Steinberg Cubase LE Operation Manual

 
CUBASE LE
 
Recording 2 – 21 
Basic recording methods
This section describes the general methods used for recording. How-
ever, there are additional preparations and procedures that are specific 
to audio and MIDI recording respectively. Make sure to read these sec-
tions before you start recording (see page 25 and page 33).
Record enabling a track
Cubase LE can record on a single track or on several tracks (audio 
and/or MIDI) simultaneously. To make a track ready for recording, 
click the Record...

CUBASE LE2 – 22 Recording
Manually activating recording
You activate recording by clicking the Record button on the Transport 
panel or toolbar, or by using the corresponding key command (by de-
fault [*] on the numeric keypad).
Recording can be activated from Stop mode (from the current cursor 
position or from the left locator) or during playback:
• If you activate recording from Stop mode, and the option “Start Record at Left 
Locator” is activated on the Transport menu, recording will start from the...

CUBASE LERecording 2 – 23
Stopping recording
Again, this can be done automatically or manually:
•If you click the Stop button on the Transport panel (or use the corre-
sponding key command, by default [0] on the numeric keypad), record-
ing is deactivated and Cubase LE goes to Stop mode.
•If you click the Record button or use the key command for recording, 
by default [*], recording is deactivated but playback continues.
This is known as “manual punch out”.
•If the Punch Out button is activated on the...

CUBASE LE2 – 24 Recording
Cycle recording
Cubase LE can record and play back in a cycle – a loop. You specify 
where the cycle starts and ends by setting the left and right locators. 
When cycle is active, the selected section is seamlessly repeated un-
til you hit Stop or deactivate cycle mode.
•To activate cycle mode, click the cycle button on the Transport panel.
If you now activate Play, the section between the left and right locator is repeated in-
definitely until you stop.
Cycle activated.
•To...

CUBASE LERecording 2 – 25
Audio recording specifics
Activating and selecting VST inputs
Cubase LE allows you to use audio hardware with multiple inputs and 
route different inputs to different audio channels. To activate inputs, 
first open the VST Inputs window on the Devices menu.
❐Note that active inputs use processing power! Make it a habit to only ac-
tivate audio inputs that you actually intend to use.
The VST Inputs window is divided into three columns:
• The left column contains the available...

CUBASE LE2 – 26 Recording
Routing activated VST inputs to a channel
Selecting an input source for a track’s corresponding channel is done 
in the Mixer. Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Mixer from the Devices menu.
2.Locate the mixer channel strip for the audio track on which you plan to 
record.
3.Pull down the input pop-up for the channel strip and select the input 
to which the signal source you want to record is connected.
Selecting a recording file format
The format of recorded files is set in the...

CUBASE LERecording 2 – 27
Record file type
The Record File Type setting determines which type of files will be cre-
ated when you record:
Setting up tracks for mono or stereo recording
One of the initial decisions you have to make before you start record-
ing audio is whether the recording should be stereo or mono. This is 
determined by the stereo/mono status of the audio track selected for 
recording:
•To set a track to mono or stereo, click the Stereo/Mono button in the 
Track list or in the...

CUBASE LE2 – 28 Recording
Monitoring
In this context, “monitoring” means listening to the input signal during 
recording. There are three fundamentally different ways to do this: via 
Cubase LE, externally (by listening to the signal before it reaches Cu-
base LE) or by using ASIO Direct Monitoring (which is a combination of 
both of the other methods – see page 29).
Monitoring via Cubase LE
If you monitor via Cubase LE, the input signal is mixed in with the audio 
playback. The advantage of this is that...

CUBASE LERecording 2 – 29
External monitoring
External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it goes into 
Cubase LE) requires some sort of external mixer for mixing the audio 
playback with the input signal. This can be a stand-alone physical 
mixer or a mixer application for your audio hardware, if this has a mode 
in which the input audio is sent back out again (usually called “Thru”, 
“Direct Thru” or similar).
When using external monitoring, you cannot control the level of the 
monitor...

CUBASE LE2 – 30 Recording
• Depending on the audio hardware, there may be special restrictions as to 
which audio outputs can be used for direct monitoring.
For details on the routing of the audio hardware, see its documentation.
• The latency value of the audio hardware configuration does not affect the 
monitor signal when using ASIO Direct Monitoring.
Setting input levels
When monitoring a channel signal source in stop mode, the meters 
show the level at the input selected for the audio channel. So if...