Steinberg Cubase LE Getting Started Manual

 
CUBASE LE
 
Introduction 1 – 11 
About the versions for the differents platforms
 
Some features and settings are specific to one of the platforms, 
Windows or Mac OS X. This is clearly stated. 
In other words: 
• If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures in the documenta-
tion are valid under Windows and Mac OS X.
 
The screenshots are taken both from the Windows version and the Mac OS X version.
 
Key command conventions
 
Many of the default key commands in Cubase LE use modifier...

 
CUBASE LE
 
1 – 12 Introduction 
How you can reach us
 
On the Help menu in Cubase LE, you will find items for getting addi-
tional information and help: 
• 
On the “Steinberg on the Web” submenu you can find links to various 
Steinberg websites. Selecting one will automatically launch your 
browser application and open the page. 
You can find support and compatibility information, answers to frequently asked ques-
tions, links for downloading new drivers, etc. This requires that you have a web browser...

 
2
 
Installation and Requirements
for Windows 

 
CUBASE LE
 
2 – 14 Installation and Requirements for Windows 
About this chapter
 
This chapter describes the system requirements and installation pro-
cedures for Cubase LE for Windows. Installing Cubase LE for Mac 
OS X is described on page 24. 
Requirements
 
To use Cubase LE, you need the following: 
• 
A PC with either Windows XP or Windows 2000 installed.
For more details about the computer requirements, see below. 
• 
Compatible audio hardware. 
By audio hardware we mean a card capable of...

 
CUBASE LE
 
Installation and Requirements for Windows 2 – 15 
Computer requirements 
 
Hardware – PC
 
The absolute minimum requirements for running Cubase LE on a PC 
are as follows: 
• 
A 500 MHz Pentium III with 256 MB of RAM or an equivalent AMD 
processor. 
Recommended configuration for optimum performance: 1 GHz or faster PIII/Athlon with 
512 MB RAM.
 
RAM
 
Audio work requires a lot of RAM! In fact, there is a direct relation be-
tween the amount of available RAM and the number of audio...

 
CUBASE LE
 
2 – 16 Installation and Requirements for Windows 
Audio hardware
 
Cubase LE will run with audio hardware that meets the following basic 
specifications: 
• Stereo.
• 16 bit.
• Support of at least the 44.1kHz sampling rate.
• Is supplied with a special ASIO driver, or a DirectX or Windows Multimedia 
compatible driver as described below.
 
About drivers
 
A driver is a piece of software that allows a program to communicate 
with a certain piece of hardware. In this case, the driver allows...

 
CUBASE LE
 
Installation and Requirements for Windows 2 – 17 
If the audio card communicates via DirectX
 
DirectX is a Microsoft “package” for handling various types of Multi-
media under Windows. Cubase LE supports DirectX, or to be more 
precise, DirectSound, which is a part of DirectX used for playing back 
and recording audio. This requires two types of drivers: 
• A DirectX driver for the audio card, allowing it to communicate with DirectX. If 
the audio card supports DirectX, this driver should...

 
CUBASE LE
 
2 – 18 Installation and Requirements for Windows 
Hardware installation
 
Installing the audio hardware and its driver
 
1. 
Install the audio card and related equipment in the computer, as de-
scribed in the card’s documentation. 
2. 
Install the driver for the card. 
There are three types of drivers that could apply: card-specific ASIO drivers, DirectX 
drivers and Windows Multimedia drivers.
 
Specific ASIO driver
 
If your audio card has a specific ASIO driver it may be included with...

 
CUBASE LE
 
Installation and Requirements for Windows 2 – 19 
Testing the Card
 
To make sure the audio card will work as expected, perform the fol-
lowing two tests: 
• 
Use any software included with the audio card to make sure you can 
record and play back audio without problems. 
• 
If the card is accessed via a standard Windows driver, use the Media 
Player application (included with Windows) to play back audio. 
Installing a MIDI interface/synthesizer card
 
Installation instructions for a MIDI...

 
CUBASE LE2 – 20 Installation and Requirements for Windows
Installing Cubase LE
Defragment the hard disk
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 performance. It is done with a special defragmentation 
program. In Windows XP, for example, you might look for the “Disk 
Defragmenter” utility.
❐It is crucial to the audio...