Steinberg Cubase SE 3 Operation Manual

 
3
 
Playback and the Transport
panel 

 
CUBASE SE
3 – 22 Playback and the Transport panel 
Background
 
This chapter describes the various methods available for controlling 
Playback and Transport functions in Cubase SE.
The Transport panel
Below you can find a brief description of each Transport panel item.
• You can customize the look of the Transport panel, hiding unneeded 
controls and moving controls as desired – see page 559.
The pictures below show the Transport panel with all controls visible and in their default 
position. The...

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Playback and the Transport panel 3 – 23
•The main Transport functions (Cycle/Stop/Play/Record) can also be 
shown on the toolbar.
In addition, various play options are available on the Transport menu.
Hiding and showing
The Transport panel is shown by default when you launch a new 
project. To hide or show it, select the “Transport Panel” item from the 
Transport menu (or use a key command – by default [F2]).
About Preroll and Postroll
These items are described in the chapter “Recording” – see...

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Customizing the Transport panel
You can customize the appearance of the Transport panel by right-
clicking (Win) or [Ctrl]-clicking (Mac) anywhere on the panel and 
making selections on the pop-up menu that appears.
• On the upper half of the pop-up menu you can hide or show elements on the 
panel by activating or deactivating the corresponding menu items.
• Selecting the Show All item displays all sections of the Transport panel.
• Selecting Default...

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Playback and the Transport panel 3 – 25
The numeric keypad
In the default Key Command settings, the numeric keypad on the 
computer keyboard is assigned various Transport panel operations:
Numeric Key Function
[Enter] Play
[+] Fast Forward
[–] Rewind
[*] Record
[÷] (Win) or [/] (Mac) Cycle On/Off
[,] Return to Zero
[0] Stop
[1] Go to Left Locator
[2] Go to Right Locator
[3 - 9] Go to marker 3 to 9 

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Operations
Setting the project cursor position
There are several ways to move the project cursor position:
• By using Fast Forward and Rewind.
• By dragging the project cursor in the lower part of the ruler. 
• By clicking in the ruler.
Double clicking in the ruler moves the cursor and starts/stops playback. 
• If the option “Locate when Clicked in Empty Space” is activated in the Prefer-
ences dialog (Transport page) you can click anywhere in an empty...

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Playback and the Transport panel 3 – 27
• There are also numerous key commands available for moving the project 
cursor (in the Transport category in the Key Commands dialog). 
For example, you can assign key commands to the “Step Bar” and “Step Back Bar” 
functions, allowing you to move the project cursor in steps of one bar, backwards and 
forwards.
About the Transport panel display formats
Primary time display (left) and secondary time display (right).
The time unit shown in the ruler can be...

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The left and right locators
The left and right locators are a pair of position markers used for 
specifying punch-in and punch-out positions during recording, and as 
boundaries for cycle playback and recording. 
• When cycle mode is activated on the Transport panel, the area between 
the left and right locator will be repeated (cycled) on playback. 
However, if the right locator is positioned before the left, this will work as a “jump” or 
“skip mode” –...

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Playback and the Transport panel 3 – 29
•You can also adjust the locators numerically in the Transport panel.
Clicking the L/R buttons in the locator section on the Transport panel will move the 
project cursor to the respective locator. If you press [Alt]/[Option] and click the L or R 
button, the corresponding locator will be set to the current project cursor position.
Options and Settings
The “Return to Start Position on Stop” preference
This setting is found on the Transport page in the...

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Playback functions
Apart from the standard transport controls on the Transport panel, you 
can also find a number of functions that can be used to control play-
back on the Transport menu. The items have the following functionality:
The functions listed above (except “Play until Next Marker”) are only avail-
able if you have selected one or more events or made a selection range.
About Chase
Chase is basically a function that makes sure your MIDI...