Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

CUBASE SX/SLThe mixer 10 – 201
About the multiple mixer windows
You may have noticed that there are in fact three separate mixer items 
selectable from the Devices menu; “Mixer”, “Mixer 2” and “Mixer 3” (in 
Cubase SL there are two mixer items). These are not separate mixers, 
but rather separate windows of the same mixer. 
•Each of the mixer windows can be configured to show any combina-
tion of channels, channel types, narrow and wide channel strips etc. 
(how to do this is described later in this...

CUBASE SX/SL10 – 202 The mixer
What channel types can be shown in the mixer?
The following track based channel types are shown in the mixer:
• Audio
• MIDI
• Effect return channels (FX channel tracks are referred to as effect return 
channels in the mixer). 
• Group channels. 
The order of audio, group, effect return and MIDI channel strips (from 
left to right) in the mixer corresponds to the Project window Track list 
(from the top down). If you reorder tracks of these types in the Track 
list, this...

CUBASE SX/SLThe mixer 10 – 203
About multichannel audio (Cubase SX only)
Cubase SX has full support for surround sound. Each audio channel 
and bus in the mixer can carry up to 6 speaker channels. This means 
that if you have an audio track configured for 5.1 surround sound for 
example, this will have a single channel strip in the mixer, just like 
mono or stereo tracks (although its level meter will have six meter 
bars, one for each speaker channel).
Another thing to note is that the look of a channel...

CUBASE SX/SL10 – 204 The mixer
Configuring the mixer
As mentioned earlier, the mixer windows can be configured in various 
ways to suit your needs and to save screen space. Here follows a run 
through of the various view options (the following descriptions assume 
that you have an active project containing some tracks):
Normal vs. Extended channel strips (Cubase SX only)
You have the option of selecting normal or extended channel strips 
and whether to show the input and output settings at the top of the...

CUBASE SX/SLThe mixer 10 – 205
The fader panel shows the basic controls – faders, pan controls and 
an associated vertical row of buttons. The extended panel can be set 
to show EQ, effect sends, insert effects, etc. The input/output settings 
panel contains input and output routing pop-up menus (where appli-
cable), along with input phase switches and input gain controls.
A basic channel strip with 
no extended options.A fully extended channel strip 
with the input/output settings 
panel at the top. 

CUBASE SX/SL10 – 206 The mixer
The input/output settings panel (Cubase SL)
In Cubase SL there is no extended mixer panel – all settings for EQ 
and effects are done in the Channel Settings windows. However, at 
the top of the channel strips you will find a panel with input and output 
routing pop-up menus. This is where you select an input bus for the 
channel (where applicable) and route the channel to an output bus.
•You can show or hide the input/output settings panel by clicking the 
+/– buttons at...

CUBASE SX/SLThe mixer 10 – 207
In the extended area of the common panel you can see a vertical row 
of icons. These act as buttons, and determine globally what is dis-
played in the extended panel for all channel strips in the mixer.
If you place the pointer on an icon a tooltip appears, describing the item.
3.Click on the “Show all Inserts” button (second icon from the top).
Now all channel strips in the mixer will show Insert effect slots in the extended panel.
•As mentioned above, what can be set...

CUBASE SX/SL10 – 208 The mixer
Selecting for individual channels
Each channel strip in the mixer features a View options pop-up, which 
is used for two things:
•To determine what is shown in the extended panel for individual chan-
nels in the mixer.
•To set the “Can Hide” status for individual channels in the mixer.
This is described on page 210.
The View options pop-up is opened by clicking the down arrow lo-
cated just above the fader panel of the channel strip.
•To select what to display in the...

CUBASE SX/SLThe mixer 10 – 209
Setting the width of channel strips
Each channel strip’s width can be sized to either “Wide” or “Narrow” 
mode by using the Narrow/Wide button. This is the two left/right arrows 
just above the fader strip (to the left of the View options pop-up).
The Narrow/Wide button
•Narrow channel strips contain a narrow fader, miniature buttons, plus 
the View options pop-up.
If you have selected to show parameters in the extended section (Cubase SX only), 
only the channel overview...

CUBASE SX/SL10 – 210 The mixer
Selecting what channel types to show/hide
You can specify what channel types to show or hide in the mixer. In the 
lower part of the common panel you find a vertical strip with different 
indicator buttons. Each indicator represents a channel type to show or 
hide in the mixer:
•To hide or show a channel type, click the corresponding indicator.
If an indicator is dark, the corresponding channel type will be shown in the mixer. If it is 
orange, the corresponding channel...