Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 Operation Manual Studio Manual

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The Sample Editor
ÖNote that there is a separate Play button for audition-
ing regions. See “Auditioning regions” on page 244.
By using the Speaker tool
If you click somewhere in the waveform display with the 
Speaker (“Play”) tool and keep the mouse button pressed, 
the clip will be played back from the position at which you 
clicked. Playback will continue until you release the mouse 
button.
Scrubbing
The Scrub tool allows you to locate positions in the audio 
by playing back, forwards or backwards, at any speed:
1.Select the Scrub tool.
2.Click in the waveform display and keep the mouse 
button pressed.
The project cursor is moved to the position at which you click.
3.Drag to the left or right.
The project cursor follows the mouse pointer and the audio is played 
back. The speed and pitch of the playback depends on how fast you 
move the pointer.
You can adjust the response of the Scrub tool with the 
Scrub Response (Speed) setting in the Preferences 
(Transport–Scrub page).
There you will also find a separate Scrub Volume setting.
Adjusting the snap point
The snap point is a marker within an audio event (or clip, 
see below). This is used as a reference position when you 
are moving events with snap activated, so that the snap 
point is “magnetic” to whatever snap positions you have 
selected. 
By default, the snap point is set at the beginning of the au-
dio event, but often it is useful to move the snap point to a 
“relevant” position in the event, such as a downbeat, etc.
1.Activate the “Audio Event” option so that the event is 
displayed in the editor.
2.Scroll so that the event is visible, and locate the “S” 
flag in the event.
If you haven’t adjusted this previously, it will be located at the beginning 
of the event.
3.Click on the “S” flag and drag it to the desired position.
When you drag the snap point, a tool tip shows its current position (in 
the format selected on the Sample Editor ruler).
Cubase only: If the Scrub tool is selected when you 
move the snap point, you will hear the audio while drag-
ging (just like when scrubbing).
This makes it easier to find the correct position.
You can also adjust the snap point by setting the project 
cursor: 
						

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The Sample Editor
1.Place the cursor at the desired position (intersecting 
the event).
You may want to do this by scrubbing, to spot the right position exactly.
2.Right-click to open the Quick menu and select “Snap 
Point To Cursor” from the Audio submenu.
The snap point will be set to the position of the cursor. This method can 
also be used in the Project window and the Audio Part Editor.
It is also possible to define a snap point for a clip (for 
which there is no event yet).
To open a clip in the Sample Editor, double-click it in the Pool (or drag it 
from the Pool to the Sample Editor). After having set the snap point using 
the procedure described above, you can insert the clip into the project 
from the Pool or the Sample Editor, taking the snap point position into 
account.
Making selections
To select an audio section in the Sample Editor, you click 
and drag with the Range Selection tool.
If Snap to Zero Crossing is activated on the toolbar, the 
start and end of the selection will always be at zero cross-
ings (see “Snap to Zero Crossing” on page 246).
You can resize the selection by dragging its left and 
right edge or by [Shift]-clicking.The current selection is indicated in the corresponding 
fields in the Range tab of the Sample Editor Inspector.
You can fine-tune the selection by changing these values numerically. 
Note that the values are relative to the start of the clip, rather than to the 
project timeline.
Using the Select menu
In the Select menu in the Range tab and in the Select sub-
menu of the Edit menu you can find the following options:
!When you set the Grid Start in the Definition tab, the 
snap point will be moved to the Grid Start (see “Ma-
nually adjusting grid and tempo of your audio” on 
page 250).
A selected range
Function Description
Select All Selects the whole clip.
Select None Selects no audio (the selection length is set to “0”).
Select in Loop Selects all audio between the left and right locator.
Select  Event Selects the audio that is included in the edited event only. 
This is not available if you opened the Sample Editor from 
the Pool (in which case the whole clip is opened for edit-
ing, not an event).
Locators to Se-
lection (Range 
tab only)Sets the locators to encompass the current selection. 
This is available if you have selected one or several 
events or made a selection range.
Locate Selec-
tion (Range tab 
only)Moves the project cursor to the beginning or end of the 
current selection. For this to be available, you must have 
selected one or more events or parts, or made a selection 
range.
Loop Selection 
(Range tab only)This activates playback from the start of the current se-
lection and keeps starting over again when reaching the 
selection end.
From Start to 
Cursor (Edit 
menu only)Selects all audio between the clip start and the project 
cursor.
From Cursor to 
End (Edit menu 
only)Selects all audio between the project cursor and the end 
of the clip. For this to work, the project cursor must be 
within the clip boundaries.
Left Selection 
Side to Cursor 
(Edit menu only)Moves the left side of the current selection range to the 
project cursor position. For this to work, the cursor must 
be within the clip boundaries.
Right Selection 
Side to Cursor 
(Edit menu only)Moves the right side of the current selection range to the 
project cursor position (or the end of the clip, if the cursor 
is to the right of the clip). 
						

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The Sample Editor
Editing selection ranges
Selections in the Sample Editor can be processed in sev-
eral ways. Please note:
If you attempt to edit an event that is a shared copy (i.e. 
the event refers to a clip that is used by other events in the 
project), you are asked whether you want to create a new 
version of the clip or not (if you haven’t made a “perma-
nent” choice already – see below).
Select “New Version” if you want the editing to affect the selected event 
only. Select “Continue” if you want the editing to affect all shared copies. 
Note: If you activate the option “Do not show this message again” in the 
dialog, any further editing you do will conform to the selected method 
(“Continue” or “New Version”). You can change this setting at any time 
with the “On Processing Shared Clips” pop-up menu in the Preferences 
(Editing–Audio page).
Any changes to the clip will appear in the Offline Process 
History, making it possible to undo them at a later point (see 
“The Offline Process History dialog” on page 227).
Cut, Copy and Paste
The Cut, Copy and Paste commands (on the Edit menu in 
the Process tab of the Sample Editor Inspector or in the 
main Edit menu) work according to the following rules:
Selecting Copy copies the selection to the clipboard.
Selecting Cut removes the selection from the clip and 
moves it to the clipboard.
The section to the right of the selection is moved to the left to fill out the 
gap.
Selecting Paste copies the data on the clipboard into 
the clip.
If there is a selection in the editor, this will be replaced by the pasted 
data. If there is no selection, the pasted data will be inserted starting at 
the selection line. The section to the right of the line will be moved to 
make room for the pasted material.
The pasted data will be inserted at the selection line.
Delete
Selecting Delete (on the Edit menu in the Process tab of 
the Sample Editor Inspector or in the main Edit menu or 
pressing [Backspace]) removes the selection from the 
clip. The section to the right of the selection is moved to 
the left to fill out the gap.
Insert Silence
Selecting “Insert Silence” (on the Edit menu in the Pro-
cess tab of the Sample Editor Inspector or in the Range 
submenu of the main Edit menu) will insert a silent section 
with the same length as the current selection, at the selec-
tion start. 
The selection will not be replaced, but moved to the 
right to make room. 
If you want to replace the selection, use the “Silence” function instead 
(see “Silence” on page 224).
Processing
Processing (on the Select Process menu in the Process 
tab of the Sample Editor Inspector or in the Process sub-
menu on the Audio menu) can be applied to selections in 
the Sample Editor, as can the effects (on the Select Plug-
in menu in the Process tab of the Sample Editor Inspector 
or in the Plug-ins submenu on the Audio menu). See the 
chapter “Audio processing and functions” on page 216. 
Creating a new event from the selection
You can create a new event that plays only the selected 
range, using the following method:
1.Make a selection range.
2.Press [Ctrl]/[Command] and drag the selection range 
to the desired audio track in the Project window.
Creating a new clip or audio file from the selection
You can extract a selection from an event and either cre-
ate a new clip or a new audio file, in the following way:
1.Make a selection range.
2.Right-click to open the Quick menu and select 
“Bounce Selection” from the Audio submenu. 
						

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The Sample Editor
A new clip is created and added to the Pool, and another 
Sample Editor window will open with the new clip. The 
new clip will refer to the same audio file as the original clip, 
but will only contain the audio corresponding to the selec-
tion range.
Working with regions
Regions are sections within a clip. One of the main uses for 
regions is Cycle recording, in which the different “takes” 
are stored as regions (see “Recording audio in cycle mode” 
on page 75). You can also use this feature for marking im-
portant sections in the audio clip. Regions can be dragged 
into the Project window from the Editor or the Pool to cre-
ate new audio events. You can also export a region to disk 
as a new audio file, from the Pool.
Regions are best created, edited and managed in the 
Sample Editor.
Creating a region
1.Select the range you want to convert into a region.
2.Click the “Show Regions” button on the toolbar, or ac-
tivate the “Regions” option on the Elements submenu on 
the Quick menu.
The regions list is displayed to the right in the Sample Editor window.
3.Click the Add region button above the Regions list (or 
select “Event or Range as Region” from the Advanced 
submenu of the Audio menu).
A region is created, corresponding to the selected range.
4.To name the region, double-click on it in the list and 
enter a new name.
Regions can be renamed at any time, using this procedure.
When a region is selected in the Regions list, it is in-
stantly displayed and selected in the Sample Editor.
Creating regions from Hitpoints
If your audio event contains calculated hitpoints, you can 
choose to automatically create regions from hitpoints. This 
can be useful to isolate recorded sounds. For further infor-
mation on hitpoints, see “Working with hitpoints and sli-
ces” on page 252.
Editing regions
The region selected in the list is displayed in gray in the 
waveform display and thumbnail.
There are two ways to edit the start and end position of a 
region:
Click and drag its start and end handles in the waveform 
display (with any tool).
When you move the pointer over the handles, it will automatically change 
to an arrow pointer to indicate that you can drag the handles.
Edit the Start and End positions numerically in the Re-
gions list.
The positions are shown in the display format selected for the ruler and 
info line, but are relative to the start of the audio clip, rather than the 
project timeline.
Auditioning regions
You can listen to a region by selecting it in the list and 
clicking the Play Region button (above the list). The region 
will play back once or repeatedly, depending on whether 
the Loop icon on the toolbar is activated or not. 
						

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The Sample Editor
Making selections from regions
If you select a region in the list and click the Select Region 
button above, the corresponding section of the audio clip 
is selected (as if you had selected it with the Range Se-
lection tool). This is useful if you want to apply processing 
to the region only.
Note that you can also double-click a region in the Pool 
to have its audio clip open in the Sample Editor with the 
area of the region automatically selected.
Creating new events from regions
You can create new audio events from regions, using the 
following method:
1.Click in the Region’s leftmost column in the list and 
keep the mouse button pressed.
2.Move the pointer to the desired audio track and posi-
tion in the Project window.
3.Release the mouse button.
A new event is created.
You can also use the function “Events from Regions” 
from the Advanced submenu of the Audio menu for this 
(see “Region operations” on page 56).
Removing regions
To remove a region from a clip, select it in the list and click 
the Remove Region button above the list.
Exporting regions as audio files
If you create a region in the Sample Editor, the region can 
be exported to disk as a new audio file. This is done from 
the Pool, see “Exporting regions as audio files” on page 
280.
Drawing in the Sample Editor
It is possible to edit the audio clip at sample level by draw-
ing with the Pencil tool. This can be useful if you need to 
manually edit out a spike or click, etc.
1.Zoom in to a zoom value lower than 1.
This means that there is more than one screen pixel per sample.
2.Select the Pencil tool.
3.Click and draw at the desired position in the waveform 
display.
When you release the mouse button, the edited section is automatically 
selected.
Options and settings
Show audio event
When the Show Audio Event button is activated on the 
toolbar (or the option “Audio Event” is activated on the Ele-
ments submenu on the Quick menu), the section corre-
sponding to the edited event is highlighted in the waveform 
display and Thumbnail. The sections of the audio clip not 
belonging to the event are shown with a dark gray back-
ground.
!Any changes created by drawing will appear in the 
Offline Process History, making it possible to undo 
them at a later stage (see “The Offline Process His-
tory dialog” on page 227).
!This is only available if you opened the Sample Editor 
by double-clicking an audio event in the Project win-
dow or the Audio Part Editor and not, if you opened 
the audio event from within the Pool. 
						

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The Sample Editor
In this mode, you can adjust the start and end of the 
event in the clip by dragging the event handles in the 
waveform display.
When you move the pointer over the event handles (no matter what tool 
may be selected), it takes on the shape of an arrow, to indicate that you 
can click and drag.
Snap to Zero Crossing
Snap to Zero Crossing activated.
When this option is activated, all audio edits are done at 
zero crossings (positions in the audio where the amplitude 
is zero). This helps you avoid pops and clicks which might 
otherwise be caused by sudden amplitude changes.
This setting affects the Sample Editor only. In the 
Project window and other editors, the Snap to Zero 
Crossing setting on the Project menu toolbar or in the 
Preferences (Editing–Audio page) is used.
ÖIf hitpoints have been calculated, these will also be 
taken into account when snapping to zero crossings.
Autoscroll
Autoscroll activated.
When this option is activated, the waveform display will 
scroll during playback, keeping the project cursor visible 
in the editor.
Audio Warp realtime processing/
Tempo matching audio to the 
project tempo
Audio warp is the generic name for the realtime time-
stretching and pitch-shifting functions in Cubase. The main 
audio warp features are tempo-matching any audio loop to 
the project tempo (see “Determining the tempo of an audio 
loop and slicing your audio” on page 252) and matching up 
an audio clip with fluctuating tempo to a fixed tempo. 
If you want to tempo match an audio loop to the project 
tempo, you will normally work with loops with straight 
beats. In this case you will only need to activate the 
Straighten Up mode. 
Proceed as follows: 
1.Import your loop into the project and double-click it to 
open it in the Sample Editor.
2.Open the Playback tab in the Sample Editor Inspector 
and activate the Straighten Up mode.
Your loop will automatically adapt to the project tempo. 
If you want to use an audio file instead, or if the beat of 
your loop is not straight, further adjustments could be 
necessary. These are described in the following sections. 
						

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The Sample Editor
Determining the audio tempo automatically 
and time-stretching your audio
If you want to use an audio file with an unknown tempo in 
your project context, the easiest way to determine the 
tempo is to define a loop. You can then determine the 
tempo of the loop automatically (or manually) and finally 
match the tempo of this loop to the project tempo in Cu-
base. 
1.Import a suitable audio file, for example a drum loop 
and double-click on it to open it in the Sample Editor.
2.Make sure that the first downbeat of the audio clip is 
aligned with the first beat of the first bar in the Sample Ed-
itor.
If your audio file is a two or four bar loop, you can import it 
into your project and proceed with step three, if you have 
a longer audio file, possibly with an upbeat, you have the 
following possibilities to define a loop:
Resize your event by adjusting the Event Start and the 
Event End and make sure that the Preview mode is acti-
vated.
or…Make a selection range in a longer clip and click the Au-
dition Loop button.Adjust the selection range until the loop is smooth. 
A 4 bar loop has been selected.
3.Open the Definition tab and make sure the Bars value 
corresponds to the length of the audio file, or the selection 
range, respectively.
If necessary, listen to your audio to determine the correct bar length.
4.Click the Auto Adjust button to automatically adjust 
the grid to the audio file. 
						

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The Sample Editor
When you click Auto Adjust, the following happens:
 If you created a loop by defining a selection range in a longer 
audio file, the snap point (S symbol) will be moved to the loop 
start.
 In the waveform, vertical lines will be displayed. The thick lines 
should match the bar positions and the thin lines the beat po-
sitions. You can adjust these lines by means of the Manual 
Adjust tool, see below.
 In the Definition tab the Manual Adjust tool will be activated 
(see “Manually adjusting grid and tempo of your audio” on 
page 250).
 In the Playback tab the Straighten Up button will be switched 
on (see “About the Straighten Up mode” on page 249).
5.Open the Playback tab to select an algorithm that 
should be applied on realtime playback. In this pop-up you can find various options that govern the 
audio quality of the realtime time-stretching. There are pre-
sets for common types of audio material and an Advanced 
option where you can manually set warp parameters:
Option Description
Drums This mode is best for percussive sounds, because it will not 
change the timing of your audio. Using this option for pitched 
audio will lead to noticeable artefacts. In this case, you can try 
the Mix mode.
Plucked This should be used for audio with transients and a relatively sta-
ble spectral sound character (e.g. plucked instruments).
Pads Use this mode for pitched audio with slower rhythmics and a 
stable spectral sound character. This will minimize sound arte-
facts, but the rhythmic accuracy will not be preserved.
Vocals This mode was optimized for slower signals with transients and 
a prominent tonal character (e.g. vocals).
Mix This mode will preserve the rhythm and minimize the artefacts 
for pitched material which does not meet the above criteria (i.e. 
with a less homogenous sound character). 
This will be selected by default for audio that is not categorized.
Advanced This allows for a manual tweaking of the time-stretching param-
eters. By default, the settings that are shown when you open the 
dialog are those of the last used preset (except if the Solo mode 
was selected, see below). The Advanced settings are described 
in more detail below this table.
Solo This mode will preserve the formants of the audio. It should only 
be used for monophonic material (solo woodwind/brass instru-
ments or solo vocals, monophonic synths or string instruments 
that do not play harmonies). 
						

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The Sample Editor
If you select the Advanced menu item, a dialog opens 
where you can manually adjust the three parameters that 
govern the sound quality of the time-stretching:
6.If you are satisfied with the result, i.e. the vertical lines 
match bars and beats positions, close the Sample Editor 
and activate playback.
If your audio file contained an upbeat and you resized the audio event to 
a smooth loop with the event handles, you might want to move the audio 
event to the beginning of the project:
The loop will now automatically adjust to the project 
tempo, and follow any further tempo changes you make! In 
the Project window, the audio event will have a note sym-
bol and two arrows in the upper right corner. The note 
symbol indicates Straighten Up mode and the arrow indi-
cates that the file is stretched.
About the Straighten Up mode
The Straighten Up mode is one of the key audio warp fea-
tures. It allows you to lock audio clips to the project tempo 
by using realtime time-stretching. This is very useful if you 
want to use loops in your project and do not want to worry 
too much about timing.
Straighten Up mode is automatically activated if the Pre-
view button on the Definition tab is activated and the 
tempo of the audio file or loop has been specified either 
automatically by clicking the Auto Adjust button or manu-
ally by using the Manual Adjust tool. 
When this mode is activated, audio events will adapt to 
any tempo changes in Cubase, just like MIDI events. How-
ever, using Straighten Up function should not be confused 
with quantizing: the timing, i.e. the rhythmic feeling will be 
maintained.
The Straighten Up mode in the Playback tab is automatically activated, 
when the audio tempo (time positions) is specified and the internal au-
dio quantization (musical positions) has been defined.
It is also possible to activate/deactivate Straighten Up 
mode from within the Pool by clicking the respective 
checkbox in the Straighten Up column. 
Parameter Description
Grainsize The realtime time-stretching algorithm splits the audio into 
small pieces called “grains”. This parameter determines the 
size of the grains. For material with many transients you 
should use low Grainsize values for best results. 
Overlap Overlap is the percentage of the whole grain that will over-
lap with other grains. Use higher values for material with a 
stable sound character.
Variance Variance is also a percentage of the whole length of the 
grains and sets a variation in positioning so that the overlap-
ping area will sound smooth. A Variance setting of 0 will 
produce a sound akin to time-stretching used in early sam-
plers, whereas higher settings will produce more (rhythmic) 
“smearing” effects but less audio artefacts. 
						

							250
The Sample Editor
When you have correctly set a tempo or length for an au-
dio clip, this information is saved with the project. This al-
lows you to import files into the project with Straighten Up 
mode already activated. The tempo (if set) is also saved 
when exporting files.
Manually adjusting grid and tempo of your 
audio
If you want to manually adjust the grid and the tempo of 
your audio file, because you have a very special loop and 
the automatic functions did not lead to satisfying results, 
proceed as follows:
1.Open the Definition tab in the Sample Editor Inspector 
and activate the Manual Adjust tool.
The Sample Editor ruler does not reflect the audio event 
position in the Project window, but the length of the audio 
file in bars and beats. With the Manual Adjust tool you can 
manipulate this time grid for the audio file. If you select the 
Manual Adjust tool and move the mouse in the Sample 
Editor the pointer turns to a flag. Depending on the posi-
tion, the tool can have the following functions:2.Audition the file to determine where the first downbeat 
occurs.
3.Move the mouse pointer to the beginning of the audio 
file until the pointer changes to a green flag (Set Grid 
Start).
4.Click and drag the green flag to the right until it 
matches the first downbeat in the sample and release the 
mouse button.
Now the ruler grid is offset so that it starts on the first downbeat in the 
sample.
5.Make sure that the length in bars shown in the lower 
section of the Definition tab corresponds to your settings.
6.Audition the file to determine where the next downbeat 
occurs, i.e. the first beat of the second bar in the sample.
7.Place the mouse pointer at the start of the second bar 
in the waveform display.
!Cubase supports ACID® loops. These loops are 
standard audio files but with embedded tempo/
length information. When ACID® files are imported 
into Cubase, Straighten Up mode is automatically 
activated and the loops will adapt to the tempo set in 
the project.
Function Description
Set Grid Start 
(green)This tool is shown at the clip start. When it is displayed, 
you can drag it with the mouse to the first downbeat in or-
der to set the grid start at this position.
Stretch Bars 
(red)This tool is shown at beat positions. When it is displayed, 
you can drag it with the mouse to beat positions in order 
to set the start of the next bar. All grid positions will be 
stretched.
Stretch 
Previous - Move 
Next (pink)This tool is shown at bar positions when you hold down 
[Alt]/[Option]. When it is displayed, you can drag it with 
the mouse to bar positions in order to set the start of the 
next bar. The tempo of the last bar will be changed, i.e. the 
beat/grid positions of the last bar will be stretched, while 
all following grid positions will be moved.
Adjust Beat 
Position - Single 
(blue)This tool is shown at beat positions when you hold down 
[Ctrl]/[Command]. When it is displayed, you can drag it 
with the mouse to adjust single beat positions, the previ-
ous and next beat will be locked. Edited or locked beats 
will be displayed in red.
! You can change the modifiers for this in the “Define 
Auto Grid” category in the Preferences dialog (Edit-
ing-Tool Modifier page).