Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 51
Selecting a folder for the recorded audio files (Cubase SX only)
As described in the Getting Started book, each Cubase SX/SL 
project has a project folder containing (among other things) an “Audio” 
folder. By default, this is where recorded audio files are stored. How-
ever, in Cubase SX you can select record folders independently for 
each audio track if needed:
1.To select the same record folder for several audio tracks, you need to 
select them by [Shift] or...

CUBASE SX/SL4 – 52 Recording
Setting input levels
When recording digital sound, it’s important to set the input levels 
correctly – loud enough to ensure low noise and high audio quality, 
but not so loud that clipping (digital distortion) occurs.
Clipping typically occurs in the audio hardware, when a too loud ana-
log signal is converted to digital in the hardware’s A/D converters. 
•If you are using Cubase SX it is also possible to get clipping when the 
signal from the input bus is written to a file...

CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 53
4.If necessary, adjust the input level in one of the following ways:
•Adjust the output level of the sound source or external mixer.
•Use the audio hardware’s own application program to set the input 
levels, if this possibility is provided.
See the documentation for the audio hardware.
•If your audio hardware supports the ASIO Control Panel function, it 
may be possible to make input level settings.
To open the ASIO control panel, open the Device Setup dialog on the Devices...

CUBASE SX/SL4 – 54 Recording
Cubase SL
In Cubase SL, the input channels are not shown in the mixer. Instead, 
you need to check the level at the channel strip for the track on which 
you are recording:
1.Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) somewhere in the Mixer 
window to bring up the Mixer context menu.
2.Select the Global Meter Settings submenu and make sure “Meter In-
put” is activated.
In this mode, the level meters show the levels “pre-fader” – that is, unaffected by level 
fader changes,...

CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 55
Monitoring
In this context, “monitoring” means listening to the input signal during 
recording. There are three fundamentally different ways to do this: via 
Cubase SX/SL, externally (by listening to the signal before it reaches 
Cubase SX/SL) or by using ASIO Direct Monitoring (which is a combi-
nation of both of the other methods – see page 57).
Monitoring via Cubase SX/SL
If you monitor via Cubase SX/SL, the input signal is mixed in with the 
audio playback. The advantage...

CUBASE SX/SL4 – 56 Recording
• Manual.
This option allows you to turn input monitoring on or off by clicking the Monitor button 
in the Inspector, the Track list or in the mixer.
• While Record Enabled.
With this option you will hear the audio source connected to the channel input when-
ever the track is record enabled.
• While Record Running.
This option switches to input monitoring only during recording.
• Tapemachine Style.
This option emulates standard tapemachine behavior: input monitoring in Stop...

CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 57
ASIO Direct Monitoring
If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may support ASIO 
Direct Monitoring. In this mode, the actual monitoring is done in the 
audio hardware, by sending the input signal back out again. However, 
monitoring is controlled from Cubase SX/SL. This means that the au-
dio hardware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off auto-
matically by Cubase SX/SL, just as when using internal monitoring.
•To activate ASIO Direct Monitoring, open...

CUBASE SX/SL4 – 58 Recording
Recording
Recording is done using any of the general recording methods (see 
page 43). After you finish recording, an audio file has been created in 
the Audio folder within the project folder. In the Pool, an audio clip is 
created for the audio file, and an audio event that plays the whole clip 
appears on the recording track. Finally, a waveform image is calculated 
for the audio event. If the recording was very long, this may take a while.
• If the option “Create Audio...

CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 59
Recording overlapping events
The basic rule for audio tracks is that each track can play back a sin-
gle audio event at a time. This means that if two or more events are 
overlapping, only one of them will be heard at any given time.
What happens when you record overlapping events (record in an area 
where there’s already events on the track) depends on the Linear 
Record Mode setting on the Transport panel:
•In “Normal” or “Merge” mode, recording where something has already...

CUBASE SX/SL4 – 60 Recording
Recording audio in cycle mode
If you are recording audio in cycle mode, the result depends on two 
factors:
•The Cycle Record Mode setting on the Transport panel.
•The “Audio Cycle Record Mode” setting in the Preferences dialog 
(Record page).
Cycle Record Modes on the Transport panel
There are five different modes on the Transport panel, but the differ-
ences between two of the modes only apply to MIDI recording. For 
audio cycle recording, the following applies:
•If “Keep...