades dialog for the track and activate the 
“Use Project Settings” checkbox.
!As mentioned earlier, fades are calculated in realtime 
during playback. This means that the larger the num-
ber of audio tracks with Auto Fades activated in a 
project, the higher the demands on the processor.
!Note that auto fades are not indicated by the fade 
lines! 
						

							7
The mixer 
						

							70
The mixer
About this chapter
This chapter contains detailed information about the ele-
ments used when mixing audio and MIDI, and the various 
ways you can configure the mixer. 
Some mixer-related features are not described in this 
chapter. These are the following:
Setting up and using audio effects.
See the chapter “Audio effects” on page 85.
Automation of all mixer parameters.
See the chapter “Automation” on page 108.
How to mix down several audio tracks (complete with 
automation and effects if you wish) to a single audio file.
See the chapter “Export Audio Mixdown” on page 226.
Overview
The mixer offers a common environment for controlling 
levels, pan, solo/mute status etc. for both audio and MIDI 
channels. 
Opening the mixer
The mixer can be opened in several ways:
By selecting Mixer from the Devices menu.
By clicking the Mixer icon on the toolbar.
By using a key command (by default [F3]).By clicking the Mixer button in the Devices panel.
You open the Devices panel by selecting Show Panel from the Devices 
menu.
What channel types can be shown in the mixer?
The following track-based channel types are shown in the 
mixer:


 Effect return channels (referred to as FX channels in the 
Project window)
 Group channels
 Instrument track channels
The order of audio, MIDI, instrument, group and effect re-
turn channel strips (from left to right) in the mixer corre-
sponds to the Project window Track list (from the top 
down). If you reorder tracks of these types in the Track list, 
this will be mirrored in the mixer.
In addition to the above, the following channel types are 
also shown in the mixer:
 VST Instrument channels (see the chapter “VST Instruments 
and Instrument tracks” on page 99).
The other track types are not shown in the mixer.
Output busses in the mixer
Output busses are represented by output channels in the 
mixer. They appear in a separate “pane” separated by a 
movable divider and with its own horizontal scrollbar, see 
“The output channels” on page 74.
Configuring the mixer
The mixer window can be configured in various ways to 
suit your needs and to save screen space. Here follows a 
run through of the various view options (the following de-
scriptions assume that you have an active project contain-
ing some tracks).
The mixer shows the channel faders for the various tracks 
of your project. On the right of the fader panel you find the 
output channel fader. On the left is the common panel 
which allows for global settings affecting all channels.