Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Operation Manual

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Playback and the Transport panel 
						

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Playback and the Transport panel
Background
This chapter describes the various methods available for 
controlling Playback and Transport functions in Cubase 
Essential.
The Transport panel
Below you can find a brief description of each item on the 
Transport panel.
The pictures below show the Transport panel with all con-
trols visible and in their default position. The Transport 
panel is divided into sections, from left to right.
ÖNote that the Output Activity and Clipping indicator as 
well as the Output Level Control refer to the Main Mix 
Output bus as defined on the Outputs tab in the VST 
Connections window.
The main Transport functions (Cycle/Stop/Play/Record) 
can also be shown on the toolbar.
In addition, various play options are available on the Trans-
port menu.
Activates Auto Quantize
Record mode pop-up menu
Cycle Record mode 
pop-up menu CPU load and Disk Cache meters
Right locator: punch out 
point and end of Cycle Activates 
punch outActivates 
punch in Left locator: record start point, punch 
in point and beginning of Cycle
Postroll setting 
and on/off switch
Preroll setting and on/off switch
Primary Time Display 
and format pop-up
Position 
slider
Record Play
Fast forward RewindStop Go to next 
marker or 
project end
Nudge position 
right/left
Go to previous 
marker or 
project start
Secondary Time Display 
and format pop-up Exchange time formats
Cycle on/off
Active Arranger 
chain
Activate Arranger 
Mode
First/Last repeat of current Arranger item
Previous/Next Arranger items
Arranger Selector
Current Arranger 
item
Tempo track 
on/off 
Synchronization 
on/offThe tempo and time 
signature display
Metronome click on/offShow Markers (opens 
Marker window)
Jump to Marker Precount on/off
MIDI In Activity 
(left meter)/
MIDI Out activity
Output Level Control
Audio output ac-
tivity and Clipping 
indicator (top)
Audio input activity and Clipping indicator (Default Input channel) 
						

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Playback and the Transport panel
Hiding and showing the Transport Panel
The Transport panel is shown by default when you launch 
a new project. To hide or show it, select “Transport Panel” 
on the Transport menu (or use a key command – by de-
fault [F2]).
About Preroll and Postroll
These items are described in the chapter “Recording”, 
see “About Preroll and Postroll” on page 59.
Changing the Transport panel setup
You can customize the appearance of the Transport panel 
by right-clicking anywhere on the panel and selecting/de-
selecting the desired options on the pop-up menu that ap-
pears.
This is described in detail in the section “Customizing via 
the setup context menus” on page 314.
The numeric keypad
In the default Key Command settings, various Transport 
panel operations are assigned to the numeric keypad on 
the computer keyboard. The keypads are slightly different 
on PC and Macintosh computers:
Operations
Setting the project cursor position
There are several ways to move the project cursor position:
By using Fast Forward and Rewind.
By dragging the project cursor in the lower part of the 
ruler. 
By clicking in the ruler.
Double-clicking in the ruler moves the cursor and starts/stops playback. 
If the option “Locate when Clicked in Empty Space” is 
activated in the Preferences (Transport page) you can 
click anywhere in an empty section of the Project window 
to move the cursor position.
By changing the value in any of the position displays.
By using the position slider above the transport buttons 
in the Transport panel.
The range of the slider relates to the Length setting in the Project Setup 
dialog. Hence, moving the slider all the way to the right will take you to 
the end of the project. 
By using markers (see “About markers” on page 82).
By using playback options (see “Playback functions” on 
page 45).
By using the Arranger function (see “The Arranger 
track” on page 70).
By using functions on the Transport menu.
The following functions are available:
ÖIf Snap is activated when dragging the project cursor, 
the Snap value is taken into account. This is helpful for 
finding exact positions quickly.
Numeric Key Function
[Enter] Play
[+] Fast Forward
[-] Rewind
[*] Record
[÷] (Win)/[/] (Mac) Cycle On/Off
[,] Return to Zero
[0] Stop
[1] Go to Left Locator
[2] Go to Right Locator
[3-9] Go to marker 3 to 9
Function Description
Locate Selection/ 
Locate Selection 
EndMoves the project cursor to the beginning or end of the 
current selection. For this to be available, you must 
have selected one or more events or parts, or made a 
selection range.
Locate Next/
Previous MarkerThis moves the project cursor to the closest marker to 
the right or left (see “About markers” on page 82).
Locate Next/
Previous EventThis moves the project cursor forwards or backwards 
respectively, to the closest beginning or end of any 
event on the selected track(s). 
						

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Playback and the Transport panel
ÖThere are also numerous key commands available for 
moving the project cursor (in the Transport category in the 
Key Commands dialog). 
For example, you can assign key commands to the “Step Bar” and “Step 
Back Bar” functions, allowing you to move the project cursor in steps of 
one bar, backwards and forwards.
About the Transport panel display formats
Primary time display (left) and secondary time display (right).
The time unit shown in the ruler can be independent from 
the time unit shown in the main time display on the Trans-
port panel. This means that you can display timecode in 
the transport position display and bars and beats in the 
ruler, for example. In addition, there is a secondary time 
display to the right of the primary time display which is 
also independent, giving you three different time units 
shown at the same time. 
The following rules apply:
If you change the time format of the primary time display 
on the Transport panel, the time format of the ruler will be 
changed as well.
This is the same as changing the display format in the Project Setup. 
Therefore, to have different display formats in the ruler and the main time 
display you should change the format in the ruler.
The primary time display format is set on the pop-up 
menu to the right in the main position display.
This setting also determines the time format displayed 
for the left and right locators on the Transport panel.
The secondary time display is completely independent, 
and the display format is set on the pop-up menu to the 
right in the secondary time display.
You can swap time formats between the primary and 
secondary time displays by clicking the double arrow sym-
bol between them.
The left and right locators
The left and right locators are a pair of position markers 
used for specifying punch-in and punch-out positions dur-
ing recording, and as boundaries for cycle playback and 
recording. 
ÖWhen cycle mode is activated on the Transport panel, 
the area between the left and right locator will be repeated 
(cycled) on playback. 
However, if the right locator is positioned before the left, this will work as 
a “jump” or “skip mode” – when the project cursor reaches the right lo-
cator it will immediately jump to the left locator position and continue 
playback from there.
There are several ways to set locator positions:
To set the left locator, press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click 
at the desired position in the ruler.
Similarly, pressing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking in the ruler sets the right lo-
cator. You can also drag the locator “handles” directly in the ruler.
The locators are indicated by the “flags” in the ruler. The area between 
the locators is highlighted in the ruler and in the Project window (see 
“Appearance” on page 317). Note that if the right locator is before the 
left locator, the color of the ruler between the locators will change (from 
blue to red).
Click and drag in the upper half of the ruler to “draw” a 
locator range.
If you click on an existing locator range, you can drag to move it.
Pressing [Ctrl]/[Command] and pressing [1] or [2] on 
the numeric keypad sets the left or right locator to the 
project cursor position.
Similarly, you can press [1] or [2] on the numeric keypad (without [Ctrl]/
[Command]) to set the project cursor position to the left or right locator 
position. Note that these are default key commands – you can change 
these if you like.
By creating cycle markers you can store any number of 
left and right locator positions, which can be recalled by 
simply double-clicking on the corresponding marker (see 
“About cycle markers” on page 83).
The “Locators to Selection” item on the Transport menu 
(default key command [P]) sets the locators to encompass 
the current selection.
This is available if you have selected one or several events or made a se-
lection range. 
						

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Playback and the Transport panel
You can also adjust the locators numerically on the 
Transport panel.
Clicking the L/R buttons in the locator section on the Transport panel will 
move the project cursor to the respective locator. If you press [Alt]/[Op-
tion] and click the L or R button, the corresponding locator will be set to 
the current project cursor position.
Options and Settings
The “Return to Start Position on Stop” 
preference
This setting is found on the Transport page in the Prefer-
ences (found on the File menu under Windows, or on the 
Cubase Essential menu under Mac OS X).
If “Return to Start Position on Stop” is activated when 
you stop playback, the project cursor will automatically re-
turn to the position where recording or playback last 
started.
If “Return to Start Position on Stop” is deactivated, the 
project cursor will remain at the position where you stop 
playback.
Pressing Stop again will return the project cursor to the position where 
recording or playback last started.
About track disable/enable
For audio tracks, the track context menu contains an item 
named “Disable Track”. This shuts down all disk activity 
for the track, as opposed to using Mute, which merely 
turns down the output volume for a track. For example, if 
you often record “alternative takes” you can easily build up 
a large number of takes on different tracks. Even though 
these tracks are muted, they are actually still “playing 
back” from the hard disk during playback. This puts an un-
necessary load on your disk system, so using “Disable 
Track” is recommended for such situations.
Select “Disable Track” for tracks that you want to keep in 
the project for later use but don’t want to play back now.
Select “Enable Track” from the track context menu to re-enable disabled 
tracks.
Playback functions
Apart from the standard transport controls on the Trans-
port panel, you can also find a number of functions that 
can be used to control playback on the Transport menu. 
The items have the following functionality:
ÖIn the Preferences dialog (Editing–Audio page) you 
will find the option “Treat Muted Audio Events like De-
leted”. When you activate this option, any events over-
lapped by a muted event will become audible.
About Chase
Chase is a function that makes sure your MIDI instruments 
sound as they should when you locate to a new position 
and start playback. This is accomplished by the program 
transmitting a number of MIDI messages to your instru-
ments each time you move to a new position in the 
project, making sure all MIDI devices are set up correctly 
with regard to program change, controller messages 
(such as MIDI Volume), etc.
For example, let’s say you have a MIDI track with a pro-
gram change event inserted at the beginning. This event 
makes a synth switch to a piano sound.
At the beginning of the first chorus you have another pro-
gram change event which makes the same synth switch to 
a string sound.
Option Description
Play from Selection 
Start/EndActivates playback from the beginning or end of 
the current selection.
Play until Selection 
Start/EndActivates playback two seconds before the start or 
end of the current selection and stops at the selec-
tion start or end, respectively.
Play until Next 
MarkerThis activates playback from the project cursor and 
stops at the next marker.
Play Selection
RangeThis activates playback from the start of the current 
selection and stops at the selection end.
Loop  Selection This activates playback from the start of the current 
selection and keeps starting over again when 
reaching the selection end.
!The functions listed above (except “Play until Next 
Marker”) are only available if you have selected one 
or more events or made a selection range. 
						

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Playback and the Transport panel
You now play back the song. It begins with the piano 
sound and then switches to the string sound. In the middle 
of the chorus you stop and rewind to some point between 
the beginning and the second program change. The synth 
will now still play the string sound although in this section 
it really should be a piano!
The Chase function takes care of that. If program change 
events are set to be chased, Cubase Essential will track 
the music back to the beginning, find the first program 
change and transmit it to your synth, setting it to the cor-
rect sound.
The same thing can apply to other event types as well. The 
Chase Events settings in the Preferences (MIDI page) de-
termine which event types will be chased when you locate 
to a new position and start playback.
ÖEvent types for which the checkbox is activated here 
will be chased.
In the Chase Events section of the Preferences (MIDI 
page), you will find the option “Chase not limited to Part 
Boundaries”.
When you activate this option, MIDI controllers are also chased outside 
the part boundaries, i.e. the Chase will be performed on the part touched 
by the cursor as well as on all the parts to the left of it. Please note that 
this option should be deactivated for very large projects, as it consider-
ably slows down operations such as positioning and soloing. When you 
deactivate this option, the MIDI controllers are only chased within the 
parts under the position cursor. 
						

							5
Recording 
						

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Recording
Background
This chapter describes the various recording methods 
that you can use in Cubase Essential. As it is possible to 
record both audio and MIDI tracks, both recording meth-
ods are covered in this chapter.
Before you start
This chapter assumes that you are reasonably familiar with 
certain basic recording concepts, and that the following 
initial preparations have been made:
You have properly set up, connected and calibrated 
your audio hardware. 
You have opened a project and set the project setup 
parameters to your specifications.
Project setup parameters determine the record format, sample rate, 
project length etc. that affect the audio recordings you make during the 
course of the project. See “The Project Setup dialog” on page 22.
If you plan to record MIDI, your MIDI equipment should 
be set up and connected correctly.
Basic recording methods
This section describes the general methods used for re-
cording. However, there are additional preparations and 
procedures that are specific to audio and MIDI recording 
respectively. Make sure to read these sections before you 
start recording (see “Audio recording specifics” on page 
50 and “MIDI recording specifics” on page 54).
Record-enabling a track
Cubase Essential can record on a single track or on sev-
eral tracks (audio and/or MIDI) simultaneously. To make a 
track ready for recording, click the Record Enable button 
for the track in the Track list, in the Inspector or in the 
mixer. When activated, the buttons turn red, indicating 
record ready mode.
Record Enable in the Inspector, Track list and mixer
ÖIf the option “Enable Record on Selected Track” is ac-
tivated in the Preferences (Editing–Project & Mixer page), 
tracks are automatically record-enabled when you select 
them in the Track list.
ÖThe exact number of audio tracks you can record si-
multaneously depends on your computer CPU and hard 
disk performance.
In the Preferences (VST page), you can find the option “Warn on Pro-
cessing Overloads”. When this is activated, a warning message will be 
displayed as soon as the CPU clip indicator (on the Transport panel) 
lights up during recording.
Manually activating recording
You activate recording by clicking the Record button on 
the Transport panel or toolbar or by using the correspond-
ing key command (by default [*] on the numeric keypad).
Recording can be activated in Stop mode (from the current 
cursor position or from the left locator) or during playback:
If you activate recording in Stop mode, and the option 
“Start Record at Left Locator” is activated on the Trans-
port menu, recording will start from the left locator.
The preroll setting or the metronome count-in will be applied (see “About 
Preroll and Postroll” on page 59).
If you activate recording in Stop mode, and “Start Record 
at Left Locator” is deactivated, recording will start from the 
current project cursor position.
If you activate recording during playback, Cubase Es-
sential will immediately enter Record mode and start re-
cording from the current project cursor position.
This is known as “manual punch in”. 
						

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Recording
Activating recording in Sync mode
If you are synchronizing the Cubase Essential transport to 
external equipment (Sync is activated on the Transport 
panel) and you activate recording, the program will go into 
“record ready” mode (the record button on the Transport 
panel will light up). Recording then starts when a valid 
timecode signal is received (or when you click the Play 
button). See the chapter “Synchronization” on page 278 
for more information.
Automatically activating recording
Cubase Essential can automatically switch from playback 
to recording at a given position. This is known as “auto-
matic punch in”. A typical use for this would be if you need 
to replace a section of a recording, and want to listen to 
what is already recorded, up to the recording start position.
1.Set the left locator to the position where you want re-
cording to start.
2.Activate the Punch In button on the Transport panel.
Punch In activated
3.Activate playback from some position before the left 
locator.
When the project cursor reaches the left locator, recording is automati-
cally activated.
Stopping recording
Again, this can be done automatically or manually:
If you click the Stop button on the Transport panel (or 
use the corresponding key command, by default [0] on the 
numeric keypad), recording is deactivated and Cubase 
Essential goes into Stop mode.
If you click the Record button (or use the key command 
for recording, by default [*]), recording is deactivated but 
playback continues.
This is known as “manual punch out”.
If the Punch Out button is activated on the Transport 
panel, recording will be deactivated when the project cur-
sor reaches the right locator.
This is known as “automatic punch out”. By combining this with auto-
matic punch in, you can set up a specific section to record – again very 
useful if you want to replace a certain part of a recording. See also “Stop 
after Automatic Punch Out” on page 59.
Punch In and Out activated
Cycle recording
Cubase Essential can record and play back in a cycle – a 
loop. You specify where the cycle starts and ends by set-
ting the left and right locators. When the cycle is active, 
the selected section is seamlessly repeated until you hit 
Stop or deactivate cycle mode.
To activate cycle mode, click the cycle button on the 
Transport panel.
If you now start playback, the section between the left and right locator is 
repeated indefinitely until you stop.
Cycle activated
To record in cycle mode, you can start recording from 
the left locator, from before the locators or from within the 
cycle, in Stop mode or during playback.
As soon as the project cursor reaches the right locator, it will jump back 
to the left locator and continue recording a new lap.
The results of cycle recording depend on the selected 
cycle record mode and are different for audio (see “Re-
cording audio in cycle mode” on page 54) and MIDI (see 
“Recording MIDI in cycle mode” on page 57). 
						

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Recording
Audio pre-record
This feature allows you to capture up to 1 minute of any in-
coming audio you play in Stop mode or during playback, 
“after the fact”. This is possible because Cubase Essential 
can capture audio input in buffer memory, even when not 
recording. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Preferences (Record-Audio page).
2.Specify a time (up to 60 seconds) in the “Audio Pre-
Record Seconds” field.
This activates the buffering of audio input, making Pre-Record possible.
3.Make sure an audio track is record-enabled and re-
ceives audio from the signal source.
4.When you have played some audio material you want 
to capture (either in Stop mode or during playback), click 
the Record button.
5.After a few seconds stop the recording.
An audio event is created, starting at where the cursor position was 
when you activated recording. This means that if you were in stop mode, 
and the cursor was at the beginning of the project, you may have to move 
the event to the right in the next step. If you were playing along to a 
project you should leave the event where it is.
6.Select the Arrow tool and place the cursor on the bot-
tom left edge of the event so that a double arrow appears, 
then click and drag to the left. 
Now the event is extended and the audio you played before activating 
record is inserted – this means that if you played along during playback, 
the captured notes will end up exactly where you played them in relation 
to the project.
The recording was activated at the start of bar 9. This is indicated by a 
blue line in the audio event.
Audio recording specifics
Selecting a recording file format
The format for recorded files is set in the Project Setup dia-
log on the Project menu. There are three settings: sample 
rate, record format (bit depth) and record file type. While 
the sample rate is set once and for all when you start work-
ing on a new project, the bit depth and file type can be 
changed at any time.
Record file type
The Record File Type setting determines which type of 
files will be created when you record:
Record format (bit depth)
The available options are 16 bit and 24 bit. Use the follow-
ing guidelines:
Normally, select the record format according to the bit 
depth delivered by your audio hardware.
For example, if your audio hardware has 20 bit A/D converters (inputs), 
you may want to record at 24 bit resolution to capture the full bit depth. 
On the other hand, if your hardware has 16 bit inputs, it’s pointless to 
record with a higher bit depth – this will only make the audio files larger, 
with no difference in audio quality.
The higher the bit depth, the larger the files and the 
more strain is put on the disk system.
If this is an issue, you may want to lower the record format setting.
File type Description
Wave File Wave files have the extension “.wav” and are a common 
file format on the PC platform.
AIFF File Audio Interchange File Format, a standard defined by Ap-
ple Inc. AIFF files have the extension “.aif” and are used 
on most computer platforms. AIFF files can contain em-
bedded text strings (see below).
!For further information on the options in the Project 
Setup dialog, see “The Project Setup dialog” on 
page 22.