Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Operation Manual

							51
Recording
Setting up the track
Creating a track and selecting the channel configuration
Audio tracks can be configured as mono or stereo tracks. 
This allows you to record or import a file containing multi-
ple channels and treat it as one entity, with no need to split 
it up into several mono files etc. The signal path for an au-
dio track maintains its channel configuration all the way 
from the input bus, via EQ, level and other mixer settings 
to the output bus.
You specify the channel configuration for a track when you 
create it:
1.Select “Add Audio Track” from the Track list context 
menu or the Project menu (or double-click in an empty 
area of the Track list when an audio track is selected – 
when a MIDI track is selected, double-clicking in the Track 
list creates a new MIDI track).
A dialog appears with a channel configuration pop-up menu.
2.Select the desired format from the pop-up menu.
You can choose between mono and stereo.
The Browse item in this dialog allows you to browse 
your disk(s) for created Track Presets, which can be used 
as a basis (or template) for tracks.
This is described in detail in the chapter “Track Presets” on page 195.
3.Click OK.
A track appears, set to the specified channel configuration. In the mixer, 
a corresponding channel strip appears. You cannot change the channel 
configuration for a track.
Selecting an input bus for a track
Here we assume that you have added and set up the re-
quired input busses (see “Setting up busses” on page 
10). Before you record, you need to specify from which in-
put bus the track should record. You can do this in the In-
spector:Select an input bus on the Input Routing pop-up menu 
in the top section.
As described in the section “The Inspector” on page 18, the Inspector 
shows the settings for the selected track. You show or hide the Inspector 
by clicking the “Show/Hide Inspector” button on the Project window 
toolbar.
Setting input levels
When recording digital sound, it’s important to set the in-
put levels correctly – loud enough to ensure low noise and 
high audio quality, but not so loud that clipping (digital dis-
tortion) occurs.
Clipping typically occurs in the audio hardware when a 
too loud analog signal is converted to digital in the hard-
ware’s A/D converters. 
You need to check the level at the channel strip for the 
track on which you are recording:
1.Locate the channel strip for the track you’re about to 
record on.
2.Activate monitoring for the channel by clicking the 
speaker button next to the fader.
When monitoring is activated, the meter shows the level of the incoming 
audio signal.
3.Play the audio source that you want to record and 
check the level meter for the channel.
Click here to select an input bus for the track. Click here to show/hide the Inspector. 
						

							52
Recording
4.Adjust the output level of your audio source so that the 
meters go reasonably high without reaching 0.0 dB.
Check the numerical peak level indicator below the meter in the bus 
channel strip. To reset the peak level indicator, click on it.
ÖYou must adjust the output level of the audio source – 
you cannot use the faders in Cubase Essential to adjust 
the input level!
ÖAn alternative way of checking the input levels would 
be to use the control panel for your audio hardware (if it 
features input level meters). It may also be possible to ad-
just the input level in the control panel.
See the documentation of your audio hardware for details.
Monitoring
In this context, “monitoring” means listening to the input 
signal during recording. There are three fundamentally dif-
ferent ways to do this: via Cubase Essential, externally (by 
listening to the signal before it reaches Cubase Essential), 
or by using ASIO Direct Monitoring (which is a combina-
tion of both other methods – see below).
Monitoring via Cubase Essential
If you monitor via Cubase Essential, the input signal is 
mixed in with the audio playback. The advantage of this is 
that you can adjust the monitoring level and panning in the 
mixer, and add effects and EQ to the monitor signal just as 
during playback (using the track’s channel strip – not the 
input bus!). 
The disadvantage of monitoring via Cubase Essential is that 
the monitored signal will be delayed according to the la-
tency value (which depends on your audio hardware and 
drivers). Therefore, monitoring via Cubase Essential re-
quires an audio hardware configuration with a low latency 
value. You can check the latency of your hardware in the 
Device Setup dialog (VST Audio System page).
ÖIf you are using plug-in effects with large inherent de-
lays, the automatic delay compensation function in Cubase 
Essential will increase the latency.
If this is a problem, you can use the Constrain Delay Compensation func-
tion while recording, see “Constrain Delay Compensation” on page 129.
When monitoring via Cubase Essential, you can select 
one of four Auto Monitoring modes in the Preferences 
(VST page):
 Manual.
This option allows you to turn input monitoring on or off by clicking the 
Monitor button in the Inspector, the Track list or in the mixer.
 While Record Enabled.
With this option, you will hear the audio source connected to the channel 
input whenever the track is record enabled.
 While Record Running.
This option switches to input monitoring only during recording.
 Tapemachine Style.
This option emulates standard tapemachine behavior: input monitoring in 
Stop mode and during recording, but not during playback.
External monitoring
External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it 
goes into Cubase Essential) requires some sort of exter-
nal mixer for mixing the audio playback with the input sig-
nal. This can be a stand-alone physical mixer or a mixer 
application for your audio hardware, if this has a mode in 
which the input audio is sent back out again (usually 
called “Thru”, “Direct Thru” or similar).
When using external monitoring, you cannot control the 
level of the monitor signal from within Cubase Essential or 
add VST effects or EQ to the monitor signal. The latency 
value of the audio hardware configuration does not affect 
the monitor signal in this mode.
ÖIf you want to use external monitoring, you need to make 
sure that monitoring via Cubase Essential isn’t activated as 
well.
Select the “Manual” monitoring mode in the Preferences (VST page) and 
don’t activate the Monitor buttons. 
						

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Recording
ASIO Direct Monitoring
If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may sup-
port ASIO Direct Monitoring. In this mode, the actual mon-
itoring is done in the audio hardware by sending the input 
signal back out again. However, monitoring is controlled 
from Cubase Essential. This means that the audio hard-
ware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off 
automatically by Cubase Essential, just as when using in-
ternal monitoring.
ÖIf you are using RME Audio Hammerfall DSP audio 
hardware, make sure that the pan law is set to -3dB in the 
card’s preferences.
To activate ASIO Direct Monitoring, open the Device 
Setup dialog on the Devices menu and activate the Direct 
Monitoring checkbox on the page for your audio hardware.
If the checkbox is grayed out, your audio hardware (or its driver) doesn’t 
support ASIO Direct Monitoring. Consult the audio hardware manufac-
turer for details.
When ASIO Direct Monitoring is activated, you can se-
lect a monitoring mode in the Preferences (VST page), as 
when monitoring via Cubase Essential (see “Monitoring via 
Cubase Essential” on page 52).
Depending on the audio hardware, it may also be possi-
ble to adjust monitoring level and panning from the mixer.
Consult the documentation of the audio hardware if in doubt.
VST effects and EQ cannot be applied to the monitor 
signal in this mode, since the monitor signal doesn’t pass 
through Cubase Essential.
Depending on the audio hardware, there may be special 
restrictions as to which audio outputs can be used for di-
rect monitoring.
For details on the routing of the audio hardware, see its documentation.
The latency value of the audio hardware configuration 
does not affect the monitor signal when using ASIO Direct 
Monitoring.
Recording
Recording is done using any of the general recording 
methods (see “Basic recording methods” on page 48). 
When you finish recording, an audio file is created in the 
Audio folder within the project folder. In the Pool, an audio clip is created for the audio file, and an audio event that 
plays the whole clip appears on the recording track. Fi-
nally, a waveform image is calculated for the audio event. If 
the recording was very long, this may take a while.
ÖIf the option “Create Audio Images During Record” is 
activated in the Preferences (Record-Audio page), the 
waveform image will be calculated and displayed during 
the actual recording process.
This real-time calculation uses some processing power – if your proces-
sor is slow or you are working on a CPU-intensive project, you should 
consider turning this option off.
Undoing recording
If you decide that you don’t like what you just recorded, 
you can delete it by selecting Undo from the Edit menu. 
The following will happen:
 The event(s) you just created will be removed from the Project 
window.
 The audio clip(s) in the Pool will be moved to the Trash folder.
 The recorded audio file(s) will not be removed from the hard 
disk.
However, since their corresponding clips are moved to 
the Trash folder, you can delete the files by opening the 
Pool and selecting “Empty Trash” from the Media menu, 
see “Deleting from the hard disk” on page 175.
Recording overlapping events
The basic rule for audio tracks is that each track can play 
back a single audio event at a time. This means that if two 
or more events are overlapping, only one of them will be 
heard at any given time.
What happens when you record overlapping events 
(record in an area where there are already events on the 
track) depends on the Linear Record Mode setting on the 
Transport panel: 
						

							54
Recording
In “Normal” or “Merge” mode, recording where some-
thing has already been recorded creates a new audio 
event that overlaps the previous one(s).
When you record audio, there is no difference between “Normal” and 
“Merge” mode – the difference only applies to MIDI recording (see 
“About overlap and the Record Mode setting” on page 56).
In “Replace” mode, existing events (or portions of events) 
that are overlapped by the new recording will be removed.
This means that if you record a section in the middle of a longer existing 
recording, that original event will be cut into two events with a gap for the 
new event.
Which event will be heard?
If two or more events are overlapping, you will only hear the 
events (or portions of events) that are actually visible. Over-
lapped (hidden) events or sections are not played back.
The functions “Move to Front” and “Move to Back” on 
the Edit menu (see “Moving events” on page 30) are use-
ful for managing overlapping events, as is the “To Front” 
function (see below).
Recording audio in cycle mode
If you are recording audio in cycle mode, the result de-
pends on the “Cycle Record Mode” setting on the Trans-
port panel.
Cycle Record Modes on the Transport panel
There are three different modes on the Transport panel, 
but the first two modes only apply to MIDI recording. For 
audio cycle recording, the following applies:
If “Keep Last” is selected, the last complete “take” (the 
last completely recorded lap) is kept as an audio event.
MIDI recording specifics
Activating MIDI Thru
Normally, when working with MIDI, you will have MIDI Thru 
activated in Cubase Essential, and Local Off selected in 
your MIDI Instrument(s). In this mode, everything you play 
during recording will be “echoed” back out again on the 
MIDI output and channel selected for the recording track.
1.Make sure the option “MIDI Thru Active” is activated in 
the Preferences (MIDI page).
2.Record enable the track(s) on which you want to 
record.
Now, incoming MIDI is “echoed” back out again for all record-enabled 
MIDI tracks. 
ÖIf you just want to use the Thru function for a MIDI 
track without recording, activate the monitor button for the 
track instead.
This is useful e.g. if you want to try out different sounds or play a VST 
instrument in real time without recording your playing.
Setting MIDI channel, input and output
Setting the MIDI channel in the instrument
Most MIDI synthesizers can play several sounds at the 
same time, each on a different MIDI channel. This is the 
key to playing back several sounds (bass, piano etc.) from 
the same instrument. Some devices (such as General 
MIDI compatible sound modules) always receive on all 16 
MIDI channels. If you have such an instrument, there’s no 
specific setting you need to make in the instrument. On 
other instruments, you will have to use the front panel con-
trols to set up a number of “Parts”, “Timbres” or similar so 
that they receive on one MIDI channel each. See the man-
ual that came with your instrument for more information.
Record Enable button Monitor button 
						

							55
Recording
Naming MIDI ports in Cubase Essential
MIDI inputs and outputs are often displayed with unneces-
sarily long and complicated names. However, you can re-
name your MIDI ports to more descriptive names:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.
2.Select the MIDI Port Setup item in the Device list.
The available MIDI inputs and outputs are listed. Under Windows, which 
device to choose depends on your system.
3.To change the name of a MIDI port, click in the “Show 
As” column and type in a new name.
After closing the dialog, the new name will appear on the MIDI Input and 
Output Routing pop-up menus.
Setting the MIDI input in the Inspector
You select MIDI inputs for tracks in the Inspector (the area 
to the left of the Track list in the Project window):
1.If the Inspector is hidden, click the Show Inspector 
button on the toolbar.
2.Select the track(s) by clicking in the Track list.
To select multiple tracks, press [Shift] or [Ctrl]/[Command] and click. The 
Inspector shows the settings for the first selected track (for details, see 
“The Inspector” on page 18).
3.Click the track name in the Inspector to make sure the 
topmost section is shown.4.Pull down the Input Routing pop-up menu and select 
an input.
The available MIDI inputs are shown. The items on the menu depend on 
the type of MIDI interface you are using, etc. 
 If you select the “All MIDI Inputs” option, the track will receive 
MIDI data from all available MIDI inputs.
 If you hold down [Alt]/[Option] and select a MIDI input, this is 
selected for all selected MIDI tracks.
Setting the MIDI channel and output
The MIDI channel and output settings determine where 
the recorded MIDI is routed during playback, but are also 
relevant for MIDI Thru in Cubase Essential. Channel and 
output can be selected in the Track list or in the Inspector. 
The procedure below describes how to make the settings 
in the Inspector, but it can be done in largely the same 
manner in the Track list as well.
1.To select the track(s) and show the settings in the 
Inspector, proceed as when selecting a MIDI input (see 
above).
2.Pull down the Output routing pop-up menu and select 
an output.
The available MIDI outputs are shown. The items on the menu depend on 
what type of MIDI interface you are using etc.
If you hold down [Alt]/[Option] and select a MIDI output, 
this is selected for all selected MIDI tracks. 
						

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Recording
3.Use the channel pop-up menu to select a MIDI chan-
nel for the track.
If you set the track to MIDI channel “Any”, each MIDI 
event on the track will be sent out on the channel stored in 
the event itself.
In other words, the MIDI material will be played back on the channel(s) 
used by the MIDI input device (the MIDI instrument you play during re-
cording).
Selecting a sound
You can select sounds from within Cubase Essential by 
instructing the program to send Program Change and 
Bank Select messages to your MIDI device. This is done 
using the “Patch Selector” and “Bank Selector” fields in 
the Inspector or Track list.
Program Change messages give access to 128 different 
program locations. If your MIDI instruments have more 
than 128 programs, Bank Select messages (set in the 
“Bank Selector” field) allow you to select different banks, 
each containing 128 programs.
ÖBank Select messages are recognized differently by 
different MIDI instruments. The structure and numbering 
of banks and programs may also vary. Consult the docu-
mentation of your MIDI instruments for details.
Recording
Recording MIDI is done according to the basic recording 
methods (see “Basic recording methods” on page 48). 
When you finish recording, a part containing MIDI events 
is created in the Project window.
About overlap and the Record Mode setting
MIDI tracks are different from audio tracks when it comes 
to overlapping parts:
ÖAll events in overlapping parts are always played back.
If you record several parts at the same locations (or move parts so that 
they overlap), you will hear the events in all parts on playback, even 
though some of the parts are obscured in the Project window.
When recording overlapping parts, the result depends on 
the Linear Record Mode setting on the Transport panel:
 If the record mode is set to “Normal”, overdub recording 
works as with audio tracks, i.e. if you record again where 
something has already been recorded, you get a new part that 
overlaps the previous one(s).
 If the record mode is set to “Merge”, the overdubbed events 
are added to the existing part.
 If the record mode is set to “Replace”, the new recording re-
places any existing events in the area on that track.
About punch in and out on MIDI tracks
Performing and setting up manual and automatic punch 
in/out recording for MIDI tracks is done in exactly the 
same way as for audio tracks. There is one thing to note, 
however: 
Punching in and out on recordings with Pitch Bend or 
controller data (modulation wheel, sustain pedal, volume 
etc.) may lead to strange effects (apparently hanging 
notes, constant vibrato etc.).
If this happens, you may need to use the Reset item on the MIDI menu 
(see “The Reset function” on page 58).
About the Automatic MIDI Record Quantize function
If Auto Quantize is activated on the Transport panel (the 
“Auto Q” button), the notes you record are automatically 
quantized according to the current Quantize settings. For 
more information about quantizing, see “The Quantizing 
functions” on page 214. 
						

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Recording
Recording MIDI in cycle mode
When you record MIDI in cycle mode, the result depends 
on which Cycle Record mode is selected on the Transport 
panel:
Cycle Record mode: Mix (MIDI)
For each completed lap, everything you record is added to 
what was previously recorded in the same part. This is use-
ful for building up rhythm patterns, for example. Record a 
hi-hat part on the first lap, the bass drum part on the sec-
ond lap etc. 
Cycle Record mode: Overwrite (MIDI)
As soon as you play a MIDI note (or send any MIDI mes-
sage), all MIDI you have recorded on previous laps is over-
written from that point on in the part. An example:
1.You start recording in an eight bar cycle.
2.The first take wasn’t good enough – you start directly 
with a new take on the next cycle lap and overwrite the 
first take.
3.After recording the second take you let the recording 
roll on and listen, without playing anything. 
You find that the take was good up until bar seven, for example.
4.On the next lap, you wait until bar seven and start 
playing.
This way you will overwrite the last two bars only.
5.Make sure you stop playing before the next lap begins 
– otherwise you will overwrite the entire take.
Cycle Record mode: Keep Last
Each completed lap replaces the previously recorded lap. 
Note:
The cycle lap must be completed – if you deactivate re-
cording or press Stop before the cursor reaches the right 
locator, the previous take will be kept.
If you don’t play or input any MIDI during a lap, nothing 
happens (the previous take will be kept).
Recording different types of MIDI messages
Notes
When you press and release a key on your synth or other 
MIDI keyboard, a Note On (key down) and a Note Off (key 
up) message are sent out. The MIDI note message also 
contains the information which MIDI channel was used. 
Normally, this information is overridden by the MIDI chan-
nel setting for the track, but if you set the track to MIDI 
channel “Any”, the notes will be played back on their orig-
inal channels.
Continuous messages
Pitch bend, aftertouch and controllers (like modulation 
wheel, sustain pedal, volume etc.) are considered as MIDI 
continuous events (as opposed to the momentary key down 
and key up messages). If you move the Pitch bend wheel on 
your synthesizer while recording, this movement is re-
corded together with the key (Note On and Note Off mes-
sages), just as you’d expect. But the continuous messages 
can also be recorded after the notes have been recorded 
(or even before). They can also be recorded on their own 
tracks, separately from the notes to which they belong. 
Say, for instance, that you record one or several bass 
parts on track 2. If you now set another track, like track 55, 
to the same output and MIDI channel as track 2, you can 
make a separate recording of just pitch bends for the bass 
parts on track 55. This means that you activate recording 
as usual and only move the pitch bend wheel during the 
take. As long as the two tracks are set to the same output 
and MIDI channel, it will appear to the MIDI instrument as 
if the two recordings were made at the same time.
Program Change messages
Normally, when you switch from one program to another 
on your keyboard (or whatever you use to record), a num-
ber corresponding to that program is sent out via MIDI as 
a Program Change message. These can be recorded on 
the fly with the music, recorded afterwards on a separate 
track, or manually entered in the Key or List Editors. 
!You can decide exactly which event types should be 
recorded by using the MIDI filters – see “Filtering 
MIDI” on page 59. 
						

							58
Recording
System Exclusive messages
System Exclusive (SysEx) is a special type of MIDI mes-
sage used to send data that only makes sense to a unit of 
a certain make and type. SysEx can be used to transmit a 
list of the numbers that make up the settings of one or 
more sounds in a synth. For more about viewing and edit-
ing SysEx messages, see the chapter “Working with Sys-
tem Exclusive messages” on page 261.
The Reset function
The Reset function on the MIDI menu sends out note-off 
messages and resets controllers on all MIDI channels. 
This is sometimes necessary if you experience hanging 
notes, constant vibrato, etc.
Cubase Essential can also automatically perform a MIDI 
reset on stop.
You can turn this function on or off in the Preferences (MIDI page).
Also in the Preferences (MIDI page), you can find the 
option “Insert Reset Events after Record”.
This is a very handy function for MIDI recording. At the end of each re-
corded part, a Reset event will be inserted, resetting controller data such 
as Sustain, Aftertouch, Pitchbend, Modulation, Breath Control, etc. This 
is useful if a MIDI part is recorded and e.g. the Sustain pedal is still held 
after stopping recording. Usually, this would cause all following parts to 
be played with Sustain, as the Pedal Off command was not recorded. 
This can be prevented by activating “Insert Reset Events after Record”.
Retrospective Record
This feature allows you to capture any MIDI notes you play 
in Stop mode or during playback and turn them into a MIDI 
part “after the fact”. This is possible due to the fact that 
Cubase Essential can capture MIDI input in buffer mem-
ory, even when not recording.
Proceed as follows:
1.Enable the Retrospective Record option in the Prefer-
ences (Record-MIDI page).
This activates the buffering of MIDI input, making Retrospective Record 
possible.
2.Make sure a MIDI track is record-enabled.
3.When you have played some MIDI material you want 
to capture (either in Stop mode or during playback), select 
Retrospective Record from the Transport menu (or use 
the key command, by default [Shift]-[Pad*]).The content of the MIDI buffer (i.e. what you just played) is 
turned into a MIDI part on the record enabled track. The 
part will appear where the project cursor was when you 
started playing – this means that if you played along dur-
ing playback, the captured notes will end up exactly where 
you played them in relation to the project.
The Retrospective Record Buffer Size setting in the 
Preferences (Record-MIDI page) determines how much 
data can be captured.
MIDI Preferences
There are several other options and settings in the Prefer-
ences that affect MIDI recording and playback:
MIDI page
Length Adjustment
Adjusts the length of notes so that there is always a short time between 
the end of one note and the start of another (of the same pitch and on the 
same MIDI channel). The time is set in ticks. By default there are 120 
ticks per 1/16 note.
Record-MIDI page
Snap MIDI Parts to Bars
When this is activated, recorded MIDI parts will automatically be length-
ened to start and end at whole bar positions. If you are working in a 
Bars+Beats-based context, this can make editing (moving, duplicating, 
repeating, etc.) easier.
Solo Record in MIDI Editors
If this is activated and you open a part for editing in a MIDI editor, its track 
is automatically record-enabled. Furthermore, Record Enable is deacti-
vated for all other MIDI tracks until you close the editor again.
This makes it easier to record MIDI data when you’re editing a part – you 
will always be sure the recorded data ends up in the edited part and not 
on any other track.
MIDI Record Catch Range in ms
When you record starting at the left locator, this setting helps you make 
sure the very start of the recording is included. A very annoying scenario 
is when you have recorded a perfect MIDI take, only to find out that the 
very first note wasn’t included – because you started playing a little bit 
too early! If you raise the Record Catch Range, Cubase Essential will 
catch the events played just before the recording start point, eliminating 
this problem. 
For a description of the other options, click the Help but-
ton in the Preferences. 
						

							59
Recording
Filtering MIDI
The MIDI–MIDI Filter page in the Preferences allows you 
to prevent certain MIDI messages from being recorded 
and/or “thruput” (echoed by the MIDI Thru function).
The dialog is divided into four sections:
Options and Settings
Recording-related Transport Preferences
A couple of settings in the Preferences (Transport page) 
are relevant for recording. Set these according to your 
preferred method of work:
Deactivate Punch In on Stop
If this is activated, punch in on the Transport panel is auto-
matically deactivated whenever you enter Stop mode.
Stop after Automatic Punch Out
If this is activated, playback will automatically stop after 
automatic punch out (when the project cursor reaches the 
right locator and punch out is activated on the Transport 
panel). If the postroll value on the Transport panel is set to 
a value other than zero, playback will continue for the set 
time before stopping (see below).
About Preroll and Postroll
The preroll and postroll value fields (below the left/right 
locator fields) on the Transport panel have the following 
functionality:
By setting a preroll value, you instruct Cubase Essential 
to “roll back” a short section whenever playback is acti-
vated.
This applies whenever you start playback, but is perhaps most relevant 
when recording from the left locator (punch in activated on the Transport 
panel) as described below.
By setting a postroll value, you instruct Cubase Essen-
tial to play back a short section after automatic punch out 
before stopping.
This is only relevant when punch out is activated on the Transport panel 
and “Stop after Automatic Punch Out” is activated in the Preferences 
(Transport page).
To turn preroll or postroll on or off, click the correspond-
ing button on the Transport panel (next to the pre/postroll 
value) or use the “Use Preroll” and “Use Postroll” options 
on the Transport menu.
Section Description
Record  Activating any of these options prevents that type of MIDI 
message from being recorded. It will, however, be thru-
put, and if already recorded, it will play back normally.
Thru  Activating any of these options prevents that type of MIDI 
message from being thruput. It will, however, be re-
corded and played back normally.
Channels If you activate a channel button, no MIDI messages on 
that MIDI channel will be recorded or thruput. Already re-
corded messages will, however, be played back normally.
Controller  Allows you to prevent certain MIDI controller types from 
being recorded or thruput.
To filter out a controller type, select it from the list at the 
top of the Controller section and click “Add”. It will ap-
pear on the list below.
To remove a controller type from the list (allow it to be re-
corded and thruput), select it in the lower list and click 
“Remove”.Preroll value field and 
on/off switch.
Postroll value field and 
on/off switch. 
						

							60
Recording
An example:
1.Set the locators to where you want to start and end re-
cording.
2.Activate Punch in and Punch out on the Transport 
panel.
3.Activate the option “Stop after Automatic Punch Out” 
in the Preferences (Transport page).
4.Set suitable preroll and postroll times by clicking in the 
corresponding fields on the Transport panel and typing in 
time values.
5.Activate preroll and postroll by clicking the buttons 
next to the preroll and postroll times so that they light up.
6.Activate recording.
The project cursor “rolls back” by the time specified in the preroll field 
and playback starts. When the cursor reaches the left locator, recording 
is automatically activated. When the cursor reaches the right locator, re-
cording is deactivated, but playback continues for the time set in the 
postroll field before stopping.
Using the metronome
The metronome can output a click that can be used as a 
timing reference. The two parameters that govern the tim-
ing of the metronome are tempo and time signature, and 
these are edited in the Tempo Track window (see “Editing 
the tempo curve” on page 267).
You can use the metronome for a click during recording 
and/or playback or for a precount (count-in) that will be 
heard when you start recording from Stop mode. Click 
and precount are activated separately:
To activate the metronome, click the Click button on the 
Transport panel.
You can also activate the “Metronome On” option on the Transport menu 
or use the corresponding key command (by default [C]).
To activate the precount, click the Precount button on 
the Transport panel.
You can also activate the “Precount On” option on the Transport menu 
or set up a key command for this.
Metronome settings
You make settings for the metronome in the Metronome 
Setup dialog, opened from the Transport menu.
The metronome can use either an audio click played back 
via the audio hardware, send MIDI data to a connected 
device which will play back the click or do both. 
The following metronome settings can be made in the 
dialog:
Click on/off Precount on/off
Metronome 
OptionsDescription
Metronome in 
Record / PlayAllows you to specify whether the metronome should be 
heard during playback, recording or both (when Click is 
activated on the Transport panel).
Use 
Count BaseIf this option is activated, a field appears to the right 
where you specify the “rhythm” of the metronome. Nor-
mally, the metronome plays one click per beat, but set-
ting this to e.g. “1/8” gives you eighth notes – two clicks 
per beat. It’s also possible to create unusual metronome 
rhythms such as triplets etc.
Precount 
OptionsDescription
Precount Bars Sets the number of bars the metronome will count in be-
fore it starts recording if precount is activated on the 
Transport panel.
Use Time 
Signature at 
Record Start 
TimeWhen this is activated, the precount will automatically 
use the time signature and tempo set at the position 
where you start recording.