Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

CUBASE SX/SLAudio effects 11 – 251
About VST plug-ins and tempo sync
Version 2.0 of the VST plug-in standard (and later) allows plug-ins to 
receive MIDI from the host application (in this case, Cubase SX/SL). A 
typical use for this feature is tempo-based effects (such as delays, 
auto-panning, etc.), but it is also used in other ways for certain plug-ins.
•MIDI timing information is automatically provided to any VST 2.0 plug-
in that “requests it”.
You don’t need to make any special settings for this....

CUBASE SX/SL11 – 252 Audio effects
Insert effects
Background
As the name implies, insert effects are inserted into the audio signal 
path – this means that the audio will be routed through the effect. You 
can add up to eight different insert effects (five in Cubase SL) indepen-
dently for each audio channel (audio track, group channel track, FX 
channel track, VST Instrument channel or ReWire channel) or bus. The 
signal passes through the effects in series from the top downwards, 
with the signal paths...

CUBASE SX/SLAudio effects 11 – 253
• Applying insert effects on many channels uses up a lot of CPU power!
It might often be more efficient to use send effects, especially if you want to use the 
same type of effect on several channels. Remember that you can use the VST Perfor-
mance window to keep an eye on the CPU load.
Which effect plug-ins can I use as insert effects?
Most effect plug-ins will work fine as insert effects. In general, the only 
restrictions are with the number of inputs and outputs in...

CUBASE SX/SL11 – 254 Audio effects
Routing an audio channel or bus through insert effects
Insert effect settings are available in the mixer (in extended mode), the 
Channel Settings window and the Inspector (audio tracks, group tracks 
and FX tracks only). The examples below show the Channel Settings 
window, but the procedures are similar for all three send sections:
1.Bring up the Channel Settings window, the Inserts pane in the ex-
tended mixer or the Inserts section in the Inspector.
In the Channel...

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•When you have several insert effects for a channel, you can bypass 
separate effects by clicking the bypass button of the respective slot.
When an effect is bypassed, the button is yellow.
The “Reverb A” insert effect slot is bypassed.
Insert effects in the channel overview
If the “Channel” section is selected in the Inspector or the “Channel 
Overview” view mode is selected in the extended mixer, you will get 
an overview of which EQ modules, insert effects and effect...

CUBASE SX/SL11 – 256 Audio effects
Using mono or stereo effects with a surround channel 
(Cubase SX only)
Normally, when you apply a mono or stereo insert effect to a surround 
(multi channel) track, the first speaker channel(s) of the track (often L 
and/or R) are routed through the effect’s available channels, and the 
other channels of the track are left unprocessed.
However, you may want to apply the effect to other speaker channels. 
This is done in the Channel Settings window:
1.Click in the small...

CUBASE SX/SLAudio effects 11 – 257
3.Double click on the small signal diagram for the effect to open up an 
editor window.
The columns in the diagram represent the channels in the current sur-
round configuration, with signals passing from top to bottom. The grey 
field in the middle represents the actual effect plug-in.
• The squares above the effect represent inputs to the effect plug-in.
• The squares below the effect represent outputs from the effect plug-in.
• A line that passes through the effect...

CUBASE SX/SL11 – 258 Audio effects
Operations
You can move connections to the effect inputs and outputs sideways 
to route the audio to/from other inputs/outputs than the standard con-
figuration. To do this, you click the arrow buttons to the right.
•The upper two arrows move the input connections, and the lower two 
arrows move the output connections.
If the “Link” checkbox is activated the input and output connections will be moved at 
the same time. This is the mode to use when you simply want to...

CUBASE SX/SLAudio effects 11 – 259
About adding insert effects to busses
As already stated, all input and output busses have eight insert slots, 
just like regular audio channels. The procedures for adding insert ef-
fects are the same (except you cannot use the Inspector here).
•Adding insert effects to an input bus (Cubase SX only) allows you to 
record with effects.
The effects will become a permanent part of the recorded audio file (see page 66).
•Insert effects added to an output bus will affect all...

CUBASE SX/SL11 – 260 Audio effects
Applying dithering
1.Click the “e” button to bring up the Output Settings window for the 
output bus, or display its Inserts section in the extended mixer pane, 
as described above.
2.Cubase SX: Pull down the Inserts pop-up menu in slot 7 or 8.
In Cubase SX, the two last Insert effect slots (for all channels) are post-fader, which is 
crucial for a dithering plug-in. The reason is that any master gain change applied after 
dithering would bring the signal back to the...