Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 Operation Manual Studio Manual

							21
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
As always, audio hardware with low-latency drivers is a 
good thing to have.
Cubase will compensate for the input/output latency and ensure that the 
audio processed through external effects isn’t shifted in time.
Connecting the external effect/instrument
To set up an external effect or instrument, proceed as fol-
lows:
1.Connect an unused output pair on your audio hard-
ware to the input pair on your external hardware device.
In this example, we assume that the hardware device has stereo inputs 
and outputs.
2.Connect an unused input pair on your audio hardware 
to the output pair on your hardware device.
Once the external device is connected to the audio hard-
ware of your computer, you have to set up the input/out-
put busses in Cubase.
Setting up external effects
1.Open the VST Connections window from the Devices 
menu.
2.Open the External FX tab and click “Add External FX”.3.In the dialog that appears, enter a name for the exter-
nal effect and specify the Send and Return configurations. 
If you want to set up a MIDI device corresponding to the 
external effect, click the “Associate MIDI Device” button.
Depending on the type of effect, you can specify mono, stereo or surround 
configurations. When clicking “Associate MIDI Device”, you can use the 
MIDI Device Manager functions to create a new MIDI device for the effect. 
Note that delay compensation will only be applied for the effect when you 
use MIDI devices. For information about the MIDI Device Manager and 
user device panels see the separate PDF document “MIDI Devices”.
4.Click OK. This adds a new External FX bus.
5.Click in the Device Port column for the Send Bus 
“Left” and “Right” ports and select the outputs on your au-
dio hardware that you connected in step 1 above.
6.Click in the Device Port column for the Return Bus 
“Left” and “Right” ports and select the inputs on your au-
dio hardware that you connected in step 2 above.
7.If you like, make additional settings for the bus.
These are found in the columns to the right. Note however that you can 
adjust these while actually using the external effect – which may be eas-
ier as you can hear the result. You have the following options:
!Please note that it is possible to select input/output 
ports for external effects/instruments that are already 
used (i.e. that have been selected as inputs/outputs 
in the VST Connections window). If you select a 
used port for an external effect/instrument, the exist-
ing port assignment will be broken. Note that you will 
not get a warning message!
Setting Description
Delay If your hardware effect device has an inherent delay (la-
tency), you should enter this value here, as it allows Cu-
base to compensate for that delay during playback. You 
can also let the delay value be determined by the pro-
gram by right-clicking in the Delay column for the effect 
and selecting “Check User Delay”. Note that you don’t 
have to take the latency of the audio hardware into ac-
count – this is handled automatically by the program.
Send Gain Allows you to adjust the level of the signal being sent to 
the external effect.
Return Gain Allows you to adjust the level of the signal coming in from 
the external effect. 
Note however that excessive output levels from an external 
effect device may cause clipping in the audio hardware. 
The Return gain setting cannot be used to compensate for 
this – you have to lower the output level on the effect de-
vice instead.
MIDI Device When you click in this column, a pop-up menu opens 
where you can either disconnect the effect from the as-
sociated MIDI device, select a MIDI device, create a new 
device or open the MIDI Device Manager in Cubase to 
edit the MIDI device. 
When Studio Manager 2 is installed, you may also select 
an OPT editor to access your external effect.
Used Whenever you insert an external effect into an audio 
track, this column shows a check mark (“x”) to indicate 
that the effect is being used. 
						

							22
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
8.When you are done, close the VST Connections win-
dow.
ÖNote that external device ports are exclusive, see 
“Connecting the external effect/instrument” on page 21.
How to use the external effect
If you now click an insert effect slot for any channel and 
look at the effect pop-up menu, you will find the new exter-
nal FX bus listed on the “External Plug-ins” submenu.
When you select it, the following happens:
 The external FX bus is loaded into the effect slot just like a 
regular effect plug-in.
 The audio signal from the channel will be sent to the outputs 
on the audio hardware, through your external effect device and 
back to the program via the inputs on the audio hardware.
 A parameter window appears, showing the Delay, Send Gain 
and Return Gain settings for the external FX bus. You can ad-
just these as necessary while playing back. The parameter 
window also provides the “Measure Effect’s Loop Delay for 
Delay Compensation” button. This is the same function as the 
“Check User Delay” option in the VST Connections window. It 
provides Cubase with a Delay value to be used for delay com-
pensation. When you have defined a MIDI device for the ef-
fect, the corresponding Device window will be opened. When 
Studio Manager 2 is installed, and you have set up a corre-
sponding OPT editor, this OPT editor will be displayed.
The default parameter window for an external effect
Like any effect, you can use the external FX bus as an in-
sert effect or as a send effect (an insert effect on an FX 
channel track). You can deactivate or bypass the external 
effect with the usual controls.
Setting up external instruments
1.Open the VST Connections window from the Devices 
menu.
2.Open the External Instrument tab and click “Add Ex-
ternal Instrument”.
3.In the dialog that appears, enter a name for the exter-
nal instrument and specify the number of required mono 
and/or stereo returns. If you want to set up a MIDI device 
corresponding to the external instrument, click the Associ-
ate MIDI Device button.
Depending on the type of instrument, a specific number of mono and/or 
stereo return channels is required. When clicking “Associate MIDI De-
vice”, you can use the MIDI Device Manager functions to create a new 
MIDI device. For information about the MIDI Device Manager and user 
device panels see the separate PDF document “MIDI Devices”.
4.Click OK. This adds a new external instrument bus.
5.Click in the Device Port column for the Return Bus 
“Left” and “Right” ports and select the inputs on your audio 
hardware to which you connected the external instrument.
6.If you like, make additional settings for the bus.
These are found in the columns to the right. Note however that you can 
adjust these while actually using the external instrument – which may be 
easier as you can hear the result. You have the following options:
Setting Description
Delay If your hardware device has an inherent delay (latency), 
you should enter this value here. This allows Cubase to 
compensate for that delay during playback. Note that you 
don’t have to take the latency of the audio hardware into 
account – this is handled automatically by the program.
Return Gain Allows you to adjust the level of the signal coming in from 
the external instrument. 
Note however that excessive output levels from an exter-
nal device may cause clipping in the audio hardware. The 
Return gain setting cannot be used to compensate for 
this – you have to lower the output level on the device in-
stead. 
						

							23
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
7.When you are done, close the VST Connections win-
dow.
ÖNote that external device ports are exclusive, see 
“Connecting the external effect/instrument” on page 21.
How to use the external instrument
Once you have set up the external instrument in the VST 
Connections window, you can use it as a VST Instrument. 
Open the VST Instruments window and click on an empty 
instrument slot. In the instrument pop-up menu, your ex-
ternal instrument is listed on the External Instruments sub-
menu:
When you select the external instrument in the VST Instru-
ments window, the following happens:
 A parameter window for the external device is opened auto-
matically. This may either be the Device window, allowing you 
to create a generic device panel, an OPT editor window or a 
default editor. For information about the Device window, the 
MIDI Device Manager and User device panels, see the sepa-
rate PDF document “MIDI Devices”. To send MIDI notes to the external instrument, open the out-
put pop-up menu in the Inspector for the corresponding MIDI 
track and select the MIDI device to which the external instru-
ment is connected. This ensures use of delay compensation. 
The instrument will now play any MIDI notes it receives from 
this track and return them to Cubase through the return chan-
nel(s) you have set up. 
The external instrument will behave like any other VST In-
strument in Cubase.
About the Favorites buttons
In the VST Connections window, both the External FX tab 
and the External Instruments tab feature a Favorites button.
The Favorites button on the External FX tab
Favorites are device configurations that you can recall at 
any time, like a library of external devices that are not con-
stantly connected to your computer. They also allow you 
to save different configurations for the same device, e. g. a 
multi-effect board or an effect that provides both a mono 
and a stereo mode.
To save a device configuration as a favorite, proceed as 
follows:
When you have added a new device in the VST Con-
nections window, select it in the Bus Name column and 
click the Favorites button.
A context menu is displayed showing an option to add the selected ef-
fect or instrument to the Favorites.
You can recall the stored configuration at any time by 
clicking the Favorites button and selecting the device 
name from the context menu.
MIDI Device When you click in this column, a pop-up menu opens 
where you can either disconnect the instrument from the 
associated MIDI device, select a MIDI device, create a 
new device or open the MIDI Device Manager in Cubase 
to edit the MIDI device. 
When Studio Manager 2 is installed, you may also select 
an OPT editor to access your external instrument.
Used Whenever you insert the external instrument into a VST 
Instrument slot, this column shows a chicanery (“x”) to in-
dicate that the instrument is being used. Setting Description 
						

							24
VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
About the “plug-in could not be found” 
message
When you open a project that uses an external effect/in-
strument, you may get a “plug-in could not be found” mes-
sage. This will happen when you remove an external 
device from the VST Connections window although it is 
used in a saved project, or when transferring a project to 
another computer on which the external device is not de-
fined. You may also see this message when opening a 
project last saved with version 3.0 of Cubase.
In the VST Connections window, the broken connection 
to the external device is indicated by an icon in the Bus 
Name column.
To reestablish the broken connection to the external de-
vice, simply right-click the entry for the device in the Bus 
Name column and select “Connect External Effect”. The 
icon is removed, and you can use the external device 
within your project as before.
Freezing external effects/instruments
Just as when working with regular VST instruments and 
effects, you can also choose to freeze external effects and 
instruments. The general procedure is described in detail 
in the chapters “Audio effects” on page 162 and “VST In-
struments and Instrument tracks” on page 182.
When freezing external instruments or effects, you can ad-
just the corresponding tail value in the Freeze Channel 
Options dialog:Use the arrow buttons next to the Tail Size value field to 
set the desired Tail length, i.e. the range after the part 
boundary that should also be included for the freeze. You 
can also click directly in the value field and enter the de-
sired value manually (the maximum value being 60 s).
When the Tail Size is set to 0 s (default), the freezing will 
only take into account the data within the Part boundaries.
!Note that busses set up for external effects or exter-
nal instruments are saved “globally”, i.e. for your par-
ticular computer setup.
!Note that you have to perform Freeze in realtime. Oth-
erwise external effects will not be taken into account. 
						

							3
The Project window 
						

							26
The Project window
Background
The Project window is the main window in Cubase. This 
provides you with an overview of the project, allowing you 
to navigate and perform large scale editing. Each project 
has one Project window.
About tracks
The Project window is divided vertically into tracks, with a 
timeline running horizontally from left to right. The follow-
ing track types are available:
About parts and events
Events are the basic building blocks in Cubase. Different 
event types are handled differently in the Project window:
 Video events and automation events (curve points) are always 
viewed and rearranged directly in the Project window.
 MIDI events are always gathered in MIDI parts, containers for 
one or more MIDI events. MIDI parts are rearranged and ma-
nipulated in the Project window. To edit the individual MIDI 
events in a part, you have to open the part in a MIDI editor (see 
“About editing MIDI” on page 337). 
 Audio events can be displayed and edited directly in the Project 
window, but you can also work with audio parts containing sev-
eral events. This is useful if you have a number of events which 
you want to treat as one unit in the project. Audio parts also 
contain information about the time position in the project.
An audio event and an audio part. Track type Description
Audio For recording and playing back audio events and audio 
parts. Each audio track has a corresponding audio chan-
nel in the mixer.
An audio track can have any number of automation “sub-
tracks” for automating mixer channel parameters, insert 
effect settings etc.
Folder Folder tracks function as containers for other tracks, 
making it easier to organize and manage the track struc-
ture. They also allow you to edit several tracks at the 
same time. See “Folder tracks” on page 102.
FX  Channel FX channel tracks are used for adding send effects. Each 
FX channel can contain up to eight effect processors – 
by routing effect sends from an audio channel to an FX 
channel, you send audio from the audio channel to the ef-
fect(s) on the FX channel. Each FX channel has a corre-
sponding channel strip in the mixer – in essence an effect 
return channel. See the chapter “Audio effects” on page 
162.
An FX channel can also have any number of automation 
subtracks for automating mixer channel parameters, ef-
fect settings etc. All FX channel tracks are automatically 
placed in a special FX channel folder in the Track list, for 
easy management.
Group Channel By routing several audio channels to a Group channel, 
you can submix them, apply the same effects to them, 
etc. (see “Using group channels” on page 138).
A Group channel track contains no events as such, but 
displays settings and automation curves for the corre-
sponding Group channel. Each Group channel track has 
a corresponding channel strip in the mixer. In the Project 
window, Group channels are organized as subtracks in a 
special Group Tracks folder. 
Instrument This allows you to create a track for a dedicated instru-
ment, making e.g. VST instrument handling easier and 
more intuitive. Instrument tracks have a corresponding 
channel strip in the mixer. Each instrument track can have 
any number of automation subtracks in the Project win-
dow. However, Volume and Pan are automated from 
within the mixer. It is possible to edit Instrument tracks di-
rectly in the Project window, using the Edit In-Place func-
tion (see “Edit In-Place” on page 354). For more 
information on instrument tracks, see “VST Instruments 
and Instrument tracks” on page 182.
MIDI For recording and playing back MIDI parts. Each MIDI 
track has a corresponding MIDI channel strip in the mixer. 
It’s possible to edit MIDI tracks directly in the Project win-
dow, using the Edit In-Place function (see “Edit In-Place” 
on page 354).
A MIDI track can have any number of automation “sub-
tracks” for automating mixer channel parameters, insert 
and send effect settings etc. 
Marker The Marker track displays markers which can be moved 
and renamed directly in the Project window (see “Using 
the Marker track” on page 108). A project can have only 
one marker track.
Arranger The Arranger track is used for arranging your project, by 
marking out sections in the project and determining in 
which order they should be played back. See “The Arran-
ger track” on page 95.
Ruler
(Cubase only)Ruler tracks contain additional rulers, displaying the time-
line from left to right. You can use any number of ruler 
tracks, each with a different display format if you wish. 
See “The ruler” on page 34 for more information about 
the ruler and the display formats.
Transpose The Transpose track allows you to set global key 
changes. A project can only have one transpose track. 
See “The Transpose functions” on page 111.
Video For playing back video events. A project can only have 
one video track. Track type Description 
						

							27
The Project window
Audio handling
When you work with audio files, it is crucial to understand 
how audio is handled in Cubase:
When you edit or process audio in the project window, 
you always work with an audio clip that is automatically 
created on import or when you record audio. This audio 
clip refers to the audio file on the hard disk that remains 
untouched. This means, that audio editing and processing 
is “non-destructive”, in the sense that you can always 
undo changes or revert to the original versions.
The audio clip does not necessarily refer to just one orig-
inal audio file! If you apply e.g. some processing to a sec-
tion of an audio clip, this will actually create a new audio 
file that contains only the section in question. The pro-
cessing will then be applied to the new audio file only, 
leaving the original audio file unchanged. Finally, the audio 
clip is automatically adjusted, so that it refers both to the 
original file and to the new, processed file. During play-
back, the program will switch between the original file and 
the processed file at the correct positions. You will hear 
this as a single recording, with processing applied to one 
section only. This feature makes it possible to undo pro-
cessing at a later stage, and to apply different processing 
to different audio clips that refer to the same original file.
The audio event is the object that you place on a time po-
sition in Cubase. If you make copies of an audio event and 
move them to different positions in the project, they will 
still all refer to the same audio clip. Furthermore, each au-
dio event has an Offset value and a Length value. These 
determine at which positions in the clip the event will start 
and end, i.e. which section of the audio clip will be played 
back by the audio event. For example, if you resize the au-
dio event, you will just change its start and/or end position 
in the audio clip – the clip itself will not be affected.
An audio region is a section within a clip with a length 
value, a start time, and a snap point. Audio regions are 
shown in the pool and are best created and edited in the 
Sample Editor. 
ÖIf you want to use one audio file in different contexts, or 
if you want to create several loops from one audio file, you 
should convert the corresponding regions of the audio clip 
to events and bounce them into separate audio files. This is 
necessary since different events that refer to the same clip 
access the same clip information.  
						

							28
The Project window
Window Overview
The Track list
The Track list displays all the tracks used in a project. It 
contains name fields and settings for the tracks. Different 
track types have different controls in the Track list. To see 
all the controls you may have to resize the track in the Track 
list (see “Resizing tracks in the Track list” on page 37).The Track list area for an audio track:
The Project overview
The event display, showing audio parts and 
events, MIDI parts, automation, markers, etc. The InspectorThe ruler The info lineThe toolbar
 The Track list with 
various track types
Mute & 
SoloRecord Enable 
Monitor buttons Track name
Lane Dis-
play Type Show/hide 
automation
Indicates whether effect sends, EQ or insert 
effects are activated for the track. Click to bypass.
Musical/Linear 
time baseLock track 
button
Automation Read/Write buttons
Edit channel 
settings
Track activity 
indicator
Freeze Audio 
Track 
						

							29
The Project window
The Track list area for an automation subtrack (opened 
by clicking the Show/Hide Automation button on a track):
The Track list area for a MIDI track:
The Inspector
The area to the left of the Track list is called the Inspector. 
This shows additional controls and parameters for the track 
you have selected in the Track list. If several tracks are se-
lected (see “Handling tracks” on page 40), the Inspector 
shows the setting for the first (topmost) selected track.
To hide or show the Inspector, click the Inspector icon in 
the toolbar.
The Inspector icon.
For most track classes, the Inspector is divided into a 
number of sections, each containing different controls for 
the track. You can hide or show sections by clicking on 
their respective names.
Clicking the name for a hidden section brings it into view and hides the 
other sections. [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking the section name allows you 
to hide or show a section without affecting the other sections. Finally, 
[Alt]/[Option]-clicking a section name shows or hides all sections in the 
Inspector.
You can also use key commands to show different In-
spector sections.
These are set up in the Key Commands dialog, see “Setting up key com-
mands” on page 476.
ÖHiding a section does not affect its functionality.
In other words, if you have set up a track parameter or activated an effect 
for example, your settings will still be active even if you hide the respec-
tive Inspector section.
Which sections are available in the Inspector depends on 
the selected track.
Automation Read/Write buttons
Automation parameter 
(click to select parameter) Append automation track
MuteLock track 
button
Record Enable & 
Monitor buttons Track name
MIDI Output Bank Patch MIDI channel
Drum map, Lock track 
and Lane display type
Read/Write 
buttons
Edit channel settings
Mute & Solo
Effect sends and insert effects 
indicators and bypass
Edit In-Place
Track activity 
indicator 
						

							30
The Project window
ÖPlease note that not all Inspector tabs are shown by 
default. You can show/hide Inspector sections by right-
clicking on an Inspector tab and activating/deactivating 
the desired option(s).
Make sure you right-click on an inspector tab and not on the empty area 
below the Inspector, as this will open the Quick context menu instead.
The Inspector Setup context menu.
Sections
The Inspector contains the controls that can be found on 
the Track list, plus some additional buttons and parame-
ters. In the table below, these additional settings and the 
available sections are listed. Which sections are available 
for which track type is described in the following sections.
Parameter Description
Auto Fades 
Settings buttonOpens a dialog in which you can make separate Auto 
Fade settings for the track. See “Making Auto Fade set-
tings for a separate track” on page 94.
Edit Channel 
settingsOpens the Channel Settings window for the track, allow-
ing you to view and adjust effect and EQ settings, etc. 
See “Using Channel Settings” on page 133.
Volume Use this to adjust the level for the track. Changing this 
setting will move the track’s fader in the mixer window, 
and vice versa. See “Setting volume in the mixer” on page 
128 to learn more about setting levels.
Pan Use this to adjust the panning of the track. As with the 
Volume setting, this corresponds to the Pan setting in the 
mixer.
Delay This adjusts the playback timing of the audio track. Posi-
tive values delay the playback while negative values 
cause the track to play earlier. The values are set in milli-
seconds.
Input Routing This lets you specify which Input bus or MIDI input the 
track should use (see “Setting up busses” on page 14 for 
information about Input busses).
Output Routing Here you decide to which output the track should be 
routed. For audio tracks you select an output bus (see 
“Setting up busses” on page 14) or Group channel, for 
MIDI tracks you select a MIDI output.
Inserts section Allows you to add insert effects to the track, see the 
chapter “Audio effects” on page 162. The Edit button at 
the top of the section opens the control panels for the 
added insert effects.
Equalizers 
sectionLets you adjust the EQs for the track. You can have up to 
four bands of EQ for each track, see “Making EQ set-
tings” on page 134. The Edit button at the top of the sec-
tion opens the Channel Settings window for the track. 
Equalizer Curve 
sectionLets you adjust the EQs for the track graphically, by click-
ing and dragging points in a curve display.
Sends section Allows you to route an audio track to one or several FX 
channels (up to eight), see the chapter “Audio effects” on 
page 162. For MIDI tracks, this is where you assign MIDI 
send effects. The Edit button at the top of the section 
opens the control panel for the first effect in each FX 
channel.
Studio Sends 
(Cubase only)The Studio Sends are used to route cue mixes to Control 
Room Studios. For a detailed description of Studios and 
Studio Sends, see the chapter “Control Room (Cubase 
only)” on page 146.
Surround Pan 
(Cubase only)When the Surround Panner is used for a track, this is also 
available in the Inspector. For further information, see 
“Using the Surround Panner” on page 199.
Channel section Shows a duplicate of the corresponding mixer channel 
strip. The channel overview strip to the left lets you acti-
vate and deactivate insert effects, EQs and sends.
Notepad section This is a standard text notepad, allowing you to jot down 
notes about the track. 
If you have entered any notes about a track, the icon next 
to the “Notepad” heading will light up to indicate this. 
Moving the pointer over the icon will display the Notepad 
text in a tool tip. Parameter Description