Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 571
The drum sound list
The purpose of the Drum Editor is to edit MIDI tracks where each note 
(pitch) plays a separate sound, as is typically the case with a MIDI drum 
kit. The drum sound list to the left lists all drum sounds by name (ac-
cording to the selected drum map or name list – see below), and lets 
you adjust and manipulate the drum sound setup in various ways.
Note:
• The number of columns in the list depends on whether there’s a drum map 
selected for the...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 572 The MIDI editors
The note display
The Drum Editor’s note display displays notes as diamond symbols. 
The vertical position of the notes corresponds to the drum sound list to 
the left, while the horizontal position corresponds to the note’s posi-
tion in time, just as in the Key Editor. Note however, that the diamond 
symbols don’t indicate the length of the notes. This makes sense, 
since drum sounds most often are “one-shot” samples that play to 
their end regardless of the note...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 573
Drum Editor operations
The basic handling (zooming, playback, auditioning, etc.) is the same 
as in the Key Editor (see page 543). The following sections describe 
the procedures and features that are specific to the Drum Editor.
Creating and editing notes
The standard way of entering notes in the Drum Editor is to click with 
the Drumstick tool.
When you move the pointer in the note display, its bar position and drum sound is 
indicated in the toolbar, making it...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 574 The MIDI editors
• Clicking with the Drumstick tool on an existing note will remove it.
This makes drum pattern editing very quick and intuitive.
Setting velocity values
The notes you enter will get the insert velocity value set in the insert 
velocity field on the toolbar – to speed up things you may want to as-
sign key commands to the insert velocity options. See page 547.
Selecting notes
Selecting notes is done by any of the following methods:
•Use the Arrow tool.
The standard...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 575
Muting notes and drum sounds
You can mute individual notes by clicking or enclosing them with the 
Mute tool or by using the Mute function on the Edit menu (see page 
552).
Furthermore, if a drum map is selected (see page 582), the drum sound 
list will have a Mute column. Click in the Mute column for a drum sound 
to mute that sound. Finally, clicking the Drum Solo button will mute all 
drum sounds other than the selected one.
Muted drum sounds
Please note that the...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 576 The MIDI editors
Working with drum maps
Background
As discussed earlier, a drum kit in a MIDI instrument is most often a 
set of different drum sounds with each sound placed on a separate 
key (i.e. the different sounds are assigned to different MIDI note num-
bers). One key plays a bass drum sound, another a snare and so on.
Unfortunately, different MIDI instruments often use different key as-
signments. This can be troublesome if you have made a drum pattern 
using one MIDI device,...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 577
Drum map settings
A drum map consists of settings for 128 drum sounds (one for each 
MIDI note number). To get an overview of these settings, open the 
Drum Editor and use the Map pop-up menu below the drum sound list 
to select the “GM Map” drum map.
This drum map is set up according to the General MIDI standard. For information on 
how to load, create and select other drum maps, see page 582.
Now, take a look at the drum sound list (you may have to drag the di-...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 578 The MIDI editors
Here’s a brief description (details follow below):
• All settings in a drum map (except the Pitch setting) can be changed 
directly in the drum sound list, or in the Drum Map Setup dialog (see 
page 583).
Note that the changes you make will affect all tracks that use the drum map.
Column Description
Pitch The actual note number of the drum sound. This is what links notes on a 
MIDI track to drum sounds. For example, with the above drum map, all 
MIDI notes with the...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 579
About Pitch, I-note and O-note
This can be a somewhat confusing area, but once you’ve grasped 
how it all works it’s not very complicated. Going through the following 
“theory” will help you make the most out of the drum map concept – 
especially if you want to create your own drum maps.
As we said earlier, a drum map is a kind of “filter”, transforming notes 
according to the settings in the map. It does this transformation twice; 
once when it receives an incoming...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 580 The MIDI editors
O-notes
The next step is the output. This is what happens when you play back 
the recorded note, or when the note you play is sent back out to a 
MIDI instrument in real time (MIDI Thru):
The program checks the drum map and finds the drum sound with the 
pitch of the note. In our case, this is a C1 note and the drum sound is 
the Bass Drum. Before the note is sent to the MIDI output, the second 
transformation takes place: the note number is changed to that of the...