Steinberg Sequel 2 Operation Manual

							81
Advanced features
Add silence to any other areas in the Guitar event that you 
think might need it.
Audio quantization and warp
Audio Quantization
Audio quantization and warp allow you to lock events to 
the project tempo. This is great for correcting audio that 
has bad timing.
The quantize function in Sequel is automatic and is great 
for quickly locking drum tracks to tempo.
Here we have a “Drums” event that has a few timing issues.
1.Start playback using the space bar to hear how the 
drum beat strays off time.
2.Turn on the metronome to hear the mistakes more 
clearly.
3.Double-click on the “Drums” event to view it in the 
sample editor.4.Change the Stretch Mode to “Song Tempo” and 
change the optimization to “Mix”.
First of all, make sure that the right number of bars is set 
and that the grid lines are positioned at the visible beats.In our example, these settings should be OK, so leave everything as it is.
5.Make sure that the Quantize value is set to “1/4”.
You can see the audio file locking to the nearest quarter note.
6.Click on the “Warp Beats” button.
This will automatically snap the audio to the selected Quantize value.
7.Play back the project and you will find that it is now in 
perfect time.
!Load the project “Adding Silence 2” found in the 
“Sequel Tutorial 5” folder to hear the project now 
that silence has been added.
!Load the project “Audio Quantize” found in the “Se-
quel Tutorial 5” folder.
Turn the Metronome on to hear the poor timing.
Quantize set to 1/4 
						

							82
Advanced features
Free Warp
Sometimes, an event might need a bit of manual adjust-
ment as well. That’s where “Free Warp” comes in handy. 
Free Warp tabs are a kind of anchor that can be attached 
to musically relevant time positions in the audio, e.g. the 
first beat of every bar. They allow you to effortlessly stretch 
and warp audio as you please.
ÖMake sure to read the entire section “Audio Quantiza-
tion” on page 81 above before moving on.
1.Double-click on the “Drums” event to view it in the 
Sample Editor.
2.Make sure that the Stretch Mode “Song Tempo” is se-
lected and activate the “Free Warp” button.
In this mode, we can adjust the timing of the audio file by creating Warp 
tabs and dragging them to match up properly with the bars and beats in 
the ruler. Warp tabs are a kind of marker or anchor that can be attached 
to musically relevant time positions in an audio event, e.g. the first beat of 
every bar, and dragged to the corresponding time positions. The audio 
will be stretched accordingly. 
3.Determine where the first beat of a bar in the audio 
event does not match the corresponding ruler position in 
the waveform. Click at the beginning of this beat to create 
a warp tab.
The Stretch mode/Optimization section is highlighted to indicate that 
free warping has been applied to the active audio event.
4.Once set, the position of a warp tab relative to a beat 
is fixed. If you didn’t hit the desired position (i.e. the begin-
ning of the offset beat) in the first go, you need to delete 
the warp tab, and create a new one by clicking at the right 
position. (Zooming in might be useful.) Moving a warp tab 
in the waveform always affects the timing.
5.Drag the Warp tab left or right to the ruler time posi-
tion you want it to be in order to adjust the timing.
The audio will be stretched accordingly.
!Load the project “Audio Warp” found in the “Sequel 
Tutorial 5” folder.
!The warp tabs you draw will always snap to bar and 
beat positions. 
						

							83
Advanced features
6.Repeat this procedure for any drum beats that appear 
off time. Keep listening back to make sure that you are 
getting the desired result.
If you are not satisfied, you have two options:
You can delete a warp tab by clicking on the triangle at 
the top of the ruler. 
By deleting the Warp tab the stretched audio will also be reset.
You can click the “Reset Warping” button.
This way, all manually adjusted Warp tabs will be reset.
You can also perform a new auto-quantization by se-
lecting a new quantize value from the Quantize pop-up.
Note that any manual changes of grid lines you have made will be lost 
when you click the “Warp Beats” button. 
If you activate the Free Warp function with the “Warp 
Beats” button activated, the Quantize grid will be dis-
played by Warp tabs. 
You can now adjust these Warp tabs with the Free Warp tool.
Congratulations! You have just successfully warped an au-
dio file to fit the bars and beats of your project. It doesn’t 
matter how off your audio is, because you can always warp 
it on time.
Smart Transpose
When you set the Project Root Key in the Pilot Zone, it 
becomes the reference that any audio file or MIDI loop will 
follow when it is added to a project. What this means is 
that when you add a file to your project that has a defined 
key, it will be changed to match the root key of the project.
What Smart Transpose does is make sure that the loop is 
transposed to the nearest interval or pitch. This way, no 
loop will be transposed by more than six semitones. This 
ensures that loops never sound too unnatural because the 
pitch was raised too high or too low. 
Let’s see this in action.
1.Go to the MediaBay Page in the Multi Zone.
2.In the search field, type in “Bb guitar”. Press [Enter]/
[Return] on your computer keyboard. Sequel will filter the 
results for us.
3.Drag the “03 105 Bb Guitar” loop to bar 1.
4.Notice that the project’s “Tempo” and the “Project 
Root Key” changed to match the loop. The Project Root 
Key is now “A#” which is the same thing (enharmonic 
equivalent) as “Bb”.
5.Go back to the MediaBay Page. This time enter “D 
horns” in the search field.
!Load the project “Smart Transpose” found in the 
“Sequel Tutorial 5” folder.
Enter “Bb guitar” in the search field. Search Results
Project Root Key 
						

							84
Advanced features
6.Drag the “02 112 D horns” loop to bar 1 underneath 
the guitar.
7.Click on the “03 105 Bb Guitar” event and go to the 
Editor Page. Notice that the Root Key is “A#” and Trans-
pose is set to “0”.
8.Now click on the “02 112 D horns” event. Notice that 
the Root Key is “D” and Transpose is set to “-4”. Smart 
Transpose has automatically transposed the “02 112 D 
horns” loop to the closest interval.9.Play what we have so far and hear that the guitar and 
horns are in the same key without any extraneous transpo-
sition.
Let’s add a drum loop to the project. Drum loops aren’t 
affected by the Project Root Key or Smart Transpose. 
They can only be transposed using the “Transpose” fea-
ture in the Sample Editor.
1.Go back to the MediaBay Page and enter “Bb drums” 
in the search field. Drag “03 105 Bb drums 03” into the 
project at bar 1 underneath the “02 112 D horns” event.
2.Select the “03 105 Bb drums 03” event and press the 
[P] key on your computer keyboard to create a cycle re-
gion that is the exact length of the event.
3.Activate the Cycle button and press “Play” to listen to 
the project. Notice that the “03 105 Bb drums 03” event 
was not transposed – that’s Smart Transpose!
ÖAnother great thing about Smart Transpose is that 
when you use the Transpose track for global transpose 
(see “Show Transpose Track” on page 50) or change the 
Project Root Key, the loops won’t all transpose in parallel, 
which usually results in a more natural sounding transposi-
tion.
4.Keep the project looping and try changing the Project 
Root Key around to test this out.
ÖRemember, if you want to transpose a loop manually, 
you can do so using the Transpose feature in the Sample 
Editor, which is not “smart” but absolute.
Transpose = 0
Root Key = A#
Transpose = -4
Root Key = D 
						

							85
Advanced features
Locking transpose
You can also lock the key of the loop using the “Transpose 
Lock” feature.
Drum, percussion and FX loops are transpose locked by 
default.
One button record
Normally, when you want to record something you need to 
record enable a track and click the Record button in the 
Pilot Zone. Recording will start after a two-bar precount, 
and will end when you deactivate the Record button or 
stop playback.
Sequel provides a second recording mode that allows you 
to record only in the area defined by the cycle markers. This 
is very handy, e. g. if you have just one little inaccuracy in an 
otherwise perfect recording: you can simply re-record that 
little section, and don’t have to record everything all over 
again.
1.Set up a track to record on, and make sure that it is 
record enabled.
2.Set up a cycle that exactly encompasses the area in 
which you wish to record.
3.Press [Ctrl]/[Command]+[R].
The project cursor jumps to a position exactly two bars before the left lo-
cator, and playback starts.
4.After the normal two bar precount, recording will start 
automatically as soon as the project cursor reaches the 
left locator, and will stop when the cursor reaches the 
right locator.
Playback will continue until you stop it.
You have three options to start this recording mode:
 By pressing [Ctrl]/[Command]+[R]
 By pressing [Ctrl]/[Command]+[*] (“multiply” on the numeric 
keypad)
 By [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking the Record button.
Remote-controlling Sequel
It is possible to remote-control certain Sequel functions by 
assigning external controllers, i.e. small mixers or keyboard 
controllers with USB or MIDI connection and the ability to 
send MIDI messages. This way, you can control special 
program parameters using the assigned faders and knobs 
on your external controller. The control assignment is saved 
for the application and will be available for all projects.
You can map the following Sequel parameters and func-
tions to your external controller: 
 The transport controls
 The page selection in the Multi Zone (except for the Program 
Settings Page)
 The Mixer Page controls
 The controls on the Track Inspector Page tabs (except for the 
Pictures tab) 
 The tab selection
 The Pads on the Arranger Page

ÖThe remote assignment will only be active if the 
mapped controls are displayed. 
ÖIf you assign a MIDI controller or a key on your keyboard 
to a Sequel function, this controller or key will be filtered, i.e. 
it will not be available as input for Instrument tracks. 
If e.g. you assign the note C-3 on your keyboard to remote control an on/
off function in Sequel, you will no longer be able to trigger the C-3 note 
with this key. Note that this filter will only be active, if the corresponding 
controls are displayed.
ÖIf you have connected more than one external control-
ler, use the Remote Controller Source pop-up menu in the 
Options section of the Program Settings Page to select 
the corresponding input.
Transpose Lock
Transpose 
						

							86
Advanced features
Assigning Controllers using the mouse
Proceed as follows:
1.Connect your remote device with the USB or MIDI port 
on your computer and start Sequel.
2.Click the Edit Remote Control Assignment button in 
the Sequel Pilot Zone.
The main user interface becomes dimmed, so that you can clearly see 
which elements can be assigned to remote controls (indicated by black 
frames).
3.Select the function you would like to control with your 
remote device by clicking on it in the user interface.
The button turns red and the assignment browser appears to indicate 
that you can now assign a remote control to this function.
4.Click on the Remote Object List button in the right 
corner of the assignment browser to show all elements of 
the assignment browser.The assignment browser consists of the following ele-
ments:
 The Sticky Browser button in the top left corner of the assign-
ment browser indicates if the browser is fixed (closed padlock 
symbol) or closes automatically after a few seconds (open 
padlock symbol). Click on the button to change its status.
 Click on the small button in the additional Info column to let 
the program know that the assigned control is an endless 
fader (two arrows forming a circle will appear).
 The Reset Remote Assignment button allows you to remove a 
controller assignment from a specific control.
 The default name for the assigned remote control (at the bot-
tom of the list) can be changed allowing you to keep an over-
view of the assigned controls. Just click on the name and enter 
a new descriptive and unique name, e.g. the name of the con-
trol on your external device. 
5.Move the desired control on your external device to 
map the physical control to the program function.
The selected function is now assigned to the control on the remote de-
vice. This is indicated by the corresponding program control turning blue. 
At the bottom of the assignment browser it is now indicated which Re-
mote item has been assigned to the selected function.
Sticky 
Browser 
Reset Remote 
Assignment
Remote Object 
List button
The name of the 
Sequel function
The default or user-defined name 
for the assigned remote control.
Assigned Remote 
controllersAdditional 
Info 
						

							87
Advanced features
ÖEach time you assign a new remote controller to a Se-
quel function, a new entry appears in the list of available 
Remote Items. By default, these entries are named Re-
mote Item x, where x represents an incrementing number.
6.To assign another remote controller, click on the next 
program function with the mouse.
You can also step through the assignable functions with the arrow keys, 
see below.
ÖIf you assign the Multi Zone pages first, you can use 
the controls on your remote device to switch between the 
different pages. 
7.To get an overview of the assigned remote objects, 
click the Remote Object List button in the lower right cor-
ner of the assignment browser.
All remote controls that have been assigned are now shown.
8.When you are done, click the green button at the top 
of the page to switch back to normal mode.
Congratulations! You can now use your remote device to 
control the assigned Sequel functions.
Assigning Controllers using key commands
You also assign controllers to Sequel functions using key 
commands. Proceed as follows:
1.Press [F] to enter the Edit Remote Control Assignment 
mode.
The main user interface becomes dimmed, so that you can clearly see 
which elements can be assigned to remote controls (indicated by black 
frames).
2.Use the arrow keys to step through the assignable 
functions.
The selected control element turns red and the assignment browser ap-
pears to indicate that you can assign a remote control to this function.
3.Move the desired control on your external device to 
map the physical control to the program function.
Use the arrow keys on your computer keyboard to step 
through the available parameters.
Use the [Enter] key on the numeric keypad to make se-
lections, activate functions or to confirm your settings.
Press [Esc] to exit a List or browser window or deacti-
vate the Edit Remote Control Assignment mode. 
						

							11
Setting up your system 
						

							89
Setting up your system
About this chapter
In this chapter, you will find information on the basic com-
puter setup (audio card and drivers, etc.) and on more ad-
vanced audio and MIDI system setups.
General notes on how to set up your 
system
RAM – There is a direct relation between the amount of 
available RAM and the number of audio channels that you 
can have running.
The amount of RAM specified above is the minimum requirement, but as 
a general rule “the more the better” applies.
Hard disk size – The size of the hard disk determines 
how many minutes of audio you will be able to record.
Recording one minute of stereo CD quality audio requires 10 MB of hard 
disk space. That is, eight stereo tracks in Sequel use up at least 80 MB 
of disk space per recording minute.
Hard disk speed – The speed of the hard drive also de-
termines the number of audio tracks you can run.
That is the quantity of information that the disk can read, usually expressed 
as “sustained transfer rate”. Again, “the more the better” applies.
Wheel mouse – We recommend that you use a wheel 
mouse.
This will speed up value editing and scrolling considerably.
Defragmenting the hard disk 
(Windows only)
If you plan to record audio on a hard disk where you have 
already stored other files, now is the time to defragment it. 
Use the Windows Defragmentation tool to optimize your 
system’s performance.
MIDI requirements
If you intend to use the MIDI features of Sequel, you need 
the following:
 A MIDI interface to connect external MIDI equipment to your 
computer

 Any audio equipment required to listen to the sound from your 
MIDI devices
Installing a MIDI interface/synthesizer card
Installation instructions for a MIDI interface should be in-
cluded with the product. However, here’s an outline of the 
necessary steps:
1.Install the interface (or MIDI synthesizer card) inside 
your computer or connect it to a “port” (connector) on the 
computer.
Which is right for you depends on which type of interface you have.
2.If the interface has a power supply and/or a power 
switch, turn it on.
3.Install the driver for the interface, as described in the 
documentation that comes with the interface.
You should also make sure to check the manufacturer’s web site for the 
latest driver updates.
Audio hardware
Sequel will run with audio hardware that meets the follow-
ing specifications:


 Sampling rate: 44.1kHz.
 Windows – The audio hardware must be supplied with a spe-
cial ASIO driver, or a DirectX compatible driver, see below.
 Mac – The audio hardware must be supplied with Mac OS X 
compatible drivers (CoreAudio or ASIO).
!On the Steinberg web site, under “Support-DAW 
Components”, you can find detailed information on 
what to consider when setting up a computer system 
dedicated to audio work. 
						

							90
Setting up your system
Using the built-in audio hardware of the 
Macintosh
As of this writing, all current Macintosh models provide at 
least built-in 16 bit stereo audio hardware. For detailed in-
formation, refer to the documentation describing your com-
puter.
Depending on your preferences and requirements, using 
the built-in audio hardware may be sufficient for use with 
Sequel. It is always available for selection in Sequel – you 
don’t need to install any additional drivers.
About drivers
A driver is a piece of software that allows a program to 
communicate with a certain piece of hardware. In this 
case, the driver allows Sequel to use the audio hardware. 
For audio hardware, there are different cases, requiring 
different driver configurations:
If the audio hardware has a specific ASIO driver
Professional audio cards often come with an ASIO driver 
written especially for the card. This allows for communica-
tion directly between Sequel and the audio card. As a re-
sult, audio cards with specific ASIO drivers can provide 
lower latency (input-output delay). The ASIO driver may 
also provide special support for multiple inputs and out-
puts, routing, synchronization, etc.
Audio card-specific ASIO drivers are provided by the card 
manufacturers. Make sure to check the manufacturer’s 
web site for the latest driver versions.
If the audio card communicates via DirectX (Windows 
only)
DirectX is a Microsoft “package” for handling various 
types of multimedia data under Windows. Sequel sup-
ports DirectX, or to be more precise, DirectSound, which 
is a part of DirectX used for playing back and recording 
audio. This requires two types of drivers:
 A DirectX driver for the audio card, allowing it to communicate 
with DirectX. If the audio card supports DirectX, this driver 
should be supplied by the audio card manufacturer. If it isn’t 
installed with the audio card, please check the manufacturer’s 
web site for more information.
 The ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver, allowing Sequel to com-
municate with DirectX. This driver is included with Sequel, and 
does not require any special installation.
If the audio card communicates via the Generic Low 
Latency ASIO driver (Windows Vista only)
If you are working with Windows Vista, you can use the 
Generic Low Latency ASIO driver. This is a generic ASIO 
driver that provides ASIO support for all audio cards sup-
ported by Windows Vista, thus allowing for low latency. 
The Generic Low Latency ASIO driver provides the Win-
dows Vista Core Audio technology in Sequel. No addi-
tional driver is needed.
ÖThough the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver pro-
vides low latency for all audio cards, you might get better 
results with on-board audio cards than with external USB 
audio devices.
Installing the audio hardware and its driver
1.Install the audio card and related equipment in the 
computer, as described in the card’s documentation.
2.Install the driver for the card.
Depending on the operating system of your computer, there are different 
types of drivers that could apply: card-specific ASIO drivers, DirectX 
drivers (Windows) or Mac OS X (Mac) drivers.
Even if the drives are included with the card, you should 
always make sure to check the manufacturer’s website for 
most recent drivers.
Testing the card
To make sure the audio card will work as expected, perform 
the following two tests:
Use any software included with the audio card to make 
sure you can record and play back audio without problems.
If the card is accessed via a standard operating system 
driver, try playing back audio using the computer’s standard 
audio application (e.g. Windows Media Player or Apple 
iTunes).
!Some Macintosh models have audio outputs but no 
inputs. This means that you can only play back audio 
– recording is not possible without additional audio 
hardware.
!If your audio hardware comes with a specific ASIO 
driver we strongly recommend that you use this.