Steinberg Nuendo 5 Manual

							91
Recording
Background
This chapter describes the various recording methods 
that you can use in Nuendo. As it is possible to record 
both audio and MIDI tracks, both recording methods are 
covered in this chapter.
Before you start
This chapter assumes that you are reasonably familiar with 
certain basic recording concepts, and that the following 
initial preparations have been made:
•You have properly set up, connected and calibrated 
your audio hardware. 
•You have opened a project and set the project setup 
parameters to your specifications.
Project setup parameters determine the record format, sample rate, 
project length, etc. that affect the audio recordings you make during the 
course of the project, see 
“The Project Setup dialog” on page 57.
•If you plan to record MIDI, your MIDI equipment has to 
be set up and connected correctly.
Basic recording methods
This section describes the general methods used for re-
cording. However, there are additional preparations and 
procedures that are specific to audio and MIDI recording 
respectively. Make sure to read these sections before you 
start recording (see 
“Audio recording specifics” on page 
93 and “MIDI recording specifics” on page 103).
Record-enabling tracks
Nuendo can record on a single track or on several tracks 
(audio and/or MIDI) simultaneously. To make a track ready 
for recording, activate the Record Enable button for the 
track in the track list, in the Inspector, or in the Mixer.
Record Enable in the Inspector, track list, and Mixer
ÖIf the “Enable Record on Selected Track” option is ac-
tivated in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Project & Mixer 
page), tracks are automatically record-enabled when you 
select them in the track list.
ÖYou can set up key commands to record-enable all 
audio tracks simultaneously and to deactivate Record En
-
able for all audio tracks (Arm/Disarm all Audio Tracks). 
You will find these commands in the Key Commands dia
-
log, in the Mixer category (see “Setting up key commands” 
on page 581).
ÖThe exact number of audio tracks you can record si-
multaneously depends on your computer CPU and hard 
disk performance. In the Preferences dialog (VST page), 
you can find the “Warn on Processing Overloads” option. 
When this is activated, a warning message will be dis
-
played as soon as the CPU clip indicator (on the Trans-
port panel) lights up during recording. 
						

							92
Recording
Manually activating recording
You activate recording by clicking the Record button on 
the Transport panel or toolbar or by using the correspond
-
ing key command (by default [*] on the numeric keypad).
Recording can be activated in Stop mode (from the current 
cursor position or from the left locator) or during playback:
•If you activate recording in Stop mode, and the “Start 
Record at Left Locator” option is activated on the Trans
-
port menu, recording will start from the left locator.
The pre-roll setting or the metronome count-in will be applied (see 
“About Pre-roll and Post-roll” on page 108).
•If you activate recording in Stop mode, and “Start Record 
at Left Locator” is deactivated, recording will start from the 
current project cursor position.
•If you activate recording during playback, Nuendo will 
immediately enter Record mode and start recording from 
the current project cursor position.
This is known as “manual punch in”.
Activating recording in Sync mode
If you are synchronizing the Nuendo transport to external 
equipment (Sync is activated on the Transport panel) and 
you activate recording, the program will go into “record 
ready” mode (the record button on the Transport panel 
will light up). In this case, recording will start when a valid 
timecode signal is received (or when you click the Play 
button). See the chapter 
“Synchronization” on page 496 
for more information.
Automatically activating recording
Nuendo can automatically switch from playback to record-
ing at a given position. This is known as “automatic punch 
in”. A typical use for this is if you need to replace a section 
of a recording, and want to listen to what is already re
-
corded, up to the recording start position.
1.Set the left locator to the position where you want re-
cording to start.
2.Activate the Punch In button on the Transport panel.
Punch In activated
3.Activate playback from some position before the left 
locator.
When the project cursor reaches the left locator, recording is automati-
cally activated.
Stopping recording
Again, this can be done automatically or manually:
•If you click the Stop button on the Transport panel (or 
use the corresponding key command, by default [0] on the 
numeric keypad), recording is deactivated and Nuendo 
goes into Stop mode.
•If you click the Record button (or use the key command 
for recording, by default [*]), recording is deactivated but 
playback continues.
This is known as “manual punch out”.
•If the Punch Out button is activated on the Transport 
panel, recording will be deactivated when the project cur
-
sor reaches the right locator.
This is known as “automatic punch out”. By combining this with auto-
matic punch in, you can set up a specific section to record – again very 
useful if you want to replace a certain part of a recording (see also 
“Stop after Automatic Punch Out” on page 108).
Punch In and Out activated
Cycle recording
Nuendo can record and play back in a cycle – a loop. You 
specify where the cycle starts and ends by setting the left 
and right locators. When the cycle is active, the selected 
section is seamlessly repeated until you hit Stop or deac
-
tivate cycle mode.
•To activate cycle mode, click the cycle button on the 
Transport panel.
Cycle activated 
						

							93
Recording
•To record in cycle mode, you can start recording from 
the left locator, from before the locators or from within the 
cycle, in Stop mode or during playback.
As soon as the project cursor reaches the right locator, it will jump back 
to the left locator and continue recording a new lap.
•The results of cycle recording depend on the selected 
cycle record mode and are different for audio (see 
“Re-
cording audio in cycle mode” on page 99) and MIDI (see 
“Recording MIDI in cycle mode” on page 105).
Audio pre-record
This feature allows you to capture up to 1 minute of any in-
coming audio you play in Stop mode or during playback, 
“after the fact”. This is possible because Nuendo can cap
-
ture audio input in buffer memory, even when not record-
ing. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Preferences dialog (Record–Audio page).
2.Specify a time (up to 60 seconds) in the “Audio Pre-
Record Seconds” field.
This activates the buffering of audio input, making Pre-Record possible.
3.Make sure an audio track is record-enabled and re-
ceives audio from the signal source.
4.When you have played some audio material you want 
to capture (either in Stop mode or during playback), click 
the Record button.
5.After a few seconds stop the recording.
An audio event is created, starting at where the cursor position was 
when you activated recording. If you were in stop mode and the cursor 
was at the beginning of the project, you may have to move the event to 
the right in the next step. If you were playing along to a project you, leave 
the event where it is.
6.Select the Arrow tool and place the cursor on the bot-
tom left edge of the event so that a double arrow appears, 
then click and drag to the left. 
Now the event is extended and the audio you played before activating 
record is inserted – this means that if you played along during playback, 
the captured notes will end up exactly where you played them in relation 
to the project.
The position where the recording was activated is indicated by a 
colored line in the audio event.
Audio recording specifics
Selecting a recording file format
The format for recorded files is set in the Project Setup di-
alog on the Project menu. There are three settings: Sam-
ple Rate, Bit Resolution, and Record File Type. While the 
sample rate is set once and for all when you start working 
on a new project, the bit resolution and file type can be 
changed at any time.
Record File Type
The Record File Type setting determines which type of 
files will be created when you record:
•If you select Broadcast Wave File or AIFF format, you 
can specify Author, Description and Reference text strings 
that will be embedded in the recorded file.
This is done on the Record–Audio–Broadcast Wave page in the Prefer-
ences dialog.
Bit Resolution
The available options are 16 bit, 24 bit, and 32 bit float. 
Use the following guidelines:
•Normally, select the record format according to the bit 
resolution delivered by your audio hardware.
For example, if your audio hardware has 20 bit A/D converters (inputs), 
you may want to record at 24 bit resolution to capture the full bit resolu
-tion. On the other hand, if your hardware has 16 bit inputs, it is pointless 
to record with a higher bit resolution – this will only make the audio files 
larger, with no difference in audio quality. The exception is if you record 
with effects – see 
“Recording with effects” on page 101.
File typeDescription
Wave FileWave files have the extension “.wav” and are a common 
file format on the PC platform.
Wave 64 File Wave 64 is a proprietary format developed by Sonic 
Foundry Inc. Audio-wise it is identical to the Wave format, 
but the internal file structure makes much larger file sizes 
possible. This is useful for long live recordings in sur
-round format, where the audio files can become huge.
Broadcast  Wave FileIn terms of audio content, the same as regular Wave files, 
but with embedded text strings for supplying additional 
information about the file (see below).
AIFF FileAudio Interchange File Format, a standard defined by Ap-ple Inc. AIFF files have the extension “.aif” and are used 
on most computer platforms. Like Broadcast Wave files, 
AIFF files can contain embedded text strings (see below). 
						

							94
Recording
•The higher the bit resolution, the larger the files and the 
more strain is put on the disk system.
If this is an issue, you may want to lower the record format setting.
RAM requirements for recording
When recording live music performances, or during large 
postproduction projects, you will often simultaneously 
record on a large number of tracks at the same time.
Each track on which you record requires a certain amount 
of RAM, and the memory usage increases the longer the 
recording lasts. 
Please consider the RAM limitation (see “RAM” on page 
24) of your operating system when setting up your project 
for recording.
For each audio channel, 2.4 MB of RAM are required for 
mixer settings, etc. One minute of audio recording with a 
sample rate of 96
 kHz on a mono track will increase mem-
ory usage by another 176 KB (Windows Task Manager, 
average).
Examples:
•Recording on a Windows 32 Bit system with 64 mono 
tracks at a sample rate of 44.1
 kHz, lasting 60 minutes.
This would require a total of 403 MB of memory – not a problem on a 
modern computer.
•Recording on a Windows 32 Bit system with 128 mono 
tracks at a sample rate of 96
 kHz, lasting 60 minutes.
This would require 1658 MB of memory – dangerously close to the 2 GB 
limit for RAM on a Windows 32 Bit computer.
ÖAlso note that the maximum file size for regular Wave 
files is 2
 GB. If you want to record larger files, use the 
Waves 64 format (see 
“Record File Type” on page 93).
Setting up the track
Creating a track and selecting the channel configuration
Audio tracks can be configured as mono, stereo or sur-
round tracks, with almost any combination of channels 
(LCRS, 5.1, 7.1, 10.2, etc). This allows you to record or 
import a file containing multiple channels and treat it as 
one entity, with no need to split it up into several mono 
files, etc. The signal path for an audio track maintains its 
channel configuration all the way from the input bus, via 
EQ, level and other Mixer settings to the output bus.
You specify the channel configuration for a track when you 
create it:
1.Select “Add Audio Track” from the track list context 
menu or the Project menu (or, if an audio track is already 
selected, double-click in an empty area of the track list).
A dialog opens with a channel configuration pop-up menu.
2.Select the desired format from the pop-up menu.
The most common formats are listed directly on the pop-up menu, with 
the remaining surround formats listed on the “More…” submenu. For a 
list of the available surround formats, see 
“Output bus configuration” on 
page 229.
•The Browse item in this dialog allows you to browse 
your disk(s) for created track presets, which can be used 
as a basis (or template) for tracks.
This is described in detail in the chapter “Working with track presets” on page 356.
3.Click the Add Track button.
A track is added, set to the specified channel configuration. In the Mixer, 
a corresponding channel strip appears. You cannot change the channel 
configuration for a track.
Selecting an input bus for a track
Here we assume that you have added and set up the re-
quired input busses (see “Setting up busses” on page 28). 
Before you record, you need to specify from which input 
bus the track will record. You can do this in the Inspector or 
in the Mixer.
!For further information on the options in the Project 
Setup dialog, see 
“The Project Setup dialog” on 
page 57.
!When a recording has used up all the memory made 
available by the operating system, the computer will 
crash. 
						

							95
Recording
•In the Inspector, you select an input bus on the Input 
Routing pop-up menu in the top section.
As described in the section “The Inspector” on page 41, the Inspector 
shows the settings for the selected track.
•In the Mixer, you select an input bus on the Input Rout-
ing pop-up menu at the top of the track’s channel strip.
If this pop-up menu is not shown, you need to open the Mixer Routing 
View by clicking the “Show Routing” button in the extended Mixer com
-mon panel or by selecting “Show Routing View” from the Window sub-
menu of the Mixer context menu. See “Configuring the Mixer” on page 
154 for more information about the Mixer.
Recording from busses
You can also select an output bus, a group bus or an FX 
channel bus as an Input for your recording. 
Let’s assume you want to create a downmix of separate 
tracks, e.
 g. bass drum, hihats, snare, etc. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Set up your separate tracks as desired and add a 
group track.
2.For each of the drum tracks, open the Output Routing 
pop-up menu and select the Group track as output. 
3.Create a new audio track, open the Input Routing pop-
up menu for it and select the Group track as input for this 
audio track.
4.Record enable this audio track and start recording.
Now, the output of the group track will be recorded on the 
new track and you will get a mix of your separate tracks.
ÖYou can also select an FX channel as recording 
source. In this case, only the output of the FX channel will 
be recorded. 
For more information about the routing possibilities, see 
“Routing” on page 168.
Selecting a folder for the recorded audio files 
Each Nuendo project has a project folder containing 
(among other things) an “Audio” folder. By default, this is 
where recorded audio files are stored. However, you can 
select record folders independently for each audio track if 
needed.
Proceed as follows:
1.To select the same record folder for several audio 
tracks, select them by pressing [Shift] or [Ctrl]/[Com
-
mand] and clicking on them in the track list.
2.Right-click the track list for one of the tracks to bring 
up the context menu.
3.Select “Set Record Folder”.
A file dialog opens.
4.Navigate to the desired folder (or create a new folder 
with the Create button).
Tip: if you want to have separate folders for different types of material 
(speech, ambient sounds, music, etc.), you can create subfolders within 
the project’s “Audio” folder and assign different tracks to different sub
-
folders. This way, all audio files will still reside within the project folder, 
which will make managing the Project easier.
•It is possible to have different tracks record to totally dif-
ferent locations, even on different disks. However, if you 
need to move or archive the project, there is a risk of miss
-
ing some files. The solution is to use the “Prepare Archive” 
function in the Pool to gather all external files into the 
project folder first, see 
“Prepare Archive” on page 332.
Click here to select an input bus for 
the track.
Click here to select an input 
bus for the track. Click here to show or hide the 
input and output settings. 
						

							96
Recording
Setting input levels
When recording digital sound, it is important to set the in-
put levels correctly – loud enough to ensure low noise and 
high audio quality, but not so loud that clipping (digital dis
-
tortion) occurs.
Clipping typically occurs in the audio hardware when a 
too loud analog signal is converted to digital in the hard
-
ware’s A/D converters. 
•It is also possible to get clipping when the signal from 
the input bus is written to a file on your hard disk.
This is because in Nuendo, you can make settings for the input bus, add-
ing EQ, effects, etc. to the signal as it is being recorded. This may raise 
the level of the signal, causing clipping in the recorded audio file.
To check the level of the “unprocessed” signal coming 
into the audio hardware, you need to switch the level 
meters to “Meter Input”. In this mode, the input channel 
level meters will show the level of the signal at the input of 
the bus, before any adjustments such as input gain, EQ, 
effects, level or pan:
1.Right-click in the Mixer window to open the context 
menu.
2.Select the Global Meter Settings submenu and make 
sure that “Meter Input” is activated.
3.Play back the audio and check the level meter for the 
input channel.
The signal should be as loud as possible without exceeding 0 dB (the 
Clipping indicator for the input bus should not light up).
The Clipping indicator
4.If necessary, adjust the input level in one of the follow-
ing ways:
•Adjust the output level of the sound source or external 
mixer.
•Use the audio hardware’s own application program to 
set the input levels (if possible).
See the documentation for the audio hardware.
•If your audio hardware supports the ASIO Control Panel 
function, it may be possible to make input level settings.
To open the ASIO control panel, open the Device Setup dialog via the De-
vices menu and, in the list to the left (below “VST Audio System”), select 
your audio card. When this is selected, you can open the Control Panel by 
clicking the Control Panel button in the settings section to the right.
The next step is to check the level of the audio being writ-
ten to a file on your hard disk. This is only necessary if you 
have made any adjustments to the input channel (level 
settings, EQ, insert effects, etc.). 
Also note the following:
•If you record in 32 bit float format, the bit resolution will 
not be reduced – which means there is no risk of clipping 
at this stage.
Also, this preserves the signal quality perfectly. Therefore, you should 
consider using 32 bit float format when you are recording with effects 
(see 
“Recording with effects” on page 101).
•If you record in 16 or 24 bit format, the available head-
room is lower, which means clipping can occur if the sig-
nal is too loud. To avoid this, set the signal as described 
below.
1.Bring up the Mixer context menu, open and select 
Global Meter Settings “Meter Post-Fader”.
2.Set up the input channel, by adding EQ and/or effects.
With some effects you may want to adjust the level of the signal going 
into the effect – use the Input Gain knob for this. Note that you need to 
press [Shift] or [Alt]/[Option] to adjust the Input Gain.
Adjusting the Input Gain.
3.Play back the audio and check the level meter of the 
input channel.
The signal should be reasonably loud without exceeding 0 dB (the Clip-
ping indicator for the input bus should not light up).
4.If necessary, use the input channel fader to adjust the 
signal level. 
						

							97
Recording
Monitoring
In this context, “monitoring” means listening to the input 
signal during recording. There are three fundamentally dif
-
ferent ways to do this: via Nuendo, externally (by listening 
to the signal before it reaches Nuendo), or by using ASIO 
Direct Monitoring (which is a combination of both other 
methods – see below).
Monitoring via Nuendo
If you monitor via Nuendo, the input signal is mixed in with 
the audio playback. The advantage of this is that you can 
adjust the monitoring level and panning in the Mixer, and 
add effects and EQ to the monitor signal just as during 
playback (using the track’s channel strip – not the input 
bus!). 
The disadvantage of monitoring via Nuendo is that the 
monitored signal will be delayed according to the latency 
value (which depends on your audio hardware and driv
-
ers). Therefore, monitoring via Nuendo requires an audio 
hardware configuration with a low latency value. You can 
check the latency of your hardware in the Device Setup 
dialog (VST Audio System page).
ÖIf you are using plug-in effects with large inherent de-
lays, the automatic delay compensation function in Nuendo 
will increase the latency. If this is a problem, you can use the 
Constrain Delay Compensation function while recording, 
see 
“Constrain Delay Compensation” on page 225.
When monitoring via Nuendo, you can select one of four 
Auto Monitoring modes in the Preferences dialog (VST 
page):
•Manual
This option allows you to turn input monitoring on or off by clicking the 
Monitor button in the Inspector, the track list or in the Mixer.
•While Record Enabled
With this option, you will hear the audio source connected to the channel 
input whenever the track is record enabled.
•While Record Running
This option switches to input monitoring only during recording.
•Tapemachine Style
This option emulates standard tapemachine behavior: input monitoring in 
Stop mode and during recording, but not during playback.
•In the Preferences dialog (VST–Metering page) you can 
find the “Map Input Bus Metering to Audio Track (in Direct 
Monitoring)” option.
When Direct Monitoring is activated in the Device Setup dialog, this op-tion allows you to map the input bus metering to monitor-enabled audio 
tracks. This gives you the opportunity to watch the input levels of your 
audio tracks when working in the Project window. 
When Direct Monitoring is activated in the Device Setup 
dialog, this function works as follows:
• When “Map Input Bus Metering to Audio Track (in Direct 
Monitoring)” is activated, audio tracks show the metering sig
-
nal from the input bus they are routed to as soon as the track 
is record-enabled.
 
Note that the tracks are mirroring the input bus signal, i. e. you 
will see the same signal in both places. When using mapped 
metering, any functions (e.
 g. trimming) you apply to the audio 
track are not reflected in its meters.
• When “Map Input Bus Metering to Audio Track (in Direct 
Monitoring)” is not activated, metering works as usual.
External monitoring
External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it 
goes into Nuendo) requires some sort of external mixer for 
mixing the audio playback with the input signal. This can 
be a stand-alone physical mixer or a mixer application for 
your audio hardware, if this has a mode in which the input 
audio is sent back out again (usually called “Thru”, “Direct 
Thru” or similar).
When using external monitoring, you cannot control the 
level of the monitor signal from within Nuendo or add VST 
effects or EQ to the monitor signal. The latency value of 
the audio hardware configuration does not affect the mon
-
itor signal in this mode.
ÖIf you want to use external monitoring, you need to 
make sure that monitoring via Nuendo is not activated as 
well. Select the “Manual” monitoring mode in the Prefer
-
ences dialog (VST page) and do not activate the Monitor 
buttons. 
						

							98
Recording
ASIO Direct Monitoring
If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may sup-
port ASIO Direct Monitoring (this feature may also be avail-
able for audio hardware with Mac OS X drivers). In this 
mode, the actual monitoring is done in the audio hardware, 
by sending the input signal back out again. However, moni
-
toring is controlled from Nuendo. This means that the audio 
hardware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off 
automatically by Nuendo, just as when using internal moni
-
toring. 
•To activate ASIO Direct Monitoring, open the Device 
Setup dialog on the Devices menu and activate the Direct 
Monitoring checkbox on the page for your audio hardware.
If the checkbox is grayed out, your audio hardware (or its driver) does not 
support ASIO Direct Monitoring. Consult the audio hardware manufac
-turer for details.
•When ASIO Direct Monitoring is activated, you can se-
lect a monitoring mode in the Preferences dialog (VST 
page), as when monitoring via Nuendo (see 
“Monitoring 
via Nuendo” on page 97).
•Depending on the audio hardware, it may also be possi-
ble to adjust the monitoring level and panning from the 
Mixer (including the Control Room section, but excluding 
the Talkback and External Return channels) by adjusting 
the volume faders, and the input gain controls and the 
send levels for Control Room studios.
Consult the documentation of the audio hardware if in doubt.
•VST effects and EQ cannot be applied to the monitor 
signal in this mode, since the monitor signal does not pass 
through Nuendo.
•Depending on the audio hardware, there may be special 
restrictions as to which audio outputs can be used for di
-
rect monitoring.
For details on the routing of the audio hardware, see its documentation.
The latency value of the audio hardware configuration 
does not affect the monitor signal when using ASIO Direct 
Monitoring.
When using Steinberg hardware (MR816 series) in com-
bination with ASIO Direct Monitoring, monitoring will be 
virtually latency-free.
ÖIf you are using RME Audio Hammerfall DSP audio 
hardware, make sure that the pan law is set to -3
 dB in the 
card’s preferences.
Recording
Recording is done using any of the general recording 
methods (see 
“Basic recording methods” on page 91). 
When you finish recording, an audio file is created in the 
Audio folder within the project folder. In the Pool, an audio 
clip is created for the audio file, and an audio event that 
plays the whole clip appears on the recording track. Fi
-
nally, a waveform image is calculated for the audio event. If 
the recording was very long, this may take a while.
ÖIf the “Create Audio Images During Record” option is 
activated in the Preferences dialog (Record–Audio page), 
the waveform image will be calculated and displayed dur
-
ing the actual recording process. This realtime calculation 
uses some processing power – if your processor is slow 
or you are working on a CPU-intensive project, consider 
turning this option off.
Undoing recording
If you decide that you do not like what you just recorded, 
you can delete it by selecting Undo from the Edit menu. 
The following will happen:
• The event(s) you just created will be removed from the Project 
window.
• The audio clip(s) in the Pool will be moved to the Trash folder.
• The recorded audio file(s) will not be removed from the hard 
disk.
However, since their corresponding clips are moved to 
the Trash folder, you can delete the files by opening the 
Pool and selecting “Empty Trash” from the Media menu, 
see 
“Deleting from the hard disk” on page 326.
Recording overlapping events
The basic rule for audio tracks is that each track can play 
back a single audio event at a time. This means that if two 
or more events are overlapping, only one of them will be 
heard at any given time.
What happens when you record overlapping events 
(record in an area where there are already events on the 
track) depends on the Linear Record Mode setting on the 
Transport panel: 
						

							99
Recording
•In “Normal” or “Merge” mode, recording where some-
thing has already been recorded creates a new audio 
event that overlaps the previous one(s).
When you record audio, there is no difference between “Normal” and 
“Merge” mode – the difference only applies to MIDI recording (see 
“About overlap and the Record Mode setting” on page 104).
•In “Replace” mode, existing events (or portions of 
events) that are overlapped by the new recording will be 
removed.
This means that if you record a section in the middle of a longer existing 
recording, the original event will be cut into two events with a gap for the 
new event.
Which event will be heard?
If two or more events are overlapping, you will only hear 
the events (or portions of events) that are actually visible. 
Overlapped (hidden) events or sections are not played 
back.
•The functions “Move to Front” and “Move to Back” on 
the Edit menu (Move submenu, see 
“Moving events” on 
page 69) are useful for managing overlapping events, as is 
the “To Front” function.
Recording audio in cycle mode
If you are recording audio in cycle mode, the result de-
pends on two factors:
•The “Cycle Record Mode” setting on the Transport 
panel.
•The “Audio Cycle Record Mode” setting in the Prefer-
ences dialog (Record–Audio page).
Cycle Record Modes on the Transport panel
There are five different modes on the Transport panel, but 
the first two modes only apply to MIDI recording. For au
-
dio cycle recording, the following applies:
•If “Keep Last” is selected, the last complete “take” (the 
last completely recorded lap) is kept as an audio event.
In reality, all laps you recorded are saved in one audio file divided into re-gions – one region for each take. You can easily select a previous take 
for playback – this is done as when recording in “Create Regions” mode 
(see 
“Create Regions mode (Preferences)” on page 100).
•If “Stacked” is selected, each take will appear as an 
event on a separate “lane” on the track.
This is useful when you want to view and edit the different takes and 
eventually combine them to one recording. In this mode, the Audio Cycle 
Record Mode preference does not matter. Stacked 2 (No Mute) is the 
same as Stacked, except that all the takes will be audible, see 
“Record-ing audio in Stacked mode” on page 101. 
•If any of the other cycle recording modes is selected, 
the result depends entirely on the “Audio Cycle Record 
Mode” setting in the Preferences dialog (Record–Audio 
page).
These options are described below.
Create Events mode (Preferences)
When “Audio Cycle Record Mode” is set to “Create 
Events” in the Preferences dialog (Record–Audio page), 
the following will happen when you record audio in cycle 
mode:
•One continuous audio file is created during the entire 
recording process. 
•For each recorded lap of the cycle, one audio event is 
created.
The events will have the name of the audio file plus the text “Take *”, 
where “*” indicates the number of the take.
•The last take (the last recorded lap) will be on top (and 
will thus be the one you hear when you activate playback). 
						

							100
Recording
To select another take for playback, proceed as follows:
1.Holding [Alt]/[Option], right-click the event and select 
“To Front” on the context menu.
Whether a right click opens the context menu or the toolbox is deter-
mined by the “Popup Toolbox on Right Click” option in the Preferences 
dialog (Editing–Tools page). Depending on this setting the context menu 
is opened by right-clicking or by right-clicking holding any modifier key.
The “To Front” submenu, listing all the other (obscured) events.
2.Select the desired take.
The corresponding event is brought to front.
This method allows you to quickly combine the best parts 
of each take, in the following way:
1.Use the Scissors tool to split the events in several 
sections, one for each part of the take.
For example, if you recorded four lines of vocals (in each take), you can 
split the events so that each line gets a separate event.
The events after splitting. Note that since the original take events 
overlap each other, clicking with the Scissors tool will split all takes at 
the same position.
2.For each section of the take, use the “To Front” func-
tion to bring the best take to the front.
This way, you can quickly combine the best sections of each take, using 
the first vocal line from one take, the second line from another take, and 
so on.
You can also compile a “perfect” take in the Audio Part 
Editor, see 
“Assembling a “perfect take”” on page 318.
Create Regions mode (Preferences)
When Audio Cycle Record Mode is set to “Create Re-
gions” in the Preferences dialog (Record–Audio page), 
the following will happen when you record audio in cycle 
mode:
•One continuous audio file is created during the entire 
recording process. 
•The audio event in the Project window shows the name 
of the audio file plus the text “Take *” (with “*” being the 
number of the last completed cycle lap).
•If you play back the recorded event, you will only hear 
what was recorded during the last lap of the cycle record
-
ing. 
The previous “takes” recorded in the cycle are still available, however. 
•The audio clip is divided into regions (called takes), one 
for each lap of the cycle that was recorded.
If you locate the audio file you just recorded in the Pool, and click on the 
“+” sign beside it, you can see the regions that have been created, one 
for each lap of the cycle that was completed during recording.
“Take” regions in the Pool window
To play back the different “takes”, proceed as follows:
1.In the Project window, open the context menu for the 
event that was created during cycle recording.
2.Select the “Set To Region” menu item.
A submenu opens with the takes you recorded during cycle record.
3.Now you can select any of the takes from the submenu 
and it will replace the previous take event in the Project 
window.
Use this method to listen through the various takes. Select 
the best single take, or compile a “perfect” take by cutting 
out the best bits from each take and putting them together 
(see 
“Assembling a “perfect take”” on page 318).
Create Events + Regions mode (Preferences)
In this mode, both events and regions are created. If you 
work with the takes as events in this mode, you can edit 
the events freely (e.
 g. splitting them), see “Create Events 
mode (Preferences)” on page 99. However, in case you 
want to go back to the original takes, they are still available 
as regions (on the “Set To Region” submenu, in the Pool 
or in the Sample Editor).