Steinberg Cubase Le 4 Manual

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The Sample Editor
Using the Select submenu
The following options on the Select submenu of the Edit 
menu can be used in the Sample Editor:
Editing selection ranges
Selections in the Sample Editor can be manipulated in 
several ways. Please note:
If you attempt to edit an event that is a shared copy (i.e. 
the event refers to a clip that is used by other events in the 
project), you are asked whether you want to create a new 
version of the clip or not (if you haven’t made a “perma-
nent” choice already – see below).
Select “New Version” if you want the editing to affect the selected event 
only. Select “Continue” if you want the editing to affect all shared copies. 
Note: If you activate the option “Do not show this message again” in the 
dialog, any further editing you do will conform to the selected method 
(“Continue” or “New Version”). You can change this setting at any time 
with the “On Processing Shared Clips” pop-up menu in the Preferences 
(Editing–Audio page).
Cut, Copy and Paste
The Cut, Copy and Paste commands on the Edit menu 
work according to the following rules:
Selecting Copy copies the selection to the clipboard.Selecting Cut removes the selection from the clip and 
moves it to the clipboard.
The section to the right of the selection is moved to the left to fill out the 
gap.
Selecting Paste copies the data on the clipboard into 
the clip.
If there is a selection in the editor, this will be replaced by the pasted 
data. If there is no selection (if the selection length is “0”), the pasted 
data will be inserted starting at the selection line. The section to the right 
of the line will be moved to make room for the pasted material.
The pasted data will be inserted at the selection line.
Insert Silence
Selecting “Insert Silence” from the Range submenu on the 
Edit menu will insert a silent section with the same length 
as the current selection, at the selection start. 
The selection will not be replaced, but moved to the 
right to make room. 
If you want to replace the selection, use the “Silence” function instead 
(see “Silence” on page 105).
Delete
Selecting Delete from the Edit menu (or pressing [Back-
space]) removes the selection from the clip. The section to 
the right of the selection is moved to the left to fill out the 
gap.
Processing
The functions on the Process submenu on the Audio menu 
can be applied to selections in the Sample Editor, see the 
chapter “Audio processing and functions” on page 100.
Function Description
All Selects the whole clip.
None Selects no audio (the selection length is set to “0”).
In Loop Selects all audio between the left and right locator.
From Start to 
CursorSelects all audio between the clip start and the project 
cursor.
From Cursor to 
EndSelects all audio between the project cursor and the end 
of the clip. For this to work, the project cursor must be 
within the clip boundaries.
Select  Event Selects the audio that is included in the edited event only. 
This is not available if you opened the Sample Editor from 
the Pool (in which case the whole clip is opened for edit-
ing, not an event).
Left Selection 
Side to CursorMoves the left side of the current selection range to the 
project cursor position. For this to work, the cursor must 
be within the clip boundaries.
Right Selection 
Side to CursorMoves the right side of the current selection range to the 
project cursor position (or the end of the clip, if the cursor 
is to the right of the clip). 
						

							112
The Sample Editor
Creating a new event from the selection
You can create a new event that plays only the selected 
range, using the following method:
1.Make a selection range.
2.Press [Ctrl]/[Command] and drag the selection range 
to the desired audio track in the Project window.
Creating a new clip or audio file from the selection
You can extract a selection from an event and either cre-
ate a new clip or a new audio file, in the following way:
1.Make a selection range.
2.Select “Bounce Selection” from the Audio menu.
A new clip is created and added to the Pool, and another 
Sample Editor window will open with the new clip. The 
new clip will refer to the same audio file as the original clip, 
but will only contain the audio corresponding to the selec-
tion range.
Drawing in the Sample Editor
It is possible to edit the audio clip at sample level by draw-
ing with the Pencil tool. This can be useful if you need to 
manually edit out a spike or click, etc.
1.Zoom in to a zoom value lower than 1.
This means that there is more than one screen pixel per sample.
2.Select the Pencil tool.
3.Click and draw at the desired position in the waveform 
display.
When you release the mouse button, the edited section is automatically 
selected.
Options and settings
Show audio event
When the option “Audio Event” is activated on the Ele-
ments submenu on the Quick menu (or the Show Audio 
Event button is activated on the toolbar), the section corre-
sponding to the edited event is highlighted in the waveform 
display and Thumbnail. The sections of the audio clip not 
belonging to the event are shown with a grey background.In this mode, you can adjust the start and end of the 
event in the clip by dragging the event handles in the 
waveform display.
When you move the pointer over the event handles (no matter what tool 
may be selected), it takes on the shape of an arrow, to indicate that you 
can click and drag.
Snap to Zero Crossing
Snap to Zero Crossing activated.
When this option is activated, all audio edits are done at 
zero crossings (positions in the audio where the amplitude 
is zero). This helps you avoid pops and clicks which might 
otherwise be caused by sudden amplitude changes.
This setting affects the Sample Editor only. In the 
Project window and other editors, the Snap to Zero 
Crossing setting on the Project menu toolbar or in the 
Preferences (Editing–Audio page) is used.
Autoscroll
Autoscroll activated.
When this option is activated, the waveform display will 
scroll during playback, keeping the project cursor visible 
in the editor.
!This is only available if you opened the Sample Editor 
by double-clicking an audio event in the Project win-
dow or the Audio Part Editor. 
						

							13
The Audio Part Editor 
						

							114
The Audio Part Editor
Background
The Audio Part Editor allows you to view and edit the 
events inside audio parts. Essentially, this is the same type 
of editing that you do in the Project window, which means 
that this chapter contains a lot of references to the chap-
ter “The Project window” on page 14.
Audio parts are created in the Project window, in one of 
the following ways:
By selecting one or several audio events on the same 
track, and selecting “Events to Part” from the Audio menu.
By gluing together two or more audio events on the 
same track with the Glue Tube tool.
By drawing an empty part with the Pencil tool.
By double-clicking between the left and right locator on 
an audio track.
With the last two methods, an empty part is created. You can then add 
events to the part by pasting, or by using drag and drop from the Pool.
Opening the Audio Part Editor
You open the Audio Part Editor by selecting one or more 
audio part(s) in the Project window and double-clicking 
on any one of them (or using the Edit-Open key command, 
by default [Ctrl]/[Command]+[E]). The Audio Part Editor 
can display several parts at once, and you can also have 
more than one Audio Part Editor open at the same time.
Note that double-clicking on an audio event in the 
Project window will open the Sample Editor (see “Ope-
ning the Sample Editor” on page 107).
Window overview
The toolbar
The tools, settings and icons on the toolbar have the same 
functionality as in the Project window, with the following 
differences:
 A Solo button (see “Auditioning” on page 116).
 Separate tools for auditioning (Speaker) and scrubbing (see 
“Scrubbing” on page 116).
 No Line, Glue Tube or Color tool.
 Play and Loop icons and an Audition Volume control (see 
“Auditioning” on page 116).
 Part List controls for handling several parts: Activating parts 
for editing, restricting editing to active parts only and showing 
part borders (see “Handling several parts” on page 116).
ÖYou can customize the toolbar, hiding or reordering its 
items.
See “The Setup dialogs” on page 244.
The ruler and info line
These have the same functionality and appearance as 
their counterparts in the Project window.
Note that you can select a separate display format for 
the Audio Part Editor ruler by clicking on the arrow button 
on the right and selecting an option from the pop-up menu 
that appears.
For a list of the available formats, see “The ruler” on page 20. 
						

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The Audio Part Editor
About lanes
If you make the editor window larger, this will reveal addi-
tional space below the edited events. This is because an 
audio part is divided vertically in lanes. 
Lanes can make it easier to work with several audio events 
in a part:
In the top figure it is unnecessarily hard to discern, select 
and edit the separate events. In the bottom figure, some of 
the events have been moved to a lower lane, making se-
lection and editing much easier.
To move an event to another lane without accidentally 
moving it horizontally, press [Ctrl]/[Command] and drag it 
up or down.
This is the default modifier key for this – you can adjust this in the Prefer-
ences if you like.
Overlapping events
Only one event per track can be played back at the same 
time! This means that if you have overlapping events (on 
the same lane or different lanes) these will cut each other 
off, according to the following rules:
For events on the same lane, the ones that are on top 
(visible) will be played.
To move overlapping events to the front or back, use the Move to Front 
and Move to Back functions on the Edit menu.
For events on different lanes, the event on the lowest 
lane gets playback priority.
The overlapping sections of the upper event will not be played since the 
event on the lower lane has playback priority!
Lanes 
						

							116
The Audio Part Editor
Operations
Note that if a part is a shared copy (i.e. you have previ-
ously copied the part by [Alt]/[Option]+[Shift]-dragging), 
any editing you perform will affect all shared copies of this 
part.
To indicate that it is a shared copy, its name is displayed in italics and a 
symbol is displayed in the lower right corner of the part in the Project 
window (see “Duplicating events” on page 30).
Auditioning
There are three ways to listen to the events in the Audio 
Part Editor:
By using the Speaker tool
If you click somewhere in the editor’s event display with the 
Speaker tool and keep the mouse button pressed, the part 
will be played back from the position where you clicked. 
Playback will continue until you release the mouse button.
By using the Audition icon
The Audition and Audition Loop icons.
Clicking the Audition icon on the toolbar plays back the 
edited audio, according to the following rules:
 If you have selected events in the part, only the section bet-
ween the first and last selected event will be played back.
 If you have made a range selection, only this section will be 
played back.
 If there is no selection, the whole part will be played back. If 
the project cursor is within the part, playback starts from the 
current cursor position. If the cursor is outside the part, play-
back starts from the beginning of the part.
 If the Audition Loop icon is activated, playback will continue 
until you deactivate the Audition icon. Otherwise, the section 
will be played back once.
By using regular playback
You can of course use the regular playback controls while 
in the Audio Part Editor. Furthermore, if you activate the 
Solo Editor button on the toolbar, only the events in the 
edited part will be played back.
Scrubbing
In the Audio Part Editor, the Scrub tool has a separate icon 
on the toolbar. Apart from that, scrubbing works exactly as 
in the Project window (see “Scrubbing” on page 27).
Handling several parts
When you open the Audio Part Editor with several parts se-
lected – all on the same track or on different tracks – they 
might not all “fit” in the editor window, which can make it 
hard to get an overview of the different parts when editing.
Therefore, the toolbar features a few functions to make 
working with multiple parts easier and more comprehen-
sive:
The Part List menu lists all parts that were selected 
when you opened the editor, and lets you select which 
part should be active for editing.
When you select a part from the list, it is automatically made active and 
centered in the display.
ÖNote that it is also possible to activate a part by click-
ing on it with the Arrow tool.
The button “Edit Active Part Only” lets you restrict edit-
ing operations to the active part only.
If you for example select “All” from the Select submenu on the Edit menu 
with this option activated, all events in the active part will be selected but 
not the events in other parts.
“Edit Active Part Only” activated on the toolbar.
!Zooming, selecting and editing in the Audio Part Ed-
itor is done just as in the Project window (see “Ope-
rations” on page 21). 
						

							117
The Audio Part Editor
You can zoom in on an active part so that it fills the 
screen by selecting “Zoom to Event” from the Zoom sub-
menu on the Edit menu.
The button “Show Part Borders” can be used if you 
want to see clearly defined borders for the active part.
When this is activated, all parts except the active one are grayed out, 
making the borders easily discernible. There are also two “markers” in 
the ruler with the name of the active part, marking its beginning and end. 
These can be moved freely to change the part borders.
“Show Part Borders” activated on the toolbar.
It is possible to cycle between parts, making them ac-
tive, with key commands.
In the Key Commands dialog – Edit category, there are two functions: 
“Activate Next Part” and “Activate Previous Part”. If you assign key com-
mands to these, you can use them to cycle between parts. Please refer 
to “Setting up key commands” on page 250 for instructions on how to 
set up key commands.
Common methods
Assembling a “perfect take”
When you record audio in Cycle mode, the events created 
during each lap are named “Take X”, where “X” is the 
number of the take. You can create a perfect take by put-
ting together sections of the different takes in the Audio 
Part Editor.
ÖThe procedure below will not work if you recorded 
with “Keep Last” mode selected on the Transport panel.
In that case, only the last take will be kept on the track.
First, you have to create an audio part from the takes.
Creating an audio part from events
1.In the Project window, use the Object Selection tool to 
draw a rectangle around the recorded events.
This is necessary, since clicking on the event may just select the event on 
top (the last take). If in doubt, check the info line – the info text should be 
yellow.
2.Pull down the Audio menu and select “Events to Part”.
The events are converted to an audio part.
Assembling a take
1.Double-click the part to open the Audio Part Editor.
Now the different takes will be placed on different lanes, with the last 
take at the bottom.
2.Use the tools to cut out pieces of the takes and as-
semble the final result.
This can include splitting with the Scissors tool, resizing events with the 
Arrow tool or deleting with the Eraser tool. 
Remember that the events on the lowest lane have play-
back priority. 
Use the Audition icon to audition the result.
3.Close the Audio Part Editor.
You have now assembled a “perfect take”!
Options and Settings
The following options and settings are available in the 
Audio Part Editor:
Snap
You can specify an independent Snap mode (and snap value for the Grid 
mode) in the editor. The functionality is exactly the same as in the Project 
window.
Autoscroll
When Autoscroll is activated on the toolbar, the window will scroll during 
playback, keeping the project cursor visible in the editor. This setting can 
be activated or deactivated individually for each window.
Snap to Zero Crossing
When this option is activated, all audio edits are done at zero crossings 
(positions in the audio where the amplitude is zero). This helps you avoid 
pops and clicks which might otherwise be caused by sudden amplitude 
changes. 
						

							14
Audio warp realtime processing 
						

							119
Audio warp realtime processing
Background
Audio warp is the generic name for the realtime time 
stretching and pitch shifting functions in Cubase LE. The 
main audio warp features are as follows:
 Tempo match any audio loop to the project tempo – see “De-
termining the tempo of an audio loop and activating Musical 
mode” on page 119.
 Pitch shift any number of audio clips in realtime – see “Real-
time pitch shifting of audio events” on page 121. 
 Freeze the realtime processing to optimize the audio sound 
quality and lessen the CPU load – see “Freezing the realtime 
processing” on page 121.
About Musical mode
Musical mode is the key audio warp feature. It allows you 
to lock audio clips to the project tempo by using realtime 
time stretching.
When you activate Musical mode, you have to specify the 
tempo for the audio file or loop. In Musical mode, audio 
events will adapt to any tempo changes in Cubase LE, just 
like MIDI events.
The Musical Mode button is activated on the Sample Editor toolbar.
About ACID® loops
Cubase LE supports ACID® loops. These loops are stan-
dard audio files but with embedded tempo/length informa-
tion. When ACID® files are imported into Cubase LE, 
Musical mode is automatically activated and the loops will 
adapt to the tempo set in the project.
Determining the tempo of an audio 
loop and activating Musical mode
You can adapt the tempo of an audio loop, i.e. an audio 
clip of a given musical length, to the project tempo in Cu-
base LE. Once Musical mode has been set, the loop will 
follow any tempo variations in realtime.
The first step is to import a loop. This could be any loop, 
just as long as it meets the basic criteria, e.g. a loop that is 
exactly 2 or 4 bars long at a given tempo (it doesn’t matter 
if you don’t know the tempo).
1.Import a suitable loop, for example a drum loop.
2.Double-click the loop to open it in the Sample Editor.
3.Click the Musical mode button (the note button) so 
that it lights up.
By default, the warp controls are situated on the far right in the Sample 
Editor toolbar.
4.In the dialog that appears, enter the original tempo of 
the loop (this is often part of the loop name, e.g. 
“SloGroove_105bpm”).
On the toolbar, you can find three fields displaying the 
time signature, audio tempo and bars & beats, allowing 
you to inspect your settings. If the bar count is wrong for 
example, you should correct the tempo. This is done in the 
Tempo column in the Pool window (provided that Musical 
mode is deactivated in the Sample Editor).
If you have not specified the tempo in the Pool or (by activating Musical 
mode) in the Sample Editor, these fields will display the default setting of 
“0”.
The signature, audio tempo and tempo fields in the Sample Editor.
!ACID® loops, other commercial loops, and loops 
you created yourself containing tempo/length infor-
mation will automatically have Musical mode acti-
vated when they are imported, and the steps below 
are not necessary. 
						

							120
Audio warp realtime processing
When the Musical mode is activated and the tempo is set, 
the loop is automatically stretched. On the Sample Editor 
toolbar, you can find a warp setting pop-up menu and a 
warp icon. The warp icon lights up if the audio clip is 
stretched or pitch-shifted/transposed. 
On the “warp setting” pop-up, you can find various warp 
options that govern the audio quality of the realtime time 
stretching. There are presets for common types of audio 
material and an Advanced option where you can manually 
set warp parameters. See “Warp settings” on page 120 
for a description of these parameters.
5.Select the warp setting preset that best corresponds 
to the audio loop material and close the Sample Editor.
6.Activate playback.
Now the loop will automatically adjust to the project 
tempo, and follow any further tempo changes you make! In 
the Project window, the audio event will have a note sym-
bol and two arrows in the lower right corner. The note 
symbol indicates Musical mode and the arrow indicates 
that the file is stretched.
Activating Musical mode from within the Pool
It is also possible to activate/deactivate Musical mode 
from within the Pool by clicking the respective checkbox in 
the Musical column. 
When you have correctly set a tempo or length for an au-
dio clip, this information is saved with the project. This al-
lows you to import files into the project with Musical mode 
already activated. The tempo (if set) is also saved when 
exporting files.If you import a new file into the Pool, or if a clip in the pool 
has not had tempo or length set, the tempo is unknown. If 
you try to activate Musical mode in the Pool for such files, 
a dialog appears where you have to enter the tempo be-
fore Musical mode is activated. The default value is the 
current project tempo.
Warp settings
The “warp setting” pop-up menu, which is located on the 
Sample Editor toolbar, contains various presets affecting 
the realtime time stretching sound quality. These presets 
have self-explanatory names like “Drums” and “Mix”, 
where the parameters involved have been optimized for 
the corresponding type of audio material.
The following warp settings are available:
Advanced settings
If you select the Advanced menu item, a dialog opens 
where you can manually change the three parameters that 
govern the sound quality of the time stretching:
Option Description
Drums This mode will best preserve the rhythmic accuracy of unpitched 
audio that contains many transients (e.g. drum loops).
Using this option for pitched audio will lead to noticeable arte-
facts.
Plucked This should be used for audio with transients and a relatively sta-
ble spectral sound character (e.g. plucked instruments).
Pads Use this mode for pitched audio with slower rhythmics and a 
stable spectral sound character. This will minimize sound arte-
facts, but the rhythmic accuracy will not be preserved.
Vocals This mode was optimized for slower signals with transients and 
a prominent tonal character (e.g. vocals).
Mix This mode will preserve the rhythm and minimize the artefacts 
for pitched material which does not meet the above criteria (i.e. 
with a less homogenous sound character). 
This will be selected by default for audio that is not categorized.
Advanced This allows for a manual tweaking of the time stretching parame-
ters. By default, the settings that are shown when you open the 
dialog are those of the last used preset (except if the Solo mode 
was selected, see below). The Advanced settings are described 
in more detail below this table.
Parameter Description
Grainsize The realtime time stretching algorithm splits the audio into 
small pieces called “grains”. This parameter determines the 
size of the grains. For material with many transients you 
should use low Grainsize values for best results. 
Overlap Overlap is the percentage of the whole grain that will over-
lap with other grains. Use higher values for material with a 
stable sound character.