Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Getting Started French Version Manual

							Getting Started
Einführung
Prise en Main 
						

							Tutorials by Steve Kostrey
Revision and Quality Control:
Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part 
of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement 
and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publica-
tion may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission 
by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Windows XP is a trademark of 
Microsoft Corporation. Windows Vista is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the 
United States and/or other countries. The Mac logo is a trademark used under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh 
are registered trademarks.
Release Date: January 30, 2008
© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2008.
All rights reserved. 
						

							Table of Contents 
						

							4
Table of Contents
5Introduction
6Welcome
6About the manuals and the help
7About the program versions
7Key command conventions
7How you can reach us
8System requirements and installation
9About this chapter
9Minimum requirements
10Hardware installation
12Installing Cubase Essential
12Defragmenting the hard disk (Windows only)
12Register your software
13Setting up your system
14Setting up audio
18Setting up MIDI
20Connecting a synchronizer
20Setting up video 
21Optimizing audio performance
23Tutorial 1: Recording audio
24Creating a new project
25Setting up the VST Connections
26Level settings and recording
29Playback
30Recording modes with cycle off
30Cycle recording
32Tutorial 2: Editing audio
33Event operations
38Event envelopes
38Processing audio
40Tutorial 3: Recording and editing MIDI
41Introduction
41Creating an Instrument Track
42Browsing sounds
42MIDI recording
43MIDI playback
44Recording modes with cycle off
44Cycle recording
45The Key Editor
47The Controller lane
48Tutorial 4: Working with loops
49Loop Browser
49Adding loops
50Making copies
50Insert into Project
51Tutorial 5: Mixing and effects
52Introduction
52Setting levels
53Setting pan
53Mute and solo
54Adding EQ
56Audio effects
57About automation
58Exporting
60Tutorial 6: Media management
61Background
61MediaBay, Loop Browser and Sound Browser
62Scanning with the browser
64Searching for media
65Auditioning media with the Scope
66Tagging
67Index 
						

							1
Introduction 
						

							6
Introduction
Welcome
Congratulations and welcome to the world of Cubase. 
You have now become a member of the world’s largest 
community of music production software users. Looking 
back at more than 20 years of innovation in computer-
based music production, Steinberg has always been the 
driving force behind software technology and Cubase is 
the benchmark for this development. With Cubase Essen-
tial 4, you have purchased the most powerful personal 
music production system Steinberg has ever made. 
Whether you’re already a user of some computer-based 
music production software or this is your first hands-on ex-
perience with a software-based sequencer/digital audio 
workstation: this version gives you full access to the Cu-
base workflow and provides you with a powerful yet easy-
to-use music production system. Cubase Essential 4 fea-
tures the same professional audio engine as used in Stein-
berg’s flagship version of Cubase – Cubase 4. It also uses 
the same powerful editing and mixing features as Cubase 4 
and works with a wide range of I/O hardware of your choice 
and includes a brand-new set of great-sounding VST3 
plug-ins and new instrument tracks. It features the ability to 
change the tempo of audio loops in realtime. In addition, 
Cubase Essential 4 features great-sounding guitar amp 
and speaker simulation, as well as HALionOne, a virtual in-
strument with samples from Yamaha’s acclaimed Motif syn-
thesizer. 
Take some time to find your way around in this new version 
of Cubase. If you are a first-time user, you will find a lot of 
help in the tutorial section, which is included in this manual. 
It comes with matching Cubase Essential project files and 
even short training videos, which you will find on your pro-
gram DVD. Even if you are already familiar with Cubase, it 
makes sense to study these tutorials in order to learn about 
some of the new features, and how they are integrated. 
Last but not least, by registering your software you will 
have access to Steinbergs personal user area on the 
Steinberg website! It gives you access to special offers 
from Steinberg and ensures that you are always up-to-
date on the latest news about tips and tricks, updates or 
special events. Finally, you are also invited to join our Cu-
base user forum at www.steinberg.net, which is the best 
way to communicate directly with us and other Cubase 
users around the world. 
See you around! The Steinberg Cubase Essential Team
About the manuals and the help
The Cubase Essential documentation is divided into sev-
eral sections, as listed below. Some of the documents are 
in Adobe Acrobat format (extension “.pdf”) – these can be 
accessed in the following ways:
 You can open the pdf documents from the Documentation 
submenu on the Help menu in the program.
 Under Windows you can also open these documents from the 
Cubase Essential Documentation subfolder on the Windows 
Start menu.
 Under Mac OS X the pdf documents are located in the folder 
“/Library/Documentation/Steinberg/Cubase Essential 4”.
ÖTo read the pdf documents, you need to have a suit-
able pdf reader application installed on your computer.
An installer for Adobe Reader is provided on the program DVD.
The Getting Started manual
This is the manual you are reading now. It covers the fol-
lowing areas:
 Computer requirements.
 Installation issues.
 Setting up your system for audio, MIDI and/or video work.
 Tutorials describing the most common procedures for record-
ing, playing back, mixing and editing in Cubase Essential.
In other words, this manual does not go into detail on any 
Cubase Essential windows, functions or procedures.
The Operation Manual
The Operation Manual is the main Cubase Essential refer-
ence documentation, with detailed descriptions of Cu-
base Essential operations, parameters, functions and 
techniques. You should be familiar with the concepts and 
methods described in the Getting Started manual before 
moving on to the Operation Manual.
Plug-in Reference
This manual describes the features and parameters of the 
included VST plug-ins, real-time audio effects, the VST In-
strument HALionOne and the MIDI effects.
Remote Control Devices
This pdf document lists the supported MIDI remote control 
devices and describes how to set them up and use them 
with Cubase Essential. 
						

							7
Introduction
Mackie Control
This pdf document describes the supported features for 
the Mackie Control remote device.
Menu Reference
This pdf document provides a list of all menus and their 
options with a brief description, for quick reference.
The dialog help
To get information about the active dialog, click its Help 
button.
About the program versions
The documentation covers two different operating sys-
tems or “platforms”; Windows and Mac OS X. 
Some features and settings are specific to one of the plat-
forms, Windows or Mac OS X. This is clearly stated in the 
applicable cases. In other words:
ÖIf nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures 
in the documentation are valid for both Windows and Mac 
OS X.
The screenshots are taken from the Windows version.
Key command conventions
Many of the default key commands in Cubase Essential 
use modifier keys, some of which are different depending 
on the operating system. For example, the default key 
command for Undo is [Ctrl]+[Z] under Windows and 
[Command]+[Z] under Mac OS X.
When key commands with modifier keys are described in 
this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier 
key first, in the following way:
[Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]+[key]
For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Z] means “press [Ctrl] un-
der Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press 
[Z]”. Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]+[X] means “press [Alt] under 
Windows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”.
ÖPlease note that this manual often refers to “right-
clicking”, e. g. to open context menus, etc. If you are using 
a Macintosh computer with a single-button mouse, hold 
down [Ctrl] and click.
How you can reach us
On the Help menu in Cubase Essential you will find items 
for getting additional information and help:
•On the “Credits and Copyright” submenu, you can find 
a link to the Steinberg web site. Selecting it will automati-
cally launch your browser application and open the page.
You can find support and compatibility information, answers to frequently 
asked questions, links for downloading new drivers, etc. This requires 
that you have a web browser application installed on your computer, and 
a working Internet connection. 
						

							2
System requirements and installation 
						

							9
System requirements and installation
About this chapter
This chapter describes the requirements and installation 
procedures for the Windows version and the Mac version 
of Cubase Essential. 
Minimum requirements
To use Cubase Essential, your computer must meet the 
following minimum requirements:
Windows
 Windows XP (Home or Professional),
or Windows Vista (32-bit)
 Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 1.4 GHz processor

 Windows DirectX compatible audio hardware; 
ASIO compatible audio hardware recommended for low 
latency performance.
 Display resolution of 1024x768 pixels
 Steinberg Key and USB component connector
 DVD ROM drive required for installation
 Internet connection required for license activation
Macintosh
 Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5
 Power Mac G4 1 GHz or Core Solo 1.5 GHz

 Display resolution of 1024x768 pixels
 CoreAudio compatible audio hardware
 Steinberg Key and USB component connector
 DVD ROM drive required for installation
 Internet connection required for license activation
General notes on how to set up your system
RAM – There is a direct relation between the amount of 
available RAM and the number of audio channels that you 
can have running. 
The amount of RAM specified above is the minimum requirement, but as 
a general rule “the more the better” applies.
Hard disk size – The size of the hard disk determines 
how many minutes of audio you will be able to record. 
Recording one minute of stereo CD quality audio requires 10 MB of hard 
disk space. That is, eight stereo tracks in Cubase Essential use up at 
least 80 MB of disk space per recording minute.
Hard disk speed – The speed of the hard drive also de-
termines the number of audio tracks you can run.
That is the quantity of information that the disk can read, usually expressed 
as “sustained transfer rate”. Again, “the more the better” applies.
Wheel mouse – Although a regular mouse will work fine 
with Cubase Essential, we recommend that you use a 
wheel mouse.
This will speed up value editing and scrolling considerably. 
MIDI requirements
If you intend to use the MIDI features of Cubase Essential, 
you need the following:
 A MIDI interface to connect external MIDI equipment to your 
computer.

 Any audio equipment required to listen to the sound from your 
MIDI devices. 
Audio hardware
Cubase Essential will run with audio hardware that meets 
the following specifications:


 Support of at least the 44.1kHz sampling rate.
 Windows – The audio hardware must be supplied with a spe-
cial ASIO driver, or a DirectX compatible driver, see below.
 Mac – The audio hardware must be supplied with Mac OS X-
compatible drivers (CoreAudio or ASIO). 
Using the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh 
(Mac only)
Although Cubase Essential is designed with multi-channel 
input and output in mind, it’s of course possible to use the 
program with “basic” stereo inputs and outputs. As of this 
writing, all current Macintosh models provide at least built-
in 16 bit stereo audio hardware. For detailed information, 
refer to the documentation describing your computer.
!On the Steinberg web site, under “Support–DAW 
Components”, you can find detailed information on 
what to consider when setting up a computer system 
dedicated to audio work. 
						

							10
System requirements and installation
Depending on your preferences and requirements, using 
the built-in audio hardware may be sufficient for use with 
Cubase Essential. It is always available for selection in 
Cubase Essential – you don’t need to install any additional 
drivers.
About drivers
A driver is a piece of software that allows a program to 
communicate with a certain piece of hardware. In this 
case, the driver allows Cubase Essential to use the audio 
hardware. For audio hardware, there are two different 
cases, requiring different driver configurations:
If the audio hardware has a specific ASIO driver
Professional audio cards often come with an ASIO driver 
written especially for the card. This allows for communica-
tion directly between Cubase Essential and the audio 
card. As a result, audio cards with specific ASIO drivers 
can provide lower latency (input-output delay), which is 
crucial when monitoring audio via Cubase Essential or us-
ing VST Instruments. The ASIO driver may also provide 
special support for multiple inputs and outputs, routing, 
synchronization, etc.
Audio card-specific ASIO drivers are provided by the card 
manufacturers. Make sure to check the manufacturer’s 
web site for the latest driver versions.
If the audio card communicates via DirectX (Windows 
only)
DirectX is a Microsoft “package” for handling various 
types of multimedia data under Windows. Cubase Essen-
tial supports DirectX, or to be more precise, DirectSound, 
which is a part of DirectX used for playing back and re-
cording audio. This requires two types of drivers:
 A DirectX driver for the audio card, allowing it to communicate 
with DirectX. If the audio card supports DirectX, this driver 
should be supplied by the audio card manufacturer. If it isn’t 
installed with the audio card, please check the manufacturer’s 
web site for more information.
 The ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver, allowing Cubase Essen-
tial to communicate with DirectX. This driver is included with 
Cubase Essential, and does not require any special installa-
tion.
Hardware installation
The Steinberg Key
Included with the Cubase Essential package, you will find 
the Steinberg Key (also referred to as a “dongle” or “eLi-
censer”), a hardware copy protection device that is part of 
the Cubase Essential copy protection scheme. Cubase 
Essential will not run if there is no Steinberg Key.
The Steinberg Key
The Steinberg Key is, in fact, a little computer on which 
your Steinberg software licenses are stored. All hardware-
protected Steinberg products use the same type of key, 
and you can store more than one license on one key. Also, 
licenses can (within certain limits) be transferred between 
keys – which is helpful, e.g. if you want to sell a piece of 
software. 
The Syncrosoft License Control Center (which can be 
found in the Start/Programs menu under Windows or the 
Applications folder on a Mac) is the place where you can 
check the licenses installed on your Steinberg Key. 
!Some Macintosh models have audio outputs but no 
inputs. This means that you can only play back audio 
– recording is not possible without additional audio 
hardware.
!If your audio hardware comes with a specific ASIO 
driver we strongly recommend that you use this.
!Please read the following section before installing 
the Cubase Essential software.