Steinberg Cubase Le 8 Manual

							Customizing
Appearance
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• To select any color in Cubase as new color, open the color selector pane, hold 
down [Alt]/[Option], and click anywhere in the application.
The selected color is displayed in the “New Color” field.
Metering–Appearance
Cubase allows for precise color assignment of level meter values. On the 
Metering–Appearance page you can specify colors for quick identification of what 
levels are being reached.
You can adjust the colors for the Channel Meter or the Master Meter. For the Master 
Meter you can only make changes for the Digital Scale scaling mode. Changes take 
effect when you click Apply or OK.
To adjust the levels and colors, activate the Channel Meter or Master Meter option 
and proceed as follows:
• To specify the level for a color change, double-click a handle to the right of 
the meter scale and enter the level (dB) value.
Note that for dB values less than zero, you must add a minus sign before the 
entered number.
You can also click a handle and drag it to a specific level. Press [Shift] for 
more accurate positioning. Alternatively, you can nudge with the Arrow 
Up/Down keys. Press [Shift] for faster positioning.
• To assign a color, click the upper or lower part of a handle so that a black 
frame is shown, and use the color selector pane to select a color (see above).
Selecting the same color for the upper and lower part of the handle results in 
a meter that changes its colors gradually, while separate colors indicate level 
changes even more precisely. 
						

							Customizing
Applying colors in the Project window
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• To add more color handles, click the Add button, or [Alt]/[Option]-click at a 
level position to the right of the meter scale. Each new handle is automatically 
associated with a default color.
• To remove a handle, select the handle and click the Remove button, or 
[Ctrl]/[Command]-click the handle.
Applying colors in the Project window
You can use color scheming for an easier overview of tracks and events in the Project 
window. Colors can be applied individually to tracks and events/parts. If you color a 
track, the corresponding events and parts are displayed in the same color. However, 
you can also color events and parts differently, “overriding” the applied track color.
In the following sections you will learn how to set up preferences to color tracks 
automatically, how to color parts or events manually, how to determine whether you 
want to color the events themselves or their background, and how to customize the 
color palette for selecting colors.
Colorize Track Controls
In the Preferences dialog (Event Display–Tracks page), you can find the “Colorize 
Track Controls” slider that allows you apply the track color to the track controls.
Colorize Folder Track Controls Only
You can restrict the effect of the Colorize Track Control function to folder tracks 
only. This is useful in projects with a large number of tracks and folder tracks.
PROCEDURE
1. Select File > Preferences > Event Display > Tracks.
2. Drag the Colorize Track Controls slider to the right.
3. Activate Colorize Only Folder Track Controls.
4. Click OK.
5. In the track list, select the folder track that you want to colorize.
6. In the Project window toolbar, select the Color Tool and click again to select 
a color.
RESULT 
Only the folder track controls are colorized. 
						

							Customizing
Applying colors in the Project window
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Applying track colors automatically
In the Preferences dialog (Event Display–Tracks page), you can find the “Auto Track 
Color Mode” option.
This offers you several options for automatically assigning colors to tracks that are 
added to the project. The following options are available:
Use Default Track Color
The default color (gray) is assigned.
Use Previous Track Color
Analyzes the color of the selected track and uses the same color for the new 
track.
Use Previous Track Color +1
Analyzes the color of the selected track and uses the color that comes next in 
the color palette for the new track.
Use Last Applied Color
Uses the color that is selected in the Select Colors pop-up menu.
Use Random Track Color
Uses the color palette as a basis to assign track colors randomly.
Coloring Tracks, Parts, or Events Manually
The Color tool on the Project window toolbar allows you to color each track, part, 
or event individually.
PROCEDURE
1. In the Project window, do one of the following:
• To change the color of an event or part, select it.
• To change the color of a track, select the track and deselect all its events or 
parts. 
						

							Customizing
Applying colors in the Project window
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2. On the toolbar, select the Color tool, click again, and select a color from the 
pop-up menu.
RESULT 
The color is applied to the selected item. If you change the color of a track, the new 
color is used for all events on the track and for the corresponding channel in the 
MixConsole.
NOTE
If you assign a different color to individual parts or events, they no longer follow color 
changes of the track.
Resetting the Default Color
You can reset the color of a track, part, or event to the default color.
PROCEDURE
1. In the Project window, select the event or part that you want to reset to the 
default color.
2. On the toolbar, select the Color tool, click again, and select Default Color 
from the pop-up menu.
Project Colors Dialog
The Project Colors dialog allows you to set up a different set of colors for items in 
the Project window.
• To open the Project Colors dialog, select the Color tool in the Project 
window toolbar. Click again to open a pop-up menu and select Project 
Colors. 
						

							Customizing
Applying colors in the Project window
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Color fields
Click a field to open a color selector pane that allows you to specify a new color.
Click Options for the following options.
Append New Color
Adds a new color button at the bottom of the color list.
Insert New Color before Selection
Adds a new color button above the selected color button.
Remove Selected Color
Removes the selected color.
Reset Selected Color
Resets the selected color to the factory settings.
Increase/Reduce Intensity of all Colors
Increases or reduces the intensity of all colors.
Increase/Reduce Brightness of all Colors
Increases or reduces the brightness of all colors.
Save Current Set as Program Defaults
Saves the current set of colors as default.
Load Program Defaults to Current Set
Applies the default set of colors.
Reset Current Set to Factory Settings
Returns to the standard color palette. 
						

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Adding and editing individual colors
You can use the Options menu in the Project Colors dialog to fully customize the 
color palette.
The following options are available:
Append New Color
This adds a new color button at the bottom of the colors list. To define a color, 
click the color button, and in the color selector pane that opens, define a color.
Insert New Color before Selection
This adds a new color button above the selected color button. To define a 
color, click the color button, and in the color selector pane that opens, define 
a color.
Remove Selected Color
This removes the selected color.
Reset Selected Color
This resets the selected color.
Increase/Reduce Intensity of all Colors
This increases or reduces the intensity of all colors.
Increase/Reduce Brightness of all Colors
This increases or reduces the brightness of all colors.
Save Current Set as Program Defaults
This saves the current set as default.
Load Program Defaults to Current Set
This applies the default set.
Reset Current Set to Factory Settings
This returns to Cubase’s standard color palette. 
						

							Customizing
Where are the settings stored?
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Where are the settings stored?
As you have seen, there are a large number of ways in which you can customize 
Cubase. While some of the settings you make are stored with each project, others 
are stored in separate preference files.
If you need to transfer your projects to another computer (e. g. in another studio), 
you can bring all your settings along by copying the desired preference files and 
installing them on the other computer.
NOTE
It is a good idea to make a backup copy of your preference files once you have set 
things up the way you want! This way, if another Cubase user wants to use his or 
her personal settings when working on your computer, you can restore your own 
preferences afterwards.
• On Windows systems, preference files are stored in the following location: 
“\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Steinberg\\”.
On the Start menu, you will find a shortcut to this folder for easy access.
• On Mac OS X systems, preference files are stored in the following location: 
“/Library/Preferences//” under your home directory.
The full path is: “/Users//Library/Preferences//”.
NOTE
The RAMpresets.xml file, which contains various presets settings (see below), is 
saved when exiting the program.
NOTE
Program functions (e. g. crossfade) or configurations (e. g. panels) not used in the 
project will not be stored.
Some of the preferences are not stored in the default preferences folder. A list can 
be found in the Steinberg Knowledge Base.
To open the Knowledge Base, browse to the Steinberg web site, click “Support” 
and choose “Knowledge Base” in the list on the left.
Updating from a Previous Version of Cubase
When you are updating from Cubase 6 or higher, the customized settings of your 
previous installation are used for the new Cubase version.
When your previous Cubase version is older than Cubase 6, its settings are 
discarded, and the default settings of the new version of Cubase are used. 
						

							Customizing
Where are the settings stored?
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Disabling the Preferences
Sometimes you might experience odd program behaviour that can be due to 
inconsistent preferences settings. In such a case, you should save your project and 
relaunch Cubase. You can disable or delete the current preferences settings, and 
load the factory defaults instead.
PROCEDURE
1. Quit Cubase.
2. Launch Cubase, and when the splash screen appears, hold down 
[Shift]-[Ctrl]/[Command]-[Alt]/[Option].
3. Select one of the following options in the dialog that appears:
•Use current program preferences
Opens the program with the current preference settings.
•Disable program preferences
Disables the current preferences, and opens the program with the factory 
default settings instead.
•Delete program preferences
Deletes the preferences and opens the program with the factory default 
settings instead. This process cannot be undone. Note that this affects all 
versions of Cubase installed on your computer.
RELATED LINKS
Preferences on page 645 
						

							639
Optimizing
Optimizing Audio Performance
This section gives you some hints and tips on how to get the most out of your 
Cubase system, performance-wise. Some of this text refers to hardware properties 
and can be used as a guide when upgrading your system. Look for details and 
current information on the Cubase web site.
Performance Aspects
Tracks and Effects
The faster your computer, the more tracks, effects, and EQ you are able to play. 
Exactly what constitutes 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, that is the temporary storing 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 instruments and when monitoring 
through the computer, that is when listening to a live audio source via the Cubase 
MixConsole and effects. However, very long latency times (several hundred 
milliseconds) can also affect other processes like mixing, for example, 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 
ve ry lo ng laten cy t ime s, a syst em  th at  respon ds fast  wi ll alw ays be  mor e c onve nien t 
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. 
						

							Optimizing
Optimizing Audio Performance
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System Factors That Affect Performance
RAM
The more RAM is installed in your computer, the better.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
On computers running a Windows 32-bit operating system, a running application 
can address a maximum of 2 GB of RAM. On a Macintosh computer running 32-bit 
Mac OS X, this limit is 4 GB. The 64-bit versions of Windows and Mac OS X are 
able t o assign c onsider ably mo re t han 4 GB of RAM to a running 64-bit application.
The RAM limitation is imposed by the operating system, and it is independent of the 
amount of RAM that you may have installed in your computer.
Some program functions may use all the available memory, for example, recording, 
the use of effect plug-ins, and the pre-loading of samples.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
When a function has used up all the memory made available by the operating 
system, the computer will crash.
Always keep in mind the RAM limitation of your operating system when setting up 
your projects.
RELATED LINKS
RAM Requirements for Recording on page 153
Smart Plug-In Processing on page 241
CPU and Processor Cache
The faster the computer processor, 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 relies heavily on floating point calculations. When shopping for a 
processor, make sure that you get one that is powerful in calculating floating point 
arithmetics.
Cubase features full support for multi-processor systems. If you own a computer 
system with more than one processor, Cubase can take advantage of the total 
capacity and evenly distribute the processing load to all available processors.
RELATED LINKS
Multi Processing on page 642