Steinberg Nuendo 4 Operation Manual

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Fades, crossfades and envelopes
Creating crossfades
Overlapping audio material on the same track can be 
crossfaded, for smooth transitions or special effects. You 
create a crossfade by selecting two consecutive audio 
events and selecting the Crossfade command on the Au-
dio menu (or by using the corresponding key command, 
by default [X]). The result depends on whether the two 
events overlap or not:
If the events overlap, a crossfade is created in the over-
lapping area.
The crossfade will be of the default shape – initially a linear, symmetric 
crossfade, but you can change this as described below.
If the events don’t overlap but are directly consecutive 
(lined up end-to-start, with no gap) it’s still possible to 
crossfade them – provided that their respective audio 
clips overlap! In this case, the two events are resized so 
that they overlap, and a crossfade of the default length 
and shape is applied.
The default crossfade length and shape are set in the Crossfade dialog 
(see “As Default button” on page 90).
An example:
The events in themselves do not overlap, but their clips do. Therefore, 
the events can be resized so that they overlap, which is required for a 
crossfade to be created.When you select the Crossfade function, the two events are resized so 
that they overlap, and a default crossfade is created in the overlapping 
section.
If the events don’t overlap, and cannot be resized 
enough to overlap, a crossfade cannot be created.
You can specify the length of the crossfade using the 
Range Selection tool: make a selection range covering the 
desired crossfade area and use the Crossfade command.
The crossfade is applied in the selected range (provided that the events 
or their clips overlap, as above). You can also make a selection range af-
ter creating the crossfade and use the function Adjust fades to Range on 
the Audio menu.
Once you have created a crossfade, you can edit it by 
selecting one or both crossfaded events, and selecting 
“Crossfade” from the Audio menu again (or by double-
clicking in the crossfade zone). 
This opens the Crossfade dialog, see below.
Removing crossfades
To remove a crossfade, select the events and select “Re-
move Fades” from the Audio menu, or use the Range Se-
lection tool:
1.Drag the Range Selection tool in the Project window, 
so that the selection encloses all of the fades and cross-
fades you wish to remove.
2.Select “Remove Fades” from the Audio menu.
You can also remove a crossfade by clicking and drag-
ging it outside the track.
Overlapping section.
Audio clips. Audio events. 
						

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Fades, crossfades and envelopes
The Crossfade dialog
ÖThis section describes the default Crossfade dialog.
However, if you activate the option Simple Crossfade Editor in the Pref-
erences dialog (Editing-Audio page), a simplified dialog will be used in-
stead (similar to the regular fade dialogs).
The Crossfade display
The upper part of the Crossfade dialog shows the shape 
of the whole crossfade curve and the resulting waveform. 
You can perform a number of click and drag operations in 
this display.
Click and drag these points to change the length of the 
fade-out curve (upper) or the fade-in curve (lower), re-
spectively:
If “Symmetric Fades” is activated, these change the length of both the 
fade out and the fade in curve instead. The length change will be ap-
plied equally to both sides, without moving the “Offset Point” (see 
“Changing the Offset Point” on page 96).
Click and drag these points to move the fade-out curve 
(upper) or the fade-in curve (lower), respectively:
If “Symmetric Fades” is activated, these change the length of both the 
fade out curve and the fade in curve instead – by moving only the end or 
the start of the curves as well as the “Offset Point”. 
						

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Fades, crossfades and envelopes
Click and drag these points to move the Offset Point 
(the dotted line) for the fade-out curve (upper) or the fade-
in curve (lower), respectively:
Moving the Offset Point will also move the fade curve. If “Symmetric 
Fades” is activated, the Offset Point for both curves will be moved.
You can also click and drag to move audio clips (along 
with the fade curve) in the display. The pointer takes on the 
shape of a hand to indicate that it’s possible to move a clip.
You can right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) in the 
ruler and use the pop-up menu to select a time format 
(see “The ruler” on page 31).
You can scroll and zoom the display with the horizontal 
and vertical scroll bars and zoom controls.
Options and settings
The lower part of the Crossfade dialog contains a number 
of common settings and controls, as well as separate (but 
identical) settings for the fade-in (top) and the fade-out 
curve (bottom) of the crossfade.
Nudge Range
This pop-up menu lets you specify the range that is moved 
when using the nudge buttons, see “Using the Nudge 
controls” on page 95.
Nudge Mode
Here, you can specify whether you want the fade or the 
audio to move when you use the Nudge buttons, see “Us-
ing the Nudge controls” on page 95.
Point Offset
The Offset Point is the “center” of the fade area, i.e. the 
point where the volume of the event is precisely halfway 
between full level and zero level. For further information, 
see “Changing the Offset Point” on page 96.
Symmetric Fades
If this is activated, you cannot edit the fade in and fade out 
curves of the crossfade separately, i. e. the editing controls 
will be “linked”, so that both fade curves are affected by 
the same amount regardless of whether you use the fade-
out or fade-in controls. The actual result however, de-
pends on which control is used.
Length, Overlap and Volume
Use the Length field to specify the length of the cross-
fade, see “Resizing the crossfade area” on page 95.
Use the Overlap field to move the fade area without ad-
justing the Offset point, see “Using the Overlap controls” 
on page 96.
You can use the Volume controls to change the volume 
of the crossfaded events. Either use the Volume sliders or 
click in the Volume fields, change the values numerically 
and press [Return].
This is the same as using the volume handles in the Event display, see 
“About the volume handle” on page 88.
The Nudge buttons
Use the nudge buttons to nudge the fade area or the au-
dio in the desired direction, see “The Nudge buttons” on 
page 93.
The Fade Displays
The fade displays show the shape of the fade-out and 
fade-in curve, respectively. You can click on the curve to 
add points, and click and drag existing points to change 
the shape. To remove a point from the curve, drag it out-
side the display. 
						

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Fades, crossfades and envelopes
Curve buttons
The curve kind buttons determine whether the corre-
sponding fade curve should consist of spline curve seg-
ments (left button), damped spline segments (middle 
button) or linear segments (right button).
The curve shape buttons give you quick access to some 
common curve shapes.
Equal Gain and Power
If you activate the “Equal Gain” checkbox, the fade 
curves are adjusted so that the summed fade-in and fade-
out amplitudes will be the same all along the crossfade 
region. 
This is often suitable for short crossfades.
If you activate the “Equal Power” checkbox, the fade 
curves are adjusted, so that the energy (power) of the 
crossfade will be constant all along the crossfade region.
Play buttons
The “Play Fade Out” and “Play Fade In” buttons allow 
you to audition the fade-out or fade-in part only, without 
the crossfade.
The “Play Crossfade” button plays back the whole 
crossfade.
You can also use the Transport play controls to play back 
the crossfaded audio events. However, that method will 
play back all unmuted audio events on other tracks as well.
Pre-roll and Post-roll
When auditioning with the Play buttons, you can activate 
pre-roll and/or post-roll. Pre-roll lets you start playback 
before the fade area, and post-roll lets you stop playback 
after the fade area. This can be useful for auditioning the 
fade in a context.To specify how long the pre- and post-roll should be, 
click in the time fields and enter the desired time (in sec-
onds and milliseconds).
To activate pre-/post-roll, click the respective button.
To deactivate, click the button again.
1 second pre-roll activated.
Autoscroll
If this option is activated, the crossfade display will be 
scrolled during playback, so that the play position cursor 
is always visible. This works just like Autoscroll in the 
Project window (see “Autoscroll” on page 57).
ÖNote that this only applies if you use the Transport play 
controls – not if you use the Play controls in the Crossfade 
dialog.
Zoom and Auto Zoom
If you have scrolled or zoomed the crossfade display hori-
zontally (see “The Crossfade display” on page 92), you can 
click the “Zoom to Fade” button (the magnifying glass icon) 
to quickly revert to the standard zoom factor and center the 
display on the currently selected crossfade area.
If Auto Zoom is activated (checked), the crossfade display 
will automatically be zoomed and centered on the current 
crossfade if you resize it (see “Resizing the crossfade 
area” on page 95).
!Equal Power curves have only one editable curve 
point. You cannot use the Curve kind buttons or the 
presets when this mode is selected. 
						

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Fades, crossfades and envelopes
Presets
If you have set up a crossfade that you may want to apply 
to other events, you can store it as a preset by clicking the 
store button (the disk icon).
To apply a stored preset, select it from the pop-up 
menu. 
To rename the selected preset, double-click on the 
name and type in a new one. 
To remove a stored preset, select it from the pop-up 
menu and click the remove button (the trash icon).
Default buttons
Clicking the “As Default” button stores all of the current 
settings as the default crossfade. These settings will then 
be used whenever you create new crossfades.
Clicking the “Recall Default” button copies the curves and 
settings in the Default crossfade to the Crossfade dialog.
Select Crossfade buttons
These allow you to select the previous/next crossfade 
area on the current track, if it contains more than one 
crossfade.
If “Project selection follows” is activated, selecting an-
other crossfade will automatically change the event selec-
tion in the Project window.
Resizing the crossfade area
You can adjust the length of the crossfade area either in 
the crossfade display (see “The Crossfade display” on 
page 92), by using the Length controls or by clicking in 
the “Length” fields, changing the value numerically and 
pressing [Return].
If “Symmetric Fades” is activated, both the fade out and 
the fade in length will be changed by the same amount. 
Otherwise, the upper Length controls change the length 
of the fade-out curve, and the lower controls change the 
length of the fade-in curve.If possible, the length change will be applied equally to 
“both sides” of the crossfade (i.e. Nuendo tries to “center” 
the crossfade).
Moving the crossfade area
You can move the crossfade area in the crossfade display 
(see “The Crossfade display” on page 92), with the 
Nudge buttons, with the Overlap controls (either the slider 
or numerically) or by changing the Offset Point.
Using the Nudge controls
When you use the Nudge controls, you can decide 
whether they should move the fade area or the audio clip, 
by clicking the corresponding radio button under “Nudge 
Mode”. 
Each time you click a Nudge button, the fade area or the 
audio event will be moved in the corresponding direction 
by the amount specified on the “Nudge Range” pop-up 
menu.
The Nudge buttons in the upper region affect the fade-out curve, and the 
Nudge buttons in the lower region affect the fade-in curve. Note that it is 
only possible to move the audio of the second event – i.e. the event that 
is faded in.
You can also click in the Nudge value field, enter a nu-
merical value and press [Return] to move a fade area or an 
audio event.
If “Symmetric Fades” is activated, and the Nudge Mode 
is set to “Move Fade”, both the fade-out area and the 
fade-in area will be moved by the same amount.
If “Symmetric Fades” is activated, and the Nudge Mode 
is set to “Move Audio”, the Nudge buttons in the lower re-
gion will move the audio event with the fade in.
In this mode, the Nudge buttons in the upper region will move both the 
entire fade area and the audio event with the fade in.
!To be able to resize a crossfade this way, it must be 
possible to resize the corresponding event. For ex-
ample, if the left crossfaded event already plays its 
audio clip to the end, its endpoint cannot be moved 
any further to the right. 
						

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Fades, crossfades and envelopes
Using the Overlap controls
The Overlap controls let you move the fade area without 
moving the Offset Point – the “center” of the fade area 
(see below). This means that the “center” of the fade will 
be offset in relation to the fade area.
You can either use the Overlap sliders or you can click 
in the Overlap fields, change the values numerically and 
press [Return].
If “Symmetric Fades” is activated, both the upper and 
the lower Overlap controls will move both the fade-out 
and the fade-in area.
Changing the Offset Point
You can also move a fade area by changing its Offset 
Point. The Offset Point is the “center” of the fade area, i.e. 
the point where the volume of the event is precisely half-
way between full level and zero level.
Click in the value field, enter the desired value, in accor-
dance with the selected display format (see “The Cross-
fade display” on page 92) and press [Return].
This will move the Offset Point along with the fade area by the specified 
amount. Note however that this only applies to the fade-in area!
The Offset Point is indicated by a dotted vertical line in 
the crossfade display.
Auto Fades and Crossfades
Nuendo features an Auto Fade function that can be set 
both globally, i.e. for the entire project, and separately for 
each audio track. The idea behind the Auto Fade function 
is to create smoother transitions between events by ap-
plying short (1 - 500 ms) fade-ins and fade-outs.
Making global Auto Fade settings
1.To make Auto Fades settings globally for the project, 
select “Auto Fades Settings...” from the Project menu.
This opens the Auto Fades dialog for the project.
2.Use the checkboxes in the upper right corner to acti-
vate or deactivate Auto Fade In, Auto Fade Out and Auto 
Crossfades, respectively.
3.Use the Length value field to specify the length of the 
Auto Fade or Crossfade (1-500 ms).
!As mentioned earlier, fades are calculated in real 
time during playback. This means that the larger the 
number of audio tracks with Auto Fades activated in 
a project, the higher the demands on the processor.
!Note that auto fades are not indicated by the fade 
lines! 
						

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Fades, crossfades and envelopes
4.To adjust the shapes of Auto Fade In and Auto Fade 
Out, select the “Fades” tab and make settings as in the 
regular Fade dialogs.
5.To adjust the shape of the Auto Crossfade, select the 
“Crossfades” tab and make settings as in the regular 
Crossfade dialog.
6.If you want to use the settings you have made in future 
projects, click the “As Default” button.
The next time you create a new project, it will use these settings by default.
7.Click OK to close the dialog.
Making Auto Fade settings for a separate 
track
By default, all audio tracks will use the settings you have 
made in the project’s Auto Fades dialog. However, since 
Auto Fades use computing power, a better approach may 
be to turn Auto Fades off globally and activate them for in-
dividual tracks, as needed:
1.Right-click the track in the Track list and select “Auto 
Fades Settings...” from the context menu (or select the 
track and click the “Auto Fades Settings” button in the In-
spector).
The Auto Fades dialog for the track opens. This is identical to the project’s 
Auto Fades dialog, with the addition of a “Use Project Settings” option.
2.Deactivate the “Use Project Settings” option.
Now, any settings you make will be applied to the track only.
3.Set up the Auto Fades as desired and close the dialog.
Reverting to project settings
If you want a track to use the global Auto Fade settings, 
open the Auto Fades dialog for the track and activate the 
“Use Project Settings” checkbox. 
Event Envelopes
An envelope is a volume curve for an audio event. It is sim-
ilar to the real-time fades, but allows you to create volume 
changes within the event, not only at the start or end. To 
create an envelope for an audio event, proceed as follows:
1.Zoom in on the event so that you can view its waveform 
properly.
2.Select the Pencil tool.
When you move the Pencil tool over an audio event, a small volume curve 
symbol is shown next to the tool.
3.To add an envelope point, click in the event with the 
Pencil tool.
A blue envelope curve and a curve point appear.
4.Drag the curve point to adjust the envelope shape.
The waveform image reflects the volume curve.
You can add as many curve points as you like.
To remove a curve point from the envelope, click on it 
and drag it outside the event.
The envelope curve is a part of the audio event - it will 
follow when you move or copy the event.
After copying an event with an envelope, you can make independent ad-
justments to the envelopes in the original event and the copy.
ÖIt is also possible to apply an envelope to the audio 
clip using the Envelope function on the Process submenu 
on the Audio menu.
See “Envelope” on page 242.
To remove an event envelope curve from a selected 
event, open the Audio menu and select the Remove 
Volume Curve option. 
						

							7
The Arranger track 
						

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The Arranger track
Introduction
The Arranger track allows you to work with sections of 
your project in a non-linear fashion, to simplify arranging to 
the maximum extent. Instead of moving, copying and past-
ing events in the Project window event display to create a 
linear project, you can define how different sections are to 
be played back, like a playlist.
For this, you can define arranger events, order them in a list, 
and add repeats as desired. This offers a different and more 
pattern-oriented way of working, which complements the 
usual linear editing methods in the Project window. 
You can create several Arranger chains, making it possi-
ble to store different versions of a song within the project 
without sacrificing the original version. When you have 
created an Arranger chain that you like, you have the op-
tion of “flattening” the list, which creates a normal linear 
project based on the Arranger chain. You can chose to 
keep the Arranger track or to remove it. 
You can also use the Arranger track for live performances 
on the stage, in clubs or at parties.
Setting up the Arranger track
Let’s say you have prepared a number of audio files that 
form the base of a typical pop song, with introduction, 
verse, chorus and bridge. Now you want to arrange these 
files.
The first step is to create an Arranger track. On the Ar-
ranger track, you define specific sections of the project by 
creating arranger events. These can be of any length, may 
overlap and are not bound to the start or end of existing 
events and parts. Proceed as follows:
1.Open the project for which you want to create arranger 
events.
2.Open the Project menu and select “Arranger” from the 
Add Track submenu (or right-click in the Track list and se-
lect Add Arranger track).
An Arranger track is added. There can be only one Arranger track in a 
project, but you can set up more than one Arranger chain for this track, 
see “Managing Arranger chains” on page 102.
3.On the Project window toolbar, make sure that Snap 
is activated, and that the Grid resolution is set to a mode 
that allows your arranger events to snap to appropriate 
positions in the project.
Snap to events is activated, i. e. when drawing in the Project window, 
new events will snap to existing events.
4.On the Arranger track, use the Pencil tool to draw an 
event of the desired length.
An Arranger event is added, called “A” by default. Any following events 
will be named in alphabetical order. 
You can rename an Arranger event by selecting it and 
changing its name in the Project window info line or by 
holding down [Alt]/[Option], double-clicking on the name 
in the Arranger chain (see below) and entering a new 
name.
You may want to name your arranger events according to the structure of 
your project, e. g. Verse, Chorus etc.
5.Create as many events as you need for your project.
In this example, arranger events have been created that correspond to a 
classic pop song structure. Note how there is no real time line in the 
project: the music sequence is determined by the arranger events.
Events can be moved, resized and deleted using the stan-
dard techniques. Please note:
If you want to change the length of a event, select the 
Arrow tool and click and drag the bottom corners of the 
event in the desired direction.
If you copy an Arranger event (by [Alt]/[Option]-drag-
ging or by using copy/paste), a new event will be created 
with the same name as the original.
However, this new event will be totally independent from the original event.
Double-clicking on an arranger event adds it to the cur-
rent Arranger chain. 
						

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The Arranger track
Working with arranger events
You now have a number of arranger events that form the 
basic building blocks for your arrangement. The next step 
is to arrange these events using the functions of the Ar-
ranger Editor.
Creating an Arranger chain
You can set up an Arranger chain in the Arranger Editor or 
in the Inspector for the Arranger track. The Arranger Editor 
is opened by clicking the “e” button in the Inspector or in 
the Arranger track. 
To the right in the Arranger Editor, the available arranger 
events are listed, in the order they appear on the time line. 
To the left you find the actual Arranger chain, which shows 
in which order the events will be played back, from top to 
bottom, and how many times they should be repeated.
Initially the Arranger chain will be empty – you set up the 
Arranger chain by adding events from the right list to the 
Arranger chain. There are several ways to add events to 
the Arranger chain.Double-clicking on the name of an event in the window 
section on the right (or in the project window).
When an event is selected in the Arranger chain on the left will add the 
event above the selected event. When no events are selected in the Ar-
ranger chain on the left will add the event to the end of the list.
By selecting one or more events in the right list, right-
clicking and selecting “Append Selected In Arranger 
Chain”.
This will add the selected events at the end of the list.
By dragging and dropping arranger events from the 
right list to the left list.
A blue insertion line shows you where the dragged event will end up in the 
list.
Here, the Verse event is dragged into the Arranger chain and placed af-
ter the first chorus.
By dragging arranger events from the Project window 
and dropping them in the Arranger chain.
If you followed our example, you should now have arranger 
events arranged in a very basic pop song pattern. How-
ever, we have used audio files that are only a few bars 
long – to turn our pattern into a “song” (or at least into a 
basic sketch of the song structure), these files must be 
looped. This is where the Repeats function comes in.
If you want an event to repeat several times, proceed as 
follows:
Click in the Repeats field for an event, type in the de-
sired number of repeats and press [Enter].
When playing back the Arranger chain, the Counter column indicates 
which repeat of this event is currently playing.
Click in the Inspector…
…or the Track list…
…to open the Arranger Editor.