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, 
find the first program change and send this out, so that the synth is set 
to the right sound.
The same thing can apply to other event types as well. The Chase 
Events settings in the Preferences dialog–MIDI page determine which 
event types will be chased when you locate to a new position and start 
playback.
• Event types for which the checkbox is activated here will be chased. 
						

							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 described in the Getting Started book.
•You have opened a project and set the project setup parameters to 
your specifications.
Project setup parameters determine the record format, sample rate, project length etc. 
that affect the audio recordings you make during the course of the project. See page 81.
•If you plan to record MIDI, your MIDI equipment should be set up and 
connected correctly.
See the Getting Started book. 
						

							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 button for the track in the Track list, in the Inspector 
or in the mixer. When activated, the button(s) turn red, indicating record 
ready mode.
Record Enable in the Inspector, Track list and mixer.
• If the option “Enable Record on Selected Track” is activated in the Pref-
erences dialog (Editing page), tracks are automatically record enabled 
when you select them in the Track list.
• The exact number of audio tracks you can record simultaneously depends 
on your computer CPU and hard disk performance.    
						

							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 left 
locator.
The preroll setting or the metronome count-in will be applied (see page 62).
• If you activate recording from Stop mode, and “Start Record at Left Locator” 
is deactivated, recording will start from the current project cursor position.
• If you activate recording during playback, Cubase SE will immediately enter 
Record mode and start recording at the current project cursor position.
This is known as “manual punch in”.
Activating recording in Sync mode
If you are synchronizing the Cubase SE transport to external equipment 
(Sync is activated on the Transport panel) and you activate recording, 
the program will go into “record ready” mode (the record button on the 
Transport panel will light up). Recording then starts when a valid time-
code signal is received (or when you manually click the Play button). 
See page 498 for more information about synchronization. 
						

							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.
3.Activate playback from some position before the left locator.
When the project cursor reaches the left locator, recording is automatically activated.
Stopping recording
Again, this can be done automatically or manually:
•If you click the Stop button on the Transport panel (or use the corre-
sponding key command, by default [0] on the numeric keypad), record-
ing is deactivated and Cubase SE goes to Stop mode.
•If you click the Record button or use the key command for recording, 
by default [*], recording is deactivated but playback continues.
This is known as “manual punch out”.
•If the Punch Out button is activated on the Transport panel, recording 
will be deactivated when the project cursor reaches the right locator.
This is known as “automatic punch out”. By combining this with automatic punch in, 
you can set up a specific section to record – again very useful if you want to replace a 
certain part of a recording. See also page 62.
Punch In and Out 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 record in cycle mode, you can start recording from the left locator, 
from before the locators or from within the cycle, from Stop mode or 
during playback.
As soon as the project cursor reaches the right locator, it will jump back to the left 
locator and continue recording a new lap.
•The results of cycle recording depend on the selected cycle record 
mode and are different for audio (see page 48) and MIDI (see page 56).
Audio pre-record
This feature allows you to capture up to 10 minutes of any incoming 
audio you play in Stop mode or during playback, “after the fact”. This 
is possible because Cubase SE can capture audio input in buffer 
memory, even when not recording. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Pull down the File menu and open the Preferences dialog.
2.In the list to the left, select “Record” to open the Record page.
3.Specify a time (up to 600 seconds) in the Audio Pre-Record Seconds 
field.
This activates the buffering of audio input, making Pre-Record possible. 
						

							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 of the project, you may have to move the event to the right in the next step. 
If you were playing along to a project you should leave the event where it is.
7.Select the Arrow tool and place the cursor on the bottom left edge of 
the event so that a double arrow appears, then click and drag to the left. 
Now the event is extended and the audio you played before activating record is in-
serted – this means that if you played along during playback, the captured notes will 
end up exactly where you played them in relation to the project.
The recording was activated at the start of bar 9. This is indicated by a blue line in 
the audio event.  
						

							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 record:
Record format (bit depth)
The available options are 16 bit and 24 bit. The following applies:
• Normally, select the record format according to the bit depth delivered by 
your audio hardware.
For example, if your audio hardware has 20 bit A/D converters (inputs), you may want 
to record at 24 bit resolution, to capture the full bit depth. On the other hand, if your 
hardware has 16 bit inputs, it’s pointless to record with a higher bit depth – this will 
only make the audio files larger, with no difference in audio quality.
• The higher the bit depth, the larger the files and the more strain is put on the 
disk system.
If this is an issue, you may want to lower the record format setting.
File type Description
Wave File Wave files have the extension “.wav” and are the most common file for-
mat on the PC platform.
AIFF File Audio Interchange File Format, a standard defined by Apple Computer 
Inc. AIFF files have the extension “.aif” and are used on most computer 
platforms. AIFF files can contain embedded text strings (see below).