Steinberg Cubase Le 8 Manual
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Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Christina Kaboth, Insa Mingers, Matthias Obrecht, Sabine Pfeifer, Kevin Quarshie, Benjamin Schütte This PDF provides improved access for vision-impaired users. Please note that due to the complexity and number of images in this document, it is not possible to include text descriptions of images. The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. Registered licensees of the product described herein may print one copy of this document for their personal use. All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective holders. For more information, please visit www.steinberg.net/trademarks. © Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2015. All rights reserved.
3 Table of Contents 7Introduction 7About the Program Versions 7Typographical Conventions 8Setting Up Your System 8Setting Up Audio 14Setting Up MIDI 15Connecting a Synchronizer 16Setting Up Video 17VST Connections 17VST Connections Window 18Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs 20Adding Input and Output Busses 21Presets for Input and Output Busses 22About Monitoring 22Editing the Bus Configurations 24Project Window 25Toolbar 27Status Line 28Info Line 28Overview Line 29Ruler 30Inspector 32Global Track Controls 33Track List 34Event Display 34Racks 35Zooming in the Project Window 39Snap Function 41Cross-Hair Cursor 42Edit History Dialog 44Project Handling 44Creating New Projects 45Steinberg Hub 46Project Assistant 47About Project Files 47About Template Files 49Project Setup Dialog 52Opening Project Files 54Saving Project Files 55Reverting to the Last Saved Version 55Choosing a Project Location 56Removing Unused Audio Files 56Creating Self-Contained Projects 59Tracks 59Audio Tracks 64Instrument Tracks 68MIDI Tracks 72Arranger Track 73Chord Track 75FX Channel Tracks 79Folder Tracks 81Group Channel Tracks 85Marker Track 86Ruler Track 87Video Track 88Customizing Track Controls
4 91Track Handling 91Adding Tracks 92Removing Tracks 92Moving Tracks in the Track List 93Renaming Tracks 93Coloring Tracks 94Showing Track Pictures 96Setting the Track Height 97Selecting Tracks 98Duplicating Tracks 98Disabling Audio Tracks (Cubase Elements only) 99Organizing Tracks in Folder Tracks 100Handling Overlapping Audio 100How Events are Displayed on Folder Tracks 100Modifying Event Display on Folder Tracks 101Track Presets 106Parts and Events 107Audio Handling 108Parts 109Auditioning Audio Parts and Events 109Adding Events to a Track 110Scrubbing 111Folder Parts 112Editing Parts and Events 124Range Editing 124Creating a Selection Range 126Editing Selection Ranges 129Playback and Transport 129Transport Panel 133Transport Menu 135Setting the Project Cursor Position 136Left and Right Locators 137Auto-Scroll 138Time Formats 139Locating to Specific Time Positions 140Metronome 142Chase 143Virtual Keyboard 143Recording MIDI With the Virtual Keyboard 144Virtual Keyboard Options 145Recording 145Basic Recording Methods 149Monitoring 152Audio Recording Specifics 157MIDI Recording Specifics 164Remaining Record Time 165Lock Record 166Quantizing MIDI and Audio 166Quantizing Audio Event Starts 167Quantizing MIDI Event Starts 167Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths 167Quantizing MIDI Event Ends 167Quantize Panel 172Additional Quantizing Functions 174Fades and crossfades 174Creating fades 177The Fade dialogs 179Creating crossfades 180The Crossfade dialog 182Auto fades and crossfades 184Arranger Track (Cubase Elements only) 184Introduction 184Setting up the arranger track 185Working with arranger events 189Flattening the arranger chain 192Live mode 194Arranging your music to video 196Markers 196Position Markers 196Cycle Markers 198Markers Window 202Marker Track 204Importing and Exporting Markers 206MixConsole 208Setting Up the MixConsole 208MixConsole Toolbar 209Configuring the MixConsole 214Linking Channels 215Input Levels 216Copying and Moving Rack and Channel Settings 217Fader Section 220Working with Channel Racks 236Using Channel Settings 238Adding Notes to a MixConsole Channel 239Keyboard Navigation 240Audio Effects 240Overview 242Insert Effects 247Send Effects 252Effect Control Panel 252Comparing Effect Settings 253Effect Presets 259Plug-In Information Window
5 262Audio processing and functions 262Background 262Audio processing 272Freeze Edits 273Detect Silence 276The Spectrum Analyzer 278Statistics 279Time stretch algorithm 281Sample Editor 281Window overview 286General Functions 297Warping audio 297Working with hitpoints and slices 306Audio Part Editor 306Window Overview 308Opening the Audio Part Editor 309Operations 312Options and Settings 313Pool 314Pool Window 318Working with the Pool 334MediaBay 335Working With the MediaBay 335Setting Up the MediaBay 336Define Locations Section 337Scanning Your Content 337Updating the MediaBay 338Locations Section 340Results Section 345Previewer Section 350Filters Section 352Sound Browser and Mini Browser 352MediaBay Preferences 353MediaBay Key Commands 354Working with MediaBay-Related Windows 356Working With Volume Databases 359Automation 359Recording your Actions 360Automation Curves 360Static Value Line 360Write/Read Automation 361MIDI Part Data vs. Track Automation 361Writing Automation Data 364Editing Automation Data 366Automation Tracks 368VST Instruments 368VST Instruments Window 371Adding VST Instruments 372Presets for Instruments 374VST Quick Controls 376Playing Back VST Instruments 378About Latency 379Import and Export Options 382Installing and Managing Plug-ins 382Installing VST plug-ins 383Plug-in Manager 386Compiling a New Effects Collection 388Remote controlling Cubase 388Setting Up 390Operations 392The Generic Remote device 396The Remote Control Editor (Cubase Elements only) 403Apple Remote (Macintosh only) 404MIDI realtime parameters 404The Inspector – general handling 405The Inspector sections 413Using MIDI devices 413MIDI devices – general settings and patch handling 421MIDI Processing 421MIDI functions vs. MIDI modifiers 422What is affected by the MIDI functions? 422Transpose 423Making your settings permanent 425Dissolve Part 427Repeat Loop 427Other MIDI functions 433MIDI Editors 433Opening MIDI editors 434Changing the Default MIDI Editor 434Common MIDI Editor Functions 443Key Editor 451Key Editor Operations 470Score Editor 474Score Editor Operations 483Drum Editor 493Drum Editor Operations 500SysEx Messages
6 505Chord Functions 505Chord Track 506Chord Events 511Scale Events 512Voicings 515Converting Chord Events to MIDI 515Controlling MIDI Playback using the Chord Track 519Assigning Voices to Notes 520Extracting Chord Events from MIDI 521Recording Chord Events with a MIDI Keyboard 522Chord Pads 522Chord Pads Zone 525Functions Menu 526Preparations 527Chord Assistant 528Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 531Moving and Copying Chord Pads 531Playing Back and Recording Chords 533Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control 536Chord Pad Settings – Players 539Chord Pad Settings – Pad Layout 540Chord Pads Presets 541Creating Events from Chord Pads 542Editing tempo and signature 542Background 543Tempo and signature display 545Editing tempo and signature 548The Beat Calculator 550Adjusting the audio to the project tempo 551Export Audio Mixdown 551Introduction 551Mixing down to audio files 553The Export Audio Mixdown dialog 556The available file formats 564Synchronization 564Background 565Timecode (positional references) 567Clock sources (speed references) 568The Project Synchronization Setup dialog 571Synchronized operation 572Working with VST System Link 577Activating VST System Link 585Video 585Before You Start 588Preparing a Video Project 591Playing Back Video 595Editing Video 595Extracting Audio From a Video File 596Replacing the Audio in a Video File 597ReWire (not in Cubase LE) 597Introduction 598Launching and quitting 599Activating ReWire channels 599Using the transport and tempo controls 600How the ReWire channels are handled 601Routing MIDI via ReWire 601Considerations and limitations 602Key Commands 602Introduction 603Setting up key commands 607Setting up tool modifier keys 607The default key commands 616File handling 616Importing audio 622Exporting and importing standard MIDI files 626Exporting and importing MIDI loops 627Customizing 627Using the Setup options 629Appearance 632Applying colors in the Project window 637Where are the settings stored? 639Optimizing 639Optimizing Audio Performance 645Preferences 645Preferences Dialog 647Appearance 648Editing 656Event Display 659General 661MIDI 665MediaBay 666Metering 667Record 669Transport 671VST 674Video 675Index
7 Introduction About the Program Versions The documentation covers two different operating systems, Windows and Mac OS X. Some features and settings are specific to one of the platforms. This is clearly stated in the applicable cases. If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for both Windows and Mac OS X. The screenshots are taken from the Windows version of Cubase. Typographical Conventions Many of the default key commands in Cubase use modifier keys, some of which are different depending on the operating system. For example, the default key command for Undo is [Ctrl]-[Z] on Windows and [Command]-[Z] on Mac OS X. When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier key first, in the following way: • [Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key] For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z] means “press [Ctrl] on Windows or [Command] on Mac OS X, then press [Z]”. Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] on Windows or [Option] on Mac OS X, then press [X]”. NOTE This manual often refers to right-clicking, for example, to open context menus. If you are using a Mac with a single-button mouse, hold down [Ctrl] and click.
8 Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT Make sure that all equipment is turned off before making any connections. Simple Stereo Input and Output Setup If you only use a stereo input and output from Cubase, you can connect your audio hardware, for example, the inputs of your audio card or your audio interface, directly to the input source and the outputs to a power amplifier and speaker. Once you have set up the internal input and output busses, you can connect your audio source, for example a microphone, to your audio interface and start recording. Connecting Audio Your system setup depends on many different factors, for example, on the kind of project that you want to create, on the external equipment that you want to use, or on the computer hardware that is available to you. Therefore, the following sections can only serve as examples. How to connect your equipment, that is, whether to use digital or analog connections also depends on your setup.
Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio 9 About Recording Levels and Inputs When you connect your equipment, make sure that the impedance and levels of the audio sources and inputs are matched. Using the correct type of input is important to avoid distortion or noisy recordings. For microphones, for example, different inputs can be used, such as consumer line level (-10 dBV) or professional line level (+4 dBV). Sometimes, you can adjust input characteristics on the audio interface or on its control panel. For details, refer to the documentation that came with the audio hardware. IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT Cubase does not provide any input level adjustments for the signals that are coming into your audio hardware, since these are handled differently for each card. Adjusting input levels is either done in a special application that is included with the hardware or its control panel. Word Clock Connections If you are using a digital audio connection, you may also need a word clock connection between the audio hardware and external devices. For details, refer to the documentation that came with the audio hardware. IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT Set up word clock synchronization correctly, or you may experience clicks and crackles in your recordings. Selecting a Driver You must select the correct driver in Cubase to make sure that the program can communicate with the audio hardware. NOTE On Windows operating systems, we recommend that you access your hardware via an ASIO driver developed specifically for the hardware. If no ASIO driver is installed, refer to your audio hardware manufacturer about available ASIO driver. You can use the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver if no specific ASIO driver is available. When you start Cubase, a dialog opens that prompts you to select a driver. You can also select your audio hardware driver in the following way. PROCEDURE 1. Launch Cubase and select Devices > Devices Setup. 2. In the devices list, select VST Audio System.
Setting Up Your System Setting Up Audio 10 3. On the ASIO Driver menu, select your audio hardware driver. The selected driver is added to the devices list. 4. In the devices list, select the driver to open the driver settings for your audio hardware. 5. Open the control panel for the audio hardware in the following way: • On Windows operating systems, click the Control Panel button. • On Mac OS X operating systems, click the Open Config App button. This button is available only for some hardware products. If it is not available in your setup, refer to the documentation of your audio hardware for information on where to make hardware settings. NOTE The control panel is provided by the audio hardware manufacturer and is different for each audio card brand and model. However, control panels for the ASIO DirectX driver and the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver (Windows only) are provided by Steinberg. 6. Make the settings as recommended by the audio hardware manufacturer. 7. Click Apply. 8. Click OK. RELATED LINKS Using Audio Hardware with a DirectX Driver (Windows only) on page 10 Using Audio Hardware with a DirectX Driver (Windows only) A DirectX driver is an alternative to a specific ASIO driver and the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver. Cubase comes with the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver. • To select the driver, select Devices > Device Setup > VST Audio System and open the ASIO Driver menu. When the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver is selected, you can open ASIO DirectX Full Duplex Driver from the Devices List, and click Control Panel button. On the Control Panel for the driver, the following settings are available: Direct Sound Output and Input Ports Lists all available Direct Sound output and input ports. To activate/deactivate a port in the list, click the checkbox in the left column. Buffer Size Allows you to edit the buffer size. Audio buffers are used when audio data is transferred between Cubase and the audio card. Larger buffers ensure that playback occurs without glitches, but larger buffers also increase the latency. Offset Allows you to adjust the output or input latency time, if a constant offset is audible during playback of audio and MIDI recordings.