Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual
Have a look at the manual Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual online for free. It’s possible to download the document as PDF or print. UserManuals.tech offer 523 Steinberg manuals and user’s guides for free. Share the user manual or guide on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
CUBASE SX/SLReWire 31 – 731 Routing MIDI via ReWire2 This feature is only available with ReWire2-compatible applications. When using Cubase SX/SL with a ReWire2-compatible application, additional MIDI outputs will automatically appear on the MIDI Output pop-up menus for MIDI tracks. This allows you to play the synthesizer application via MIDI from Cubase SX/SL, using it as one or several separate MIDI sound sources. The MIDI outputs for a Reason song. Here, each output goes directly to a device in the Reason rack. •The number and configuration of MIDI Outputs depends on the syn- thesizer application.
CUBASE SX/SL31 – 732 ReWire Considerations and limitations Sample rates Synthesizer applications may be limited to audio playback in certain sample rates. If Cubase SX/SL is set to a sample rate other than those, the synthesizer application will play back at the wrong pitch. Consult the documentation of the synthesizer application for details. ASIO drivers ReWire works well with ASIO drivers. By using the Cubase SX/SL bussing system you can route sounds from the synthesizer application to various outputs on an ASIO compatible audio card.
CUBASE SX/SL32 – 734 File handling File Operations New Project The New Project command on the File menu allows you to create a new project, either empty or based on a template: 1.Select New Project from the File menu. A list of templates is displayed. When you install Cubase SX/SL, templates for various purposes are included, but you can also create your own (see page 737). 2.Select a template from the list, or select “Empty”. A file dialog appears, allowing you to specify a folder for the new project. 3.Select an existing project folder or create a new one by typing its name in the dialog. A new, untitled project is created. Open The Open command on the File menu is used for opening saved project files. Both Cubase SX/SL project files (extension “.cpr”) and project files created in Steinberg’s Nuendo (extension “.npr”) can be opened (although Nuendo-specific settings will be ignored). •Several projects can be open at the same time. The active project is indicated by the blue Activate button in the upper left corner of the Project window. To make another project active, click its Activate button. An active project. •You can also open project files by selecting a shortcut from the “Recent Projects” submenu on the File menu. This submenu lists the projects you have recently worked with, with the most recent one at the top of the list. •Projects can also automatically be opened when you launch Cubase SX/SL (see page 757).
CUBASE SX/SLFile handling32 – 735 About the “Pending Connections” dialogs If you open a Cubase SX/SL project created on another setup (other audio hardware), the program tries to find matching audio inputs and outputs for the i/o busses (this is one of the reasons why you should use descriptive, generic names for your input and output ports – see page 16). If the program cannot resolve all audio inputs and outputs used in the project, a Pending Connections dialog will appear. This will allow you to manually re-route any ports specified in the project to ports avail- able in your system. Similarly, a Pending Connections dialog will appear if you open a project with MIDI ports that don’t match the current MIDI setup. Again, use the dialog to re-route ports. Close The Close command on the File menu closes the active window. If a Project window is active, selecting Close will close the corresponding project. •If the project contains unsaved changes, you will be asked whether you want to save the project before closing it. If you select “Don’t Save”, and have recorded or created new audio files since saving, you get the choice to delete or keep these.
CUBASE SX/SL32 – 736 File handling Save and Save As The commands Save and Save As allow you to save the active project as a project file (file extension “.cpr”). The Save command stores the project under its current name and location, while Save As allows you to rename and/or relocate the file. If you haven’t yet saved the project, or if it hasn’t been changed since it was last saved, only Save As will be available. Generally, we recommend that you save project files in their project folders, to keep the projects as manageable as possible. A word about file extensions Under Windows, file types are indicated by three letter file name exten- sions (such as *.cpr for Cubase SX/SL project files). Under Mac OS X, it is not necessary to use file name extensions, since the file types are stored internally in the files. However, if you want your Cubase SX/SL projects to be compatible with both platforms, you should make sure the option “Use File Extension in File Dialog” is activated in the Prefer- ences dialog – this is the default setting. When this is activated, the proper file name extension is automatically added when you save a file. Saving a Default project If you always want the same default project to open when you launch Cubase SX/SL, you can save a default project: 1.Set up a project the way you want it. 2.Select “Save As” from the File menu and save the project with the name “default.cpr”. The location depends on the operating system: Mac OS X: the folder “Library/Preferences/Cubase SX/SL/” in your “home” directory. The full path would be: Users//library/preferences/Cubase SX/SL. Windows: Among the User Settings for Cubase SX/SL. The full path is: \Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Steinberg\Cubase SX/SL\ This is the one case when the file name extension is crucial under Mac OS X as well! 3.Open the Preferences dialog and select the General page. 4.Open the “On Startup” pop-up and select “Open Default Project”. The next time you launch Cubase SX/SL, the default project is automatically opened. For details on the other Startup options, see page 757.
CUBASE SX/SLFile handling32 – 737 Save New Version This function is only available as a key command, by default [Ctrl]+[Alt]+S (Windows) or [Command]+[Option]+S (Mac). When you use this function, a new version of the project is saved (or in other words, the project is saved under a new name). The new file will have the same name as the original project but with an incremental number attached. For example, if your project is called “My Project” you will get new versions called “My Project-01”, “My Project-02”, and so on. Save New Version is useful if you are experimenting with edits and ar- rangements and want to be able to go back to a previous version at any time. The most recent new versions you have created will be listed on the Recent Projects submenu on the File menu, for instant access. Save as Template This function allows you to save the current project as a template. Tem- plates are always stored in the Templates folder, which on a Windows system is created under \Documents and Settings\\Appli- cation data\Steinberg\Cubase SX/SL 3\templates. On the Mac they are stored inside /Users//Library/Preferences/Cubase SX/SL 3. When you create a new project, the available templates will be listed, allowing you to base the new project on a template. •Templates can contain clips and events, just like regular projects. If this is not what you want, make sure to remove all clips from the Pool before you save the project as a template.
CUBASE SX/SL32 – 738 File handling Save Project to New Folder This function is very useful if you want to move or archive your project. If you select this item, you will first be asked where to store the saved project. Then a dialog will appear, with the following options: When you’ve made your settings, click OK to save the project in the new folder. The original project isn’t removed or affected. Revert If you select Revert from the File menu, you will be asked whether you really want to revert to the last saved version of the project. If you click “Revert”, all changes you have made since saving will be discarded. •If you have recorded or created new audio files since saving, you will be asked whether you want to delete or keep these. Item Description Project Name By default, this will be the current name of the project you’re sav- ing, but you can change it if you like. Minimize Audiofiles If this is activated, only the audio file portions that are actually used in the project will be included. This can significantly reduce the size of the project folder (if you are using small sections of large files), but it will also mean you cannot make use of the re- maining audio file portions if you continue working with the project in its new folder. Freeze Edits This will perform a Freeze Edits operation, making all processing and applied effects permanent to each clip in the Pool. See page 379. Remove Unused FilesWhen this is activated, only files in the Pool that are actually used in the project will be stored in the new folder.
CUBASE SX/SLFile handling32 – 739 Working with Libraries (Cubase SX only) A Library is a stand-alone Pool, that is not associated with a project file. You can use Libraries to store sound effects, loops, Video Clips, etc., and transfer media from a Library into a project by using drag and drop. The following library functions are available on the File menu: New Library Creates a new library. Just as when creating new projects, you will be asked to specify a project folder for the new library (in which media files will be stored). The Library will appear as a separate Pool window in Cubase SX. Open Library Opens a file dialog for opening a saved library file. Save Library Opens a file dialog for saving the library file (file extension “.npl”).
CUBASE SX/SL32 – 740 File handling The Cleanup function The Cleanup function on the File menu helps you to save hard disk space by locating, and if you like, deleting unused audio files in the project folders on your disk. 1.Select “Cleanup…” from the File menu. If there are any open projects, an alert will appear, allowing you to close these. Clicking “Close” closes all open projects and brings up the Cleanup dialog. 2.If you want to restrict the Cleanup function to a certain folder only, click the “Search Folder” button and select the folder. You should only select a specific folder if you are certain it doesn’t contain audio files used in other projects (outside the folder)! See the note below. If you want the Cleanup function to be applied to all folders on all hard disks, you don’t need to make any special settings, as this is the default mode. After selecting a folder you can reset the function to search all folders by opening the “Search Folder” dialog again and clicking “Cancel”. 3.Click the Start button. Cubase SX/SL will now scan the selected folder (or all hard disks) for Cubase SX/SL project folders and check for audio and image files (in the Audio, Edits and Images subfolders) that are not used by any project. The found files are listed in the dialog. 4.When the scan is complete, you can select files by clicking in the list. Use [Ctrl]/[Command]-click to select several files, and [Shift]-click to select a range of files. You can also click the Select All button to select all files in the list. • There are situations when the Cleanup function will list files that are not unused! - If you have moved or renamed files or folders (without updating the project files to use the new paths), there is no way for Cubase SX/SL to know that these files are used in a project. - If you perform the Cleanup function on a folder in which there are audio files belonging to other projects (outside the folder), these files will be considered “unused”. - Also, make sure you don’t delete any files used in other applications, or files that you generally want to keep! However, you can safely delete Image files since these can be recon- structed by the program if necessary. 5.Delete any files you don’t want to keep, by selecting them and clicking Delete. 6.Close the dialog by clicking its close button.