Steinberg Cubase Le 8 Manual

							VST Instruments
Import and Export Options
381
Exporting Instrument Tracks as MIDI File
You can export instrument tracks as standard MIDI files.
NOTE
As there is no MIDI patch information in an instrument track, this information is 
missing in the resulting MIDI file.
NOTE
If you activate Export Inspector Volume/Pan, volume and pan information of the 
VST instrument are converted and written into the MIDI file as controller data.
RELATED LINKS
Exporting MIDI files on page 622 
						

							382
Installing and Managing 
Plug-ins
Installing VST plug-ins
Cubase supports the VST 2 and VST 3 plug-in standards. You can install effects 
and instruments that comply with these formats.
A plug-in is a piece of software that adds a specific functionality to Cubase. The 
audio effects and instruments that are used in Cubase are VST plug-ins.
NOTE
If an effect or instrument plug-in has its own installation application, you should use 
this. Dragging an already installed plug-in to a different location may lead to 
problems. As a general rule, always read the documentation or readme files before 
installing new plug-ins.
Cubase comes with a number of effect plug-ins included. These effects and their 
parameters are described in the separate PDF document Plug-in Reference.
Installing VST 3 Plug-ins on Mac OS X Systems
To install a VST 3.x plug-in on a Mac OS X system, quit Cubase and drag the 
plug-in file into one of the following folders:
• /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
This is only possible if you are the system administrator. Plug-ins that are 
installed in this folder are available to all users, for all programs that support 
VST 3.
• /Users//Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
 is the name you use to log on to the computer. The easiest way 
to open this folder is to open your Home folder and use the path 
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/ from there. Plug-ins that are 
installed in this folder are only available to you.
When you scan for newly installed plug-ins, or relaunch Cubase, the new effects 
appear on the effect selectors. In the VST 3 protocol, the effect category, subfolder 
structure, etc. are built-in and cannot be changed. Therefore, you find the effects in 
the corresponding category folders. 
						

							Installing and Managing Plug-ins
Plug-in Manager
383
Installing VST 2 Plug-ins on Mac OS X Systems
To install a VST 2.x plug-in on Mac OS X systems, quit Cubase and drag the plug-in 
file to one of the following folders:
• Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
This is only possible if you are the system administrator. Plug-ins that are 
installed in this folder are available to all users, for all programs that support 
VST 2.x.
• user name>/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
 is the name you use to log on to the computer. The easiest way 
to open this folder is to go to your Home folder and use the path 
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/ from there. Plug-ins that are installed 
in this folder are only available to you.
When you scan for newly installed plug-ins, or relaunch Cubase, the new effects 
appear on the effect selectors.
Installing VST 3 Plug-ins on Windows Systems
On Windows systems, VST 3 plug-ins are installed by dragging the files with the 
extension .vst3 into the VST3 folder in the Cubase application folder. When you 
scan for newly installed plug-ins, or relaunch Cubase, the new effects appear on 
the effect selectors. In the VST 3 protocol, the effect category, subfolder structure, 
etc. are built-in and cannot be changed. Therefore, you find the new effects in the 
corresponding category folders.
Installing VST 2 Plug-ins on Windows Systems
On Windows systems, VST 2.x plug-ins are installed by dragging the files with the 
extension .dll into the Vstplugins folder in the Cubase application folder, or into 
the Shared VST Plug-ins folder (Windows 32
 bit only). When you scan for 
newly installed plug-ins, or relaunch Cubase, the new effects appear on the effect 
selectors.
Plug-in Manager
The Plug-in Manager provides lists of the effects and VST instruments that are 
installed on your computer. These lists are used in the selectors for VST instruments 
and effects.
The Plug-in Manager allows you to do the following:
• You can view lists of all effects and VST instruments that are loaded by 
Cubase when you launch the program. 
						

							Installing and Managing Plug-ins
Plug-in Manager
384
The lists of all effects or VST instruments are created automatically every time 
you start Cubase. You can also initiate a rescan at any time. This ensures that 
these lists are always up-to-date.
• You can create your own lists of effects or instruments for use in the selectors 
for effects or instruments. User-defined lists are called collections.
Collections allow you to create sub-sets of the available effects or 
instruments, for example, to give you a better overview of the effects used in 
a project.
NOTE
If an installed effect or instrument cannot be loaded by Cubase, it does not 
appear in the list of all effects or instruments. Also, the effect or instrument is 
grayed out in any collections in which it is included. For example, this can 
happen if a copy-protection dongle required to run the effect or instrument is 
missing, or after deinstallation of a plug-in.
Plug-in Manager Window
You can manage your effects and VST instruments in the Plug-in Manager window.
• To open the Plug-in Manager window, select Devices > Plug-in Manager. 
						

							Installing and Managing Plug-ins
Plug-in Manager385
The Plug-in Manager window shows the following:
VST Effects/VST Instruments Open these tabs to see lists of all VS T
  effects and VST instruments that were 
loaded by Cubase when you launched the program.
Collection list By default, the window section to the right shows the  Defa
 ult collection, 
which contains all effects or VST instru ments currently loaded by the program. 
The  Default  collection cannot be changed.
You can compile your own collections of effects or VST instruments by 
clic
 king  New Collection  and dragging and dropping  items from the list of all 
effects or VST instruments to the collection list.
Collections are shown in the selectors for effects/VST instruments, and all 
c
 hanges made to collections in the  Plug-in Manager are immediately 
reflected in the selectors.
Enter the name of a plug-in in the search  field. The list of all effects or VST 
instruments is filtered to show only  those plug-ins whose names contain the 
text that you entered.
The  Toggle list to show all/show only FX/VSTi not in current collection  
button allows you to filter the lists of  all effects or VST instruments to show 
either all loaded plug-ins, or only those that are not part of the current 
collection.
The  New Folder  button allows you to create a new folder in the current 
collection.
The  Delete  button allows you to delete the selected item in the current 
collection.
The  New Collection  button allows you to create a new collection.
To create a new, empty list, select  Em
 pty. To create a new collection based 
on the list of all effect, select  Add All Plug-ins. To create a new collection 
based on the current collection, select  Add Current Collection.
The User Collections  drop-down menu allows you to select a different 
collection, and to rename or delete the current collection.
To remove unavailable plug-ins from all collections, select  Remove 
U
 navailable Plug-ins from All Collections . 
						

							Installing and Managing Plug-ins
Compiling a New Effects Collection386
The Show Plug-in Information  button opens a section at the bottom of the 
window in which more information about the selected item is shown. If you 
select several plug-ins, the information  for the plug-in that you have selected 
first is shown. In this section, you  can also deactivate selected plug-ins. 
Deactivated plug-ins are no longer available in collections. This is useful if you 
have plug-ins installed that you do not want to use in Cubase.
The  Plug-in Manager Settings  button opens a section at the bottom of the 
window in which all current paths to VST  2 plug-ins are listed. You can add 
or

 remove folder locations by usin g the corresponding buttons. Click  Rescan 
All  to rescan your computer for plug-ins.
R
ELATED LINKS
Plug-in Manager on  page 383
Compiling a New Effects Collection
You can create a new collection of effects or VST instruments for use in the plug-in 
selectors.
P
REREQUISITE 
A number of effect plug-ins is correctl y installed on your computer, and these 
plug-ins are listed on the  VST Effects tab of the Plug-in Manager  window.
PROCEDURE
1. In the Plug-in Manager  window, click the New Collection  button and do one 
of the following:
• To create a new collection based on the list of all effects, select  Add All 
Plug-ins .
• To create a new collection based on the current collection, select Copy  Curren
 t Collection.
2. Enter a name for the new collection and click  OK.
3. Drag items from the list of all effects and drop them to the new collection. A  blue line 
 indicates the drop position.
• Click the  New Folder button to create folders and  place items directly in them.
• You can drag items to new positions within the collection.
• Drag items from the collection list to the list of all plug-ins to delete them, or 
select items and click  Delete.
RESULT 
The new collection is saved automatically. 
						

							Installing and Managing Plug-ins
Compiling a New Effects Collection
387
The procedure is the same for compiling collections of VST instruments.
In the plug-in selectors, found, for example, in the Project window > track 
inspector > Inserts tab, collections are available as tabs at the top of the selector. 
						

							388
Remote controlling Cubase
It is possible to control Cubase via MIDI.
A large number of MIDI control devices is supported. This chapter describes how 
to set up Cubase for remote control. The supported devices are described in the 
separate PDF document “Remote Control Devices”.
There is also a Generic Remote Device option, allowing you to use any MIDI 
controller to remote control Cubase.
RELATED LINKS
The Generic Remote device on page 392
Setting Up
Connecting the remote device
Connect the MIDI output on the remote unit to a MIDI input on your MIDI interface. 
Depending on the remote unit model, you may also need to connect a MIDI Out on 
the interface to a MIDI In on the remote unit (this is necessary if the remote unit 
features “feedback devices” such as indicators, motorized faders, etc.).
If you are recording MIDI tracks, you do not want any MIDI data from the remote unit 
to be accidentally recorded as well. To avoid this, you should make the following 
setting:
PROCEDURE
1. Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.
2. Select “MIDI Port Setup” in the list on the left.
3. Check the table on the right and locate the MIDI input to which you have 
connected the MIDI remote unit.
4. Deactivate the checkbox in the “In ‘All MIDI Inputs’” column for that input, so 
that the State column reads “Inactive”.
5. Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog. 
						

							Remote controlling Cubase
Setting Up
389
RESULT 
Now you have removed the remote unit input from the “All MIDI Inputs” group. This 
means that you can record MIDI tracks with the “All MIDI Inputs” port selected 
without risking to record the data from the remote unit at the same time.
Selecting a remote device
PROCEDURE
1. Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.
2. If you cannot find the remote device you are looking for, click on the plus sign 
in the top left corner and select the device from the pop-up menu.
The selected device is added to the Devices list.
NOTE
Note that it is possible to select more than one remote device of the same type. If you 
have more than one remote device of the same type, these will be numbered in the 
Devices list. For example, to be able to use a Mackie Control Extender, you must 
install a second Mackie control device.
3. Select your MIDI control device model from the Devices list.
Depending on the selected device, either a list of programmable function commands 
or a blank panel is shown in the right half of the dialog window.
4. Select the correct MIDI input from the pop-up menu.
If necessary, select the correct MIDI output from the pop-up menu.
5. Click OK to close the dialog. 
						

							Remote controlling Cubase
Operations
390
RESULT 
You can now use the MIDI control device to move faders and knobs, activate Mute 
and Solo, etc. The exact parameter configuration depends on which external MIDI 
control device you are using.
A white stripe in the Project window and in the MixConsole indicates which 
channels are currently linked to the remote control device.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
Sometimes communication between Cubase and a remote device is interrupted or 
the handshaking protocol fails to create a connection. To re-establish 
communication with any device in the Devices list, select it and click the Reset 
button in the lower part of the Device Setup dialog. The