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
You add and set up busses in the VST Connections win-
dow, opened from the Devices menu.
This window contains the Inputs and Output tabs for view-
ing input busses or output busses, respectively.
Depending on which tab you have selected, the window 
lists the current input or output busses, with the following 
columns:
Adding a bus
1.Click the Inputs or Outputs tab depending on which 
you want to add.
2.Click the Add Bus button.
A dialog appears.
3.Select the desired (channel) configuration.
You can add stereo and mono busses.
Alternatively you can right-click in the VST Connections 
window and add a bus in the desired format directly from 
the context menu that appears.
The new bus appears with the ports visible.
4.Click in the Device Port column to select an input/out-
put port for a channel in the bus.
The pop-up menu that appears lists the ports with the names you have as-
signed in the Device Setup dialog. Repeat this for all channels in the bus.
Setting the Main Mix bus (the default output bus)
The Main Mix is the output bus that each new channel in 
the mixer will be assigned to when it is created.
Any one of the output busses in the VST Connections 
window can be the default output bus. By right-clicking on 
the name of an output bus, you can set this bus as the 
Main Mix bus.
Setting the default output bus in the VST Connections window. Column Description
Bus Name Lists the busses. You can select busses and rename 
them by clicking on them in this column.
Speakers Indicates the speaker configuration (mono, stereo) of 
each bus.
Audio Device This shows the currently selected ASIO driver.
Device Port When you have “opened” a bus (by clicking its + button in 
the Bus Name column) this column shows which physical 
input/output on your audio hardware is used by the bus.
Click You can route the click to a specific output bus. 
						

							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 the list, 
right-click and select “Remove Bus” from the pop-up 
menu, or press [Backspace].
You can store and recall bus presets with the pop-up 
menu at the top of the window.
To store the current configuration as a preset, click the Store “+” button 
and enter a name for the preset. You can then select the stored configu-
ration directly from the Presets pop-up menu at any time. To remove a 
stored preset, select it and click the “-” button.
Using the busses
This section describes briefly how to use the input and out-
put busses you have created. For details refer to the chap-
ters “Recording” on page 47 and “The mixer” on page 86.
Routing
When you play back an audio track (or any other audio-re-
lated channel in the mixer, you route it to an output bus. In 
the same way, when you record on an audio track you se-
lect from which input bus the audio should be sent.
You can select input and output busses in the Inspec-
tor, using the Input and Output Routing pop-up menus.For audio-related channel types other than audio track 
channels (i.e. VST Instrument channels, ReWire channels, 
Group channels and FX channels), only the Output Rout-
ing pop-up menu is available. Select one of its subtracks 
in the Track list to open it.
When selecting an input bus for a track you can only se-
lect busses that correspond to the track’s channel config-
uration. Here are the details for input busses:
 Mono tracks can be routed to mono input busses or individual 
channels within a stereo input bus.
 Stereo tracks can be routed to mono or stereo input busses.
For output busses any assignment is possible.
To disconnect input or output busses, select “No Bus” 
from the corresponding pop-up menu.
Viewing the busses in the mixer
ÖNote that only the output busses are available in the 
mixer – not the input busses.
The available output busses are represented as output 
channel strips in the mixer (shown in a separate pane to 
the right). You can show or hide output channels by click-
ing the corresponding button in the mixer common panel:
!The default bus is indicated by an orange colored 
speaker icon next to its name in the VST Connec-
tions window.
!Assignments that will lead to feedback are not avail-
able in the pop-up menu. This is also indicated by a 
one-way symbol.
Hide Output Channels 
						

							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 for mon-
itoring (see “Setting the Main Mix bus (the default output 
bus)” on page 11).
Setting the monitoring level
You can adjust the monitoring level in the Mixer.
When auditioning or scrubbing in the Sample Editor, you 
can also set the monitoring level using the small fader on 
the Sample editor toolbar. 
						

							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 types are handled differently in the Project 
window:
 Video events and automation events (curve points) are always 
viewed and rearranged directly in the Project window.
 MIDI events are always gathered in MIDI parts, containers for 
one or more MIDI events. MIDI parts are rearranged and ma-
nipulated in the Project window. To edit the individual MIDI 
events in a part, you have to open the part in a MIDI editor (see 
“The MIDI editors” on page 224). 
 Audio events can be displayed and edited directly in the Project 
window, but you can also work with audio parts containing sev-
eral events. This is useful if you have a number of events which 
you want to treat as one unit in the project. Audio parts also 
contain information about the time position in the project.
An audio event and an audio part Track type Description
Audio For recording and playing back audio events and audio 
parts. Each audio track has a corresponding audio chan-
nel in the mixer.
An audio track can have an automation subtrack for auto-
mating mixer channel parameters, effect settings, etc.
Folder Folder tracks function as containers for other tracks, 
making it easier to organize and manage the track struc-
ture. They also allow you to edit several tracks at the 
same time. See “Folder tracks” on page 77.
FX Channel FX channel tracks are used for adding send effects. Each 
FX channel can contain up to eight effect processors – by 
routing effect sends from an audio channel to an FX chan-
nel, you send audio from the audio channel to the effect(s) 
on the FX channel. Each FX channel has a corresponding 
channel strip in the mixer – in essence an effect return 
channel. See the chapter “Audio effects” on page 103.
An FX channel can also have an automation subtrack for 
automating mixer channel parameters, effect settings etc. 
All FX channel tracks are automatically placed in a special 
FX channel folder in the Track list, for easy management.
Group Channel By routing several audio channels to a Group channel, 
you can submix them, apply the same effects to them, 
etc. (see “Using group channels” on page 98).
A Group channel track contains no events as such, but 
displays settings and automation curves for the corre-
sponding Group channel. Each Group channel track has 
a corresponding channel strip in the mixer. In the Project 
window, Group channels are organized as tracks in a 
special Group Tracks folder. 
Instrument This allows you to create a track for a dedicated instru-
ment, making e.g. VST instrument handling easier and 
more intuitive. Instrument tracks have a corresponding 
channel strip in the mixer. Each instrument track can have 
an automation subtrack in the Project window. However, 
Volume and Pan are automated from within the mixer. For 
more information on instrument tracks, see “VST Instru-
ments and Instrument tracks” on page 119.
MIDI For recording and playing back MIDI parts. Each MIDI 
track has a corresponding MIDI channel strip in the mixer.
A MIDI track can have an automation subtrack for auto-
mating mixer channel parameters, insert and send effect 
settings etc. 
Marker The Marker track displays markers which can be moved 
and renamed directly in the Project window (see “Using 
the Marker track” on page 83). A project can have only 
one marker track.
Arranger The Arranger track is used for arranging your project, by 
marking out sections in the project and determining in 
which order they should be played back. See “The Arran-
ger track” on page 70.
Video For playing back video events. A project can only have 
one video track. Track type Description 
						

							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 to the original versions.
An audio clip does not necessarily refer to just one origi-
nal audio file! If you apply e.g. some processing to a spe-
cific section of an audio clip, this will create a new audio 
file containing only this section. The processing will then 
be applied to the new audio file only, leaving the original 
audio file unchanged. Finally, the audio clip is automati-
cally adjusted, so that it refers both to the original file and 
to the new, processed file. During playback, the program 
will switch between the original file and the processed file 
at the correct positions. You will hear this as a single re-
cording, with processing applied to one section only. This 
feature makes it possible to undo processing at a later 
stage, and to apply different processing to different audio 
clips that refer to the same original file.
An audio event is the object that you place on a time po-
sition in Cubase Essential. If you make copies of an audio 
event and move them to different positions in the project, 
they will still all refer to the same audio clip. Furthermore, 
each audio event has an Offset value and a Length value. 
These determine at which positions in the clip the event 
will start and end, i.e. which section of the audio clip will 
be played back by the audio event. For example, if you re-
size the audio event, you will just change its start and/or 
end position in the audio clip – the clip itself will not be af-
fected.
ÖIf you want to use one audio file in different contexts, or 
if you want to create several loops from one audio file, you 
should convert the corresponding regions of the audio clip 
to events and bounce them into separate audio files. This is 
necessary since different events that refer to the same clip 
access the same clip information.  
						

							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 track):
The Track list area for a MIDI track:
The event display, showing audio parts and 
events, MIDI parts, automation, markers, etc. The Inspector
The ruler The info lineThe toolbar
 The Track list with 
various track types
Mute & 
Solo
Record Enable & 
Monitor buttons Track name
Show/hide 
automation
Indicates whether effect sends, EQ or insert effects are activated for 
the track. Click to bypass.
Lock track 
button
Automation Read/Write buttons
Track activity 
indicator
Freeze Audio 
Channel Edit channel 
settings
Automation Read/Write buttons
Automation parameter 
(click to select parameter)
MuteLock track 
button
Record Enable & 
Monitor buttons
Track name
MIDI Output Bank
Drum map and Lock 
track buttons
Read/Write 
buttons
Edit channel 
settingsMute & Solo
Effect sends and insert effects 
indicators and bypass
Track 
activity 
indicator
Patch 
MIDI channel 
						

							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, each containing different controls for 
the track. You can hide or show sections by clicking on 
their respective names.
Clicking the name for a hidden section brings it into view and hides the 
other sections. [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking the section name allows you 
to hide or show a section without affecting the other sections. Finally, 
[Alt]/[Option]-clicking a section name shows or hides all sections in the 
Inspector.
You can also use key commands to show different In-
spector sections.
These are set up in the Key Commands dialog, see “Setting up key com-
mands” on page 322.
ÖHiding a section does not affect its functionality.
In other words, if you have set up a track parameter or activated an effect 
for example, your settings will still be active even if you hide the respec-
tive Inspector section.
Which sections are available in the Inspector depends on 
the selected track.ÖPlease note that not all Inspector tabs are shown by 
default. You can show/hide Inspector sections by right-
clicking on an Inspector tab and activating/deactivating 
the desired option(s).
Make sure you right-click on an inspector tab and not on the empty area 
below the Inspector, as this will open the Quick context menu instead.
The Inspector Setup context menu
Sections
The Inspector contains the controls that can be found on 
the Track list, plus some additional buttons and parame-
ters. In the table below, these additional settings and the 
available sections are listed. Which sections are available 
for which track type is described in the following sections.
Parameter Description
Auto Fades 
Settings buttonOpens a dialog in which you can make separate Auto 
Fade settings for the track. See “Making Auto Fade set-
tings for a separate track” on page 69.
Edit Channel 
settingsOpens the Channel Settings window for the track, allow-
ing you to view and adjust effect and EQ settings, etc. 
See “Using Channel Settings” on page 94.
Volume Use this to adjust the level for the track. Changing this 
setting will move the track’s fader in the mixer window, 
and vice versa. See “Setting volume in the mixer” on page 
92 to learn more about setting levels. 
						

							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 Marker window” on page 82.
Video tracks
When a video track is selected, the Inspector contains a 
lock button for locking the track (see “Locking events” on 
page 34) and a Mute button for interrupting video play-
back. 
Folder tracks
When a folder track is selected, the Inspector shows the 
folder and its underlying tracks, much like a folder struc-
ture in the Windows Explorer or Mac OS X Finder.
ÖYou can click one of the tracks shown under the folder 
in the Inspector to have the Inspector show the settings 
for that track.
This way, you don’t have to “open” a folder track to make settings for 
tracks within it.
Here, an audio track within the folder is selected.
FX channel tracks
When an FX channel track is selected, the following con-
trols and sections are available:
 Edit button.
 Volume control.

 Output routing pop-up menu.
 Inserts section.
 Equalizers section.
 Equalizer Curve section.
 Sends section.
 Channel section.
Pan Use this to adjust the panning of the track. As with the 
Volume setting, this corresponds to the Pan setting in the 
mixer.
Delay This adjusts the playback timing of the audio track. Posi-
tive values delay the playback while negative values 
cause the track to play earlier. The values are set in milli-
seconds.
Input Routing This lets you specify which Input bus or MIDI input the 
track should use (see “Setting up busses” on page 10 for 
information about Input busses).
Output Routing Here you decide to which output the track should be 
routed. For audio tracks you select an output bus (see 
“Setting up busses” on page 10) or Group channel, for 
MIDI tracks you select a MIDI output.
Inserts section Allows you to add insert effects to the track, see the 
chapter “Audio effects” on page 103. The Edit button at 
the top of the section opens the control panels for the 
added insert effects.
Equalizers 
sectionLets you adjust the EQs for the track. You can have up to 
four bands of EQ for each track, see “Making EQ set-
tings” on page 96. The Edit button at the top of the sec-
tion opens the Channel Settings window for the track. 
Equalizer Curve 
sectionLets you adjust the EQs for the track graphically, by click-
ing and dragging points in a curve display.
Sends section Allows you to route an audio track to one or several FX 
channels (up to eight), see the chapter “Audio effects” on 
page 103. For MIDI tracks, this is where you assign MIDI 
send effects. The Edit button at the top of the section 
opens the control panel for the first effect in each FX 
channel.
Channel section Shows a duplicate of the corresponding mixer channel 
strip. The channel overview strip to the left lets you acti-
vate and deactivate insert effects, EQs and sends. Parameter Description 
						

							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 is selected, the following 
controls and sections are available:
 Edit button.
 Volume control.
 Pan control.
 Output routing pop-up menu.
 Inserts section.
 Equalizers section.
 Equalizer Curve section.
 Sends section.
 Channel section.
Group channel folder tracks
Just like FX channel tracks, all Group channel tracks are 
placed in a separate folder – when this is selected, the In-
spector shows the folder and the Group channels it con-
tains. You can click one of the Group channels shown in 
the folder to have the Inspector show the settings for that 
Group channel – this way, you don’t have to “open” a folder 
track to access the settings for the Group channels in it.
The toolbar
The toolbar contains tools and shortcuts for opening other 
windows and various project settings and functions:ÖIn addition to these, the toolbar can contain a number 
of other tools and shortcuts, not visible by default. How to 
set up the toolbar and specify which tools should be dis-
played or hidden is described in the section “The Setup 
dialogs” on page 314.
The info line
The info line shows information about the currently se-
lected event or part in the Project window. You can edit al-
most all values on the info line using regular value editing. 
Length and position values are displayed in the format cur-
rently selected for the ruler (see “The ruler” on page 21).
To hide or show the info line, click the Show Event Info-
line button on the toolbar.
The following elements can be selected for display and 
editing on the info line:
 Audio events.

 MIDI parts.
 Video events.

 Automation curve points.
 Arranger events.
Active project indicator Show/hide InspectorShow/hide info line
Open Mixer Open Pool
Constrain delay compensation (see “Constrain Delay 
Compensation” on page 129).
Project window tools
Transport controls 
(Previous/Next Marker, Cycle, Stop, Play, and Record)
Snap 
on/offGrid pop-
up menuQuantize 
value
Color pop-
up menu
Autoscroll 
on/off
Snap to Zero 
Crossings
Autoscroll 
on/offSnap mode