Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

CUBASE SX/SLThe mixer 10 – 221
Input Phase switch (Cubase SX only)
Each audio channel and input/output channel has an Input Phase 
switch, to the left of the Input Gain control dial. When activated, the 
phase polarity is inverted for the signal. Use this to correct for bal-
anced lines and mics that are wired backwards, or mics that are “out 
of phase” due to their positioning.
•Phase polarity is important when mixing together two similar signals. 
If the signals are “out of phase” with respect to one...

CUBASE SX/SL10 – 222 The mixer
Using Solo and Mute
The Mute (top) and Solo buttons.
You can use the Mute and Solo buttons to silence one or several 
channels. The following applies:
• The Mute button silences the selected channel.
Clicking the Mute button again un-mutes the channel. Several channels can be muted 
simultaneously. A muted channel is indicated by a lit Mute button, and also by the lit 
Global Mute indicator on the common panel. 
• Clicking the Solo button for a channel mutes all other...

CUBASE SX/SLThe mixer 10 – 223
Setting pan in the mixer
The pan control.
The pan controls in the mixer are used to position a channel between 
the left and right side of the stereo spectrum. For stereo audio chan-
nels, pan (by default) controls the balance between the left and right 
channels. By selecting one of the other pan modes (see below) you 
can set pan independently for the left and right channel.
•To make fine pan adjustments, hold down [Shift] when you move the 
pan control.
•To select center...

CUBASE SX/SL10 – 224 The mixer
About the three pan modes (Cubase SX only)
If you right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) in the pan control field for 
a (stereo) audio channel you can select one of three pan modes:
•Stereo Balance Panner controls the balance between the left and 
right channels.
This is the default mode.
•If Stereo Dual Panner is selected, there will be two pan controls with 
the upper controlling pan for the left channel, and the lower controlling 
pan for the right channel.
This allows...

CUBASE SX/SLThe mixer 10 – 225
Stereo Combined mode also allows you set pan independently for the 
left and right channels. This is done by holding down [Alt]/[Option] 
and dragging the corresponding pan control. When you release the 
[Alt]/[Option] key, the left and right pan controls are linked, and can be 
moved left and right like a single pan control (with their relative posi-
tions intact). 
When moving combined pan controls so that the left or right pan con-
trol reaches its maximum pan value, it...

CUBASE SX/SL10 – 226 The mixer
Audio specific procedures
This section describes the options and basic procedures regarding 
audio channels in the mixer.
Options for the extended audio channel strip (Cubase SX only)
When using the extended channel strip view options, the upper panel 
can be set to show different views for each audio channel strip. You 
can select what to display in the extended panel individually for each 
channel or globally for all channels (see page 206).
The following views are...

CUBASE SX/SLThe mixer 10 – 227
• The EQ section, either with parameter dials (“EQ +” menu item), value sliders 
(“EQs” item) or as numerical settings with a curve display (“EQs curve” item).
These three views have exactly the same controls but different graphic layouts. The EQ 
section is also available in the Channel Settings window. For EQ parameter descrip-
tions, see page 230.
• The Surround Panner section (where applicable).
If the channel is routed to a surround bus you can view a compact version...

CUBASE SX/SL10 – 228 The mixer
Using Channel Settings 
For each audio channel strip in the mixer (and in the Inspector and 
Track list for each audio track) there is an Edit button (“e”).
Clicking this opens the VST Audio Channel Settings window. This 
window contains a simplified common panel, a duplicate of the mixer 
channel strip (without the extended panel but with the input and output 
settings panel), a section with eight (five in Cubase SL) insert effect 
slots (see page 252), four EQ modules and...

CUBASE SX/SLThe mixer 10 – 229
Changing channels in the Channel Settings window
You can view any channel’s settings from a single window. 
If the option “Mixer Selection Follows Project” is activated in the Pref-
erences (Editing page), this can be done “automatically”:
•Open the Channel Settings window for a track and position it so that 
you can see both the Project window and the Channel Settings window.
Selecting a track in the Project window automatically selects the corre-
sponding channel in the...

CUBASE SX/SL10 – 230 The mixer
Making EQ settings
Each audio channel in Cubase SX/SL has a built-in parametric equal-
izer with up to four bands. There are several ways to view and adjust 
the EQs:
• By selecting one of the three EQ display modes (“EQs”, “EQs +” or “EQs 
Curve”) for the extended channel strip in the mixer (Cubase SX only).
These three modes contain the same settings but present them in different ways:
From left to right, “EQs” mode (sliders), “EQs +” mode (dials) and “EQs Curve” 
mode...