Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Getting Started French Version Manual

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Tutorial 5: Mixing and effects 

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Tutorial 5: Mixing and effects
Introduction
In this section we’ll draw from the last tutorials and finally 
get a mix ready with proper levels, EQs and effects. Auto-
mation will be added and then we’ll export the audio.
Setting levels
The first thing we want to do is to set the levels for our 
project. This helps us get a preliminary balance of the mix 
so we can add EQ and effects later.
1.Select the Mixer from the Devices menu.
The default key command for this is [F3].
2.Click the Start button on...

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Tutorial 5: Mixing and effects
Setting pan
1.Setting the pan for each track moves its position in the 
stereo mix. It will either keep the signal balanced in the 
middle of the left and right speaker, lean to the left or lean 
to the right or be completely in the left or right speaker.
To get the panner back to the center (the default posi-
tion), [Ctrl]/[Command]-click anywhere in the panner area.
2.Let’s pan our two guitars slightly left and slightly right. 
This will spread them out a bit.
3.Keep...

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Tutorial 5: Mixing and effects
Adding EQ
EQ or equalization amplifies or attenuates frequencies so 
that we can place each instrument correctly in the mix. EQ 
is subjective and can be influenced greatly by the style of 
music that you are mixing.
We’re going to run through the EQ features that Cubase 
Essential has to offer, but feel free to experiment and try 
out the different presets on your mix.
1.Solo the Drums track and click the “Edit Instrument 
Channel Settings” button.
2.This will open the...

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Tutorial 5: Mixing and effects
5.Moving the EQ point right or left changes the frequency 
of the EQ. The “EQ Band Freq” setting at the bottom of the 
EQ window gives you the value of the frequency.
If you hold down [Alt]/[Option], you can restrict the movement of the EQ 
to just right or left.
6.Holding down [Shift] while moving the EQ point up or 
down changes the quality of the EQ. Many people refer to 
this as the width of the EQ. The “EQ Band Q” setting at the 
bottom of the EQ window gives you...

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Tutorial 5: Mixing and effects
Audio effects
Now let’s start using some effects. We can add effects by 
inserting the effect directly on a track or we can create an 
FX channel and use the auxiliary sends of each track to 
send to that FX channel.
Insert effects
1.Make sure the Mixer is open.
You can open the Mixer from the Devices menu or by pressing [F3].
2.Begin playback and loop or cycle a section of music 
so that you can hear everything.
The tutorial project has its locators and cycle already...

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Tutorial 5: Mixing and effects
5.Select “FX 1-PingPongDelay” from the “Select Send 
Destination” pop-up menu.
6.Click the “Activate Send 1” button to turn on the send. 
This will allow you to send the guitar to the “PingPong-
Delay”.
7.Move the slider to the right to raise the level of the 
send to the “PingPongDelay” effect. You will begin to hear 
the guitar being delayed. Clicking the “S” (solo) button on 
the track will allow you to hear this more clearly.8.The great thing about FX Channels is...

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Tutorial 5: Mixing and effects
3.Click the “Show/Hide Automation” button at the far 
left of the track. 
You may need to hover your mouse over the far left bottom area until you 
see the button appear as this is only shown when you need it.
4.Select the Pencil tool.
5.In the subtrack that appears below the audio event 
use the Pencil tool to draw in automation so that it resem-
bles a fade in.
6.You can also use the “Line” tool to draw in automation 
in a straight line. Perfect for fade in...

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Tutorial 5: Mixing and effects
3.The “Export Audio Mixdown” dialog opens.
This dialog is described in detail in the chapter “Export Audio Mixdown” in 
the “Operation Manual”. Please refer to this for more detailed information.
4.“File Name” is for naming the file for export. Let’s name 
our’s “Mixing Mixdown”.
5.The “Path” is where you wish to save the exported file 
on your computer. Use the “Choose” button to navigate to 
the folder you wish to save to. For convenience there is 
the option “Use...

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Tutorial 6: Media management