Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Operation Manual

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The MediaBay
4.Click OK.
The new preset is added to the Select Browse Location Presets pop-up 
menu (which can be opened by clicking on the down arrow icon).
When you now open the Select Browse Location Presets 
pop-up menu and select the new preset, the respective 
preset folder will be selected in the Browser display.
To remove a preset from the Select Browse Location 
Presets pop-up, select it from the pop-up and click the 
“Remove Browse Location Preset” button (the “-” icon).
Finding files in the Viewer section
The Viewer section consists of two panes: the Filter section 
at the top and below it, the Viewer display. In the Filter sec-
tion, you can set up filters and define searches for specific 
files. The Viewer display lists any files contained in the folder 
selected in the Browser, and tags of these files. 
The Viewer section
Depending on your settings, the number of files displayed 
in the Viewer can be huge (the info line at the bottom of 
the window shows the number of files found with the cur-
rent filter settings). Therefore, the MediaBay provides a 
number of ways to display only specific files and to per-
form very refined file searches.
ÖBy default, the number of files displayed in the Viewer 
section is limited to 10,000 files. You can change this by 
specifying a new value for “Maximum Number of Results in 
Viewer” in the Preferences dialog (MediaBay page).
Filtering the Viewer display
The MediaBay provides a number of filter buttons that can 
be used to limit the number of files displayed in the Viewer 
section.
At the top of the Viewer section you will find the filter 
buttons that can be used to show all supported file types 
or any combination of file types.
For example, when you activate the Audio and the MIDI filter buttons, 
only the audio and the MIDI files contained in the folder selected in the 
Browser will be displayed. When none (or all) of these buttons are acti-
vated, files of all supported types will be displayed.
The filter buttons. The display is filtered to show only audio files.
Defining searches for specific files
The filter buttons let you find files according to the folder(s) 
they might be located in, or according to their file type.How-
ever, you can also perform very detailed searches for files 
that meet certain criteria.
The Filter section will display all values found for a spe-
cific tag (or “category”). Selecting one of these values will 
result in a list of files all showing this particular tag value.
For example, you could look for sample rates and pick 44.1 kHz to give 
you a list of all files with that particular sample rate. This becomes really 
interesting when making extensive use of tagging – see “Performing a 
search” on page 192 and “Tagging media files” on page 194.
You can also limit the number of results in the Viewer 
display by entering text in the Text Search field. This way, 
you will only see loops or presets with file names corre-
sponding with the entered text.
For example, if you are looking for all audio loops relating to drum sounds, 
simply enter “drum” in the search field. The search results will contain 
loops with names such as “Drums 01”, “Drumloop”, “Snare Drum” and so 
on. See also “Further search options” on page 192.
Once a search operation has been completed, the very 
first entry in the Viewer list is selected. When you now 
press [Tab] once, this selected entry will receive the focus 
and you can use the Up and Down arrow keys to browse 
the list of files. 
						

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The MediaBay
Performing a search
The MediaBay allows you not only to view and edit some 
of the standard file attributes found in all computer files, 
but it also provides preconfigured tags, or “categories”, 
that you can use to organize your media files. 
The advantages of such categorization become obvious 
when having to find one specific file, e. g. a certain guitar 
sound, among large numbers of media files from various 
contexts, without knowing the name of that file.
The Filter section will always show the tag columns, each 
with its own list of tag values. 
By clicking on individual tag values in the tag columns, you 
define the search filter: only the files that match the se-
lected tag values will be displayed in the Viewer. Select 
more tag values from other columns to further refine your 
search.Selected tag values in the same tag column form an OR 
condition.
This means that files must be tagged according to either one or the other 
value to be displayed in the Viewer section.
For the “Style” tag, the files found will show either the “Blues” OR the 
“Jazz” tag value.
Tag values in different columns form an AND condition.
This means that files must be tagged according to all these values to be 
displayed in the Viewer section.
The files found will belong to the “E. Guitar” sub category tag AND 
show “Blues” for the Style tag.
Categorization by tagging makes it easy to organize your 
media files. 
Category searches are used not only in the MediaBay, but 
throughout Cubase Essential in various SoundFrame-re-
lated contexts (see the chapter “SoundFrame” on page 
183).
Further search options
The text field at the top serves as an additional name fil-
ter: you can enter a file name or part of a file name here.
In addition to the filter defined by the tag columns, the name of the 
searched file must contain “120”.
!By default, the first two tag columns are set to “Cate-
gory” and “Sub Category”. These tags are directly 
linked to each other: for each Category value, there is 
a number of Sub Category values. Changing to a dif-
ferent Category value in the first tag column will give 
you different values in the Sub Category column!
These tag values were found in the currently selected folder.
The files displayed in the Viewer match the selected tag values.
!Each tag column displays only the tag values found 
in the folder selected in the Browser section of the 
MediaBay! This means that selecting a different 
folder in the Browser may lead to the display of dif-
ferent search settings. 
						

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The MediaBay
To select a tag value, simply click on it. To deselect it, 
click the value again.
Note that you can select more than one value in each tag column.
Click the Reset button on the top right of the Filter sec-
tion to clear all settings in the tag columns.
This will also reset the tag list settings.
Previewing files in the Scope 
section
Below the Viewer you will find the Scope section. It allows 
you to play back files selected in the Viewer section.
The elements visible in this section and their functions 
depend on the type of media file selected in the Viewer.
Previewing audio files
The Scope section for an audio file.
To preview an audio file, simply click the Start button.
When Auto Play is activated, selecting a file in the 
Viewer will automatically start playback.
When “Play in Project context” is activated, the file will 
be played back together with the current project, starting 
at the current project cursor position.
Previewing MIDI files
The Scope section for a MIDI file.
To preview a MIDI file (.mid), you first have to select an 
output device in the Output pop-up.
The “Auto Play” and “Play in Project context” options work in the same 
way as with audio files.
Auto Play and “Play in Project context” work as for audio 
files, see above.
Displaying tags in the Viewer
Most of the time, tags displayed in the MediaBay are 
sorted alphabetically. Only in the Viewer can you change 
the tag display order:
Move the mouse pointer to a column heading, click and 
drag that heading to a different position in the display.
Media management
General handling
You can use the [Tab] key on your computer keyboard 
to move the focus between the different sections of the 
MediaBay window. Use the arrow keys to navigate to dif-
ferent folders, files or tags.
When assigning tag values, note that you can select 
several files and assign the same tag value to all files.
File management
You can use the MediaBay for various file management 
tasks, similar to what you can do in the Windows Explorer/
Mac OS Finder.
When the option “Show file extensions” is activated in 
the Preferences dialog (MediaBay page), file name exten-
sions (e. g. “.wav” or “.cpr”) will be displayed in the Media-
Bay. When this is deactivated, file extensions will not be 
shown.
Browser operations
The following tasks can be performed in the Browser sec-
tion:
To delete a folder, right-click on the folder icon and se-
lect “Delete from Disk” from the context menu.
A warning message is displayed, asking you to confirm that you really 
want to move this folder to the operating system’s trash folder.
To rename a folder, select it in the list, click on its name 
and enter a new name.
!The Scope section does not play back video files or 
project files. Also, it is not possible to preview audio 
track presets in the MediaBay (see below).
Auto PlayPlay in Project 
context Preview level Transport controls
OutputAuto  Play Play in Project 
context Transport controls 
						

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The MediaBay
You can drag & drop a folder to a different location.
You will be asked if you wish to copy or move the folder to the new 
location.
Viewer operations
You can move/copy a file from the Viewer section to a 
different location by clicking and dragging it to a different 
folder in the Browser section.
You will be asked if you wish to copy or move the file to the new location.
To insert a file into the project, right-click the file and se-
lect one of the “Insert into project” options from the con-
text menu.
This will import this file into your current project, either at the start of the 
project or at the current cursor position.
To delete a file, right-click on it in the Viewer and select 
“Delete” from the context menu.
A warning message is displayed, asking you to confirm that you really 
want to move this file to the operating system’s trash folder.
Tagging media files
The search functions become a truly powerful media man-
agement tool when making extensive use of tagging.
Media files are usually organized in complex folder struc-
tures to provide a logical way of guiding the user to the 
desired files, with the folder and/or file names indicating 
the instrument, style, tempo etc.
To find a particular sound or loop in such a folder structure 
can be very time consuming – tagging is the answer! To 
assign a number of meaningful tags, e. g. to a loop file, 
proceed as follows:
1.Copy the loop files to your hard disk.
Tagging means editing the files, so you need them on your system.
2.Open the MediaBay and browse to where the new 
loops are located.
3.Navigate to a folder containing loops.
For example, you might have a folder containing Metal style drum loops, 
at 120 bpm.
4.In the Viewer, select a file contained in this folder.
Make sure that the Deep Results button is deactivated, so that only files 
contained in this folder are displayed.
5.In the Viewer display, click in the field belonging to the 
column for the tag value you wish to assign. 
Depending on the type of the category, a pop-up menu with tag values 
organized in submenus will show or, in the case of numeric values, you 
will be able to enter the value directly into the corresponding field.
6.Choose values from the pop-up menus and/or enter 
the desired numeric values.
For example, you could choose the Sub Category “Snare Drum” from the 
“DrumPerc” menu, choose “Hard Rock” as a Sub Style from the “Rock/
Metal Style” category and enter 125.00 in the Tempo field.
You can now use the search functions to quickly find this 
Metal style drum, without the need to navigate through a 
large number of folders and subfolders. 
						

							20
Track Presets 
						

							196
Track Presets
Introduction
Track presets are templates that you can create from au-
dio, MIDI or instrument tracks – or several of these tracks. 
With these track presets, you can then create new tracks 
or apply them to existing tracks of the same type. 
The idea behind track presets is:
To allow you to quickly access, browse, select, change 
and preview sounds.
To give you an easy way to reuse channel settings 
across projects.
Track presets are part of the SoundFrame concept (see 
“SoundFrame” on page 183) and organized in the Sound 
Browser (a view of the MediaBay, see “The MediaBay” on 
page 186). This allows you to categorize track presets 
with tags like “EPiano” or “Jazz” and search for these tags.
Related topics
Cubase Essential offers a variety of related functions that 
allow you to handle presets of program settings:
You can save and load channel settings in the mixer (not 
for MIDI), see “Saving mixer settings” on page 101.
You can save and load inserts rack and EQ presets, see 
“Inserts and EQ settings from track presets” on page 204. 
Types of track presets
There are four kinds of track presets:
Audio
Instrument (this also includes certain VST3 presets, see 
“VST (Instrument) presets” on page 198)
MIDI
Multi (any number of the three preset types above in any 
sequence)
Since the purpose of track presets is to make sound 
handling easier, only parameters are saved that are rele-
vant for the sound of a certain track.
Audio track presets
Track presets for audio tracks include all inserts and ef-
fects that “define” the sound. Since there are big differ-
ences between the typical settings for a trumpet and a 
human voice, for example, audio track presets are a quick 
way to optimize your track.
For example, you can:
Easily audition your audio track with the factory presets.
Use the factory presets as a starting point for your own 
editing.
Save the audio settings that you optimized for an artist 
you often work with and use the resulting audio track pre-
set for future recordings.
Data saved in audio track presets
 Insert FX settings
 EQ settings (including VST effect presets)

ÖNote that volume and pan will be restored only when 
creating a new track from a track preset.
Instrument track presets
Instrument track presets are best choice when handling 
sounds of simple, mono-timbral VST Instruments. Like the 
instrument track, they offer both MIDI and audio features. 
You can use instrument track presets like the audio 
track presets above for auditioning your tracks, inspiration, 
or saving your preferred sound settings. 
In addition, you can directly extract sounds from instru-
ment track presets and VST presets for use in instrument 
tracks.
VST presets also behave like instrument track presets, 
see “VST (Instrument) presets” on page 198. 
						

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Track Presets
Data saved in instrument track presets


 Audio Volume + Pan
 MIDI Insert FX


And also:
 Staff settings
 Color settings
ÖVolume and pan will be restored only when creating a 
new track from a track preset.
MIDI track presets
MIDI tracks offer more possibilities than instrument tracks; 
therefore, they should be used for multi-timbral VST In-
struments.
Due to the resulting complex settings, more details have 
to be taken into account when working with MIDI track 
presets, to ensure that the saved settings are really usable 
as presets for new tracks.
Include MIDI Channel or MIDI Patch
There is an additional Include option when creating MIDI 
track presets: 
Choose “MIDI Patch” if you want to save the MIDI track 
preset with the currently set patch. This is useful if your ex-
ternal MIDI device offers sounds as certain patches but 
does not require any specific channel settings.
Choose “MIDI Channel” if you want to save the MIDI 
track preset with the currently set channel. This is useful if 
you have the sounds of an external device always on the 
same channel, e.g. strings on channel 12, trumpets on 
channel 13.
ÖThe choice is exclusive – you can either save the 
channel or the patch, but not both.
Example: VSTi as pre-configured setup
If you want to use a MIDI track preset for a pre-configured 
VST Instrument setup, the following conditions have to be 
met:
 The VST Instrument(s) are installed in the VST Instruments 
window.
 The VST Instrument patches have not been changed since the 
track preset was saved (that means for example that no other 
FXP/FXB was installed in the meantime).
To ensure this, use a template project with the VSTi setup 
included and put the sounds (track presets) of this tem-
plate project into specific subfolders, as they only work 
within this setup.
Data saved in MIDI track presets
 MIDI Modifiers (Transpose, etc.)
 MIDI Inserts (FX)
 Output + Channel or Program Change

And also:
 Staff settings
 Color settings
ÖNote that volume and pan will be restored only when 
creating a new track from a track preset.
Multi track presets
If you select more than one track when creating a track 
preset, the settings of all selected tracks will be saved as 
one multi track preset. Since you can apply a multi track 
preset only if the target tracks are of the same type, num-
ber and sequence as the tracks in the track preset, multi 
track presets are useful when you have a reoccurring situ-
ation with very similar tracks and settings.
For example, this would be the case for:
Recording setups that require several microphones, e. g. 
when recording a drum set or a choir, where you record al-
ways under the same conditions and have to edit the re-
sulting tracks in a similar way.
Layered tracks, where you use several tracks to gener-
ate a certain sound instead of manipulating only one track. 
						

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Track Presets
Data saved in multi track presets
For each track type, the respective track preset parame-
ters are saved in the same sequence as the tracks in the 
Project window.
VST presets
As of VST3, VST presets make it easy for you to work with 
VST plug-ins and instruments, substituting the .fxp and 
.fxb files of the VST2 standard.
There are two kinds of VST presets:
 VST presets based on effect plug-ins
 VST presets based on VST Instrument plug-ins
ÖIn this manual, the wording “VST presets” stands for 
VST3 Instrument presets, unless stated otherwise.
VST effect plug-in presets
VST effect plug-ins are available in VST3 and VST2 for-
mat, for example as insert effects like Limiter. Therefore, 
VST effect presets can be part of audio track presets, see 
also “SoundFrame” on page 183.
VST (Instrument) presets
VST3 (Instrument) presets (extension .vstpreset) are me-
dia files that can be managed in the Sound Browser and 
to which you can assign tags. VST presets are also listed 
in dialogs like the “Add Track” dialog, see below.
The VST presets behave like instrument track presets in 
the context of the Project window and contain a VST In-
strument and its settings but no modifiers, MIDI inserts, in-
serts or EQ settings:
You can create instrument tracks from VST presets just 
like from instrument track presets, see “Creating tracks 
from track presets or VST presets” on page 201.
In the Inspector of the new instrument track, the VST Instrument, the se-
lected program and the name of the applied VST preset are displayed.
You can apply VST presets to instrument tracks just like 
instrument track presets, see “Applying audio, MIDI and 
instrument track presets” on page 202.
When selecting VST presets in the Browse presets 
section or the Sound Browser, you can preview them like 
instrument track presets, see “Creating tracks from track 
presets or VST presets” on page 201.Like with instrument tracks presets, you can extract the 
“sound” of VST presets, see “Extracting sound from an in-
strument track or VST preset” on page 203.
The programs of VST2 plug-ins also can be converted to 
VST3 presets. 
Browsing for presets
Using the Sound Browser
When browsing track presets, the quickest way is to use 
the Sound Browser, as it is set up specifically to display 
track and VST presets. 
To open this browser, select “Open Sound Browser” on 
the Media menu.
The Sound Browser
In the Sound Browser, you can preview track and VST 
presets as well as select them to drag and drop them into 
the project to create new tracks (see “Creating tracks 
from track presets or VST presets” on page 201) or to ap-
ply them to existing tracks (see“Applying audio, MIDI and 
instrument track presets” on page 202).
The general handling of the Sound Browser is the same 
as for the MediaBay, see “The MediaBay” on page 186. 
						

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Track Presets
SoundFrame-related dialogs
When you work with track presets, you will find the same 
user interface in all “Add Track” and “Browse Sounds” dia-
logs and the Presets browser.
ÖNote that some of the dialogs will save their last state. 
They may therefore not look exactly like the dialogs de-
scribed below.
Browse Presets section
When you create a new track, the Add Track dialog opens:
The “Add MIDI Track” dialog.
(For a more detailed description of the Add Track dialog, 
see “Handling tracks” on page 26.)
Click “Browse Presets...” to open the Browse Presets 
section with the search pane and a list of all available pre-
sets. For details, see “Performing a search” on page 192.
The Add Track dialog with the Browse Presets section opened.
Browser section
In addition to the Browse Presets section, you can click 
“Show Location” to open the Browser section. It is similar 
to the one in the MediaBay (see “Browsing for media files” 
on page 188), but only necessary if you want to take an ex-
plicit look at the contents of presets subfolders within the 
SoundFrame node (as you can’t move up to other folders).
The Add Track dialog for a MIDI track with all sections open.
When you select a MIDI or instrument track preset (or a 
VST preset), you can see a preview section below the list. 
The preview works like the one in the Scope section in the 
MediaBay (see “Previewing MIDI, instrument and VST 
presets independently of tracks” on page 203). 
						

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Track Presets
The Presets browser
When you apply a track or VST preset to an existing track 
or when you extract a sound, the Presets browser opens, 
allowing you e. g. to preview the presets.
The Presets browser for an audio track preset.
The Browse Sounds dialog
Normally, the view of the Browse Presets section is fil-
tered to show only track presets of a certain kind. There-
fore, if you want to see all available presets, e.g. also multi 
track and VST presets, you can open the Browse Sounds 
dialog. 
Browse Sounds dialog showing all available track and VST presets.
Creating a track preset
A track preset is created from an existing audio, MIDI or 
instrument track – or several of these tracks. Proceed as 
follows:
1.Select one or more tracks in the Project window. 
If several are selected, all of them are stored in one combined multi track 
preset, see “Multi track presets” on page 197.
2.Right-click one of the selected tracks in the track list to 
open the context menu and select “Create Track Preset”.
The Save Track Preset dialog opens. The buttons on top work like the cor-
responding ones in the MediaBay, see “Folder operations” on page 190
.
3.Enter a file name in the “File Name” field.
The track preset file name extension .trackpreset is assigned automatically.
In the case of MIDI files, you have the additional option of 
including the MIDI channel or the MIDI patch, see “Include 
MIDI Channel or MIDI Patch” on page 197.
4.If you want to apply tags, click on “Tag Editor”.
The available tags are displayed. To enter a value, click in the value field. 
For many tags, e.g. “Character” and “Style”, pop-up menus open in 
which you can select an entry. In case of a free text entry, enter the text in 
the text field.
ÖAs the category search is based on the tags, we highly 
recommend that you use them.
5.Click OK to create the track preset.