Steinberg Cubase SE 3 Getting Started Manual
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CUBASE SE Introduction 1 – 11 Please note that when you have started the program once, you can open the Cubase SE Help even when the program isn’t running: 1. Select “Mac Help” from the Help menu in the Finder. 2. From the Library menu, select “Cubase SE Help”. About the program versions Some features and settings are specific to one of the platforms, Windows or Mac OS X. This is clearly stated. The screenshots are taken from the Windows version of Cubase SE. Key command conventions Many of the default key commands in Cubase SE use modifier keys, some of which are different depending on the operating system. For ex- ample, the default key command for Undo is [Ctrl]-[Z] under Windows and [Command]-[Z] under Mac OS X. When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier key first, in the following way: [Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key] For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z] means “press [Ctrl] under Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press [Z]”. Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] under Windows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”.
CUBASE SE 1 – 12 Introduction How you can reach us On the Help menu in Cubase SE, you will find items for getting addi- tional information and help: • On the “Steinberg on the Web” submenu you can find links to various Steinberg websites. Selecting one will automatically launch your browser application and open the page. You can find support and compatibility information, answers to frequently asked ques- tions, links for downloading new drivers, etc. This requires that you have a web browser application installed on your computer, and a working Internet connection.
CUBASE SE 2 – 14 Installation and Requirements for Windows About this chapter This chapter describes the system requirements and installation proce- dures for Cubase SE for Windows. Installing Cubase SE for Mac OS X is described on page 26. Requirements To use Cubase SE, you need the following: • A PC with Windows XP installed. A USB Port is also required. For more details about the computer requirements, see below. • Compatible audio hardware. By audio hardware we mean a card capable of recording and playing back digital audio using your hard disk as a storage medium. It must also have an appropriate ASIO driver (see page 16) or be Windows Multimedia compatible. Also, to take full advantage of Cubase’s channel i/o bus architecture, audio hardware with multiple inputs and out- puts is required. For MIDI • At least one MIDI interface. • At least one MIDI instrument. • Any audio equipment necessary to listen to the sound from your MIDI devices.
CUBASE SE Installation and Requirements for Windows 2 – 15 Computer requirements Hardware – PC The minimum requirements for running Cubase SE on a PC are: • A 800 MHz Pentium processor or Athlon processor and Windows XP. • 384 MB of RAM. • Monitor and graphics card supporting 1024 x 768 resolution. • A free USB port for the copy protection key. • A DVD ROM drive. For optimum performance we recommend the following: • Pentium or Athlon processor at 2.8 GHz or faster. • 512 MB of RAM. • A monitor setup with 1152 x 864 screen resolution or higher. RAM Audio work requires a lot of RAM! In fact, there is a direct relation be- tween the amount of available RAM and the number of audio channels that you can have running. As specified earlier, 384 MB is the minimum requirement, but as a general rule “the more the better” applies. Hard disk size • The size of the hard disk determines how many minutes of audio you will be able to record. Recording one minute of stereo CD quality audio, requires 10 MB of hard disk space. That is, eight stereo tracks in Cubase SE use up at least 80 MB of disk space per re- cording minute. Hard disk speed The speed of the hard drive also determines the number of audio tracks you can run. That is the quantity of information that the disk can read, usually expressed as “sustained transfer rate”. Again, “the more the better” applies. Wheel mouse Although a regular mouse will work fine with Cubase SE, we recom- mend that you use a wheel mouse, as this will speed up value editing and scrolling considerably. See page 66 and page 71.
CUBASE SE 2 – 16 Installation and Requirements for Windows Audio hardware Cubase SE will run with audio hardware that meets the following ba- sic specifications: • Stereo. • 16 bit. • Support of at least the 44.1kHz sampling rate. • Is supplied with a special ASIO driver, or a DirectX or Windows Multimedia compatible driver as described below. About drivers A driver is a piece of software that allows a program to communicate with a certain piece of hardware. In this case, the driver allows Cubase SE to use the audio hardware. For audio hardware, there are three dif- ferent cases, each requiring different driver configurations: If the audio hardware has a specific ASIO driver Professional audio cards often come with an ASIO driver written espe- cially for the card. This allows for communication directly between Cu- base SE and the audio card. As a result, audio cards with specific ASIO drivers can provide lower latency (input-output delay), which is crucial when monitoring audio via Cubase SE or using VST Instruments. The ASIO driver may also provide special support for multiple inputs and outputs, routing, synchronization, etc. Audio card-specific ASIO drivers are provided by the card manufac- turers. Make sure to check the manufacturer’s web site for the latest driver versions. If your audio hardware comes with a specific ASIO driver we strongly recommend that you use this.
CUBASE SE Installation and Requirements for Windows 2 – 17 If the audio card communicates via DirectX DirectX is a Microsoft “package” for handling various types of Multime- dia under Windows. Cubase SE supports DirectX, or to be more pre- cise, DirectSound, which is a part of DirectX used for playing back and recording audio. This requires two types of drivers: • A DirectX driver for the audio card, allowing it to communicate with DirectX. If the audio card supports DirectX, this driver should be supplied by the audio card manufacturer. If it isn’t installed with the audio card, please check the manufacturer’s web site for more information. • The ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver, allowing Cubase SE to communicate with DirectX. This driver is included with Cubase SE, and does not require any special installation. If the audio card communicates via Windows Multimedia system If the card is Windows compatible, it can be used in Cubase SE. The card then communicates with Windows Multimedia system, which in turn communicates with Cubase SE. This requires two types of drivers: • A Windows Multimedia driver for the audio card, allowing it to communicate with the Windows Multimedia system. This driver should be supplied by the au- dio card manufacturer, and is normally installed when you install the audio card. • The ASIO Multimedia driver, allowing Cubase SE to communicate with the Windows Multimedia system. This driver is included with Cubase SE, and does not require any special installation.
CUBASE SE 2 – 18 Installation and Requirements for Windows Hardware installation About the copy protection key Please read the following section before installing the program software. New users Included with the Cubase SE package, you will find a hardware key (sometimes referred to as a “dongle”) that is part of the Cubase SE copy protection scheme. Cubase SE will not run if this key isn’t installed properly. • You should first install the program (and any necessary hardware, see below), then insert the protection key and finally launch the program. This is because the necessary drivers for the key are installed when you install the program. If you’re upgrading from a previous version of Cubase SE/LE • If you already own a copy protection key, you need to activate that key for use with your new Cubase SE version. This is done by means of the activation code included in the upgrade package, after installing the program, see page 22. • If your previous version of Cubase SE/LE was not hardware-protected by a Steinberg Key, you now need to purchase this key separately. The key then needs to be activated. This is done by means of the acti- vation code included in the upgrade package, after installing the pro- gram, see page 22. The Steinberg Key
CUBASE SE Installation and Requirements for Windows 2 – 19 The Steinberg Key is, in fact, a little computer on which your Steinberg software licenses are stored. All hardware-protected Steinberg prod- ucts use the same type of key, and you can store more than one license on one key. Also, licenses can (within certain limits) be transferred be- tween keys – which is helpful, e.g. if you want to sell a piece of software. • The installation routine will initiate a restart of Windows after installa- tion of the key drivers and the program software. After the restart, you can plug the key into the USB port to proceed with the key activation. The Steinberg Key must not be plugged in before or during the installa- tion of Cubase SE if this is the first time you use such a key. Otherwise the operating system of your computer will register it as new USB hard- ware and try to find drivers that won’t be present before the installation of Cubase SE. Installing the audio hardware and its driver 1. Install the audio card and related equipment in the computer, as de- scribed in the card’s documentation. 2.Install the driver for the card. There are three types of drivers that could apply: card-specific ASIO drivers, DirectX drivers and Windows Multimedia drivers: Specific ASIO driver If your audio card has a specific ASIO driver it may be included with the audio card, but you should always make sure to check the audio card manufacturer’s web site for the most recent drivers. For details on how to install the driver, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions. DirectX driver If your audio card is DirectX compatible, its DirectX drivers will most likely be installed when you install the card (as with the Windows Multi- media driver). If you have downloaded special DirectX drivers for the au- dio card, you should follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
CUBASE SE2 – 20 Installation and Requirements for Windows Windows Multimedia driver These drivers are normally included with all types of regular PC audio cards. Some are even included with Windows itself. Depending on whether the audio card is “Plug’n’Play compatible” or not, the installa- tion of the card is done differently: •If the card is “Plug’n’Play compatible”, Windows will detect the card once it is plugged in, and ask for the necessary driver disks. •If not, you need to use the “Add New Hardware” feature in the Control Panel to install the card and its drivers. Refer to the documentation that comes with the card. Should you have an audio card but no driver, please check the manufac- turer’s web site, or ask your music or computer dealer for help. Testing the card To make sure the audio card will work as expected, perform the fol- lowing two tests: •Use any software included with the audio card to make sure you can record and play back audio without problems. •If the card is accessed via a standard Windows driver, use the Media Player application (included with Windows) to play back audio. Installing a MIDI interface/synthesizer card Installation instructions for a MIDI interface should be included with the product. However, here’s an outline of the necessary steps: 1.Install the interface (or MIDI synthesizer card) inside your computer or connect it to a “port” (connector) on the computer. Which is right for you depends on which type of interface you have. 2.If the interface has a power supply and/or a power switch, turn it on. 3.Install the driver for the interface, as described in the documentation that comes with the interface. It is likely that you will need a CD ROM or floppy disk supplied by the manufacturer of the MIDI interface. You should also make sure to check the manufacturer’s web site for the latest driver updates.