Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Operation Manual

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The Pool
Organizing clips and folders
If you accumulate a large number of clips in the Pool, it 
may sometimes be difficult to quickly find specific items. In 
such cases, organizing clips in new subfolders with suit-
able names that reflect the content can be a solution. For 
example, you could put all sound effects in one folder, all 
lead vocals in another etc. Proceed as follows:
1.Select the type of folder, audio or video, for which you 
want to create a subfolder.
You cannot put audio clips in a video folder and vice versa.
2.Select “Create Folder” on the Media on context menu.
A new empty subfolder named “New Folder” appears in the Pool.
3.Click on the name and enter an appropriate name for 
the folder.
4.Drag and drop the clips you wish to move to the new 
folder.
5.Repeat steps 1–4 as necessary.
Applying processing to clips in the Pool
You can apply audio processing to clips from within the 
Pool in the same way as to events in the Project window. 
Simply select the clip(s) and choose a processing method 
from the Audio menu. To find out more about audio pro-
cessing, see the chapter “Audio processing and functions” 
on page 141.
Undoing processing
If you have applied processing to a clip, in the Project win-
dow, the Sample Editor, or in the Pool, this is indicated by 
the red and gray waveform symbol in the Status column. 
This processing can always be undone using the Offline 
Process History, see “The Offline Process History dialog” 
on page 147.
Freeze Edits
You can use the Freeze Edits function to create a new file 
with processing applied or to replace the original with a 
processed version, see “Freeze Edits” on page 148.
Minimize File
The option “Minimize File” on the Media or context menu 
allows you to change the size of audio files according to 
the audio clips referenced in a project. The files produced 
using this option will only contain the audio file portions 
actually used in the project. This can significantly reduce 
the size of the project, if large portions of the audio files 
are unused. Therefore, the option is useful for archiving 
purposes after you have completed a project.
ÖThis operation will permanently alter the selected au-
dio files in the Pool. This cannot be undone!
If this is not what you want, you can use the option “Save Project to New 
Folder” on the File menu instead, see “Save Project to New Folder” on 
page 306. This function also has the option of minimizing files, but cop-
ies all files into a new folder, leaving the original project untouched.
Proceed as follows:
1.Select the file(s) you wish to minimize in the Pool.
2.Select “Minimize File” on the Media menu.
An alert appears, informing you that the entire Edit History will be cleared. 
Click Minimize to proceed or Cancel to stop the process. 
3.After the minimizing is finished, another alert appears, 
because the file references in the stored project have be-
come invalid. 
Click Save Now to save the updated project or click Later to proceed 
with the unsaved project. 
Only the audio portions actually used in the project remain 
in the corresponding audio file(s) in the Pool Record folder.
Prepare Archive
The option “Prepare Archive” on the Media menu is useful 
if you want to archive a project. It verifies that every clip 
referenced in the project is located in the same folder, and 
takes actions if that is not the case: 
Any files that are located outside the current project 
folder will be copied into it.
Please note that audio files that reside within the project folder will not be 
copied to the audio folder. You will therefore have to copy them there 
manually before backing up the audio folder or save them separately dur-
ing backup, see below.
If any processing has been applied, you will be asked 
whether you want to Freeze Edits.
If you do this, you don’t have to archive the Edits folder. Everything belong-
ing to the project will be contained in the project file and the Audio folder. 
						

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The Pool
Once you have performed a Prepare Archive, you can copy 
the project file, the Audio folder and any other audio mate-
rial you saved in the project folder to backup disks, etc.
It is not necessary to archive the Images folder, since 
these Images can be recreated by Cubase Essential. You 
may also find a file with the extension “.csh” in the project 
folder. This contains image information for edited clips and 
other data that can be recreated, so it can safely be de-
leted.
Convert Files
Selecting the option “Convert Files” on the Media or con-
text menu opens the Convert Options dialog which oper-
ates on selected files. Use the pop-up menus to specify 
which audio file attributes you want to keep and which you 
want to convert. The available settings are:
Sample Rate
Keep as is, or convert to a sample rate between 8.000 and 96.000 kHz.
Sample Width
Keep the sample width (resolution) as is, or convert to 16 Bit, 24 Bit or 
32 Bit Float.
Channels
Keep as is, or convert the file to Mono or Stereo Interleaved.
File Format
Keep as is, or convert to Wave or AIFF format.
Options
When you convert a file, you can use the Options pop-up 
to set one of the following options regarding what to do 
with the new file:
Conform Files
By using this command, you will change all selected files 
that have different file attributes than what is specified for 
the project, to conform to this standard.
Proceed as follows:
1.Select the clips in the Pool.
2.Select “Conform Files” on the Media menu.
A dialog opens allowing you to choose between keeping or replacing the 
original unconverted files in the Pool. The following applies:
 Clip/event references in the pool are always redirected to the 
conformed files.
 If any “keep” option is selected, original files remain in the 
Project’s Audio folder and new files are created.
 If you select the “Replace” option, files in the Pool and in the 
Project’s Audio folder are replaced.
!Video clips are always referenced and not stored in 
the project folder.
Option Description
New Files Creates a copy of the file in the audio folder and converts 
this new file according to the chosen attributes. The new 
file is added to the Pool, but all clip references will still 
point to the original, unconverted file.
Replace Files Converts the original file without changing clip refer-
ences. The references are however saved with the next 
save action.
New + Replace 
in PoolCreates a new copy with the chosen attributes, replaces 
the original file with the new one in the Pool and redirects 
the current clip references from the original file to the 
new file. This is the option to select if you want your audio 
clips to refer to the converted file, but still want to keep 
the original file on disk (e. g. if the file is used in other 
projects). 
						

							18
SoundFrame 
						

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SoundFrame
Introduction
One of the biggest challenges in typical project studio en-
vironments is how to manage the ever-growing number of 
plug-ins, instruments, presets, etc. Cubase Essential pro-
vides a truly universal, fully integrated solution to this prob-
lem: SoundFrame.
What constitutes SoundFrame?
The Cubase Essential SoundFrame is what links the Me-
diaBay and instrument tracks as well as track and VST3 
presets. 
The MediaBay is a universal Media Management Sys-
tem providing different views that allows you to find and 
tag media files, quickly import media files into projects and 
more (see “The MediaBay” on page 186).
Instrument tracks are a sound-oriented combination of 
MIDI tracks and VST Instruments, another way of applying 
sounds to tracks easily (see “VST Instruments and Instru-
ment tracks” on page 119).
Track presets are a combination of track settings, ef-
fects and mixer settings that can be applied to new tracks 
of various types. So right from the start, you can set up 
your tracks for a specific sound (see “Track Presets” on 
page 195). With the introduction of the VST3 plug-in standard, Cu-
base Essential makes use of VST presets as an additional 
way to apply sounds to instrument tracks and effects to 
audio track (see “Inserts and EQ settings from track pre-
sets” on page 204). Plug-in parameters can be saved as 
VST presets, and you can also generate VST presets (i. e. 
sounds) from VST2 Instruments.
You can identify SoundFrame features through the 
SoundFrame logo.
The SoundFrame logo
The SoundFrame logo is used in various places in Cubase 
Essential, for example:
In the Inspector as a button for applying track presets.
You will only see track presets corresponding to the type of track you are 
working on.
The Cubase Essential SoundFrame 
						

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SoundFrame
In the Inspector for instrument tracks as a button for ex-
tracting sounds.
In the Inspector or the Channel settings window as but-
tons for extracting Inserts or EQ settings from track presets.
What can SoundFrame do for you?
SoundFrame allows you to manage any sound from any 
software or hardware synthesizer under a single, unified 
user interface.
SoundFrame can help you find any sound, not only by in-
strument but also by category, type, style, character or 
other attributes (Track presets organized in the MediaBay).
SoundFrame comes with more than 1000 ready-to-play 
sounds, which are also conveniently organized by instru-
ment category, type, and character. These can even be in-
stantly previewed before loading (Instrument track presets 
managing the VST instruments – again organized in the 
MediaBay).
SoundFrame can manage your VST plug-in presets. 
These can be organized and categorized to form one big 
effects library (VST presets organized in the MediaBay). 
						

							19
The MediaBay 
						

							187
The MediaBay
Introduction
Modern music production involves having to deal with a 
multitude of media files, e. g. audio, MIDI, video, etc.
Cubase Essential features a powerful media file manage-
ment database that allows you to control all your media 
files from within your sequencer program. This may involve 
several different tasks: 
You can browse the folders of your file system to view 
folders and files.
You can define searches to find specific files and filter 
the search results.
You can organize your files in a folder structure.
You can use the tagging features to assign your files to 
specific categories, and use these categories as the basis 
for your searches.
Which file formats are supported?
The following media file formats are supported by the 
Media Management System:
Audio: .wav, .aiff, .aifc, .rex, .rx2, .mp3, .mp2, .ogg, .sd2, 
.wma (Windows only)
MIDI: .mid
Track Presets: .trackpreset
These are templates for audio tracks, MIDI tracks and instrument tracks. 
Track Presets are described in detail in the chapter “Track Presets” on 
page 195.
VST Presets: .vstpreset
VST presets are files containing all parameter settings for a particular 
VST plug-in. VST preset files are described in detail in the section “In-
serts and EQ settings from track presets” on page 204.
Video: .avi, .mov, .qt, .mpg, .mpeg
Cubase project files: .cpr
Accessing the Media Management System
Cubase Essential provides the following options to ac-
cess the Media Management System:
Pull down the Media menu and select “Open MediaBay”, 
“Open Loop Browser” or “Open Sound Browser” (or use 
the respective key commands).
When one of these windows is open, selecting the menu option or using 
the key command will close it instead.
The preconfigured windows of the Media 
Management System
The Media Management System in Cubase Essential can 
be accessed via the MediaBay, the Loop Browser or the 
Sound Browser.
Which of these to use depends entirely on your working 
environment, and you may find that you want to change 
the default setup to better meet your requirements.
By default, the MediaBay is configured to show all win-
dow sections and display all file types.
If you want to work on media files of various types, if you have to move 
files to different locations using the Browser section, or if you want to 
perform other general file management tasks, the MediaBay is probably 
the best view configuration.
The Loop Browser is configured to show audio files.
Use this if your focus is on audio files of any kind.
The Sound Browser is focussed on the SoundFrame 
node (see “The SoundFrame node” on page 190). Its filter 
buttons are set to showing track preset and VST preset 
files.
Use this if you want to work with the available presets.
Whenever you read about the “MediaBay” in this manual, 
please remember the following:
ÖThe MediaBay is only one of these three preconfigured 
views of the Cubase Essential Media Management Sys-
tem. In the MediaBay window, all controls of the Media 
Management System are visible by default, so we will refer 
to the MediaBay throughout this manual when describing 
functions. However, what you can do in the MediaBay can 
also be done in the Loop Browser and the Sound Browser. 
						

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The MediaBay
Window overview
The info line
The info line is located at the bottom of the window.
The info line shows the number of files displayed in the 
Viewer section and the path to the folder selected in the 
Browser section in which these files were found.
MediaBay sections
You can use the buttons below the Browser section to 
show/hide the respective sections in the MediaBay win-
dow. The Viewer section cannot be hidden.
Click this button to hide the Browser section.
You can change the size of the individual sections by 
dragging the divider line between two sections.
When saving a Cubase Essential project, the current 
status of the MediaBay is also saved.
This means that if the MediaBay was open when you saved a project, it 
will be opened again the next time you open this particular project. The 
last MediaBay window configuration will also be restored.
Browsing for media files
To the left in the default MediaBay window you will find 
the Browser section. 
The Browser section of the MediaBay window
ÖNote that the Browser section can only show folders; 
any media files contained in a selected folder are dis-
played in the Viewer section to the right.
This also depends on the “Deep Results” setting, see “Filtering the 
Viewer display” on page 191.
The Scope section, see 
“Previewing files in the 
Scope section” on page 
193. The Viewer display, 
see “Finding files in 
the Viewer section” 
on page 191. The Browser section, 
see “Browsing for 
media files” on page 
188.The Filter section, see 
“Finding files in the 
Viewer section” on 
page 191. 
						

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The MediaBay
Scanning operations
When you open the MediaBay, the Loop Browser or the 
Sound Browser for the first time, a scan for the media files 
needs to be performed. Specify which folders or directories 
should be included in the scan by activating the check 
boxes to the left of their name. Depending on the amount of 
media files on your computer, the scan may take a while. 
The scan result is saved in the MediaBay database. 
To include a folder, activate its check box.
These folders will be scanned for files.
You can also only scan individual subfolders.
This will be reflected in the icon for the folder the subfolder resides in.
Only the VST3 Presets subfolder of the Factory Content folder will be 
scanned for files. The Track presets folder will not be searched.
When you select a folder in the Browser display, the 
MediaBay will scan this folder and all its subfolders for 
media files, even if they have been scanned before (unless 
“Rescan on select” is deactivated, see below).
When “Stop scanning folders when closing MediaBay” 
is activated in the Preferences dialog (MediaBay page), 
Cubase Essential will scan for media files only when the 
MediaBay window is open. When this is deactivated, the 
folders will be scanned in the background, even when the 
MediaBay window is not open.
Even if scanning in the background is activated, Cubase Essential will 
not scan folders while playing back or recording.
Scanning indicator and status
At the top right in the in the Viewer section, you will find 
the scanning indicator, which shows whether the Media-
Bay is scanning for files or whether the scan is complete.
When the folders specified in the Browser section are 
being scanned, the scanning indicator appears.When the scan is complete, the scanning indicator will 
not be shown.
The scanning status for the individual folders in the 
Browser section is indicated by the color of the icons:
 A red icon means that this folder is currently being scanned.
 A light blue icon means this folder has been scanned.
 Orange folder icons are displayed when a scanning process 
was interrupted. 
 Yellow icons are displayed for folders that have not been 
scanned.
Deep Results
When you activate the “Deep Results” button, the Viewer 
shows the files contained in the selected folder and in any 
subfolders (without showing these subfolders). When this 
button is deactivated, the Viewer shows all folders and 
files contained in the selected folder.
The Deep Results button
About “Rescan on Select”
The “Rescan on Select” button
When this button is activated, selecting a folder in the 
Browser section will always cause this folder to be re-
scanned. This ensures that the MediaBay will always dis-
play the current content of a folder.
When “Rescan on Select” is deactivated, you can always 
right-click in the Browser section and select “Refresh” from 
the context menu to force a rescan of the currently selected 
folder.
When this indicator ap-
pears, a scan is performed.
!When a folder contains a large number of media files, 
the scanning process may take some time – you may 
want to deactivate “Rescan on Select”, if you know 
that you haven’t made any changes to the content of 
your media folders since they were last scanned. 
						

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The MediaBay
Folder operations
The Browser section shows the folder structure of your 
computer’s file system in a way very similar to the Win-
dows Explorer or the Mac OS Finder:
Click on the folder icons in the Browser display to se-
lect the corresponding folder.
Double-click on the folder icons in the Browser display 
to open the corresponding folder.
When a folder contains subfolders, this is indicated by a 
plus icon in front of the folder icon. The plus icon changes 
to a minus icon when the folder is open. To open or close 
a folder, you can also click the plus/minus icons.
You can switch the Browser display between the Full 
view and the Focus view.
Focussing a selected folder means showing only this folder and any sub-
folders it contains. Any folder levels above the focussed folder are not 
displayed. When you switch back to the Full view, the entire file system 
node can be accessed.
The Focus view for the Audio folder.
You can hide all folders not being scanned for files by 
clicking the “Show Mediabay Managed Items Only” button.
This will keep the list less cluttered.
Use the buttons “Previous Browse Location”, “Next 
Browse Location” and “Browse Containing Folder” to 
navigate to folders.
Click “Previous Browse Location” or “Next Browse Location” to select 
the previous or next folder in a sequence of previously selected folders. 
Clicking the “Browse Containing Folder” button will select the parent 
folder of the previously selected folder.
You can create a new folder inside the folder selected in 
the Browser section by clicking the “Create New Folder” 
button (the folder icon).
A dialog is opened in which you can enter a name for the new folder.
The SoundFrame node
The SoundFrame node in the Browser section.
The Browser section provides a shortcut to user content 
and factory content files, including the preset folders. You 
find this node at the top of the Browser folder hierarchy, at 
the same level as the File System node. 
The folders below the SoundFrame node represent the 
folders in which content files and newly created track pre-
sets, VST presets, etc. are stored by default.
To find out the “true” location of such a file, right-click on it in the Viewer 
section and select “Open in Explorer” (Win)/“Reveal in Finder” (Mac). 
This will open an Explorer/Finder window in which the corresponding file 
is highlighted.
Creating Favorites
If you constantly find yourself returning to specific folders 
during your work, you can save these browse locations as 
presets so that selecting such a preset will take you to the 
folder instantly. Proceed as follows:
1.Select the desired folder in the folder display.
2.Click the Add Browse Location Preset button (the “+” 
icon).
A naming dialog for the new preset is displayed.
3.Accept the default name (the complete folder path) or 
enter a new name for the preset.
The “Create new 
folder” buttonThe folder naviga-
tion buttons