Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual
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CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 81 Filtering MIDI The MIDI–MIDI Filter page in the Preferences dialog allows you to prevent certain MIDI messages from being recorded and/or “thruput” (echoed by the MIDI Thru function). The dialog is divided into four sections: Section Description Record Activating any of these options prevents that type of MIDI message from being recorded. It will, however, be thruput, and if already recorded, it will play back normally. Thru Activating any of these options prevents that type of MIDI message from being thruput. It will, however, be recorded and played back normally. Channels If you activate a channel button, no MIDI messages on that MIDI channel will be recorded or thruput. Already recorded messages will, however, be played back normally. Controller Allows you to prevent certain MIDI controller types from being recorded or thruput. To filter out a controller type, select it from the list at the top of the Controller section and click “Add”. It will appear on the list below. To remove a controller type from the list (allow it to be recorded and thruput), select it in the lower list and click “Remove”.
CUBASE SX/SL4 – 82 Recording Options and Settings Recording-related Preferences A couple of settings in the Preferences dialog (Transport page) are relevant for recording. Set these according to your preferred method of work: Deactivate Punch In on Stop If this is activated, punch in on the Transport panel is automatically de- activated whenever you enter Stop mode. Stop after Automatic Punch Out If this is activated, playback will automatically stop after automatic punch out (when the project cursor reaches the right locator and punch out is activated on the Transport panel). If the postroll value on the Transport panel is set to a value other than zero, playback will continue for the set time before stopping (see below).
CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 83 About Preroll and Postroll The preroll and postroll value fields (below the left/right locator fields) on the Transport panel have the following functionality: • By setting a preroll value, you instruct Cubase SX/SL to “roll back” a short section whenever playback is activated. This applies whenever you start playback, but is perhaps most relevant when recording from the left locator (punch in activated on the Transport panel) as described below. • By setting a postroll value, you instruct Cubase SX/SL to play back a short section after automatic punch out, before stopping. This is only relevant when punch out is activated on the Transport panel and “Stop after Automatic Punchout” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Transport page). • To turn pre- or postroll on or off, click the corresponding button on the Trans- port panel (next to the pre/postroll value) or use the “Use Preroll” and “Use Postroll” options on the Transport menu. An example: 1.Set the locators to where you want to start and end recording. 2.Activate punch in and punch out on the Transport panel. 3.Activate the option “Stop after Automatic Punchout” in the Preferences dialog (Transport page). 4.Set suitable preroll and postroll times by clicking in the corresponding fields on the Transport panel and typing in time values. 5.Activate pre- and postroll by clicking the buttons next to the preroll and postroll times so that they light up. 6.Activate recording. The project cursor “rolls back” by the time specified in the preroll field and playback starts. When the cursor reaches the left locator, recording is automatically activated. When the cursor reaches the right locator, recording is deactivated, but playback con- tinues for the time set in the postroll field before stopping. Preroll value field and on/off switch. Postroll value field and on/off switch.
CUBASE SX/SL4 – 84 Recording Using the metronome The metronome will output a click that can be used as a timing refer- ence. The two parameters that govern the timing of the metronome are tempo and time signature, and these are edited in the Tempo Track window (see page 620). You can use the metronome for a click during recording and/or play- back or for a precount (count-in) that will be heard when you start re- cording from Stop mode. Click and precount are activated separately: • To activate the metronome, click the Click button on the Transport panel. You can also select “Metronome On” from the Transport menu or use the correspond- ing key command (by default [C]). • To activate the precount, click the Precount button on the Transport panel. You can also select “Precount On” from the Transport menu or set up a key command for this. Click on/off Precount on/off
CUBASE SX/SLRecording4 – 85 Metronome settings You make settings for the metronome in the Metronome Setup dialog, opened from the Transport menu. The metronome can use either an audio click played back via the au- dio hardware, send MIDI data to a connected device which will play back the click or do both. The following metronome settings can be made in the dialog: Metronome Options Description Metronome in Record / Play Allows you to specify whether the metronome should be heard during playback, recording or both (when Click is ac- tivated on the Transport panel). Count Base If this option is activated, a field appears to the right where you specify the “rhythm” of the metronome. Normally, the metronome plays one click per beat, but setting this to e.g. “1/8” gives you eighth notes – two clicks per beat. It’s also possible to create unusual metronome rhythms such as triplets etc.
CUBASE SX/SL4 – 86 Recording Precount Options Description Precount Bars Sets the number of bars the metronome will count in before it starts recording if precount is activated on the Transport panel. Use Time Signature at Project TimeWhen this is activated, the precount will be in the time sig- nature set in the Tempo track. Furthermore, any tempo changes in the Tempo track during the precount will be ap- plied. Use Time Signature… Lets you set a time signature for the precount. In this mode, tempo changes in the Tempo track won’t affect the pre- count. MIDI Click Description Activate MIDI Click Selects whether or not the metronome will sound via MIDI. MIDI Port/Channel This is where you select a MIDI output and channel for the metronome click. Hi Note/Velocity Sets the MIDI note number and velocity value for the “high note” (the first beat in a bar). Lo Note/Velocity Sets the MIDI note number and velocity for the “low notes” (the other beats). Audio Click Description Activate Audio Click Selects whether or not the metronome will sound via the audio hardware. Beeps When this is selected, the audio click will be beeps gener- ated by the program. Adjust the pitch and level of the beeps for the “Hi” (first) beat and “Lo” (other) beats using the sliders below. Sounds When this is selected, you can click in the “Sound” fields below to load any audio files for use as the “Hi” and “Lo” metronome sounds. The sliders set the level of the click.
CUBASE SX/SL5 – 88 The Project window Background The Project window is the main window in Cubase SX/SL. This pro- vides you with an overview of the project, allowing you to navigate and perform large scale editing. Each project has one Project window. About tracks The Project window is divided vertically into tracks, with a timeline running horizontally from left to right. The following track types are available: Track type Description Audio For recording and playing back audio events and audio parts. Each audio track has a corresponding audio channel in the mixer. An audio track can have any number of automation “subtracks” for auto- mating mixer channel parameters, insert effect settings etc. Folder Folder tracks function as containers for other tracks, making it easier to organize and manage the track structure. They also allow you to edit sev- eral tracks at the same time. See page 159. FX Channel FX channel tracks are used for adding send effects. Each FX channel can contain up to eight effect processors – by routing effect sends from an audio channel to an FX channel, you send audio from the audio channel to the effect(s) on the FX channel. Each FX channel has a corresponding channel strip in the mixer – in essence an effect return channel. See page 263 for more about FX Channel tracks and send effects. An FX channel can also have any number of automation subtracks for au- tomating mixer channel parameters, effect settings etc. All FX channel tracks are automatically placed in a special FX channel folder in the Track list, for easy management. Group ChannelBy routing several audio channels to a Group channel, you can submix them, apply the same effects to them, etc. (see page 238). A Group channel track contains no events as such, but displays settings and automation curves for the corresponding Group channel. Each Group channel track has a corresponding channel strip in the mixer. In the Project window, Group channels are organized as subtracks in a special Group Tracks folder.
CUBASE SX/SLThe Project window 5 – 89 About parts and events Events are the basic building blocks in Cubase SX/SL. Different event types are handled differently in the Project window: • Video events and automation events (curve points) are always viewed and re- arranged directly in the Project window. • MIDI events are always gathered in MIDI parts, containers for one or more MIDI events. MIDI parts are rearranged and manipulated in the Project window. To edit the individual MIDI events in a part, you have to open the part in a MIDI ed- itor (see page 534). • Audio events can be displayed and edited directly in the Project window, but you can also work with audio parts containing several events. This is useful if you have a number of events which you want to treat as one unit in the project. An audio event and an audio part. MIDI For recording and playing back MIDI parts. Each MIDI track has a corre- sponding MIDI channel strip in the mixer. If you are using Cubase SX, it’s possible to edit MIDI tracks directly in the Project window, using the Edit In-Place function (see page 568). A MIDI track can have any number of automation “subtracks” for auto- mating mixer channel parameters, insert and send effect settings etc. Marker The Marker track displays markers, and allows you to move and rename them directly in the Project window (see page 172). There can only be one Marker track in the project. Play Order Allows you to mark out sections in the project and set in which order they should be played back. See the chapter “The play order track”. Ruler (SX only)Ruler tracks contain additional rulers, displaying the timeline from left to right. In Cubase SX you can use any number of ruler tracks, each with a different display format if you wish. See page 102 for more information about the ruler and the display formats. Video For playing back video events. A project can only have one Video track. Track type Description
CUBASE SX/SL5 – 90 The Project window Window Overview The toolbar. The info line. Track list with various track types.The event display, showing audio parts and events, MIDI parts, automation, markers, etc. Project overview The Inspector. The ruler.