Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 Getting Started Studio Manual

							
Getting StartedEinführung
Prise en Main 
						

							Tutorials by Steve Kostrey
Revision and Quality Control:
Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer
Thanks to: Georg Bruns
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part 
of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement 
and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publica-
tion may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission 
by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Windows XP is a trademark of 
Microsoft Corporation. Windows Vista is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the 
United States and/or other countries. The Mac logo is a trademark used under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh 
are registered trademarks.
Release Date: October 19, 2007
© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2007.
All rights reserved. 
						

							Table of Contents 
						

							4
Table of Contents
5Introduction
6Welcome
6About the manuals and the help
7About the program versions
7Key command conventions
7How you can reach us
8System requirements and installation
9About this chapter
9Minimum requirements
10Hardware installation
12Installing Cubasew
12Defragmenting the hard disk (Windows only)
12Register your software
13Setting up your system
14Setting up audio
18Setting up MIDI
20Connecting a synchronizer
20Setting up video 
21Optimizing audio performance
23Tutorial 1: Recording audio
24Creating a new project
25Setting up the VST Connections
26Level settings and recording
29Playback
30Recording modes with cycle off
30Cycle recording
31Stacked recording
33Tutorial 2: Editing audio
34Event operations
39Event envelopes
40Processing audio
42Tutorial 3: Recording and editing MIDI
43Introduction
43Creating an Instrument Track
44Browsing sounds
45MIDI recording
46MIDI playback
46Recording modes with cycle off
47Cycle recording
48The Key Editor
50The Controller lane
51Tutorial 4: Working with loops
52Loop Browser
52Adding loops
53Making copies
53Insert into Project
54Tutorial 5: External MIDI instruments
55Introduction
55Setting up MIDI devices
55Setting up VST connections for external instru-
ments (Cubase only)
56Monitoring external MIDI instruments (Cubase only)
57Recording MIDI and external instruments
(Cubase only)
58Tutorial 6: Mixing and effects
59Introduction
59Setting levels
60Setting pan
60Mute and solo
61Adding EQ
63Audio effects
64About automation
65Exporting
68Tutorial 7: Surround production
(Cubase only)
69Surround busses
71Setting up a surround mix
72Recording in surround
73Exporting a surround file
75Tutorial 8: Editing audio II - tempo and 
groove
76Background
76Example 1: Drum loop, tempo known
77Example 2: Drum loop, Auto Adjust
78Example 3: Drum loop, Manual Adjust
80Example 4: Working with selections
81Tutorial 9: Media management
82Background
82MediaBay, Loop Browser and Sound Browser
84Scanning with the browser
86Searching for media
87Auditioning media with the Scope
88Tagging
89Index 
						

							1
Introduction 
						

							6
Introduction
Welcome
Congratulations and thank you for your purchase of Stein-
berg Cubase. You have now become a member of the 
worlds largest community of music production software us-
ers. Looking back at more than 20 years of innovation in 
computer-based music production, Steinberg has always 
been the driving force behind software technology and Cu-
base is the benchmark for this development. With Version 
4, Cubase is taking the next evolutionary step towards a to-
tally integrated software and hardware system. 
As a composer, musician or producer, you want to be work-
ing with sounds instead of isolated instruments or effects. 
In Cubase and Cubase Studio, this is accommodated with 
the introduction of SoundFrame, a unique combination of a 
database, track presets and an integrated synth engine. 
From now on, you will be able to manage all your sounds 
from all your instruments (software or hardware) within a 
single environment. You can create, manage and access 
your sounds faster and more intuitively than ever. If your mu-
sic is heavily based on loops or prefabricated audio clips, 
you can use the new MediaBay database in a similar fash-
ion to browse and preview your loops. A brand-new effects 
plug-in set and a powerful synth engine provide you with 
thousands of new instruments, sounds and effects. Cubase 
and Cubase Studio also introduce Steinbergs latest-gen-
eration plug-in technology, VST3. It makes plug-ins more 
flexible, more efficient and easier to use. 
As a professional producer, you will enjoy the flexibility of 
Cubases new control room section. If your are a composer 
or songwriter, you will be impressed with Cubase Studios 
powerful yet easy-to-use new score layout and printing fea-
tures. Combine this with unique Cubase features such as 
the Arranger Track for pattern-based arranging or the pow-
erful and now enhanced AudioWarp technology, which 
frees your static audio files from being locked to time or 
pitch. All this has been designed to make your life easier, no 
matter if you make music for a living or as a hobby. 
Take some time to find your way around in this new ver-
sion of Cubase. If you are a first-time user, you will find a 
lot of help in the tutorial section, which is included in this 
manual. It comes with matching Cubase project files and 
even short training videos, which you will find on your pro-gram DVD. Even if you are already familiar with Cubase, it 
makes sense to study these tutorials in order to learn 
about some of the new features in Cubase and Cubase 
Studio, and how they are integrated.
Last but not least, we strongly recommend to register your 
software! It gives you access to special offers from Stein-
berg and ensures that you are always up-to-date on the lat-
est news about tips and tricks, updates or special events. 
Finally, you are also invited to join our Cubase user forum at 
www.steinberg.net, which is the best way to communicate 
directly with us and other Cubase users around the world.
See you around!
The Steinberg Cubase Team
About the manuals and the help
The Cubase documentation is divided into several sec-
tions, as listed below. Some of the documents are in 
Adobe Acrobat format (extension “.pdf”) – these can be 
accessed in the following ways:
 You can open the pdf documents from the Documentation 
submenu on the Help menu in the program.
 Under Windows you can also open these documents from the 
Cubase Documentation subfolder on the Windows Start menu.
 Under Mac OS X the pdf documents are located in the folder 
“/Library/Documentation/Steinberg/Cubase 4”.
ÖTo read the pdf documents, you need to have a suit-
able pdf reader application installed on your computer.
An installer for Adobe Reader is provided on the program DVD.
The Getting Started book
This is the book you are reading now. The Getting Started 
book covers the following areas:
 Computer requirements.
 Installation issues.
 Setting up your system for audio, MIDI and/or video work.
 Tutorials describing the most common procedures for record-
ing, playing back, mixing and editing in Cubase.
In other words, this book does not go into detail on any 
Cubase windows, functions or procedures. 
						

							7
Introduction
The Operation Manual
The Operation Manual is the main Cubase reference docu-
mentation, with detailed descriptions of Cubase operations, 
parameters, functions and techniques. It also includes de-
tailed information about the Score Editor. You should be fa-
miliar with the concepts and methods described in the 
Getting Started book before moving on to the Operation 
Manual.
MIDI Devices
This pdf document contains descriptions of how to man-
age MIDI Devices and device panels.
Plug-in Reference
This manual describes the features and parameters of the 
included VST plug-ins, real-time audio effects and VST In-
struments and the MIDI effects.
Remote Control Devices
This pdf document lists the supported MIDI remote control 
devices and describes how to set them up and use them 
with Cubase.
Mackie Control
This pdf document describes the supported features for 
the Mackie Control remote device.
Menu Reference
This pdf document provides a list of all menus and their 
options with a brief description, for quick reference.
The dialog help
To get information about the active dialog, click its Help 
button.
About the program versions
The documentation covers two program versions; Cubase 
and Cubase Studio, for two different operating systems or 
“platforms”; Windows and Mac OS X. 
Some features described in the documentation are only 
applicable to the Cubase version. Whenever this is the 
case this will be clearly indicated in the heading of the re-
lated subject.Similarly, some features and settings are specific to one of 
the platforms, Windows or Mac OS X. This is clearly 
stated in the applicable cases. In other words:
ÖIf nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures 
in the documentation are valid for both Cubase and Cu-
base Studio, under Windows and Mac OS X.
The screenshots are taken from the Windows version of Cubase.
Key command conventions
Many of the default key commands in Cubase use modifier 
keys, some of which are different depending on the oper-
ating system. For example, the default key command for 
Undo is [Ctrl]+[Z] under Windows and [Command]+[Z] 
under Mac OS X.
When key commands with modifier keys are described in 
this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier 
key first, in the following way:
[Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]+[key]
For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Z] means “press [Ctrl] un-
der Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press 
[Z]”. Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]+[X] means “press [Alt] under 
Windows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”.
ÖPlease note that this manual often refers to “right-
clicking”, e. g. to open context menus, etc. If you are using 
a Macintosh computer with a single-button mouse, hold 
down [Ctrl] and click.
How you can reach us
On the Help menu in Cubase you will find items for getting 
additional information and help:
•On the “Steinberg on the Web” submenu, you can find 
links to various Steinberg web sites. Selecting one will au-
tomatically launch your browser application and open the 
page.
You can find support and compatibility information, answers to frequently 
asked questions, links for downloading new drivers, etc. This requires 
that you have a web browser application installed on your computer, and 
a working Internet connection. 
						

							2
System requirements and installation 
						

							9
System requirements and installation
About this chapter
This chapter describes the requirements and installation 
procedures for the Windows version and the Mac version 
of Cubase. 
Minimum requirements
To use Cubase, your computer must meet the following 
minimum requirements:
Windows
 Windows XP (Home or Professional),
or Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit – see below)
 Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 1.4 GHz processor

 Windows DirectX compatible audio hardware; 
ASIO compatible audio hardware recommended for low 
latency performance.
 Display resolution of 1024x768 pixels
 Steinberg Key and USB component connector
 DVD ROM drive required for installation
 Internet connection required for license activation
Macintosh
 Mac OS X 10.4
 Power Mac G4 1 GHz or Core Solo 1.5 GHz

 Display resolution of 1024x768 pixels
 CoreAudio compatible audio hardware
 Steinberg Key and USB component connector
 DVD ROM drive required for installation
 Internet connection required for license activation
ÖIf you want to install the 64-bit version of Cubase, 
make sure you read the ReadMe document on this topic 
before proceeding.
You will find this document, called “Windows_Vista_64bit_[lan-
guage].rtf”, on the installation DVD, in the ReadMe Files folder.
General notes on how to set up your system
RAM – There is a direct relation between the amount of 
available RAM and the number of audio channels that you 
can have running. 
The amount of RAM specified above is the minimum requirement, but as 
a general rule “the more the better” applies.
Hard disk size – The size of the hard disk determines 
how many minutes of audio you will be able to record. 
Recording one minute of stereo CD quality audio requires 10 MB of hard 
disk space. That is, eight stereo tracks in Cubase use up at least 80 MB 
of disk space per recording minute.
Hard disk speed – The speed of the hard drive also de-
termines the number of audio tracks you can run.
That is the quantity of information that the disk can read, usually expressed 
as “sustained transfer rate”. Again, “the more the better” applies.
Wheel mouse – Although a regular mouse will work fine 
with Cubase, we recommend that you use a wheel mouse.
This will speed up value editing and scrolling considerably. 
MIDI requirements
If you intend to use the MIDI features of Cubase, you need 
the following:
 A MIDI interface to connect external MIDI equipment to your 
computer.

 Any audio equipment required to listen to the sound from your 
MIDI devices. 
Audio hardware
Cubase will run with audio hardware that meets the fol-
lowing specifications:


 Support of at least the 44.1kHz sampling rate.
 Windows – The audio hardware must be supplied with a spe-
cial ASIO driver, or a DirectX compatible driver, see below.
 Mac – The audio hardware must be supplied with Mac OS X-
compatible drivers (CoreAudio or ASIO). 
!On the Steinberg web site, under “Support–DAW 
Components”, you can find detailed information on 
what to consider when setting up a computer system 
dedicated to audio work. 
						

							10
System requirements and installation
Using the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh 
(Mac only)
Although Cubase is designed with multi-channel input 
and output in mind, it’s of course possible to use the pro-
gram with “basic” stereo inputs and outputs. As of this 
writing, all current Macintosh models provide at least built-
in 16 bit stereo audio hardware. For detailed information, 
refer to the documentation describing your computer.
Depending on your preferences and requirements, using 
the built-in audio hardware may be sufficient for use with 
Cubase. It is always available for selection in Cubase – 
you don’t need to install any additional drivers.
About drivers
A driver is a piece of software that allows a program to 
communicate with a certain piece of hardware. In this 
case, the driver allows Cubase to use the audio hardware. 
For audio hardware, there are two different cases, requir-
ing different driver configurations:
If the audio hardware has a specific ASIO driver
Professional audio cards often come with an ASIO driver 
written especially for the card. This allows for communica-
tion directly between Cubase and the audio card. As a re-
sult, audio cards with specific ASIO drivers can provide 
lower latency (input-output delay), which is crucial when 
monitoring audio via Cubase or using VST Instruments. 
The ASIO driver may also provide special support for mul-
tiple inputs and outputs, routing, synchronization, etc.
Audio card-specific ASIO drivers are provided by the card 
manufacturers. Make sure to check the manufacturer’s 
web site for the latest driver versions.
If the audio card communicates via DirectX (Windows 
only)
DirectX is a Microsoft “package” for handling various 
types of multimedia data under Windows. Cubase sup-
ports DirectX, or to be more precise, DirectSound, which 
is a part of DirectX used for playing back and recording 
audio. This requires two types of drivers:
 A DirectX driver for the audio card, allowing it to communicate 
with DirectX. If the audio card supports DirectX, this driver 
should be supplied by the audio card manufacturer. If it isn’t 
installed with the audio card, please check the manufacturer’s 
web site for more information.
 The ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver, allowing Cubase to com-
municate with DirectX. This driver is included with Cubase, 
and does not require any special installation.
Hardware installation
The Steinberg Key
Included with the Cubase package, you will find the Stein-
berg Key (also referred to as a “dongle” or “eLicenser”), a 
hardware copy protection device that is part of the Cu-
base copy protection scheme. Cubase will not run if there 
is no Steinberg Key.
The Steinberg Key
The Steinberg Key is, in fact, a little computer on which 
your Steinberg software licenses are stored. All hardware-
protected Steinberg products use the same type of key, 
and you can store more than one license on one key. Also, 
licenses can (within certain limits) be transferred between 
keys – which is helpful, e.g. if you want to sell a piece of 
software. 
!Some Macintosh models have audio outputs but no 
inputs. This means that you can only play back audio 
– recording is not possible without additional audio 
hardware.
!If your audio hardware comes with a specific ASIO 
driver we strongly recommend that you use this.
!Please read the following section before installing 
the Cubase software.