Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Operation Manual

11
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
5.Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog.
ÖIf you open a project created on another computer and 
the port names don’t match (or the port configuration isn’t 
the same – e.g. the project is created on a system with 
multi-channel i/o and you open it on a stereo in/out sys-
tem), the Pending Connections dialog will appear.
This allows you to manually re-route ports used in the project to ports 
available in your system.
The VST Connections window...

12
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
When creating new audio, group or FX channels in the 
mixer, they will automatically be routed to the default bus.
Other bus operations
To change the port assignment for a bus, you proceed 
as when you added it – make sure the channels are visible 
(by clicking the “+” button next to the bus, or by clicking 
the “+ All” button at the top of the window) and click in the 
Device Port column to select ports.
To remove a bus you don’t need, select it in...

13
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
Output channels
The output channels are shown to the right in the mixer. 
Here you can do the following:
Adjust the output level for the busses with the faders.
Open the Channel Settings window to add effects or EQ.
These will affect the whole bus. Examples of effects you may want to add 
here include compressors, limiters and dithering. See the chapter “Audio 
effects” on page 103.
About monitoring
The Main Mix bus (the default output bus) is used...

3
The Project window 

15
The Project window
Background
The Project window is the main window in Cubase Essen-
tial. This provides you with an overview of the project, al-
lowing you to navigate and perform large scale editing. 
Each project has one Project window.
About tracks
The Project window is divided vertically into tracks, with a 
timeline running horizontally from left to right. The follow-
ing track types are available:
About parts and events
Events are the basic building blocks in Cubase Essential. 
Different event...

16
The Project window
Audio handling
When you work with audio files, it is crucial to understand 
how audio is handled in Cubase Essential:
When you edit or process audio in the project window, 
you always work with an audio clip that is automatically 
created on import or during recording. This audio clip re-
fers to an audio file on the hard disk that itself remains un-
touched. This means, that audio editing and processing is 
“non-destructive”, in the sense that you can always undo 
changes or revert...

17
The Project window
Window Overview
The Track list
The Track list displays all the tracks used in a project. It 
contains name fields and settings for the tracks. Different 
track types have different controls in the Track list. To see 
all the controls you may have to resize the track in the Track 
list (see “Resizing tracks in the Track list” on page 23).
The Track list area for an audio track:The Track list area for an automation subtrack (opened 
by clicking the Show/Hide Automation button on a...

18
The Project window
The Inspector
The area to the left of the Track list is called the Inspector. 
This shows additional controls and parameters for the track 
you have selected in the Track list. If several tracks are se-
lected (see “Handling tracks” on page 26), the Inspector 
shows the setting for the first (topmost) selected track.
To hide or show the Inspector, click the Inspector icon in 
the toolbar.
The Inspector icon
For most track classes, the Inspector is divided into a 
number of sections,...

19
The Project window
Audio tracks
For audio tracks, all settings and sections listed above are 
available.
MIDI tracks
When a MIDI track is selected, the Inspector contains a 
number of additional sections and parameters, affecting the 
MIDI events in real time (e.g. on playback). Which sections 
are available for MIDI tracks is described in the chapter 
“MIDI realtime parameters and effects” on page 205.
Marker tracks
When the marker track is selected, the Inspector shows 
the marker list. See “The...

20
The Project window
FX channel folder tracks
FX channel tracks are automatically placed in a special 
folder, for easier management. When this folder track is 
selected, the Inspector shows the folder and the FX chan-
nels it contains. You can click one of the FX channels 
shown in the folder to have the Inspector show the set-
tings for that FX channel – this way you don’t have to 
“open” a folder track to access the settings for the FX 
channels in it.
Group channel tracks
When a Group channel track...