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 [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking in the Track list.
2.Right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) in the Track list for one of the 
tracks to bring up the track context menu.
3.Select “Set Record Folder”.
4.Use the file dialog that appears to navigate to the desired folder (or 
create a new folder with the Create button).
Tip: if you want to have separate folders for different types of material (speech, ambi-
ent sounds, music, etc.) you can create subfolders within the Project’s “Audio” folder 
and assign different tracks to different subfolders. This way, all audio files will still re-
side within the project folder which will make managing the Project easier.
•It’s fully possible to have different tracks record to totally different lo-
cations, on different disks if you like. However, if you need to move or 
archive the Project, there is a risk of missing some files. The solution is 
to use the Prepare Archive function in the Pool to gather all external 
files into the project folder first – see page 486. 
						

							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 on your hard disk.
This is because in Cubase SX you can make settings for the input bus, adding EQ, ef-
fects, etc. to the signal as its being recorded. This may raise the level of the signal, 
causing clipping in the recorded audio file.
The procedure for checking the signal level coming into the audio hard-
ware is slightly different depending on whether you are using Cubase 
SX or Cubase SL:
Cubase SX
In Cubase SX you check the input level at the input channel.
To check the level of the “unprocessed” signal coming into the audio 
hardware you need to switch the level meters to “Meter Input”. In this 
mode the input channel level meters will show the level of the signal at 
the input of the bus, before any adjustments such as input gain, EQ, 
effects, level or pan:
1.Right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) in the Mixer window.
The Mixer context menu appears.
2.Select the Global Meter Settings submenu and make sure “Meter In-
put” is activated.
3.Play back the audio and check the level meter for the input channel.
The signal should be as loud as possible without exceeding 0 dB (the Clipping indica-
tor for the input bus should not light up).
The Clipping indicator. 
						

							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 menu 
and click the Control Panel button on the VST Audiobay subpage with the name of 
your hardware device.
The next step is to check the level of the audio being written to a file 
on your hard disk. This is only necessary if you have made any adjust-
ments to the input channel (level settings, EQ, insert effects, etc.). 
Note also:
•If you record in 32 bit float format the bit depth will not be reduced – 
which means there’s no risk of clipping at this stage.
Also, this preserves the signal quality perfectly. Therefore, you should consider using 
32 bit float format when you are recording with effects (see page 66).
•If you record in 16 or 24 bit format the available headroom is lower 
which means clipping can occur if the signal is too loud.
To avoid this, set the signal level in the following way:
1.Bring up the mixer context menu and select “Meter Post-Fader” from 
the Global Meter Settings submenu.
2.Set up the input channel, adding EQ and/or effects as desired.
With some effects you may want to adjust the level of the signal going into the effect – 
use the Input Gain knob for this. Note that you need to press [Shift] or [Alt]/[Option] to 
adjust the Input Gain.
3.Play back the audio and check the level meter of the input channel.
The signal should be reasonably loud but should not reach 0 dB (the Clipping indica-
tor for the input bus should not light up).
4.If necessary, use the input channel fader to adjust the signal level. 
						

							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, EQ, insert effects, etc.
3.Locate the channel strip for the track you’re about to record on.
4.Activate monitoring for the channel by clicking the speaker button next 
to the fader.
When monitoring is activated, the meter shows the level of the incoming audio signal.
5.Play the audio source that you want to record and check the level 
meter for the channel.
6.Adjust the output level of your audio source so that the meters go rea-
sonably high without reaching 0.0 dB.
Check the numerical peak level indicator below the meter in the bus channel strip. To 
reset the peak level indicator, click on it.
• You must adjust the output level of the audio source – you cannot use 
the faders in Cubase SL to adjust the input level!
• An alternative way of checking the input levels would be to use the control 
panel for your audio hardware (if it’s equipped with input level meters). It 
may also be possible to adjust the input level in the control panel.
See the documentation of the audio hardware for details. 
						

							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 of this is that you can adjust the moni-
toring level and panning in the mixer, and add effects and EQ to the 
monitor signal just as during playback (using the track’s channel strip – 
not the input bus!). 
The disadvantage of monitoring via Cubase SX/SL is that the moni-
tored signal will be delayed according to the latency value (which de-
pends on your audio hardware and drivers). Therefore, monitoring via 
Cubase SX/SL requires an audio hardware configuration with a low la-
tency value (see the Getting Started book). You can check the latency 
of your hardware in the Device Setup dialog (VST Audiobay page).
• If you are using plug-in effects with large inherent delays, the automatic 
delay compensation function in Cubase SX/SL will increase the latency.
If this is a problem you can use the Constrain Delay Compensation function while re-
cording - see page 294.
When monitoring via Cubase SX/SL, you can select one of four 
modes in the Preferences dialog (VST page): 
						

							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 mode 
and during recording, but not during playback.
External monitoring
External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it goes into 
Cubase SX/SL) requires some sort of external mixer for mixing the au-
dio playback with the input signal. This can be a stand-alone physical 
mixer or a mixer application for your audio hardware, if this has a mode 
in which the input audio is sent back out again (usually called “Thru”, 
“Direct Thru” or similar).
When using external monitoring, you cannot control the level of the 
monitor signal from within Cubase SX/SL, or add VST effects or EQ 
to the monitor signal. The latency value of the audio hardware config-
uration does not affect the monitor signal in this mode.
• If you want to use external monitoring, you need to make sure that mon-
itoring via Cubase SX/SL isn’t activated as well.
Select the “Manual” monitoring mode in the Preferences dialog (VST page) and simply 
don’t activate the Monitor buttons. 
						

							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 the Device Setup dialog on 
the Devices menu and check the Direct Monitoring checkbox on the 
VST Audiobay page.
If the checkbox is greyed out, your audio hardware (or its driver) doesn’t support ASIO 
Direct Monitoring. Consult the audio hardware manufacturer for details.
•When ASIO Direct Monitoring is activated, you can select a monitor-
ing mode in the Preferences dialog (VST page), as when monitoring 
via Cubase SX/SL (see page 55).
•Depending on the audio hardware, it may also be possible to adjust 
monitoring level and panning from the mixer.
Consult the documentation of the audio hardware if in doubt.
•VST effects and EQ cannot be applied to the monitor signal in this 
mode, since the monitor signal doesn’t pass through Cubase SX/SL.
•Depending on the audio hardware, there may be special restrictions 
as to which audio outputs can be used for direct monitoring.
For details on the routing of the audio hardware, see its documentation.
•The latency value of the audio hardware configuration does not affect 
the monitor signal when using ASIO Direct Monitoring. 
						

							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 Images During Record” is activated in the 
Preferences dialog (Record page), the waveform image will be calcu-
lated and displayed during the actual recording process.
This real-time calculation uses some processing power – if your processor is slow or 
you are working on a CPU-intensive project you should consider turning this option off.
Undoing recording
If you decide that you don’t like what you just recorded, you can delete 
it by selecting Undo from the Edit menu. The following will happen:
• The event(s) you just created will be removed from the Project window.
• The audio clip(s) in the Pool will be moved to the Trash folder.
• The recorded audio file(s) will not be removed from the hard disk.
However, since their corresponding clips are moved to the Trash folder, you can delete 
the files by opening the Pool and selecting “Empty Trash” from the Pool menu. 
						

							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 
been recorded creates a new audio event that overlaps the previous 
one(s).
When you record audio there is no difference between “Normal” and “Merge” mode – 
the difference only applies to MIDI recording (see page 74).
•In “Replace” mode, existing events (or portions of events) that are 
overlapped by the new recording will be removed.
This means that if you record a section in the middle of a longer existing recording, that 
original event will be cut into two events with a gap for the new event.
Which event will be heard?
If two or more events are overlapping, you will only hear the events (or 
portions of events) that are actually visible. Overlapped (hidden) 
events or sections are not played back.
•The functions “Move to Front” and “Move to Back” on the Edit menu 
(see page 128) are useful for managing overlapping events, as is the 
“To Front” function (see below). 
						

							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 Last” is selected, the last complete “take” (the last completely 
recorded lap) is kept as an audio event.
In reality, all laps you recorded are saved in one audio file divided into regions – one re-
gion for each take. You can easily select a previous take for playback – this is done as 
when recording in “Create Regions” mode (see page 62).
•If “Stacked” is selected, each take will appear as an event on a separate 
“lane” on the track.
This is useful when you want to view and edit the different takes and eventually com-
bine them to one recording. In this mode, the Audio Cycle Record Mode preference 
doesn’t matter. Stacked 2 (No Mute) is the same as Stacked, except that all the takes 
will be audible. See page 64.
•If any of the other cycle recording modes is selected, the result depends 
entirely on the Audio Cycle Record Mode setting in the Preferences.
These options are described below.