Steinberg Cubase SE 3 Getting Started Manual

6
Basic Methods 

CUBASE SE6 – 62 Basic Methods
About this chapter
This chapter contains descriptions of the general methods and proce-
dures used in Cubase SE. As this information applies to all parts of the 
program and all ways of working, please take time to read this chapter 
before continuing with the Operation Manual. 
Using menus
Main menus
The menus in the main Cubase SE menu bar are available regardless 
of which window is active. You select items from the main menus fol-
lowing the standard procedure for the...

CUBASE SEBasic Methods 6 – 63
The Quick menu
In Cubase SE, clicking the right mouse button will bring up a contextual 
pop-up menu (under Mac OS X you need to press [Ctrl] and click, or 
preferably use a two-button mouse set up so that the right mouse but-
ton generates a [Ctrl]-click). 
Some areas have special context menus with functions or settings that 
only apply to the corresponding area (for example, right-clicking in a 
ruler brings up a pop-up menu with display format options).
However,...

CUBASE SE6 – 64 Basic Methods
Using tools
Editing in Cubase SE is largely done with the various tools. Typical ex-
amples are selecting and moving events with the Arrow (Object Selec-
tion) tool, drawing with the Pencil tool, deleting with the Eraser tool, 
etc. There are different tools for different windows.
Tools can be selected in four ways:
•By clicking the corresponding tool icon on the toolbar.
When you click a tool icon, the pointer takes on the shape of the corresponding tool.
•By using the...

CUBASE SEBasic Methods 6 – 65
•By using the dedicated toolbox.
If the option “Popup toolbox on right click” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Edit-
ing page), right-clicking (or [Ctrl]-clicking under Mac OS X) will bring up the toolbox 
instead. This shows the tools only and you select tools as if from a menu. 
Note that you can still bring up the Quick menu in this mode by pressing a modifier key 
(e.g. [Shift]) and right-clicking/[Ctrl]-clicking. Similarly, if the option isn’t activated in 
the...

CUBASE SE6 – 66 Basic Methods
Changing values
Throughout the program you will encounter various value fields that 
can be edited. These can be divided into three categories: position 
values, regular numeric values and names.
Editing position values
Depending on the selected display format (see the Operation Manual), 
position values in Cubase SE are usually divided into several “seg-
ments” (the exception being the “Samples” display format, in which 
values are edited as regular numeric values). Two...

CUBASE SEBasic Methods 6 – 67
You can also edit the whole value (all segments) by double clicking 
and typing in a new value. Note:
•To separate the value segments, you can use spaces, dots, colons or 
any other character that isn’t a number.
•If the “Bars+Beats” display format is selected, and you enter a value 
with less than four segments, the largest position value segments will 
be affected and the program will set the lesser segments to their low-
est values.
For example, if you enter “5.3”, the...

CUBASE SE6 – 68 Basic Methods
•In the Inspector and elsewhere in the program you can find value sliders 
that may be blue or green – click and drag to adjust the value.
•For some values, you can hold down [Alt]/[Option], click on the value 
and keep the mouse button pressed to display a value slider.
This allows you to scroll the value by dragging up or down with the mouse button 
pressed. When you release the mouse button, the value slider is hidden again.
Adjusting the event volume setting on the info...

CUBASE SEBasic Methods 6 – 69
Using knobs and sliders
In the VST audio windows, most parameters are shown as knobs, slid-
ers and buttons, emulating hardware interfaces. For knobs and sliders, 
you can select the desired way of making adjustments in the Prefer-
ences dialog (Editing–Controls page):
Knobs
The Knob Mode pop-up menu contains the following options:
Sliders
The Slider Mode pop-up menu contains the following options:
Option Description
Circular To move a knob, you click on it and drag in a...

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Selecting objects
Selecting Cubase SE objects such as audio and MIDI events is gen-
erally done with the Arrow tool, according to standard selection pro-
cedures.
•Clicking on an object selects it (and deselects any previously selected 
objects).
•Holding down [Shift] and clicking on an object selects it without dese-
lecting any other objects.
•You can also create a selection rectangle by clicking in an empty area 
and dragging with the mouse button pressed.
All objects...