Steinberg Cubase SL/SX 3.1 Manual

							 
Working with the new features 
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
 12 Working with the new features 
Editing – General
New Preferences options
 
For Cubase SX/SL 3.1 several changes have been made to the Pref-
erences dialog. The Appearance page has been completely modified 
(Cubase SX only), a new subpage “Project & Mixer” has been added 
to the Editing page, the VST page has been further subdivided, etc. In 
the following sections, the changes are described separately for the 
different pages of the dialog.  
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
Working with the new features  13 
Appearance (Cubase SX only)
 
The Appearance page in the Preferences dialog now contains three 
subpages, on which you can adjust the look of the program in the fol-
lowing way: 
Appearance–General
 
The three controls on the General subpage affect the appearance of 
the work area backgrounds in Cubase SX. 
• 
Saturation determines how rich the background colors are, from grey 
to blue. 
• 
Contrast determines how bright or dark the background is in relation 
to controls and displays. 
• 
Brightness lightens or darkens the background. 
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
 14 Working with the new features 
Appearance–Meters
 
The coloring of meters in Cubase SX can be controlled in sophisticated 
ways. Multiple colors can help to visually indicate what levels are being 
reached, e.g. in a channel of the Mixer. To do this, the meter on the Ap-
pearance–Meters page has color handles that allow you to define what 
color the meter will have at a given signal level. 
The Appearance–Meters page. 
• 
The default setting has four color handles. Each color handle has a 
unique color that gradually shifts as the meter moves towards the next 
color handle. 
You can click on any color handle and move its position in the meter scale. If you hold 
down [Shift] while moving the handle with the mouse, it will move ten times slower for 
more precise positioning. You can also nudge the color handle’s position with the arrow 
up/down keys. Holding Shift while nudging will move the color handle ten times faster.
 
• 
You can add color handles by [Alt]/[Option]-clicking anywhere along 
the side of the meter scale. [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking on a handle re-
moves it from the meter scale. 
By adding more color handles to the meter scale, you can define colors for more spe-
cific signal levels. Try adding two color handles very close to one another. This way, 
you can make the meter color change more rapidly at a specific signal level.  
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
Working with the new features  15 
• 
To change the color of a handle, click on the handle to select it. You 
can also use the [Tab] key to select the next handle. (To select the pre-
vious handle, hold down [Shift] and press the [Tab] key.) Use the hue 
and brightness controls on the right to alter the handle’s color. 
The currently selected color handle is indicated by a black triangle.
 
Appearance–Work Area
 
“Work areas” in this context refers to those places where the actual 
data is displayed, such as the Project window event display. In these 
areas, there are items such as vertical and horizontal grid lines which 
can be altered in intensity by the controls found on this subpage. 
Editing
 
On the main Editing page, the following options have been added: 
• 
Use Up/Down Navigation Commands for selecting Tracks only
By default, tracks are selected with the up/down arrow keys on the 
computer keyboard. These are however also used for selecting events 
which can lead to confusing results in some cases. Since track selec-
tion is a most vital operation in both editing and mixing, you now have 
the opportunity to use the navigation controls for track selection only.
The following applies: 
• When this option is deactivated and no event/part is selected in the Project 
window, the up/down arrow keys on the computer keyboard are used to step 
through the tracks in the Track list – just as you would expect this to work.
• When this option is deactivated and an event/part is selected in the Project 
window however, the up/down arrow keys still step through the tracks in the 
Track list – but on the currently selected track, the first event/part will auto-
matically be selected as well. If this is not the desired behavior, you have to 
activate “Use Up/Down Navigation Commands for selecting Tracks only”.
• When this option is activated, the up/down arrow keys are only used to 
change the track selection – the current event/part selection in the Project 
window will not be altered.
 
• 
Default Track Time Type (Cubase SX only)
This allows you to specify the default track time type for new tracks 
(Audio, Group/FX, MIDI and Marker tracks). When you change this 
setting, all new tracks will use the selected time type. You can choose  
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
 16 Working with the new features 
between “Musical”, “Time Linear” and “Follow Transport Main Display”.
Selecting “Musical” will cause all added tracks to be set to musical 
time type (the respective button shows a note symbol). When you se-
lect “Time Linear”, all new tracks will use linear time base (i.e. the but-
ton shows a clock symbol). The third option uses the primary time for-
mat setting on the Transport panel. When this is set to “Bars+Beats”, 
tracks with musical time base will be added. When this is set to any of 
the other options (Seconds, Timecode, Samples, etc.), all new tracks 
will use linear time base. 
Editing–Project & Mixer
 
This is a new subpage of the Preferences dialog with the following 
new options: 
• 
Auto Track Color Mode 
This offers you several options for automatically assigning colors to tracks that are 
added to the project.
 
• 
Sync Project and Mixer Selection 
This is not a new feature, rather an old one with a new name. In previous versions, this 
was called “Mixer Selection follows Project”. It has been renamed because the func-
tion really works both ways. For a description of the functionality (with the “old” name 
“Mixer Selection follows Project”), see the dialog help for the Preferences dialog or the 
chapter “The Mixer” in the Operation Manual.
 
• 
Deep Track Folding 
When you activate this option, any folding settings you make (on the Project menu – 
Track Folding submenu) also affect the sub elements of the tracks, i.e. if you fold in a 
folder track which contains 10 audio tracks 5 of which have several automation sub-
tracks open, all these audio tracks within the folder track will be folded in as well.
 
• 
Enlarge Selected Track 
Activate this option to enter a mode where the selected track in the Project window 
will be enlarged. (You can adjust the size directly in the Track list if the default enlarge-
ment factor does not suit you.) When this option is activated and you select another 
track in the Track list, this is automatically enlarged and the previously selected track is 
displayed in its previous size again.
Please note that Enlarge Selected Track is also available on the Edit menu. 
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
Working with the new features  17 
• 
Select Channel/Track on Solo 
When you activate this option, a track in the Track list or a channel in the mixer auto-
matically gets selected when the Solo button is activated. 
Deactivating this option always keeps the current selection status, regardless of the 
Solo setting for the tracks.
 
• 
Select Channel/Track on Edit Setting 
When you activate this option, a track in the Track list or a channel in the mixer auto-
matically gets selected when you click the respective Edit button (e).
Deactivating this option always keeps the current track/channel selection.
 
• 
The “Scroll to selected…” pop-up menu
The options in this pop-up menu work as follows: 
• When you select “Track”, the Track list display follows the display in the Mixer, 
i.e. when you select a channel in the mixer, the respective track is automati-
cally displayed in the Track list as well. (However, this does not work the other 
way around in this mode.)
• When you select “Channel”, selecting a track in the Track list automatically 
scrolls the mixer to display the respective channel strip. (Here too, this does 
not work vice versa.)
• When you select “Channel and Track”, both Track list and Mixer are automat-
ically scrolled to display the track or channel selected in the other.
• Selecting “Disabled” deactivates this scrolling behavior.
 
Editing–Tools
 
• 
Cross Hair Cursor options:
This allows you to display a cross hair cursor when working in the 
Project window and editors, facilitating navigation and editing, espe-
cially when arranging in large projects. You can set up the colors for 
the line and the mask of the cross hair cursor, and define its width. 
The cross hair cursor works slightly differently for the different tools. 
• When the Selection tool (or one of its subtools) is selected, the cross hair 
cursor appears when you start moving/copying a part/event or using the 
event trim handles.
• When the Scissors tool is selected, the cross hair cursor appears as soon as 
you move the mouse over the event display.
• For the other tools, the cross hair cursor is not used. 
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
 18 Working with the new features 
General
 
On the General page, there is one new option: 
• 
Maximum Backup Files 
This allows you to specify how many backup files will be created with the Autosave 
function. When the maximum number of backup files is reached, the existing files will 
be overwritten (starting with the oldest file). 
 
MIDI
 
On the main MIDI page, the following options have been added: 
• 
Insert Reset Events after Record
This is a very handy function for MIDI recording. At the end of each re-
corded part, a Reset event will be inserted, resetting controller data 
such as Sustain, Aftertouch, Pitchbend, Modulation, Breath Control, 
etc. This is useful if a MIDI part is recorded and e.g. the Sustain pedal 
is still held after stopping recording. Usually, this would cause all fol-
lowing parts to be played with Sustain, as the Pedal Off command 
was not recorded. This can be prevented by activating “Insert Reset 
Events after Record”. 
• 
Chase Events – Chase not limited to Part Boundaries
In previous program versions, Chase was only performed on parts 
“touched” by the position cursor.
When you activate this option, MIDI controllers are also chased out-
side the part boundaries, i.e. the Chase will be performed on the part 
touched by the cursor as well as on all the parts to the left of it. Please 
note that this option should be deactivated for very large projects, as 
it considerably slows down e.g. positioning and soloing.
When you deactivate this option, the MIDI controllers are only chased 
within the parts under the position cursor. 
						

							 
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Working with the new features  19 
VST
 
The main VST page now has three further subpages. On the main 
VST page, the following options have been added: 
• 
Default Stereo Panner Mode
This allows you to specify the default pan mode for inserted audio 
tracks (Stereo Balance Panner, Stereo Dual Panner or Stereo Com-
bined Panner). For a description of these modes, see the chapter 
“The Mixer” in the Operation Manual. 
• 
Activate dialog “Export Warnings as text file”
When you open a project which contains e.g. missing plug-ins, a dialog 
opens listing these. When this dialog is closed, a message appears, 
asking whether you want to export these warnings as text file. This mes-
sage can be deactivated, i.e. if you activate the “Do not show this mes-
sage again” checkbox, it will not be displayed in the future (when open-
ing other projects with missing plug-ins etc.). To display this message 
again, and thus be able to export important warnings as text files, acti-
vate the option “Activate dialog ‘Export Warnings as text file’”. 
• 
Warn on Processing Overloads
When you activate this option, a warning message will be displayed 
as soon as the CPU clip indicator (on the Transport panel) lights up 
during recording. 
VST–Metering
 
• 
Map Input Bus Metering to Audio Track (in Direct Monitoring)
When Direct Monitoring is activated in the Device Setup dialog, this 
option allows you to map the input bus metering to monitor-enabled 
audio tracks. This gives you the opportunity to watch the input levels 
of your audio tracks when working in the Project window. 
When Direct Monitoring is activated in the Device Setup dialog, this 
function works as follows: 
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
 20 Working with the new features 
• When “Map Input Bus Metering to Audio Track (in Direct Monitoring)” is acti-
vated, audio tracks show the metering signal from the input bus they are 
routed to as soon as the track is record enabled.
Note that the tracks are mirroring the input bus signal, i.e. you will see the 
same signal in both places. When using mapped metering, any functions (e.g. 
trimming) you apply to the audio track are not reflected in its meters.
• When “Map Input Bus Metering to Audio Track (in Direct Monitoring)” is not 
activated, metering works as usual (see the Operation Manual for details).
 
VST–Scrub
 
• 
CPU Saving Scrub Mode
When you activate this option, scrubbing will be less demanding on the 
processor. This can be very useful when scrubbing in a large project, 
where the “normal” scrub behavior leads to processing overloads. 
When “CPU Saving Scrub Mode” is activated, the effects are disabled 
for scrubbing and the resampling quality is lower. 
Key Commands
 
A wide range of new key commands has been added for various areas 
of the program. These can be assigned or modified as usual in the Key 
Commands dialog (this is described in detail in the Key Commands 
chapter in the Operation Manual).
There is now a separate Mixer section in the Key Commands dialog 
(see also page 48), allowing you to e.g. hide the different channel 
types, to save or load the Mixer settings, etc. In the Edit category, you 
can now define a key command for opening the Device panel for the 
selected track. Also, please note that the key command that was used 
to open the Pool window can now be used to close the Pool as well.