Steinberg Cubase LE Operation Manual

							CUBASE LEAudio effects 8 – 181
The included effects
The list below shows the effects sorted according to category, as is 
the default arrangement when you install Cubase LE – click on an 
effect to get a description of its parameters:
Delay
DoubleDelay 
ModDelay
Distortion
Datube 
Distortion
Overdrive
Dynamics
Dynamics
MIDIGate
Filter
StepFilter
Modulation
Chorus
Flanger 
Metalizer
Phaser
Ringmodulator
Rotary
Symphonic
Tranceformer
Other
Bitcrusher
Chopper
Grungelizer
Vocoder 
Reverb 
Reverb B 
						

							CUBASE LE8 – 182 Audio effects
Installing and managing effect plug-ins
There is a wide range of additional effect plug-ins available in the two for-
mats supported by Cubase LE (VST and DirectX). The two formats are 
handled differently when it comes to installation and organizing:
VST plug-ins
Mac OS X
❐If you acquire additional VST plug-ins, make sure they are created spe-
cifically for Mac OS X! Plug-ins in Mac OS 9.X format cannot be used.
There is a large number of VST plug-ins available for purchase or 
download. To install a VST plug-in under Mac OS X, quit Cubase LE 
and drag the plug-in file to one of the following folders:
• /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
This is only possible if you are the system administrator. Plug-ins installed in this folder 
will be available to all users, for all programs that support them.
• Users/Username/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
“Username” above is the name you use to log on to the computer (the easiest way to 
open this folder is to go to your “Home” folder and use the path /Library/Audio/Plug-
Ins/VST/ from there). Plug-ins installed in this folder are only available to you.
When you launch Cubase LE again, the new effects will appear on the 
effect pop-up menus.
• An effect plug-in may also come with its own installation application, in 
which case you should use this. 
Generally, always read the documentation or readme files before installing new plug-ins.
Windows
Under Windows, VST plug-ins are usually installed simply by dragging 
the files (with the extension “.dll”) into the Vstplugins folder in the Cu-
base LE application folder, or into the Shared VST Plug-in folder – see 
below. When you launch Cubase LE again, the new effects will appear 
on the Effect pop-up menus. 
						

							CUBASE LEAudio effects 8 – 183
• If the effect plug-in comes with its own installation application, you 
should use this. 
Generally, always read the documentation or readme files before installing new plug-ins.
• If you want to install and use plug-ins from the manufacturer Waves Ltd. 
you should activate the option Preload Waves Plugins on Startup (Win-
dows only) in the Preferences - VST page.
These plug-ins are really DirectX plug-ins being used as VST plug-ins by means of a dll 
file called Waveshell. Activating the Preload option allows you to choose a Waves VST 
plug-in directly from any effect menu, instead of having to load the Waveshell first and 
then pick the desired plug-in. 
For more information, please refer to http://www.waves.com/
Organizing VST plug-ins
If you have a large number of VST plug-ins, having them all on a single 
pop-up menu in the program may become unmanageable. For this 
reason, the plug-ins installed with Cubase LE are placed in appropri-
ate subfolders according to the effect type. 
•Under Windows, you can rearrange this by moving, adding or renam-
ing subfolders within the Vstplugins folder if you like. 
When you launch the program and pull down an Effects pop-up menu, the subfolders 
will be represented by hierarchical submenus, each listing the plug-ins in the corre-
sponding subfolder.
•Under Mac OS X, you cannot change the hierarchic arrangement of 
the “built-in” VST plug-ins.
You can however arrange any additional plug-ins you have installed (in the /Library/
Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/ folders, see above) by placing them in subfolders. In the program, 
the subfolders will be represented by hierarchical submenus, each listing the plug-ins 
in the corresponding subfolder.
About shared VST plug-ins (Windows only)
While Cubase LE’s own plug-ins reside in the Vstplugins folder within 
the Cubase LE program folder, the program can also access plug-ins in 
an additional location, called the shared VST plug-ins folder. This lets 
you use plug-ins installed by other VST compatible applications, etc. 
You can change what folder is considered the “shared” vstplugin folder 
at any time in the Plug-In Information window, see page 184. 
						

							CUBASE LE8 – 184 Audio effects
DirectX plug-ins (Windows only)
To be able to use DirectX plug-ins, you must have Microsoft DirectX 
installed on your computer (Version 8.1 recommended and included 
on the Cubase LE CD). 
DirectX plug-ins should not be placed in the Vstplugins folder, as these 
are installed under the operating system rather than for Cubase LE ex-
clusively. Rather, you should follow the installation instructions in-
cluded with the plug-ins. See also page 187.
• On the effect menus, all DirectX plug-ins are listed on the DirectX sub-
menu at the bottom. 
Selecting, activating and editing them are done as with VST effects.
The Plug-in Information window
On the Devices menu, you will find an item called “Plug-in Information”. 
Selecting this opens a dialog listing all the available VST and DirectX 
compatible plug-ins in your system (including VST Instruments). 
						

							CUBASE LEAudio effects 8 – 185
Managing and selecting VST plug-ins
To see which VST plug-ins are available in your system, click the “VST 
Plug-ins” tab at the top of the window. The window now displays all 
plug-ins in the Cubase LE and the shared vstplugins folder. 
• To enable a plug-in (make it available for selection), click in the left column.
Only the currently enabled plug-ins (shown with a check sign in the left column) will ap-
pear on the Effect menus.
• The second column indicates how many instances of the plug-in are currently 
used in Cubase LE.
Clicking in this column for a plug-in which is already in use produces a pop-up show-
ing exactly where each use occurs.
❐Please note that a plug-in may be in use even if it isn’t enabled in the left 
column. You might for example have opened a Song containing effects 
that currently are disabled on the menu. The left column purely deter-
mines whether or not the plug-in will be visible on the Effect menus.
• All columns can be resized by using the divider in the column header.
The rest of the columns show the following information about each 
plug-in:
Column Description
Name The name of the plug-in.
Nb I/O This column shows the number of inputs and outputs for each plug-in.
Category This indicates the category of each plug-in (such as VST Instruments, 
Effects, etc.).
Vendor The manufacturer of the plug-in.
VST Version Indicates with which version of the VST protocol each plug-in is com-
patible.
Delay (sample) This shows the delay (in samples) that will be introduced if the effect is 
used as an Insert. This is however automatically compensated for by 
Cubase LE.
Nb Params The number of parameters for the plug-in.
Nb Programs The number of programs for the plug-in.
Modified The last modification date of the plug-in file.
Folder The path and name of the folder in which the plug-in file is located. 
						

							CUBASE LE8 – 186 Audio effects
Update Button
Pressing this button will make Cubase LE re-scan the designated Vst-
plugins folders for updated information about the plug-ins.
Changing the Shared Plug-ins Folder (Windows only)
If you like, you can change what folder is to be the “shared” Vstplugins 
folder. For example, if you have Steinberg’s Cubase VST 5.0 installed 
on your computer, you can get access to the Cubase VST 5.0-specific 
plug-ins in Cubase LE by switching to the Vstplugins folder within the 
Cubase VST 5.0 folder.
The currently selected Shared Folder is displayed in the text field at 
the top of the window. Clicking the “Choose...” button opens a file di-
alog where you can browse to another Vstplugins folder on your hard 
drive. Clicking OK selects the new folder as the shared VST plug-ins 
folder.
❐After selecting a new shared plug-ins folder, you need to restart Cubase 
LE for the effects in the new folder to become available. 
						

							CUBASE LEAudio effects 8 – 187
Managing and selecting DirectX plug-ins (Windows only)
To see which DirectX plug-ins are available in your system, click the 
“DirectX Plug-ins” tab at the top of the window.
•To enable a plug-in (make it available for selection), click in the left 
column.
Only the currently enabled plug-ins (shown with a check sign in the left column) will ap-
pear on the Effect menus.
The idea here is that there could be a variety of DirectX plug-ins in your 
system, many of which are not intended for musical audio processing. 
Disabling these helps you keep the Effect menus in Cubase LE more 
manageable.
•The second column indicates how many instances of the plug-in are 
currently used in Cubase LE.
Clicking in this column for a plug-in which is already in use produces a pop-up show-
ing exactly where each use occurs.
❐Please note that a plug-in may be in use even if it isn’t enabled in the left 
column. You might for example have opened a Song containing effects 
that currently are disabled on the menu. The left column purely determines 
whether or not the plug-in will be visible on the Effect menus. 
						

							CUBASE LE8 – 188 Audio effects 
						

							9
Automation 
						

							CUBASE LE9 – 190 Automation
Background
Cubase LE has very comprehensive automation features. Virtually ev-
ery Mixer and effect parameter can be automated. 
There are two main methods you can use to automate parameter 
settings:
•By manually drawing curves on an automation subtrack in the Project 
window.
See page 201.
•By using the Write/Read function and adjusting parameters in the Mixer.
See page 198.
The methods are not different in terms of how the automation data is 
applied – they only differ in the way the automation events are created, 
either by manually drawing them or recording them. Any applied auto-
mation data will be reflected in both the Mixer (a fader will move for ex-
ample) and in a corresponding automation track curve (although this 
may be hidden).