Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Operation Manual
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61 Recording Recovery of audio recordings after system failure Normally, when a computer crashes, all changes made to your current project since you last saved it will be lost. Usu- ally, there is no quick and easy way to recover your work. With Cubase Essential, when your system crashes while you are recording (because of a power cut or other mis- hap), you will find that your recording is still available, from the moment when you started recording to the time when your computer crashed.When you experience a computer crash during a record- ing, simply relaunch the system and check the project record folder (by default this is the Audio subfolder inside the project folder). It should contain the audio file you were recording at the time of the crash. Use Time Signature at Project TimeWhen this is activated, the precount will be in the time signature set in the Tempo track. Furthermore, any tempo changes in the Tempo track during the precount will be applied. Use Signature…This lets you set a time signature for the precount. In this mode, tempo changes in the Tempo track won’t affect the precount. MIDI Click Description Activate MIDI ClickSelects whether or not the metronome will sound via MIDI. MIDI Port/ ChannelThis is where you select a MIDI output and channel for the metronome click. Hi Note/ VelocitySets the MIDI note number and velocity value for the “high note” (the first beat in a bar). Lo Note/ VelocitySets the MIDI note number and velocity for the “low notes” (the other beats). Audio Click Description Activate Audio ClickSelects whether or not the metronome will sound via the audio hardware. You can set the level of the click with the slider. Precount OptionsDescription !Please note: This feature does not constitute an “overall” guarantee by Steinberg. While the program itself was improved in such a way that audio record- ings can be recovered after a system failure, it is al- ways possible that a computer crash, power cut, etc. might have damaged another component of the computer, making it impossible to save or recover any of the data. !Warning: Please do not try to actively bring about this kind of situation to test this feature. Although the internal program processes have been improved to cope with such situations, Steinberg cannot guaran- tee that other parts of the computer are not damaged as a consequence.
63 Fades, crossfades and envelopes Creating fades There are two main types of fade-ins and fade-outs in au- dio events in Cubase Essential: fades created by using the fade handles (see below) and fades created by pro- cessing (see “Fades created by processing” on page 64). Fades created by using the fade handles Selected audio events have blue handles in the upper left and right corners. These can be dragged to create a fade- in or fade-out respectively. Creating a fade-in. The fade is automatically reflected in the shape of the event’s waveform, giving you a visual feedback of the result when you drag the fade handle. Fades created with the handles are not applied to the au- dio clip as such but calculated in real time during play- back. This means that several events referring to the same audio clip can have different fade curves. It also means that having a huge number of fades may demand a lot of processor power. If you select multiple events and drag the fade handles on one of them, the same fade will be applied to all se- lected events. A fade can be edited in the Fade dialog, as described on the following pages. You open the dialog by double-clicking in the area above the fade curve, or by selecting the event and selecting “Open Fade Editor(s)” from the Audio menu (note that this will open two dialogs if the event has both fade-in and fade-out curves). If you adjust the shape of the fade curve in the Fade dialog, this shape will be maintained when you later adjust the length of a fade. You can make the fade longer or shorter at any time, by dragging the handle. You can actually do this even without selecting the event first, i.e. without visible handles. Just move the mouse pointer along the fade curve until the cursor turns into a bidirectional arrow, then click and drag. If the option “Fade Handles always on Top” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Event Display-Audio page), the fade handles stay at the top of the event, and vertical help lines indicate the exact end or start points of fades. This is useful in situations where you want the event volume to be very low, as this option allows you to still see the fade handles. If the option “Show Event Volume Curves Always” is ac- tivated in the Preferences (Event Display–Audio page), the fade curves will be shown in all events, regardless of whether they are selected or not. If the option is deactivated, the fade curves are shown in selected events only. If the option “Thick Fade Lines” is activated in the Pref- erences dialog (Event Display-Audio page), the fade lines and volume curve are thicker, increasing their visibility. Fade handles on top of the event and thicker fade and volume lines al- low you to edit and view fades even in situations where event volume is very low. When the option “Use Mouse Wheel for Event volume and Fades” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Edit- ing–Audio page), you can use the mouse wheel to move the volume curve up or down. When you hold down [Shift] while moving the mouse wheel, this will change the fade curves. This is useful in situations where the fade handles are not visible (e. g. because of a very high zoom factor). When you position the mouse pointer somewhere in the left half of the event, the fade in end point is moved. When the mouse pointer is in the right half of the event, the fade out start point will move. ÖYou can set up key commands for changing the event volume curve and any fade curves, if you don’t want to use the mouse for this. You will find these commands in the Key Commands dialog, in the Audio category. See “Key commands” on page 321.
64 Fades, crossfades and envelopes Creating and adjusting fades with the Range Selection tool “Handle-type” fades can also be created and adjusted with the Range Selection tool, in the following way: 1.Select a section of the audio event with the Range Se- lection tool. The result depends on your selection, in the following way: If you select a range from the beginning of the event, a fade-in will be created within the range. If you select a range that reaches the end of an event, a fade- out will be created in the range. If you select a range encompassing a middle section of the event, but not reaching neither the start nor the end, both a fade-in and a fade-out will be created outside of the selected range. In other words, the fade-in will cover the area from the beginning of the event to the beginning of the selected range, and the fade-out will cover the area from the end of the se- lected range to the end of the event. 2.Pull down the Audio menu and select “Adjust Fades to Range”. The fade areas are adjusted according to the selection range. About the volume handle A selected audio event also has a blue handle in the top middle. This is the volume handle, and it provides a quick way of changing the volume of an event, directly in the Project window. It is linked directly to the volume setting on the info line, that is, dragging the volume handle also changes the value on the info line. Removing fades To remove the fades for an event, select the event and se- lect “Remove Fades” from the Audio menu. You can also use the Range Selection tool to remove fades and crossfades within the selected range: 1.Drag the Range Selection tool in the Project window, so that the selection encloses all of the fades and cross- fades you wish to remove. 2.Select “Remove Fades” from the Audio menu. Fades created by processing If you have selected an audio event or a section of an au- dio event (using the Range Selection tool), you can apply a fade-in or fade-out to the selection by using the “Fade In” or “Fade Out” functions on the Process submenu on the Audio menu. These functions open the corresponding Fade dialog, allowing you to specify a fade curve. Fades created this way are applied to the audio clip rather than to the event. Please note the following: If you later create new events that refer to the same clip, these will have the same fades. You can remove or modify the fades at any time using the Of- fline Process History (see “The Offline Process History dialog” on page 147). !You can select multiple audio events on separate tracks with the Range Selection tool, and apply the fade to all of them simultaneously. !Note that the length of the fade area is determined by your selection. In other words, you specify the length of the fade before you enter the Fade dialog. !Also note that you can select multiple events and ap- ply the same processing to all of them simultaneously. Drag the Volume handle up or down to change the volume of the event. The volume change is displayed numerically on the info line. The event waveform reflects the volume change.
65 Fades, crossfades and envelopes If other events refer to the same audio clip, you will be asked whether you want the processing to be applied to these events or not. Continue will apply the processing to all events that refer to the audio clip. New Version will create a separate, new version of the audio clip for the selected event. You can also choose to put a checkmark in the “Do not show this message again” box. Regardless of whether you then choose “Continue” or “New Version”, any further processing will conform to the option you select. The Fade dialogs The Fade dialogs appear when you edit an existing fade or use the “Fade In”/“Fade Out” functions on the Process submenu on the Audio menu. The picture below shows the Fade In dialog; the Fade Out dialog has identical set- tings and features. If you open the Fade dialog(s) with several events se- lected, you can adjust the fade curves for all these events at the same time. This is useful if you want to apply the same type of fade-in to more than one event, etc. Curve Kind These determine whether the fade curve should consist of spline curve segments (left button), damped spline seg- ments (middle button) or linear segments (right button). Fade display Shows the shape of the fade curve. The resulting wave- form shape is shown in dark gray, with the current wave- form shape in light gray. You can click on the curve to add points, and click and drag existing points to change the shape. To remove a point from the curve, drag it outside the display. Curve shape buttons These buttons give you quick access to some common curve shapes. Restore button The Restore button (to the right above the fade display) is only available when editing fades made by dragging the fade handles. Click this to cancel any changes you have made since opening the dialog. As Default button The “As Default” button is only available when editing fades made by dragging the fade handles. Click this to store the current settings as the default fade. This shape will be used whenever you create new fades. Fade Length Value The Fade Length Value can be used to enter fade lengths numerically. The format of values displayed here are deter- mined by the Primary Time Display in the Transport Panel. When you activate the “Apply Length” option, the value en- tered in the Fade Length value field will be used when click- ing “Apply” or “OK”. This setting is deactivated by default. When you set the current Fade as the Default fade, the length value is included as part of the default settings. Presets If you have set up a fade in or fade out curve that you may want to apply to other events or clips, you can store it as a preset by clicking the Store button. To apply a stored preset, select it from the pop-up menu. !You can change this setting at any time in the Prefer- ences (Editing–Audio page), under “On Processing Shared Clips”.
66 Fades, crossfades and envelopes To rename the selected preset, double-click on the name and type a new one. To remove a stored preset, select it from the pop-up menu and click Remove. Preview, Apply and Process The buttons in the bottom row are different depending on whether you are editing a fade made with the fade handles or applying a fade using processing: The Edit Fade dialogs have the following buttons: The Process Fade dialogs have the following buttons: Creating crossfades Overlapping audio material on the same track can be crossfaded, for smooth transitions or special effects. You create a crossfade by selecting two consecutive audio events and selecting the Crossfade command on the Au- dio menu (or by using the corresponding key command, by default [X]). The result depends on whether the two events overlap or not: If the events overlap, a crossfade is created in the over- lapping area. The crossfade will be of the default shape – initially a linear, symmetric crossfade, but you can change this as described below. If the events don’t overlap but are directly consecutive (lined up end-to-start, with no gap) it’s still possible to crossfade them – provided that their respective audio clips overlap! In this case, the two events are resized so that they overlap, and a crossfade of the default length and shape is applied. The default crossfade length and shape are set in the Crossfade dialog (see “Default buttons” on page 68). !Stored fade in presets will only appear in the Fade In dialog, and fade out presets will only appear in the Fade Out dialog. Button Function OK Applies the set fade curve to the event, and closes the dialog. Cancel Closes the dialog. Apply Applies the set fade curve to the event, without closing the dialog. Button Function Preview Plays back the fade area. Playback will repeat until you click the button again (the button is labeled “Stop” during play- back). Process Applies the set fade curve to the clip, and closes the dialog. Cancel Closes the dialog without applying any fade. The Edit Fade dialog. The Process Fade dialog. Overlapping section
67 Fades, crossfades and envelopes An example: The events in themselves do not overlap, but their clips do. Therefore, the events can be resized so that they overlap, which is required for a crossfade to be created. When you select the Crossfade function, the two events are resized so that they overlap, and a default crossfade is created in the overlapping section. If the events don’t overlap, and cannot be resized enough to overlap, a crossfade cannot be created. Once you have created a crossfade, you can edit it by selecting one or both crossfaded events, and selecting “Crossfade” from the Audio menu again (or by double- clicking in the crossfade zone). This opens the Crossfade dialog, see below. Removing crossfades To remove a crossfade, select the events and select “Re- move Fades” from the Audio menu, or use the Range Se- lection tool: 1.Drag the Range Selection tool in the Project window, so that the selection encloses all of the fades and cross- fades you wish to remove. 2.Select “Remove Fades” from the Audio menu. You can also remove a crossfade by clicking and drag- ging it outside the track. The Crossfade dialog The Crossfade dialog contains separate, but identical, sections for the fade-in and fade-out curve settings in the crossfade on the left, and common settings on the right. Fade Displays Shows the shape of the fade-out and fade-in curve, re- spectively. You can click on the curve to add points, and click and drag existing points to change the shape. To re- move a point from the curve, drag it outside the display. Curve kind buttons These buttons determine whether the corresponding fade curve should consist of spline curve segments (left but- ton), damped spline segments (middle button) or linear segments (right button). Curve shape buttons These buttons give you quick access to some common curve shapes. Equal Power and Gain If you activate the “Equal Gain” checkbox, the fade curves are adjusted so that the summed fade-in and fade- out amplitudes will be the same all along the crossfade region. This is often suitable for short crossfades. If you activate the “Equal Power” checkbox, the fade curves are adjusted, so that the energy (power) of the crossfade will be constant all along the crossfade region. Audio clips. Audio events. !Equal Power curves have only one editable curve point. You cannot use the Curve kind buttons or the presets when this mode is selected.
68 Fades, crossfades and envelopes Play buttons The “Play Fade Out” and “Play Fade In” buttons allow you to audition the fade-out or fade-in part only, without the crossfade. The “Play Crossfade” button plays back the whole crossfade. You can also use the Transport play controls to play back the crossfaded audio events. However, that method will play back all unmuted audio events on other tracks as well. Pre-roll and Post-roll When auditioning with the Play buttons, you can choose to activate pre-roll and/or post-roll. Pre-roll lets you start playback before the fade area, and post-roll lets you stop playback after the fade area. This can be useful for audi- tioning the fade in a context. To specify how long the pre- and post-rolls should be, click in the time fields and enter the desired time (in sec- onds and milliseconds). To activate pre- and post-roll, click the respective but- ton. To deactivate, click the button again. Length settings You can adjust the length of the crossfade area numeri- cally in the “Length” field. If possible, the length change will be applied equally to “both sides” of the crossfade (i.e. Cubase Essential tries to “center” the crossfade). Presets If you have set up a crossfade shape that you may want to apply to other events, you can store it as a preset by click- ing the Store button. To apply a stored preset, select it from the pop-up menu. To rename the selected preset, double-click on the name and type in a new one. To remove a stored preset, select it from the pop-up menu and click Remove. Default buttons Clicking the “As Default” button stores all of the current settings as the default crossfade. These settings will then be used whenever you create new crossfades. The Crossfade Length setting is included in the Default settings. However, it is only applied if the events to be crossfaded don’t overlap – otherwise the crossfade will be in the overlap area (see “Creating crossfades” on page 66). Clicking the “Recall Default” button copies the curves and settings of the Default crossfade to the Crossfade dialog. Auto Fades and Crossfades Cubase Essential features an Auto Fade function that can be set both globally, i.e. for the entire project, and sepa- rately for each audio track. The idea behind the Auto Fade function is to create smoother transitions between events by applying short (1–500 ms) fade-ins and fade-outs. Making global Auto Fade settings 1.To make Auto Fades settings globally for the project, select “Auto Fades Settings...” from the Project menu. This opens the Auto Fades dialog for the project. !To be able to resize a crossfade this way, it must be possible to resize the corresponding event. For ex- ample, if the left crossfaded event already plays its audio clip to the end, its endpoint cannot be moved any further to the right. !As mentioned earlier, fades are calculated in real time during playback. This means that the larger the number of audio tracks with Auto Fades activated in a project, the higher the demands on the processor. !Note that auto fades are not indicated by the fade lines!
69 Fades, crossfades and envelopes 2.Use the checkboxes in the upper right corner to acti- vate or deactivate Auto Fade In, Auto Fade Out and Auto Crossfades, respectively. 3.Use the Length value field to specify the length of the Auto Fade or Crossfade (1-500 ms). 4.To adjust the shapes of Auto Fade In and Auto Fade Out, select the “Fades” tab and make settings as in the regular Fade dialogs. 5.To adjust the shape of the Auto Crossfade, select the “Crossfades” tab and make settings as in the regular Crossfade dialog. 6.If you want to use the settings you have made in future projects, click the “As Default” button. The next time you create a new project, it will use these settings by default. 7.Click OK to close the dialog. Making Auto Fade settings for a separate track By default, all audio tracks will use the settings you have made in the project’s Auto Fades dialog. However, since Auto Fades use computing power, a better approach may be to turn Auto Fades off globally and activate them for in- dividual tracks, as needed: 1.Right-click the track in the Track list and select “Auto Fades Settings...” from the context menu (or select the track and click the “Auto Fades Settings” button in the In- spector). The Auto Fades dialog for the track opens. This is identical to the project’s Auto Fades dialog, with the addition of a “Use Project Settings” option. 2.Deactivate the “Use Project Settings” option. Now, any settings you make will be applied to the track only. 3.Set up the Auto Fades as desired and close the dialog. Reverting to project settings If you want a track to use the global Auto Fade settings, open the Auto Fades dialog for the track and activate the “Use Project Settings” checkbox.