Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 MIDI Devices And Features Manual

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MIDI effects 
						

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Introduction
This chapter describes the included MIDI realtime effects and their 
parameters.
How to apply and handle MIDI effects is described in the chapter 
“MIDI realtime parameters and effects” in the Operation Manual. 
						

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Arpache 5
A typical arpeggiator accepts a chord (a group of MIDI notes) as in-
put, and plays back each note in the chord separately, with the play-
back order and speed set by the user. The Arpache 5 arpeggiator 
does just that, and more. Before describing the parameters, let’s look 
at how to create a simple, typical arpeggio:
1.Select a MIDI track and activate monitoring (or record enable it) so 
that you can play “thru” the track.
Check that the track is properly set up for playback to a suitable MIDI instrument.
2.Select and activate the arpeggiator.
For now, use it as an insert effect for the selected track.
3.In the arpeggiator panel, use the Quantize setting to set the arpeggio 
speed.
The speed is set as a note value, relative to the project tempo. For example, setting 
Quantize to “16” means the arpeggio will be a pattern of sixteenth notes.
4.Use the Length setting to set the length of the arpeggio notes.
This allows you to create staccato arpeggios (Length smaller than the Quantize set-
ting) or arpeggio notes that overlap each other (Length greater than Quantize).
5.Set the Semi-Range parameter to 12.
This will make the notes arpeggiate within an octave.
6.Play a chord on your MIDI instrument.
Now, instead of hearing the chord, you will hear the notes of the chord played one by 
one, in an arpeggio.
7.Try the different arpeggio modes by clicking the Playmode buttons.
The symbols on the buttons indicate the playback order for the notes (up, down, 
up+down, etc.). The Play Order settings are described below. 
						

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Parameters
The Arpache 5 has the following settings:
Setting Description
Playmode buttons Allows you to select the playback order for the arpeggiated 
notes. The options are down+up, up+down, up, down, random 
(“?” button) and “Order off”, in which case you can set the play-
back order manually with the Play Order fields below.
Quantize Determines the speed of the arpeggio, as a note value related to 
the project tempo. The range is 32T (1/32 note triplets) to 1. 
(dotted note values).
Length Sets the length of the arpeggio notes, as a note value related to 
the project tempo. The range is the same as for the Quantize 
setting.
Semi-Range Determines the arpeggiated note range, in semitones counted 
from the lowest key you play. This works as follows:
- Any notes you play that are outside this range will be trans-
posed in octave steps to fit within the range.
- If the range is more than one octave, octave-transposed copies 
of the notes you play will be added to the arpeggio (as many oc-
taves as fit within the range).
Thru If this is activated, the notes sent to the arpeggiator (i.e. the 
chord you play) will be passed through the plug-in (sent out to-
gether with the arpeggiated notes).
Play Order If the “Order on” playmode is selected, you can use these “slots” 
to specify a custom playback order for the arpeggio notes:
Each slot corresponds to a position in the arpeggio pattern. For 
each slot, you specify which note should be played on that posi-
tion by selecting a number. The numbers correspond to the keys 
you play, counted from the lowest pressed key.
So, if you play the notes C3-E3-G3 (a C major chord), “1” would 
mean C3, “2” would mean E3, and “3” would mean G3. Note 
that you can use the same number in several slots, creating ar-
peggio patterns that are not possible using the standard play 
modes. 
						

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Arpache SX (Cubase SX only)
This is an even more versatile and advanced arpeggiator, capable of 
creating anything from traditional arpeggios to complex, sequencer-
like patterns. The Arpache SX has the following parameters:
Parameter Description
Arp Style Determines the basic behaviour of the Arpache SX. In the Seq 
mode, the arpeggiator uses an imported MIDI part as a starting 
point for the pattern – this is described below. All other modes 
describe how the notes in the chord you play should be arpeggi-
ated – up, down, up & down, mostly up or mostly down.
Quantize Determines the resolution of the arpeggio, i.e. its “speed”. The 
“Source” setting is used in Seq mode, see below.
Length Determines the length of the arpeggio notes. The “Source” set-
ting is used in Seq mode, see below.
Transpose When a mode other than “Off” is selected, the arpeggio will be 
expanded upwards, downwards or both (depending on the 
mode). This is done by adding transposed repeats of the basic 
arpeggio pattern. The “Octave” setting sets the number of trans-
posed repeats and the “Semi-Steps” setting determines how 
much each repeat will be transposed.
Play Mode See the description of Seq mode below!
Trigger Mode See the description of Seq mode below!  
						

							CUBASE SX/SL2 – 76 MIDI effects
Seq mode
When Seq mode is selected in the Arp Style section, the Arpache SX 
uses an additional MIDI part as a pattern. This pattern then forms the 
basis for the arpeggio, in conjunction with the MIDI input.
•To import a MIDI part into the Arpache SX, drag it from the Project win-
dow and drop it in the “Drop a MIDI Part” section on the Arpache SX.
Now, the notes in the dropped MIDI part will be sorted internally, either 
according to their pitch (“Sort Phrase by Pitch” checkbox activated) or 
according to their play order in the part. This results in a list of numbers. 
For example, if the notes in the MIDI part are C E G A E C and they are 
sorted according to pitch, the list of numbers will read 1 2 3 4 2 1. 
Here, there are 4 different notes/numbers and 6 trigger positions.
Now the MIDI input (the chord you send into the Arpache SX) will also 
generate a list of numbers, with each note in the chord corresponding 
to a number depending on the Sort Mode setting. 
Velocity Source Determines the velocity of the notes in the arpeggio. The options 
are Seq (used in Seq mode only), Input (the same as the velocity 
values of the corresponding notes in the chord you play) or 
Fixed, in which case all arpeggio notes will get the velocity set in 
the value field to the right.
Thru If this is activated, the notes sent to the arpeggiator (i.e. the 
chord you play) will be passed through the plug-in (sent out to-
gether with the arpeggiated notes).
Poly Determines how many notes should be accepted in the input 
chord. The “All” setting means there are no limitations.
Sort Mode When you play a chord into the Arpache SX, the arpeggiator will 
look at the notes in the chord as sorted in the order specified 
here. For example, if you play a C-E-G chord, with “Note Lowest” 
selected, C will be the first note, E will be the second and G the 
third. This affects the result of the Arp Style setting. Parameter Description 
						

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The two lists of numbers will now be matched – the Arpache SX tries 
to play back the pattern from the dropped MIDI file but using the notes 
from the MIDI input (chord). The result depends on the Trigger Mode 
setting:
Finally, the Play Mode setting affects the resulting arpeggio. Note also 
that you can choose to keep the original note timing, note length and 
note velocities from the dropped MIDI part, by selecting “Source” in the 
Quantize and Length fields, and “Seq” in the Velocity Source section.
Trigger Mode Description
Trigger The whole pattern from the dropped MIDI file will be played back, 
but transposed according to one of the notes in the MIDI input. 
Which note is used for transposing depends on the Sort Mode 
setting.
Trigger Cnt. As above, but even when all keys are released, the phrase con-
tinues playing from the last position (where it stopped), when a 
new key is pressed on the keyboard. This is typically used when 
playing “live” through the Arpache SX.
Sort Normal Matches the notes in the MIDI input to the notes in the dropped 
MIDI part. If there are fewer notes (numbers) in the MIDI input, 
some steps in the resulting arpeggio will be empty.
Sort First As above, but if there are fewer notes in the MIDI input, the miss-
ing notes will be replaced by the first note.
Sort Any As above, but if there are fewer notes in the MIDI input, the miss-
ing notes will be replaced by any (random) note.
Arp. Style As above, but if there are fewer notes in the MIDI input, the miss-
ing notes will be replaced by the last valid note in the arpeggio. 
						

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Autopan
This plug-in works a bit like an LFO in a synthesizer, allowing you to 
send out continuously changing MIDI controller messages. One typi-
cal use for this is automatic MIDI panning (hence the name), but you 
can select any MIDI Continuous Controller event type. The Autopan 
effect has the following parameters:
Waveform selectors
These determine the shape of the controller curves sent out. The re-
sults of most of these waveforms are obvious from looking at the but-
tons, but a few of them require some extra explanations:
This generates a “random” controller curve.
These generate curves with a “periodical envelope”. The amplitude will gradually 
increase or decrease over a time, set with the Period parameter (see below).
Period
This is where you set the speed of the Autopan, or rather the length of 
a single controller curve cycle. The value can be set in ticks (1/480ths 
of quarter notes), or as rhythmically exact note values (by clicking the 
arrow buttons next to the value). The lower the note value, the slower 
the speed. For example, if you set this to 240 (“8th”) the waveform will 
be repeated every eighth note. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLMIDI effects 2 – 79
Density
This determines the density of the controller curves sent out. The 
value can be set in ticks (1/480ths of quarter notes), or as rhythmically 
exact note values (by clicking the arrow buttons next to the value). The 
higher the note value, the smoother the controller curve. For example, 
if you set this to 60 (shown as “32th”) a new controller event will be 
sent out every 60th tick (at every 1/32 note position).
You should probably avoid extremely low Density values, as these will 
generate a very large number of events (which may cause the MIDI in-
strument to “choke”, delaying notes etc.).
AmpMod
This is only used for the two waveforms with “periodical envelopes” 
(see above). The period value (set in beats) determines the length of 
the envelope. In the following figure, Period is set to 4th and the Amp-
Mod is 4 beats. This results in a quarter note-based curve in which the 
top amplitude decreases gradually, repeated each bar:
Controller
Determines which Continuous Controller type is sent out. Typical 
choices would include pan, volume and brightness but your MIDI in-
strument may have controllers mapped to various settings, allowing 
you to modulate the synth parameter of your choice – check the MIDI 
implementation chart for your instrument for details!
Min and Max
These determine the minimum and maximum controller values sent 
out, i.e. the “bottom” and “top” of the controller curves. 
						

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Chorder
The Chorder is a MIDI chord processor, allowing you to assign com-
plete chords to single keys in a multitude of variations. There are three 
main modes of operation: Normal, Octave and Global. You switch be-
tween these modes by clicking the respective button to the left below 
the keyboard.
Normal mode
In this mode, you can assign a different chord to each single key on 
the keyboard. Proceed as follows:
1.Select the key to which you want to assign a chord, by clicking in the 
lower “Trigger Note” keyboard display.
2.Set up the desired chord for that key by clicking in the upper “Chord 
Setup” keyboard display.
Clicking a key adds it to the chord; clicking it again removes it.
3.Repeat the above with any other keys you wish to use.
If you now play the keys you have set up, you will instead hear the as-
signed chords.