Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 Operation Manual Studio Manual

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Recording
The procedure for checking the signal level coming into 
the audio hardware is slightly different depending on 
whether you are using Cubase or Cubase Studio:
Cubase
In Cubase, you check the input level at the input channel.
To check the level of the “unprocessed” signal coming into 
the audio hardware, you need to switch the level meters to 
“Meter Input”. In this mode, the input channel level meters 
will show the level of the signal at the input of the bus, be-
fore any adjustments such as input gain, EQ, effects, level 
or pan:
1.Right-click in the Mixer window.
The Mixer context menu appears.
2.Select the Global Meter Settings submenu and make 
sure “Meter Input” is activated.
3.Play back the audio and check the level meter for the 
input channel.
The signal should be as loud as possible without exceeding 0 dB (the 
Clipping indicator for the input bus should not light up).
The Clipping indicator.
4.If necessary, adjust the input level in one of the follow-
ing ways:
Adjust the output level of the sound source or external 
mixer.
Use the audio hardware’s own application program to 
set the input levels (if possible).
See the documentation for the audio hardware.
If your audio hardware supports the ASIO Control Panel 
function, it may be possible to make input level settings.
To open the ASIO control panel, open the Device Setup dialog via the De-
vices menu and, in the list to the left (below “VST Audio System”), select 
your audio card. When this is selected, you can open the Control Panel by 
clicking on the Control Panel button in the settings section to the right.
The next step is to check the level of the audio being writ-
ten to a file on your hard disk. This is only necessary if you 
have made any adjustments to the input channel (level 
settings, EQ, insert effects, etc.). Note also:
If you record in 32 bit float format, the bit depth will not 
be reduced – which means there’s no risk of clipping at 
this stage.
Also, this preserves the signal quality perfectly. Therefore, you should 
consider using 32 bit float format when you are recording with effects 
(see “Recording with effects (Cubase only)” on page 77).
If you record in 16 or 24 bit format, the available head-
room is lower, which means clipping can occur if the sig-
nal is too loud. To avoid this, set the signal level in the 
following way:
1.Bring up the mixer context menu and select “Meter 
Post-Fader” from the Global Meter Settings submenu.
2.Set up the input channel, by adding EQ and/or effects 
as desired.
With some effects you may want to adjust the level of the signal going 
into the effect – use the Input Gain knob for this. Note that you need to 
press [Shift] or [Alt]/[Option] to adjust the Input Gain.
3.Play back the audio and check the level meter of the 
input channel.
The signal should be reasonably loud but should not reach 0 dB (the 
Clipping indicator for the input bus should not light up).
4.If necessary, use the input channel fader to adjust the 
signal level. 
						

							72
Recording
Cubase Studio
In Cubase Studio, the input channels are not shown in the 
mixer. Instead, you need to check the level at the channel 
strip for the track on which you are recording:
1.Locate the channel strip for the track you’re about to 
record on.
2.Activate monitoring for the channel by clicking the 
speaker button next to the fader.
When monitoring is activated, the meter shows the level of the incoming 
audio signal.
3.Play the audio source that you want to record and 
check the level meter for the channel.
4.Adjust the output level of your audio source so that the 
meters go reasonably high without reaching 0.0 dB.
Check the numerical peak level indicator below the meter in the bus 
channel strip. To reset the peak level indicator, click on it.
ÖYou must adjust the output level of the audio source – 
you cannot use the faders in Cubase Studio to adjust the 
input level!
ÖAn alternative way of checking the input levels would 
be to use the control panel for your audio hardware (if it 
features input level meters). It may also be possible to ad-
just the input level in the control panel.
See the documentation of your audio hardware for details.
Monitoring
In this context, “monitoring” means listening to the input 
signal during recording. There are three fundamentally dif-
ferent ways to do this: via Cubase, externally (by listening 
to the signal before it reaches Cubase), or by using ASIO 
Direct Monitoring (which is a combination of both other 
methods – see below).
Monitoring via Cubase
If you monitor via Cubase, the input signal is mixed in with 
the audio playback. The advantage of this is that you can 
adjust the monitoring level and panning in the mixer, and 
add effects and EQ to the monitor signal just as during 
playback (using the track’s channel strip – not the input 
bus!). 
The disadvantage of monitoring via Cubase is that the mon-
itored signal will be delayed according to the latency value 
(which depends on your audio hardware and drivers). 
Therefore, monitoring via Cubase requires an audio hard-
ware configuration with a low latency value. You can check 
the latency of your hardware in the Device Setup dialog 
(VST Audio System page).
ÖIf you are using plug-in effects with large inherent de-
lays, the automatic delay compensation function in Cubase 
will increase the latency.
If this is a problem, you can use the Constrain Delay Compensation func-
tion while recording, see “VST Instruments and Instrument tracks” on 
page 182.
When monitoring via Cubase, you can select one of four 
Auto Monitoring modes in the Preferences (VST page):
 Manual.
This option allows you to turn input monitoring on or off by clicking the 
Monitor button in the Inspector, the Track list or in the mixer.
 While Record Enabled.
With this option, you will hear the audio source connected to the channel 
input whenever the track is record enabled.
 While Record Running.
This option switches to input monitoring only during recording. 
						

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Recording
 Tapemachine Style.
This option emulates standard tapemachine behavior: input monitoring in 
Stop mode and during recording, but not during playback.
Cubase only: In the Preferences (VST–Metering page) 
you can find the option “Map Input Bus Metering to Audio 
Track (in Direct Monitoring)”.
When Direct Monitoring is activated in the Device Setup dialog, this op-
tion allows you to map the input bus metering to monitor-enabled audio 
tracks. This gives you the opportunity to watch the input levels of your 
audio tracks when working in the Project window. 
When Direct Monitoring is activated in the Device Setup 
dialog, this function works as follows:
 When “Map Input Bus Metering to Audio Track (in Direct 
Monitoring)” is activated, audio tracks show the metering sig-
nal from the input bus they are routed to as soon as the track 
is record-enabled.
Note that the tracks are mirroring the input bus signal, i.e. you 
will see the same signal in both places. When using mapped 
metering, any functions (e.g. trimming) you apply to the audio 
track are not reflected in its meters.
 When “Map Input Bus Metering to Audio Track (in Direct 
Monitoring)” is not activated, metering works as usual.
In Cubase Studio, the audio tracks always show the in-
put bus metering, see “Cubase Studio” on page 72.
External monitoring
External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it 
goes into Cubase) requires some sort of external mixer for 
mixing the audio playback with the input signal. This can 
be a stand-alone physical mixer 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).
When using external monitoring, you cannot control the 
level of the monitor signal from within Cubase or add VST 
effects or EQ to the monitor signal. The latency value of 
the audio hardware configuration does not affect the mon-
itor signal in this mode.
ÖIf you want to use external monitoring, you need to make 
sure that monitoring via Cubase isn’t activated as well.
Select the “Manual” monitoring mode in the Preferences (VST page) and 
don’t activate the Monitor buttons.
ASIO Direct Monitoring
If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may sup-
port ASIO Direct Monitoring. In this mode, the actual mon-
itoring is done in the audio hardware by sending the input 
signal back out again. However, monitoring is controlled 
from Cubase. This means that the audio hardware’s direct 
monitoring feature can be turned on or off automatically by 
Cubase, just as when using internal monitoring.
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.
To activate ASIO Direct Monitoring, open the Device 
Setup dialog on the Devices menu and activate the Direct 
Monitoring checkbox on the page for your audio hardware.
If the checkbox is grayed out, your audio hardware (or its driver) doesn’t 
support ASIO Direct Monitoring. Consult the audio hardware manufac-
turer for details.
When ASIO Direct Monitoring is activated, you can se-
lect a monitoring mode in the Preferences (VST page), as 
when monitoring via Cubase (see “Monitoring via Cubase” 
on page 72).
Depending on the audio hardware, it may also be possi-
ble to adjust monitoring level and panning from the mixer.
Consult the documentation of the audio hardware if in doubt.
VST effects and EQ cannot be applied to the monitor 
signal in this mode, since the monitor signal doesn’t pass 
through Cubase.
Depending on the audio hardware, there may be special 
restrictions as to which audio outputs can be used for di-
rect monitoring.
For details on the routing of the audio hardware, see its documentation.
The latency value of the audio hardware configuration 
does not affect the monitor signal when using ASIO Direct 
Monitoring. 
						

							74
Recording
Recording
Recording is done using any of the general recording 
methods (see “Basic recording methods” on page 66). 
When you finish recording, an audio file is created in the 
Audio folder within the project folder. In the Pool, an audio 
clip is created for the audio file, and an audio event that 
plays the whole clip appears on the recording track. Fi-
nally, a waveform image is calculated for the audio event. If 
the recording was very long, this may take a while.
ÖIf the option “Create Audio Images During Record” is 
activated in the Preferences (Record-Audio page), the 
waveform image will be calculated and displayed during 
the actual recording process.
This real-time calculation uses some processing power – if your proces-
sor is slow or you are working on a CPU-intensive project, you should 
consider turning this option off.
Undoing recording
If you decide that you don’t like what you just recorded, 
you can delete it by selecting Undo from the Edit menu. 
The following will happen:
 The event(s) you just created will be removed from the Project 
window.
 The audio clip(s) in the Pool will be moved to the Trash folder.
 The recorded audio file(s) will not be removed from the hard 
disk.
However, since their corresponding clips are moved to 
the Trash folder, you can delete the files by opening the 
Pool and selecting “Empty Trash” from the Media menu, 
see “Deleting from the hard disk” on page 275.
Recording overlapping events
The basic rule for audio tracks is that each track can play 
back a single audio event at a time. This means that if two 
or more events are overlapping, only one of them will be 
heard at any given time.
What happens when you record overlapping events 
(record in an area where there are already events on the 
track) depends on the Linear Record Mode setting on the 
Transport panel:
In “Normal” or “Merge” mode, recording where some-
thing has already been recorded creates a new audio 
event that overlaps the previous one(s).
When you record audio, there is no difference between “Normal” and 
“Merge” mode – the difference only applies to MIDI recording (see 
“About overlap and the Record Mode setting” on page 81).
In “Replace” mode, existing events (or portions of 
events) that are overlapped by the new recording will be 
removed.
This means that if you record a section in the middle of a longer existing 
recording, that original event will be cut into two events with a gap for the 
new event.
Which event will be heard?
If two or more events are overlapping, you will only hear the 
events (or portions of events) that are actually visible. Over-
lapped (hidden) events or sections are not played back.
The functions “Move to Front” and “Move to Back” on 
the Edit menu (see “Moving events” on page 46) are use-
ful for managing overlapping events, as is the “To Front” 
function (see below). 
						

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Recording
Recording audio in cycle mode
If you are recording audio in cycle mode, the result depends 
on two factors:
The “Cycle Record Mode” setting on the Transport panel.
The “Audio Cycle Record Mode” setting in the Prefer-
ences (Record-Audio page).
Cycle Record Modes on the Transport panel
There are five different modes on the Transport panel, but 
the first two modes only apply to MIDI recording. For au-
dio cycle recording, the following applies:
If “Keep Last” is selected, the last complete “take” (the 
last completely recorded lap) is kept as an audio event.
In reality, all laps you recorded are saved in one audio file divided into re-
gions – one region for each take. You can easily select a previous take 
for playback – this is done as when recording in “Create Regions” mode 
(see “Create Regions mode (Preferences)” on page 76).
If “Stacked” is selected, each take will appear as an 
event on a separate “lane” on the track.
This is useful when you want to view and edit the different takes and 
eventually combine them to one recording. In this mode, the Audio Cycle 
Record Mode preference doesn’t matter. Stacked 2 (No Mute) is the 
same as Stacked, except that all the takes will be audible. See “Recor-
ding audio in Stacked mode” on page 77. 
If any of the other cycle recording modes is selected, 
the result depends entirely on the “Audio Cycle Record 
Mode” setting in the Preferences (Record-Audio page).
These options are described below.
Create Events mode (Preferences)
When “Audio Cycle Record Mode” is set to “Create 
Events” in the Preferences (Record-Audio page), the fol-
lowing will happen when you record audio in cycle mode:
One continuous audio file is created during the entire 
recording process. 
For each recorded lap of the cycle, one audio event is 
created.
The events will have the name of the audio file plus the text “Take *”, 
where “*” indicates the number of the take.
The last take (the last recorded lap) will be on top (and 
will thus be the one you hear when you activate playback).
To select another take for playback, proceed a follows:
1.Right-click the event and select “To Front” from the 
pop-up menu that appears.
A submenu appears, listing all the other (obscured) events.
2.Select the desired take.
The corresponding event is brought to front. 
						

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Recording
This method allows you to quickly combine the best parts 
of each take, in the following way:
1.Use the Scissors tool to split the events in several sec-
tions, one for each part of the take.
For example, if you recorded four lines of vocals (in each take), you can 
split the events so that each line gets a separate event.
The events after splitting. Note that since the original take events overlap 
each other, clicking with the Scissors tool will split all takes at the same 
position.
2.For each section of the take, use the “To Front” func-
tion to bring the best take to the front.
This way, you can quickly combine the best sections of each take, using 
the first vocal line from one take, the second line from another take and 
so on.
You can also compile a “perfect” take in the Audio Part 
Editor, see “Assembling a “perfect take”” on page 268.
Create Regions mode (Preferences)
When Audio Cycle Record Mode is set to “Create Re-
gions” in the Preferences (Record-Audio page), the fol-
lowing will happen when you record audio in cycle mode:
One continuous audio file is created during the entire 
recording process. 
The audio event in the Project window shows the name 
of the audio file plus the text “Take *” (with “*” being the 
number of the last completed cycle lap).
If you play back the recorded event, you will only hear 
what was recorded during the last lap of the cycle record-
ing. 
The previous “takes” recorded in the cycle are still available, however. 
The audio clip is divided into regions (called takes), one 
for each lap of the cycle that was recorded.
If you locate the audio file you just recorded in the Pool, and click on the 
plus sign beside it, you can see the regions that have been created, one 
for each lap of the cycle that was completed during recording.
“Take” regions in the Pool window.
To play back the different “takes”, proceed as follows:
1.In the Project window, right-click the event that was 
created during cycle recording.
The Quick menu appears.
2.Select the “Set To Region” menu item.
A submenu appears with the takes you recorded during cycle record.
3.Now you can select any of the takes from the submenu 
and it will replace the previous take event in the Project 
window.
Use this method to listen through the various takes. Select 
the best single take, or compile a “perfect” take by cutting 
out the best bits from each take and putting them together 
(see “Assembling a “perfect take”” on page 268).
Create Events + Regions mode (Preferences)
In this mode, both events and regions are created. If you 
work with the takes as events in this mode, you can edit 
the events freely (e.g. splitting them), see “Create Events 
mode (Preferences)” on page 75. However, in case you 
want to go back to the original takes, they are still available 
as regions (on the “Set To Region” submenu, in the Pool 
or in the Sample Editor). 
						

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Recording
Recording audio in Stacked mode
When you record audio in cycle mode and the “Stacked” 
Cycle Record Mode is selected on the Transport panel, 
the following happens: 
 Each complete recorded cycle lap is turned into a separate 
audio event.
 The track is divided into “lanes”, one for each cycle lap.
 The events are stacked above each other, each on a different 
lane.
This makes it easy to create a “perfect take” by combining 
the best parts from the different cycle laps:
1.Zoom in so you can work comfortably with the stacked 
events.
If you play back the recorded section, only the lowest 
(last) take will be heard. 
2.To audition another take, either mute the lower take(s) 
with the Mute tool or move the takes between the lanes.
This can be done by dragging or by using the functions Move to Next 
Lane/Previous Lane on the Quick menu or the Edit menu.
3.Edit the takes so that only the parts you want to keep 
can be heard.
You can cut events with the Scissors tool, resize them, mute them or de-
lete them.
The sections that will be heard are indicated in green.
4.When you are satisfied with the result, select all events 
on all lanes and select “Delete Overlaps” from the Ad-
vanced submenu on the Audio menu.
This puts all events back on a single lane and resizes events so that over-
lapped sections are removed.
5.To turn off the lane display mode for the track, click the 
Lane Display Type button in the track list and select “Lanes 
Off”.
If the button is hidden, you can bring it to view in the Track Controls Set-
tings dialog – see “Customizing track controls” on page 467.
The Lane Display Type button.
Recording with effects (Cubase only)
Normally you record the audio signals “dry” and add ef-
fects non-destructively during playback as described in 
the chapter “Audio effects” on page 162. However, Cu-
base also allows you to add effects (and/or EQ) directly 
while recording. This is done by adding insert effects and/
or making EQ settings for the input channel in the mixer. 
Note:
ÖThis will make the effects become part of the audio file 
itself – you cannot change the effect settings after record-
ing.
About the record format
When you record with effects, you should consider setting 
the record format (bit depth) to 32 Bit Float. This is done 
in the Project Setup dialog on the Project menu. Note that 
this isn’t required in any way – you can also record with ef-
fects in 24 or 16 Bit format.  
						

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Recording
However, there are two advantages to 32 Bit Float format:
With 32 Bit Float recording, you don’t risk clipping (dig-
ital distortion) in the recorded files.
This can of course be avoided with 24 or 16 Bit recording as well, but re-
quires more care with the levels.
Cubase processes audio internally in 32 Bit Float for-
mat – recording in the same format means the audio qual-
ity will be kept absolutely pristine.
The reason is that the effect processing in the input channel (as well as 
any level or EQ settings you make there) is done in 32 Bit Float format. If 
you record at 16 or 24 Bit, the audio will be converted to this lower reso-
lution when it’s written to file – with possible signal degradation as a result.
Note also that it doesn’t matter at which actual resolution 
your audio hardware works. Even if the signal from the au-
dio hardware is in 16 Bit resolution, the signal will be 32 
Bit Float after the effects are added in the input channel.
An example
This example shows how to apply the “SoftClipper” effect 
while recording. Note that this is only an example. The prin-
ciple is the same for all effects (or combinations of effects).
1.Set up an audio track for recording and select the de-
sired input bus.
For best results, you should also activate monitoring as this allows you to 
hear and try out your settings before actually recording. See “Monitoring 
via Cubase” on page 72 for a description of monitoring via Cubase.
2.Open the Mixer and make sure the full extended view 
is shown.
To show the extended mixer view, either click the arrow icon (“Show Ex-
tended Mixer”) in the Common Panel, select “Show Extended View” from 
the Window submenu on the Mixer context menu or use a key command 
(this can be set in the Key Commands dialog, see “Setting up key com-
mands” on page 476).
3.Locate the input channel (bus) from which you record.
If the input channels are hidden, click on the Show/Hide Input Channels 
button to the left.
4.Check the input level (of the signal coming into the au-
dio hardware) as described in the section “Setting input 
levels” on page 70 and adjust the level of the source audio 
if necessary.
5.Pull down the View Options pop-up menu for the input 
channel and select “Inserts”.
The View Options pop-up menu is opened by clicking the arrow button 
between the fader panel and the extended panel.
Now the extended panel for the input channel shows the 
insert slots.
6.Click on an insert slot and select an effect from the 
pop-up menu that appears.
As you see, the included effects are sorted into submenus – you will find 
the SoftClipper effect on the “Distortion” submenu.
The effect is loaded and activated and its control panel is 
automatically opened.
7.Adjust the effect parameters to your liking.
For detailed information on the Effect parameters, see the separate man-
ual “Plug-in Reference”.
8.When the effect is set up as desired, you can check 
the level of the input channel by setting the Meters to 
post-fader (see “Setting input levels” on page 70). 
Use the input channel fader to adjust the level if needed.
9.Activate recording.
10.When you’re finished, you can play back the recorded 
audio track. 
As you can hear, the effect you applied is now a part of the actual audio file.
11.If you don’t want to record more with the same plug-in, 
you should deactivate it by clicking in the insert slot and 
selecting “No Effect”. 
						

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Recording
MIDI recording specifics
Activating MIDI Thru
Normally, when working with MIDI, you will have MIDI Thru 
activated in Cubase, and Local Off selected in your MIDI 
Instrument(s). In this mode, everything you play during re-
cording will be “echoed” back out again on the MIDI out-
put and channel selected for the recording track.
1.Make sure the option “MIDI Thru Active” is activated in 
the Preferences (MIDI page).
2.Record enable the track(s) on which you want to 
record.
Now, incoming MIDI is “echoed” back out again for all record-enabled 
MIDI tracks. 
ÖIf you just want to use the Thru function for a MIDI 
track without recording, activate the monitor button for the 
track instead.
This is useful e.g. if you want to try out different sounds or play a VST 
instrument in real time without recording your playing.
Setting MIDI channel, input and output
Setting the MIDI channel in the instrument
Most MIDI synthesizers can play several sounds at the 
same time, each on a different MIDI channel. This is the 
key to playing back several sounds (bass, piano etc.) from 
the same instrument. Some devices (such as General 
MIDI compatible sound modules) always receive on all 16 
MIDI channels. If you have such an instrument, there’s no 
specific setting you need to make in the instrument. On 
other instruments, you will have to use the front panel con-
trols to set up a number of “Parts”, “Timbres” or similar so 
that they receive on one MIDI channel each. See the man-
ual that came with your instrument for more information.
Naming MIDI ports in Cubase
MIDI inputs and outputs are often displayed with unneces-
sarily long and complicated names. However, you can re-
name your MIDI ports to more descriptive names:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.
2.Select the MIDI Port Setup item in the Device list.
The available MIDI inputs and outputs are listed. Under Windows, which 
device to choose depends on your system.
3.To change the name of a MIDI port, click in the “Show 
As” column and type in a new name.
After closing the dialog, the new name will appear on the MIDI Input and 
Output Routing pop-up menus.
Setting the MIDI input in the Inspector
You select MIDI inputs for tracks in the Inspector (the area 
to the left of the Track list in the Project window):
1.If the Inspector is hidden, click the Show Inspector 
button on the toolbar.
2.Select the track(s) by clicking in the Track list.
To select multiple tracks, press [Shift] or [Ctrl]/[Command] and click. The 
Inspector shows the settings for the first selected track (for details, see 
“The Inspector” on page 29).
3.Click the track name in the Inspector to make sure the 
topmost section is shown.
Record Enable button
Monitor button 
						

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Recording
4.Pull down the Input Routing pop-up menu and select 
an input.
The available MIDI inputs are shown. The items on the menu depend on 
the type of MIDI interface you are using, etc. 
 If you select the “All MIDI Inputs” option, the track will receive 
MIDI data from all available MIDI inputs.
 If you hold down [Alt]/[Option] and select a MIDI input, this is 
selected for all selected MIDI tracks.
Setting the MIDI channel and output
The MIDI channel and output settings determine where 
the recorded MIDI is routed during playback, but are also 
relevant for MIDI Thru in Cubase. Channel and output can 
be selected in the Track list or in the Inspector. The proce-
dure below describes how to make the settings in the In-
spector, but it can be done in largely the same manner in 
the Track list as well.
1.To select the track(s) and show the settings in the 
Inspector, proceed as when selecting a MIDI input (see 
above).
2.Pull down the Output routing pop-up menu and select 
an output.
The available MIDI outputs are shown. The items on the menu depend on 
what type of MIDI interface you are using etc.
 If you hold down [Alt]/[Option] and select a MIDI output, this is 
selected for all selected MIDI tracks.
3.Use the channel pop-up menu to select a MIDI chan-
nel for the track.
If you set the track to MIDI channel “Any”, each MIDI 
event on the track will be sent out on the channel stored in 
the event itself.
In other words, the MIDI material will be played back on the channel(s) 
used by the MIDI input device (the MIDI instrument you play during re-
cording).
Selecting a sound
You can select sounds from within Cubase by instructing 
the program to send Program Change and Bank Select 
messages to your MIDI device. This is done using the 
“Patch Selector” and “Bank Selector” fields in the Inspec-
tor or Track list.
Program Change messages give access to 128 different 
program locations. If your MIDI instruments have more 
than 128 programs, Bank Select messages (set in the 
“Bank Selector” field) allow you to select different banks, 
each containing 128 programs.
ÖBank Select messages are recognized differently by 
different MIDI instruments. The structure and numbering 
of banks and programs may also vary. Consult the docu-
mentation of your MIDI instruments for details.
ÖNote that it is also possible to select sounds by name. 
For descriptions of how to set this up, see the separate 
“MIDI Devices” PDF document.