Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

							CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 61
Create Events mode (Preferences)
When Audio Cycle Record Mode (Preferences–Record page) is set 
to “Create Events”, the following will happen when you record audio 
in cycle mode:
• One continuous audio file is created during the entire recording process. 
• For each recorded lap of the cycle, one audio event is created.
The events will have the name of the audio file plus the text “Take *”, where “*” indi-
cates the number of the take.
• The last take (the last recorded lap) will be on top (and will thus be the one 
you hear when you activate playback).
To select another take for playback, proceed a follows:
1.Right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) the event and select “To Front” 
from the pop-up menu that appears.
A submenu appears, listing all the other (obscured) events.
2.Select the desired take.
The corresponding event is brought to front. 
						

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This method allows you to quickly combine the best parts of each 
take, in the following way:
1.Use the Scissors tool to split the events in several sections, one for 
each part of the take.
For example, if you recorded four lines of vocals (in each take), you can split the events 
so that each line gets a separate event.
The events after splitting. Note that since the original take events overlap each 
other, clicking with the Scissors tool will split all takes at the same position.
2.For each section of the take, use the “To Front” function to bring the 
best take to the front.
This way, you can quickly combine the best sections of each take, using the first vocal 
line from one take, the second line from another take and so on.
You can also compile a “perfect” take in the Audio Part Editor, as de-
scribed on page 418.
Create Regions mode (Preferences)
When Audio Cycle Record Mode (Preferences–Record page) is set 
to “Create Regions”, the following will happen when you record audio 
in cycle mode:
• One continuous audio file is created during the entire recording process. 
• The audio event in the Project window shows the name of the audio file plus 
the text “Take *” (with “*” being the number of the last completed cycle lap).
• If you play back the recorded event, you will only hear what was recorded dur-
ing the last lap of the cycle recording. 
The previous “takes” recorded in the cycle are still available, however. 
• The audio clip is divided into regions (called takes), one for each lap of the cy-
cle that was recorded.
If you locate the audio file you just recorded in the Pool, and click on the plus sign be-
side it, you can see the regions that have been created, one for each lap of the cycle 
that was completed during recording. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 63
“Take” regions in the Pool window.
To play back the different “takes”, proceed as follows:
1.In the Project window, right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) the event 
that was created during cycle recording.
The Quick menu appears.
2.Select the “Set To Region” menu item.
A submenu appears with the takes you recorded during cycle record.
3.Now you can freely select any of the takes from the submenu and it 
will replace the previous take event in the Project window.
Use this method to listen through the various takes. Select the best 
single take, or compile a “perfect” take by cutting out the best bits from 
each take and putting them together (see page 418).
Create Events + Regions mode (Preferences)
In this mode, both events and regions are created. If you work with the 
takes as events in this mode, you can edit the events freely (e.g. splitting 
them as described on page 61). However, in case you want to go back 
to the original takes, they are still available as regions (on the “Set To 
Region” submenu, in the Pool or in the Sample Editor). 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL4 – 64 Recording
Recording audio in Stacked mode
When you record audio in cycle mode and the “Stacked” Cycle Record 
Mode is selected on the Transport panel, the following happens: 
• Each complete recorded cycle lap is turned into a separate audio event.
• The track is divided into “lanes”, one for each cycle lap.
• The events are stacked above each other, each on a different lane.
This makes it easy to create a “perfect take” by combining the best 
parts from the different cycle laps:
1.Zoom in so you can work comfortably with the stacked events.
If you play back the recorded section, only the lowest (last) take will 
be heard. 
2.To audition another take, either mute the lower take(s) with the Mute 
tool or move the takes between the lanes.
This can be done by dragging or by using the functions Move to Next Lane/Previous 
Lane on the Quick menu or Edit menu. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 65
3.Edit the takes so that only the parts you want to keep can be heard.
You can cut events with the Scissors tool, resize them, mute them or delete them.
The sections that will be heard are indicated in green.
4.When you are satisfied with the result, select all events on all lanes 
and select “Delete Overlaps” from the Advanced submenu on the Au-
dio menu.
This puts all events back on a single lane and resizes events so that overlapped sec-
tions are removed.
5.To turn off the lane display mode for the track, click the Lane Display 
Type button in the track list and select “Lanes Off”.
If the button is hidden, you can bring it to view in the Track Controls Settings dialog – 
see page 769.
The Lane Display Type button. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL4 – 66 Recording
Recording with effects (Cubase SX only)
Normally you record the audio signals “dry” and add effects non-de-
structively during playback as described in the chapter “Audio effects”. 
However, Cubase SX also allows you to add effects (and/or EQ) di-
rectly while you are recording. This is done by adding insert effects 
and/or making EQ settings for the input channel in the mixer. Note:
• This will make the effects become part of the audio file itself – you can-
not change the effect settings after recording.
About the record format
When you record with effects you should consider setting the record 
format (bit depth) to 32 Bit Float. This is done in the Project Setup di-
alog on the Project menu. Note that this isn’t required in any way – 
you can record with effects in 24 or 16 Bit format should you so like. 
However, there are two advantages to 32 Bit Float format:
•With 32 Bit Float recording you don’t risk clipping (digital distortion) 
in the recorded files.
This can of course be avoided with 24 or 16 Bit recording as well, but requires more 
care with the levels.
•Cubase SX processes audio internally in 32 Bit Float format – record-
ing in the same format means the audio quality will be kept absolutely 
pristine.
The reason is that the effect processing in the input channel (as well as any level or EQ 
settings you make there) is done in 32 Bit Float format. If you record at 16 or 24 Bit, 
the audio will be converted to this lower resolution when it’s written to file – with pos-
sible signal degradation as a result.
Note also that it doesn’t matter at which actual resolution your audio 
hardware works. Even if the signal from the audio hardware is in 16 Bit 
resolution, the signal will be 32 Bit Float after the effects are added in 
the input channel. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 67
An example
This example shows how to apply the “Datube” effect while recording. 
Datube emulates the soft clipping distortion produced by valve ampli-
fiers, and adds “warmth” to the recording. Note that this is only an ex-
ample, you could use any effect (or any combination of effects), the 
principle is the same.
1.Set up an audio track for recording and select the desired input bus.
Also, for best results you should activate monitoring as this allows you to hear and try 
out your settings before actually recording. See page 55 for a description of monitor-
ing via Cubase SX.
2.Open the Mixer and make sure the full extended view is shown.
3.Locate the input channel (bus) from which you record.
If the input channels are hidden, click on the Show/Hide Input Channels button to the left.
4.Check the input level (of the signal coming into the audio hardware) 
as described on page 52 and adjust the level of the source audio if 
necessary.
Click here to show the 
extended panel. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL4 – 68 Recording
5.Pull down the View Options pop-up menu for the input channel and 
select “Inserts”.
The View Options pop-up menu is opened by clicking the arrow button between the 
fader panel and the extended panel.
Now the extended panel for the input channel shows the insert slots.
6.Click on an insert slot and select an effect from the pop-up menu that 
appears.
As you see, the included effects are sorted into submenus – you will find the Datube 
effect on the “Distortion” submenu.
The effect is loaded and activated and its control panel is automati-
cally opened.
7.Adjust the Drive (the pre-gain of the “amplifier” – higher settings will 
produce more distortion) and Balance (controls the balance between 
the unprocessed (dry) signal and the effect output) parameters to 
your liking.
8.When the effect is set up as desired, you can check the level of the in-
put channel by setting the Meters to post-fader (see page 53). 
Use the input channel fader to adjust the level if needed.
9.Activate recording.
10.When you’re finished you can play back the recorded audio track. 
As you can hear, the effect you applied is now a part of the actual audio file.
11.If you don’t want to record more with the same plug-in, you should de-
activate it by clicking in the insert slot and selecting “No Effect”. 
						

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MIDI Recording Specifics
Activating MIDI Thru
As described in the Getting Started book, the normal way to work with 
MIDI is to have MIDI Thru activated in Cubase SX/SL, and Local Off 
selected in your MIDI Instrument(s). In this mode, everything you play 
during recording will be “echoed” back out again on the MIDI output 
and channel selected for the recording track.
1.Make sure the option “MIDI Thru Active” is activated in the Preferences 
dialog (MIDI page).
2.Record enable the track(s) on which you want to record.
Now, incoming MIDI is “echoed” back out again, for all record enabled MIDI tracks. 
• If you just want to use the Thru function for a MIDI track without record-
ing, activate the monitor button for the track instead.
This is useful e.g. if you want to try out different sounds or play a VST instrument in real 
time without recording your playing.
Record Enable button. Monitor button. 
						

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Setting MIDI channel, input and output
Setting the MIDI channel in the instrument
Most MIDI synthesizers can play several sounds at the same time, each 
on a different MIDI channel. This is the key to playing back several 
sounds (bass, piano etc.) from the same instrument. Some devices 
(such as General MIDI compatible sound modules) always receive on 
all 16 MIDI channels. If you have such an instrument, there’s no specific 
setting you need to make in the instrument. On other instruments you 
will have to use the front panel controls to set up a number of “Parts”, 
“Timbres” or similar so that they receive on one MIDI channel each. 
See the manual that came with your instrument for more information.
Naming MIDI ports in Cubase SX/SL
MIDI inputs and outputs can often be shown with unnecessarily long 
and complicated names. If you wish, you can rename your MIDI ports 
to more descriptive names:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.
2.Select the Windows MIDI or DirectMusic (Win) or MIDI System (Mac) 
device in the Device list.
The available MIDI inputs and outputs are listed. Under Windows, which device to 
choose depends on your system.
3.To change the name of a MIDI port, click in the Device column and 
type in a new name.
After closing the dialog, the new names will appear on the MIDI “in:” and “out:” pop-
ups.
Setting the MIDI input in the Inspector
You select MIDI inputs for tracks in the Inspector – the area to the left 
of the Track list in the Project window:
1.If the Inspector is hidden, click the Show Inspector button on the tool-
bar.