Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

							CUBASE SX/SLVST Instruments 12 – 291
Activating and using VST Instruments
1.Pull down the Devices menu and select VST Instruments.
The VST Instruments panel appears with 64 slots (32 in Cubase SL). 
2.Pull down the pop-up menu for an empty slot in the panel and select 
the desired instrument.
The instrument is loaded and activated, and its control panel is automatically opened.
•If you look in the Project window, you will find that a special “folder” for 
the chosen instrument has been added, within a “VST Instruments” 
folder (where all your VST Instruments will appear).
The separate folder for the added instrument contains two or more automation tracks: 
one for automating the plug-in parameters and one for each mixer channel used by the 
VST Instrument. For example, if you add a VST Instrument with four separate outputs 
(four separate mixer channels), the folder will contain five automation tracks. To keep 
the screen less cluttered, you may want to close the folder for the VST Instrument until 
you need to view or edit any of the automation tracks.
For more about automation, see page 319.
3.Select the mixer channel automation track(s) for the VST Instrument 
and use the “Out” pop-up menu in the Inspector to route them to the 
desired output channels or groups.
You can also do this from the mixer.
4.Select an unused MIDI track in the Project window.
5.Pull down the output pop-up menu for the MIDI track in the Track list 
or in the Inspector.
The pop-up menu will now contain an additional item, with the name of the activated 
VST Instrument. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL12 – 292 VST Instruments
6.Select the VST Instrument on the MIDI output pop-up menu.
The MIDI output from the track is now routed to the selected instrument. 
7.Depending on the selected instrument, you may also need to select a 
MIDI channel for the track.
For example, a multi-timbral VST Instrument can play back different sounds on different 
MIDI channels – check the instrument’s documentation for MIDI implementation details.
8.Make sure the option “MIDI Thru Active” is activated in the Preferences 
dialog (MIDI page).
9.Click the Monitor button for the MIDI track (in the Track list, Inspector 
or mixer). 
When this is activated (or when the track is record enabled, see page 69) incoming 
MIDI is passed on to the selected MIDI output (in this case the VST Instrument).
10.Open the mixer.
You will find one or more additional channel strips for the instrument’s audio outputs. 
VST Instrument channel strips have the same features and functionality as group chan-
nel strips, with the addition of an Edit button at the bottom of the strip for opening the 
VST Instrument control panel. You will also find output routing pop-up menus at the 
top of the channel strips, for routing the VST Instrument channel(s) to output channels 
or groups.
11.Play the instrument from your MIDI keyboard.
You can use the mixer settings to adjust the sound, add EQ or effects, etc. – just as 
with regular audio channels. Of course, you can also record or manually create MIDI 
parts that play back sounds from the VST Instrument.
You can have up to 64 (32 in Cubase SL) VST Instruments activated at 
the same time, different models or several instances of the same instru-
ment. However, software synthesizers can consume quite a lot of CPU 
power – keep an eye on the VST Performance window to avoid running 
out of processor power. See also page 296. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLVST Instruments 12 – 293
About latency
Depending on your audio hardware and its ASIO driver, the latency 
(the time it takes for the Instrument to produce a sound when you 
press a key on your MIDI controller) may simply be too high to allow 
comfortable real-time VST Instrument playback from a keyboard. 
If this is the case, a workaround is to play and record your parts with 
another MIDI Sound Source selected, and then switch to the VST In-
strument for playback.
• You can check the latency for your audio hardware in the Device Setup 
dialog (VST Audiobay page).
The input and output latency values are shown under the ASIO Driver pop-up menu. 
For live VST Instruments playing, these values should ideally be a few milliseconds 
(although the limit for “comfortable” live playing is a matter of personal taste). 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL12 – 294 VST Instruments
Constrain Delay Compensation
Cubase SX/SL features full delay compensation throughout the entire 
audio path. This means that any delay inherent in the VST plug-ins you 
use will automatically be compensated for during playback, so that all 
channels are kept in perfect sync (see page 251).
However, when you play a VST Instrument in real time or record live 
audio (with monitoring through Cubase SX/SL activated), this delay 
compensation may sometimes result in added latency. To avoid this, 
you can click the Constrain Delay Compensation button on the 
Project window toolbar. This function tries to minimize the latency ef-
fects of the delay compensation, while maintaining the sound of the 
mix as far as possible.
•In the Preferences dialog (VST page) you will find a setting called 
Delay Compensation Threshold. Only plug-ins with a delay higher 
than this setting will be affected by the Constrain Delay Compensa-
tion function.
•VST plug-ins (with higher delay than the threshold value) which are 
activated for VST Instrument channels, audio track channels that are 
record enabled, group channels and output channels will be turned 
off when you activate Constrain Delay Compensation.
•VST plug-ins activated for FX channels are not turned off but their de-
lay is disregarded by the program (delay compensation is turned off).
After recording or using a VST Instrument with Constrain Delay Com-
pensation, you should turn off the function to restore full delay com-
pensation. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLVST Instruments 12 – 295
Selecting patches and making settings
•To select a patch for a VST Instrument, use its patch pop-up menu in 
the VST Instruments window.
The available patches depends on the VST Instrument. Not all VST Instruments come 
with pre-made patches.
•To access the parameters for the VST Instrument, click the Edit button 
in the VST Instruments window or in its channel strip (at the bottom of 
the fader strip) in the mixer.
This opens a “control panel” for the VST Instrument.
• For descriptions of the included VST Instruments and their parameters, 
see the separate pdf document “Audio Effects and VST Instruments”.
Selecting patches from the Project window
When a VST Instrument is selected as MIDI output for a track, you can 
also select patches by name, using the program pop-up menu in the 
Track list or Inspector. Although this is set up automatically and trans-
parently, there are a couple of things to note:
•If the VST Instrument supports the VST 2.1 standard (or later), select-
ing a patch will cause Cubase SX/SL to send MIDI Program Change 
and Bank Select messages to the VST Instrument, just as with “real” 
physical MIDI instruments.
A consequence of this is that you can enter Program Change events in MIDI parts any-
where on the track, having the VST Instrument change patch at the desired locations 
(“automating” the patch selection).
•If the VST Instrument supports the original VST 2.0 standard only, 
only limited support of patch selection is offered.
In this case, selecting a patch will actually ask the VST Instrument to change “Plug-in 
Program”, which is not the same as selecting a “Patch” by sending MIDI Program 
Change and Bank Select messages. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL12 – 296 VST Instruments
Automating a VST Instrument
•Automation of the VST Instrument channel settings is done in the 
same way as automating regular channels.
•Automation of the specific parameters for a VST Instrument is done in 
the same way as automating VST effect parameters.
See page 318.
The Instrument Freeze function
Like all plug-ins, VST Instruments can sometimes require a lot of pro-
cessor power. If you are using a moderately powerful computer or if 
you are using a large number of VST Instruments, you may come to a 
point where your computer cannot handle all VST Instruments playing 
back in real time (the CPU overload indicator in the VST Performance 
window lights up, you get crackling sounds, etc.).
Enter the Instrument Freeze function! This is how it works:
• When you freeze a VST Instrument, the program renders an audio file of its 
output (taking into account all unmuted MIDI parts routed to that VST Instru-
ment). This file is placed in the “Freeze” folder within the Project folder.
• All MIDI tracks routed to the VST Instrument are muted and locked (the con-
trols for these tracks will appear “greyed-out” in the Track list and Inspector).
• When you play back, the rendered audio file is played back from an “invisible” 
audio track, routed to the VST Instrument’s mixer channel. Thus, any effects, 
EQ or mixing automation will still be applied.
• If you like, you can choose to freeze the VST Instrument’s mixer channel(s) as 
well. This freezes any pre-fader insert effects for the channels, just as when 
you freeze an audio track (see page 261).
The result of all this is that you get exactly the same sound as before, 
but the computer processor doesn’t have to calculate the sound of 
the VST Instrument in real time.
• If you need to edit the MIDI parts routed to the VST Instrument or adjust the 
settings on the instrument itself, you need to unfreeze the instrument first. This 
removes the rendered file and restores the MIDI tracks and VST Instrument. 
Once you have made the necessary adjustments you can freeze the instru-
ment again. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLVST Instruments 12 – 297
Performing the Freeze
1.Set up the Project so that the VST Instrument plays back the way you 
want it.
This includes editing the MIDI parts routed to the VST Instrument and making parame-
ter settings for the VST Instrument itself. If you have automated parameter changes for 
the VST Instrument, make sure the Read (R) button is activated.
2.Open the VST Instruments window from the Devices menu.
3.Click the Freeze button for the VST Instrument (the button to the left 
of the VST Instrument slot).
A dialog appears with some options for the Freeze operation:
•Select “Freeze Instrument Only” if you don’t want to freeze any insert 
effects for the VST Instrument channels.
If you are using insert effects on the VST Instrument channel(s) and want to be able to 
edit, replace or remove these after freezing the VST Instrument, you should select this 
option.
•Select “Freeze Instrument and Channels” if you want to freeze all pre-
fader insert effects for the VST Instrument channels.
If your VST Instrument channels are set up with the desired insert effects and you don’t 
need to edit these, you can select this option.
•Activate the “Unload Instrument when Frozen” option if desired.
This unloads the frozen VSTInstrument from the computer’s memory. This is useful if 
you are freezing an instrument that uses a lot of RAM, e.g. a sampler plug-in. By un-
loading the instrument, the RAM becomes available for other plug-ins, etc.
4.Click OK.
A progress dialog is shown while the program renders the VST Instrument audio to a 
file on your hard disk. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL12 – 298 VST Instruments
The Freeze button lights up and the power, bypass and edit buttons 
for the VST Instrument are greyed out (and the control panel closes if 
it was open). If you check the Project window at this point you will find 
that the relevant MIDI tracks have greyed out controls in the Track list 
and Inspector. Furthermore, the MIDI parts are locked and cannot be 
moved.
5.Try playing back the project.
You will hear exactly the same sound as before Freezing the VST Instrument – but the 
CPU load will be considerably less! 
6.If you selected “Freeze Instrument and Channels”, any insert effects 
used by the VST Instrument are also frozen (except for the post-fader 
inserts – Cubase SX only). However, you can always adjust level, pan, 
sends and EQ for frozen VST Instruments.
Unfreezing
If you need to make adjustments (either to the MIDI tracks, to the VST 
Instrument parameters or to the VST Instrument channels if these 
were frozen) you need to unfreeze the VST Instrument:
1.Click the Freeze button for the VST Instrument slot again.
You will be asked whether you really want to unfreeze the instrument.
2.Click “Unfreeze”.
The MIDI tracks and VST Instrument are restored and the rendered “freeze file” is de-
leted. 
						

							13
Surround sound
(Cubase SX only) 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL13 – 300 Surround sound  (Cubase SX only)
Background
What is Surround sound?
Surround is a common name for various techniques for positioning 
audio in reference to the listener. Whereas regular stereo is limited to 
left/right positioning, within a relatively narrow field, surround sound 
opens possibilities of positioning an audio source anywhere around 
the listener.
Surround sound comes in many flavors, from the ill-fated Quadraphonic 
format for vinyl discs launched in the 70s, to today’s more successful 
incarnations.
The differences between the formats are in two areas:
• The number and configuration of speakers.
This varies from two speakers up to 6.
• The intended final coding format.
This depends on the media the audio will be “stored” on: film, broadcast video or DVD, 
for example.
Surround sound is a large topic, there are entire books and regular 
publications devoted to the subject. This chapter will not provide an 
in-depth introduction to surround sound as such. Instead it will con-
centrate on the specific implementation in Cubase SX.
Surround sound in Cubase SX
Cubase SX has integrated surround sound features with support for 
several formats. This support goes all the way through the audio path 
– all audio channels and busses can handle multiple speaker channel 
configurations (up to 6 channels). An individual channel in the mixer 
can either carry complete surround mixes, or an individual speaker 
channel which is part of a surround setup.
• Audio channels can be routed freely to surround channels.
• The Surround Panner function in the mixer allows you to graphically position 
channels in the surround field.