Steinberg Cubase SE 3 Operation Manual

CUBASE SE
Playback and the Transport panel 3 – 31
You now play back the song. It begins with the piano sound and then 
switches to the string sound. In the middle of the chorus you stop and 
rewind to some point between the beginning and the second program 
change. The synth will now still play the string sound although in this 
section it really should be a piano!
The Chase function takes care of that. If program change events are set 
to be chased, Cubase SE will track the music back to the beginning,...

CUBASE SE
3 – 32 Playback and the Transport panel 

4
Recording 

CUBASE SE
4 – 34 Recording
Background
This chapter describes the various recording methods that you can 
use in Cubase SE. As it is possible to record both audio and MIDI 
tracks in Cubase SE, both these recording methods are covered in 
this chapter.
Before you start
This chapter assumes that you are reasonably familiar with certain ba-
sic recording concepts, and that the following initial preparations have 
been made:
•You have properly set up, connected and calibrated your audio hard-
ware. 
This is...

CUBASE SE
Recording 4 – 35
Basic recording methods
This section describes the general methods used for recording. How-
ever, there are additional preparations and procedures that are specific 
to audio and MIDI recording respectively. Make sure to read these sec-
tions before you start recording (see page 40 and page 50).
Record enabling a track
Cubase SE can record on a single track or on several tracks (audio 
and/or MIDI) simultaneously. To make a track ready for recording, click 
the Record Enable...

CUBASE SE
4 – 36 Recording
Manually activating recording
You activate recording by clicking the Record button on the Transport 
panel or toolbar, or by using the corresponding key command (by de-
fault [*] on the numeric keypad).
Recording can be activated from Stop mode (from the current cursor 
position or from the left locator) or during playback:
• If you activate recording from Stop mode, and the option “Start Record at Left 
Locator” is activated on the Transport menu, recording will start from the...

CUBASE SE
Recording 4 – 37
Automatically activating recording
Cubase SE can automatically switch from playback to recording at a 
given position. This is known as “automatic punch in”. A typical use for 
this would be if you need to replace a section of a recording, and want 
to listen to what is already recorded, up to the recording start position.
1.Set the left locator to the position where you want recording to start.
2.Activate the Punch In button on the Transport panel.
Punch In activated....

CUBASE SE
4 – 38 Recording
Cycle recording
Cubase SE can record and play back in a cycle – a loop. You specify 
where the cycle starts and ends by setting the left and right locators. 
When the cycle is active, the selected section is seamlessly repeated 
until you hit Stop or deactivate cycle mode.
•To activate cycle mode, click the cycle button on the Transport panel.
If you now start playback, the section between the left and right locator is repeated in-
definitely until you stop.
Cycle activated
•To...

CUBASE SE
Recording 4 – 39
4.Make sure an audio track is record enabled and receives audio from 
the signal source.
5.When you have played some audio material you want to capture (either 
in Stop mode or during playback), click the Record button.
6.After a few seconds stop the recording (unless you wish to continue 
recording).
An audio event is created, starting at where the cursor position was when you acti-
vated recording. This means that if you were in stop mode, and the cursor was at the 
beginning...

CUBASE SE
4 – 40 Recording
Audio recording specifics
Selecting a recording file format
The format of recorded files is set in the Project Setup dialog on the 
Project menu. There are three settings: sample rate, record format (bit 
depth) and record file type. While the sample rate is set once and for 
all when you start working on a new project, the bit depth and file type 
can be changed at any time.
Record file type
The Record File Type setting determines which type of files will be 
created when you...