Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 Getting Started Studio Manual

							11
System requirements and installation
The Syncrosoft License Control Center (which can be 
found in the Start/Programs menu under Windows or the 
Applications folder on a Mac) is the place where you can 
check the licenses installed on your Steinberg Key. 
If you are using other copy-protected Steinberg prod-
ucts, you may want to transfer all licenses for your applica-
tions to only one Steinberg Key, thus using only one USB 
port of your computer. To transfer licenses between keys, 
launch the License Transfer wizard of the Syncrosoft Li-
cense Control Center and follow the instructions.
Steinberg software products always come with a license 
activation code, but not always with a Steinberg Key – if 
you want to activate a license for such a Steinberg software 
(e. g. a VSTi) on the Steinberg Key you received with Cu-
base, launch the License Download wizard of the Syn-
crosoft License Control Center and follow the instructions.
More information on the transfer or activation of licenses 
can be found in the help for the Syncrosoft License Con-
trol Center.
Installing the audio hardware and its driver
1.Install the audio card and related equipment in the 
computer, as described in the card’s documentation.
2.Install the driver for the card.
Depending on the operating system of your computer, there are different 
types of drivers that could apply: card-specific ASIO drivers, DirectX 
drivers (Windows) or Mac OS X (Mac) drivers:
Specific ASIO driver
If your audio card has a specific ASIO driver, it may be in-
cluded with the audio card, but you should always make 
sure to check the audio card manufacturer’s web site for 
the most recent drivers. For details on how to install the 
driver, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.
DirectX driver (Windows only)
If your audio card is DirectX compatible, its DirectX drivers 
will most likely be installed when you install the card. If you 
have downloaded special DirectX drivers for the audio 
card, you should follow the manufacturer’s installation in-
structions.
Mac OS X drivers (Mac only)
If you are using a Macintosh computer, make sure you are 
using the latest Mac OS X drivers for your audio hard-
ware. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to install the 
driver.
Testing the card
To make sure the audio card will work as expected, perform 
the following two tests:
Use any software included with the audio card to make 
sure you can record and play back audio without problems.
If the card is accessed via a standard operating system 
driver, try playing back audio using the computer’s standard 
audio application (e. g. Windows Media Player or Apple 
iTunes).
Installing a MIDI interface/synthesizer card
Installation instructions for a MIDI interface should be in-
cluded with the product. However, here’s an outline of the 
necessary steps:
1.Install the interface (or MIDI synthesizer card) inside 
your computer or connect it to a “port” (connector) on the 
computer.
Which is right for you depends on which type of interface you have.
2.If the interface has a power supply and/or a power 
switch, turn it on.
3.Install the driver for the interface, as described in the 
documentation that comes with the interface.
You should also make sure to check the manufacturer’s web site for the 
latest driver updates. 
						

							12
System requirements and installation
Installing Cubasew
The installation procedure puts all files in the right places, 
automatically.
Windows
1.Double-click the file called “Cubase4.msi” or 
“CubaseStudio4.msi”.
2.Follow the instructions on screen.
Macintosh
1.Double-click the file called “Cubase4.mpkg” or “Cu-
base Studio 4.mpkg”.
2.Follow the instructions on screen.
About the tutorials
The program DVD also contains several tutorial project 
files and videos. These are not installed during the installa-
tion, but can be added manually from the DVD.
The tutorial chapters in this manual all refer to these tuto-
rial projects. So, to be able to follow the instructions in this 
manual, you have to drag the files to your computer.
You find the Tutorial Projects in the folder “Additional 
Content”.
Defragmenting the hard disk 
(Windows only)
If you plan to record audio on a hard disk where you have 
already stored other files, now is the time to defragment it. 
Defragmentation reorganizes the physical allocation of 
space on the hard disk in order to optimize its perfor-
mance. It is done with a special defragmentation program.
Register your software
We encourage you to register your software! By doing so 
you are entitled to technical support and kept aware of up-
dates and other news regarding Cubase. 
There are two ways to register:
In Cubase, open the Help menu and select the Regis-
tration option.
This option is an Internet link that will open the Registration page of the 
Steinberg web site. To register, simply follow the instructions on screen. 
When you launch Cubase, you will also be prompted to launch the regis-
tration process.
Included on the Cubase installation DVD, you can find a 
registration form in pdf format. To register, print out the 
form, enter all required information and send it to Steinberg.
!It is crucial to the audio recording performance that 
your hard disk is optimized (defragmented). You 
should make sure to defragment regularly. 
						

							3
Setting up your system 
						

							14
Setting up your system
Setting up audio
Connecting audio
Exactly how to set up your system depends on many dif-
ferent factors, e. g. the kind of project you wish to create, 
the external equipment you want to use, the computer 
hardware available to you, etc. Therefore, the following 
sections can only serve as examples.
How you connect your equipment, i. e. whether you use 
digital or analog connections, also depends on your indi-
vidual setup.
Stereo input and output – the simplest connection
If you only use a stereo input and output from Cubase, you 
can connect your audio hardware, e. g. the inputs of your 
audio card or your audio interface, directly to the input 
source and the outputs to a power amplifier and speaker.
A simple stereo audio setup.
This is probably the simplest of all setups – once you have 
set up the internal input and output busses, you can con-
nect your audio source, e. g. a microphone, to your audio 
interface and start recording.
Multi-channel input and output
Most likely however, you will have other audio equipment 
that you want to integrate with Cubase, using several in-
put and output channels. Depending on the equipment 
available to you, there are two ways to go: either mixing 
using an external mixing desk, or mixing using the mixer in-
side Cubase.External mixing means having a hardware mixing device 
with a group or bus system that can be used for feeding 
inputs on your audio hardware.
In the example below, four busses are used for feeding signals to the au-
dio hardware’s inputs. The four outputs are connected back to the mixer 
for monitoring and playback. Remaining mixer inputs can be used for 
connecting audio sources like microphones, instruments, etc.
A multi-channel audio setup using an external mixer.
ÖWhen connecting an input source (like a mixer) to the 
audio hardware, you should use output busses, sends or 
similar that are separate from the mixer’s master output to 
avoid recording what you are playing back. You may also 
have mixing hardware that can be connected via FireWire.
When using the Mixer inside Cubase, you can use the 
inputs on your audio hardware to connect microphones 
and/or external devices. Use the outputs to connect your 
monitoring equipment.
Cubase only: You can create very complex setups using external instru-
ments and external effects, and integrate Cubase seamlessly with all 
your external equipment using the Control Room feature (see the chap-
ters “VST Connections: setting up input and output busses” and “The 
Control Room” in the Operation Manual for details).
Mixing inside Cubase
!Make sure that all equipment is turned off before 
making any connections! 
						

							15
Setting up your system
Connecting for surround sound (Cubase only)
If you plan to mix for surround sound, you can connect the 
audio outputs to a multi-channel power amplifier, driving a 
set of surround channels.
A surround sound playback configuration.
Cubase supports surround formats with up to 6 speaker 
channels. The figure above shows a 5.1 surround setup.
Recording from a CD player
Most computers come with a CD-ROM drive that can also 
be used as a regular CD player. In some cases the CD 
player is internally connected to the audio hardware so 
that you can record the output of the CD player directly 
into Cubase (consult the audio hardware documentation if 
you are uncertain).
 All routing and level adjustments for recording from a CD (if 
available) are done in the audio hardware setup application 
(see “Making settings for the audio hardware” on page 15).
 You can also grab audio tracks directly from a CD in Cubase 
(see the chapter “File Handling” in the Operation Manual). 
Word Clock connections
If you are using a digital audio connection, you may also 
need a word clock connection between the audio hard-
ware and external devices. Please refer to the documenta-
tion that came with the audio hardware for details.
About recording levels and inputs
When you connect your equipment, you should make sure 
that the impedance and levels of the audio sources and in-
puts are matched. Typically, different inputs may be de-
signed for use with microphones, consumer line level 
(-10 dBV) or professional line level (+4 dBV), or you may be 
able to adjust input characteristics on the audio interface or 
in its control panel. Please check the audio hardware docu-
mentation for details.
Using the correct types of input is important to avoid dis-
tortion or noisy recordings.
Making settings for the audio hardware
Most audio cards come with one or more small applica-
tions that allow you to configure the inputs of the hard-
ware to your liking. 
This includes:
 Selecting which inputs/outputs are active.
 Setting up word clock synchronization (if available).
 Turning monitoring via the hardware on/off (see “About moni-
toring” on page 18).
 Setting levels for each input. This is very important!
 Setting levels for the outputs, so that they match the equip-
ment you use for monitoring.
 Selecting digital input and output formats.
 Making settings for the audio buffers.
In many cases all available settings for the audio hardware 
are gathered in a control panel, which can be opened from 
within Cubase as described below (or opened separately, 
when Cubase isn’t running). In some cases, there may be 
several different applications and panels – please refer to 
the audio hardware documentation for details.
!It is very important that word clock synchronization is 
done correctly or there might be clicks and crackles 
in recordings that you make!
!Cubase does not provide any input level adjustments 
for the signals coming in to your audio hardware, 
since these are handled differently for each card. Ad-
justing input levels is either done in a special applica-
tion included with the hardware or from its control 
panel (see below).  
						

							16
Setting up your system
Selecting a driver and making audio settings 
in Cubase
The first thing you need to do is select the correct driver in 
Cubase to make sure that the program can communicate 
with the audio hardware:
1.Launch Cubase, select Device Setup from the Devices 
menu and click on VST Audio System in the Devices list to 
the left.
The VST Audio System page in the Device Setup dialog.
2.Select your audio hardware driver from the ASIO 
Driver menu.
There may be several options here that all refer to the same audio hard-
ware. When you have selected a driver, it is added to the Devices list.
3.Select the driver in the Devices list to open the Driver 
settings for your audio hardware.
4.Bring up the control panel for the audio hardware and 
adjust the settings as recommended by the audio hard-
ware manufacturer.Under Windows, you open the control panel by clicking 
the Control Panel button.
The control panel that appears when you click this button is provided by 
the audio hardware manufacturer and not Cubase (unless you use Di-
rectX, see below). Hence it will be different for each audio card brand 
and model.
The Control panel for the ASIO DirectX driver is an exception, as it is 
provided by Steinberg, and is described in the dialog help, opened by 
clicking the Help button in the dialog. See also the notes below.
Under Mac OS X, you will find the control panel for your 
audio hardware in the System Preferences (“Other” sec-
tion), opened from the Apple menu or from the Dock.
If you are using the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh, you use the 
“Sound” control panel in the System Preferences to set levels, balance, etc.
If you are using ASIO audio hardware, you can click the Control Panel but-
ton to bring up its panel.
5.If you plan to use several audio applications simulta-
neously, you may want to activate the option “Release 
Driver when Application is in Background” on the VST 
Audio System page. This will allow another application to 
play back via your audio hardware even though Cubase is 
running.
The application that is currently active (i.e. the “top window” on the desk-
top) will get access to the audio hardware. Make sure that any other au-
dio application accessing the audio hardware is also set to release the 
ASIO (or Mac OS X) driver so Cubase can use it when it becomes the 
active application again.
6.If your audio hardware and its driver support ASIO Di-
rect Monitoring, you may want to activate the Direct Moni-
toring checkbox on the page for the driver.
Read more about monitoring later in this chapter and in the chapter “Re-
cording” in the Operation Manual.
7.Click Apply and then OK to close the dialog.
!Under Windows, we strongly recommend that you 
access your hardware via an ASIO driver written 
specifically for the hardware, if available. If no ASIO 
driver is installed, we recommend that you check 
with your audio hardware manufacturer if they have 
an ASIO driver available, for example for download 
via the Internet. 
						

							17
Setting up your system
If you are using audio hardware with a DirectX driver 
(Windows only)
Cubase comes with a driver called ASIO DirectX Full Du-
plex, available for selection on the ASIO Driver pop-up 
menu (VST Audio System page).
ÖTo be able to take full advantage of DirectX Full Du-
plex, the audio hardware must support WDM (Windows 
Driver Model) in combination with DirectX version 8.1 or 
higher. 
In all other cases, the audio inputs will be emulated by DirectX (see the 
dialog help for the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex Setup dialog for details 
about how this is reported).
ÖDuring the installation of Cubase, the latest DirectX 
will be installed on your computer. 
When the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver is selected in 
the Device Setup dialog, you can open the ASIO Control 
Panel and adjust the following settings (for more details, 
click the Help button in the control panel):
Direct Sound Output and Input Ports
In the list to the left in the window, all available Direct Sound output and 
input ports are listed. In many cases, there will be only one port in each 
list. To activate or deactivate a port in the list, click the checkbox in the 
left column. If the checkbox is ticked, the port is activated.
You can edit the Buffer Size and Offset settings in this 
list if necessary, by double-clicking on the value and typ-
ing in a new value. 
In most cases, the default settings will work fine. Audio buffers are used 
when audio data is transferred between Cubase and the audio card. 
While larger buffers ensure that playback will occur without glitches, the 
latency (the time between the moment Cubase sends out the data and 
when it actually reaches the output) will be higher.
Offset
If a constant offset is audible during playback of Audio and MIDI record-
ings, you can adjust the output or input latency time using this value.
Setting up the input and output ports
Once you have selected the driver and made the settings 
as described above, you need to specify which inputs and 
outputs should be used and name these:
1.In the Device Setup dialog, select your driver in the De-
vices list on the left to display the Driver settings for your 
audio hardware.
All input and output ports on the audio hardware are listed.
2.To hide a port, click in the “Visible” column for the port 
(deselecting the checkbox).
Ports that aren’t visible cannot be selected in the VST Connections win-
dow where you set up your input and output busses – see “Setting up 
the VST Connections” on page 25 and the chapter “VST Connections: 
setting up input and output busses” in the Operation Manual. 
3.To rename a port, click on its name in the “Show as” 
column and type in a new name.
ÖIt is a good idea to give your ports names that are re-
lated to the channel configuration (rather than to the ac-
tual hardware model)! 
For example, if you are using a 5.1 surround audio setup (Cubase only), 
you could name the six ports Left, Right, Center, Lfe, Left Surround and 
Right Surround. This makes it easier to transfer your projects between 
different computers, e.g. in different studios – if the same port names are 
used on both computers, Cubase will automatically handle the bus con-
nections properly when you open the project on the other computer.
4.Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog and apply 
your changes.
!If your Windows audio hardware does not have a 
specific ASIO driver, a DirectX driver is the next best 
option.
!If you attempt to hide a port that is already used by a 
bus you will be asked whether this is really what you 
want – note that this will disable the port! 
						

							18
Setting up your system
About monitoring
In Cubase, monitoring means listening to the input signal 
while preparing to record or while recording. There are 
three ways to monitor:
External monitoring
External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it 
goes into Cubase) requires an external mixer for mixing the 
audio playback with the input signal. This can be a classic 
mixing desk or a mixer application for your audio hardware, 
if this has a mode in which the input audio is sent back out 
again (usually called “Thru”, “Direct Thru” or similar).
Via Cubase
In this case, the audio passes from the input into Cubase, 
possibly through Cubase effects and EQ and then back to 
the output. You control monitoring via settings in Cubase.
This allows you to control the monitoring level from Cu-
base and add effects to the monitored signal only. 
ASIO Direct Monitoring
If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may sup-
port ASIO Direct Monitoring (this feature may also be avail-
able for audio hardware with Mac OS X drivers). In this 
mode, the actual monitoring is done in the audio hardware, 
by sending the input signal back out again. However, moni-
toring is controlled from Cubase. This means that the audio 
hardware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off 
automatically by Cubase.
Monitoring is described in detail in the chapter “Record-
ing” in the Operation Manual. However, when setting up, 
there’s one thing to note:
If you want to use the external monitoring via your audio 
hardware, make sure the corresponding functions are ac-
tivated in the card’s mixer application. 
ÖIf you are using RME Audio Hammerfall DSP audio 
hardware, make sure that the pan law is set to -3dB in the 
card’s preferences.
Setting up MIDI
This section describes how to connect and set up MIDI 
equipment. If you have no MIDI equipment, you can skip 
this section. Note that this is only an example – you might 
need or want to hook things up differently!
Connecting the MIDI equipment
In this example we assume that you have a MIDI keyboard 
and an external MIDI sound module. The keyboard is used 
both for feeding the computer with MIDI messages for re-
cording and for playing back MIDI tracks. The sound mod-
ule is used for playback only. Using Cubase’s MIDI Thru 
feature (described later) you will be able to hear the cor-
rect sound from the sound module while playing the key-
board or recording.
A typical MIDI Setup.
!Make sure that all equipment is turned off before 
making any connections! 
						

							19
Setting up your system
You might want to use even more instruments for playback. 
If you do, simply connect MIDI Thru on the sound module to 
MIDI In on the next instrument, and so on. In this hook-up, 
you will always play the first keyboard when recording. But 
you can still use all your devices for providing sounds on 
playback.
Setting MIDI Thru and Local On/Off
In the “MIDI” section in the Preferences dialog (located on 
the File menu under Windows and on the Cubase menu 
under Mac OS X), you will find a setting called “MIDI Thru 
Active”. This is related to a setting in your instrument 
called “Local On/Off” or “Local Control On/Off”.
 If you use a MIDI keyboard instrument, as described earlier in 
this chapter, MIDI Thru should be activated and that instru-
ment should be set to Local Off (sometimes called Local Con-
trol Off – see the instrument’s operation manual for details). 
The MIDI signal from the keyboard will be recorded in Cubase 
and at the same time be re-routed back to the instrument so 
that you hear what you are playing, without the keyboard “trig-
gering” its own sounds.
 If you use a separate MIDI keyboard – one that does not pro-
duce any sounds itself – MIDI Thru in Cubase should also be 
activated, but you don’t need to look for any Local On/Off set-
ting in your instruments.
 The only case where MIDI Thru should be deactivated is if you 
use Cubase with only one keyboard instrument and that in-
strument cannot be set to Local Off mode.
 Note that MIDI Thru will be active only for those MIDI tracks 
that are record enabled and/or have the Monitor button acti-
vated. See the chapter “Recording” in the Operation Manual 
for more information.
!If you plan to use more than three sound sources, we 
recommend that you either use an interface with 
more than one output, or a separate MIDI Thru box 
instead of the Thru jacks on each unit.
When “MIDI Thru” is active 
in Cubase, MIDI data re-
ceived is immediately 
“echoed” back out.
When you press a key, it is sent 
out via MIDI to Cubase.MIDI data coming in to 
the instrument is played 
by the “Synth” inside it.
When Local Control is turned on in the instrument, the keys 
you press will be played by the “Synth” inside the Instrument. 
When Local Control is turned off, this connection is cut off.
MIDI data coming in to 
the instrument is played 
by the “Synth” inside it.
“Synth” 
						

							20
Setting up your system
Setting up MIDI ports in Cubase
The Device Setup dialog lets you set up your MIDI system 
in the following ways:
ÖNote: When you change MIDI port settings in the De-
vice Setup dialog, these are automatically applied in the 
program.
Showing or hiding MIDI Ports
The MIDI ports are listed in the Device Setup dialog on the 
MIDI Port Setup page. By clicking in the “Visible” column 
for a MIDI input or output, you can specify whether or not it 
should be listed on the MIDI pop-up menus in the program.
If you are trying to hide a MIDI port which is already se-
lected for a track or a MIDI device, a warning message will 
appear, allowing you to hide – and disconnect – the port 
or to cancel the operation and keep the MIDI port visible.
Setting up the “All MIDI Inputs” option
When you record MIDI in Cubase, you can specify which 
MIDI input each recording MIDI track should use. How-
ever, you can also select the “In All Inputs” option for an 
input port, which causes any MIDI data from any MIDI in-
put to be recorded.
The “In All Inputs” option on the MIDI Port Setup page al-
lows you to specify which inputs should be included when 
you select All MIDI Inputs for a MIDI track. This can be es-
pecially useful if your system provides several instances of 
the same physical MIDI input – by deactivating the dupli-
cates you make sure only the desired MIDI data is recorded.
ÖIf you have a MIDI remote control unit connected, you 
should also make sure to deactivate the “In All Inputs” op-
tion for that MIDI input.
This will avoid accidentally recording the data from the remote control 
when the “All MIDI Inputs” option is selected as input for a MIDI track.
Connecting a synchronizer
When using Cubase with external tape transports, you will 
most likely need to add a synchronizer to your system. All 
connections and setup procedures for synchronization are 
described in the 
chapter “Synchronization” in the Opera-
tion Manual.
Setting up video 
Cubase plays back video films in AVI, Quicktime or MPEG 
formats. Under Windows, video can be played back using 
one of the following playback engines: Video for Win-
dows, DirectShow or Quicktime. This ensures compatibil-
ity with as wide a range of video files as possible. Under 
Mac OS X, Quicktime is always used as playback engine.
Generally there are two ways to play back video:
Without any special hardware at all, using the computer 
CPU.
In this case, the “codec” is in software. While this will be fine in many sit-
uations it does put a limit on the size of the video window as well as the 
quality of the image.
Using video hardware that for example connects to an 
external monitor.
Mac OS X: Using a FireWire port, you can play back video on an external 
monitor using a DV-to-analog converter or a DV camera (see also the 
chapter “Video” in the Operation Manual).
This is valid for DV video and QuickTime is used for playback.
Windows: Multi-head graphics cards which support overlay functionality 
can be used to display the video picture on an external monitor. The fol-
lowing manufacturers have working (and tested) solutions available: 
nVIDIA and Matrox.
If you plan to use special video hardware, install it and set 
it up as recommended by the manufacturer.
Before you use the video hardware with Cubase, we re-
commend that you test the hardware installation with the 
utility applications that came with the hardware and/or the 
Windows Media Player or Quicktime Player (Mac OS X) 
applications.
!Make sure that all equipment is turned off before 
making any connections!
!Always make all connections with all equipment 
turned off!