Steinberg Cubase SE 3 Operation Manual

							CUBASE SE
Audio effects 10 – 201
•When one or several sends are activated for a channel, the Send 
Effects buttons light up in blue in the mixer and the Track list. Click the 
button for a channel to bypass (disable) all its effect sends.
When the sends are bypassed, the button is yellow. Click the button again to enable 
the sends. Note that this button is also available in the Inspector and the Channel set-
tings window.
Click this button to bypass the sends.
•You can also bypass individual sends in the channel overview.
See page 193.
•Alternatively, in the same manner you can bypass the send effects by 
clicking the “Bypass Inserts” button for the FX channel.
The difference is that this bypasses the actual send effects which may be used by sev-
eral different channels. Bypassing a send affects that send and that channel only. 
						

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Setting effect levels
After you have set up the sends as described in the previous sections, 
the following is now possible:
•You can use the send level slider in the Channel Settings or the Inspec-
tor to set the send level.
By adjusting the send level you control the amount of signal sent from the audio chan-
nel to the FX channel.
Setting the effect send level.
•In the mixer, you can use the level fader for the FX channel to set the 
effect return level.
By adjusting the return level you control the amount of the signal sent from the FX 
channel to the output bus.
Setting the effect return level. 
						

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Audio effects 10 – 203
FX channels and the Solo Defeat function
When mixing, you might sometimes want to solo specific audio chan-
nels, and listen only to these while other channels are muted. How-
ever, this will mute all FX channels as well. If the soloed audio channels 
have sends routed to FX channels, this means you won’t hear the send 
effects for the channels.
To remedy this, you can use the Solo Defeat function for the FX chan-
nel:
1.First press [Alt]/[Option] and click on the Solo button for the FX 
channel.
This activates the Solo Defeat function for the FX channel. In this mode, the FX channel 
will not be muted if you solo another channel in the mixer.
2.You can now solo any of the audio channels without having the effect 
return (the FX channel) muted.
3.To turn off the Solo Defeat function for the FX channel, [Alt]/[Option]-
click the Solo button for the FX channel again. 
						

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Making settings for the effects
Selecting effect presets
Most VST effect plug-ins come with a number of useful presets for in-
stant selection. You can select presets in the control panel for the ef-
fect.
Editing effects
All inserts and sends have an Edit (“e”) button. Clicking this opens the 
selected effect’s control panel in which you can make parameter set-
tings.
The contents, design and layout of the control panel depends on the 
selected effect. However, all effect control panels have a power but-
ton, a Bypass button, Read/Write automation buttons (for automating 
effect parameter changes – see page 233), a preset selection pop-up 
menu and a file pop-up menu for saving or loading programs. In Cu-
base SE for Mac OS X these are located at the bottom of the control 
panel, whereas they are at the top of the control panel in Cubase SE 
under Windows.
The Rotary effect control panel.  
						

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Audio effects 10 – 205
•Please note that all effects can be edited using a simplified control 
panel (horizontal sliders only, no graphics) if you prefer this. To edit 
effects using this “basic” control panel instead, press [Ctrl]/[Com-
mand]+[Shift] and click on the Edit button for the effect send or slot.
Making settings
Effect control panels may have any combination of knobs, sliders, but-
tons and graphic curves. 
• For specifics about the included effects and their parameters, please re-
fer to the separate pdf document “Audio Effects and VST Instruments”. 
Naming effects
If you edit the parameters for an effect, these settings are saved auto-
matically in the project. If you want to name the current settings, the 
following points apply:
• The basis for the current settings may have been a preset effect program, in 
which case there is a name in the preset field.
• The basis for the current settings may have been a default setting program 
location in which case “Default” is displayed in the preset field.
In both cases, if you have changed any effect parameter settings, 
these are already saved! To name the current settings, click the Name 
field, type in a new name and press [Return]. The new name replaces 
the previous name on the program pop-up menu.
Saving effects
You can save your edited effects for further use (e.g. in other projects) 
by using the file pop-up menu to the right of the name field.
1.Pull down the file pop-up menu.
•If you want to save the current program only, select “Save Effect”.
Effect programs have the Windows file extension “fxp”.
•If you want to save all programs for the effect, select “Save Bank”.
Effect banks have the Windows file extension “fxb”.
2.In the file dialog that appears, select a name and location for the file 
and click Save.
It might be a good idea to prepare a special folder for your effects. 
						

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Loading effects
1.Pull down the file pop-up menu.
2.Select “Load Effect” or “Load Bank”.
3.In the file dialog that opens, locate the file and click Open.
If you loaded a Bank, it will replace the current set of all effect programs. If you loaded 
a single effect, it will replace the currently selected effect program only.
Automating effect parameters
Effects parameters can be automated – see the chapter “Automation”.
Installing and managing effect plug-ins
There is a wide range of additional effect plug-ins available in the two 
formats supported by Cubase SE (VST and DirectX). The two formats 
are handled differently when it comes to installation and organizing:
VST plug-ins
Mac OS X
Plug-ins in Mac OS 9.X format cannot be used.
There is a large number of VST plug-ins available for purchase or 
download. To install a VST plug-in under Mac OS X, quit Cubase SE 
and drag the plug-in file to one of the following folders:
• /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
This is only possible if you are the system administrator. Plug-ins installed in this folder 
will be available to all users, for all programs that support them.
• Users/Username/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
“Username” above is the name you use to log on to the computer (the easiest way to 
open this folder is to go to your “Home” folder and use the path /Library/Audio/Plug-
Ins/VST/ from there). Plug-ins installed in this folder are only available to you.
When you launch Cubase SE again, the new effects will appear on 
the effect pop-up menus. 
						

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• An effect plug-in may also come with its own installation application, in 
which case you should use this.
Generally, always read the documentation or readme files before installing new plug-ins.
Windows
Under Windows, VST plug-ins are usually installed simply by drag-
ging the files (with the extension “.dll”) into the Vstplugins folder in the 
Cubase SE application folder, or into the Shared VST Plug-in folder – 
see below. When you launch Cubase SE again, the new effects will 
appear on the Effect pop-up menus.
• If the effect plug-in comes with its own installation application, you 
should use this.
Generally, always read the documentation before installing new plug-ins.
Organizing VST plug-ins
If you have a large number of VST plug-ins, having them all on a single 
pop-up menu in the program may become unmanageable. For this rea-
son, the plug-ins installed with Cubase SE are placed in appropriate 
subfolders according to the effect type.
•Under Windows, you can rearrange this by moving, adding or renam-
ing subfolders within the Vstplugins folder if you like. 
When you launch the program and pull down an Effects pop-up menu, the subfolders 
will be represented by hierarchical submenus, each listing the plug-ins in the corre-
sponding subfolder.
•Under Mac OS X, you cannot change the hierarchic arrangement of 
the “built-in” VST plug-ins.
You can however arrange any additional plug-ins you have installed (in the /Library/
Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/ folders, see above) by placing them in subfolders. In the program, 
the subfolders will be represented by hierarchical submenus, each listing the plug-ins in 
the corresponding subfolder. 
						

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About shared VST plug-ins (Windows only)
While Cubase SE’s own plug-ins reside in the Vstplugins folder within 
the Cubase SE program folder, the program can also access plug-ins 
in an additional location, called the shared VST plug-ins folder. This lets 
you use plug-ins installed by other VST compatible applications, etc. 
You can change what folder is considered the “shared” Vstplugins 
folder at any time in the Plug-in Information window, see page 208.
DirectX plug-ins (Windows only)
To be able to use DirectX plug-ins, you must have Microsoft DirectX 
installed on your computer (Version 8.1 – or later – recommended 
and included on the Cubase SE DVD). 
DirectX plug-ins should not be placed in the Vstplugins folder, as 
these are installed under the operating system rather than for Cubase 
SE exclusively. Rather, you should follow the installation instructions 
included with the plug-ins. See also page 211.
• On the effect menus, all DirectX plug-ins are listed on the DirectX sub-
menu. 
Selecting, activating and editing them is done as with VST effects.
The Plug-in Information window
On the Devices menu, you will find an item called “Plug-in Informa-
tion”. Selecting this opens a dialog listing all the available VST and Di-
rectX compatible plug-ins in your system (including VST Instruments), 
along with all MIDI plug-ins. The plug-ins are described in the sepa-
rate pdf document “MIDI devices and features”.
Managing and selecting VST plug-ins
To see which VST plug-ins are available in your system, click the “VST 
Plug-ins” tab at the top of the window. The window now displays all 
plug-ins in the Cubase SE and the shared Vstplugins folder. 
• The plug-ins are color-coded to help you find plug-ins of a specific type - 
refer to the color fields at the top of the window.
• To enable a plug-in (make it available for selection), click in the left column.
Only the currently enabled plug-ins (shown with a check sign in the left column) will 
appear on the effect menus. 
						

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Audio effects 10 – 209
• The second column indicates how many instances of the plug-in are currently 
used in Cubase SE.
Clicking in this column for a plug-in which is already in use produces a pop-up show-
ing exactly where each use occurs - select an instance to open the control panel for 
the plug-in. 
• Plug-ins which crash when you try to start them, will be marked as "unload-
able" in the VST plugin window and skipped at the next start.
These plug-ins can be activated again in the VST plug-in window.
• If you activate the “Show used only” checkbox, only the plug-ins that are used 
will be shown in the list.
• A plug-in may be in use even if it isn’t enabled in the left column. 
You might for example have opened a project containing effects that currently are dis-
abled on the menu. The left column purely determines whether or not the plug-in will 
be visible on the effect menus.
• All columns can be resized by using the divider in the column header.
The other columns show the following information about each plug-in:
Column Description
Name The name of the plug-in.
Nb I/O This column shows the number of inputs and outputs for each plug-in.
Category This indicates the category of each plug-in.
Vendor The manufacturer of the plug-in.
VST Version Shows with which version of the VST protocol a plug-in is compatible.
Delay (sample) This shows the delay (in samples) that will be introduced if the effect is 
used as an Insert. This is automatically compensated for by Cubase SE.
Use Delay 
CompensationThis option (checked by default) means that plug-in delay compensa-
tion is used for this plug-in (see page 189). Note that you can tempo-
rarily constrain delay compensation - see page 217.
Nb Params The number of parameters for the plug-in.
Nb Programs The number of programs for the plug-in.
Old Host 
BehaviourCheck this column for a specific plug-in if you want it to be processed 
like it was by previous versions of Cubase SE, to avoid problems such 
as feedback-like sounds. Note that you have to reload the plug-in for 
the change to take effect.  
						

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Update Button
Pressing this button will make Cubase SE re-scan the designated 
Vstplugins folders for updated information about the plug-ins.
Export List button
•If you click this button, a text file with the plug-in info is generated.
This document could be useful if you need to contact Steinberg Technical Support – 
or you might want to use it just as a handy reference of the installed effects.
Changing the Shared Plug-ins Folder (Windows only)
If you like, you can change what folder is to be the “shared” Vstplugins 
folder. For example, if you have Steinberg’s Cubase VST 5.1 installed 
on your computer, you can get access to the Cubase VST 5.1-specific 
plug-ins in Cubase SE by switching to the Vstplugins folder within the 
Cubase VST 5.1 folder.
The currently selected Shared Folder is displayed in the text field at the 
top of the window. Clicking the “Change...” button opens a file dialog 
where you can browse to another Vstplugins folder on your hard drive. 
Clicking OK selects the new folder as the shared VST plug-ins folder.
After selecting a new shared plug-ins folder, you will first be prompted 
to confirm your choice, and you will then need to restart Cubase SE for 
the effects in the new folder to become available.
Modified The last modification date of the plug-in file.
Path The path and name of the folder in which the plug-in file is located. Column Description