Steinberg Virtual Bassist Operation Manual

							 
Virtual Bassist
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System requirements (PC version)
 
To run Virtual Bassist you’ll need: 
•A PC with an 800 MHz Pentium or Athlon processor (1.4 GHz or faster 
recommended).
•256 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended).
•500 MB of hard disk space.
•Windows® XP Home or Professional.
•Windows MME compatible audio hardware (an ASIO compatible audio card 
is recommended).
•If you want to use Virtual Bassist as a plug-in, you’ll need Cubase or Nuendo 
(version 1.5 or higher) or another VST 2.0, DXi 2 or ReWire compatible host 
application. Please note that some features may not be supported in other 
host applications.
•A Steinberg Key and an available USB port.
•Monitor and graphics card supporting 1024 x 768 resolution.
 
Please also observe the system requirements of your host application.
 
Installing Virtual Bassist (PC version)
 
To install Virtual Bassist on your PC:  
1. 
Switch on your computer and wait for Windows to start. 
2. 
Insert the Virtual Bassist CD ROM into your CD ROM drive. 
3. 
Open the Windows Explorer, or the “My Computer” window, and 
double-click on the CD ROM drive icon. 
4. 
Double-click on the Virtual Bassist Installer icon to run the installation 
program, and follow the on-screen instructions. 
						

							 
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System requirements (Mac version)
 
To run Virtual Bassist you’ll need: 
•A Power Mac G4 867 MHz computer (Power Mac G4 Dual and 1.25 GHz or 
faster recommended).
•256 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended).
•500 MB of hard disk space.
•Mac OS X version 10.3 or higher.
•CoreAudio compatible audio hardware.
•If you want to use Virtual Bassist as a plug-in, you’ll need Cubase or Nuendo 
(version 1.5 or higher) or another VST 2.0, AU or ReWire compatible host 
application.
 
Please note that some features may not be supported in other host 
applications. 
•A Steinberg Key and an available USB port.
•Monitor and graphics card supporting 1024 x 768 resolution.
 
Please also observe the system requirements of your host application.
 
Installing Virtual Bassist (Mac version)
 
To install Virtual Bassist on your Mac:
 
1. 
Switch on your computer and insert the Virtual Bassist CD ROM. 
2. 
If the CD window doesn’t open automatically, double-click on the 
Virtual Bassist CD icon on your desktop. 
3. 
Double-click the Syncrosoft LCC.mpkg file to run the copy protection 
installation program and follow the on-screen instructions. 
4. 
Depending on the format you want to install, open the folder “Virtual 
Bassist VST”, “Virtual Bassist AU” or “Virtual Bassist ReWire”. Please 
read the corresponding *.rtf file in there. Double-click the *.pkg file to 
run the Virtual Bassist installation program and follow the on-screen 
instructions. 
						

							 
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5. 
After installing the plug-in copy the folder “Virtual Bassist Content” to 
your system hard drive in the folder “Library/Application Support/ 
Steinberg/”. 
If you copy the content to another directory on your hard drive you will 
have to run the “Set VB Content Location” application in the “Virtual Bass-
 
ist Content” folder on your hard drive, otherwise VB will not find its data!
 
Activating the Steinberg Key
 
Whether you purchased a new key with Virtual Bassist, or if you want to 
use one you bought with a different Steinberg product: your Steinberg 
Key does not yet contain a valid license for Virtual Bassist. You must 
download a license to it before you can launch Virtual Bassist! Use the 
activation code supplied with the program in order to download a valid 
Virtual Bassist license to your Steinberg Key. This process is the same 
for existing and new keys. Proceed as follows: 
1. 
After installation and restarting the computer, plug the Steinberg Key 
into the USB port. 
If you are unsure of which port this is, consult the computer’s documentation.
 
2. 
If this is the first time a copy protection device is plugged in, it will be 
registered as a new hardware device, and a dialog will appear asking 
you whether you would like to find drivers for the device manually or 
automatically. 
Choose to find drivers automatically. The dialog closes and you may have to reboot 
your computer.
 
3. 
Make sure that your computer has a working internet connection. 
License download is made “online”. If your Virtual Bassist computer isn’t connected to 
the internet, it’s possible to use another computer for the online connection – proceed 
with the steps below and see the help for the License Control Center application.
 
4. 
Launch the “License Control Center” application (found in the Windows 
Start menu under “Syncrosoft” or in the Macintosh Applications folder). 
This application allows you to view your Steinberg Keys and load or transfer licenses. 
						

							 
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5. 
Use the License Control Center “Wizard” function along with the ac-
tivation code supplied with Virtual Bassist to download the license to 
your Key. 
Simply follow the on-screen instructions. If you are uncertain about how to proceed 
consult the help for LCC.
 
When the activation process is completed you are ready to launch 
Virtual Bassist! 
Setting up Virtual Bassist as a VST Instrument 
in your host application
 
This section describes how to set up Virtual Bassist with Cubase SX 
as your host application. However, the same procedure applies to 
most VST host applications, you should consult your host’s documen-
tation if you need further help.
Make sure the host program has been correctly installed and set up to 
work with your MIDI and audio hardware (e.g. MIDI keyboard and an 
audio card).
To set up Virtual Bassist: 
1. 
Open the VST Instruments window. 
2. 
Click the “No Instruments” label and select Virtual Bassist from the 
pop-up menu. 
3. 
Wait for a few seconds while Virtual Bassist loads its default Style. 
The Virtual Bassist window will open automatically. 
4. 
In the VST host application, select Virtual Bassist as the output for a 
MIDI track. 
						

							 
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Setting up Virtual Bassist as a DXi2 instrument
 
The information in this section refers to using Virtual Bassist within Cake-
walk SONAR. We assume that you have correctly set up both SONAR and 
your available MIDI and audio hardware. Should you wish to use Virtual 
Bassist within another DXi2 compatible host application, please refer to 
 
its documentation.
 
Proceed as follows to activate Virtual Bassist: 
1. 
Make sure that SONAR is receiving MIDI data generated by your ex-
ternal MIDI master keyboard. You can check this visually with the 
“MIDI In/Out Activity” tray icon. 
2. 
In SONAR, open the “Synth Rack” window from the View menu. 
3. 
Click the Insert button (or select the Insert option on the main menu). 
4. 
Open the DXi Synth submenu and select “Virtual Bassist” from the 
pop-up menu. 
5. 
By default the “Insert DXi Options” dialog appears. To create one MIDI 
track and connect an audio track to Virtual Bassist’s 1+2 outputs, ac-
tivate the options “Midi Source Track” and “First Synth Output”. 
Refer to your host application’s documentation for further details.
 
6. 
Clicking the “Connection State” button in the Synth Rack will activate/
deactivate Virtual Bassist. By default this is automatically activated 
when DXi SoftSynths are loaded.  
7. 
Double-click on the “Virtual Bassist” entry or click the “Synth Proper-
ties” button in the tool bar of the Synth Rack to open the Virtual Bassist 
window. 
8. 
In SONAR, select the previously created MIDI track “Virtual Bassist”. 
Virtual Bassist will now receive MIDI data from the selected track. 
Make sure that the MIDI channel of the currently selected SONAR track is set to the 
channel on which Virtual Bassist is to receive MIDI data. 
						

							 
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Using Virtual Bassist in an AU compatible 
application
 
You can use Virtual Bassist in any AU host application (e.g. Logic). 
The Virtual Bassist AU version is installed in the folder “Library/Audio/
Plug-ins/Components” and lets Virtual Bassist work in an AU environ-
ment – without any performance loss or incompatibilities.
For Logic Pro 7 proceed as follows: 
1. 
Open the Track Mixer and choose the desired Instrument channel. 
2. 
[Command]-click the I/O field and, in the pop-up menu that appears, 
choose Stereo. 
3. 
In the sub-menu that appears, select AU Instrument, then Steinberg 
and then Virtual Bassist. 
Virtual Bassist is now loaded as an AU instrument and ready to be 
played! 
Virtual Bassist stand-alone and ReWire
 
Virtual Bassist can be used as a stand-alone application, indepen-
dently of any host application. This makes it possible to use Virtual 
Bassist in sequencer applications that do not support one of the pro-
vided plug-in formats of Virtual Bassist (i.e. VST, DXi, AU), but allow 
for data exchange using ReWire.
ReWire2 is a special protocol for streaming audio and MIDI data be-
tween two computer applications. When using ReWire, the order in 
which you launch and quit the two programs is very important, as the 
first audio application launched will capture the sound card resources.
Proceed as follows: 
1. 
First, launch the sequencer application you wish to use (e.g. Ableton 
Live, ProTools). If your sequencer supports ReWire, it will provide a 
way to assign audio and MIDI channels for the exchange of data. See 
the documentation of your host application for details. 
						

							 
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Now, launch Virtual Bassist as a stand-alone application. You can launch the program 
just like any other application on your computer through the Start menu or desktop icon 
(Windows) or by double-clicking the application symbol in the Applications folder (Mac). 
You can also double-click the Virtual Bassist program file in the installation folder.
 
2. 
Now when playing a Style with Virtual Bassist, the sound is streamed via 
ReWire to the assigned mixer channels in your host. Note that you are 
now running two completely separate applications. When you save your 
sequencer project, this will include the overall channel and bus configu-
ration, but none of the settings in Virtual Bassist! To retain your Virtual 
Bassist settings, choose the Save Bank command from the Virtual 
Bassist File menu. You may want to choose a file name that indicates 
that the file contains settings created for a particular sequencer project. 
Similarly, when you re-open a project in your sequencer application and 
have launched Virtual Bassist, use the Load Bank command in Virtual 
Bassist to reload any settings pertaining to this particular project. 
Latency
 
Although Virtual Bassist is practically latency-free, high latency times 
(the delay between pressing keys on your MIDI keyboard and hearing 
a sound) can occur when you play Virtual Bassist via your MIDI key-
board in real time. 
This is often caused by the audio card or the MIDI interface, although 
it won’t be an issue when playing back a project with a Virtual Bassist 
MIDI track. To get rid of annoying real time latency, we recommend 
you to replace your current audio card with a professional audio card 
for which an ASIO driver is available. Most soundcards built into off-
the-shelf computers don’t use an ASIO driver and usually produce 
large latencies of up to several hundred milliseconds. 
Using a single button mouse (Mac)
 
Throughout the Virtual Bassist manual, references will be made to 
right clicking (i. e. on a mouse with more than one button, clicking with 
the button on the right). If you have a mouse with only a single button, 
you get the same result as when right-clicking by holding down the 
[Ctrl] key on your keyboard and clicking. 
						

							 
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The first test
 
At this point, you’re probably itching to get your hands on Virtual 
Bassist, so let’s get started: 
1. 
Activate Virtual Bassist (as described in the previous section). Virtual 
Bassist automatically loads a showcase Style. The “Latch” button on 
the Play page will be activated. 
2. 
Press the D1 key on your MIDI keyboard (to select a Part) and play a 
chord or note in the two octaves between C3 and B4 (the Pitch 
Range). Virtual Bassist will play a basic groove. Because the “Latch” 
button is activated, playback will continue when you release the key(s). 
3. 
Pressing white keys between D1 and B2 (the Remote Range) on your 
MIDI keyboard will select Parts, increasing in complexity from left to 
right. 
4. 
Pressing black keys (F#, G#, Bb) in the Remote Range will trigger 
Fills.  
After playing a Fill Virtual Bassist will return to playing the last Part chosen.
 
5. 
To stop Virtual Bassist immediately press C#1 or press D#1 to end 
playback with a sustained note, lasting one bar. 
The MIDI LED in the Virtual Bassist window lights up when Virtual Bass-
 
ist receives MIDI information. 
						

							 
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Playing Virtual Bassist
 
There are several ways to play Virtual Bassist: 
•You can play chords and notes and vary the expression using keyboard velo-
city, MIDI controllers and sustain pedal.
•If you don’t have a MIDI keyboard you can enter notes and other MIDI events 
using a MIDI editor provided by your host application. 
•Virtual Bassist can be used to replace tracks of existing projects and MIDI 
files to improve the way they sound. 
•You can use several instances of Virtual Bassist. You can use as many Virtual 
Bassists simultaneously as your host application and computer allow. There’s 
nothing wrong with using one Virtual Bassist to play the basic groove and at 
the same time use another to add additional licks or Fills.
 
Using a MIDI keyboard
 
When using a MIDI keyboard to play Virtual Bassist there are two 
ranges (or zones) used for different purposes.   
						

							 
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The Pitch Range 
 
The keyrange between C3 to B4 on your MIDI keyboard is called the 
Pitch Range and controls the pitch of the played Parts, Fills or Single 
Notes. In this range you can play notes or chords and Virtual Bassist 
will intelligently follow your playing. Playing any note in the Pitch Range 
with a high velocity (>125) produces an eighth or a quarter bass note, 
depending on the Style. This Accent is handy for varying your 
basslines in real-time. 
The Remote Range
 
The keyrange between C1 and B2 is called the Remote Range and 
triggers Parts, Fills, Single Note mode, Stop and End as well as a few 
other useful features. The functions of each key can be freely as-
signed in the Parts Browser which is explained below. By default the 
Remote range is assigned as follows: 
Note that you can swap the order of the Pitch and the Remote Range in 
 
the Keyboard Layout section of the Settings page (see page 68).
 
Key Function Description 
C1 Single Note ModeWhen active, any MIDI notes or chords played in the 
Pitch Range will produce a single sustained bass note.
C#1 Stop Virtual Bassist immediately stops playing.
F#, G#, Bb Fill Triggers a Fill.
D#1 Short End (1bar) Plays an ending note with a length of one bar.
D#1 Held End Holding the D#3 key will allow you to control the 
length of the final End note. When you releasse the 
key the End note stops playing.
C#2 4 or 5 strings Toggles between bass guitars with either four or five 
strings.
D#2 Chord/Note Determines whether a Part will play melodic bass 
lines or whether it will play the rhythmic pattern of the 
Part using only the root keys of the note or chord cho-
sen in the Pitch Range. Sometimes octave notes are 
also played when appropriate for the Style.