Steinberg Cubase LE Operation Manual

							CUBASE LEThe Mixer 7 – 141
The Master section
The Master section allows you to control the output level of the Master 
bus (the main output bus). This section can be shown or hidden in the 
Mixer by clicking the Show Master button in the Common panel.
Master volume fader
Master level meters
Output routing pop-up
Automation controls
Click this button to hide or 
show the Master section.
Master Mono/Stereo switch 
						

							CUBASE LE7 – 142 The Mixer
The VST Outputs window
This is a separate window, opened from the Devices menu. If your au-
dio hardware has several outputs (more than a single stereo pair), the 
VST Outputs window will show one stereo bus for each stereo output 
pair (up to 4). Use the settings in the window to activate or deactivate 
buses, route each bus to the desired output on your audio hardware 
and control the bus volumes.
Activate bus
Bus volume 
faderBus stereo link switch – deactivate this to set 
separate levels for the left and right bus channel.
Bus output routingBus name –
click to change. 
						

							CUBASE LEThe Mixer 7 – 143
Basic mixing procedures
Setting volume in the Mixer
In the Mixer, each channel strip has a fader for volume control. 
•For audio channels, the faders control the volume of the channels be-
fore they are routed directly or via a group channel to a stereo output 
bus, with separate faders for the left and right outputs. The Master 
Gain fader in the Mixer determines the output level of the Master bus.
•MIDI channels handle fader volume changes in the Mixer by sending 
out MIDI volume messages to the connected instrument(s).
Connected instruments must be set to respond to MIDI messages (such as MIDI vol-
ume in this case) for this to function properly.
•The fader settings are displayed numerically below the faders, in dB 
for audio channels and in the MIDI volume 0 to 127 value range for 
MIDI channels.
You can click in the fader value fields and enter a volume setting by typing.
•To make fine volume adjustments, hold down [Shift] when you move 
the faders.
•If you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and click on a fader, it will auto-
matically be set to position 0.0 dB for audio channels, or MIDI volume 
100 for MIDI channels.
•Audio Output bus faders normally move together (move one and the 
other follows), but if you deactivate the Fader Link switch you can 
change either independently.
You can also hold down [Alt]/[Option] and move faders separately.
You can use the faders to set up a volume balance between the audio 
and MIDI channels and perform a manual mix, by moving the faders 
and other controls while playing back. By using the Write function (see 
page 198), you can automate the levels and most Mixer actions.
❐It is also possible to adjust the volume of a selected audio event in the 
Project window or Audio Part Editor, by making volume settings on the 
info line, or by using the volume handle (see page 117). 
						

							CUBASE LE7 – 144 The Mixer
About MIDI tracks set to the same MIDI channel
If you have several MIDI tracks/Mixer channels set to the same MIDI 
channel (and routed to the same MIDI output), making volume settings 
for one of these MIDI tracks/Mixer channels will also affect all other 
Mixer channels set to the same MIDI channel/output combination. 
This also applies to pan settings.
About the level meters for audio channels
When playing back audio in Cubase LE, the level meters in the Mixer 
show the level of each audio channel. If the peak level of the audio 
goes above 0dB, the numerical level indicator will then show a posi-
tive value (i.e. a value above 0dB). 
Cubase LE uses 32 bit floating point processing internally, so there is 
virtually limitless headroom – signals can go way beyond 0dB without 
introducing distortion. Therefore:
❐Having higher levels than 0 dB for individual channels and groups is not 
a problem in itself. The audio quality will not be degraded by this.
This is however not the case for the buses in the VST Outputs window 
(including the Master bus, which can be shown in the Mixer as well)! In 
the output buses, the floating point audio is converted to the resolution 
of the audio hardware. In the audio domain, the maximum level is 0dB. 
Levels higher than 0 dB will cause the clip indicators above the meters 
for each bus to light up. If the clip indicators light up for a bus, this in-
dicates actual clipping – digital distortion which should be avoided.
❐If the Clip indicator lights up for the Master bus or any other output bus, 
reset the clip indicator by clicking on it, and lower the level until the indi-
cator doesn’t light up. 
						

							CUBASE LEThe Mixer 7 – 145
About level meters for MIDI channels
The level meters for MIDI channels do not show volume levels. In-
stead, they indicate the velocity values of the notes played back on 
MIDI tracks. 
• Therefore, if you pull down a fader for a MIDI channel that is playing, the 
meter will still show the same “level”, although the actual volume will 
change (given that the connected MIDI device is set to respond to MIDI 
volume).
Using Solo and Mute
The Mute (top) and Solo buttons.
You can use the Mute and Solo buttons to silence one or several au-
dio or MIDI channels. The following applies:
• The Mute button silences the selected channel.
Clicking the Mute button again un-mutes the channel. Several channels can be muted 
simultaneously. A muted channel is indicated by a lit Mute button, and also by the lit 
Global Mute indicator on the Common panel. 
• Clicking the Solo button for a channel mutes all other channels.
A soloed channel is indicated by a lit Solo button, and also by the lit Global Solo indi-
cator on the Common panel. Click the Solo button again to turn off Solo.
• Several channels can be soloed at the same time.
However, if you press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click the Solo button for a channel, any 
other soloed channels will automatically be un-soloed (i.e. this Solo mode is exclusive).
• [Alt]/[Option]-clicking a Solo button activates “Solo Defeat” for that channel.
In this mode (indicated by a red solo button without any other channels being muted) 
the channel will not be muted if you solo another channel (see page 179 for a practical 
use of this). To turn off Solo Defeat, [Alt]/[Option]-click the Solo button again. 
• You can un-mute or un-solo all channels by clicking the Mute or Solo indicator 
on the Common panel.
A Muted Channel 
in the Mixer.A lit Global Mute indicator on the 
Common panel shows that one or 
more channels are muted. 
						

							CUBASE LE7 – 146 The Mixer
Setting pan in the Mixer
The pan control
The Pan controls in the Mixer are used to position a channel between 
the left and right side of the stereo spectrum. For stereo audio chan-
nels, Pan controls the balance between the left and right channels.
•To make fine pan adjustments, hold down [Shift] when you move the 
pan control.
•To select center pan position, hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and click 
on the pan control.
For audio channels, the output bus faders determine the levels of 
each “side” in the stereo output. There are no pan controls for VST 
output buses or the Master bus.
• For MIDI channels, the Pan control sends out MIDI Pan messages.
The result depends on how your MIDI instrument is set to respond to pan – check your 
documentation for details.
About the “Stereo Pan Law” Preference (audio channels only)
In the Project Setup dialog there is a pop-up menu named “Stereo Pan 
Law”, on which you can select one of three pan modes. This is all re-
lated to the fact that without power compensation, the power of the 
sum of the left and right side will be higher (louder) if a channel is 
panned center than if it’s panned left or right. 
To remedy this, the Stereo Pan Law setting allows you to attenuate sig-
nals panned center, by -6 or -3dB (default). Selecting the 0dB option 
effectively turns off “constant-power panning”. Experiment with the 
modes to see which fits best in a given situation. 
						

							CUBASE LEThe Mixer 7 – 147
Audio specific procedures
This section describes basic procedures for audio channels in the 
Mixer.
Using Channel Settings 
For each audio channel strip in the Mixer (and in the Inspector for 
each audio track) there is an edit button (“e”).
Clicking this opens the VST Channel Settings window. This window 
contains the Common panel, a duplicate of the Mixer channel strip, a 
section with two insert effect slots (see page 173), 4 EQ modules 
and an associated EQ curve display (see page 149) and a section 
with four effect sends (see page 170). Every channel has its own 
channel settings (although you can view each in the same window if 
you like – see below).
The Channel Settings window is used for the following operations:
Click the Edit button to open 
the Channel Settings window: 
						

							CUBASE LE7 – 148 The Mixer
• Apply Equalization, see page 149.
• Apply Send Effects, see page 168.
• Apply Insert Effects, see page 173.
• Copy Channel Settings and apply them to another channel, see page 152.
❐All channel settings are applied to both sides of a stereo channel.
Changing channels in the Channel Settings window
You can view any channel’s settings from a single window. 
If the option “Mixer Selection Follows Project” is activated in the Pref-
erences (Editing page), this can be done “automatically”:
•Open the Channel Settings window for a track and position it so that 
you can see both the Project window and the Channel Settings window.
Selecting a track in the Project window automatically selects the corre-
sponding channel in the Mixer (and vice versa). If a Channel Settings 
window is open, this will immediately switch to show the settings for 
the selected channel. This allows you to have a single Channel Settings 
window open in a convenient position on the screen, and use this for all 
your EQ and channel effect settings.
You can also select a channel manually (thereby changing what is 
shown in the open Channel Settings window). Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Channel Settings window for any channel.
2.Open the Channel Select pop-up on the Common panel.
3.Selecting a channel from the pop-up replaces the previous Channel 
Settings in the window with the selected channel’s settings.
You can also open channel settings in separate windows should you 
so wish: 
						

							CUBASE LEThe Mixer 7 – 149
•If you have a Channel Settings window open, you can open another 
Channel Settings window by [Alt]/[Option]-clicking the Edit button for 
another channel.
Making EQ settings
You can set EQ for a channel via the Channel Settings window.
1.Click the Edit button for the channel you want to apply EQ to.
The Channel Settings window opens.
2.Activate as many EQ modules as you need (up to four).
This can be done in two ways:
•By clicking on their “On” buttons.
•By double-clicking (or clicking and dragging) in the EQ curve display.
Each time you double-click (or click and drag) a new point is added (up to four). The 
preset frequency ranges (Lo, Hi Mid etc.) are taken into account when you click in the 
EQ curve display, i.e. clicking in the 10 to 20kHz area activates the “Hi” EQ module 
and so on.
As soon as any of the EQ modules are activated, the “EQ” button indi-
cator in the channel strip is lit, and there will be a point added in the EQ 
curve display for each activated module.
The EQ section with three modules activated. 
						

							CUBASE LE7 – 150 The Mixer
3.Set the parameters for the activated EQ module(s).
This can be done in several ways:
•By using the dials.
The outer ring of the Frequency/Gain dials sets the frequency, and the inner sets the 
gain.
•By clicking and entering values numerically.
•By using the mouse to drag points in the EQ curve display window.
By using this method, you control both the Gain and Frequency parameters simulta-
neously. The knobs turn accordingly when you drag points.
• If you press [Ctrl]/[Command] while dragging, only the Gain parameter will be 
set.
• If you press [Alt]/[Option] while dragging, only the Frequency parameter will 
be set.
• If you press [Shift] while dragging, only the “Q” parameter will be set.
Each EQ module contains a fully parametric one band equalizer, with 
the following parameters:
•To deactivate an EQ module, click its “On” button, double click its 
point in the EQ curve display or drag its point outside the display.
Parameter Description
Gain Governs the amount of boost or attenuation around the set frequency. 
The range is ± 24dB. 
Frequency The center frequency for the equalization. Around this frequency, the 
sound will be boosted or attenuated according to the Gain setting. The 
range is 20Hz to 20kHz.
Q Determines the width of the frequency band around the center fre-
quency to be affected. The narrower the frequency band, the more 
drastic the effect of the boost or attenuation. For the leftmost and right-
most EQ modules, the following special modes are available:
• If the Q-value for the leftmost EQ module is set to minimum, it will act 
as a low shelving filter.
• If the Q-value for the leftmost EQ module is set to maximum, it will act 
as a high-pass filter.
• If the Q-value for the rightmost EQ module is set to minimum, it will act 
as a high shelving filter.
• If the Q-value for the rightmost EQ module is set to maximum, it will 
act as a low-pass filter.