Steinberg Nuendo 4 Plug In Reference Manual

							51
The included effect plug-ins
MixerDelay
The MixerDelay is a tool that allows you to adjust and ma-
nipulate each individual channel in a surround track, group 
or bus. Each channel has the following controls:
 Level faders allow you to fine-tune the volume balance between 
the surround channels.
 Mute and Solo buttons are useful for listening to individual 
channels, etc.
 Phase switches let you invert the phase or polarity for individ-
ual channels.
 Delay controls allow you to delay individual speaker channels. 
The delay times are shown in milliseconds and centimeters, 
making this feature very useful for distance compensation when 
playing back surround mixes on different speaker setups, etc. 
It is common for the center channel in a 5.1 speaker configuration to be 
closer to the mix position in order to accommodate large video monitors 
or projection screens. In cases like this, Mixerdelay can be used to com-
pensate for the center channel being too close. Simply adjust the delay 
for the center channel by the difference in distance (in cm) between it 
and the other speakers to the mix position. You must delay the closer 
speaker so that the sound from it arrives at the same time as the sound 
from the more distant speakers. Note that Mixerdelay has a wide range 
(up to 1000 ms) and fine adjustments are best made by numerically en-
tering the delay time in centimeters for speaker alignment.
 The channel routing section lets you select/switch the desired 
outputs for the channels quickly. You can assign the same 
output to several channels by holding down the [Alt]/[Option] 
key while selecting. Note that there are also several channel 
routing presets available. (Simply click the “Select Presets” 
button on the common panel to open a pop-up menu listing 
the available presets.)
Finally there is a common panel to the right with global but-
tons for turning off Mute, Solo and Input Phase switches for 
all channels.
SurroundDither
SurroundDither is not an “effect” as such. Dithering is a 
method for controlling the noise produced by quantization 
errors in digital recordings. The theory behind this is that 
during low level passages, only a few bits are used to rep-
resent the signal, which leads to quantization errors and 
hence distortion. For example, when “truncating bits”, as a 
result of moving from 24- to 16-bit resolution, quantization 
errors are added to an otherwise immaculate recording. By 
adding a special kind of noise at an extremely low level, the 
effect of these errors is minimized. The added noise could 
be perceived as a very low-level hiss under exacting listen-
ing conditions. However, this is hardly noticeable and much 
preferred to the distortion that otherwise occurs.
!The MixerDelay is not a mixer – the number of out-
puts is the same as the number of inputs. If you need 
to mix down a surround signal to stereo, you should 
use the Mix6to2, Mix8to2 or Mixconvert plug-ins. 
						

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The included effect plug-ins
When should I use SurroundDither?
Basically anytime you mix down to a lower resolution, ei-
ther in real-time (playback) or with the Export Audio Mix-
down function, you should consider dithering.
Since SurroundDither is capable of dithering up to six 
channels at the same time, it is recommended if you’re us-
ing surround channels.
If not, you may want to use the UV22 HR instead, see “Mastering – UV 22 
HR” on page 28.
The following options can be set in the SurroundDither 
control panel:
Dithering Type
There are no hard and fast rules for the following options, 
it all depends on the type of material you are processing. 
We recommend that you experiment and let your ears be 
the final judge:
Noise Shaping Options (Off, Type 1–3)
This parameter alters the character of the noise added 
when dithering. Again, there are no fixed general rules, but 
you may notice that the higher the number selected here, 
the more the noise is moved out of the ear’s most sensitive 
range, the mid-range.
Ditherbits
This is used to specify the intended bit resolution for the 
final result. 
The section has six buttons, one for each channel.
Above each button there are six corresponding value 
fields that display the bit resolution the files will be con-
verted to. 
Clicking a button several times cycles through the available bit resolution 
values. 
An Example 
Say you have set up a project to record 24-bit files. After 
completion, you want to create a digital 16-bit master for 
CD burning. Proceed as follows:
1.Add SurroundDither to a post fader insert effect slot 
for the output bus.
I.e. in one of the last two slots.
2.Open the control panel for SurroundDither, and select 
the Dithering and Noise Shaping Type.
3.Set the Ditherbit destination to “16” for all the master 
mix outputs currently used, as defined in the VST Connec-
tions dialog.
If you are not using Surround channels, this will be Channel 1 and 2.
4.When you now play back the Project, the digital out-
puts of your audio hardware will output the mix with 16-bit 
resolution, with dithering applied.
Option Description
Off No dithering is applied.
Type 1 Try this first, it is the most “allround” type.
Type 2 This method emphasizes higher frequencies more than 
Type 1. 
						

							53
The included effect plug-ins
Tools plug-ins
This section describes the plug-ins in the “Tools” category.
MultiScope 
The MultiScope can be used for viewing the waveform, 
phase linearity or frequency content of a signal. There are 
three different modes:
 Oscilloscope (Ampl.)
 Phase Correlator (Scope)
 Frequency Spectrum analyzer (Freq.)
Ampl (Oscilloscope) mode
To view a signal waveform, open the MultiScope control 
panel and make sure that the button “Ampl.” in the lower 
left corner is lit.
If the source signal is stereo you can now select either 
the Left or Right channel for viewing, or Stereo for both 
channels to be shown in the window. If it is a Mono signal, 
this won’t matter.
If the MultiScope is used with a multi-channel track or 
output bus, you can select any speaker channel for view-
ing, or All Channels to view them all at once.You can now adjust the Amplitude knob to increase/de-
crease the vertical size of the waveform, and the fre-
quency knob to select the frequency area for viewing.
The “Freeze” button can be used to freeze the display 
for all three Scope modes.
Click it again to exit freeze mode.
Phase Correlator mode
To select the phase correlator, click the “Scope” button 
so that it lights up. The phase correlator indicates the 
phase and amplitude relationship between channels in a 
stereo pair or a surround configuration.
For stereo pairs, the indications work in the following way:
 A vertical line indicates a perfect mono signal (the left and 
right channels are the same).
 A horizontal line indicates that the left channel is the same as 
the right, but with an inverse phase.
 A random but fairly round shape indicates a well balanced ste-
reo signal. If the shape “leans” to the left, there is more energy 
in the left channel and vice versa (the extreme case of this is if 
one side is muted, in which case the Phase Meter will show a 
straight line, angled 90° to the other side).
 A perfect circle indicates a sine wave on one channel, and the 
same sine wave shifted by 90° on the other. 
						

							54
The included effect plug-ins
 Generally, the more you can see a “thread”, the more bass in 
the signal, and the more “spray-like” the display, the more high 
frequencies in the signal.
When the MultiScope is used with a surround channel in 
Scope mode, the pop-up menu to the right of the Scope 
button determines the result:
If “Stereo (Front)” is selected, the display will indicate 
the phase and amplitude relationship between the front 
stereo channels.
If “Surround” is selected, the display indicates the 
energy distribution in the surround field.
Frequency Spectrum Analyzer
Click on the “Freq” button so that it lights up in yellow.
The MultiScope is now in Frequency Spectrum analyze mode, and will 
divide the frequency spectrum into separate vertical bands, which allows 
you to get a visual overview of the different frequencies’ relative ampli-
tude. The frequency bands are shown left to right, starting with the lower 
frequencies.
If the source signal is stereo you can now select either 
the Left or Right channel for viewing, or Stereo for both 
channels to be shown in the window. If it is a Mono signal, 
this won’t matter.If the MultiScope is used with a multi-channel track or 
output bus, you can select any speaker channel for view-
ing, or All Channels to view them all at once.
Adjust the Amplitude knob to increase/decrease the 
vertical range of the bands.
By adjusting the Frequency knob, you can divide the 
frequency spectrum into 8, 15, or 31 bands, or you can 
select “Spectrum”, which shows a high resolution view.
Use the Mode A and Mode B buttons to switch be-
tween different view modes.
Mode A is more graphically detailed, showing a solid, blue amplitude bar 
for each band. Mode B is less detailed, showing a continuous blue line that 
displays the peak levels for each band. These view modes don’t have any 
effect if you have selected “Spectrum” with the Frequency knob.
SMPTEGenerator 
This plug-in is not an effect device. It sends out SMPTE 
time code to an audio output, allowing you to synchronize 
other equipment to Nuendo (provided that the equipment 
can sync directly to SMPTE time code). This can be very 
useful if you don’t have access to a MIDI-to-time code 
converter.
The following items and parameters are available:
Still Button
Activate this to make the device generate SMPTE time code at the current 
cursor position in stop mode.
Generate Button
Activate this to make the device generate SMPTE time code.  
						

							55
The included effect plug-ins
Link Button
This synchronizes the time code output to the Transport time positions. 
When Link is activated, the time code output will exactly match the play 
position in Nuendo. 
Activating the Generate button makes the device send the SMPTE time 
code in “free run” mode, meaning that it will output continuous time 
code, independently from the transport status in Nuendo. If you wish to 
“stripe” a tape with SMPTE, you should use this mode.
Start Time
This sets the time at which the SMPTE Generator starts, when activated 
in “free run” mode (Link button off). To change the Start time, click on a 
digit and move the mouse up or down.
Current Time
When Link is on this shows the current position in Nuendo. If Link is off it 
shows the current time of the SMPTE Generator in “free run” mode. This 
cannot be set manually.
Framerate
This defaults to the frame rate set in the Project Setup dialog. If you wish 
to generate time code in another frame rate than the Project is currently 
set to (for example to stripe a tape), you can select another format on the 
Framerate pop-up (provided that “Link” is off). 
Note, however, that for the other device to synchronize correctly with Nu-
endo, the framerate has to be the same in the Project Setup dialog, the 
SMPTE Generator and in the receiving device.
Example – Synchronizing a device to Nuendo
Proceed as follows:
1.Connect the SMPTE Generator as an insert effect on 
an audio channel, and route the output of that channel to a 
separate output.
Make sure that no other insert or send effects are used on the time code 
channel. You should also disable EQ, if this is active.
2.Connect the corresponding output on the audio hard-
ware to the time code input on the device you wish to syn-
chronize to Nuendo.
Make all necessary settings in the other device, so that it is set to syn-
chronize to incoming timecode.
3.Adjust the level of the time code if needed, either in 
Nuendo or in the receiving device.
Activate Generate button (make the device send the SMPTE time code 
in “free run” mode) to test the level.
4.Make sure that the frame rate in the receiving device 
matches the frame rate set in the SMPTE Generator.
5.Activate the Link button.
The SMPTE Generator will now output time code that matches the posi-
tion of the Nuendo Transport panel.
Press Play on the Nuendo Transport panel.
The other device is now synchronized and will follow any position 
changes set with the Nuendo transport controls.
Drag offset for display
If you want to enter an offset, click with the mouse into the 
display and drag upwards or downwards to change the val-
ues. This enters a display offset - the current cursor position 
will not be affected. In Generate mode this offsets the Start 
Time, in Link mode it offsets the generated Timecode.
TestGenerator
This utility allows you to generate an audio signal, which 
can be recorded as an audio file. The resulting file can 
then be used for a number of purposes:
 For testing the specifications of audio equipment.
 For measurements of various kinds, including calibrating tape 
recorders.
 For testing signal processing methods.
 For educational purposes.
The TestGenerator is based on a waveform generator 
which can generate a number of basic waveforms such as 
sine and saw and various types of noise. In addition, you 
can also set the frequency and amplitude of the generated 
signal. 
						

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The included effect plug-ins
As soon as you add the TestGenerator as an effect to an 
audio track and activate it, a signal is generated. You can 
then activate recording as usual to record an audio file ac-
cording to the signal specifications:
Parameter Description
Waveforms By clicking these buttons, you select the basis for the 
signal generated by the waveform generator. You can se-
lect between four basic waveforms: Sine, Square, Saw-
tooth and Triangle, or three types of noise (white, brown 
and pink noise – from left to right).
Frequency This controls the frequency of the generated signal, from 
1 Hz to 20000 Hz.
Gain This controls the amplitude of the signal. The higher the 
value (up to 0 dB) the stronger the signal. 
						

							3
MIDI effects 
						

							58
MIDI effects
Introduction
This chapter describes the included MIDI realtime effects 
and their parameters.
How to apply and handle MIDI effects is described in the 
chapter “MIDI realtime parameters and effects” in the Op-
eration Manual.
Arpache 5
A typical arpeggiator accepts a chord (a group of MIDI 
notes) as input, and plays back each note in the chord 
separately, with the playback order and speed set by the 
user. The Arpache 5 arpeggiator does just that, and more. 
Before describing the parameters, let’s look at how to cre-
ate a simple, typical arpeggio:
1.Select a MIDI track and activate monitoring (or record 
enable it) so that you can play “thru” the track.
Check that the track is properly set up for playback to a suitable MIDI in-
strument.
2.Select and activate the arpeggiator.
For now, use it as an insert effect for the selected track.
3.In the arpeggiator panel, use the Quantize setting to 
set the arpeggio speed.
The speed is set as a note value, relative to the project tempo. For exam-
ple, setting Quantize to “16” means the arpeggio will be a pattern of six-
teenth notes.
4.Use the Length setting to set the length of the arpeg-
gio notes.
This allows you to create staccato arpeggios (Length smaller than the 
Quantize setting) or arpeggio notes that overlap each other (Length 
greater than Quantize).
5.Set the Semi-Range parameter to 12.
This will make the notes arpeggiate within an octave.
6.Play a chord on your MIDI instrument.
Now, instead of hearing the chord, you will hear the notes of the chord 
played one by one, in an arpeggio.
7.Try the different arpeggio modes by clicking the Play-
mode buttons.
The symbols on the buttons indicate the playback order for the notes (up, 
down, up+down, etc.). The Play Order settings are described below.
Parameters
The Arpache 5 has the following settings:
Setting Description
Playmode 
buttonsAllows you to select the playback order for the arpeggi-
ated notes. The options are down+up, up+down, up, 
down, random (“?” button) and “Order off”, in which case 
you can set the playback order manually with the Play Or-
der fields below.
Quantize Determines the speed of the arpeggio, as a note value re-
lated to the project tempo. The range is 32T (1/32 note 
triplets) to “1.” (dotted note values).
Length Sets the length of the arpeggio notes, as a note value re-
lated to the project tempo. The range is the same as for 
the Quantize setting.
Semi-Range Determines the arpeggiated note range, in semitones 
counted from the lowest key you play. This works as fol-
lows:
– Any notes you play that are outside this range will be 
transposed in octave steps to fit within the range.
– If the range is more than one octave, octave-trans-
posed copies of the notes you play will be added to the 
arpeggio (as many octaves as fit within the range).
Thru If this is activated, the notes sent to the arpeggiator (i.e. 
the chord you play) will be passed through the plug-in 
(sent out together with the arpeggiated notes).
Play  Order If the “Order on” playmode is selected, you can use these 
“slots” to specify a custom playback order for the arpeg-
gio notes:
Each slot corresponds to a position in the arpeggio pat-
tern. For each slot, you specify which note should be 
played on that position by selecting a number. The num-
bers correspond to the keys you play, counted from the 
lowest pressed key.
So, if you play the notes C3-E3-G3 (a C major chord), 
“1” would mean C3, “2” would mean E3, and “3” would 
mean G3. Note that you can use the same number in sev-
eral slots, creating arpeggio patterns that are not possi-
ble using the standard play modes. 
						

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MIDI effects
Arpache SX
This is an even more versatile and advanced arpeggiator, 
capable of creating anything from traditional arpeggios to 
complex, sequencer-like patterns. The Arpache SX has 
the following parameters:
Seq mode
When Seq mode is selected in the Arp Style section, the 
Arpache SX uses an additional MIDI part as a pattern. This 
pattern then forms the basis for the arpeggio, in conjunc-
tion with the MIDI input.
To import a MIDI part into the Arpache SX, drag it from 
the Project window and drop it in the “Drop a MIDI Part” 
section on the Arpache SX.
Now, the notes in the dropped MIDI part will be sorted in-
ternally, either according to their pitch (“Sort Phrase by 
Pitch” checkbox activated) or according to their play order 
in the part. This results in a list of numbers. For example, if 
the notes in the MIDI part are C E G A E C and they are 
sorted according to pitch, the list of numbers will read 1 2 
3 4 2 1. Here, there are 4 different notes/numbers and 6 
trigger positions.
Now the MIDI input (the chord you send into the Arpache 
SX) will also generate a list of numbers, with each note in 
the chord corresponding to a number depending on the 
Sort Mode setting. 
The two lists of numbers will now be matched – the Ar-
pache SX tries to play back the pattern from the dropped 
MIDI file but using the notes from the MIDI input (chord). 
The result depends on the Trigger Mode setting:
Parameter Description
Arp Style Determines the basic behavior of the Arpache SX. In the 
Seq mode, the arpeggiator uses an imported MIDI part 
as a starting point for the pattern – this is described be-
low. All other modes describe how the notes in the chord 
you play should be arpeggiated – up, down, up & down, 
mostly up or mostly down.
Quantize Determines the resolution of the arpeggio, i.e. its “speed”. 
The “Source” setting is used in Seq mode, see below.
Length Determines the length of the arpeggio notes. The 
“Source” setting is used in Seq mode, see below.
Transpose When a mode other than “Off” is selected, the arpeggio 
will be expanded upwards, downwards or both (depend-
ing on the mode). This is done by adding transposed re-
peats of the basic arpeggio pattern. The “Octave” setting 
sets the number of transposed repeats and the “Semi-
Steps” setting determines how much each repeat will be 
transposed.
Play Mode See the description of Seq mode below!
Trigger Mode See the description of Seq mode below!
Velocity Source Determines the velocity of the notes in the arpeggio. The 
options are Seq (used in Seq mode only), Input (the 
same as the velocity values of the corresponding notes in 
the chord you play) or Fixed, in which case all arpeggio 
notes will get the velocity set in the value field to the right.
Thru If this is activated, the notes sent to the arpeggiator (i.e. 
the chord you play) will be passed through the plug-in 
(sent out together with the arpeggiated notes).
Poly Determines how many notes should be accepted in the 
input chord. The “All” setting means there are no limita-
tions.
Sort Mode When you play a chord into the Arpache SX, the arpeg-
giator will look at the notes in the chord as sorted in the 
order specified here. For example, if you play a C-E-G 
chord, with “Note Lowest” selected, C will be the first 
note, E will be the second and G the third. This affects 
the result of the Arp Style setting.
Trigger Mode Description
Trigger The whole pattern from the dropped MIDI file will be 
played back, but transposed according to one of the 
notes in the MIDI input. Which note is used for transpos-
ing depends on the Sort Mode setting.
Trigger Cnt. As above, but even when all keys are released, the 
phrase continues playing from the last position (where it 
stopped), when a new key is pressed on the keyboard. 
This is typically used when playing “live” through the Ar-
pache SX. Parameter Description 
						

							60
MIDI effects
Finally, the Play Mode setting affects the resulting arpeggio. 
Note also that you can choose to keep the original note tim-
ing, note length and note velocities from the dropped MIDI 
part, by selecting “Source” in the Quantize and Length 
fields, and “Seq” in the Velocity Source section.
Autopan
This plug-in works a bit like an LFO in a synthesizer, allow-
ing you to send out continuously changing MIDI controller 
messages. One typical use for this is automatic MIDI pan-
ning (hence the name), but you can select any MIDI Con-
tinuous Controller event type. The Autopan effect has the 
following parameters:
Waveform selectors
These determine the shape of the controller curves sent 
out. The results of most of these waveforms are obvious 
from looking at the buttons, but a few of them require 
some extra explanations:
This generates a “random” controller curve.
These generate curves with a “periodical envelope”. The amplitude will 
gradually increase or decrease over a time, set with the Period parame-
ter (see below).
Period
This is where you set the speed of the Autopan, or rather 
the length of a single controller curve cycle. The value can 
be set in ticks (1/480ths of quarter notes), or as rhythmi-
cally exact note values (by clicking the arrow buttons next 
to the value). The lower the note value, the slower the 
speed. For example, if you set this to 240 (“8th”) the 
waveform will be repeated every eighth note.
Density
This determines the density of the controller curves sent 
out. The value can be set in ticks (1/480ths of quarter 
notes), or as rhythmically exact note values (by clicking the 
arrow buttons next to the value). The higher the note value, 
the smoother the controller curve. For example, if you set 
this to 60 (shown as “32th”) a new controller event will be 
sent out every 60th tick (at every 1/32 note position).
Sort Normal Matches the notes in the MIDI input to the notes in the 
dropped MIDI part. If there are fewer notes (numbers) in 
the MIDI input, some steps in the resulting arpeggio will 
be empty.
Sort First As above, but if there are fewer notes in the MIDI input, 
the missing notes will be replaced by the first note.
Sort Any As above, but if there are fewer notes in the MIDI input, 
the missing notes will be replaced by any (random) note.
Arp. Style As above, but if there are fewer notes in the MIDI input, 
the missing notes will be replaced by the last valid note in 
the arpeggio. Trigger Mode Description
!You should probably avoid extremely low Density val-
ues, as these will generate a very large number of 
events (which may cause the MIDI instrument to 
“choke”, delaying notes etc.).