Steinberg Nuendo 4 Operation Manual

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Audio processing and functions
Load Impulse button
Clicking the “Load Impulse” button allows you to load an 
impulse response file from disk. These are ordinary wave 
or aiff audio files, with a maximum duration of 12 seconds. 
The name of the currently loaded impulse response file is 
shown above the display.
A number of demonstration impulse response files are 
included in the Nuendo program folder. 
For proper use of the Acoustic Stamp function, we recommend that you 
acquire files from a professional impulse response library.
Play Impulse button
Plays back the currently loaded impulse response.
Channel selector
If the currently loaded impulse response is a stereo file, 
this pop-up menu allows you to select whether the left 
channel, right channel or both (stereo) should be used for 
the convolution process.
Envelope controls
The five sliders below the display are used for setting up 
the “reverb envelope”, that is, a gain curve modifying how 
the impulse response is applied over time, and thereby the 
reverb character. These settings are reflected in the red 
Envelope display above. The sliders have the following 
functionality:
Filter controls
The three sliders to the right allow you to tailor the tonal 
character of the processed sound. In essence, this is a 
graphic equalizer with three broad bands: the LPF slider 
governs the low frequency content, the BPF governs the 
midrange and the HPF governs the high frequency content.
Setting a slider to 100% means that the corresponding 
filter is “fully open”.
When all three sliders are set to 100%, the processed audio is not fil-
tered at all.
Reset button
Sets all parameters in the upper section of the dialog to 
their default values.
Wet/Dry Mix
These two sliders allow you to specify the balance be-
tween wet (processed) and dry (original) signal in the re-
sulting clip.
Normally the two sliders are “reverse-ganged”, so that 
raising the Wet mix slider lowers the Dry mix slider by the 
same amount. However, if you press [Alt]/[Option] and 
drag a slider, you can move it independently. This allows 
you to set e.g. 80% dry and 80% wet signal. Be careful to 
avoid distortion.
Tail
This parameter allows you to “add space” after the original 
audio section, to avoid that the reverb tail is cut off. When 
the checkbox is activated, you can specify a tail length us-
ing the slider. The tail time is included when playing back 
with the Preview function, allowing you to find the appro-
priate tail length. A good value would be the Reverb 
Length value, displayed in ms to the right of the Reverb 
Length parameter.
Pre and Post-CrossFade
See “Pre/Post-CrossFade” on page 240.
Parameter Description
First Reflections A level control for the first section of the reverb (the 
length of which is set with the next parameter, see be-
low). Usually, this governs the volume of the first reflec-
tion(s) of the reverb.
First Ref. Length This determines the length of the First Reflections sec-
tion (the level of which is controlled by the previous pa-
rameter). Usually you would want to set this so that it 
includes the first reflection in the impulse response (nor-
mally about 5% of the total length).
Reverb Att. A level control for the end section of the reverb (the sec-
tion after the First Reflections, see above).
Reverb Length Governs the reverb time, in milliseconds.
Gain Allows you to adjust the gain of the impulse response. 
This may be necessary for optimal results, since different 
impulse response files may be recorded at different lev-
els. 
						

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Audio processing and functions
Envelope
The Envelope function allows you to apply a volume enve-
lope to the selected audio. The dialog contains the follow-
ing settings:
Curve Kind buttons
These determine whether the envelope curve should con-
sist of spline curve segments (left button), damped spline 
segments (middle button) or linear segments (right button).
Fade display
Shows the shape of the envelope curve. The resulting 
waveform shape is shown in dark gray, with the current 
waveform shape in light gray. 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.
Presets
If you have set up an envelope curve that you may want to 
apply to other events or clips, you can store it as a preset 
by clicking the Store button. 
To apply a stored preset, select it from the pop-up 
menu. 
To rename the selected preset, double-click on the 
name and enter a new one in the dialog that appears. 
To remove a stored preset, select it from the pop-up 
menu and click Remove.
Fade In and Fade Out
For a description of these functions, see the chapter “Fa-
des, crossfades and envelopes” on page 86.
Gain
Allows you to change the gain (level) of the selected audio. 
The dialog contains the following settings:
Gain
This is where you set the desired gain, between -50 and 
+20dB. The setting is also indicated below the Gain dis-
play as a percentage.
Clipping detection text
If you use the Preview function before applying the pro-
cessing, the text below the slider indicates whether the 
current settings result in clipping (audio levels above 
0 dB). If that is the case, lower the Gain value and use the 
Preview function again.
If you want to increase the level of the audio as much as 
possible without causing clipping, you should use the Nor-
malize function instead (see “Normalize” on page 244).
Pre- and Post-CrossFade
See “Pre/Post-CrossFade” on page 240. 
						

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Audio processing and functions
Merge Clipboard
This functions mixes the audio from the clipboard into the 
audio selected for processing, starting at the beginning of 
the selection.
The dialog contains the following settings:
Sources mix
Allows you to specify a mix ratio between the original (the 
audio selected for processing) and the copy (the audio on 
the clipboard).
Pre- and Post-CrossFade
See “Pre/Post-CrossFade” on page 240.
Noise Gate
Scans the audio for sections weaker than a specified 
threshold level and replaces them with silence. The dialog 
contains the following settings:
Threshold
The level below which you want audio to be silenced. 
Levels below this value will close the gate.
Attack Time
The time it takes for the gate to open fully after the audio 
level has exceeded the threshold level.
Min. Opening Time
This is the shortest time the gate will remain open. If you 
find that the gate opens and closes too often when pro-
cessing material that varies rapidly in level, you should try 
raising this value.
Release Time
The time it takes for the gate to close fully after the audio 
level has dropped below the threshold level.
Linked Channels
This is available for stereo audio only. When it is activated, 
the Noise Gate is opened for both channels as soon as 
one or both channels exceed the Threshold level. When 
Linked Channels is deactivated, the Noise Gate works in-
dependently for the left and right channel.
Dry/Wet mix
Allows you to specify a mix ratio between “dry” and pro-
cessed sound.
Pre- and Post-CrossFade
See “Pre/Post-CrossFade” on page 240.
!For this function to be available, you need to have cut 
or copied a range of audio in the Sample Editor first. 
						

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Audio processing and functions
Normalize
The Normalize function allows you to specify the desired 
maximum level of the audio. It then analyzes the selected 
audio and finds the current maximum level. Finally it sub-
tracts the current maximum level from the specified level 
and raises the gain of the audio by the resulting amount (if 
the specified maximum level is lower than the current max-
imum, the gain will be lowered instead). A common use for 
Normalizing is to raise the level of audio that was recorded 
at too low an input level. The dialog contains the following 
settings:
Maximum
The desired maximum level for the audio, between -50 and 
0dB. The setting is also indicated below the Gain display as 
a percentage.
Pre- and Post-CrossFade
See “Pre/Post-CrossFade” on page 240.
Phase Reverse
Reverses the phase of the selected audio, turning the 
waveform “upside down”. The dialog contains the follow-
ing settings:
Phase Reverse on
When processing stereo audio, this pop-up menu allows 
you to specify which channel(s) should be phase-reversed.
Pre- and Post-CrossFade
See “Pre/Post-CrossFade” on page 240.
Pitch Shift
This function allows you to change the pitch of the audio 
with or without affecting its length. You can also create 
“harmonies” by specifying several pitches or apply pitch 
shift based on a user specified envelope curve.
When the “Transpose” tab is selected, the dialog contains 
the following parameters:
Keyboard display
This offers a way to specify the transpose interval in semi-
tones and gives a graphic overview of the transposition 
setting.
The “root note” is indicated in red.
This has nothing to do with the actual key or pitch of the original audio, it 
just provides a way to display transpose intervals. If you like, you can 
change the root note by using the settings in the Pitch Shift Base sec-
tion, or by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking in the keyboard display.
To specify a transpose interval, click on one of the keys.
The key is indicated in blue, and the program plays test tones in the base 
pitch and transpose pitch to give you an audible confirmation.
If “Multi Shift” is activated (see below), you can click on 
several keys to create “chords”.
Clicking on a blue (activated) key removes it.
Pitch Shift settings
The “Semitones” and “Fine tune” settings allow you to 
specify the amount of pitch shift. You can transpose the 
audio ±16 semitones, and fine tune it by ±200 cents 
(hundredths of semitones). 
						

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Volume/Amplitude
Allows you to lower the volume of the pitch-shifted sound.
Multi Shift
When this is activated, you can add more than one trans-
pose value, creating multi-part harmonies. This is done by 
adding intervals in the keyboard display (see above). Note 
that you cannot use the Preview function in Multi Shift 
mode.
If the intervals you add make up a standard chord, this 
chord is displayed to the right.
Note however, that to include the base pitch (the original, untransposed 
sound) in the processed result, you need to click the base key in the key-
board display as well, so that it is displayed in blue.
Listen Key/Chord button
Clicking this button plays a test tone pitched according to 
the activated interval key on the keyboard display. If “Multi 
Shift” is activated, this button is called “Listen Chord” and 
plays all activated intervals as a chord.
Pitch Shift Base
This allows you to set the root note (the red key in the key-
board display). It has nothing to do with the actual pitch, 
but is an aid for setting up intervals and chords.
Pitch Shift Mode
This is where you can make settings for the MPEX 3 algo-
rithm.
You can choose between 7 quality settings: 
Formant Mode 
If you are processing vocal material, you should activate 
this option in order to preserve the vocal characteristics of 
the pitch-shifted audio and to avoid a a “chipmunk voice” 
effect.
Time Correction
When this is activated, the pitch shift process will not af-
fect the length of the audio. When this is deactivated, rais-
ing the pitch will shorten the audio section and vice versa, 
much like changing the playback speed on a tape re-
corder.
Using envelope based Pitch Shift
When the “Envelope” tab is selected, you can specify an 
envelope curve on which the pitch shift should be based. 
This allows you to create pitch bend effects, pitch-shift 
different sections of the audio by different amounts, etc.
Option Description
Preview This mode should only be used for preview.
Mix Fast This mode is a very fast mode for preview. This works 
best with composite music signals mono or stereo mate-
rial.
Solo Fast Use this mode for single instruments (monophonic mate-
rial) and voice.
Solo Musical Same as above but higher quality.
Poly Fast Use this for processing monophonic and polyphonic ma-
terial. This is the fastest setting that gives still very good 
results. You can use this for drum loops, mixes, chords.
Poly Musical Use this for processing monophonic and polyphonic ma-
terial. This is the recommended MPEX default quality set-
ting. You can use this for drum loops, mixes, chords.
Poly Complex This high quality setting is quite processor intense and 
should be used only when processing difficult material or 
for stretch factors above 1,3. Option Description 
						

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Audio processing and functions
Envelope display
Shows the shape of the envelope curve over the wave-
form image of the audio selected for processing. Envelope 
curve points above the center line indicate positive pitch 
shift, while curve points below the center line indicate 
negative pitch shift. Initially, the envelope curve will be a 
horizontal, centered line, indicating zero pitch shift.
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 outside the display.
Curve Kind
These buttons determine whether the envelope curve 
should consist of spline curve segments (left button), 
damped spline segments (middle button) or linear seg-
ments (right button).
Spline curve segment envelope.
The same envelope with damped spline segments selected.
The same envelope with linear segments selected.
Range
This parameter determines the vertical pitch range of the 
envelope. If set to “4”, moving a curve point to the top of 
the display corresponds to pitch shifting by + 4 semi-
tones. The maximum range is +/- 16 semitones. 
Transpose and Fine Tune
These parameters allow you to adjust the value of a curve 
point numerically:
1.Click on a curve point to select it.
The selected point is shown in red.
2.Adjust the Transpose and Fine Tune parameters to 
change the pitch of the curve point in semitones and 
cents, respectively.
Pitch Shift Mode
These are the same parameters as on the Transpose tab, 
see “Pitch Shift Mode” on page 245.
Example
Let’s say that you wish to create a pitch bend effect, so 
that the pitch is raised linearly by exactly 2 semitones in a 
specific part of the selected audio.
1.Remove all curve points by clicking the Reset button.
2.Select a linear curve by clicking the Curve Kind button 
to the right.
3.Make sure the Range parameter is set to 2 semitones 
or higher.
4.Create a point where you want the pitch bend to start 
by clicking on the envelope line.
Since this is the starting point for the pitch bend, you want its pitch to be 
zero (the envelope line should still be straight). If necessary, use the Fine 
Tune parameter to set the curve point to 0 cents, because this point gov-
erns the start point, where you want the pitch transition to begin.
5.Create a new curve point at the horizontal position 
where you want the pitch bend to reach the full value.
This curve point determines the rise time of the pitch bend effect, i.e. the 
further away from the starting point the new point is positioned, the 
longer it will take for the pitch bend to reach the full value, and vice versa.
6.With the second point still selected, use the Trans-
pose and Fine Tune parameters to set the pitch to exactly 
2 semitones. 
						

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Audio processing and functions
7.Create a new curve point to set the duration of the 
pitch bend, i.e. the time the pitch should remain trans-
posed by 2 semitones.
8.Finally, create a point where you want the pitch bend 
to end.
You don’t need to create a new point if you are at the end of the audio 
file, since there is always an end point at the right side of the waveform 
display.
9.If necessary, make additional settings in the Pitch Shift 
Mode section, see “Pitch Shift Mode” on page 245.
10.Click Process.
The pitch bend is applied according to the specified settings.
Remove DC Offset
This function will remove any DC offset in the audio selec-
tion. A DC offset is when there is too large a DC (direct 
current) component in the signal, sometimes visible as the 
signal not being visually centered around the “zero level 
axis”. DC offsets do not affect what you actually hear, but 
they affect zero crossing detection and certain process-
ing, and it is recommended that you remove them.
There are no parameters for this function. Note that you can 
check for DC Offset in an audio clip using the Statistics 
function (see “Statistics” on page 256).
Resample
The Resample function can be used for changing the 
length, tempo and pitch of an event.
The original sample rate of the event is listed in the dialog. 
Resample the event to a higher or lower sample rate by ei-
ther specifying a sample rate or by specifying the differ-
ence (as a percentage value) between the original sample 
rate and the desired new one.
Resampling to a higher sample rate will make the event 
longer and cause the audio to play back at a slower speed 
with a lower pitch.
Resampling to a lower sample rate will make the event 
shorter and cause the audio to play back at a faster speed 
with a higher pitch.
You can audition the result of the resampling by enter-
ing the desired value and clicking “Preview”.
The event will then be played back as it will sound after the resampling.
When you are satisfied with the preview result, click 
“Process” to close the dialog and apply the processing.
Reverse
Reverses the audio selection, as when playing a tape 
backwards. There are no parameters for this function.
Silence
Replaces the selection with silence. There are no parame-
ters for this function.
!It is recommended that this function is applied to 
complete audio clips, since the DC offset (if any) is 
normally present throughout the entire recording. 
						

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Audio processing and functions
Stereo Flip
This function works with stereo audio selections only. It al-
lows you to manipulate the left and right channel in various 
ways. The dialog contains the following parameters:
Mode
 
This pop-up menu determines what the function does:
Time Stretch
This function allows you to change the length and “tempo” 
of the selected audio without affecting the pitch. The dia-
log contains the following parameters:
Define Bars section
In this section you set the length of the selected audio and 
the time signature:
Original Length section
This section contains information and settings regarding 
the audio selected for processing:
Option Description
Flip Left-Right Swaps the left and right channel.
Left to Stereo Copies the left channel sound to the right channel.
Right to Stereo Copies the right channel sound to the left channel.
Merge Merges both channels on each side for mono sound.
Subtract Subtracts the left channel information from the right and 
vice versa. This is typically used as a “Karaoke effect”, for 
removing centered mono material from a stereo signal.
Parameter Description
Bars If you use the tempo setting (see below), you can specify 
the length of the selected audio here, in bars.
Beats If you use the tempo setting, you can specify the length of 
the selected audio here, in beats.
Sign. If you use the tempo setting, you can specify the time sig-
nature here.
Parameter Description
Length in 
SamplesThe length of the selected audio, in samples.
Length in 
SecondsThe length of the selected audio, in seconds.
Tempo in BPM If you are processing music, and know the actual tempo 
of the audio, you can enter it here as beats per minute. 
This makes it possible to time-stretch the audio to an-
other tempo, without having to compute the actual time 
stretch amount. 
						

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Audio processing and functions
Resulting Length section
These settings are used if you want to stretch the audio to 
fit within a specific time span or tempo. The values will 
change automatically if you adjust the Time Stretch Ratio 
(see below).
Seconds Range section
These settings allow you to set the desired range for the 
time stretch.
Time Stretch Ratio section
The Time Stretch Ratio determines the amount of time 
stretch as a percentage of the original length. If you use 
the settings in the Resulting Length section to specify the 
amount of time stretch, this value will change automati-
cally. The possible range depends on the “Effect” option:
If the “Effect” checkbox is deactivated, the range is 75-
125%.
This is the preferred mode if you want to preserve the character of the 
sound.
If the “Effect” checkbox is activated, you can specify val-
ues between 10 and 1000% (Realtime), or 50 and 200% 
(MPEX 3). 
This mode is mainly useful for special effects, etc.
Algorithm section
Allows you to select a time stretch algorithm: MPEX 3 and 
Realtime mode. 
MPEX 3 mode
This mode is based on Prosoniqs proprietary MPEX (Minimum Per-
ceived Loss Time Compression/Expansion) algorithm. This algorithm 
(which is also used in Prosoniq’s TimeFactory™ application) uses an arti-
ficial neural network for time series prediction in the scale space domain 
to achieve high end time and pitch scaling. This gives the best possible 
audio quality result. You can choose between 7 quality settings, see 
“Pitch Shift Mode” on page 245.
Realtime mode
This is the algorithm used for the realtime time stretching features in Nu-
endo. Although this algorithm is optimized for time stretching in realtime, 
you can use it for offline processing as well. The Presets pop-up con-
tains the same presets as found in the Algorithm pop-up in the Sample 
Editor, see “Determining the audio tempo automatically and time-stret-
ching your audio” on page 272.
Applying plug-ins
You can add plug-in effects in real-time during playback 
(see the chapter “Audio effects” on page 168). However, 
sometimes it’s useful to “permanently” apply effects to 
one or several selected events. This is done in the follow-
ing way:
1.Make a selection in the Project window, the Pool or an 
editor.
Effects are applied according to the same rules as Processing (see 
“Common settings and features” on page 240).
2.Select “Plug-ins” from the Audio menu.
3.Select the desired effect from the submenu that ap-
pears.
The Process Plug-in dialog appears.
About stereo and mono
If you are applying an effect to mono audio material, only 
the left side of the effect’s stereo output will be applied.
Parameter Description
Samples The desired length in samples.
Seconds The desired length in seconds.
BPM The desired tempo (beats per minute). For this to work, 
you have to know the actual tempo of the audio, and 
specify this (along with time signature and length in bars) 
in the Original Length section to the left.
Parameter Description
Range Allows you to specify the desired length as a range be-
tween two time positions.
Use Locators Clicking the diamond-shaped button below the Range 
fields sets the Range values to the left and right Locator 
positions, respectively. 
						

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Audio processing and functions
The process plug-in dialog
The process plug-in dialog for the StudioChorus effect.
The upper section of the process plug-in dialog contains 
the actual effect parameters of the selected plug-in. For 
details on the parameters of the included plug-ins, see the 
separate manual “Nuendo Expansion Kit – Cubase Music 
Tools for Nuendo 4”.
The lower section of the dialog contains settings for the 
actual processing. These are common to all plug-ins.
If the lower section is hidden, click the “More…” button 
to display it.
Clicking the button again (now labeled “Less…”) will hide the lower sec-
tion.
The following settings and functions are available in the 
common, lower section of the dialog:
Wet mix/Dry mix
These two sliders allow you to specify the balance be-
tween wet (processed) and dry (original) signal in the re-
sulting clip. 
Normally the two sliders are “reverse-ganged”, so that 
raising the Wet mix slider lowers the Dry mix slider by the 
same amount. However, if you press [Alt]/[Option] and 
drag a slider, you can move it independently. This allows 
you to set e.g. 80% dry and 80% wet signal. Be careful to 
avoid distortion.
Tail
This parameter is useful if you are applying an effect that 
adds material after the end of original audio (such as re-
verb and delay effects). When the checkbox is activated, 
you can specify a tail length using the slider. The tail time 
is included when playing back with the Preview function, 
allowing you to find the appropriate tail length.
Pre/Post-CrossFade
These settings allow you to gradually mix the effect in or 
out. If you activate Pre-CrossFade and specify a value of 
e.g. 1000 ms, the effect will be applied gradually from the 
start of selection, reaching full effect 1000 ms after the 
start. Similarly, if you activate Post-CrossFade, the pro-
cessing will gradually be removed starting at the specified 
interval before the end of the selection.
Preview button
Allows you to listen to the result of the processing with the 
current settings. Playback will continue repeatedly until 
you click the button again (the button is labeled “Stop” 
during Preview playback). You can change the effect set-
tings during Preview playback if needed.
Process button
Applies the effect and closes the dialog.
Cancel button
Closes the dialog without applying the effect.
!The sum of the Pre- and Post-CrossFade times can-
not be larger than the length of the selection.