Steinberg Cubase LE Operation Manual

							CUBASE LERecording 2 – 31
Recording
Recording is done using any of the general recording methods (see 
page 21). After you finish recording, an audio file has been created in 
the Audio folder within the projects folder. In the Pool, an audio clip is 
then created for the audio file, and an audio event that plays the whole 
clip appears on the recording track. Finally, a waveform image is calcu-
lated for the audio event. If the recording was very long, this may take a 
while.
• If the option “Create Images During Record” is activated in the Prefer-
ences dialog (Audio page), the waveform image will be calculated and 
displayed during the actual recording process.
This should only be activated if you have a fairly powerful computer system, since the 
real-time calculation uses some extra processing power.
Undoing recording
If you decide that you don’t like what you just recorded, you can delete 
it by selecting Undo from the Edit menu. The following will happen:
• The event(s) you just created will be removed from the Project window.
• The audio clip(s) in the Pool will be moved to the Trash folder.
• The recorded audio file(s) will not be removed from the hard disk.
However, since their corresponding clips are moved to the Trash folder, you can delete 
the files by opening the Pool and selecting “Empty Trash” from the Pool menu.
About overlap and audio tracks
If you record again where something has already been recorded, you 
get a new event that overlaps the previous one(s). When you play 
back, only the events that are actually visible are played back.
❐One audio track can only play back one audio event at a time.
The functions “Move to Front” and “Move to Back” on the Edit menu 
(see page 76) are useful for managing overlapping events, as is the 
“To Front” function (see below). 
						

							CUBASE LE2 – 32 Recording
Recording audio in cycle mode
When you record audio in Cycle mode, the following will happen: 
• One continuous audio file is created during the entire recording process. 
• For each recorded lap of the Cycle, one audio event is created.
The events will have the name of the audio file plus the text “Take *”, where “*” indi-
cates the number of the take.
• The last take (the last recorded lap) will be on top (and will thus be the one 
you hear when you activate playback).
To select another take for playback, proceed a follows:
1.Right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) the event and select “To Front” 
from the pop-up menu that appears.
A submenu appears, listing all the other (obscured) events.
2.Select the desired take.
The corresponding event is brought to front.
This method allows you to quickly combine the best parts of each 
take, in the following way:
1.Use the Scissors tool to split the events in several sections, one for 
each part of the take.
For example, if you recorded four lines of vocals (in each take), you can split the events 
so that each line gets a separate event.
The events after splitting. Note that since the original take events overlap each 
other, clicking with the Scissors tool will split all takes at the same position. 
						

							CUBASE LERecording 2 – 33
2.For each section of the take, use the “To Front” function to bring the 
best take to the front.
This way, you can quickly combine the best sections of each take, using the first vocal 
line from one take, the second line from another take and so on.
You can also compile a “perfect” take in the Audio Part Editor, as de-
scribed on page 262.
MIDI Recording Specifics
Activating MIDI Thru
As described in the Getting Started book, the normal way to work 
with MIDI is to have MIDI Thru activated in Cubase LE, and Local Off 
selected in your MIDI Instrument(s). In this mode, everything you play 
during recording will be “echoed” back out again on the MIDI output 
and channel selected for the recording track.
1.Make sure the option “MIDI Thru Active” is activated in the Prefer-
ences dialog (MIDI page).
2.Record Enable the track(s) on which you want to record.
Now, incoming MIDI is “echoed” back out again, for all Record Enabled MIDI tracks. 
• If you just want to use the thru function for a MIDI track without record-
ing, activate the monitor button for the track instead.
This is useful e.g. if you want to try out different sounds or play a VST instrument in real 
time without recording your playing.
Record Enable button. Monitor button. 
						

							CUBASE LE2 – 34 Recording
Setting MIDI channel, input and output
Setting the MIDI channel in the instrument
Most MIDI synthesizers can play several sounds at the same time, 
each on a different MIDI channel. This is the key to playing back sev-
eral sounds (bass, piano etc.) from the same instrument. Some de-
vices (such as General MIDI compatible sound modules) always 
receive on all 16 MIDI channels. If you have such an instrument, 
there’s no specific setting you need to make in the instrument. On 
other instruments you will have to use the front panel controls to set 
up a number of “Parts”, “Timbres” or similar so that they receive on 
one MIDI channel each. See the manual that came with your instru-
ment for more information.
Naming MIDI ports in Cubase LE
MIDI inputs and outputs can often be shown with unnecessarily long 
and complicated names. If you wish, you can rename your MIDI ports 
to more descriptive names:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.
2.Select the Windows MIDI or DirectMusic (Windows) or MIDI System 
(Mac OS X) device in the Device list.
The available MIDI inputs and outputs are listed under the Setup tab. Under Windows, 
which device to choose depends on your system.
3.To change the name of a MIDI port, click in the Device column and 
type in a new name.
After closing the dialog, the new names will appear on the MIDI “in:” and “out:” pop-ups. 
						

							CUBASE LERecording 2 – 35
Setting the MIDI input in the Inspector
You select MIDI inputs for tracks in the Inspector – the area to the left 
of the track list in the Project window:
1.If the Inspector is hidden, click the Inspector button on the toolbar.
2.Select the track by clicking in the Track list.
The Inspector shows the settings for the selected track (for details, see page 52).
3.Click the tab in the upper right corner of the Inspector to make sure 
the topmost section is shown.
4.Pull down the “in” pop-up and select an input.
The available MIDI inputs are shown. The items on the menu depend on the type of 
MIDI interface you are using etc.  
						

							CUBASE LE2 – 36 Recording
•If you select the “All MIDI Inputs” option, the track will receive MIDI 
data from all available MIDI inputs.
•If you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and select a MIDI input, this is se-
lected for all MIDI tracks.
Setting the MIDI channel and output
The MIDI channel and output settings determine where the recorded 
MIDI is routed during playback, but are also relevant for MIDI Thru in 
Cubase LE. Channel and output can be selected in the Track list or in 
the Inspector.
1.To show the settings in the Inspector, proceed as when selecting a 
MIDI input (see above).
2.Pull down the “out:” pop-up and select an output.
The available MIDI outputs are shown. The items on the menu depend on what type of 
MIDI interface you are using etc. 
•If you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and select a MIDI output, this is 
selected for all MIDI tracks.
3.Use the “chn” pop-up menu to select a MIDI channel for the track. 
						

							CUBASE LERecording 2 – 37
•If you set the track to MIDI channel “Any”, each MIDI event on the 
track will be sent out on the channel stored in the event itself.
In other words, the MIDI will be played back on the channel(s) used by the MIDI input 
device (the MIDI instrument you play during recording).
Selecting a sound
You can select sounds from within Cubase LE, by instructing the pro-
gram to send Program Change and Bank Select messages to your 
MIDI device. This is done using the “prg” and “bnk” value fields in the 
Inspector or Track list.
However, it is also possible to select sounds by name. For descrip-
tions of how to set this up, see page 308.
Recording
Recording MIDI is done according to the basic recording methods 
(see page 21). When you finish recording, a part containing MIDI 
events is created in the Project window.
About overlap and the Rec Mode setting
MIDI tracks are different from audio tracks when it comes to overlap-
ping parts:
• All events in overlapping parts are always played back.
If you record several parts at the same locations (or move parts so that they overlap), 
you will hear the events in all parts on playback, even though some of the parts are ob-
scured in the Project window.
When recording overlapping parts, the result depends on the Rec 
Mode setting on the Transport bar:
•If Rec Mode is set to “Normal”, overdub recording works as with au-
dio tracks, i.e. if you record again where something has already been 
recorded, you get a new part that overlaps the previous one(s).
•If Rec Mode is set to “Merge”, the overdubbed events are added to 
the existing part. 
						

							CUBASE LE2 – 38 Recording
About punch in and out on MIDI tracks
Performing and setting up manual and automatic punch in/out record-
ing for MIDI tracks is done in exactly the same way as for audio tracks. 
There is one thing to note, however: 
•Punching in and out on recordings with Pitch Bend or controller data 
(modulation wheel, sustain pedal, volume etc.), may lead to strange ef-
fects (apparently hanging notes, constant vibrato etc.).
In this case, you may need to use the Reset command on the MIDI menu (see page 40).
About the Auto Quantize function
If Auto Quantize is activated on the Transport panel (the “AQ” button), 
the notes you record are automatically quantized according to the cur-
rent Quantize settings. For more information about quantizing, see 
page 333.
Recording MIDI in Cycle mode
When you record MIDI in Cycle mode, the result depends on which 
Cycle Rec mode is selected on the Transport panel:
Cycle Rec mode: Mix
For each completed lap, everything you record is added to what was 
previously recorded, in the same part. This is useful for building up 
rhythm patterns, for example. Record a hi-hat part on the first lap, the 
bass drum part on the second lap etc. 
Cycle Rec mode: Overwrite
For each completed lap, everything you record replaces what was 
previously recorded in the same part. 
						

							CUBASE LERecording 2 – 39
Recording different types of MIDI messages
❐You can decide exactly which event types should be recorded by using 
the MIDI filters – see page 42.
Notes
With MIDI, when you press and release a key on your synth or other 
MIDI keyboard, a Note On (key down) and a Note Off (key up) mes-
sage are sent out. The MIDI note message also contains the informa-
tion which MIDI channel was used. Normally, this information is 
overridden by the MIDI channel setting for the track, but if you set the 
track to MIDI channel “Any”, the notes will be played back on their 
original channels.
Continuous Messages
Pitch bend, aftertouch and controllers (like modulation wheel, sustain 
pedal, volume etc.) are considered as MIDI Continuous events (as op-
posed to the momentary key down and key up messages). If you move 
the Pitch bend wheel on your synthesizer while recording, this move-
ment is recorded together with the key (Note On and Note Off mes-
sages), just as you’d expect. But the continuous messages can also 
be recorded after the notes have been recorded (or even before). 
They can also be recorded on their own tracks, separately from the 
notes to which they belong. 
Say for instance that you record one or several bass parts on track 2. If 
you now set another track, like track 55, to the same output and MIDI 
channel as track 2 you can make a separate recording of just pitch 
bends for the bass parts. This means that you activate recording as 
usual and only move the pitch bend wheel during the take. As long as 
the two tracks are set to the same output and MIDI channel it will ap-
pear to the MIDI instrument as if the two recordings were made at the 
same time. 
						

							CUBASE LE2 – 40 Recording
Program Change Messages
Normally, when you switch from one program to another on your key-
board (or whatever you use to record), a number corresponding to 
that program is sent out via MIDI as a Program Change message. 
These can be recorded on the fly with the music, recorded afterwards 
on a separate track, or manually entered in the Key or List Editors. 
System Exclusive Messages
System Exclusive (SysEx) is a special type of MIDI message used to 
send data that only make sense to a unit of a certain make and type. 
Every major MIDI manufacturer has its own SysEx identity code and 
these are part of practically all SysEx messages. SysEx can be used to 
transmit a list of the numbers that make up the settings of one or more 
sounds in a synth. For more about viewing and editing SysEx mes-
sages, see page 441.
The Reset function
The Reset function on the MIDI menu sends out note-off messages 
and resets controllers on all MIDI channels. This is sometimes neces-
sary if you experience hanging notes, constant vibrato, etc.
•Cubase LE can also automatically perform a MIDI Reset after record-
ing, during playback (after each part) and/or on stop.
You turn these functions on or off in the Preferences dialog (MIDI page).