Steinberg Nuendo 4 Operation Manual

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Track Quick Controls
Setting up quick controls on an 
external remote controller
Quick controls become really powerful when used in com-
bination with a remote controller.
Setting up the connection between the slots on the Quick 
Controls Inspector tab and a remote control device is 
easy. Proceed as follows:
1.In Nuendo, open the Device Setup dialog from the De-
vices menu.
2.In the Devices list on the left, select the Quick Con-
trols option.
This will open the Quick Controls section on the right of 
the dialog:
3.With your remote controller device connected to Nu-
endo via MIDI, select the corresponding MIDI port on your 
computer in the MIDI Input pop-up (or select “All MIDI In-
puts”).
If your remote controller has its own MIDI input and supports MIDI feed-
back, you can connect your computer to the device input. Then, select 
the corresponding MIDI port in the MIDI Output pop-up.
4.Click “Apply” to apply your settings.
5.Select “QuickControl1” in the “Control Name” column.
6.Move the control (knob, fader or other) on your remote 
control device that you want to use for the first quick con-
trol.7.In the Device Setup dialog, click the Learn button.
8.Repeat the last 3 steps for the other quick controls.
You have now associated the slots on the Quick Control 
tab with control elements on your external remote control-
ler. Moving a control element will automatically change the 
value of the parameter assigned to the corresponding 
quick control.
The remote controller setup for quick controls is saved 
globally, i. e. independent of any projects.
If you have various remote controllers, you can store and load several 
quick control setups using the Export and Import buttons. 
						

							25
MIDI realtime parameters and effects 
						

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MIDI realtime parameters and effects
Introduction
For each MIDI track, you can set up a number of track pa-
rameters, or modifiers, and MIDI effects. These affect how 
the MIDI data is played back, “transforming” MIDI events 
in real time before they are sent to the MIDI outputs.
On the following pages, the available parameters and ef-
fects are described. Keep in mind:
 The actual MIDI events will not be affected – the changes 
happen “on the fly”.
 Since the modifier settings don’t change the actual MIDI data 
on the track, they will not be reflected in the MIDI editors. To 
convert the track settings to “real” MIDI events, use the Freeze 
MIDI Modifiers function or the Merge MIDI in Loop function 
(see “Making your settings permanent” on page 357).
The Inspector – General handling
The MIDI modifiers and effects are set up in the Inspector 
(although some settings are available in the mixer as well). 
Here’s a brief rundown on how to handle the Inspector:
To show or hide the Inspector, click the Inspector icon 
on the Project window toolbar.
For a MIDI track, up to nine sections are available. 
Which of these sections are displayed in the Inspector is 
determined in the setup context menu or the Setup dialog 
of the Inspector.
For information about setting up the Inspector, see “The Setup dialogs” 
on page 506.
You can fold or unfold the sections individually by click-
ing on the section name.
Clicking the name for a hidden section brings it to view and hides the 
other sections. [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking the tab allows you to hide or 
show a section without affecting other sections. Finally, [Alt]/[Option]-
clicking a tab shows or hides all sections in the Inspector.
The Inspector for a MIDI track.
ÖFolding or hiding (via the Setup dialog) a section does 
not affect the functionality but merely hides the section 
from view. 
This means your settings will still be active even if you fold or hide the In-
spector settings. 
						

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MIDI realtime parameters and effects
Basic track settings
The topmost Inspector section contains the basic settings 
for the selected MIDI track.
These are settings that either affect the basic functionality 
for the track (mute, solo, enable record, etc.) or send out 
additional MIDI data to the connected devices (program 
change, volume, etc.). The section contains all settings in 
the Track list (see “The Track list” on page 25), with a few 
additional parameters:  
ÖNote that the functionality of the Bank and Patch se-
lector settings (used for selecting sounds in the con-
nected MIDI instrument) depends on the instrument to 
which the MIDI output is routed, and how you have set it 
up in the MIDI Device Manager.
The MIDI Device Manager allows you to specify which MIDI instruments 
and other devices are connected to the various MIDI outputs, thus mak-
ing it possible to select patches by name. See the separate PDF docu-
ment “MIDI Devices” for details about the MIDI Device Manager.
ÖMany of the basic track settings are duplicated in 
“mixer channel strip form” in the MIDI Fader section of the 
Inspector (see below).
Parameter Description
Track name
fieldClick once to show/hide the topmost Inspector section. 
Double-click to rename the track.
Edit button This opens the Channel Settings window for the track (a 
window showing a channel strip with volume fader and 
other controls, along with effect settings – see “Using 
Channel Settings” on page 137).
Mute/Solo 
buttonsMutes or solos the MIDI track.
Read/Write 
buttonsUsed for automating the track settings – see “Enabling 
and disabling the writing of automation data” on page 
214.
Open Device 
Panels buttonIf the MIDI track is routed to a device with a panel, click-
ing this button opens the respective panel. For more in-
formation, see the separate PDF document “MIDI 
Devices”.
Input trans-
former buttonOpens the Input Transformer dialog, allowing you to 
transform incoming MIDI events in real time, see “The In-
put Transformer” on page 397.
Record enable 
buttonActivate this to make the track ready for recording.
Monitor button When this is activated (and the option “MIDI Thru Active” 
is activated in the Preferences–MIDI page), incoming 
MIDI will be routed to the selected MIDI output.
Toggle Time-
base buttonSwitches between musical (tempo related) and linear 
(time related) time base for the track. See “Switching 
between musical and linear time base” on page 40.
Lock button Activate this to disable all editing of all events on the 
track.
Lane Display 
Type buttonAllows you to divide the tracks in lanes. For more about 
lanes, see “Recording audio in Stacked mode” on page 
75.
Volume Use this to adjust the level for the track. Changing this 
setting will move the track’s fader in the mixer window, 
and vice versa. See “Setting volume in the mixer” on page 
132 for more about setting levels.
Pan Use this to adjust the panning of the track. 
Delay This adjusts the playback timing of the MIDI track. Posi-
tive values delay the playback while negative values 
cause the track to play earlier. The values are set in milli-
seconds.
In/Out/Chn 
pop-upsThis is where you select MIDI input, MIDI output and MIDI 
channel for the track.
Edit Instrument 
buttonIf the MIDI track is routed to a VST instrument, clicking 
this button opens the control panel for the VST instru-
ment.
Bank and Patch 
Selector pop-upAllows you to select a sound, see below. (If no bank is 
available, only the Patch selector is shown.)
Apply Track 
Preset buttonAllows you to apply a track preset, see “Applying track 
presets” on page 334. Parameter Description 
						

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MIDI realtime parameters and effects
Other Inspector sections
Apart from the basic track settings (see above), the MIDI 
Modifiers (see “MIDI Modifiers” on page 346) and the ef-
fect sections (see “MIDI effects” on page 348), the Inspec-
tor for a MIDI track also contains the following sections:
The MIDI Fader section
This contains a single channel strip, allowing you to set 
volume, pan, mute/solo and other parameters for the track, 
and a panel view of the active sends/inserts. This is a “mir-
ror” of the track’s channel strip in the Nuendo mixer – see 
“The MIDI channel strips” on page 131.
The Notepad section
This is a standard notepad, allowing you to enter notes 
and comments about the track. Each track has its own 
notepad in the Inspector.
The Network section
This contains controls related to Nuendo’s Network func-
tions. See the Networking pdf document for information.
VST Instrument section
If the MIDI track is routed to a VST Instrument, a new sub-
panel will appear at the bottom of the Inspector, labeled 
with the name of the VST instrument. Clicking this section 
shows a duplicate of the Inspector settings for the VST In-
strument channel. This makes it easy to adjust the channel 
settings for the VST Instrument while you are editing the 
MIDI track.
If the VST Instrument has multiple outputs (and thus 
several mixer channels), there will be a setting called 
“Output” at the top of the VST Instrument section.New sub-panels will also be added in the following cases:
 When a MIDI track is routed to an external instrument or effect 
that has an associated MIDI Device. In this case, the new sub-
panel will get the name of the device.
 When a MIDI track is routed to an effect plug-in that also re-
ceives audio data, i.e. that is used as an insert effect for an au-
dio track (e.g. MIDI Gate), a sub-panel for this audio track 
appears in the MIDI track inspector.
 If a MIDI track is routed to a plug-in assigned to a FX Channel 
track, a corresponding FX sub-panel is added to the Inspector.
ÖFor an easy way to combine MIDI and VST instruments, 
check out instrument tracks (see “VST Instruments and In-
strument tracks” on page 189).
User Panel section
This allows you to display MIDI device panels, which are 
control panels for external hardware. This is described in 
the separate PDF document “MIDI Devices”.
Quick Controls section
This allows you to configure quick controls, e.g. to use re-
mote devices. See the chapter “Track Quick Controls” on 
page 338. 
						

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MIDI realtime parameters and effects
MIDI Modifiers 
The following settings will affect the MIDI events on the 
track in real time during playback. They will also be in ef-
fect if you play “live” with the track selected and record 
enabled (provided that “MIDI Thru Active” is activated on 
the Preferences–MIDI page). This makes it possible to e. g. 
transpose or adjust the velocity of your live playing.
ÖIf you want to compare the result of your modifier set-
tings with the “unprocessed” MIDI, you can use the By-
pass button in the MIDI Modifiers section.
When this is activated, the MIDI Modifiers settings will be temporarily 
disabled. A bypassed section is indicated by a yellow Bypass button.
Transpose
This allows you to transpose all notes on the track in semi-
tones. The available range is -127 to +127 semitones, but 
remember that the total range of MIDI note numbers is 0 
to 127. Furthermore, not all instruments can play back 
notes over the whole range. Therefore, extreme transposi-
tions can give rather strange and unwanted results.
You can also transpose individual MIDI parts using the 
Transpose field in the info line.
The transposition in the info line (for the individual part) is added to the 
transpose value you have set up for the whole track in the Inspector.
ÖThis setting is also affected by the global Transpose 
settings. For detailed information, see the chapter “The 
Transpose functions” on page 114.
Velocity Shift
This setting lets you change the dynamics of all notes on 
the track. The value in this field is added to the velocity of 
each note message that is sent out (use negative values to 
lower the velocities). The range is -127 to +127 with 0 
representing no change in velocity.
Note that the effect of changing the velocity depends on 
the sound and instrument.
ÖYou can also adjust the velocity of events in individual 
MIDI parts using the Velocity field in the info line.
The velocity shift in the info line (for the individual part) is added to the 
velocity shift you have set up for the whole track in the Inspector.
Velocity Compression
This function multiplies the velocity values with the factor 
you specify. This factor is set using a numerator (left value) 
and a denominator (right value), resulting in a fractional 
number (1/2, 3/4, 3/2 etc.). For example, if you set the 
factor to 3/4, the velocities will be three quarters of their 
original values. This will also affect the difference in veloc-
ity between the notes, thus compressing or expanding the 
velocity scale. Typically, you would combine this setting 
with the Velocity Shift parameter. An example:
Let’s say you have three notes with the velocity values 60, 
90 and 120, and wish to “even out” the velocity differ-
ences somewhat. If you set the Velocity Compression 
value to 1/2, the notes will play back with the velocities 
30, 45 and 60. By adding 60 in the Velocity Shift field, the 
notes will play back with the velocities 90, 105 and 120, 
meaning you have compressed the velocity range. 
In a similar way, you can use Velocity Compression values 
greater than 1/1 together with negative values in the Ve-
locity Shift field, to expand the velocity range.
Length Compression
This value adjusts the lengths of all notes on the track. As 
with Velocity Compression, the value is set with a numer-
ator and denominator. For example, the value 2/1 means 
that all note lengths will be doubled, while 1/4 means all 
note lengths will be a quarter of the actual lengths.
!Remember that the maximum velocity is always 127 
no matter how much you try to expand. 
						

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MIDI realtime parameters and effects
Random
The Random settings let you introduce random variations 
to various properties of MIDI notes. Anything from very 
subtle variations to dramatic changes can be applied. 
There are two separate “random generators”, set up in the 
following way:
1.Pull down the Random pop-up menu and select which 
note property should be randomized.
The options are position, pitch, velocity and length. 
ÖKeep in mind that depending on the content of the 
track, certain parameter changes might not be immedi-
ately noticeable or have any effect at all (as would be the 
case if applying random length to a percussion track play-
ing “one-shot” samples for example). 
To best audition the random changes, choose a track with clearly defined 
rhythm and note content (as opposed to a string pad).
2.Set the desired range of random deviation by entering 
values in the two number fields.
The two values govern the limits of the randomization, so that the values 
will vary between the left value and the right value (you cannot set the left 
value higher than the right value). The maximum random range for each 
property is listed in the table below: 
ÖYou can make independent settings for the two ran-
dom generators.
To deactivate the Random function, pull down the Ran-
dom pop-up menu(s) and select “OFF”.
Range
The Range function lets you specify a note (pitch) or ve-
locity range and either force all notes to fit within this 
range, or exclude all notes outside this range from play-
back. As with the Random function, there are two sepa-
rate Range settings. Set them up as follows:
1.Pull down the Range pop-up menu and select one of 
the following four modes:
2.Use the two fields to the right to set the minimum and 
maximum values.
These values will be shown as numbers (0-127) for the velocity modes 
and as note numbers (C-2 to G8) for the pitch modes.
ÖNote that you can make independent settings for the 
two Range functions.
To deactivate the Range function, pull down the Range 
pop-up menu(s) and select “OFF”.
Property Range
Position -500 to +500 ticks
Pitch -120 to +120 semitones
Velocity -120 to +120 
Length -500 to +500 ticks
Mode Description
Vel. Limit This function affects all velocity values outside the speci-
fied range. Velocity values below the Min setting (the 
lower limit of the range) are set to the Min value, and ve-
locity values above the Max setting are set to the Max 
value. Notes with velocity values within the set range are 
not affected. Use this if you want to force all velocity val-
ues to fit within a certain range.
Vel. Filter Velocity Filter works by excluding all notes with velocity 
values outside the specified range. Notes with velocity 
values below the Min setting or above the Max setting will 
not be played back. Use this to “isolate” notes with cer-
tain velocity values.
Note Limit This function allows you to specify a pitch range, and 
forces all notes to fit within this range. Notes outside the 
specified range are transposed up or down in octave 
steps until they fit within the range.
Note: If the range is too “narrow”, so that some notes 
cannot be fit within the range by octave-transposing, 
these notes will get a pitch in the middle of the range. For 
example, if you have a note with a pitch of F3, and the 
range is C4-E4, that note will be transposed to D4.
Note Filter Note Filter works by excluding all notes with pitches out-
side the specified range. Notes lower than the Min set-
ting or higher than the Max setting will not be played 
back. Use this to “isolate” notes with certain pitches. 
						

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MIDI realtime parameters and effects
MIDI effects
Nuendo comes with a number of MIDI effect plug-ins, ca-
pable of transforming the MIDI output from a track in vari-
ous ways.
Just like the MIDI modifiers, MIDI effects are applied in real 
time to the MIDI data played back from the track (or to 
MIDI you play live “thru” the track).
What are MIDI effects?
Although a MIDI effect can be similar to an audio effect, 
it’s important to remember that you’re not processing the 
sound resulting from MIDI playback, but the MIDI data (the 
“instructions” for how the music should be played back). 
A MIDI effect will change properties of the MIDI events 
(e.g. change the pitch of notes) and/or generate new MIDI 
events (for example, a MIDI delay may add new MIDI 
notes, “echoing” the original notes).
ÖThe included MIDI effect plug-ins are described in the 
separate manual “Nuendo Expansion Kit – Cubase Music 
Tools for Nuendo 4”.
Insert and send effects
As with audio effects, there are two ways to route the MIDI 
events on a track to an effect:
ÖIf you add an insert effect, the MIDI events will be sent 
to the effect, which will process the data and pass it on to 
the track’s MIDI output (or to another insert effect).
In other words, the MIDI events will be routed “through” the insert effect.
ÖIf you use a send effect, the MIDI events will be sent 
both to the track’s MIDI output and to the effect.
That is, you will get both the unprocessed MIDI events and the output of 
the MIDI effect. Note that the effect can send its processed MIDI data to 
any MIDI output – not necessarily to the one used by the track.
There are separate sections in the Inspector for MIDI in-
serts and MIDI sends.
MIDI Inserts section
This allows you to add up to four MIDI insert effects. The 
section contains the following items:
ÖEffects that display their controls in the Inspector can 
be opened in a separate control panel window by press-
ing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking the Edit button.
Item Description
Preset Manage-
ment buttonClick this to open the track presets pop-up menu and se-
lect an insert preset or apply an insert from a track preset, 
see “Inserts and EQ settings from track presets” on page 
337.
Bypass button Click this to temporarily disable all insert effects for the 
track (useful for comparing with the unprocessed MIDI, 
etc.).
Inserts section 
tabThis is in blue if an insert effect is activated.
Effect selection 
pop-up menu 
(x 4)Selecting an effect from this pop-up menu automatically 
activates it and brings up its control panel (which can be 
a separate window or a number of settings below the in-
sert slot in the Inspector).
To remove an insert effect completely, select “No Effect”.
On button (x 4) Allows you to turn the selected effect on or off.
Edit button (x4) Click this to bring up the control panel for the selected 
effect. Depending on the effect, this may appear in a sep-
arate window or below the insert slot in the Inspector. 
Clicking the button again hides the control panel. 
						

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MIDI realtime parameters and effects
MIDI Sends section
This allows you to add up to four MIDI send effects. Unlike 
audio send effects, you can select and activate send ef-
fects individually for each track. The section contains the 
following items:
ÖEffects that display their controls in the Inspector can 
be opened in a separate control panel window by press-
ing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking the Edit button.
About presets
Several of the MIDI plug-ins come with a number of pre-
sets for instant use. The controls for handling presets con-
sist of a Presets pop-up menu along with Store (+) and 
Remove (-) buttons.
To load a preset, select it from the Presets pop-up menu.
To store your current settings as a preset, click the (+) 
button to the right.
A dialog appears, asking you to specify a name for the preset. The stored 
preset will then be available for selection from the pop-up menu for all in-
stances of that MIDI plug-in, in all projects.
To remove a stored preset, select it and click the (-) but-
ton to the right.
Item Description
Bypass button Click this to temporarily disable all send effects for the 
track (useful for comparing with the unprocessed MIDI, 
etc.).
Sends section 
tabThis is in blue if any send effect is activated.
Effect selection 
pop-up menu
(x 4)Selecting an effect from this pop-up menu automatically 
activates it and brings up its control panel (which can be 
a separate window or a number of settings below the 
send slot in the Inspector).
To remove a send effect completely, select “No Effect”.
On button 
(x 4)Allows you to turn the selected effect on or off.
Pre/Post button 
(x4)If this is activated, the MIDI signals will be sent to the 
send effects before the MIDI modifiers and insert effects.
Edit button 
(x4)Click this to bring up the control panel for the selected 
effect. Depending on the effect, this may appear in a sep-
arate window or below the sends slot in the Inspector. 
Clicking the button again hides the control panel.
Output pop-up 
menu (x4)This determines to which MIDI output the effect should 
send the processed MIDI events.
Channel setting 
(x4)This determines on which MIDI channel the effect should 
send the processed MIDI events.
Remove button Store button 
						

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MIDI realtime parameters and effects
Applying a MIDI insert effect – an example
Here is a step-by-step example of how to add a MIDI in-
sert effect to a MIDI track:
1.Select the MIDI track and open the Inspector.
2.Open the MIDI Inserts tab in the Inspector.
Alternatively you could use the mixer: bring up the ex-
tended mixer panel and select “Inserts” on the view op-
tions pop-up menu for the track’s channel strip.
3.Click in one of the insert slots to open the MIDI effect 
pop-up menu.
4.Select the desired MIDI effect from the pop-up menu.
The effect is automatically activated (the power button for the insert slot 
lights up) and its control panel appears, either in a separate window or in 
the MIDI Inserts section below the slot (depending on the effect).
Now all MIDI from the track will be routed through the ef-
fect.
5.Use the control panel to make settings for the effect.
All included MIDI effects are described in the separate manual “Nuendo 
Expansion Kit – Cubase Music Tools for Nuendo 4”.
You can bypass the insert effect by clicking its power 
button (above the insert slot).
To bypass all insert effects for the MIDI track, use the 
bypass button in the MIDI Inserts section in the Inspector, 
in the mixer channel strip or in the Track list.
To remove an insert effect, click in its slot and select 
“No Effect”.
Managing plug-ins
Selecting Plug-in Information from the Devices menu 
opens a window in which all loaded plug-ins, audio and 
MIDI, are listed.
To view the MIDI effect plug-ins, click the MIDI Plug-ins 
tab.
The leftmost column allows you to deactivate plug-ins.
This is useful if you have plug-ins installed that you don’t want to use in 
Nuendo. Only plug-ins that are activated (ticked checkbox) will appear 
on the MIDI effect pop-up menus.
Note that plug-ins that are currently in use cannot be deactivated.
The second column shows how many instances of each 
plug-in are currently used in the project.
The remaining columns show various information about 
each plug-in and cannot be edited.