Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 MIDI Devices And Features Manual

							 
MIDI Devices and Features 
						

							 
Manual by Anders Nordmark
Quality Control: C. Bachmann, H. Bischoff, S. Pfeifer, C. Schomburg
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© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2004. 
All rights reserved. 
						

							 
Table of Contents 
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
 
4Table of Contents 
5MIDI devices 
6Background
7MIDI devices – general set-
tings and patch handling
20About Device panels 
(Cubase SX only)
21Overview (Cubase SX only)
28The main edit windows 
(Cubase SX only)
34Operations in the Edit Panel 
window (Cubase SX only)
39Building a control panel – a 
tutorial (Cubase SX only)
52Exporting and importing 
device setups (Cubase SX 
only)
53Defining a SysEx device – a 
tutorial (Cubase SX only)
67About Studio Connections 
(Cubase SX only) 
71MIDI effects 
72Introduction
73Arpache 5
75Arpache SX 
(Cubase SX only)
78Autopan
80Chorder
83Compress
84Context Gate
(Cubase SX only)
86Density
86Micro Tuner
87MIDIControl
88MIDIEcho
91Note to CC
92Quantizer93Step Designer
97Track Control
100Track FX
101Transformer 
103Working with System  
Exclusive messages 
104Introduction
104Bulk dumps
107Recording System Exclusive 
parameter changes
108Editing System Exclusive 
messages 
111The Logical Editor, 
Transformer and  
Input Transformer 
112Introduction
114Opening the Logical Editor
114Window overview
115Selecting a preset
116Setting up filter conditions
128Selecting a function
130Specifying actions
134Applying the defined actions
135Working with presets
136The Input Transformer 
139Index 
						

							 
1
 
MIDI devices 
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
 
1 – 6 MIDI devices 
Background
 
The MIDI Device Manager allows you to specify and set up your MIDI 
devices, making global control and patch selection easy.
But the MIDI Device Manager also features powerful editing functions 
that can be used to create MIDI device panels (Cubase SX only). MIDI 
device panels are internal representations of external MIDI hardware, 
complete with graphics. The MIDI device panel editor provides all the 
tools you need to create device maps where every parameter of an ex-
ternal device can be controlled and automated from inside Cubase SX.
For descriptions of how to create device maps and the powerful de-
vice panel editing features, see page 20. 
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
 
MIDI devices 1 – 7 
MIDI devices – general settings and patch 
handling
 
On the following pages, we will describe how to install and set up 
preset MIDI devices, and how to select patches by name from within 
Cubase SX/SL. This section also describes how to create a MIDI de-
vice from scratch. 
About program change and bank select
 
To instruct a MIDI instrument to select a certain patch (sound), you 
send a MIDI Program Change message to the instrument. Program 
Change messages can be recorded or entered in a MIDI part like 
other events, but you can also enter a value in the Program (prg) field 
in the Inspector for a MIDI track. This way, you can quickly set each 
MIDI track to play a different sound.
With Program Change messages, you are able to select between 128 
different patches in your MIDI device. However, many MIDI instruments 
contain a larger number of patch locations. To make these available 
from within Cubase SX/SL, you need to use Bank Select messages, a 
system in which the programs in a MIDI instrument are divided into 
banks, each bank containing 128 programs. If your instruments sup-
port MIDI Bank Select, you can use the Bank (bnk) field in the Inspec-
tor to select a bank, and then the Program field to select a program in 
this bank.
Unfortunately, different instrument manufacturers use different schemes 
for how Bank Select messages should be constructed, which can lead 
to some confusion and make it hard to select the correct sound. Also, 
selecting patches by numbers this way seems unnecessarily cumber-
some, when most instruments use names for their patches nowadays. 
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
 
1 – 8 MIDI devices 
To help with this, you can use the MIDI Device Manager to specify 
which MIDI instruments you have connected, by selecting from a vast 
list of existing devices or by specifying the details yourself. Once you 
have specified which MIDI devices you’re using, you can select to 
which particular device each MIDI track should be routed. It is then 
possible to select patches by name in the track list or Inspector. 
Opening the MIDI Device Manager
 
Select MIDI Device Manager from the Devices menu to bring up the 
following window:
SX:
This is the list of MIDI devices you have 
connected. The first time you open the MIDI 
Device Manager, this list will be empty.These buttons let you 
manage the list of 
installed devices. 
Here you specify to which 
MIDI output the selected 
device is connected.This button opens 
a selected device.This button allows you to 
import Mixmaps.These buttons are used to 
import/export XML De-
vice setups.  
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
 
MIDI devices 1 – 9 
SL:
When you open the MIDI Device Manager for the first time, it will be 
empty (because you haven’t installed any devices yet). On the follow-
ing pages we describe how to add a pre-configured MIDI device to the 
list, how to edit the settings and how to define a device from scratch. 
Installing a MIDI device
 
There is an important difference between installing a preset MIDI de-
vice and importing a MIDI device setup:  
•  
The presets available in the Install Device dialog do not include any 
device mapping of parameters and controls and no graphic panels. 
They are simply patchname scripts. When you install a preset MIDI device it is added 
to the Installed Devices list.
 
•  
A device setup can include device mapping, panels and/or patch in-
formation.  
Device setups are also added to the list of installed devices when imported. 
This is the list of MIDI devices you have 
connected. The first time you open the MIDI 
Device Manager, this list will be empty.These buttons let 
you manage the list 
of installed devices.
This pop-up menu 
lets you edit the 
selected device 
(provided that 
“Enable Edit” is 
ticked).
Here, the patch 
structure is shown 
for the device 
selected above.
This area shows 
exactly which MIDI 
messages should 
be sent out to se-
lect the patch high-
lighted in the list to 
the left.Here you specify to which 
MIDI output the selected 
device is connected.  
						

							 
CUBASE SX/SL
 
1 – 10 MIDI devices 
To install a preset MIDI device, proceed as follows: 
1. 
Click the Install Device button. 
A dialog appears listing all pre-configured MIDI devices. For now we assume that your 
MIDI device is included in this list.
 
2. 
Locate and select the device in the list and click OK. 
• 
If your MIDI device isn’t included in the list but is compatible with the 
GM (General MIDI) or XG standards, you can select the generic GM 
or XG Device options at the top of the list. 
When you select one of these options, a name dialog will appear. Enter a name for the 
instrument and click OK.
 
Now the device appears in the Installed Devices list to the left. 
3. 
Make sure that the new device is selected in the list and pull down the 
Output pop-up menu. 
4. 
Select the MIDI output that is connected to the device. 
5. 
If you are using Cubase SX, click the Open Device button. 
Now a separate window opens for the selected device, showing a node structure in 
the left half of the window. At the top of this structure is the device itself, and below it 
the MIDI channels used by the device. 
 
6. 
Select Patch Banks from the pop-up at the top of the window.
The Patch Banks list in the left half of the window shows the patch 
structure of the device. This could simply be a list of patches, but it’s 
usually one or several layers of banks or groups containing the 
patches (much like a folder structure on a hard disk for example).