Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Operation Manual
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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.
4 Table of Contents 7About this manual 8Welcome! 9VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses 10About this chapter 10Setting up busses 12Using the busses 13About monitoring 14The Project window 15Background 17Window Overview 22Operations 38Options 41Playback and the Transport panel 42Background 43Operations 45Options and Settings 47Recording 48Background 48Basic recording methods 50Audio recording specifics 54MIDI recording specifics 59Options and Settings 61Recovery of audio recordings after system failure 62Fades, crossfades and envelopes 63Creating fades 65The Fade dialogs 66Creating crossfades 67The Crossfade dialog 68Auto Fades and Crossfades 70The Arranger track 71Introduction 71Setting up the Arranger track 72Working with arranger events 74Flattening the Arranger chain 75Live Mode 76Arranging your music to video 77Folder tracks 78About folder tracks 78Handling folder tracks 79Working with folder parts 81Using markers 82About markers 82The Marker window 83Using the Marker track 85Marker key commands 86The mixer 87About this chapter 88Configuring the mixer 91The audio-related channel strips 91The MIDI channel strips 92The common panel 92The output channels 92Basic mixing procedures 94Audio specific procedures 99MIDI specific procedures 100Utilities 103Audio effects 104About this chapter 104Overview 105Insert effects 109Send effects 109Setting up send effects 112Making settings for the effects 113Effect presets 116Installing and managing effect plug-ins 119VST Instruments and Instrument tracks 120Introduction 120VST Instrument channels vs. instrument tracks 120VST Instrument channels 122Instrument tracks 123Comparison 123Automation considerations 124What do I need? Instrument channel or Instrument track? 124Instrument Freeze 126VST instruments and processor load 126Using presets for VSTi configuration 129About latency
5 Table of Contents 131Automation 132Background 133What can be automated? 133Automation track operations 135Using Write/Read automation 137Working with automation curves 140Tips and common methods 140Options and Settings 141Audio processing and functions 142Background 142Audio processing 147The Offline Process History dialog 148Freeze Edits 149The Sample Editor 150Background 151Window overview 154General Operations 158Options and settings 158Audio Warp realtime processing/Tempo matching audio to the project tempo 160Working with hitpoints and slices 166The Audio Part Editor 167Background 167Opening the Audio Part Editor 167Window overview 169Operations 170Common methods 170Options and Settings 171The Pool 172Background 172Window overview 174Operations 183SoundFrame 184Introduction 186The MediaBay 187Introduction 188Window overview 188Browsing for media files 191Finding files in the Viewer section 193Previewing files in the Scope section 193Media management 195Track Presets 196Introduction 196Types of track presets 198VST presets 198Browsing for presets 200Creating a track preset 201Creating tracks from track presets or VST presets 202Applying track presets 203Previewing track and VST presets 204Inserts and EQ settings from track presets 205MIDI realtime parameters and effects 206Introduction 206The Inspector – General handling 206Basic track settings 208MIDI Modifiers 210MIDI effects 212Managing plug-ins 213MIDI processing and quantizing 214Introduction 214The Quantizing functions 219Permanent settings with Freeze MIDI Modifiers 219Dissolve Part 220O-Note Conversion 220Other MIDI functions 224The MIDI editors 225Introduction 225Opening a MIDI editor 227The Key Editor – Overview 229Key Editor operations 242The Drum Editor – Overview 243Drum Editor operations 245Working with drum maps 248Using drum name lists 249The List Editor – Overview 250List Editor operations 253The Score Editor – Overview 254Score Editor operations 261Working with System Exclusive messages 262Introduction 262Bulk dumps 263Recording System Exclusive parameter changes 264Editing System Exclusive messages
6 Table of Contents 265Working with the Tempo track 266Background 266The Tempo Track Editor – Overview 267Operations 270Options and settings 270The Beat Calculator 272Export Audio Mixdown 273Introduction 273Mixing down to an audio file 274The available file formats 278Synchronization 279Background 279Synchronization signals 280Synchronizing the transport vs. synchronizing audio 281Making basic settings and connections 282Synchronization settings 285Sync Options 286Working with VST System Link 286Preparations 289Activating VST System Link 292Application examples 294Video 295Background 295Before you start 296Operations 299ReWire 300Introduction 300Launching and quitting 301Activating ReWire channels 301Using the transport and tempo controls 302How the ReWire channels are handled in Cubase Essential 302Routing MIDI via ReWire2 302Considerations and limitations 303File handling 304Working with Projects 306Startup Options 307Revert 307Importing audio 310Exporting and importing standard MIDI files 312Cleanup 313Customizing 314Background 314The Setup dialogs 315Customizing track controls 317Appearance 317Applying track and event colors 319Where are the settings stored? 321Key commands 322Introduction 322Setting up key commands 326Setting up tool modifier keys 326The default key commands 330Index
8 About this manual Welcome! This is the Operation Manual for Steinberg’s Cubase Es- sential. Here you will find detailed information about all the features and functions in the program. 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. 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 of Cubase Essential. 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] under Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press [Z]”. Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] under Win- dows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”. ÖPlease note that this manual often refers to right-click- ing, e.g. to open context menus, etc. If you are using a Mac with a single-button mouse, hold down [Ctrl] and click.
2 VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
10 VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses About this chapter Cubase Essential uses a system of input and output busses to transfer audio between the program and the audio hard- ware. Input busses let you route audio from the inputs on your audio hardware into the program. This means that when you record audio, you will always do this through one or several input busses. Output busses let you route audio from the program to the outputs on your audio hardware. When you play back audio, you will always do this through one or several output busses. As you can see, the input and output busses are vital when you work with Cubase Essential. This is why you find this chapter in the beginning of the Operation Manual – once you understand the bus system and set up the busses properly, it will be easy to go on with recording, playing back and mixing. Setting up busses Strategies In Cubase Essential you can create up to 8 stereo busses or up to 16 mono busses. ÖThe bus configuration is saved with the projects – therefore it’s a good idea to add and set up the busses you need and save these in a template project (see “Save as Template” on page 305). When you start working on new projects, you start from this template. That way you get your standard bus configuration without having to make new bus settings for each new project. If you need to work with different bus configurations in different projects, you can either create several dif- ferent templates or store your configurations as presets (see “Other bus operations” on page 12). The templates can of course also contain other settings that you regularly use – sample rate, record format, a basic track layout, etc. Input busses Most likely you need at least one stereo input bus assigned to an analog input pair. This would let you record stereo material. If you want to be able to record in stereo from other analog input pairs as well, you add stereo input busses for these, too. Although you can record mono tracks from one side of a ste- reo input, it may be a good idea to add a dedicated mono in- put bus. This could be assigned to an analog input to which you have connected a dedicated microphone pre-amp for ex- ample. Again, you can have several different mono busses. You probably want a dedicated stereo input bus assigned to the digital stereo input, for digital transfers. Output busses You probably want one or several stereo output busses for monitoring and listening to stereo mixes. For digital transfers, you need a stereo bus assigned to the digital stereo output as well. Preparations Before you set up busses, you should name the inputs and outputs on your audio hardware. The reason for this is compatibility – it makes it easier to transfer projects between different computers and setups. For example, if you move your project to another studio, the audio hardware may be of a different model. But if both you and the other studio owner have given your in- puts and outputs names according to the setup (rather than names based on the audio hardware model), Cubase Essential will automatically find the correct inputs and out- puts for your busses and you will be able to play and record without having to change the settings. Use the Device Setup dialog to assign names to the in- puts and outputs of your audio hardware: 1.Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu. 2.Make sure that the correct driver for your audio hard- ware is selected on the VST Audio System page, so that the audio card is listed in the Devices list. 3.Select your audio card in the list. The available input and output ports on your audio hardware are listed on the right. 4.To rename a port, click its name in the “Show as” col- umn and enter a new name. •If needed, you can also disable ports by deactivating them in the “Visible” column. Disabled ports won’t show up in the VST Connections window when you are making bus settings. If you attempt to disable a port that is used by a bus, you will be asked whether this is really what you want – note that this will remove the port from the bus!