Steinberg Sequel 2 Operation Manual

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The Multi Zone
The Sample Editor
The Sample Editor allows you to edit audio files. The se-
lected audio event is displayed in the center of the Editor 
Page. Here you can see a detailed waveform rendering of 
the audio file.
You can zoom in and out using the plus and minus buttons 
in the bottom right corner. You can also click in the ruler 
along the top of the Editor Page and drag up to zoom out 
and down to zoom in. Once you are zoomed in, you can 
use the scroll bar along the bottom to scroll left or right.
Adding silence
You can add silence to an event by selecting a section of 
the event (by clicking and dragging) and then pressing [De-
lete] or [Backspace] on your computer keyboard. This is 
non-destructive and will not affect the audio file in any way.
Volume
You can adjust the event volume. This is not connected to 
the track volume in any way.
To adjust the volume, click and drag up or down.
You can also double-click and enter a value from -64 to 
24. Zero is the default.
Mute
You can mute the event by activating the “Mute” button. 
Deactivate it to unmute the event.
Transpose
You can change the key of the event by adjusting the 
transpose value. 
To change the key click in the value field and drag up or 
down.
You can also double-click and enter a value from -24 to 
24. Zero is the default.
!Note that if you change the event settings for Stretch 
Mode, Optimization, Quantize and Swing, or use the 
Transpose Lock function, all copies of this event in the 
Arrange Zone will be modified as well. However, the 
original file in the MediaBay Page will not be affected.
Zoom in and out
Volume
Mute
Transpose Lock
Transpose 
						

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The Multi Zone
Transpose Lock
Activating transpose lock will lock the original transpose 
value of the event. The event will no longer follow any glo-
bal transpose changes throughout the project.
Stretch Mode
Here you can switch between either the “Song Tempo” or 
“Original” stretch modes. Simply click to switch between 
them.
Activating “Song Tempo” will lock the event’s tempo to 
the project tempo. This function does not quantize the au-
dio, but adjusts the size of the event so that it is playing 
back at the project tempo.
“Original” allows the event to stay in its original tempo. 
Any changes you make to the file in “Song Tempo” mode 
will be reverted when you switch to “Original”. When you 
go back to “Song Tempo” mode, the changes you made 
there will return.
Please note that this does not include any settings you made with the 
Free Warp tool, see “Free Warp (“Song Tempo” mode)” on page 73.
Optimization
Depending on the type of instrument recorded in your au-
dio file, you can set a different option to achieve the best 
possible stretch result. For example, select the “Drums” 
option for percussive sounds or try “Solo” for solo wind in-
struments. “Mix” is the default, but it might be worth to try 
any of the other options if you are not happy with the result 
of a tempo adjustment.
Reverse
This function reverses the selected audio, as when playing 
a tape backwards. You can also select a region and apply 
the Reverse function only to this selection. Note that if you 
click the Reverse button, all warp tabs (see below) you 
have made until then will be discarded. 
Quantize (“Song Tempo” mode)
Select a quantize value from the pop-up, used for all quan-
tize related functions such as swing and triplets. It also 
determines the grid resolution for the sample editor.
Warp Beats (“Song Tempo” mode)
Warp Beats will auto quantize the audio event to the project 
tempo based on the “Quantize” value. See the chapter “Ad-
vanced features” on page 79 for more information.
Stretch Mode
Optimization
!If you have several copies of one event and use the 
Reverse function for one of them, only this event will 
be modified. All other copies will leave as they are. The 
modified event will change its color.
Free Warp
Reverse
Root Key
Quantize
Warp Beats 
						

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The Multi Zone
Swing (“Song Tempo” mode)
Swing appears when “Warp Beats” has been activated. 
Swing allows you to add a more human feel to an audio 
event. Click and drag the slider left or right to add or re-
move swing. The effect of using swing is dependent on 
the “Quantize” value. If the “Quantize” value is set to 
eighth notes for example, only eighth notes will be af-
fected by changing the swing amount.
Free Warp (“Song Tempo” mode)
“Free Warp” allows you to manually adjust how the audio 
lines up to bars and beats and essentially “warp” the au-
dio. You can draw Warp tabs and move them left or right 
to change the timing and to timestretch the audio. By 
clicking the “Warp beats” button, you can display the Quantize grid (which varies depending on the value set in 
the Quantize pop-up menu) and change it with the Warp 
tool. See “Audio quantization and warp” on page 81 for 
more information.
ÖThe warp settings are saved with the project.
Number of Bars
This allows you to manually enter the length of the audio 
event in bars. This is helpful if the length of the audio event 
has not been detected, but you know its length in bars.
Reset Warping
Reset Warping will reset any changes that you made with 
Free Warp activated. This function deletes all warp tabs, 
and restores bars and beats to their original settings. The 
Warp Beats mode will also be deactivated. 
When the Stretch mode/Optimization section is high-
lighted, free warping has been applied to the active audio 
event.
Root Key
This indicates the key (A, Bb, C#, etc.) that the event is in. 
If this information is not contained in the meta data, noth-
ing will show up here.
The Key Editor
The Key Editor allows you to make various changes to the 
instrument part. The Instrument part selected in the Ar-
range Zone is displayed in the center of the Key Editor. 
Here you can move, edit, and even draw in data.
Warp Beats 
activated
Swing
Number of Bars
Reset Warping
Free Warp
!If you have several copies of one event and use the 
Free Warp function for one of them, only this event will 
be modified. All other copies will leave as they are. The 
modified event will change its color.
Horizontal zoomVertical zoom 
						

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The Multi Zone
You can zoom in and out using the plus and minus buttons 
in the bottom right corner. You can also click in the ruler 
along the top of the Editor Page and drag up to zoom out 
and down to zoom in. Once you are zoomed in, you can 
use the scroll bar along the bottom to scroll left or right 
and the little scroll bar on the right hand side to scroll up 
and down. You can also use the mouse wheel to scroll up 
and down and [Shift]+mouse wheel to scroll left and right.
The slider along the right-hand side zooms the Key Editor 
in and out. This makes the notes and the piano roll on the 
left hand side larger and smaller.
You can click on the piano roll to hear a specific pitch.
The most important editing functions in the Key Editor are 
described in the section “Key Editor” on page 23.
Mute
You can mute the instrument part by activating the “Mute” 
button. Deactivate it to unmute the part.
Transpose
You can change the key of the event by adjusting the 
transpose value. 
To change the key, click and drag up or down.
You can also double click and enter a value from -24 to 24. 
Zero is the default.
Transpose Lock
Activating transpose lock will lock the original transpose 
value of the event. The event will no longer follow any glo-
bal transpose changes throughout the project.
Quantize value
You select a quantize value from the pop-up menu. This 
will be used for all quantize-related functions such as 
swing and triplets. It also determines the grid resolution 
for the Key Editor.
Triplets On
When activated, Triplets On allows you to enter triplets in 
an Instrument part. The resolution of the Triplets that can 
be entered is determined by the Quantize value.
Perform Quantize
Activating “Perform Quantize” (or pressing [Q] on the 
computer keyboard) will move all the notes to the nearest 
bar or beat, depending on the Quantize value. If this is set 
to quarter notes, all notes will be moved to the nearest 
quarter note.
Swing
Swing allows you to add a more human feel to instrument 
data. Click and drag the slider left or right to move the 
notes. Which notes are affected depends on the Quantize 
value. If the Quantize value is set to eighth notes, only 
eighth notes will be affected when changing the swing 
amount.
Legato Slider
This slider increases or decreases the amount of legato in 
the selected Instrument part. Legato is defined as a 
smooth, even style without any noticeable break between 
notes. Therefore, when increasing Legato, you are stretch-
ing out the notes such that there is no noticeable attack be-
tween two notes. Decreasing this value will create shorter 
notes, sounding more “staccato”.
Mute
Transpose 
Lock
Transpose
Quantize
Perform Quantize
Swing
Legato Slider
Triplets On 
						

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The Multi Zone
Activated Step Input
“Activated Step Input” allows you to enter instrument data 
note by note and beat by beat, using a MIDI keyboard or 
controller. It’s great for quick entry of instrument parts.
When activated, this button puts Sequel into step input 
mode. A blue vertical position line appears. Each time you 
press a key, a note will be entered at the vertical position 
line. The length of the note is determined by the Quantize 
value. 
You can use the left/right arrow keys on your keyboard to 
move the position of the vertical position line.
Nudge Left
This moves the selected note left based on the Quantize 
value.
Nudge Right
This moves the selected note right based on the Quantize 
value.
Root Key
This indicates the key (A, Bb, C# etc.) that the part is in. If 
this information is not available (i. e. if there is no “key” at-
tribute), nothing will show up here. Newly recorded parts 
should show the key defined for the project.
Controller Lane (Velocity, Pitch Bend, etc.)
The Controller Lane allows us to add or modify instrument 
data such as velocity and controller information. The most 
common use for this is to edit velocity, pitch bend and 
controller numbers for things like sustain, etc.Clicking on the Controller Lane pop-up menu allows you 
to decide what specific controller data you would like to 
view or modify.
For more information about editing controller data, see 
“The Controller lane” on page 25.
The Arranger Page
The Arranger Page allows you to change the project by 
creating different arrangements. This allows you to play 
back the project in a non-linear way and is great for live 
performance.
Nudge left
Root Key
Activated Step Input
Nudge right
Controller LaneController Lane pop up 
						

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The Multi Zone
In order to do this, you first need to create Arranger parts. 
Make sure that the “Show Arranger Track” button above 
the track list is activated, see “Show Arranger Track” on 
page 50.
Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and move the mouse cursor over 
the Arranger track. The mouse will turn into a pencil. You 
can then click and drag to create an Arranger part.
Pads
The 16 rounded squares in the center of the Arranger 
Page are known as pads. Every Arranger part that you cre-
ate in the Arranger track can be represented by one of 
these pads. There are only 16 pads though, so you can 
only access 16 Arranger parts at a time.
Pad assignment
[Alt]/[Option]-click along the top of a pad to open a pop-up 
menu allowing you to choose which part will be linked to 
that pad. You can also set this to “None” or to “Stop”.
Pad name
[Alt]-click along the bottom of the pad to name the pad.
Pad modes
There are two Pad modes in Sequel which you can actu-
ally switch during playback. You can choose between 
“Live Pads” or “Chain Play” mode (for a detailed descrip-
tion of these modes, see “Tutorial 4: Live Pads and Chain 
Play mode” on page 35).
Live Pads
In this playback mode you can click on a pad at any time to 
play it. The part will loop until you click on another pad or 
hit stop. You can also press the corresponding key on 
your computer keyboard to activate the pad.
Chain Play
In Chain Play mode, you can create a preset order for the 
parts to play in.
Show Arranger Track
Pad “A”
Arranger part “A”
Scroll left and right 
						

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The Multi Zone
Just select each pad in the order that you want them played. 
You can also press the corresponding key on your com-
puter keyboard to add the pad to “The Current Chain”. As 
you select them “The Current Chain” will begin filling up. 
“The Current Chain” resides along the top of the Arranger 
Page and is only active in “Chain Play” mode.
Scroll left/right
You can scroll left and right through the current chain using 
the buttons on the left hand side.
Insert Cursor
The insert cursor allows you to decide where to insert an 
Arranger part into the “Current Chain”. Click and drag to 
move the cursor left or right to the desired position and 
then click on a pad to enter it into the current chain at the 
cursor location.
History menu
The History menu will save various chain configurations you 
have made for future use. Click to reveal a pop-up menu. 
You can then select a number, enter a chain. Then select 
another number. The previous chain will be saved.
Reset
Select “Reset” to clear the current chain.
See the chapter “Tutorial 4: Live Pads and Chain Play 
mode” on page 35 for more details on the Arranger Page 
and parts.
The Program Settings Page
The Program Settings Page is where you define all of the 
main settings in Sequel.
Sequel Projects
Project Location
Click in this field to select the directory to store projects on 
the hard drive. A dialog opens allowing you to browse the 
hard drives and find a suitable location or select Create to 
make a new folder.
User Content Location
Click in this field to set where you would like user created 
content to be stored. A dialog opens allowing you to 
browse the hard drives and find a suitable location or se-
lect Create to make a new folder.
Once set, this is where any content that you create will be 
stored. If you own media files that you wish to use in Se-
quel, copy the files to this location, and they will be dis-
played on the MediaBay Page.
You can drag and drop your own events, parts and even 
entire folders onto the MediaBay Page. These will then au-
tomatically be added to the User Content Location folder, 
see “Adding Content” on page 70.
Insert Cursor
History menu
Reset 
						

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The Multi Zone
Start-up Action
This pop-up menu allows you to decide whether Sequel 
will create a new project when you load up or load the last 
project you were working on.
Audio Settings
Audio Connection
Clicking here brings up a pop-up menu where you can se-
lect which ASIO driver you would like to use for audio 
playback. 
Click the “Setup…” button to bring up the control panel 
for you audio interface. 
Click “Reset” to reset the ASIO driver settings.
Output Selector
Clicking here brings up a pop-up menu where you can se-
lect the output on the interface that you would like to use 
as the output for the project.
Record Format
Here you can select the bit rate you would like to use for 
recording. There are two options:
16 Bit is the format used for CDs.
24 Bit provides noticeably better quality than 16 Bit, but 
it also requires more storage space on your hard disk.
User Interface
Panel Color
Use the slider to apply different colors to the main Sequel 
program window.
Show Tips
Show tips, when activated, will display tips when you 
hover over a button or object.
Options
Instrument Recording – Auto Quantize
If this option is activated, anything recorded on a track will 
automatically be quantized.
Instrument Recording – Record Placement Method 
(Windows only)
When a MIDI interface sends notes to the application, this 
data includes timing information (so-called “timestamps”) 
to correctly position the MIDI events on the Sequel time-
line. There may be situations in which these timestamps 
are not in sync with the internal timing information of Se-
quel, so recorded MIDI events will not be positioned cor-
rectly (usually, they occur “too late”). 
If timing problems with the recorded MIDI events occur 
with your operating system, try changing the Record 
Placement Method from “A” (uses timing information of 
Sequel) to “B” (uses MIDI timestamp) or vice versa. 
Metronome – Record/Playback
You can activate or deactivate the Metronome buttons so 
that the click will only be active during Record, Playback, 
or Playback and Record. 
Metronome – Level
You can also adjust the Metronome volume using the 
Level slider in the Metronome section.
Remote Controller Source
If you have connected more than one external controller, 
use this pop-up menu to select the corresponding input. 
						

							10
Advanced features 
						

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Advanced features
Introduction
In this chapter, we are going to go over some of the ad-
vanced features found in Sequel. Make sure you have gone 
through all of the previous chapters before proceeding.
ÖThe following sections make references to tutorial 
projects, located in the default Sequel project folder.
Adding silence
Adding silence allows you to strip out or mute sections of 
an audio event to erase unwanted clicks or glitches. This is 
great for removing headphone bleed from vocal tracks or 
any other extraneous noise when there should be silence. 
ÖThe process is non-destructive. It only mutes the se-
lected section of audio.
Here we have a simple project with drums, bass, guitar 
and an organ track.
The guitar track was recorded by placing a mic in front of 
the amp. Therefore, there is a lot of noise present when 
the guitarist wasn’t playing anything. Let’s clean it up.
1.Select the “Guitar” event.
2.In the Multi Zone, select the Editor Page.
3.Notice that, when you hover the cursor over the sam-
ple editor, it changes to a selection tool.4.Find an area where the guitarist wasn’t playing. There 
is an area right at the beginning and in between the first 
and second bar. Click and drag to highlight a section of 
the event. You may want to zoom in.
Notice that the selection area becomes gray. 
Let’s make sure that the selection doesn’t contain any au-
dio that we want to keep.
5.Place your cursor at the left and right edge of the se-
lection. The cursor changes allowing us to adjust the size 
of the selection by clicking and dragging.
Adjust the selection so that it is as tight as possible to the audio that you 
want to keep.
6.When you are done, press [Delete] or [Backspace] on 
your computer keyboard to remove the selection and cre-
ate silence.
!Load the project “Adding Silence 1” found in the 
“Sequel Tutorial 5” folder.