Steinberg Nuendo 5.5 New Features Manual
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Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer, Heike Schilling, Benjamin Schütte This PDF provides improved access for vision-impaired users. Please note that due to the complexity and number of images in this document, it is not possible to include text descriptions of images. The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. Registered licensees of the product described herein may print one copy of this document for their personal use. All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Windows 7 is a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The Mac logo is a trademark used under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks. MP3SURROUND and the MP3SURROUND logo are registered trademarks of Thomson SA, registered in the US and other countries, and are used under license from Thomson Licensing SAS. © Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2011. Release date: July 18, 2011 All rights reserved.
3 Table of Contents 4Welcome! 5Tempo Detection 8Adjusting the Audio to the Project Tempo 9About Time Stretch and Pitch Shift Algorithms 11About Group Editing 12Working With Lanes 15Audio Editing Improvements 16Video Improvements 16VST Amp Rack 21HALion Sonic SE (Nuendo Expansion Kit only) 22LoopMash (Nuendo Expansion Kit only)
4 Introduction Welcome! This document lists and describes features that have been added since the release of Nuendo 5.0. About the Program Versions The documentation covers two different operating systems or “platforms”, Windows and Mac OS X. Some features and settings are specific to one of the platforms. This is clearly stated in the applicable cases. If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for both Windows and Mac OS X. The screenshots are taken from the Windows version of Nuendo. About the Nuendo Expansion Kit The Nuendo Expansion Kit adds a number of music composition functions from Steinberg’s Cubase (the “Cubase Music Tools”) to the standard Nuendo application. The Nuendo Expansion Kit (NEK) is a separate product and can be purchased through your Steinberg dealer. Whenever procedures in this manual use functions available only when the NEK is installed, this is indicated in the text by “Nuendo Expansion Kit only”. Key Command Conventions Many of the default key commands in Nuendo use modifier keys, some of which are different depending on the operating system. For example, the default key command for Undo is [Ctrl]-[Z] under Windows and [Command]-[Z] under Mac OS X. When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier key first: [Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key] For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z] means “press [Ctrl] under Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press [Z]”. Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] under Windows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”. This manual refers to right-clicking, for example, to open context menus. If you are using a Mac with a single-button mouse, hold down [Ctrl] and click.
5 Working with the new features Tempo Detection Nuendo offers a powerful tempo detection algorithm that can be used on any rhythmic musical content, even if it has not been recorded to a metronome click and/or contains tempo drift. This feature serves two main purposes: •Analyzing the tempo of freely recorded audio so that other (audio or MIDI) tracks can follow this tempo. •Adjusting freely recorded audio to the project tempo, which can be fixed or variable. Audio Requirements - The audio event has to be at least 7 seconds long. - Musical Mode has to be deactivated for the clip. - The track has to be set to linear timebase (this happens automatically). - The audio material needs to have discernible beats. The Tempo Detection Panel The Tempo Detection Panel contains the functions for analyzing the tempo of an audio event. It is opened via the Project menu. In the top section of the panel, the name of the selected audio event is shown. Below the name, the Analyze button is located. Click this button to start the tempo detection for an event. The middle section contains several functions for correcting and fine-tuning the detected tempo curve. These functions are described in the section “Correcting and Fine-Tuning the Detected Tempo Map” on page 6. The arrow buttons at the bottom right let you change the direction in which the algorithm will analyze the audio material during a manual correction operation. To work backwards, i. e. to reanalyze the beginning of the tempo curve, activate the left arrow button (see “The Beginning Of The Tempo Curve Needs To Be Corrected” on page 7).
6 Working with the new featuresTempo Detection With the Reset button at the bottom left you can delete the complete analysis data and start again from scratch. Detecting the Basic Tempo of an Audio Event 1.In the Project window, select the audio event that you want to analyze. 2.On the Project menu, select “Tempo Detection…”. The Tempo Detection Panel opens. 3.Click the Analyze button. The following happens: - A rough tempo map based on the beat analysis is created for the selected audio clip. - A tempo and a signature track are added to the project. - The project will get a 1/4 signature, because the tempo detection only calculates a tempo based on beats, regardless of a musical signature. The signature can be modified later. - The Time Warp Tool is selected for fine-tuning or adjusting the newly generated tempo map. Depending on the rhythmic quality of the source material, the tempo analysis may directly lead to a perfect result. However, if this is not the case, you can apply the correction and fine-tuning functions. To find out whether such actions are necessary, activate the metronome click and play back the project. Correcting and Fine-Tuning the Detected Tempo Map If the metronome click does not match the audio perfectly, perform any of the following operations, depending on the situation. The Detected Tempo Is Too Fast Or Too Slow •To double or halve the detected tempo, use the “Multiply by 2” and “Divide by 2” buttons. •To adjust the detected tempo with a factor of 3/4 or 4/3, use the “Multiply by 4/3” and “Multiply by 3/4” buttons. Examples: - If your audio is twice as fast as the detected tempo, you can apply the “Multiply by 2” function. - If your audio contains dotted notes or triplets and the algorithm detects 3 beats where 4 are expected, you can apply the 4/3 conversion. - If the actual signature is 2/4 and the algorithm detected 6/8 beats or vice versa, you can apply a 3/4 conversion combined with the “Multiply by 2” function. The Detected Tempo Has Jumps And Spikes Although It Should Be Steady If you get the message that the algorithm has detected irregular tempo changes, even though you know that the material has a more or less steady tempo, you can use the “Smooth Tempo” function. •To retrigger the tempo analysis based on the assumption that the event has a steady tempo, click the “Smooth Tempo” button. Irregular spikes or tempo changes are removed during this analysis. ÖAny tempo events beyond the event timeline will also be removed upon reset. ÖThe Tempo Detection Panel has to be opened specifically for the event that you want to analyze. To analyze another event, close the panel, select the event, and reopen the panel.
7 Working with the new featuresTempo Detection The Detected Tempo Is Off By Half A Beat In some cases, the offbeat of a rhythm might be dominant enough to confuse the beat detection algorithm resulting in an offset. In that case it is necessary to shift the tempo events. •To shift the detected tempo events by half a beat, click the “Offbeat Correction” button. The Tempo Was Not Detected Properly For The Whole Event Sometimes it is impossible for the algorithm to properly detect the tempo for the whole audio event because the audio contains sections played in a different tempo or has special rhythmic characteristics. Manual adjustments are then necessary to create a perfect tempo track. To manually correct tempo events, proceed as follows: 1.With the Tempo Detection Panel still open, play the track from the beginning and listen to the click. It is useful to zoom in on the waveform so that the transients are visible. Using the stationary cursor could be useful as well. 2.Locate the first tempo event that is off. Use the Time Warp Tool to move this tempo event to the correct position. The material to the right of the corrected event will be reanalyzed and the tempo recalculated. 3.Continue listening to the audio until you reach the next misplaced tempo event and repeat the manual correction procedure until you reach the end of the song. The Beginning Of The Tempo Curve Needs To Be Corrected When you edit a tempo event, the tempo curve by default is reanalyzed from the point of editing towards the right. However, if the detection did not produce proper results at the beginning of the event, you can change the direction in which the algorithm works. Proceed as follows: 1.At the bottom of the Tempo Detection Panel, activate the left arrow button to change the direction of reanalysis. 2.Locate the first correct tempo event at the beginning of the audio and use the Time Warp tool to move the corresponding tempo event slightly back and forth to trigger a backwards detection. The tempo at the beginning of the audio event is corrected and new events are added where necessary. The Audio Material Contains Sections With Different Tempos In some cases, a track may include multiple sections with different tempo and the tempo detection might stop at the position of a tempo change or pause in the audio. If the manual adjustment of individual tempo events does not give you the desired results for files with varying tempo, you can cut the audio event at each major tempo change and perform the tempo detection for each of the resulting sections independently. Finishing Once the tempo map is correct, close the Tempo Detection Panel. You can now set up signature events with the correct time signature. ÖRemember that each cut needs to have a length of at least 7 seconds.
8 Working with the new featuresAdjusting the Audio to the Project Tempo Adjusting the Audio to the Project Tempo If you want freely recorded audio to follow a fixed tempo or a different project tempo, you can use the Set Definition From Tempo dialog to save the tempo information from the tempo track in the corresponding audio clips. Proceed as follows: 1.Select the audio events that you want to have follow the project tempo. For example, this could be the individual tracks in a multi-track drum session. 2.On the Audio menu, open the Advanced submenu and select the “Set Definition From Tempo…” option. The Set Definition From Tempo dialog opens. 3.Select whether you want to save the tempo information in the project file only or in the selected audio clips. Writing the definition into the audio files allows you to use these in other projects, complete with tempo information. 4.Select if you want to set all tracks to musical timebase. If you do not activate this option, only the tracks containing the selected events are set to musical timebase. 5.Click OK. The tempo information is now copied into the selected audio clips and the tracks are set to musical timebase. Furthermore, Musical Mode is activated for the audio events. The audio tracks will now follow any tempo changes in the project. Therefore, you can disable the tempo track and set a fixed tempo for your project or edit the tempo track for a new tempo map. Warping is applied to the events to match the tempo. By default, the “élastique Pro Time” time shifting algorithm is applied, which should lead to the best-quality results. !If you have placed audio events referring to the same audio clip at different positions on the timeline and you apply the “Set Definition From Tempo” function simultaneously to these events, new audio files are written for all the events except the first.
9 Working with the new featuresAbout Time Stretch and Pitch Shift Algorithms About Time Stretch and Pitch Shift Algorithms In Nuendo, time stretching and pitch shifting algorithms are used for numerous operations (e. g. the Time Stretch and Pitch Shift offline processes, in the Sample Editor, or by the Flatten function). Depending on the feature, some or all of the following algorithm presets are available. élastique The élastique algorithm is suited for both polyphonic and monophonic material. The algorithm has three modes, and there are three presets for each mode. The following modes are available: - élastique Pro – This mode offers the best audio quality, without formant preservation. - élastique Pro Formant – This is the same as the Pro mode, but including formant preservation. - élastique efficient – This mode requires less computing powers, but has a lower audio quality than the Pro modes. These modes are available with the following variants: - Time – Timing accuracy is favored over pitch accuracy. - Pitch – Pitch accuracy is favored over timing accuracy. - Tape – The pitch shift is locked to the time stretch (as when playing back a tape with varying speed). Stretching the audio material to a longer duration automatically decreases its pitch. This variant has no effect when used in combination with event transpose or the transpose track. MPEX MPEX is an alternative high-quality algorithm. You can choose between the following quality settings : OptionDescription MPEX – Preview QualityUse this mode only for preview purposes. MPEX – Mix FastThis mode is a very fast mode for preview. This works best with composite music signals (mono or stereo material). MPEX – Solo FastUse this mode for single instruments (monophonic material) and voice. MPEX – Solo MusicalSame as above but higher quality. MPEX – Poly FastUse this for processing monophonic and polyphonic material. This is the fastest setting that gives still very good results. You can use this for drum loops, mixes, chords. MPEX – Poly MusicalUse this for processing monophonic and polyphonic material. This is the recommended MPEX default quality setting. You can use this for drum loops, mixes, chords. MPEX – Poly ComplexThis high quality setting is quite CPU-intensive and should be used only when processing difficult material or for stretch factors above 1.3. ÖWhen applying the Pitch Shift process, you can choose between the regular setting and a setting where the formants are preserved for each quality setting.
10 Working with the new featuresAbout Time Stretch and Pitch Shift Algorithms Standard The Standard algorithm is optimized for CPU efficient realtime processing. The following presets are available: If you select the “Standard – Custom” option, a dialog opens where you can manually adjust the three parameters that govern the sound quality of the time stretching: OptionDescription Standard – DrumsThis mode is best for percussive sounds, because it does not change the timing of your audio. Using this option with certain tuned percussion instruments may lead to audible artifacts. In this case, try the Mix mode as an alternative. Standard – PluckedUse this mode for audio with transients and a relatively stable spectral sound character (e. g. plucked instruments). Standard – PadsUse this mode for pitched audio with slower rhythm and a stable spectral sound character. This minimizes sound artifacts, but the rhythmic accuracy is not preserved. Standard – VocalsThis mode is suitable for slower signals with transients and a prominent tonal character (e. g. vocals). Standard – MixThis mode preserves the rhythm and minimizes the artifacts for pitched material that does not meet the above criteria (i. e. with a less homogenous sound character). This preset is selected by default for audio that is not categorized. Standard – Custom This preset allows you to manually tweak the time stretching parameters (see below). By default, the settings that are shown when you open the dialog are those of the last preset used (except if the Solo preset has been selected, see below). Standard – SoloThis mode preserves the timbre of the audio. Only use it for monophonic material (solo woodwind/brass instruments or solo vocals, monophonic synths or string instruments that do not play harmonies). ParameterDescription Grain sizeThe standard time-stretching algorithm splits the audio into small pieces called “grains”. This parameter determines the size of the grains. For material with many transients, use low grain size values for best results. OverlapOverlap is the percentage of the whole grain that will overlap with other grains. Use higher values for material with a stable sound character. VarianceVariance is also a percentage of the whole length of the grains, and sets a variation in positioning so that the overlapping area sounds smooth. A Variance setting of 0 will produce a sound akin to time stretching used in early samplers, whereas higher settings produce more (rhythmic) “smearing” effects but less audio artifacts.