Steinberg Cubase LE 4 Getting Started Manual
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11 System requirements and installation Installing a MIDI interface/synthesizer card Installation instructions for a MIDI interface should be in- cluded with the product. However, here’s an outline of the necessary steps: 1.Install the interface (or MIDI synthesizer card) inside your computer or connect it to a “port” (connector) on the computer. Which is right for you depends on which type of interface you have. 2.If the interface has a power supply and/or a power switch, turn it on. 3.Install the driver for the interface, as described in the documentation that comes with the interface. You should also make sure to check the manufacturer’s web site for the latest driver updates. Installing Cubase LE The installation procedure puts all files in the right places, automatically. Windows 1.Insert the Cubase LE DVD into the DVD drive of your computer. 2.Double-click the file called “CubaseLE4.msi”. 3.Follow the instructions on screen. Macintosh 1.Insert the Cubase LE DVD into the DVD drive of your computer. 2.Double-click the file called “Cubase LE 4.mpkg”. 3.Follow the instructions on screen. Registering your software The Syncrosoft eLicenser After installing Cubase LE you can use the program for 30 days without any restrictions. After this period, you will have to register your program, otherwise, Cubase LE will not run anymore. Proceed as follows to register your program:1.Open the Syncrosoft License Control Center (which can be found in the Start/Programs menu under Windows or in the Applications folder on a Mac). 2.Write down the number of the eLicenser for Cubase LE displayed in the Syncrosoft License Control Center. 3.Launch Cubase LE and select the Registration option from the Help menu. The “My Steinberg” section on the Steinberg web site is opened. 4.Follow the instructions on the web site to create a user account. You will receive an e-mail asking you to confirm the creation of your ac- count in order to activate it. Just click on the confirmation link in the e- mail. After the confirmation, you will be able to log in to the Steinberg customer area. 5.Go back to “My Steinberg” on the Steinberg web site, log in to your account and enter the number of the eLicenser for Cubase LE. You will receive an email with the activation code for Cubase LE. 6.In the Syncrosoft License Control Center open the Wizards menu and select the “License Download” option. Follow the instructions and enter your Cubase LE activation code. 7.Congratulations! You have successfully licensed and registered your program and are now entitled to technical support and kept aware of updates and other news re- garding Cubase LE. Defragment the hard disk (Windows only) If you plan to record audio on a hard disk where you have already stored other files, now is the time to defragment it. Defragmentation reorganizes the physical allocation of space on the hard disk in order to optimize its perfor- mance. It is done with a special defragmentation program. Installing the Additional Content On the program DVD you will find the folder “Additional Content”. To use the content, insert the DVD in the DVD drive of your computer and copy the files to a location on your hard drive. !It is crucial to the audio recording performance that your hard disk is optimized (defragmented). You should make sure to defragment regularly.
13 Setting up your system Setting up audio Connecting audio Exactly how to set up your system depends on many dif- ferent factors, e. g. the kind of project you wish to create, the external equipment you want to use, the computer hardware available to you, etc. Therefore, the following sections can only serve as examples. How you connect your equipment, i. e. whether you use digital or analog connections, also depends on your indi- vidual setup. Stereo input and output – the simplest connection If you only use a stereo input and output from Cubase LE, you can connect your audio hardware, e. g. the inputs of your audio card or your audio interface, directly to the in- put source and the outputs to a power amplifier and speaker. A simple stereo audio setup. This is probably the simplest of all setups – once you have set up the internal input and output busses, you can con- nect your audio source, e. g. a microphone, to your audio interface and start recording. Multi-channel input and output Most likely however, you will have other audio equipment that you want to integrate with Cubase LE, using several input and output channels. Depending on the equipment available to you, there are two ways to go: either mixing using an external mixing desk, or mixing using the mixer in- side Cubase LE.External mixing means having a hardware mixing device with a group or bus system that can be used for feeding inputs on your audio hardware. In the example below, four busses are used for feeding signals to the au- dio hardware’s inputs. The four outputs are connected back to the mixer for monitoring and playback. Remaining mixer inputs can be used for connecting audio sources like microphones, instruments, etc. A multi-channel audio setup using an external mixer. ÖWhen connecting an input source (like a mixer) to the audio hardware, you should use output buses, sends or similar that are separate from the mixer’s master output to avoid recording what you are playing back. You may also have mixing hardware that can be connected via FireWire. When using the Mixer inside Cubase LE, you can use the inputs on your audio hardware to connect microphones and/or external devices. Use the outputs to connect your monitoring equipment. Mixing inside Cubase LE !Always make all connections with all equipment turned off!
14 Setting up your system Recording from a CD player Most computers come with a CD-ROM drive that can also be used as a regular CD player. In some cases the CD player is internally connected to the audio hardware so that you can record the output of the CD player directly into Cubase LE (consult the audio hardware documenta- tion if you are uncertain). All routing and level adjustments for recording from a CD (if available) are done in the audio hardware setup application (see “Making settings for the audio hardware” on page 14). You can also grab audio tracks directly from a CD in Cubase LE (see the chapter “File Handling” in the Operation Manual). Word Clock connections If you are using a digital audio connection you may also need a word clock connection between the audio hard- ware and external devices. Please refer to the documenta- tion that came with the audio hardware for details. About recording levels and inputs When you connect your equipment, you should make sure that the impedance and levels of the audio sources and in- puts are matched. Typically, different inputs may be de- signed for use with microphones, consumer line level (-10 dBV) or professional line level (+4 dBV), or you may be able to adjust input characteristics on the audio interface or in its control panel. Please check the audio hardware documen- tation for details. Using the correct types of input is important to avoid dis- tortion or noisy recordings. Making settings for the audio hardware Most audio cards come with one or more small applica- tions that allow you to configure the inputs of the hard- ware to your liking. This includes: Selecting which inputs/outputs are active. Setting up word clock synchronization (if available). Turning monitoring via the hardware on/off (see “About moni- toring” on page 16). Setting levels for each input. This is very important! Setting levels for the outputs, so that they match the equip- ment you use for monitoring. Selecting digital input and output formats. Making settings for the audio buffers. In many cases all available settings for the audio hardware are gathered in a control panel, which can be opened from within Cubase LE as described below (or opened sepa- rately, when Cubase LE isn’t running). In some cases, there may be several different applications and panels – please refer to the audio hardware documentation for details. Selecting a driver and making audio settings in Cubase LE The first thing you need to do is select the correct driver in Cubase LE to make sure that the program can communi- cate with the audio hardware: 1.Launch Cubase LE, select Device Setup from the De- vices menu and click on VST Audio System in the Devices list to the left. The VST Audio System page in the Device Setup dialog. !It is very important that word clock synchronization is done correctly or there might be clicks and crackles in recordings that you make! !Cubase LE does not provide any input level adjust- ments for the signals coming in to your audio hard- ware, since these are handled differently for each card. Adjusting input levels is either done in a special application included with the hardware or from its control panel (see below).
15 Setting up your system 2.Select your audio hardware driver from the ASIO Driver menu. There may be several options here that all refer to the same audio hard- ware. When you have selected a driver, it is added to the Devices list. 3.Select the driver in the Devices list to open the Driver settings for your audio hardware. 4.Bring up the control panel for the audio hardware and adjust the settings as recommended by the audio hard- ware manufacturer. Under Windows, you open the control panel by clicking the Control Panel button. The control panel that appears when you click this button is provided by the audio hardware manufacturer and not Cubase LE (unless you use Di- rectX, see below). Hence it will be different for each audio card brand and model. The Control panel for the ASIO DirectX driver is an exception, as it is provided by Steinberg, and is described in the dialog help, opened by clicking the Help button in the dialog. See also the notes below. Under Mac OS X, you will find the control panel for your audio hardware in the System Preferences (“Other” sec- tion), opened from the Apple menu or from the Dock. If you are using the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh, you use the “Sound” control panel in the System Preferences to set levels, balance, etc. If you are using ASIO audio hardware, you can click the Control Panel but- ton to bring up its panel. 5.If you plan to use several audio applications simulta- neously, you may want to activate the option “Release Driver when Application is in Background” on the VST Audio System page. This will allow another application to play back via your audio hardware even though Cubase LE is running. The application that is currently active (i.e. the “top window” on the desk- top) will get access to the audio hardware. Make sure that any other au- dio application accessing the audio hardware is also set to release the ASIO (or Mac OS X) driver so Cubase LE can use it when it becomes the active application again. 6.If your audio hardware and its driver support ASIO Di- rect Monitoring, you may want to activate the Direct Moni- toring checkbox on the page for the driver. Read more about monitoring later in this chapter and in the chapter “Re- cording” in the Operation Manual. 7.Click Apply and then OK to close the dialog. If you are using audio hardware with a DirectX driver (Windows only) Cubase LE comes with a driver called ASIO DirectX Full Duplex, available for selection on the ASIO Driver pop-up menu (VST Audio System page). ÖTo be able to take full advantage of DirectX Full Du- plex, the audio hardware must support WDM (Windows Driver Model) in combination with DirectX version 8.1 or higher. In all other cases, the audio inputs will be emulated by DirectX (see the dialog help for the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex Setup dialog for details about how this is reported). ÖDuring the installation of Cubase LE, the latest DirectX will be installed on your computer. When the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver is selected in the Device Setup dialog, you can open the ASIO Control Panel and adjust the following settings (for more details, click the Help button in the control panel): Direct Sound Output and Input Ports In the list to the left in the window, all available Direct Sound output and input ports are listed. In many cases, there will be only one port in each list. To activate or deactivate a port in the list, click the checkbox in the left column. If the checkbox is ticked, the port is activated. You can edit the Buffer Size and Offset settings in this list if necessary, by double-clicking on the value and typ- ing in a new value. In most cases, the default settings will work fine. Audio buffers are used when audio data is transferred between Cubase LE and the audio card. While larger buffers ensure that playback will occur without glitches, the latency (the time between the moment Cubase LE sends out the data and when it actually reaches the output) will be higher. Offset If a constant offset is audible during playback of Audio and MIDI record- ings, you can adjust the output or input latency time using this value. !Under Windows, we strongly recommend that you access your hardware via an ASIO driver written specifically for the hardware, if available. If no ASIO driver is installed, we recommend that you check with your audio hardware manufacturer if they have an ASIO driver available, for example for download via the Internet. !If your Windows audio hardware doesn’t have a spe- cific ASIO driver, a DirectX driver is the next best op- tion.
16 Setting up your system Setting up the input and output ports Once you have selected the driver and made the settings as described above, you need to specify which inputs and outputs should be used and name these: 1.In the Device Setup dialog, select your driver in the De- vices list on the left to display the Driver settings for your audio hardware. All input and output ports on the audio hardware are listed. 2.To hide a port, click in the “Visible” column for the port (deselecting the checkbox). Ports that aren’t visible cannot be selected in the VST Connections win- dow where you set up your input and output busses – see “Setting up the VST Connections” on page 24 and the chapter “VST Connections: setting up input and output busses” in the Operation Manual. 3.To rename a port, click on its name in the “Show as” column and type in a new name. ÖIt is a good idea to give your ports names that are re- lated to the channel configuration (rather than to the ac- tual hardware model)! 4.Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog and apply your changes. About monitoring In Cubase LE, monitoring means listening to the input sig- nal while preparing to record or while recording. There are three ways to monitor: External monitoring External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it goes into Cubase LE) requires an external mixer for mixing the audio playback with the input signal. This can be a clas- sic mixing desk or a mixer application for your audio hard- ware, if this has a mode in which the input audio is sent back out again (usually called “Thru”, “Direct Thru” or similar). Via Cubase LE In this case, the audio passes from the input into Cubase LE, possibly through Cubase LE effects and EQ and then back to the output. You control monitoring via settings in Cubase LE. This allows you to control the monitoring level from Cu- base LE and add effects to the monitored signal only. ASIO Direct Monitoring If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may sup- port ASIO Direct Monitoring (this feature may also be avail- able for audio hardware with Mac OS X drivers). In this mode, the actual monitoring is done in the audio hardware, by sending the input signal back out again. However, moni- toring is controlled from Cubase LE. This means that the audio hardware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off automatically by Cubase LE. Monitoring is described in detail in the chapter “Record- ing” in the Operation Manual. However, when setting up, there’s one thing to note: If you want to use the external monitoring via your audio hardware, make sure the corresponding functions are ac- tivated in the card’s mixer application. !If you attempt to hide a port that is already used by a bus you will be asked whether this is really what you want – note that this will disable the port!
17 Setting up your system Setting up MIDI This section describes how to connect and set up MIDI equipment. If you have no MIDI equipment you can skip this section. Note that this is only an example – you might need or want to hook things up differently! Connecting the MIDI equipment In this example we assume that you have a MIDI keyboard and an external MIDI sound module. The keyboard is used both for feeding the computer with MIDI messages for re- cording and for playing back MIDI tracks. The sound mod- ule is used for playback only. Using Cubase LE’s MIDI Thru feature (described later) you will be able to hear the correct sound from the sound module while playing the keyboard or recording. A typical MIDI Setup. You might want to use even more instruments for playback. If you do, simply connect MIDI Thru on the sound module to MIDI In on the next instrument, and so on. In this hook-up, you will always play the first keyboard when recording. But you can still use all your devices for providing sounds on playback. Setting MIDI Thru and Local On/Off In the “MIDI” section in the Preferences dialog (located on the File menu under Windows and on the Cubase LE menu under Mac OS X), you will find a setting called “MIDI Thru Active”. This is related to a setting in your in- strument called “Local On/Off” or “Local Control On/Off”. If you use a MIDI keyboard instrument, as described earlier in this chapter, MIDI Thru should be activated and that instru- ment should be set to Local Off (sometimes called Local Con- trol Off – see the instrument’s operation manual for details). !Always make all connections with all equipment turned off! !If you plan to use more than three sound sources we recommend that you either use an interface with more than one output, or a separate MIDI Thru box instead of the Thru jacks on each unit.
18 Setting up your system The MIDI signal from the keyboard will be recorded in Cubase LE and at the same time be re-routed back to the instrument so that you hear what you are playing, without the keyboard “triggering” its own sounds. If you use a separate MIDI keyboard – one that does not pro- duce any sounds itself – MIDI Thru in Cubase LE should also be activated, but you don’t need to look for any Local On/Off setting in your instruments. The only case where MIDI Thru should be deactivated is if you use Cubase LE with only one keyboard instrument and that in- strument cannot be set to Local Off mode. Note that MIDI Thru will be active only for those MIDI tracks that are record enabled and/or have the Monitor button acti- vated. See the chapter “Recording” in the Operation Manual for more information.Setting up MIDI ports in Cubase LE The Device Setup dialog lets you set up your MIDI system in the following ways: ÖNote: When you change MIDI port settings in the De- vice Setup dialog, these are automatically applied in the program. Showing or hiding MIDI Ports The MIDI ports are listed in the Device Setup dialog on the MIDI Port Setup page. By clicking in the “Visible” column for a MIDI input or output, you can specify whether or not it should be listed on the MIDI pop-up menus in the program. ÖHiding a MIDI port from view does not turn it off if it is already selected for a track or a MIDI device. Setting up the “All MIDI Inputs” option When you record MIDI in Cubase LE, you can specify which MIDI input each recording MIDI track should use. However, you can also select the “In All Inputs” option for an input port, which causes any MIDI data from any MIDI input to be recorded. The “In All Inputs” option on the MIDI Port Setup page al- lows you to specify which inputs should be included when you select All MIDI Inputs for a MIDI track. This can be es- pecially useful if your system provides several instances of the same physical MIDI input – by deactivating the dupli- cates you make sure only the desired MIDI data is re- corded. ÖIf you have a MIDI remote control unit connected, you should also make sure to deactivate the “In All Inputs” op- tion for that MIDI input. This will avoid accidentally recording the data from the remote control when the “All MIDI Inputs” option is selected as input for a MIDI track. Connecting a synchronizer When using Cubase LE with external tape transports you will most likely need to add a synchronizer to your system. All connections and setup procedures for synchronization are described in the chapter “Synchronization” in the Op- eration Manual. When “MIDI Thru” is active in Cubase LE, MIDI data received is immediately “echoed” back out. When you press a key, it is sent out via MIDI to Cubase LE.MIDI data coming in to the instrument is played by the “Synth” inside it. When Local Control is turned on in the instrument, the keys you press will be played by the “Synth” inside the Instrument. When Local Control is turned off, this connection is cut off. MIDI data coming in to the instrument is played by the “Synth” inside it. “Synth” !Always make all connections with all equipment turned off!
19 Setting up your system Setting up video Cubase LE plays back video films in AVI or Quicktime for- mats. Under Windows, video can be played back using one of the following playback engines: Video for Win- dows, DirectShow or Quicktime. This ensures compatibil- ity with as wide a range of video files as possible. Under Mac OS X, Quicktime is always used as playback engine. Generally there are two ways to play back video: Without any special hardware at all, using the computer CPU. In this case, the “codec” is in software. While this will be fine in many sit- uations it does put a limit on the size of the video window as well as the quality of the image. Using video hardware that for example connects to an external monitor. Mac OS X: Using a FireWire port, you can play back video on an external monitor using a DV-to-analog converter or a DV camera (see also the chapter “Video” in the Operation Manual). This is valid for DV video and QuickTime is used for playback. Windows: Multi-head graphics cards which support overlay functionality can be used to display the video picture on an external monitor. The fol- lowing manufacturers have working (and tested) solutions available: nVIDIA and Matrox. If you plan to use special video hardware, install it and set it up as recommended by the manufacturer. Before you use the video hardware with Cubase LE, we recommend that you test the hardware installation with the utility applications that came with the hardware and/or the Windows Media Player or Quicktime Player (Mac OS X) applications. Optimizing audio performance This section gives you some hints and tips on how to get the most out of your Cubase LE system, performance-wise. Some of this text refers to hardware properties and can be used as a guide when upgrading your system. This text is very brief. Look for details and current information on the Cubase LE web site. Two aspects of performance There are two distinct aspects of performance in respect to Cubase LE: Tracks and effects Simply put: the faster your computer, the more tracks, ef- fects and EQ you will be able to play. Exactly what consti- tutes a “fast computer” is almost a science in itself, but some hints are given below. Short response times (latency) Another aspect of performance is response time. The term “latency” refers to the “buffering”, i. e. the temporary stor- ing, of small chunks of audio data during various steps of the recording and playback process on a computer. The more and larger those chunks, the higher the latency. High latency is most irritating when playing VST Instru- ments and when monitoring through the computer, i. e. when listening to a live audio source via the Cubase LE mixer and effects. However, very long latency times (sev- eral hundred milliseconds) can also affect other pro- cesses like mixing, e. g. when the effect of a fader movement is heard only after a noticeable delay. While Direct Monitoring and other techniques reduce the problems associated with very long latency times, a sys- tem that responds fast will always be more convenient to work with. Depending on your audio hardware, it may be possible to “trim” your latency times, usually by lowering the size and the number of buffers. For details, refer to the audio hardware documentation, or, if you are us- ing a DirectX driver under Windows, the dialog help. !Always make all connections with all equipment turned off!
20 Setting up your system System factors that affect performance CPU and processor cache It goes without saying that the faster the computer pro- cessor, the better. But there are a number of factors that affect the apparent speed of a computer: the bus speed and type (PCI is strongly recommended), the processor cache size and of course, the processor type and brand. Cubase LE relies heavily on floating point calculations. When shopping for a processor, please make sure you get one that is powerful in calculating floating point arith- metics. Note also that Cubase LE features full support for multi- processor systems. So if you own a computer system with more than one processor, Cubase LE can take advantage of the total capacity and evenly distribute the processing load to all available processors. See “The advanced op- tions” on page 20. Hard disk and controller The number of hard disk tracks you can record and play back at the same time also depends on the speed of your hard disk and hard disk controller. If you use E-IDE disks and controllers, make sure that the transfer mode is DMA Busmaster. Under Windows, you can check the current mode by launching the Windows Device Manager and looking for properties of the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller’s primary and secondary channel. DMA transfer mode is en- abled by default, but may be turned off by the system should hardware problems occur. Audio hardware and driver The hardware and its driver can have some effect on re- gular performance. A badly written driver can reduce the performance of your computer. But where the hardware driver design makes the most difference is with latency. This is especially true when using Cubase LE for Win- dows: Under Windows, ASIO drivers written specifically for the hardware are more efficient than a DirectX driver and produce shorter latency times.Under Mac OS X, audio hardware with properly written Mac OS X (Core Audio) drivers can be very efficient and produce very low latency times. However, there are additional features currently only available with ASIO drivers, such as the ASIO Positioning Protocol. Making settings that affect performance Choosing a driver for your audio hardware As described in the section “Selecting a driver and making audio settings in Cubase LE” on page 14, it is recom- mended to install and use a standard ASIO driver if avail- able for your specific hardware. Check the manufacturers web site for the latest drivers etc. Making audio buffer settings Audio buffers affect how audio is sent to and from the audio hardware. The size of the audio buffers affects both the la- tency and the audio performance. Generally, the smaller the buffer size, the lower the latency. On the other hand, work- ing with small buffers can be demanding for the computer. If the audio buffers are too small, you may get clicks, pops or other audio playback problems. Under Mac OS X, you can adjust the size of the buffers on the VST Audio System page in the Device Setup dialog. You may also find buffer settings in the control panel for the audio hard- ware. Under Windows, you adjust the buffer size settings in the control panel for the audio hardware (opened by click- ing the Control Panel button on the driver page in the De- vice Setup dialog). The advanced options On the VST Audio System page you will find the “Advanced options” section. Here you find advanced settings for the VST Engine, including a Multi Processing option. When this is activated (default setting if you have a hyper-threading or multiple-CPU system) and there is more than one CPU in your system, the processing load is distributed evenly to all available CPUs, allowing Cubase LE to make full use of the combined power of the multiple processors. See the dialog help for details. Activating the “Lower Latency” option will basically disable the CPU overload protection, but allow for lower latencies. See the dialog help for details. !Again, we strongly recommend that you use audio hardware for which there is a specific ASIO driver!