Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Operation Manual
Have a look at the manual Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Operation Manual online for free. It’s possible to download the document as PDF or print. UserManuals.tech offer 523 Steinberg manuals and user’s guides for free. Share the user manual or guide on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
142 Audio processing and functions Background Audio processing in Cubase Essential can be called “non- destructive”, in the sense that you can always undo changes or revert to the original versions. This is possible because processing affects audio clips rather than the ac- tual audio files, and because audio clips can refer to more than one audio file. This is how it works: 1.If you process an event or a selection range, a new au- dio file is created in the Edits folder, within your project folder. This new file contains the processed audio, while the original file is unaf- fected. 2.The processed section of the audio clip (the section corresponding to the event or selection range) then refers to the new, processed audio file. The other sections of the clip will still refer to the original file. Since all edits are available as separate files, it is possi- ble to undo any processing, at any point and in any order! This is done in the Offline Process History dialog, see “The Offline Pro- cess History dialog” on page 147. Furthermore, the original, unprocessed audio file can still be used by other clips in the project, by other projects or by other applications. Audio processing Basically, you apply processing by making a selection and selecting a function from the Process submenu on the Au- dio menu. Processing is applied according to the follow- ing rules: Selecting events in the Project window or the Audio Part Editor will apply processing to the selected events only. Processing will only affect the clip sections that are referenced by the events. Selecting an audio clip in the Pool will apply processing to the whole clip. Making a selection range will apply processing to the selected range only. Other sections of the clip are not affected. If you attempt to process an event that is a shared copy (i.e. the event refers to a clip that is used by other events in the project), you are asked whether you want to create a new version of the clip or not. Select “New Version” if you want the processing to affect the selected event only. Select “Continue” if you want the processing to affect all shared copies. ÖIf you activate “Do not show this message again”, any further processing you do will conform to the selected method (“Continue” or ”New Version”). You can change this setting at any time by using the “On Processing Shared Clips” pop-up in the Preferences (Editing–Audio page).After processing the event the clip will refer both to the original file and a new file, containing the processed section only. This event plays a section of this clip… …which refers to this audio file.
143 Audio processing and functions Common settings and features If there are any settings for the selected Audio processing function, these will appear when you select the function from the Process submenu. While most settings are spe- cific for the function, some features and settings work in the same way for several functions: The “More…” button If the dialog has a lot of settings, some options may be hidden when the dialog appears. To reveal these, click the “More…” button. To hide the settings, click the button again (now labeled “Less…”). The Preview, Process and Cancel buttons These buttons have the following functionality: Pre/Post-CrossFade Some processing functions allow you to gradually mix the effect in or out. This is done with the Pre/Post-CrossFade parameters. If you activate Pre-CrossFade and specify a value of e.g. 1000 ms, the processing will be applied grad- ually from the start of selection, reaching full effect 1000 ms after the start. Similarly, if you activate Post-CrossFade, the processing will gradually be removed, starting at the speci- fied interval before the end of the selection. Envelope The Envelope function allows you to apply a volume enve- lope to the selected audio. The dialog contains the follow- ing settings: Curve Kind buttons These determine whether the envelope curve should con- sist of spline curve segments (left button), damped spline segments (middle button) or linear segments (right button). Fade display Shows the shape of the envelope 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 out- side the display. Presets If you have set up an envelope 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 enter a new one in the dialog that appears. To remove a stored preset, select it from the pop-up menu and click Remove. Fade In and Fade Out For a description of these functions, see the chapter “Fa- des, crossfades and envelopes” on page 62. Button Description Preview Allows you to listen to the result of the processing with the current settings. Playback will continue repeatedly until you click the button again (the button is labeled “Stop” during Preview playback). You can make adjust- ments during Preview playback, but the changes are not applied until the start of the next “lap”. Some changes may automatically restart the Preview playback from the beginning. Process Performs the processing and closes the dialog. Cancel Closes the dialog without processing. !The sum of the Pre- and Post-CrossFade times can- not be larger than the length of the selection.
144 Audio processing and functions Gain Allows you to change the gain (level) of the selected audio. The dialog contains the following settings: Gain This is where you set the desired gain, between -50 and +20 dB. The setting is also indicated below the Gain dis- play as a percentage. Clipping detection text If you use the Preview function before applying the pro- cessing, the text below the slider indicates whether the current settings result in clipping (audio levels above 0 dB). If that is the case, lower the Gain value and use the Preview function again. If you want to increase the level of the audio as much as possible without causing clipping, you should use the Nor- malize function instead (see “Normalize” on page 145). Pre- and Post-CrossFade See “Pre/Post-CrossFade” on page 143. Merge Clipboard This functions mixes the audio from the clipboard into the audio selected for processing, starting at the beginning of the selection. The dialog contains the following settings: Sources mix Allows you to specify a mix ratio between the original (the audio selected for processing) and the copy (the audio on the clipboard). Pre- and Post-CrossFade See “Pre/Post-CrossFade” on page 143. Noise Gate Scans the audio for sections weaker than a specified threshold level and replaces them with silence. The dialog contains the following settings: Threshold The level below which you want audio to be silenced. Levels below this value will close the gate. Attack Time The time it takes for the gate to open fully after the audio level has exceeded the threshold level. Min. Opening Time This is the shortest time the gate will remain open. If you find that the gate opens and closes too often when pro- cessing material that varies rapidly in level, you should try raising this value. Release Time The time it takes for the gate to close fully after the audio level has dropped below the threshold level. !For this function to be available, you need to have cut or copied a range of audio in the Sample Editor first.
145 Audio processing and functions Linked Channels This is available for stereo audio only. When it is activated, the Noise Gate is opened for both channels as soon as one or both channels exceed the Threshold level. When Linked Channels is deactivated, the Noise Gate works in- dependently for the left and right channel. Dry/Wet mix Allows you to specify a mix ratio between “dry” and pro- cessed sound. Pre- and Post-CrossFade See “Pre/Post-CrossFade” on page 143. Normalize The Normalize function allows you to specify the desired maximum level of the audio. It then analyzes the selected audio and finds the current maximum level. Finally it sub- tracts the current maximum level from the specified level and raises the gain of the audio by the resulting amount (if the specified maximum level is lower than the current max- imum, the gain will be lowered instead). A common use for Normalizing is to raise the level of audio that was recorded at too low an input level. The dialog contains the following settings: Maximum The desired maximum level for the audio, between -50 and 0 dB. The setting is also indicated below the Gain display as a percentage. Pre- and Post-CrossFade See “Pre/Post-CrossFade” on page 143. Phase Reverse Reverses the phase of the selected audio, turning the waveform “upside down”. The dialog contains the follow- ing settings: Phase Reverse on When processing stereo audio, this pop-up menu allows you to specify which channel(s) should be phase-reversed. Pre- and Post-CrossFade See “Pre/Post-CrossFade” on page 143. Remove DC Offset This function will remove any DC offset in the audio selec- tion. A DC offset is when there is too large a DC (direct current) component in the signal, sometimes visible as the signal not being visually centered around the “zero level axis”. DC offsets do not affect what you actually hear, but they affect zero crossing detection and certain process- ing, and it is recommended that you remove them. Reverse Reverses the audio selection, as when playing a tape backwards. There are no parameters for this function. Silence Replaces the selection with silence. There are no parame- ters for this function. Stereo Flip This function works with stereo audio selections only. It al- lows you to manipulate the left and right channel in various ways. The dialog contains the following parameters: !It is recommended that this function is applied to complete audio clips, since the DC offset (if any) is normally present throughout the entire recording.
146 Audio processing and functions Mode This pop-up menu determines what the function does: Time Stretch This function allows you to change the length and “tempo” of the selected audio without affecting the pitch. The dia- log contains the following parameters: Define Bars section In this section you set the length of the selected audio and the time signature: Original Length section This section contains information and settings regarding the audio selected for processing: Resulting Length section These settings are used if you want to stretch the audio to fit within a specific time span or tempo. The values will change automatically if you adjust the Time Stretch Ratio (see below). Seconds Range section These settings allow you to set the desired range for the time stretch. Time Stretch Ratio section The Time Stretch Ratio determines the amount of time stretch as a percentage of the original length. If you use the settings in the Resulting Length section to specify the amount of time stretch, this value will change automati- cally. The possible range depends on the “Effect” option: Option Description Flip Left-Right Swaps the left and right channel. Left to Stereo Copies the left channel sound to the right channel. Right to Stereo Copies the right channel sound to the left channel. Merge Merges both channels on each side for mono sound. Subtract Subtracts the left channel information from the right and vice versa. This is typically used as a “Karaoke effect”, for removing centered mono material from a stereo signal. Parameter Description Bars If you use the tempo setting (see below), you can specify the length of the selected audio here, in bars. Beats If you use the tempo setting, you can specify the length of the selected audio here, in beats. Sign. If you use the tempo setting, you can specify the time sig- nature here. Parameter Description Length in SamplesThe length of the selected audio, in samples. Length in SecondsThe length of the selected audio, in seconds. Tempo in BPMIf you are processing music, and know the actual tempo of the audio, you can enter it here as beats per minute. This makes it possible to time-stretch the audio to an- other tempo, without having to compute the actual time stretch amount. Parameter Description Samples The desired length in samples. Seconds The desired length in seconds. BPM The desired tempo (beats per minute). For this to work, you have to know the actual tempo of the audio, and specify this (along with time signature and length in bars) in the Original Length section to the left. Parameter Description Range Allows you to specify the desired length as a range be- tween two time positions. Use Locators Clicking the diamond-shaped button below the Range fields sets the Range values to the left and right Locator positions, respectively.
147 Audio processing and functions If the “Effect” checkbox is deactivated, the range is 75– 125 %. This is the preferred mode if you want to preserve the character of the sound. If the “Effect” checkbox is activated, you can specify val- ues between 10 and 1000 %. This mode is mainly useful for special effects, etc. Algorithm section Here you can choose a preset for the Realtime algorithm. This is the algorithm used for the realtime time stretching features in Cubase Essential. The Presets pop-up con- tains the same presets as found in the Algorithm pop-up in the Sample Editor. The Offline Process History dialog Procedures If you want to remove some or all processing from a clip, this can be done in the Offline Process History dialog. Pro- cessing that can be modified in the Offline Process History dialog includes the functions on the Process menu, and Sample Editor operations such as Cut, Paste, Delete and drawing with the Pencil tool. ÖDue to the clip-file relationship (see “Background” on page 142), it is even possible to modify or remove some processing “in the middle” of the Process History, while keeping later processing! This feature depends on the type of processing performed (see “Restrictions” on page 148). Proceed as follows: 1.Select the clip in the Pool or one of its events in the Project window. You can see which clips have been processed by checking the Status column in the Pool – the waveform symbol indicates that processing or effects have been applied to the clip (see “About the Status column sym- bols” on page 173). 2.Select “Offline Process History…” from the Audio menu. The Offline Process History dialog appears. The left part of the dialog contains a list of all processing you have added to the clip, with the most recent opera- tions at the bottom of the list. The “Start” and “Length” columns indicate which section of the clip was affected by each operation. The “Status” column indicates if the oper- ation can be modified or undone. 3.Locate the operation you want to edit and select it by clicking on it in the list. To modify the settings of the selected processing, click the “Modify” button. This opens the dialog for the processing function or applied effect, allow- ing you to change the settings. This works just as when you applied the processing or effect the first time. To replace the selected operation with another pro- cessing function or effect, select the desired function from the pop-up menu and click the “Replace By” button. If the selected function has settings, a dialog will appear as usual. The original operation will then be removed and the new processing will be inserted in the Offline Process History. To remove the selected operation, click the “Remove” button. The processing is removed from the clip. To undo the selected operation and remove the pro- cessing from the clip click the “Deactivate” button. The processing is removed from the clip, but the operation remains in the list. To redo the operation and apply the processing again, click the but- ton, now renamed to “Activate”, again. 4.Click “Close” to close the dialog.
148 Audio processing and functions Restrictions If there are no settings for the processing function, you cannot modify it. If you have applied processing that changes the length of the clip (such as Cut, Insert or Time Stretch), you can only remove this if it is the most recent processing in the Offline Process History (at the bottom of the list in the di- alog). If an operation cannot be removed or modified, this is indicated by an icon in the “Status” column. Also, the corresponding buttons will be grayed out. Freeze Edits The Freeze Edits function on the Audio menu allows you to make all processing and applied effects permanent for a clip: 1.Select the clip in the Pool or one of its events in the Project window. 2.Select “Freeze Edits…” from the Audio menu. If there is only one edit version of the clip (no other clips refer to the same audio file), the following dialog will appear: If you select “Replace”, all edits will be applied to the original audio file (the one listed in the clip’s Path column in the Pool). If you select “New File”, the Freeze Edits operation will create a new file in the Audio folder within the project folder (leaving the original audio file unaffected). If the selected clip (or the clip played by the selected event) has several edit versions (i.e. there are other clips referring to the same audio file), the following alert will appear: As you can see, you don’t have the option to Replace the original audio file in this case. This is because that audio file is used by other clips. Se- lect “New File” to have a new file created in the Audio folder within the project folder. !After a Freeze Edits, the clip refers to a new, single audio file. If you open the Offline Process History di- alog for the clip, the list will be empty.
150 The Sample Editor Background The Sample Editor allows you to view and manipulate audio at the audio clip level, by cutting and pasting, removing or drawing audio data or processing audio (see “Audio pro- cessing and functions” on page 141). This editing can be called “non-destructive”, in the sense that you can undo changes or revert to the original versions at any time, using the Offline Process History (see “The Offline Process His- tory dialog” on page 147), and because the actual audio file (if created or imported from outside the project) will re- main untouched. The Sample Editor also contains most of the Audio Warp related functions, i.e. the realtime time-stretching and pitch- shifting functions in Cubase Essential. These are useful to e.g. tempo-match any audio loop to the project tempo (see “Audio Warp realtime processing/Tempo matching audio to the project tempo” on page 158). Another special feature of the Sample Editor is hitpoint detection. Hitpoints allow you to create “slices”, that are useful, if you want to e.g. change the tempo without af- fecting the pitch (see “Working with hitpoints and slices” on page 160). Opening the Sample Editor You open the Sample Editor by double-clicking an audio event in the Project window or the Audio Part Editor, or by double-clicking an audio clip in the Pool. You can have more than one Sample Editor open at the same time. Note that double-clicking an audio part in the Project window will open the Audio Part Editor, even if the part only contains a single audio event. This is described in a separate chapter, see “The Audio Part Editor” on page 166.