Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 Operation Manual Studio Manual

121
The mixer
You can also save channel configurations as View sets 
(see “Channel view sets” on page 125), which are then 
accessible from all mixer windows.
These features are very convenient when working with 
large projects. Considering the number of different chan-
nel types that can be shown in the mixer, they could even 
be described as necessary!
The use of multiple mixer windows combined with the abil-
ity to recall different mixer configurations enables you to 
focus on the task at hand and...

122
The mixer
Configuring the mixer
As mentioned earlier, the mixer windows can be config-
ured in various ways to suit your needs and to save screen 
space. Here follows a run through of the various view op-
tions (the following descriptions assume that you have an 
active project containing some tracks):
Normal vs. Extended channel strips
You have the option of selecting normal or extended chan-
nel strips and whether to show the input and output set-
tings at the top of the channel strips. Proceed as...

123
The mixer
Selecting globally from the common panel
1.Open any of the mixer windows.
The leftmost strip is called the common panel and is always shown in the 
mixer. It contains various global settings and options relating to the mixer. 
For more information, see “The common panel” on page 127.
2.Make sure that the extended panel of the mixer is visible.
In the extended area of the common panel, you can see a 
vertical row of icons. These act as buttons and determine 
globally what is displayed in the...

124
The mixer
Setting the width of channel strips
The Channel Narrow/Wide button
Narrow channel strips contain a narrow fader, miniature 
buttons, and the View options pop-up.
If you have selected to show parameters in the extended section, only the 
channel overview or the Meter can be shown in narrow mode. (The pa-
rameters will be shown again when you return to wide mode.)
Wide and narrow channel strips
When selecting “All targets narrow” or “All targets 
wide” on the common panel, all channel strips...

125
The mixer
3.Click the top “hide button” (Hide Channels set to 
“Can Hide”) on the common panel.
This hides all channels set to “Can Hide”. To show them again, click the 
Hide button again or click the button at the bottom on the common panel 
(“Reveal All Channels”).
Below the top hide button, there are three additional “Can 
Hide” buttons.
Channel view sets
Channel view sets are saved configurations of the mixer 
windows, allowing you to quickly switch between different 
layouts for the mixer....

126
The mixer
The audio-related channel strips
The mixer in normal mode (faders and Routing View visible), showing 
(from left to right): the common panel, a stereo audio channel, a group 
channel, an instrument channel, an effect return channel and a VST In-
strument channel strip.
All audio-related channel types (audio, instrument track, 
input/output channels, group, effect return, VST Instru-
ment and ReWire) basically have the same channel strip 
layout, with the following differences:
 Only audio...

127
The mixer
The MIDI channel strips
The MIDI channel strips allow you to control volume and 
pan in your MIDI instrument (provided that they are set up to 
receive the corresponding MIDI messages). The settings 
here are also available in the Inspector for MIDI tracks.
The common panel
The common panel appears to the left in the mixer windows 
and contains settings for changing the look and behavior of 
the mixer, as well as global settings for all channels.
Level fader 
(MIDI volume)Level (velocity)...

128
The mixer
The input and output channels
The busses you have set up in the VST Connections win-
dow are represented by input and output channels in the 
mixer. These are shown in separate “panes” (to the left 
and right of the regular channel strips, respectively), with 
their own dividers and horizontal scrollbars. The i/o chan-
nel strips are very similar to other audio channels and are 
identical for input and output channels (except that input 
channels don’t have Solo buttons or Sends).
ÖIf you...

129
The mixer
About the level meters for audio channels
When playing back audio in Cubase, the level meters in 
the mixer show the level of each audio channel.
Directly below the level meter is a small level readout – 
this shows the highest registered peak level in the signal.
Click this to reset the peak levels.
Peak levels can also be shown as static horizontal lines 
in the meter, see “Changing the meter characteristics” on 
page 137.
If the peak level of the audio goes above 0 dB, the numer-
ical...

130
The mixer
nal. Use this to correct for balanced lines and mics that 
are wired backwards, or mics that are “out of phase” due 
to their positioning.
Phase polarity is important when mixing together two 
similar signals. 
If the signals are “out of phase” with respect to one another, there will be 
some cancellation in the resulting audio, producing a hollow sound with 
less low frequency content.
About level meters for MIDI channels
The level meters for MIDI channels do not show actual vol-
ume...