Steinberg Nuendo 4 Operation Manual

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The mixer
Copying settings between audio channels
It is possible to copy all channel settings for an audio chan-
nel and paste them to one or several other channels. This 
applies to all audio-based channel types. For example, you 
can copy EQ settings from an audio track and apply these 
to a group or VST Instrument channel, if you want them to 
have the same sound. 
Proceed as follows:
1.In the mixer, select the channel you want to copy set-
tings from.
You can also select channels with the Channel Select pop-up menu – 
see “Changing channels in the Channel Settings window” on page 137.
2.Click the “Copy Selected Channel Settings” button on 
the common panel.
3.Select the channel(s) you want to copy the settings to 
and click the “Paste Settings to Selected Channels” but-
ton (below the “Copy First Selected Channel Settings” 
button).
The settings are applied to the selected channel(s).
You can copy channel settings between different types 
of channels, but only those channels will be used for 
which corresponding settings are available in the target 
channel:
 For example, as input/output channels don’t have send ef-
fects, copying from them will leave the Sends settings in the 
target channel unaffected.
 Also, in case of Surround Sound, for example, any Insert ef-
fects routed to surround speaker channels will be muted, 
when the settings are pasted to a mono or stereo channel.
Initialize Channel and Reset Mixer
The Initialize Channel button can be found at the bottom in 
the Control Strip section of the Channel Settings window 
(if this section is not shown in the Channel Settings win-
dow, open the context menu and select “Control Strip” on 
the Customize View submenu). Initialize Channel resets 
the selected channel to the default settings. 
Similarly, the mixer common panel holds a Reset Mixer/
Reset Channels button – when you click this, you will be 
asked whether you want to reset all channels or just the 
selected channels.
The default settings are:
 All EQ, Insert and Send effect settings are deactivated and re-
set.
 Solo/Mute is deactivated.
 The fader is set to 0dB.
 Pan is set to center position.
Changing the meter characteristics 
In the Mixer context menu, opened by right-clicking any-
where on the mixer panel, there is a submenu named “Glo-
bal Meter Settings”. Here you can make settings for the 
preferred meter characteristics, with the following options:
If “Hold Peaks” is activated, the highest registered peak 
levels are “held” and are shown as static horizontal lines in 
the meter.
Note that you can turn this on or off by clicking in any audio level meter in 
the mixer.
Hold is activated. The highest regis-
tered peak is displayed in the meter. 
						

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If “Hold Forever” is activated, the peak levels will remain 
until meters are reset (by clicking the numerical peak dis-
play below the meter).
If “Hold Forever” is off, you can specify for how long the peak levels will 
be held with the parameter “Meters’ Peak Hold Time” in the Preferences 
(VST–Metering page). The peak hold time can be between 500 and 
30000ms.
If “Meter Input” is activated, meters will show input lev-
els for all audio channels and input/output channels. 
Note that the input meters are post input gain.
If “Meter Post-Fader” is activated, meters will show 
post-fader levels.
This is the default setting for channels in the mixer.
There is also a “Meter Post-Panner” mode.
This is similar to “Meter Post-Fader”, but the meters will reflect pan set-
tings as well.
If “Fast Release” is activated, the meters respond very 
quickly to level peaks. If “Fast Release” is deactivated, the 
meters respond more like standard meters.
You can set the time it takes for the meters to “fall back” in the Prefer-
ences (VST–Metering page).
Using group channels
You can route the outputs from multiple audio channels to 
a group. This enables you to control the channel levels us-
ing one fader, apply the same effects and equalization to 
all of them etc. To create a group channel, proceed as fol-
lows:
1.Select Add Track from the Project menu and select 
“Group Channel” from the submenu that appears.
2.Select the desired channel configuration and click OK.
A group channel track is added to the Track list and a corresponding 
group channel strip is added to the mixer. By default the first group chan-
nel strip is labeled “Group 1”, but you can rename it just like any channel 
in the mixer.
3.Pull down the Output routing pop-up for a channel you 
want to route to the group channel, and select the group 
channel.
The output of the audio channel is now redirected to the selected group.
4.Do the same for the other channels you wish to route 
to the group.
Settings for group channels
The group channel strips are (almost) identical to audio 
channel strips in the mixer. The descriptions of the mixer 
features earlier in this chapter apply to group channels as 
well. Some things to note:
You can route the output of a group to an audio channel 
(see “Recording from busses” on page 69), to an output 
bus or to another group with a higher number.
You cannot route a group to itself. Routing is done with the Output Rout-
ing pop-up menu in the Inspector (select the subtrack for the Group in 
the Track list) or in the Routing section at the top of each channel strip.
There are no Input Routing pop-ups, Monitor buttons or 
Record Enable buttons for group channels.
This is because inputs are never connected directly to a group.
Solo functionality is automatically linked for channels 
routed to a group and the group channel itself.
This means that if you solo a group channel, all channels routed to the 
group are automatically soloed as well. Similarly, soloing a channel 
routed to a group will automatically solo the group channel.
Mute functionality depends on the setting “Group Chan-
nels: Mute Sources as well” in the Preferences (VST page). 
By default, when you mute a group channel no audio will pass through 
the group. However, other channels that are routed directly to that group 
channel will remain unmuted. If any of those channels have aux sends 
routed to other group channels, FX channels or output busses, those will 
still be heard. 
If the option “Group Channels: Mute Sources as well” is activated in the 
Preferences (VST page), muting a group channel will cause all other 
channels directly routed to it to be muted as well. Pressing mute again 
!You can select a group channel as an Input for an 
audio track, e.g. to record a downmix of separate 
track outputs routed to a group (see “Recording 
from busses” on page 69). 
						

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will unmute the group channel and all other channels directly routed to it. 
Channels that were muted prior to the group channel being muted will 
not remember their mute status and will be unmuted when the group 
channel is unmuted.
One application of group channels is to use them as “effect 
racks” – see the chapter “Audio effects” on page 168.
About output busses
Nuendo uses a system of input and output busses which 
are set up using the VST Connections dialog. This is de-
scribed in the chapter “VST Connections: Setting up input 
and output busses” on page 10.
Output busses let you route audio from the program to the 
outputs on your audio hardware. 
Routing audio channels to busses
To route the output of an audio channel to one of the ac-
tive busses, proceed as follows:
1.Open the mixer.
2.Make sure the input/output settings panel is visible – 
see “Normal vs. Extended channel strips” on page 126.
3.Pull down the Output Routing pop-up menu at the top 
of the channel strip and select one of the busses.
This pop-up menu contains the output busses configured in the VST 
Connections window, as well as available group channels (provided that 
the busses and groups are compatible with the speaker configuration for 
the channel – see “Routing” on page 14).
You can also make routing settings in the Inspector.
For details on routing surround channels, see “Surround in 
the mixer” on page 205.
Viewing the output busses in the mixer
Output busses are shown as output channels in a sepa-
rate pane to the right in the mixer. You show or hide this 
pane by clicking the Hide Output Channels button in the 
mixer’s common panel to the left:
Each output channel resembles a regular audio channel 
strip. Here you can do the following:
 Adjust master levels for all configured output busses using the 
level faders.
 Adjust input gain and input phase of the output busses.
 Add effects or EQ to the output channels (see the chapter 
“Audio effects” on page 168).
 Create Sends that can be routed to other Output channels as 
long as they are to the right of the selected Output channel in 
the mixer. This can be useful when creating quick headphone 
mixes from the current monitor mix. This is done by creating a 
send from the current monitor Output bus to another Output 
bus that is routed to a headphone amplifier.
!The option “Group Channels: Mute Sources as well” 
does not affect how mute automation is written. 
Writing mute automation on a group channel only af-
fects the group channel and not channels routed to 
it. When writing the automation, you will see the 
other channels being muted when this option is acti-
vated. However, upon playback, only the group 
channel will respond to the automation. 
						

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The mixer
MIDI specific procedures
This section describes basic procedures for MIDI chan-
nels in the mixer.
Selecting what to show in the extended MIDI 
channel strip
When using the extended channel strip view options (see 
“Normal vs. Extended channel strips” on page 126), the 
upper panel can be set to show different views for each 
MIDI channel strip. You select what to display for each 
channel by using the View options pop-up menu at the top 
of each channel strip. The following views are possible:
The MIDI insert effects.
MIDI inserts can also be found in the Inspector and the Channel Settings 
window for MIDI channels. How to use MIDI insert effects is described in 
the chapter “MIDI realtime parameters and effects” on page 342.
The MIDI send effects.
The sends can also be found in the Inspector and the Channel Settings 
window for MIDI channels. How to use MIDI send effects is described in 
the chapter “MIDI realtime parameters and effects” on page 342.
The “Meter” option shows large level (velocity) meters in 
the extended panel.
You can also select the “Overview” option – this shows 
a graphic overview of which insert effect slots and effect 
sends are activated for the channel.
You can click the indicators to turn the corresponding slot/send on or off.
The “User Panel” option allows you to import MIDI de-
vice panels – this is described in the separate PDF docu-
ment “MIDI Devices”.
Selecting “Empty” will display a blank panel in the ex-
tended strip.
By selecting from the View options pop-up on the com-
mon panel, you can set the view for all channels in the 
mixer.
Selecting EQ or Surround Panners (which apply to audio channels only) 
will not change the view for MIDI channels. Selecting inserts or send ef-
fects from the common panel will change the view for all channel types.
Using Channel Settings
For each MIDI channel strip in the mixer (and MIDI track in 
the Track list or the Inspector), there is an Edit (“e”) button. 
Clicking this opens the MIDI Channel Settings window. 
By default, this window contains a duplicate of the mixer 
channel strip, a section with four MIDI inserts and a sec-
tion with four MIDI send effects. 
You can customize the Channel Settings window, by 
showing/hiding the different panels and/or by changing 
their order:
 To specify, which panels should be shown/hidden, right-click 
in the Channel settings window, and activate/deactivate the 
respective options on the Customize View submenu on the 
context menu.
 To change the order of the panels, select “Setup” on the Cus-
tomize View pop-up menu and use the “Move up” and “Move 
Down” buttons in the dialog that opens.
Every MIDI channel has its own channel settings.
The MIDI Channel Settings window. 
						

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The mixer
Utilities
Link/Unlink channels
This function is used to “link” selected channels in the 
mixer so that any change applied to one channel will be 
mirrored by all channels in that group. You can link as 
many channels as you like, and you can also create as 
many groups of linked channels as you like. To link chan-
nels in the mixer, proceed as follows:
1.Press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click on all the channels 
you want to link.
[Shift]-clicking allows you to select a continuous range of channels.
2.Right-click somewhere on the gray mixer panel.
The Mixer context menu appears.
3.Select “Link Channels” from the context menu.
To unlink channels, select one of the linked channels and 
select “Unlink Channels” from the Mixer context menu.
The channels are unlinked. Note that you do not need to select all the 
channels that are linked, only one of them.
ÖIt is not possible to remove individual channels from 
Link status. 
To make individual settings to a linked channel, press [Alt]/[Option] when 
changing the setting.
What will be linked?
The following rules apply for linked channels:
Only level, mute, solo, select, monitor and record enable 
will be linked between channels.
Effect/EQ/pan/input and output routing settings are not linked.
Any individual channel settings you have made before 
linking will remain until you alter the same setting for any of 
the linked channels.
For example, if you link three channels, and one of them was muted at the 
time you applied the Link Channel function, this channel will remain muted 
after linking. However, if you mute another channel all linked channels will 
be muted. Thus, the individual setting for one channel is lost as soon as 
you change the same parameter setting for any of the linked channels.
Fader levels will be “ganged”.
The relative level offset between channels will be kept if you move a 
linked channel fader.
The three channels shown are linked. Pulling down one fader changes 
the levels for all three channels, but keeps the relative level mix. 
						

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The mixer
By pressing [Alt]/[Option], you can make individual set-
tings and changes for channels that are linked.
ÖLinked channels have individual automation subtracks. 
These are completely independent, and are not affected 
by the Link function.
The Window submenu
The Mixer context menu, opened by right-clicking anywhere 
on the Mixer window background, provides the Window 
submenu. Its options are handy for quickly switching to an-
other open mixer window, showing/hiding the different 
mixer panes etc. It contains the following options:
Show Routing View
Allows you to show/hide the topmost section of the mixer which contains 
the input/output routing settings.
Show Extended View
Allows you to show/hide the middle section of the mixer, where you can 
display different settings for the channels (EQs, Send effects, etc.).
Next Mixer
This displays the next mixer window (if you have several mixer windows 
open).
Saving mixer settings
It is possible to save complete mixer settings for selected 
or all audio channels in the mixer. These can later be 
loaded into any project. Channel settings are saved as 
mixer settings files. These have the Windows file exten-
sion “.vmx”. 
Right-clicking somewhere in the mixer panel or in the 
Channel Settings window brings up the Mixer context 
menu where the following Save options can be found:
“Save Selected Channels” will save all channel settings 
for the selected channels.
Input/output routings are not saved.
“Save All Mixer Settings” saves all channel settings for 
all channels.
When you select any of the above options, a standard file 
dialog opens where you can select a name and storage lo-
cation on your disk for the file.
Loading mixer settings 
Load Selected Channels
To load mixer settings saved for selected channels, pro-
ceed as follows:
1.Select the same number of channels in the new project 
to match the number of channels you saved settings for in 
the previous project.
For example, if you saved settings for six channels, select six channels in 
the mixer.
Mixer settings will be applied in the same order as they 
were in the mixer.
Thus, if you save settings from channels 4, 6 and 8 and apply these set-
tings to channels 1, 2 and 3, the settings saved for channel 4 would be 
applied to channel 1, the settings saved for channel 6 to channel 2 and 
so on.
2.Right-click the mixer panel to open the context menu, 
and select “Load Selected Channels”.
A standard file dialog appears, where you can locate the saved file.
3.Select the file and click “Open”.
The channel settings are applied to the selected channels.
!Saving/Loading mixer settings does not apply to 
MIDI channels in the mixer – only audio-related 
channels (group, audio, instrument, effect return, 
VSTi and ReWire) are saved with this function!
!If you choose to apply mixer settings to fewer chan-
nels than you saved, the order of the saved channels 
in the mixer applies – i.e. the saved channels that are 
“left over” and not applied will be the channels with 
the highest channel numbers (or furthest to the right 
in the mixer). 
						

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The mixer
Load All Mixer Settings
Selecting “Load All Mixer Settings” from the context menu 
allows you to open a saved mixer settings file, and have 
the stored settings applied to all channels for which there 
is information included in the file. All channels, master set-
tings, VST Instruments, sends and master effects will be 
affected.
ÖPlease note that if the saved mixer settings were for 
24 channels, for example, and the mixer you apply it to 
currently contains 16 channels, only the settings for chan-
nels 1 to 16 will be applied – this function will not auto-
matically add channels.
About the VST Performance window
The VST Performance window is opened from the Devices 
menu. It indicates the current load on the CPU and the hard 
disk transfer rate. It is recommended that you check this 
from time to time, or keep it always open. Even though you 
have been able to activate a number of audio channels in 
the project without getting any warning, you may run into 
performance problems when adding EQ or effects.
The upper bar graph shows the CPU (processor) load.
If the red Overload indicator lights up, you need to decrease the number 
of EQ modules, active effects and/or audio channels playing back simul-
taneously.
The lower bar graph shows the hard disk transfer load.
If the red overload indicator lights up, the hard disk is not supplying data 
fast enough to the computer. You may need to reduce the number of tracks 
playing back by using the Disable Track function (see “About track disable/
enable” on page 62). If this doesn’t help, you need a faster hard disk. 
Note that the overload indicator may occasionally blink, e.g. when you lo-
cate during playback. This does not indicate a problem, but happens be-
cause the program needs a moment for all channels to load data for the 
new playback position.
ÖThe CPU and Disk load meters can also be shown on 
the Transport panel (as “Performance”) and on the Project 
window toolbar (as “Performance Meter”).
There they are shown as two miniature vertical meters (by default at the 
left side of the panel/toolbar). 
						

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The mixer
VST Mixer Diagrams 
Input Objects
Channel Objects
Input Channel
External Input Channel 
Talkback Channel 
Audio ChannelReWire Channel
VSTi ChannelExternal Instrument  
						

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The mixer
Summing Objects
Control Room Objects 
Group ChannelFX Channel
Output BusMain Mix Bus
Control Room ChannelPhones Channel
Studio ChannelMonitor 
						

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The mixer
Overall