Steinberg Cubase LE Operation Manual

							CUBASE LEAudio effects 8 – 171
5.If you want the signal to be sent to the effects before the fader, click 
on the Pre/Post button for the send.
With pre-fader effect sends, the amount of effect for the channel is not affected by the 
volume fader. With post-fader effect sends (Pre/Post button not pressed), the amount 
of effect is proportional to the channel volume, and will change with the volume fader 
movements.
6.If you want to use several effects for this audio channel, repeat steps 
3 to 6 above for the other effect sends.
• When one or several sends are activated for a channel, the Send Effects 
buttons light up in blue in the Mixer and Track list. Click the button for a 
channel to bypass (disable) all its effect sends.
When the sends are bypassed, the buttons are yellow. Click the button again to enable 
the sends. 
						

							CUBASE LE8 – 172 Audio effects
Making settings for the effects
1.Open the VST Send Effects window and use the Effects Master slider 
to the left on the processor panel to set the input level to an effect pro-
cessor.
2.Use the send level slider in the Channel Settings or the Inspector to 
control the amount of effect for the audio channel.
3.You can switch between different effect program presets by pulling 
down the Program pop-up in the VST Send effects panel.
The number of program locations depends on the selected effect type.
Clicking here...
...opens the Program pop-up.
4.If you have several effects activated, repeat steps 1 to 3 for these.
• You can also edit the effect parameters. See page 176. 
						

							CUBASE LEAudio effects 8 – 173
Using insert effects
•You can apply two different insert effects per channel. 
•The signal passes through the effects in series from the top downwards.
•Each audio, group, VST Instrument and ReWire channel has its own 
set of insert effects.
Each audio channel can have two insert effects which are totally independent of the 
other channels.
❐Insert effects require the same processing power as any other effect type. 
This means that applying insert effects on many channels uses up far 
more processing power than the send effects (four in total for the whole 
program). Remember that you can use the VST Performance window to 
keep an eye on the CPU load.
Which effect plug-ins can I use as insert effects?
Most effect plug-ins will work fine as insert effects. In general, the only 
restrictions are with the number of inputs and outputs in the effects:
•For a plug-in to be usable as an insert effect, it has to have 1 or 2 in-
puts and 1 or 2 outputs.
The number of inputs and outputs is determined by whether you use the insert effects 
on a single (mono) audio channel or on a stereo channel pair:
•For stereo audio channels, you need to use an effect with stereo inputs.
It is possible to use a mono-input effect with a stereo channel pair, but then only the 
left channel in the pair will be processed, which is probably not what you want.
•For mono audio channels, you can use mono- or stereo-input effects.
However, since the audio channel is in mono, the output of the effect will also be in 
mono. For stereo output effects, the left channel will then be used. 
						

							CUBASE LE8 – 174 Audio effects
Routing an audio channel through insert effects
Insert effect settings are available in the Channel Settings window 
and the Inspector. The figures below show the Channel Settings win-
dow, but the procedures are similar for both send sections:
1.Bring up the Channel Settings window or the Inserts section in the In-
spector.
2.Pull down the effect type pop-up for one of the insert slots, and select 
an effect.
•If you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] while selecting an insert effect, 
this effect will be selected in the same insert slot for all Mixer chan-
nels.
3.Make sure that the effect is activated (the on button for the insert slot 
should be lit).
4.If required, open the effect’s control panel by clicking the Edit button 
and use the Mix parameter (if available) to adjust the balance between 
dry and effect signal.
See page 176 for details about editing effects.
• When one or both insert effects are activated for a channel, the Insert Ef-
fects buttons light up in blue in the Mixer and Track list. Click the button 
for a channel to bypass (disable) its inserts.
When the inserts are bypassed, the buttons are yellow. Click the button again to en-
able the inserts.
• To turn off an effect completely, pull down the effect type pop-up menu 
and select “No Effect”. 
You should do this for all effects that you don’t intend to use, to minimize unnecessary 
CPU load. 
						

							CUBASE LEAudio effects 8 – 175
Using Master effects
There are two Master effect slots, available in a separate window. To se-
lect and activate Master effects, proceed as follows:
1.Pull down the Devices menu and select “VST Master Effects” to bring 
up the Master effect window.
2.Pull down the pop-up menu for one of the Master effect slots and se-
lect an effect.
• Note that the second Master effect slot is “post master gain fader”, i.e. it 
appears after the Master Gain fader in the signal path.
3.To make settings for the effect, click the Edit button to bring up its 
control panel.
See page 176.
•To turn off a Master effect, select “No Effect” for the corresponding 
slot.
❐Master effect plug-ins must be at least stereo in/out. If you have a plug-
in in your VST Plug-ins folder that you can’t assign as a master effect, the 
reason is probably that it is a mono plug-in. 
						

							CUBASE LE8 – 176 Audio effects
Editing effects
All inserts, master effect slots and effect sends have an Edit (“e”) but-
ton. Clicking this opens the selected effect’s control panel in which you 
can make parameter settings.
The contents, design and layout of the control panel depends on the 
selected effect. However, all effect control panels have a On/Off but-
ton, Read/Write automation buttons (for automating effect parameter 
changes – see page 204), a program selection pop-up menu and a File 
pop-up menu for saving or loading programs. In Cubase LE for Mac 
OS X these are located at the bottom of the control panel, whereas it is 
at the top of the control panel in Cubase LE under Windows.
The Rotary effect control panel.
•Please note that all effects can be edited using a simplified control 
panel (horizontal sliders only, no graphics) if you prefer this. To edit ef-
fects using this “basic” control panel instead, press [Ctrl]/[Com-
mand]+[Shift] and click on the Edit button for the effect send or slot.
Making settings
Effect control panels may have any combination of knobs, sliders, but-
tons and graphic curves. For specifics about the included effects, 
please refer to page 181. 
						

							CUBASE LEAudio effects 8 – 177
Naming effects
If you edit the parameters for an effect, these settings are saved auto-
matically in the project. If you want to name the current settings, the 
following points apply:
•The basis for the current settings may have been a preset effect pro-
gram, in which case there is a name in the Program Name field.
•The basis for the current settings may have been a default setting pro-
gram location in which case “Init” is displayed in the Program Name 
field.
In both cases, if you have changed any effect parameter settings, these 
are already saved! To name the current settings, click the Name field, 
type in a new name and press [Return]. The new name replaces the 
previous name on the Program pop-up menu.
Saving effects
You can save your edited effects for further use (e.g. in other projects) 
by using the File pop-up menu to the right of the Name field.
1.Pull down the File pop-up menu.
•If you want to save the current program only, select “Save Effect”.
Effect Programs have the Windows file extension “fxp”.
•If you want to save all programs for the effect type, select “Save 
Bank”.
Effect Banks have the Windows file extension “fxb”.
2.In the file dialog that appears, select a name and location for the file 
and click Save.
It might be a good idea to prepare a special folder for your effects.
Loading effects
1.Pull down the File pop-up menu.
2.Select “Load Effect” or “Load Bank”.
3.In the file dialog that opens, locate the file and click Open.
If you loaded a Bank, it will replace the current set of all effect programs. If you loaded 
a single effect, it will replace the currently selected effect program only. 
						

							CUBASE LE8 – 178 Audio effects
Effect routing – a few tips
A note about stereo effects
Several of the VST plug-in effects affect the stereo image, in the form 
of panning, stereo enhancement or stereo ambience. However, for 
this to be heard, the output of the effect must be routed to a stereo 
channel or bus (since otherwise, the output will be mixed to mono). In 
short: Stereo image effects will not be heard if the effect is used as an 
insert effect for a mono audio channel.
•For example, if you want to apply auto-panning to a mono audio chan-
nel, there are two ways to do this:
1) Use a send effect (you would probably want to activate the Pre-fader Send switch 
and turn down the volume fader for the audio channel). 
Or 
2) Route the mono audio channel to a group channel and apply the effect as an insert 
effect for the group channel.
About group channels and effects
There are certain factors to consider when using send effects from 
channels routed to groups. If a channel routed to a group uses send 
effects, the effect return signal will still be audible if you mute or pull 
down the fader for the group channel, which might be undesirable. 
There is a method you can use to remedy this:
•You can remove the send routing from the channels being routed to a 
group, and apply the effects to the group channel instead.
This works well if you want all channels routed to the group processed by the same ef-
fect(s) and by the same amount. See below for a practical example on how you can set 
up a more flexible effects routing system using groups. 
						

							CUBASE LEAudio effects 8 – 179
Using stereo sends and insert effects
Send effects are practical because you can control the dry/effect bal-
ance individually for each channel. Insert effects offer the advantage 
of “chaining” effects, meaning that the output of an effect can be fur-
ther processed by another effect. If you route a channel send directly 
to a group channel, this allows you to use insert effects (applied to the 
group channel) much like “send effects”. 
This method has several advantages:
• You can take advantage of effects with stereo inputs, since the sends will be 
stereo.
If you route a stereo channel send to an effect, as opposed to a group, the send will be 
mono, regardless of the chosen effect. 
• You can set up insert effects for a group, and then control how much the indi-
vidual channels are processed by this effect chain. 
For example, you could have the output of a reverb sent to a compressor. If you simply 
routed several channel outputs to a group and then applied insert effects (to the 
group), you would have no way of controlling the dry/effect balance for the individual 
channels, only for the group as a whole.
An example
The following example describes how to route a stereo send to a group 
with an insert effect.
The example assumes that you have access to a stereo audio channel, 
some audio events to play through it, and an unused group channel in 
the Mixer. Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Channel Settings for the stereo audio channel, and route 
one of the sends directly to the group channel.
As it is a stereo channel, the send will be stereo. Note that the channel itself should not 
be routed to this group, only one of its sends (see page 170). The channel output rout-
ing could be any bus, or another group – it doesn’t matter.
2.Activate the send, and drag the corresponding Send level slider to a 
moderate value.
The send’s “Pre/Post” button should not be activated.
3.Activate an insert effect for the group channel.
Choose a typical “send effect” like reverb for this example. 
						

							CUBASE LE8 – 180 Audio effects
4.Open the effect’s control panel by clicking the Edit button and use the 
Mix parameter to adjust the balance between “dry” and effect signal, 
to 100% effect.
This is because the effect/dry balance can now be controlled using a combination of 
send level and the group channel fader – see below. 
5.Press [Alt]/[Option] and click on the Solo button for the group chan-
nel to activate Solo Group.
In this mode, the group channel will not be muted if you solo another channel in the 
mixer (see below).
6.Play back a recording via the audio channel.
The following is now possible:
•By adjusting the send level you will control the amount of channel sig-
nal sent to the ”effect” (or to be accurate, the group channel).
•The level fader for the group channel now serves as effect return level 
control, allowing you to set the dry/effect balance.
If you pull down the group channel fader, you should now hear the recorded signal with 
no effect.
•Since Solo Group is activated for the group channel, you can solo any of 
the audio channels without having the effect return (the group) muted.
If you need to turn off Solo Group, [Alt]/[Option]-click the Solo button for the group 
channel again.
•Adding another insert effect to the group allows you to process the ef-
fect output further.
•Simply repeat steps 1- 2 for all (stereo) channels you wish to process 
using this method.
•You can of course add more group channels for a project (up to four), 
set up different Insert effects for these, and assign other sends to them.
Automating effect parameters
Effects parameters can be automated. This is described on page 204.