Steinberg Nuendo 5 Manual

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The MediaBay
3.Specify the type of the attribute.
Attributes can be of the types “Text”, “Number” or “Yes/No” switch. For 
“Number” attributes, you can specify how many decimals are displayed, 
by entering the corresponding value in the Precision field.
4.In the text field below, enter the name for the new at-
tribute.
Note that this is the name as it will be displayed in the program. Below 
the text field, you will see the name as it will be used internally (e.
 g. in the 
MediaBay database). This way, you will see immediately if a certain name 
is invalid and cannot be used.
5.Click OK.
The new attribute is added to the list of available attributes and will be 
displayed in the Attribute Inspector and the Results list.
•To remove a user attribute, select it in the attribute list 
and click the “Remove User Attribute” button (the “-” sign).
The attribute is removed from any attribute list.
•Nuendo recognizes all user attributes that are included 
in media files. For example, if you load content from an
-
other user, who has assigned his own user tags to the 
files, these tags are also shown in the MediaBay.
MediaBay aspects
In Nuendo, it is possible to create multiple configurations, or 
“aspects”, of the MediaBay window, that can be recalled in
-
stantly via the Media menu. These aspects can be config-
ured to suit your particular working situations. There might 
be times when you only want to work with certain sound ef
-
fect files, that reside in a particular location for example. Ev-
ery item in the MediaBay that can be configured (i. e. all the 
sections and their settings) can be part of a MediaBay as
-
pect. This way, you can specify which sections are visible, 
which media types are browsed for, which locations are be
-
ing scanned, and so on. It is even possible to enter a search 
string and save it with the aspect.
Creating a new aspect
To add a new MediaBay aspect, proceed as follows:
1.On the Media menu, open the MediaBay Aspects sub-
menu and select “New Aspect…”.
2.In the naming dialog that opens, enter the name for the 
new MediaBay aspect and click OK.
The new MediaBay aspect window opens.
3.You can now configure the window to your liking.
By default, new MediaBay aspects show the same sections as the de-
fault MediaBay.
ÖYou do not have to save the MediaBay aspect. It is au-
tomatically saved when you close the window (or the pro-
gram).
Once an Aspect is created, it can be accessed via the 
Media menu.
Creating a new aspect based on an existing aspect
If you want to create a MediaBay aspect that differs only 
slightly from an existing aspect (e.
 g. if you want to specify 
another browse location, text string or another file type), 
you can base the new aspect on this existing aspect.
To do so, proceed as when creating a new Aspect (see 
above), but, instead of choosing “New Aspect”, select the 
Aspect you want to use as a basis from the Duplicate As
-
pect submenu.
Example setup
Let’s say you want to set up a MediaBay aspect for work 
on production sound.
Proceed as follows:
1.Create a new MediaBay aspect, from scratch or 
based on an existing aspect.
A naming dialog opens.
2.Enter a name for the aspect. Click OK to close the di-
alog.
The new MediaBay aspect opens. 
						

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The MediaBay
3.In the Define Locations section, select the folder (or 
removable hard drive, etc.) containing the files with pro
-
duction sound you want to work with and save it as Loca-
tion. 
4.Hide the Define Locations section to save screen 
space.
5.In the Locations section, select the Location you just 
created.
You can now also close this section.
6.In the Results list, specify the file type you want to 
browse by selecting it on the dialog.
For example, if you only have audio files with production sound, select 
Audio Files.
7.Hide the Attribute Inspector.
8.In the text search field above the displayed results, en-
ter the name of the sound or attribute you are looking for.
9.That’s it! You created a MediaBay aspect.
ÖBy cloning this aspect and changing the name string, 
you can quickly and easily set up search browsers for dif
-
ferent situations (e.g. when searching sounds for explo-
sions, car crashes, creating monster voices).
Removing MediaBay Aspects
•To remove a MediaBay Aspect, open the Media menu, 
and on the MediaBay Aspects submenu, select Remove 
Aspect.
Preferences
In the Preferences dialog in Nuendo, you can find options 
and settings that control the global behavior of the pro
-
gram. The Preferences dialog contains a special Media-
Bay page. These settings are also available from within the 
MediaBay.
To open the Preferences pane for the MediaBay, proceed 
as follows:
1.Click the MediaBay Preferences button in the lower 
left corner of the window.
•A transparent pane appears, covering the window. In 
the center of it is a gray area where the available prefer
-
ences for the Locations section and the Results list are 
displayed.
2.Configure the MediaBay to your liking by activating/
deactivating the options.
The following options are available in the Locations sec-
tion:
OptionDescription
Show Managed 
Locations OnlyActivate this to hide all folders that are not scanned 
for files. This will keep the tree view in the Define Lo-cations section less cluttered. 
						

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The MediaBay
The following options are available in the Results section:
Key commands
You can display the available MediaBay key commands 
from within the MediaBay window. This is useful if you 
want to get a quick overview over the assigned and the 
available MediaBay key commands.
To open the Key Commands pane, proceed as follows:
1.Click the Key Commands button in the lower left cor-
ner of the window.
A transparent pane appears, covering the window. In the center of it is a 
gray area where the available key commands are displayed.
•If you only want to get an overview over the key com-
mands, you can exit the pane by clicking on its back-
ground (not in the gray area).
•If you want to assign or modify key commands, click in 
the gray area.
The Key Commands dialog opens, in which you can set up and edit key 
commands, see the chapter “Key commands” on page 580.
Working with MediaBay-related 
windows
The MediaBay concept can be found throughout the pro-
gram, for example when adding new tracks or when choos-
ing presets for VST instruments or effects. The workflow in 
all MediaBay-related windows is the same as in the Media
-
Bay. Below follow a few examples.
Adding tracks
When you select one of the Add Track options on the 
Project menu, the following dialog opens:
The Add Track dialog for audio tracks
Use Current 
Selection as Base 
LocationActivate this to show only the selected folder and its 
subfolders. To switch back to the display of all folders, 
deactivate this option.
Scan Folders Only 
when MediaBay is 
OpenWhen this is activated, Nuendo only scans for media 
files when the MediaBay window is open.  When this is deactivated, the folders are scanned in 
the background even when the MediaBay window is 
closed. However, Nuendo will never scan folders 
while playing back or recording.
OptionDescription
Maximum 
Items in 
Results ListUse this parameter to specify the maximum number of 
files that are displayed in the Results list. This avoids un-manageably long lists of files.  Note that the MediaBay does not warn you if the maxi-mum number of files has been reached and there might 
be situations where a certain file you were looking for 
could not be found, because the maximum number of files 
was reached.
Allow Editing 
in Results ListWhen this is activated, you can also edit attributes in the 
Results list. When this option is deactivated, editing can 
only be done in the Attribute Inspector.
Show File 
Extensions in 
Results ListWhen this is activated, file name extensions (e. g. .wav or 
.cpr) are displayed in the Results list.
Option Description 
						

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The MediaBay
Click the Browse button to expand the dialog to show the 
Results list (as you can find it in the MediaBay). However, 
only file types that can be used in this context are shown.
You can also apply track presets to existing tracks. The di-
alog that opens in this case is the same as above.
Applying effect presets
When you have added an insert effect, you can choose 
from a variety of presets via the Presets pop-up menu for 
the effect slot. 
The Preset browser opens:
Applying instrument presets
When working with VST instruments, you can choose 
from a variety of presets via the Presets pop-up menu. 
The Preset browser opens:
VST presets for instruments can be divided into two 
groups: “presets” containing the settings of the whole plug-
in (for multi-timbral instruments, this means the settings for 
all sound slots as well as the global settings) and “pro
-
grams” containing only the settings for one program (for 
multi-timbral instruments, this means only the settings for 
one sound slot). In the MediaBay, they can be recognized 
by their icons. This way, you can see directly whether a VST 
preset contains a single sound or more.
Working with Volume databases
Nuendo stores all media file information used in the 
MediaBay, such as paths and attributes, in a local data
-
base file on your computer. However, in some cases, it 
might be necessary to browse and manage this kind of 
metadata on an external volume. For example, a sound ed
-
itor might have to work both at home and in a studio, on 
two different computers. Therefore, he has stored his 
sound effects on an external storage medium. When he is 
working on a different computer, he wants to connect the 
IconDescription
This preset contains settings for all loaded programs.
This program only contains settings for the first or the se-lected instrument slot. 
						

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The MediaBay
external device and directly browse its contents in the 
MediaBay, without having to scan the device again. This 
can be achieved by creating a volume database for the ex
-
ternal device.
Volume databases are files that can be created for drives 
of your computer or for external storage media. They con
-
tain the same kind of information about the media files on 
these drives as the regular MediaBay database.
Creating a volume database
To create a separate volume database file for a drive, pro-
ceed as follows:
1.In the Define Locations section of the MediaBay, se-
lect the external storage medium, drive or partition of your 
computer system that you want to create a database for.
2.Right-click on it and select “Create Volume Database” 
on the context menu.
The file information for this drive is now written into a new database file.
When the new database file is available, this is reflected 
by the symbol to the left of the drive name.
For these two volumes volume databases have been created.
Volume databases are automatically mounted when Nu-
endo is launched. They are shown in the Define Locations 
section and their data can be viewed and edited in the Re
-
sults list, as for the other media files in the MediaBay.
Rescanning and refreshing
Use the Rescan and Refresh MediaBay functions for a vol-
ume database if you have modified the scan settings on a 
different system, for example, by activating additional fold
-
ers for scanning.
Removing volume databases
When you have worked on another computer using an ex-
ternal hard disk and return to your own computer and con-
nect the external device again as part of your system 
setup, you do not need a separate volume database for it 
any more. Any data on this drive can then be included in 
the local database file again, by removing the extra data
-
base file.
•To remove a database, right-click on it and select “Re-
move Volume Database” from the context menu.
This integrates the metadata in the local MediaBay database file and 
subsequently deletes the volume database file.
ÖDepending on the size of the volume database, this 
might take a while.
Mounting and unmounting volume databases
When you launch Nuendo, all available volume databases 
are automatically mounted. Databases that are made 
available while the program is running have to be mounted 
manually via the command “Mount Volume Database” on 
the context menu. To unmount a volume database, select 
“Unmount Volume Database” from the context menu.
!You must select the topmost level (root) for this. You 
cannot create a database file for a lower-level folder.
!If the drive contains a large amount of data, this pro-
cess may take a while. 
						

							24
Working with track presets 
						

							357
Working with track presets
Introduction
Track presets are templates from audio, MIDI or instrument 
tracks that can be applied to newly created or existing 
tracks of the same type. They contain sound and channel 
settings, and allow you to quickly browse, preview, select 
and change sounds, or reuse channel settings across 
projects. 
Track presets are organized in the MediaBay (see the 
chapter 
“The MediaBay” on page 334), where you can 
categorize them with attributes. 
Types of track presets
There are four kinds of track presets (audio, instrument, 
MIDI and Multi) and two kinds of VST presets (VST instru
-
ment presets and VST effect plug-in presets). These are 
described in the following sections.
ÖTrack preset settings for volume, pan, input gain and 
input phase will be applied only when creating a new track 
from a track preset.
Audio track presets
Track presets for audio tracks include all settings that de-
fine the sound. You can use the factory presets as a start-
ing point for your own editing and save the audio settings 
that you optimized for an artist you often work with as a 
preset for future recordings. 
The following data is saved in audio track presets:
• Insert effects settings (including VST effect presets)
•EQ settings
• Volume + pan
• Input gain + phase
Instrument track presets
Instrument track presets offer both MIDI and audio fea-
tures and are the best choice when handling sounds of 
simple, mono-timbral VST instruments. Use instrument 
track presets for auditioning your tracks, or saving your 
preferred sound settings, for example. You can also ex
-
tract sounds from instrument track presets for use in in-
strument tracks, “Extracting sound from an instrument 
track or VST preset” on page 360. 
The following data is saved in instrument track presets:
• Audio insert effects
•Audio EQ
• Audio volume + pan
• Audio input gain + phase
• MIDI insert effects
• MIDI track parameters
• Input Transformer settings
• The VST instrument used for the track
• Staff settings
• Color settings
• Drum map settings
MIDI track presets
MIDI tracks should be used for multi-timbral VST instru-
ments and external instruments. When creating MIDI track 
presets you can either include the currently set channel, or 
the currently set patch. See 
“Creating a track preset” on 
page 360 for details.
•To ensure that saved MIDI track presets for external in-
struments will work again with the same instrument, install 
the instrument as a MIDI device, see the separate PDF 
document “MIDI Devices”.
The following data is saved in MIDI track presets:
• MIDI modifiers (Transpose, etc.)
• MIDI inserts (FX)
• Output + Channel or Program Change
• Input Transformer settings
•Volume + pan
• Staff settings
• Color settings
• Drum map settings
Multi-track presets
You can use multi-track presets, for example, when re-
cording setups that require several microphones (a drum 
set or a choir, where you always record under the same 
conditions) and you have to edit the resulting tracks in a 
similar way. Furthermore, they can be used when working 
with layered tracks, where you use several tracks to gener
-
ate a certain sound instead of manipulating only one track. 
						

							358
Working with track presets
If you select more than one track when creating a track 
preset, the settings of all selected tracks will be saved as 
one multi-track preset. Multi-track presets can only be ap
-
plied if the target tracks are of the same type, number and 
sequence as the tracks in the track preset, therefore, they 
should be used in recurring situations with very similar 
tracks and settings.
VST (instrument) presets
VST instrument presets (extension “.vstpreset”) behave 
like instrument track presets and contain a VST instrument 
and its settings but no modifiers, MIDI inserts, inserts or 
EQ settings. You can extract sounds from VST presets for 
use in instrument tracks, see 
“Extracting sound from an in-
strument track or VST preset” on page 360. 
The following data is saved in VST instrument presets:
• VST instrument
• VST instrument settings
VST effect plug-ins are available in VST3 and VST2 for-
mat. Presets for these effects are also saved as VST pre-
sets. These that can be part of audio track presets (see 
“Audio track presets” on page 357).
ÖIn this manual, “VST presets” stands for VST3 instru-
ment presets, unless stated otherwise.
Pattern banks (Nuendo Expansion Kit only)
Pattern banks are presets created for the Beat Designer 
MIDI effect. They behave much like track presets. For de
-
tailed information, see “Previewing pattern banks (Nuendo 
Expansion Kit only)” on page 344 and the chapter “MIDI ef-
fects” in the separate PDF document “Plug-in Reference”.
Applying track presets
When you apply a track preset, all the settings saved in 
the preset are applied. Track presets can be applied to 
tracks of their own type only, i.
 e. audio track presets to au-
dio tracks, etc. The only exception are instrument tracks: 
for these, VST presets are also available. Note that apply
-
ing VST presets to instrument tracks leads to removal of 
modifiers, MIDI inserts, inserts, or EQs, since these set
-
tings are not stored in VST presets.
Applying track or VST presets via drag and 
drop
1.Open the MediaBay from the Media menu.
2.Select a MIDI or instrument track preset, or a VST 
preset.
3.Preview the preset using the functions in the Pre-
viewer section (for further information, see “Previewing 
files” on page 342).
4.Drag and drop it onto a track of the same type.
!Once a track preset is applied, you cannot undo the 
changes! It is not possible to remove an applied pre
-
set from a track and return to the previous state. If 
you are not satisfied with the track settings, you have 
to either edit the settings manually or apply another 
preset. 
						

							359
Working with track presets
ÖYou can also drag and drop track presets from the 
Windows Explorer or the Mac OS Finder, but in this case, 
no preview for track presets is possible.
Loading track or VST presets in the Inspector 
or the context menu of the track
1.In the Project window, select a track.
2.Click in the Load Track Preset field at the top of the In-
spector (above the track name) or right-click the track in 
the track list and select “Load Track Preset”.
The Presets browser opens.
3.Select a track or VST preset from the Results list.
If needed, filter the list by activating the attributes you are looking for in 
the Filters section. This section is similar to the Filters section in the Me
-diaBay, see “The Filters section” on page 335.
4.Start playback to preview the selected audio, MIDI, 
instrument track, or VSTpreset.
All settings from the track preset are applied in realtime to the selected 
track. If you set up your target track to a cycle and play back in loop, pre
-viewing will be very comfortable. Note that you cannot preview multi-
track presets.
5.When you have found the preset that you want, dou-
ble-click on it (or click outside the Presets browser).
The preset is applied.
•To return to the preset that was selected when you 
opened the Presets browser, click the “Revert to Last 
Setting” button.
Applying a multi-track preset
1.Select several tracks in your project. 
Multi-track presets can only be applied if track type, number, and se-quence are identical for the selected tracks and the track preset.
2.Right-click the track to open the context menu and se-
lect “Load Track Preset”.
The Presets browser opens. Only multi-track presets corresponding to 
the selection of tracks in the project are shown. 
3.Select a multi-track preset from the Results list.
4.When you have found the preset that you want, dou-
ble-click on it (or click outside the Presets browser).
The preset is applied.
•To return to the preset that was selected when you 
opened the Presets browser, click the “Revert to Last Set
-
ting” button.
Reloading track or VST presets
When you have modified the settings of a track or VST 
preset and are not satisfied with the results, you can revert 
to the default settings of the preset by clicking the “Re
-
load Track Preset” button.
Applying inserts and EQ settings from track 
presets
Instead of handling complete track presets, it is also pos-
sible to apply insert or equalizer settings from track pre-
sets. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Select the desired track, open the Inspector or the 
Channel Settings window and click the VST Sound button 
on the Inserts or Equalizers tab/section.
The Preset Management pop-up menu opens. 
2.On the pop-up menu, select “From Track Preset…”.
The Presets browser opens, showing all available track presets that con-tain inserts or EQ settings. 
3.Select a track preset and click outside the browser.
…to open the Presets browser. Click here… 
						

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Working with track presets
For information on the general handling of inserts presets, 
see 
“Effect presets” on page 209. The general handling of 
EQ presets is described in the section “Using EQ pre-
sets” on page 166.
Extracting sound from an instrument track or 
VST preset
For instrument tracks, you can extract the “sound” of an 
instrument track preset or VST preset, that means the VST 
instrument and its settings.
Proceed as follows:
1.Select the instrument track to which you want to apply 
a sound.
2.Click the VST Sound button below the Output Rout-
ing field in the Inspector. 
The Presets browser opens, showing a list of all available 
presets. 
3.Select an instrument track preset or VST preset by 
double-clicking on it. 
The VST instrument and its settings (but no inserts, EQs, or modifiers) on 
the existing track are overwritten with the data of the track preset. The 
previous VST instrument for this instrument track is removed and the new 
VST instrument with its settings is set up for the instrument track. 
ÖThe VST instrument of an instrument track is not listed 
in the VST Instruments window. It only appears in the Plug-
In Information window, see 
“The Plug-in Information win-
dow” on page 213.
Creating a track preset
A track preset can be created from an existing audio, MIDI, 
or instrument track – or a combination of these. 
Proceed as follows:
1.In the Project window, select one or more tracks. 
If several tracks are selected, all of them are stored in one combined 
multi-track preset, see 
“Multi-track presets” on page 357.
2.Right-click one of the selected tracks in the track list 
and select “Save Track Preset” from the context menu.
The Save Track Preset dialog opens.
3.In the New Preset section, enter a name for the new 
preset.
The track preset file name extension .trackpreset is assigned automatically.
•If you want to save attributes for the preset, click the 
button below the “New Preset” section at the bottom left.
The Attribute Inspector section opens, allowing you to define attributes 
for the preset. For further information about attributes, see “The Attribute 
Inspector” on page 347.
•If you create a track preset for a MIDI track, you can de-
cide whether you want to include the MIDI channel or the 
MIDI patch.
Select “Include MIDI channel” when working with a pre-configured multi-
timbral external instrument (for example, a sampler). That way the correct 
channel will be called up.
 
Select “Include MIDI Patch” when working with a multi-timbral external 
instrument (e.
 g. a MIDI expander), where all sounds are available on all 
channels so that the sounds (patches) can be changed on the fly.
4.Click OK to save the preset and exit the dialog.