Steinberg Cubase SE 3 MIDI Devices And Features Manual

							 
CUBASE SE
 
MIDI devices 1 – 11 
Selecting a patch for an installed device
 
If you return to the Project window at this point, you will find that the in-
stalled device has been added to the MIDI Output menus (in the track 
list and the Inspector). Now you can select patches by name, in the fol-
lowing way: 
1. 
Pull down the Output menu (in the track list or Inspector) for a track 
that you want to play the installed device, and select the device. 
This directs the track to the MIDI output specified for the device in the MIDI Device Man-
ager. The bank and program fields in the track list and Inspector are replaced by a single 
Programs field that currently reads “Off”.
 
2. 
Click the Programs field to display a pop-up menu, hierarchically list-
ing all the patches in the device. 
The list is similar to the one displayed in the MIDI Device Manager. You can scroll the list 
up and down (if required), click the plus/minus signs to show or hide subgroups, etc.
 
3. 
Click a patch in the list to select it. 
This sends the appropriate MIDI message to the device. You can also scroll the pro-
gram selection up or down, as with any value.  
						

							 
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1 – 12 MIDI devices 
Renaming patches in a device
 
The pre-configured devices list is based on the factory-preset patches, 
i.e. the patches included in the device when you first bought it. If you 
have replaced some of the factory presets with your own patches, you 
need to modify the device so that the patch name list matches the ac-
tual device: 
1. 
In the MIDI Device Manager, select the device in the Installed Devices 
list. 
2. 
Activate the Enable Edit checkbox. 
When this is turned off (default) you cannot edit the pre-configured devices.
 
3. 
Use the Patch Banks display to locate and select the patch you want 
to rename. 
In many instruments, the user-editable patches are located in a separate group or bank.
 
4. 
Click on the selected patch in the Patch Banks list to edit its name. 
5. 
Type in the new name and click OK. 
6. 
Rename the desired patches in this way, and finish by deactivating 
Enable Edit again (to avoid modifying the device by accident). 
• It’s fully possible to make more radical changes to the patch structure in 
a device as well (adding or deleting patches, groups or banks).
 
For example, this would be useful if you expanded your MIDI device by adding extra stor-
age media such as RAM cards, etc. The available editing functions are described below. 
						

							 
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MIDI devices 1 – 13 
Defining a new MIDI device
 
This section describes how to define a new MIDI device. 
If your MIDI device is not included in the list of pre-configured devices 
(and is not a “plain” GM or XG device), you need to define it manually 
to make it possible to select patches by name.  
1. 
In the MIDI Device Manager, click the Install Device button. 
The Add MIDI Device dialog appears.
 
2. 
Select “Define New...” and click OK. 
A dialog appears.
 
3. 
Enter the name of the device and the MIDI channels you would like the 
device to use and click OK. 
The device appears in the Installed Devices list.
 
4. 
Select the device in the list. 
As you can see, it currently contains only an Empty Bank item.
 
5. 
Make sure the Enable Edit checkbox is activated. 
Now you can use the functions on the Commands pop-up menu to the left to organize 
the patch structure of the new device.
 
Patch Structure
 
A patch structure is made out of the following components: 
• Banks are the main categories of sounds – typically patches, performances 
and drums, as described above.
• Each bank can contain any number of groups, represented by folders in the list.
• The individual patches, performances or drum kits are represented by presets 
in the list. 
						

							 
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1 – 14 MIDI devices 
The Commands pop-up menu contains the following items: 
Create Bank
 
Creates a new bank at the highest hierarchical level of the Patch Banks 
list. You can rename this by clicking on it and typing a new name. 
New Folder
 
Creates a new subfolder in the selected bank or folder. This could cor-
respond to a group of patches in the MIDI device, or just be a way for 
you to categorize sounds, etc. When you select this item, a name dia-
log will appear, allowing you to name the folder. You can also rename 
the folder afterwards by clicking it and typing in the list. 
New Preset
 
This adds a new preset in the selected bank or folder. 
You can rename the preset by clicking it and typing a new name.
When the preset is selected, its corresponding MIDI events (Program 
Change, Bank Select, etc.) are shown in the event display to the right. 
The default setting for a new preset is Program Change 0 – to change 
this, use the following procedures: 
For details on which MIDI events are used for selecting patches in the 
 
MIDI device, consult its documentation.
 
• 
To change which Program Change value should be sent out to select 
the patch, adjust the number in the Value column for the Program 
Change event. 
						

							 
CUBASE SE
 
MIDI devices 1 – 15 
• 
To add another MIDI event (e.g. Bank Select) click directly below the 
last event in the list and select a new event from the pop-up menu that 
appears. 
After adding a new event, you need to set its value in the Value column, as with Program 
Change.
 
• 
To replace an event, click on it and select another event from the pop-
up menu. 
For example, a MIDI device may require that a Bank Select message is sent first, fol-
lowed by a Program Change message, in which case you would need to replace the 
default Program Change message with a Bank Select message and add a new Pro-
gram Change after that.
 
• 
To remove an event, select it and press [Delete] or [Backspace]. 
Different devices use different schemes for Bank Select. When you in-
sert a Bank Select event, you should check the device’s documentation 
to find whether to choose “CC: BankSelect MSB”, “Bank Select 14 Bit”, 
 
“Bank Select 14 Bit MSB-LSB Swapped” or possibly some other option.
 
Add Multiple Presets
 
This opens a dialog, allowing you to set up a range of presets to be 
added in the selected bank or folder.
Proceed as follows: 
1. 
Add the event types required for selecting a patch in the MIDI device. 
This is done just as when editing the settings for a single event: clicking in the event 
display brings up a pop-up menu from which you can select an event type. 
						

							 
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1 – 16 MIDI devices 
2. 
Use the Range column to set up either a fixed value or a range of val-
ues for each event type in the list. 
This requires some explanation: 
If you specify a single value in the Range column (e.g. 3, 15 or 127), all added presets 
will have an event of this type set to the same value. 
If you instead specify a value range (a start value and an end value, separated by a 
dash, e.g. 0-63), the first added preset will have an event set to the start value, the next 
value will be incrementally raised by one and so on, up to and including the end value.
 
• The number of added presets depends on the Range setting.
 
This example will generate eight presets, each with a Bank Select event set to 2, 
but with different Program Change events (ranging from 0 to 7). 
3. 
Specify a Default Name below the event display. 
The added events will get this name, followed by a number. You can rename presets 
manually in the Patch Banks list later.
 
4. 
Click OK. 
A number of new presets are now added in the selected bank or folder, according to 
your settings.
 
Other editing functions
 
• You can move presets between banks and folders by dragging them in the 
Patch Banks list.
• You can remove a bank, folder or preset by selecting it in the Patch Banks list 
and pressing [Backspace].
• If you specify more than one bank, a Bank Assignment item will be added to 
the pop-up menu at the top of the window. Use this to assign banks to the dif-
ferent MIDI channels (see page 10).
 
The Create New MIDI Device dialog
 
When you select “Define New” in the Add MIDI Device window, the 
Create New MIDI Device dialog opens. 
• This is where you can enter a name for the new device and specify 
which MIDI channels you want the device to use. 
						

							 
2
 
MIDI effects 
						

							 
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2 – 18 MIDI effects 
Introduction
 
This chapter describes the included MIDI realtime effects and their 
parameters.
How to apply and handle MIDI effects is described in the chapter 
“MIDI realtime parameters and effects” in the Operation Manual. 
						

							 
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MIDI effects 2 – 19 
Arpache 5
 
A typical arpeggiator accepts a chord (a group of MIDI notes) as input, 
and plays back each note in the chord separately, with the playback or-
der and speed set by the user. The Arpache 5 arpeggiator does just 
that, and more. Before describing the parameters, let’s look at how to 
create a simple, typical arpeggio: 
1. 
Select a MIDI track and activate monitoring (or record enable it) so 
that you can play “thru” the track. 
Check that the track is properly set up for playback to a suitable MIDI instrument.
 
2. 
Select and activate the arpeggiator. 
For now, use it as an insert effect for the selected track.
 
3. 
In the arpeggiator panel, use the Quantize setting to set the arpeggio 
speed. 
The speed is set as a note value, relative to the project tempo. For example, setting 
Quantize to “16” means the arpeggio will be a pattern of sixteenth notes.
 
4. 
Use the Length setting to set the length of the arpeggio notes. 
This allows you to create staccato arpeggios (Length smaller than the Quantize set-
ting) or arpeggio notes that overlap each other (Length greater than Quantize).
 
5. 
Set the Semi-Range parameter to 12. 
This will make the notes arpeggiate within an octave.
 
6. 
Play a chord on your MIDI instrument. 
Now, instead of hearing the chord, you will hear the notes of the chord played one by 
one, in an arpeggio.
 
7. 
Try the different arpeggio modes by clicking the Playmode buttons. 
The symbols on the buttons indicate the playback order for the notes (up, down, 
up+down, etc.). The Play Order settings are described below. 
						

							 
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2 – 20 MIDI effects 
Parameters
 
The Arpache 5 has the following settings: 
Setting Description 
Playmode
buttonsAllows you to select the playback order for the arpeggiated notes. The 
options are down+up, up+down, up, down, random (“?” button) and 
“Order off”, in which case you can set the playback order manually with 
the Play Order fields below.
Quantize Determines the speed of the arpeggio, as a note value related to the 
project tempo. The range is 32T (1/32 note triplets) to 1. (dotted note 
values).
Length Sets the length of the arpeggio notes, as a note value related to the 
project tempo. The range is the same as for the Quantize setting.
Semi-Range Determines the arpeggiated note range, in semitones counted from 
the lowest key you play. This works as follows:
- Any notes you play that are outside this range will be transposed in oc-
tave steps to fit within the range.
- If the range is more than one octave, octave-transposed copies of 
the notes you play will be added to the arpeggio (as many octaves as 
fit within the range).
Thru If this is activated, the notes sent to the arpeggiator (i.e. the chord you 
play) will be passed through the plug-in (sent out together with the ar-
peggiated notes).
Play Order If the “Order on” playmode is selected, you can use these “slots” to 
specify a custom playback order for the arpeggio notes:
Each slot corresponds to a position in the arpeggio pattern. For each 
slot, you specify which note should be played on that position by select-
ing a number. The numbers correspond to the keys you play, counted 
from the lowest pressed key.
So, if you play the notes C3-E3-G3 (a C major chord), “1” would 
mean C3, “2” would mean E3, and “3” would mean G3. Note that you 
can use the same number in several slots, creating arpeggio patterns 
that are not possible using the standard play modes.