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 Enable button for the track in the Track list, in the In-
spector or in the Mixer. When activated, the button(s) turn red, indi-
cating record ready mode.
Record Enable in the Inspector, Track list and Mixer.
• If the option “Enable Record on Selected Track” is activated in the Pref-
erences dialog (Editing page), tracks are automatically record enabled 
when you select them in the Track list.
• You can have a maximum of 48 audio tracks in a project. However, the 
exact number of audio tracks you can record simultaneously depends on 
your computer CPU and hard disk performance.
Furthermore, it would be pointless to record more audio tracks than you have audio in-
puts, since this would only result in duplicate tracks and audio files (see page 25). 
						

							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 left 
locator.
The preroll setting or the metronome count-in will be applied (see page 44).
• If you activate recording from Stop mode, and the “Start Record at Left Loca-
tor” is deactivated, recording will start from the current project cursor position.
• If you activate recording during playback, Cubase LE will immediately enter 
Record mode and start recording at the current project cursor position.
This is known as “manual punch in”.
Automatically activating recording
Cubase LE can automatically switch from playback to recording at a 
given position. This is known as “automatic punch in”. A typical use for 
this would be if you need to replace a section of a recording, and want 
to listen to the previously recorded audio up to the recording start po-
sition.
1.Set the left locator to the position at which you want recording to start.
2.Activate the Punch In button on the Transport panel.
Punch In activated.
3.Activate playback from some position before the left locator.
When the project cursor reaches the left locator, recording is auto-
matically activated. 
						

							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 Transport panel, recording 
will be deactivated when the project cursor reaches the right locator.
This is known as “automatic punch out”. By combining this with automatic punch in, 
you can set up a specific section to record – again very useful if you want to replace a 
certain part of a recording. See also page 43.
Punch In and Out activated. 
						

							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 record in Cycle mode, you can start recording from the left locator, 
from before the locators or from within the cycle, from Stop mode or 
during playback.
As soon as the project cursor reaches the right locator, it will jump back to the left lo-
cator and continue recording a new lap.
•The results of cycle recording are different for audio (see page 32) 
and MIDI (see page 38). 
						

							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 physical input ports on the audio hard-
ware.
• The middle column indicates which input pairs are activated. You turn input 
pairs on or off by clicking the buttons in this column.
• The right column shows the names that will be used for each input throughout 
the program. You can rename an input by clicking in this column and typing a 
new name.
❐If you deactivate an input pair that is currently used (selected as input 
source for one or several audio channels), you will be asked whether you 
want Cubase LE to remap these inputs (change the input source selec-
tion for the channels in question). 
						

							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 Project Setup dialog on the 
Project menu. There are three settings: sample rate, record format (bit 
depth) and record file type. While the sample rate is set once and for 
all when you start working on a new project, the bit depth and file type 
can be changed at any time.
Record format (bit depth)
The available options are 16 bit and 24 bit. Use the following guidelines:
• Normally, select record format according to the bit depth delivered by your au-
dio hardware.
For example, if your audio hardware has 20 bit A/D converters (inputs), you may want 
to record at 24 bit resolution, to capture the full bit depth. On the other hand, if your 
hardware has 16 bit inputs, it’s pointless to record with a higher bit depth – this will 
only make the audio files larger, with no difference in audio quality.
• The higher the bit depth, the larger the files and the more strain is put on the 
disk system.
If this is an issue, you may want to lower the record format setting. 
						

							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 Inspector.
A lit stereo button indicates a stereo track, while a dark mono button indicates a mono 
track.
The Stereo/Mono button.
❐For more details about mono/stereo track compatibility, see page 70.
File Type Description
Wave File Wave files have the extension “.wav” and are the most common file 
format on the PC platform.
AIFF File Audio Interchange File Format, a standard defined by Apple Com-
puter Inc. AIFF files have the extension “.aif” and are used on most 
computer platforms. 
						

							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 you can adjust the monitoring 
level and panning in the Mixer, and add effects and EQ to the monitor 
signal just as during playback. The disadvantage of monitoring via Cu-
base LE is that the monitored signal will be delayed according to the la-
tency value (which depends on your audio hardware and drivers). 
Therefore, monitoring via Cubase LE requires an audio hardware con-
figuration with a low latency value (see the Getting Started book). 
When monitoring via Cubase LE, you can select one of four modes in 
the Preferences dialog (VST page):
• Manual.
This option allows you to turn input monitoring on or off by clicking the Monitor button 
in the Inspector, the Track list or in the Mixer.
• While Record Enabled.
With this option you will hear the audio source connected to the channel input when-
ever the track is record enabled. 
• While Record Running.
This option switches to input monitoring only during recording.
• Tapemachine Style.
This option emulates standard tapemachine behavior: input monitoring in stop mode 
and during recording, but not during playback. 
						

							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 signal from within Cubase LE, or add VST effects or EQ to the 
monitor signal. The latency value of the audio hardware configuration 
does not affect the monitor signal in this mode.
• If you want to use external monitoring, you need to make sure that mon-
itoring via Cubase LE isn’t activated as well.
Select the “Manual” monitoring mode in the Preferences dialog (VST page) and simply 
don’t activate the Monitor buttons.
ASIO Direct Monitoring
If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may support ASIO 
Direct Monitoring. In this mode, the actual monitoring is done in the 
audio hardware, by sending the input signal back out again. However, 
monitoring is controlled from Cubase LE. This means that the audio 
hardware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off automat-
ically by Cubase LE, just as when using internal monitoring.
• To activate ASIO Direct Monitoring, open the Device Setup dialog on the De-
vices menu and use the Direct Monitoring checkbox on the Setup tab for the 
VST Multitrack device.
If the checkbox is greyed out, this means that your audio hardware (or its current 
driver) doesn’t support ASIO Direct Monitoring. Consult the audio hardware manufac-
turer for details.
• When ASIO Direct Monitoring is activated, you can select a monitoring mode 
in the Preferences dialog (VST page), as when monitoring via Cubase LE (see 
page 28).
• Depending on the audio hardware, it may also be possible to adjust monitor-
ing level and panning from the Mixer.
Consult the documentation of the audio hardware if in doubt.
• VST effects and EQ cannot be applied to the monitor signal in this mode, 
since the monitor signal doesn’t pass through Cubase LE. 
						

							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 the 
connected signal source is sounding you should see activity in both 
the Track list meter and in the mixer strip for that channel. 
❐Note that it is not possible to set input gain with the mixer fader! 
Check the levels coming in to Cubase LE, and if necessary, adjust the 
input level in one of the following ways: 
•Adjust the output level of the sound source or external mixer.
•Use the audio hardware’s own application program to set the input 
levels, if this possibility is provided.
See the documentation of the audio hardware.
•If your audio hardware supports the ASIO Control Panel function, it 
may be possible to make input level settings.
To open the ASIO Control Panel, open the Device Setup dialog on the Devices menu 
and click the Control Panel button on the Setup tab for the VST Multitrack device.
❐Input levels should be as high as possible, without exceeding 0dB.