Operation Manual
Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement.
Table of Contents
10 Part I: Getting into the details 102 Folder tracks 11 About this manual 12 Welcome! 103 103 104 13 VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses 14 14 17 20 20 20 About this chapter Setting up busses Using the busses Setting up Groups and FX channels About monitoring External instruments/effects (Cubase only) 25 The Project window 26 28 35 56 Background Window Overview Operations Options 59 Playback and the Transport panel 60 61 63 Background Operations Options and Settings 65
162 Audio effects 233 The Sample Editor 163 163 164 169 170 174 175 176 176 179 234 235 240 245 246 About this chapter Overview Insert effects Send effects Setting up send effects Using the Side-Chain input Using external effects (Cubase only) Making settings for the effects Effect presets Installing and managing effect plug-ins 252 259 262 262 Background Window overview General Operations Options and settings Audio Warp realtime processing/Tempo matching audio to the project tempo Working with hitpoi
311 Track Quick Controls 312 312 313 314 374 375 377 377 377 Introduction Setting up the Quick Controls tab Options and settings Setting up quick controls on an external remote controller 379 The Project Logical Editor 315 MIDI realtime parameters and effects 316 316 317 319 321 323 380 380 380 381 381 387 387 388 389 Introduction The Inspector – General handling Basic track settings MIDI Modifiers MIDI effects Managing plug-ins 324 MIDI processing and quantizing 325 325 330 332 333 333 333 Selectin
421 Synchronization 475 Key commands 422 422 423 424 425 429 431 431 431 434 437 476 476 480 480 Background Synchronization signals Synchronizing the transport vs.
512 Entering and editing notes 541 Additional note and rest formatting 513 513 514 515 517 518 520 520 520 521 522 522 523 523 524 525 542 542 542 543 544 545 545 546 547 547 551 552 553 553 554 About this chapter Score settings Note values and positions Adding and editing notes Selecting notes Moving notes Duplicating notes Cut, copy and paste Editing pitches of individual notes Changing the length of notes Splitting a note in two Working with the Display Quantize tool Split (piano) staves Strategies:
594 Working with layouts 623 The score and MIDI playback 595 595 595 595 595 596 597 624 624 624 625 About this chapter Background: Layouts Creating a layout Opening a layout Layout operations Using layouts – an example Marker Track to Form 626 Printing and exporting pages 627 627 598 Working with MusicXML 599 600 629 629 630 632 633 Useful editing techniques If you wish you had a faster computer 634 Index About this chapter Background: Drum maps in the Score Editor Setting up the drum map Setting
Part I: Getting into the details
1 About this manual
Welcome! This is the Operation Manual for Steinberg’s Cubase. Here you will find detailed information about all the features and functions in the program. About the program versions The documentation covers two program versions; Cubase and Cubase Studio, for two different operating systems or “platforms”; Windows and Mac OS X. Some features described in the documentation are only applicable to the Cubase version.
2 VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses
About this chapter Here’s an example: Let’s say you are using audio hardware with eight analog inputs and outputs and digital stereo connections (10 inputs and outputs all in all). Furthermore, you work with a surround setup in 5.1 format (Cubase only). Here’s a list of busses you may wish to add: Cubase uses a system of input and output busses to transfer audio between the program and the audio hardware. • Input busses let you route audio from the inputs on your audio hardware into the program.
Preparations The VST Connections window Before you set up busses, you should name the inputs and outputs on your audio hardware. For example, if you are using a 5.1 surround speaker setup, you should name the outputs according to which speaker they are connected to (Left, Right, Center and so on). You add and set up busses in the VST Connections window, opened from the Devices menu. The reason for this is compatibility – it makes it easier to transfer projects between different computers and setups.
Depending on which tab you have selected, Inputs or Outputs, the window lists the current input or output busses, with the following columns: Column Description Bus Name Lists the busses. You can select busses and rename them by clicking on them in this column. Speakers Indicates the speaker configuration (mono, stereo, surround formats) of each bus. Audio Device This shows the currently selected ASIO driver.
Using the busses Setting the Main Mix bus (the default output bus) The Main Mix is the output bus that each new channel in the mixer will be assigned to when it is created. This section describes briefly how to use the input and output busses you have created. For details refer to the chapters “Recording” on page 65 and “The mixer” on page 118. Any one of the output busses in the VST Connections window can be the default output bus.
• Cubase only: If you press [Alt]/[Option] and select an input or output bus in the Mixer Routing View, it will be chosen for all selected channels. • Surround tracks can be routed to External Inputs that are configured in the Studio tab of the VST Connections window, provided that these have the same input configuration. • Surround tracks can also be routed to output busses, provided that these have the same input configuration or will not lead to feedback.
Input channels (Cubase only) Output channels The output channels are shown to the right in the mixer. Here you can do the following: The input channels are shown to the left in the mixer. As you can see, each input channel resembles a regular mixer channel strip. Here you can do the following: • Adjust the output level for the busses with the faders. • Add effects or EQ. • Check and adjust the recording level using the Input Gain knobs and/or the level fader. These will affect the whole bus.
Setting up Groups and FX channels About monitoring The Group/FX tab in the VST Connections window shows all Group channels and FX channels in your project. You can create new Group or FX channels by clicking the corresponding Add button. This is the same as creating Group channel tracks or FX channel tracks in the Project window (see “Using group channels” on page 138 and the chapter “Audio effects” on page 162).
• As always, audio hardware with low-latency drivers is a good thing to have. 3. In the dialog that appears, enter a name for the external effect and specify the Send and Return configurations. If you want to set up a MIDI device corresponding to the external effect, click the “Associate MIDI Device” button. Cubase will compensate for the input/output latency and ensure that the audio processed through external effects isn’t shifted in time.
Setting up external instruments 8. When you are done, close the VST Connections window. 1. Open the VST Connections window from the Devices menu. Ö Note that external device ports are exclusive, see “Connecting the external effect/instrument” on page 21. 2. Open the External Instrument tab and click “Add External Instrument”.
Setting Description MIDI Device When you click in this column, a pop-up menu opens where you can either disconnect the instrument from the associated MIDI device, select a MIDI device, create a new device or open the MIDI Device Manager in Cubase to edit the MIDI device. When Studio Manager 2 is installed, you may also select an OPT editor to access your external instrument.
About the “plug-in could not be found” message • Use the arrow buttons next to the Tail Size value field to set the desired Tail length, i.e. the range after the part boundary that should also be included for the freeze. You can also click directly in the value field and enter the desired value manually (the maximum value being 60 s). When you open a project that uses an external effect/instrument, you may get a “plug-in could not be found” message.
3 The Project window
Background Track type Description MIDI For recording and playing back MIDI parts. Each MIDI track has a corresponding MIDI channel strip in the mixer. It’s possible to edit MIDI tracks directly in the Project window, using the Edit In-Place function (see “Edit In-Place” on page 354). A MIDI track can have any number of automation “subtracks” for automating mixer channel parameters, insert and send effect settings etc.
Audio handling When you work with audio files, it is crucial to understand how audio is handled in Cubase: When you edit or process audio in the project window, you always work with an audio clip that is automatically created on import or when you record audio. This audio clip refers to the audio file on the hard disk that remains untouched. This means, that audio editing and processing is “non-destructive”, in the sense that you can always undo changes or revert to the original versions.
Window Overview The info line The Inspector The toolbar The Project overview The ruler The Track list with various track types The event display, showing audio parts and events, MIDI parts, automation, markers, etc. The Track list • The Track list area for an audio track: The Track list displays all the tracks used in a project. It contains name fields and settings for the tracks. Different track types have different controls in the Track list.
• The Track list area for an automation subtrack (opened by clicking the Show/Hide Automation button on a track): Append automation track Mute • For most track classes, the Inspector is divided into a number of sections, each containing different controls for the track. You can hide or show sections by clicking on their respective names. Automation Read/Write buttons Lock track button Clicking the name for a hidden section brings it into view and hides the other sections.
Ö Please note that not all Inspector tabs are shown by default. You can show/hide Inspector sections by rightclicking on an Inspector tab and activating/deactivating the desired option(s). Make sure you right-click on an inspector tab and not on the empty area below the Inspector, as this will open the Quick context menu instead. Parameter Description Edit Channel settings Opens the Channel Settings window for the track, allowing you to view and adjust effect and EQ settings, etc.
Parameter Description User Panel (Cubase only) Here you can display device panels, e.g. for external MIDI devices, audio track panels or VST insert effect panels. For information on how to create or import MIDI device setups, see the separate PDF document “MIDI Devices”. Once panels have been created, they are available from the User Panel section of the Inspector. Click on the arrow button at the top right of the User Panel section to view the available panels.
Folder tracks shown in the folder to have the Inspector show the settings for that FX channel – this way you don’t have to “open” a folder track to access the settings for the FX channels in it. When a folder track is selected, the Inspector shows the folder and its underlying tracks, much like a folder structure in the Windows Explorer or Mac OS X Finder.
The toolbar The info line The toolbar contains tools and shortcuts for opening other windows and various project settings and functions: Constrain delay compensation (see the chapter “VST Instruments and Instrument tracks” on page 182). The info line shows information about the currently selected event or part in the Project window. You can edit almost all values on the info line using regular value editing.
Editing Transpose and Velocity for MIDI parts Option When one or several MIDI parts are selected, the info line contains Transpose and Velocity fields. Seconds Hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds. Timecode This format displays hours, minutes, seconds and frames. The number of frames per second (fps) is set in the Project Setup dialog (see “The Project Setup dialog” on page 35). You can choose between 24, 25, 29.97 and 30 fps or 29.97 and 30 dfps (“drop frame”).
• To add a ruler track, select “Add Track” from the Project menu and from the submenu that appears, select “Ruler”. Operations A ruler track showing an additional ruler is added to the Track list. Creating a new project You create a new project in the following way: 1. Select “New Project” from the File menu. A ruler track set to the display format “Seconds”. A dialog appears, including any custom templates you may have created (see “Save as Template” on page 451).
Zoom and view options The following settings are available in the Project Setup dialog: Setting Description Start The start time of the project. Allows you to have the project start at another time than zero. Also used for setting the sync start position when synchronizing Cubase to external devices (see “Setting up Cubase for external sync to timecode” on page 426). When you change this setting you will be asked whether you want to keep the project content at its timecode positions.
• If the option “Zoom while Locating in Time Scale” is activated in the Preferences (Transport page), you can also zoom by clicking in the main ruler and dragging up or down with the mouse button pressed. • You can decide for each track type what controls should be shown in the Track list – see “Customizing track controls” on page 467. • You can use the Track scale pop-up (opened by clicking the arrow button above the vertical zoom control) to set the number of tracks to view in the current Project window.
1. Move the mouse pointer over the lower border of the (unselected) track you want to resize. • If you want to delete a preset, select “Organize…” from the pop-up menu. The mouse pointer turns into a divider symbol. In the dialog that appears, select the preset in the list and click the Delete button. The preset is removed from the list. 2. Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag the lower border of the track until it reaches the desired height.
Adjusting how parts and events are shown Option Description The Preferences on the File menu (the Cubase menu, under Mac OS X) contains several settings for customizing the display in the Project window. Thick Fade Lines If this option is activated, the fade lines and volume curves are thicker, increasing their visibility. Show Waveforms Determines whether audio waveforms should be shown at all.
Zooming and navigating in the overview line Handling tracks By clicking the Show Overview button on the toolbar, an extra pane appears under the toolbar; the project overview line. To add a track to the project, select “Add Track” from the Project menu and select a track type from the submenu that appears. The new track is added below the currently selected track in the Track list. • The items on the “Add Track” submenu are also available on the Quick menu.
• To select a track, click on it in the Track list. Disabling tracks A selected track is indicated by a light gray color in the Track list. Tracks can be disabled by selecting “Disable Track” from the Track list context menu. Disabling a track is similar to muting it (see “Muting events” on page 51), since a disabled track will not be played back. However, disabling a track not only “zeroes” the output volume from the track, but actually shuts down all disk activity for it.
Dividing the Track list (Cubase only) • You can resize the upper part by clicking and dragging the divider between the Track lists. It is possible to divide the Track list into two parts. Both sections will have independent zoom and scroll controls (if needed), but resizing the window vertically will affect the lower section only (if possible). This is useful if you’re working with a video track along with multi-track audio for example.
Whether to use musical or linear time base depends on the type of project and recording situation. You can always change this setting individually for each track, by clicking the musical/linear time base button in the Inspector or Track list. Musical time base is indicated by a note symbol, while linear time base is indicated by a clock symbol. • By using Copy and Paste on the Edit menu. This allows you to copy all kinds of events between projects.
The Preferences (Editing–Audio page) contains a setting that lets you decide which options, if any, to use. Select the desired option on the “On Import Audio Files” pop-up: There are two ways to do this: • Draw a part on a MIDI or audio track with the Pencil tool. You can also draw parts by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and using the Arrow tool. • Double-click with the Arrow tool on a MIDI or audio track, between the left and right locator. • Open Options Dialog.
Editing parts and events 2. Click where you want playback to start, and keep the mouse button pressed. This section describes techniques for editing in the Project window. If not explicitly stated, all descriptions apply to both events and parts, even though we use the term “event” for convenience. Only the track on which you click is played back, starting at the click position. 3. Release the mouse button to stop playback.
• Select all events on a track by right-clicking in its Track list and selecting “Select All Events” from the pop-up menu that appears. • Also in the Preferences (Editing–Tools page), you can find the Cross Hair Cursor options section. This allows you to display a cross hair cursor when working in the Project window and editors, facilitating navigation and editing, especially when arranging in large projects.
Function Description Duplicating events Move to Front, Move to Back This function doesn’t actually change the position of the events, but moves the selected events to the front or back, respectively. This is useful if you have overlapping events, and want to see one that is partially obscured. For audio events, this is an extra important feature, since only the visible sections of events will be played back.
• Selecting “Repeat…” from the Edit menu opens a dialog, allowing you to create a number of copies (regular or shared) of the selected event(s). Renaming events By default, audio events show the name of their clip, but you can enter a separate descriptive name for separate events if you like. This is done by selecting the event and typing in a new name in the “Description” field in the info line. This works just like the Duplicate function, but you can specify the number of copies.
• When you hold down [Alt]/[Option] while clicking on an event with the Glue Tube tool, this event will be glued together with all following events on this track. The actual resizing is done by clicking and dragging the lower left or right corner of the event. If Snap is activated, the Snap value determines the resulting length (see “Snap” on page 56). You can change the default key command for this in the Preferences (Editing–Tool Modifiers page).
• It is also possible to resize events by using the Trim buttons (located in the Nudge palette) on the toolbar. 4. Release the mouse button. The part is “stretched” or “compressed” to fit the new length. This will move the start or end position of the selected Event(s) by the amount set on the Grid pop-up menu. The sizing type currently selected applies to this method too, with the exception of “Sizing Applies Time Stretch” which is not possible with this method.
If you edit one of the grouped events in the Project window, all other events in the same group are affected too (if applicable). • To lock events, select them and select “Lock…” from the Edit menu. The events will be locked according to the options specified in the Preferences. Group editing operations include: • • • • • • • • Selecting events. Moving and duplicating events. Resizing events. Adjusting fade-in and fade-out (audio events only, see “Creating fades” on page 88).
Muted events can be edited as usual (with the exception of adjusting fades), but are not played back. • If you click “Replace”, a new file is created, containing only the audio in the original event. A clip for the new file is added to the Pool, and the original event is replaced by a new event playing the new clip. • If you click “No”, a new file is created and a clip for the new file is added to the Pool. Muted events are “grayed out”. The original event is not replaced.
2. Now you can move events or parts between lanes, either by dragging or by using the “Move to Next Lane/Previous Lane” commands on the Edit menu or Quick menu. • In Lanes Auto mode, extra lanes will automatically be added where necessary – if two MIDI parts overlap, they will automatically be put on separate lanes.
• By using the Trim buttons on the toolbar. When the Range Selection tool is selected, the Select submenu on the Edit menu has the following items for making selection ranges: Option Description All Makes a selection that covers all tracks, from the start of the project to the end (as defined by the Length setting in the Project Setup dialog). None Removes the current selection range. Invert Only used for event selection (see “Selecting events” on page 45).
Making selection ranges for several non-contiguous tracks Using Cut, Copy and Paste When working with selection ranges, you can either use Cut, Copy and Paste on the Edit menu, or use the functions “Cut Time” and “Paste Time” on the Range submenu on the Edit menu. These work differently to their related functions on the Edit menu: You can create selection ranges that cover several tracks by pressing [Alt]/[Option]+[Shift]. However, it is also possible to exclude tracks from a selection range: 1.
Other functions Options On the Range submenu on the Edit menu, you will find three more range editing functions: Snap Function Description Split Splits any events or parts that are intersected by the selection range, at the positions of the selection range edges. Crop All events or parts that are partially within the selection range are cropped, that is, sections outside the selection range are removed. Events that are fully inside or outside the selection range are not affected.
Exactly how Snap works depends on which mode is selected on the Snap mode pop-up menu. Events In this mode, the start and end positions of other events and parts become “magnetic”. This means that if you drag an event to a position near the start or end of another event, it is automatically aligned with the start or end of the other event. For audio events, the position of the snap point is also magnetic (see “Adjusting the snap point” on page 241).
Grid + Cursor This is a combination of the “Grid” and “Magnetic Cursor” modes. Events + Cursor This is a combination of the “Events” and “Magnetic Cursor” modes. Events + Grid + Cursor This is a combination of the “Events”, “Grid” and “Magnetic Cursor” modes. Snap to Zero Crossing When this option is activated in the Preferences (Editing– Audio page), splitting and sizing of audio events is done at zero crossings (positions in the audio where the amplitude is zero).
4 Playback and the Transport panel
Background Active Arranger chain This chapter describes the various methods available for controlling Playback and Transport functions in Cubase. Current Arranger item Arranger Selector Activate Arranger Mode The Transport panel Below you can find a brief description of each item on the Transport panel.
Operations Hiding and showing the Transport Panel The Transport panel is shown by default when you launch a new project. To hide or show it, select “Transport Panel” on the Transport menu (or use a key command – by default [F2]). Setting the project cursor position There are several ways to move the project cursor position: • By using Fast Forward and Rewind.
Ö If Snap is activated when dragging the project cursor, the Snap value is taken into account. This is helpful for finding exact positions quickly. • You can swap time formats between the primary and secondary time displays by clicking the double arrow symbol between them. Ö There are also numerous key commands available for moving the project cursor (in the Transport category in the Key Commands dialog).
• The “Locators to Selection” item on the Transport menu (default key command [P]) sets the locators to encompass the current selection. • If you click the jog wheel during playback, playback will automatically stop. This is available if you have selected one or several events or made a selection range. The nudge position buttons (Cubase only) The + and – buttons in the middle of the Shuttle/Jog section allow you to nudge the project cursor position to the right or left, respectively.
Playback functions At the beginning of the first chorus you have another program change event which makes the same synth switch to a string sound. Apart from the standard transport controls on the Transport panel, you can also find a number of functions that can be used to control playback on the Transport menu.
5 Recording
Background This chapter describes the various recording methods that you can use in Cubase. 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. Record Enable in the Inspector, Track list and mixer.
Activating recording in Sync mode • If the Punch Out button is activated on the Transport panel, recording will be deactivated when the project cursor reaches the right locator. If you are synchronizing the Cubase 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).
Audio recording specifics Audio pre-record This feature allows you to capture up to 1 minute of any incoming audio you play in Stop mode or during playback, “after the fact”. This is possible because Cubase can capture audio input in buffer memory, even when not recording. Selecting a recording file format The format for recorded files is set in the Project Setup dialog on the Project menu. There are three settings: sample rate, record format (bit depth) and record file type.
• The higher the bit depth, the larger the files and the more strain is put on the disk system. Selecting an input bus for a track Here we assume that you have added and set up the required input busses (see “Setting up busses” on page 14). Before you record, you need to specify from which input bus the track should record. You can do this in the Inspector or in the mixer: If this is an issue, you may want to lower the record format setting.
• In the mixer, you select an input bus on the Input Routing pop-up menu at the top of the track’s channel strip. Selecting a folder for the recorded audio files (Cubase only) If this pop-up menu isn’t shown, you need to open the Mixer Routing View by clicking the “Show Routing” button in the extended Mixer common panel or by selecting “Show Routing View” from the Window submenu on the Mixer context menu. See “Configuring the mixer” on page 122 for more information about the mixer.
The procedure for checking the signal level coming into the audio hardware is slightly different depending on whether you are using Cubase or Cubase Studio: The next step is to check the level of the audio being written 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.).
Cubase Studio Monitoring In Cubase Studio, the input channels are not shown in the mixer. Instead, you need to check the level at the channel strip for the track on which you are recording: In this context, “monitoring” means listening to the input signal during recording. There are three fundamentally different ways to do this: via Cubase, externally (by listening to the signal before it reaches Cubase), or by using ASIO Direct Monitoring (which is a combination of both other methods – see below). 1.
• Tapemachine Style. ASIO Direct Monitoring This option emulates standard tapemachine behavior: input monitoring in Stop mode and during recording, but not during playback. If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may support ASIO Direct Monitoring. In this mode, the actual monitoring is done in the audio hardware by sending the input signal back out again. However, monitoring is controlled from Cubase.
Recording Recording overlapping events Recording is done using any of the general recording methods (see “Basic recording methods” on page 66). 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. Finally, a waveform image is calculated for the audio event. If the recording was very long, this may take a while.
Recording audio in cycle mode Create Events mode (Preferences) If you are recording audio in cycle mode, the result depends on two factors: • The “Cycle Record Mode” setting on the Transport panel. • The “Audio Cycle Record Mode” setting in the Preferences (Record-Audio page).
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. “Take” regions in the Pool window. To play back the different “takes”, proceed as follows: 1. In the Project window, right-click the event that was created during cycle recording.
Recording audio in Stacked mode 4. When you are satisfied with the result, select all events on all lanes and select “Delete Overlaps” from the Advanced submenu on the Audio menu. When you record audio in cycle mode and the “Stacked” Cycle Record Mode is selected on the Transport panel, the following happens: This puts all events back on a single lane and resizes events so that overlapped sections are removed. • Each complete recorded cycle lap is turned into a separate audio event.
However, there are two advantages to 32 Bit Float format: 4. Check the input level (of the signal coming into the audio hardware) as described in the section “Setting input levels” on page 70 and adjust the level of the source audio if necessary. • With 32 Bit Float recording, you don’t risk clipping (digital distortion) in the recorded files. This can of course be avoided with 24 or 16 Bit recording as well, but requires more care with the levels. 5.
MIDI recording specifics Naming MIDI ports in Cubase Activating MIDI Thru MIDI inputs and outputs are often displayed with unnecessarily long and complicated names. However, you can rename your MIDI ports to more descriptive names: Normally, when working with MIDI, you will have MIDI Thru activated in Cubase, and Local Off selected in your MIDI Instrument(s).
4. Pull down the Input Routing pop-up menu and select an input. 3. Use the channel pop-up menu to select a MIDI channel for the track. The available MIDI inputs are shown. The items on the menu depend on the type of MIDI interface you are using, etc. • If you set the track to MIDI channel “Any”, each MIDI event on the track will be sent out on the channel stored in the event itself. • If you select the “All MIDI Inputs” option, the track will receive MIDI data from all available MIDI inputs.
Recording Recording MIDI in cycle mode Recording MIDI is done according to the basic recording methods (see “Basic recording methods” on page 66). When you finish recording, a part containing MIDI events is created in the Project window.
Recording different types of MIDI messages Cycle Record mode: Stacked/Stacked 2 (No Mute) In this mode, the following happens: ! • Each recorded cycle lap is turned into a separate MIDI part. • The track is divided into “lanes”, one for each cycle lap. • The parts are stacked above each other, each on a different lane. • All takes but the last one are muted (Stacked). • If Stacked 2 is selected, no muting takes place.
The content of the MIDI buffer (i.e. what you just played) is turned into a MIDI part on the record enabled track. The part will appear where the project cursor was when you started playing – 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. System Exclusive messages System Exclusive (SysEx) is a special type of MIDI message used to send data that only makes sense to a unit of a certain make and type.
Options and Settings Filtering MIDI Recording-related Transport Preferences A couple of settings in the Preferences (Transport page) are relevant for recording. Set these according to your preferred method of work: Deactivate Punch In on Stop If this is activated, punch in on the Transport panel is automatically deactivated whenever you enter Stop mode.
An example: Metronome settings 1. Set the locators to where you want to start and end recording. You make settings for the metronome in the Metronome Setup dialog, opened from the Transport menu. 2. Activate Punch in and Punch out on the Transport panel. 3. Activate the option “Stop after Automatic Punch Out” in the Preferences (Transport page). 4. Set suitable preroll and postroll times by clicking in the corresponding fields on the Transport panel and typing in time values. 5.
Precount Options Description Use Time Signature at Project Time When this is activated, the precount will be in the time signature set in the Tempo track. Furthermore, any tempo changes in the Tempo track during the precount will be applied. Recovery of audio recordings after system failure Normally, when a computer crashes, all changes made to your current project since you last saved it will be lost. Usually, there is no quick and easy way to recover your work.
6 Fades, crossfades and envelopes
Creating fades • If the option “Fade Handles always on Top” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Event Display-Audio page), the fade handles stay at the top of the event, and vertical help lines indicate the exact end or start points of fades. There are two main types of fade-ins and fade-outs in audio events in Cubase: fades created by using the fade handles (see below) and fades created by processing (see “Fades created by processing” on page 89).
Creating and adjusting fades with the Range Selection tool About the volume handle A selected audio event also has a blue handle in the top middle. This is the volume handle, and it provides a quick way of changing the volume of an event, directly in the Project window. It is linked directly to the volume setting on the info line, that is, dragging the volume handle also changes the value on the info line.
Fades created this way are applied to the audio clip rather than to the event. Please note the following: • If you open the Fade dialog(s) with several events selected, you can adjust the fade curves for all these events at the same time. • If you later create new events that refer to the same clip, these will have the same fades. • You can remove or modify the fades at any time using the Offline Process History (see “The Offline Process History dialog” on page 227).
When you set the current Fade as the Default fade, the length value is included as part of the default settings. The Process Fade dialogs have the following buttons: Button Function Presets Preview If you have set up a fade-in or fade-out curve that you may want to apply to other events or clips, you can store it as a preset by clicking the Store button. Plays back the fade area. Playback will repeat until you click the button again (the button is labeled “Stop” during playback).
The Crossfade dialog An example: Audio events. Audio clips. The events in themselves do not overlap, but their clips do. Therefore, the events can be resized so that they overlap, which is required for a crossfade to be created. The Crossfade dialog contains separate, but identical, sections for the fade-in and fade-out curve settings in the crossfade on the left, and common settings on the right. Fade Displays Shows the shape of the fade-out and fade-in curve, respectively.
Play buttons Default buttons • The “Play Fade Out” and “Play Fade In” buttons allow you to audition the fade-out or fade-in part only, without the crossfade. • Clicking the “As Default” button stores all of the current settings as the default crossfade. These settings will then be used whenever you create new crossfades. • The “Play Crossfade” button plays back the whole crossfade. • The Crossfade Length setting is included in the Default settings.
Event Envelopes 2. Use the checkboxes in the upper right corner to activate or deactivate Auto Fade In, Auto Fade Out and Auto Crossfades, respectively. An envelope is a volume curve for an audio event. It is similar to the real-time fades, but allows you to create volume changes within the event, not only at the start or end. To create an envelope for an audio event, proceed as follows: 3. Use the Length value field to specify the length of the Auto Fade or Crossfade (1-500ms). 4.
7 The Arranger track
Introduction 3. On the Project window toolbar, make sure that Snap is activated, and that the Grid resolution is set to a mode that allows your arranger events to snap to appropriate positions in the project. The Arranger track allows you to work with sections of your project in a non-linear fashion, to simplify arranging to the maximum extent.
Working with arranger events • Double-clicking on the name of an event in the window section on the right (or in the project window). You now have a number of arranger events that form the basic building blocks for your arrangement. The next step is to arrange these events using the functions of the Arranger Editor. When an event is selected in the Arranger chain on the left will add the event above the selected event.
Editing the Arranger chain • Click in the Mode field for an event and select the desired repeat mode. Option Button In the Arranger chain to the left, you can do the following: Description Normal In this mode, your Arranger chain will be played back normally, just as you set it up. Repeat forever In this mode, the current Arranger event will be repeated in a loop until you either click on another event in the Arranger Editor or press play once again.
Managing Arranger chains 2. Activate Playback. The project will now play back exactly as in Arranger mode, but you can view it and work with it as usual. You can create several Arranger chains. This way, you can create alternative versions for playback. In the Arranger Editor, the toolbar buttons on the right are used for this: Button ! Description Click this to rename the current Arranger chain. Flattening the Arranger chain may remove events and parts from the project.
Live Mode The Destination section allows you to choose where the result of the flattening should be saved. The available options are: Option If you have set up an Arranger track and play it back, you have also the possibility to influence the playback order “live”. Note that the Arranger mode has to be activated to be able to use the Live mode. Description Current Project This option is only available, if you have selected “Current Chain” as Source.
If you position your external sync master device to a position that does not match the Project Start time, Cubase will jump automatically to the right position in the Arranger track and will start playback from there, i.e. the correct relative position and not the absolute project time will be found. The reference for the external timecode can be MIDI or any other Timecode that can be interpreted/read by Cubase. Ö If the Arranger mode is not activated or no Arranger track exists, Cubase will work as usual.
8 Folder tracks
About folder tracks 2. Release the mouse button. The track is now placed in the folder track, and all parts and events on the track will be represented by a corresponding folder part (see “Working with folder parts” on page 104), which is a graphical representation of all parts and events in the folder. A folder track Tracks in the folder Just as the name implies, a folder track is a folder that contains other tracks.
Muting and soloing folder tracks Folder parts are created automatically when there are parts or events on the tracks within the folder. The following rules apply: One of the main advantages of using folder tracks is that they provide you with a way to mute and solo several tracks as one unit. Muting and soloing a folder track affects all tracks in the folder. You can also solo or mute individual tracks in the folder.
• Resizing a folder part resizes the contained events and parts according to the selected resizing method. This is set by clicking the Arrow tool icon on the toolbar and selecting “Normal Sizing”, “Sizing Moves Contents” or “Sizing Applies Time Stretch” from the pop-up menu – see “Resizing events” on page 49. Note that if you select “Sizing Applies Time Stretch”, any automation data is not taken into account. • Muting a folder part. This will mute its contained events and parts.
9 Using markers
About markers The Marker window columns The Marker window is divided into six columns which are used for performing the following operations: Markers are used to locate certain positions quickly. If you often find yourself jumping to a specific position within a project, you should insert a marker at this position. There are two types of markers: • The leftmost column is the Locate column. Clicking in this column will move the project cursor to the corresponding marker position.
Moving marker positions in the Marker window 2. Enter this ID number in the ID column of the marker you want to access with a key command and press [Enter]. The Move button in the Marker window can be used to “reprogram” marker positions. Proceed as follows: The two marker ID numbers are switched, and the key command now locates to the marker selected in this step. 1. Set the project cursor to the position to which you want to move (or re-program) a marker. 3. Repeat as necessary for other markers. 2.
Editing markers on the Marker track • Removing markers. This is done exactly the same way as for other events, i.e. by selecting them and pressing [Delete], using the Erase tool etc. The following editing functions can be performed directly on the Marker track: • Naming markers. • Adding position markers “on the fly”. A selected marker’s name can be edited on the info line.
Using markers to make range selections in the Project window Operation Description Default key Set Marker 1-9 Moves the specified marker (number 1 [Ctrl]+[1] to [9] to 9) to the current project cursor position. Besides enabling you to quickly move the project cursor and the locators, markers can be used in conjunction with the Range Selection tool to make range selections in the Project window. This is useful if you quickly want to make a selection that spans all tracks in the project.
10 The Transpose functions
Introduction Transposing an entire project with the Root Key Cubase offers transpose functions for audio, MIDI and instrument parts and for audio events. These allow you to create variations of your music or change the harmonics of an entire project or separate sections. The root key you specify for a project will be the reference that audio or MIDI events in your project will follow. You can of course exclude separate parts or events from being transposed, e.g.
3. Now (with the root key set), record audio or MIDI. Recording with a project root key The recorded events will get the project root key. Let’s say that you want to record a guitar line for a project that is in D# minor, but your guitar player prefers to play A minor and G major. In this case, you can change the project root key to A, so that you can record your guitar. Proceed as follows: 4.
To check the root key setting of a MIDI part, proceed as follows: 2. Select the Pencil tool from the toolbar and click in the Transpose track to create a transpose event. A transpose event will be created from the point where you clicked until the end of the project. 1. Select your MIDI part in the Project window and check the Project window info line. A MIDI part with a root key set to “E” 3. To create another transpose event, click with the pencil tool on the first transpose event. 2.
You can erase and move transpose events, but you can not mute, cut or glue them. The option “Locators to Selection” does not apply on transpose events. tor will show the note pitch you will hear, if it is deactivated, the Key Editor shows the original pitch of the notes in your MIDI part. By default, the “Indicate Transpositions” button is deactivated.
Ö You will get exactly what you have recorded, i.e. when your record C, F, G and C this will be played back exactly as you recorded it. This is because the recorded event is “Independent” from Global Transpose. The Global Transpose setting If you are working with drum and percussion loops or with special effects (FX) loops, you normally want to exclude these events from being transposed. This can be achieved by locking them using the Global Transpose setting.
2. Add a transpose track and create a transpose event. 4. Set the transpose value to 8 semitones. By default, the transpose value is set to 0. As “Keep Transpose in Octave Range” is activated, your chord will now be transposed to the nearest interval or pitch. 3. Make sure that the “Keep Transpose in Octave Range” button is activated on the transpose track and change the transpose value of the transpose event. Your chord has been transposed to the nearest pitch, this results in G#2/C3/D#3.
11 The mixer
About this chapter This chapter contains detailed information about the elements used when mixing audio and MIDI, and the various ways you can configure the mixer. Some mixer-related features are not described in this chapter. These are the following: • Setting up and using audio effects. See the chapter “Audio effects” on page 162. • Setting up and using MIDI effects. See the chapter “MIDI realtime parameters and effects” on page 315. • Surround Sound (Cubase only).
Overview The picture shows an extended mixer (see “Normal vs. Extended channel strips” on page 122). • By clicking the Mixer button in the Devices panel. The mixer offers a common environment for controlling levels, pan, solo/mute status etc. for both audio and MIDI channels. You open the Devices panel by selecting Show Panel from the Devices menu.
The order of audio, MIDI, instrument, group and effect return channel strips (from left to right) in the mixer corresponds to the Project window Track list (from the top down). If you reorder tracks of these types in the Track list, this will be mirrored in the mixer. In addition to the above, the following channel types are also shown in the mixer: • Activated ReWire channels (see the chapter “ReWire” on page 445).
Configuring the mixer The fader panel shows the basic controls – faders, pan controls and an associated vertical row of buttons. The extended panel can be set to show EQ, effect sends, insert effects, etc. The input/output settings panel contains input and output routing pop-up menus (where applicable), along with input phase switches and input gain controls. As mentioned earlier, the mixer windows can be configured in various ways to suit your needs and to save screen space.
Selecting globally from the common panel Selecting for individual channels 1. Open any of the mixer windows. Each channel strip in the mixer features a View options pop-up menu, which is used for two things: The leftmost strip is called the common panel and is always shown in the mixer. It contains various global settings and options relating to the mixer. For more information, see “The common panel” on page 127. • To determine what is shown in the extended panel for individual channels in the mixer.
Setting the width of channel strips ! Selecting what channel types to show/hide You can specify what channel types to show or hide in the mixer. In the lower part of the common panel you find a vertical strip with different indicator buttons. Each indicator represents a channel type to show or hide in the mixer: Each channel strip can be set to either “Wide” or “Narrow” mode by using the Channel Narrow/Wide button on the left above the fader strip.
4. Click OK to store the current mixer view set. 3. Click the top “hide button” (Hide Channels set to “Can Hide”) on the common panel. • You can now return to this stored configuration at any time, by clicking the “Select Channel View Set” button (the down arrow to the left of the “Store View Set” button) and selecting it from the pop-up menu. This hides all channels set to “Can Hide”.
The audio-related channel strips Channel input/ output routing Channel View options pop-up The Can Hide State for the channel The speaker configuration for the channel Input Gain control (Cubase only) Input Phase switch (Cubase only) Narrow/Wide button Pan control Level fader Level meter Listen button (see the chapter “Control Room (Cubase only)” on page 146) Edit button (opens the Channel Settings window) Channel name Record Enable and Monitor buttons The common panel (see “The common panel” on page
The MIDI channel strips This opens the control panel for a connected VST Instrument Input Transformer button Channel Narrow/ Wide button The common panel The common panel appears to the left in the mixer windows and contains settings for changing the look and behavior of the mixer, as well as global settings for all channels.
The input and output channels Basic mixing procedures The busses you have set up in the VST Connections window are represented by input and output channels in the mixer. These are shown in separate “panes” (to the left and right of the regular channel strips, respectively), with their own dividers and horizontal scrollbars. The i/o channel strips are very similar to other audio channels and are identical for input and output channels (except that input channels don’t have Solo buttons or Sends).
About the level meters for audio channels • In the output busses, the floating point audio is converted to the resolution of the audio hardware. In the integer audio domain, the maximum level is 0dB – higher levels will cause the clip indicator for each bus to light up. When playing back audio in Cubase, the level meters in the mixer show the level of each audio channel. • Directly below the level meter is a small level readout – this shows the highest registered peak level in the signal.
nal. Use this to correct for balanced lines and mics that are wired backwards, or mics that are “out of phase” due to their positioning. • Several channels can be soloed at the same time. However, if you press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click the Solo button for a channel, any other soloed channels will automatically be un-soloed (i.e. this Solo mode is exclusive). • Phase polarity is important when mixing together two similar signals.
A Listen-enabled channel is indicated by a lit Listen button, and also by the lit Global Listen button on the common panel. Click the Listen button again to turn off Listen mode. You may also turn off Listen mode for every Listenenabled track at once by clicking the Listen button on the common panel. When panning is bypassed for a channel, the following happens: • Mono channels will be panned center. • Stereo channels will be panned left and right. • Surround channels will be panned center.
Audio specific procedures In this mode, the left and right pan controls are linked, and can be moved left and right like a single pan control (keeping their relative distance). This section describes the options and basic procedures regarding audio channels in the mixer. • Stereo Combined mode also allows you set pan independently for the left and right channels. This is done by holding down [Alt]/[Option] and dragging the corresponding pan control.
• Selecting the “Empty” option will display a blank panel in the extended strip. Every channel has its own channel settings (although you can view each in the same window if you like – see below). • You can also select the “Overview” option – this shows a graphic overview of which insert effect slots, EQ modules and effects sends are activated for the channel. Click the Edit button to open the Channel Settings window. You can click the indicators to turn the corresponding slot/EQ module/ send on or off.
Making EQ settings You can also select a channel manually (thereby changing what is shown in the open Channel Settings window). Proceed as follows: Each audio channel in Cubase has a built-in parametric equalizer with up to four bands. There are several ways to view and adjust the EQs: 1. Open the Channel Settings window for any channel. 2. Open the Choose Edit Channel pop-up menu by clicking the arrow button to the left of the channel number at the top of the Fader view.
The Equalizers + Curve pane in the Channel Settings window consists of four EQ modules with parameter sliders, an EQ curve display and some additional functions at the top. Using the curve display When you activate EQ modules and make settings, you will see that your settings are automatically reflected in the curve display above. You can also make settings directly in the curve (or combine the two methods any way you like): 1. To activate an EQ module, click in the curve display.
• In the Inspector (Equalizers tab) and in the Channel Settings window, click the Bypass button (next to the EQ button) so that it turns yellow. EQ in the channel overview If the “Channel” section is selected in the Inspector or the “Overview” view mode is selected in the extended mixer, you will get an overview of which EQ modules, insert effects and effect sends are activated for the channel. Click again to deactivate EQ Bypass mode.
Copying settings between audio channels Initialize Channel and Reset Mixer It is possible to copy all channel settings for an audio channel and paste them to one or several other channels. This applies to all audio-based channel types. For example, you can copy EQ settings from an audio track and apply these to a group or VST Instrument channel, if you want them to have the same sound.
• If “Hold Forever” is activated, the peak levels will remain until meters are reset (by clicking the numerical peak display below the meter). Settings for group channels The group channel strips are (almost) identical to audio channel strips in the mixer. The descriptions of the mixer features earlier in this chapter apply to group channels as well.
MIDI specific procedures About output busses Cubase uses a system of input and output busses which are set up using the VST Connections dialog. This is described in the chapter “VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses” on page 13. This section describes basic procedures for MIDI channels in the mixer. Selecting what to show in the extended MIDI channel strip Output busses let you route audio from the program to the outputs on your audio hardware.
Using Channel Settings Utilities For each MIDI channel strip in the mixer (and MIDI track in the Track list or the Inspector), there is an Edit (“e”) button. Link/Unlink channels This function is used to “link” selected channels in the mixer so that any change applied to one channel will be mirrored by all channels in that group. You can link as many channels as you like, and you can also create as many groups of linked channels as you like.
The Window submenu • Any individual channel settings you have made before linking will remain until you alter the same setting for any of the linked channels. The Mixer context menu, opened by right-clicking anywhere on the Mixer window background, provides the Window submenu. Its options are handy for quickly switching to another open mixer window, showing/hiding the different mixer panes etc.
Right-clicking somewhere in the mixer panel or in the Channel Settings window brings up the Mixer context menu where the following Save options can be found: Load All Mixer Settings Selecting “Load All Mixer Settings” from the context menu allows you to open a saved mixer settings file, and have the stored settings applied to all channels for which there is information included in the file. All channels, master settings, VST Instruments, sends and master effects will be affected.
VST Mixer Diagrams ! Note that the AFL/PFL Listen Bus architecture is available only in Cubase.
Summing Objects Group Channel FX Channel Output Bus Main Mix Bus Studio Channel Monitor Control Room Objects (Cubase only) Control Room Channel Phones Channel 144 The mixer
Overall (Cubase only) 145 The mixer
12 Control Room (Cubase only)
Background The concept The concept behind creating the Control Room features was to divide the studio environment into the performing area (studio) and the engineer/producer area (control room) common to traditional studios. Previously, an analog console or some method of speaker control and monitor routing was necessary to provide this functionality to the DAW environment.
• Adjustable Input Gain and Input Phase on all external inputs and Speaker outputs. • Full-sized meters on every Control Room channel. • Support for up to four aux sends (Studio Sends) for creation of discrete cue mixes for performers. Each Studio output has its own cue mix. • The ability to disable the Control Room Section when working with an external monitoring solution or console.
Creating a Control Room channel Phones To create a new channel, click on the Add Channel button in the Studio tab of the VST Connections window. A popup menu lists all available channels along with how many of each type are available. Select the type of channel you wish to create and a dialog will appear allowing you to choose the configuration of the channel (stereo, 5.1, etc.). Create a Phones channel if you intend to listen to headphones in the control room.
Disabling the Control Room Output click enabling Once you have created all the channels for your studio configuration, the Control Room functions are available for use. If you need to use Cubase without the Control Room functions, you can simply press the Disable Control Room button on the Studio tab of the VST Connections window. Any channels you have created will be saved and when you enable the Control Room again, that configuration will be reloaded.
The Control Room Overview The Control Room Mixer You can access the Control Room Overview from the Devices menu. The Control Room Overview is designed to display the current configuration of the Control Room. The window shows all possible channels, with active channels highlighted once they have been created in the VST Connections window. Channels that are grayed out have not been defined in the VST Connections window. The Control Room Mixer is where you access all the features of the Control Room.
The different Control Room Mixer panels are handled in the same way as the Project Mixer panels, see “Configuring the mixer” on page 122. Each Control Room channel has a set of inserts configured as six pre-fader and two post-fader inserts. External inputs and Monitor channels only have the six pre-fader inserts.
Inserts for the Talkback channel Click here to open the MixConvert control panel. The Talkback channel has a separate set of eight inserts. In order to view and adjust them, the Talkback must be enabled via the TALK button located to the lower right of the Control Room Mixer. Click once on the Talkback to latch it on. The inserts for external inputs will now display the Talkback inserts. Once the Talkback is disabled, the view will revert back to external input inserts. ! The Down-Mix Presets section.
Control Room Mixer layout The Control Room Mixer has a variety of controls, some that are similar to the Project Mixer and some that are unique to Control Room operations. The following diagrams show every control, followed by a brief description of what each control does. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 1. 7. 8. 29. 9. 6. 10. 11. 28. 12. 13. 27. 26. 14. 25. 15. 24. 6. 23. 6. 22. 21. 20. 19. 154 Control Room (Cubase only) 18. 17. 16.
1. Input Phase 12. Listen DIM Each external input and Monitor speaker output has an Input Phase reversal switch. When lit, all audio paths within the channel will have their phase reversed. This gain control adjusts the volume of the Main Mix when channels have been put in Listen mode. This allows you to keep Listen enabled channels in context with the Main Mix. If the Listen DIM is set to minus infinity, Listen enabled channels will be heard by themselves.
22. Channel Labels 30. Individual Speaker Solos These labels reflect the names created in the VST Connections window. Each speaker icon is a solo button for that channel. [Shift]-clicking a speaker will solo all the speakers in that row (front or rear). [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking on a speaker that is already soloed will mute that speaker and solo all other channels. 23. Talkback Level This pop-up fader controls the amount of Talkback signal fed to the output of each Studio. 31. LFE Solo 24.
The Main Mix and the Control Room channel • A brickwall limiter in the last insert of the Control Room channel can prevent accidental overloads and damage to speaker systems. • Use the inserts for the Talkback channel to control the dynamics of the talkback microphone. This will help protect performers’ hearing and ensure that everyone can be heard over the talkback microphone.
• Main Dim Volume • In the Project Mixer, the Studio Sends are accessed by choosing the Studio Sends option from the View options pop-up menu in each channel or by clicking the star icon (“Show Studio Sends”) on the common panel of the extended Project Mixer. This is the amount of gain reduction applied to the Control Room channel when the DIM button is activated.
• In the Inspector, a Studio Sends tab can be found. This will display all Studio Sends for the selected track. The name of each Studio is displayed in the Control Room Mixer. To hear the Studio Sends mix in the Studio output, the input selector for each Studio must be set to “Aux”. Please note that not all Inspector sections are available by default. To show/hide a section, right-click on an Inspector section and activate/ deactivate the desired option on the context menu.
2. In the Control Room Mixer, right-click anywhere in a Studio Channel’s mixer strip and a context menu will appear that has the Studio’s name as a submenu. Adjusting the overall Studio Send level Levels in the main mix are often optimized for the loudest signal level possible without clipping. However, when you are creating a “more me” mix, you may find that there is not enough headroom available in the Studio Send to turn up channels without clipping becoming a possibility.
5. Click OK and the level change will be performed. 3. Selecting the “Reset Studio Sends” option changes the Send level of all selected channels to -6dB and sets the signal source to post-fader. It is possible to view these changes as they occur if you have the Project Mixer open and the extended view set to show the Studio Sends. The -6dB level is designed to allow for headroom for “more me” signals in the Studio outputs.
13 Audio effects
Ö Please note that this functionality is provided to allow you to load older projects including their original plug-ins on current computers. However, the plug-ins will require higher CPU performance when compared to their native platform. Therefore, it is recommended to use 64 bit versions or Intel Mac (Universal Binary) versions of such plug-ins or instruments once available. About this chapter Cubase comes with a number of effect plug-ins included.
About tempo sync Be aware, however, that this can lead to a situation where you added more plug-ins on “transport stop” than the system can handle on playback. Therefore, you should always find the passage with the largest number of events playing simultaneously to make sure that your system offers the required performance. Plug-ins can receive timing and tempo information from the host application (in this case, Cubase).
As you can see, the last two insert slots (for any channel) are post-EQ and post-fader. Post-fader slots are best suited for insert effects where you don’t want the level to be changed after the effect, such as dithering (see “Dithering” on page 167) and maximizers – both typically used as insert effects for output busses. • If the effect has a dry/wet Mix parameter you can use this to adjust the balance between the dry signal and the effect signal.
• To bypass all inserts for a track, click the global bypass button. However, you may want to apply the effect to other speaker channels. This is done in the Channel Settings window: This button can be found at the top of the Inserts section in the Inspector or the Channel Settings window. It lights up in yellow to indicate that the inserts of this track are bypassed. In the track list and the channel strip in the mixer, the Inserts State button will also light up in yellow. 1.
• A line that passes through the effect (with no square input/ output indicators) represent a bypass connection – the audio on that speaker channel passes the effect without being processed. • A “broken” line indicates a broken connection – the audio on that speaker channel will not pass on to the output at all. • Clicking Reset takes you back to the original standard connection. Ö Changes you make in this window are audible immediately.
When should I use dithering? Using group channels for insert effects • Consider dithering when you mix down to a lower resolution, either in real-time (playback) or with the Export Audio Mixdown function. Like all other channels, group channels can have up to eight insert effects. This is useful if you have several audio tracks that you want to process through the same effect (e.g. different vocal tracks that all should be processed by the same compressor).
• The Freeze Channel Options dialog is opened, allowing you to set a “Tail” time in seconds. Send effects This adds time at the end of the rendered file to allow reverb and delay tails to fully fade out. Background As their name implies, send effects are outside of an audio channel’s signal path, i.e. the audio data to be processed must be sent to the effect (as opposed to insert effects, which are inserted into the channel’s signal path).
Setting up send effects 1. Click the Edit (“e”) button for the FX channel track (in the Track list, mixer or Inspector). Adding an FX channel track The FX Channel Settings window appears, similar to a regular Channel Settings window. 1. Pull down the Project menu and select “FX Channel” from the “Add Track” submenu. A dialog appears. 2. Select a channel configuration for the FX channel track. To the left in the window is the Inserts section with eight effect slots. 2.
• You can also adjust level, pan and EQ for the effect return in the FX Channel Settings window. • Items called “FX 1”, “FX 2” etc. correspond to existing FX tracks. If you renamed an FX track (see “Adding an FX channel track” on page 170) that name will appear on this menu instead of the default. • The menu also allows for routing a send directly to output busses, separate output bus channels or Group channels. This can also be done in the mixer or in the Inspector. 3.
Setting pan for the sends (Cubase only) Ö You can choose whether a send in pre-fader mode should be affected by the channel’s Mute button or not. By default, the sends for an audio channel follow any pan settings – stereo or surround – you make for the channel itself. This means that if an audio channel is panned to the right, the signal from its effect sends will be panned the same way, making the stereo imaging as clear and true as possible.
3. From the submenu, select “Send Routing” and “Control Strip”. About sends for FX channels (Cubase only) The FX channels themselves have sends, too. In the Send Routing section of the Channel Settings window, each send is shown as a small routing diagram showing a pre/post selector to the right and a pan fader (where applicable). In the Control Strip section, you can activate the option “Link Send Routing Panners to Channel Panner as Default”.
FX channels and the Solo Defeat function Setting up side-chain When mixing, you might sometimes want to solo specific audio channels, and listen only to these while other channels are muted. However, this will mute all FX channels as well. If the soloed audio channels have sends routed to FX channels, this means you won’t hear the send effects for the channels. Ö Certain combinations of tracks and side-chain inputs may lead to feedback loops and added latency.
6. Pull down the Output Routing pop-up menu and on the Side-Chain submenu, select the PingPongDelay effect you set up for the vocal track. 5. Open the Sends Inspector section, click in a send slot and from the Side-Chain submenu, select the Compressor effect you created for the bass guitar track. Adjust the Send level. This way, the signals from the second (duplicate) track are routed to the effect (and do not end up in the mix).
is that if you select an external effect as an insert effect for an audio track, the audio will be sent to the corresponding audio output, processed in your hardware effect (provided that you have connected it properly) and returned via the specified audio input. • If you edit the parameters for an effect, these settings are saved automatically with the project. • You can also save the current settings as a preset, see below. • Effects parameters can be automated – see the chapter “Automation” on page 203.
2. Click in the preset field at the top of the control panel. • If you also activate the “Show Location” button, the Browser & Filter section is displayed, allowing you to specify the Presets folder that should be searched for preset files. This opens the preset browser. Saving effect presets You can save your edited effect settings as presets for further use (e.g. in other projects): 1. Click the VST Sound button to open the Preset Management pop-up menu.
2. Select “Import FXB/FXP…” from the pop-up. • If you wish to assign attributes to the preset, click the Tag Editor button. This menu item is only available for VST 2 plug-ins. Click in the Value column to select an appropriate “tag” for one or several of the available categories in the Attributes column. For further information on preset handling and the Tag Editor, see the chapter “The MediaBay” on page 287. 3. In the file dialog that opens, locate the .fxp file and click Open. If you load a bank (.
5. Select the track (audio/group/instrument/fx channel) you wish to apply the new preset to, and click its VST Sound button. Installing and managing effect plugins As you can see, the new preset is available at the top of the pop-up menu. Cubase supports two plug-in formats; the VST 2 format (with the file name extensions “.dll” on the PC and “.VST” on the Mac) and the VST 3 format (extension “.vst3” on both platforms). The formats are handled differently when it comes to installation and organizing.
Ö If an effect plug-in comes with its own installation application, you should use this. About the effects from previous Cubase versions The Legacy folder on the program DVD contains effects from previous versions of Cubase. As a general rule, always read the documentation or readme files before installing new plug-ins. The main reason for installing these earlier plug-ins is backwards compatibility, allowing you to import old Cubase projects and get the correct effect settings.
The other columns show the following information about each plug-in: Column Exporting plug-in information files You can also save plug-in information as an .xml file, e.g. for archiving purposes or troubleshooting. The Export function is available for VST, MIDI and Audio Codec plug-ins. Proceed as follows: Description Name The name of the plug-in. Vendor The manufacturer of the plug-in. File This shows the complete name of the plug-in (with extension).
14 VST Instruments and Instrument tracks
Introduction VST Instrument channels VST Instruments are software synthesizers (or other sound sources) that are contained within Cubase. They are played internally via MIDI. You can add effects or EQ to VST Instruments, just as with audio tracks. You can access a VST Instrument from within Cubase by creating a VST Instrument channel and associating this channel with a MIDI track.
• If you don’t want the plug-in control panels to open every time you load a plug-in, open the Preferences dialog (VST–Plug-ins page) and deactivate “Open Effect Editor After Loading it”. 8. Open the mixer. You will find one or more channel strips for the audio outputs of the VST Instrument. VST Instrument channel strips have the same features and functionality as group channel strips, with the addition of an Edit button at the bottom of the strip for opening the VST Instrument control panel.
Properties • The second button is used to activate or deactivate the VST Instrument. • Each Instrument track has a corresponding channel strip in the mixer. When an instrument is selected from the instrument pop-up menu, it is activated automatically, i.e. the on/off control lights up in blue. For some instruments you may also bypass the instrument by clicking the Bypass button to the right of the on/off button. • In the Inspector, you can select a VST Instrument from the Instrument pop-up menu.
Restrictions 3. In the Viewer section, select the desired MIDI loop and drag it in an empty section in the Project window. • Instrument tracks have no MIDI Sends. An Instrument track is created and the Instrument part is inserted at the position where you dragged the file. The Inspector will reflect all settings saved in the MIDI loop, e.g. the VST instrument that was used, applied Insert effects, Track parameters, etc.
Automation considerations Exporting instrument tracks as MIDI file You can also export instrument tracks as standard MIDI files, see “Exporting MIDI files” on page 458. • Automation of the VST Instrument channel settings or the settings for an instrument track is done in the same way as automating regular channels. Please note: • As there is no MIDI patch information in an instrument track, this information is missing in the resulting MIDI file.
Instrument Freeze In the instrument track, however, you have one track that includes the MIDI data, the VST Instrument and the channel you wish to automate. Therefore, the information on the automation track will move with the MIDI part. Like all plug-ins, VST Instruments may require a lot of processor power.
3. Click the Freeze button for the VST Instrument (the button to the left of the VST Instrument slot), or the Freeze button in the Inspector for the instrument track. The Freeze button lights up. If you check the Project window at this point, you will find that the relevant MIDI/instrument tracks have grayed out controls in the Track list and Inspector. Furthermore, the MIDI parts are locked and cannot be moved. 5. Play back the project.
Using presets for VSTi configuration For example, if you are looking for a bass sound, simply select the Bass category and you can browse and preview all bass sounds for all instruments. If you know you want a synth bass sound, select Synth Bass as sub-category and all synth bass sounds will be shown etc. About track presets and VST presets Track presets and VST presets allow you to quickly set up tracks or instruments with all the settings required for the sound you want.
4. The Presets browser is opened. It contains three sections (Browser, Search & Viewer and Filter). By default, only the Search & Viewer section is shown. Note that it may take a moment before all available sounds appear in the Viewer. 2. Select a preset in the Viewer section. A row of buttons appears in the dialog below the Viewer section. 3. Click the “Choose MIDI File” button. This opens a file dialog where you can navigate to the location of a MIDI file (extension “.mid”).
4. Click in the Programs field in the Inspector. You cannot change the default folder, but you can add further subfolders inside the instrument’s preset folder. The Preset browser is opened. • Under Windows, the default preset folder is in the following location: Boot drive/Documents and Settings/User name/Application data/VST3 Presets. • Under Mac OS, the default preset folder is in the following location: Users/Username/Library/Audio/Presets// 2.
About latency About earlier VST Instrument presets You can use any VST 2.x Instrument plug-ins in Cubase. Installing VST Instrument plug-ins works the same way as for audio effects – see “Installing additional VST plug-ins” on page 179. Depending on your audio hardware and its ASIO driver, the latency (the time it takes for the instrument to produce a sound when you press a key on your MIDI controller) may simply be too high to allow comfortable real-time VST Instrument playback from a keyboard.
• VST plug-ins (with higher delay than the threshold value) which are activated for VST Instrument channels, audio track channels that are record enabled, group channels and output channels will be turned off when you activate Constrain Delay Compensation. • VST plug-ins activated for FX channels are not turned off but their delay is disregarded by the program (delay compensation is turned off).
15 Surround sound (Cubase only)
Background • You configure Cubase for surround by defining input and output busses in the desired surround format, and specifying which audio inputs and outputs should be used for the different channels in the busses. This is done in the VST Connections window. What is Surround sound? Surround is a common name for various techniques for positioning audio in reference to the listener.
Surround in the mixer • SurroundPanner This is described in the section “Using the Surround Panner” on page 199. Surround sound is supported throughout every stage of the signal path in the Cubase mixer, from input to output bus. Each bus or audio channel can carry up to 6 surround speaker channels. The VST Connections window In this window you can add input and output busses. There is a complete selection of common surround configurations available, as well as standard mono or stereo busses.
Operations Format Description Quadro The original Quadraphonic format for music, with one speaker in each corner. This format was intended for vinyl record players. Output bus configuration LRCS+Lfe Same as LRCS but with an Lfe sub-channel added. Before you can start working with surround sound, you have to configure a surround output bus, through which all the speaker channels of the chosen surround format are routed.
Routing channels directly to surround channels Using the Surround Panner If you want to place an audio source in one separate speaker channel only, you can route it directly to that speaker channel. This is useful for pre-mixed material or multi-channel recordings that don’t require panning. Cubase has a special feature for graphically positioning a sound source in a surround field.
The SurroundPan controls Mode – Standard/Position/Angle The Standard Mode/Position Mode/Angle Mode switch allows you to work in three modes: • In both Standard and Position mode, the speakers in the front are aligned, as they would normally be in a cinema-type situation. This means that the front speakers are at a varying distance from the center. Standard mode (default) is the best mode for moving sources between speakers without level attenuation.
• In Angle Mode, a white arc helps you determine the perceived “range” of a source (white and blue for stereo tracks). The sound will be at its loudest in the middle of the arc and will have dropped in level towards the ends. The LFE dial (all modes) Exactly how levels are handled may require some explanation: • When you move a source around, a number will indicate the loudness in each speaker.
Exporting a Surround mix Additional parameters (Standard mode) When you have set up a surround mix you can choose to export it with the Export Audio Mixdown function. This function exports a single selected output bus – this means that all channels that you want to be part of the mix must be routed to the surround output bus. You have the following export options when doing surround work: • Center Level. • Export to “split” format, resulting in one mono audio file for each surround channel.
17 Audio processing and functions
Background • Furthermore, the original, unprocessed audio file can still be used by other clips in the project, by other projects or by other applications. Audio processing in Cubase can be called “non-destructive”, in the sense that you can always undo changes or revert to the original versions. This is possible because processing affects audio clips rather than the actual audio files, and because audio clips can refer to more than one audio file.
Common settings and features Envelope If there are any settings for the selected Audio processing function, these will appear when you select the function from the Process submenu. While most settings are specific for the function, some features and settings work in the same way for several functions: The “More…” button If the dialog has a lot of settings, some options may be hidden when the dialog appears. To reveal these, click the “More…” button.
Fade In and Fade Out Merge Clipboard For a description of these functions, see the chapter “Fades, crossfades and envelopes” on page 87. Gain This functions mixes the audio from the clipboard into the audio selected for processing, starting at the beginning of the selection. ! Allows you to change the gain (level) of the selected audio. The dialog contains the following settings: For this function to be available, you need to have cut or copied a range of audio in the Sample Editor first.
Noise Gate Normalize The level below which you want audio to be silenced. Levels below this value will close the gate. The Normalize function allows you to specify the desired maximum level of the audio. It then analyzes the selected audio and finds the current maximum level. Finally it subtracts the current maximum level from the specified level and raises the gain of the audio by the resulting amount (if the specified maximum level is lower than the current maximum, the gain will be lowered instead).
Pitch Shift Volume/Amplitude Allows you to lower the volume of the pitch-shifted sound. Multi Shift When this is activated, you can add more than one transpose value, creating multi-part harmonies. This is done by adding intervals in the keyboard display (see above). Note that you cannot use the Preview function in Multi Shift mode. • If the intervals you add make up a standard chord, this chord is displayed to the right.
Formant Mode Curve Kind If you are processing vocal material, you should activate this option in order to preserve the vocal characteristics of the pitch-shifted audio and to avoid a a “chipmunk voice” effect. These buttons determine whether the envelope curve should consist of spline curve segments (left button), damped spline segments (middle button) or linear segments (right button). Time Correction When this is activated, the pitch shift process will not affect the length of the audio.
Transpose and Fine Tune 8. Finally, create a point where you want the pitch bend to end. These parameters allow you to adjust the value of a curve point numerically: You don’t need to create a new point if you are at the end of the audio file, since there is always an end point at the right side of the waveform display. 1. Click on a curve point to select it. The selected point is shown in red. 9.
Resample Stereo Flip The Resample function can be used for changing the length, tempo and pitch of an event. This function works with stereo audio selections only. It allows you to manipulate the left and right channel in various ways. The dialog contains the following parameters: The original sample rate of the event is listed in the dialog.
Time Stretch Resulting Length section These settings are used if you want to stretch the audio to fit within a specific time span or tempo. The values will change automatically if you adjust the Time Stretch Ratio (see below). Parameter Description Samples The desired length in samples. Seconds The desired length in seconds. BPM The desired tempo (beats per minute).
The process plug-in dialog Algorithm section Allows you to select a time stretch algorithm: MPEX 3 (see below) and Realtime mode. • MPEX 3 mode This mode is based on Prosoniq's proprietary MPEX (Minimum Perceived Loss Time Compression/Expansion) algorithm. This algorithm (which is also used in Prosoniq’s TimeFactory™ application) uses an artificial neural network for time series prediction in the scale space domain to achieve high end time and pitch scaling.
The Offline Process History dialog Tail This parameter is useful if you are applying an effect that adds material after the end of original audio (such as reverb and delay effects). When the checkbox is activated, you can specify a tail length using the slider. The tail time is included when playing back with the Preview function, allowing you to find the appropriate tail length. Procedures If you want to remove some or all processing from a clip, this can be done in the Offline Process History dialog.
• To modify the settings of the selected processing, click the “Modify” button. Freeze Edits This opens the dialog for the processing function or applied effect, allowing you to change the settings. This works just as when you applied the processing or effect the first time.
Detect Silence The Detect Silence function on the Advanced submenu of the Audio menu searches for silent sections in an event and either splits the event, removing the silent parts from the project, or creates regions corresponding to the nonsilent sections. Proceed as follows: 1. Select the event in the Project window or the Audio Part Editor. You can select several events if you like, in which case you will be allowed to make separate settings for each selected event. 2.
The Spectrum Analyzer (Cubase only) • You can use the Preview function to listen to the result. The event is played back repeatedly in its entire length, but with the “closed” sections silenced. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you are satisfied with the result. This function analyzes the selected audio, computes the average “spectrum” (level distribution over the frequency range) and displays this as a two-dimensional graph, with frequency on the x-axis and level on the y-axis. 6.
3. Click the “Process” button. • If you analyze stereo audio and selected the “Stereo” option in the first dialog, the graphs for the left and right channel are superimposed in the display, with the left channel graph in white and the right channel graph in yellow. The spectrum is computed and displayed as a graph. The display in the upper right corner shows the values for the left channel – to see the right channel values, hold down [Shift].
Item Description Estimated Pitch The estimated pitch of the audio selection. Sample Rate The sample rate of the audio selection. Min. RMS Power The lowest loudness (RMS) measured in the selection. Max. RMS Power The highest loudness (RMS) measured in the selection. Average The average loudness over the whole selection.
18 The Sample Editor
Background The Sample Editor allows you to view and manipulate audio at the audio clip level, by cutting and pasting, removing or drawing audio data, processing or applying effects (see “Audio processing and functions” on page 216).
Window overview The Elements menu The toolbar The toolbar contains the tools… The Sample Editor tools Audition, Loop & Volume controls Autoscroll Use Snap Show Au- Show dio event regions Show Inspector … and information about the edited audio clip: Global Transpose status Audio format and length If you right-click in the Sample Editor to bring up the Quick menu, you will find a submenu called “Elements”.
Ö You can show/hide Inspector sections by right-clicking on an Inspector tab and activating/deactivating the desired option(s). Initially, length and position values are displayed in the format specified in the Project Setup dialog. If you click in the middle field, a pop-up menu opens, where you can select another display format. This selection affects the Sample Editor ruler as well.
The Definition tab The Playback tab The topmost tab of the Sample Editor Inspector is used to define the musical context of your audio. Here, you can define the grid, i.e. measure the audio tempo and the groove. Open this tab, if you want to use your audio in a musical context, so that you can later activate the Straighten Up mode, create a groove quantize map or slices. In this tab, the audio grid and the tempo of the audio can be adjusted to the project grid by activating the Straighten Up mode.
The Hitpoints tab The Range tab In this tab you will find some utility functions for working with ranges and selections (see “Making selections” on page 242). The Process tab In this tab, the transients, i.e. hitpoints of the audio can be marked. Adjust the sensitivity slider to determine how many hitpoints should be shown, and edit them with the Edit Hitpoints tool, if necessary. If you want to clear all hitpoints, e.g. to re-detect hitpoints, click the Remove All button.
The ruler • To display the level scale after hiding it, right-click to bring up the Quick menu and activate “Level Scale” on the Elements submenu. The Sample Editor ruler is located between the thumbnail and the waveform display. It shows the timeline in the display format specified in the Project Setup dialog (see “The Project Setup dialog” on page 35).
General Operations • If you have zoomed in to one sample per pixel or less, the appearance of the samples depend on the option “Interpolate Audio Images” in the Preferences (Event Display–Audio page). Zooming Zooming in the Sample Editor is done according to the standard zoom procedures, with the following special notes: If the option is deactivated, single sample values are drawn as “steps”. If the option is activated, they are interpolated to “curves” form.
Ö Note that there is a separate Play button for auditioning regions. See “Auditioning regions” on page 244. Adjusting the snap point The snap point is a marker within an audio event (or clip, see below). This is used as a reference position when you are moving events with snap activated, so that the snap point is “magnetic” to whatever snap positions you have selected.
1. Place the cursor at the desired position (intersecting the event). • The current selection is indicated in the corresponding fields in the Range tab of the Sample Editor Inspector. You may want to do this by scrubbing, to spot the right position exactly. You can fine-tune the selection by changing these values numerically. Note that the values are relative to the start of the clip, rather than to the project timeline. 2.
Editing selection ranges Delete Selections in the Sample Editor can be processed in several ways. Please note: Selecting Delete (on the Edit menu in the Process tab of the Sample Editor Inspector or in the main Edit menu or pressing [Backspace]) removes the selection from the clip. The section to the right of the selection is moved to the left to fill out the gap. • If you attempt to edit an event that is a shared copy (i.e.
A new clip is created and added to the Pool, and another Sample Editor window will open with the new clip. The new clip will refer to the same audio file as the original clip, but will only contain the audio corresponding to the selection range. Creating regions from Hitpoints If your audio event contains calculated hitpoints, you can choose to automatically create regions from hitpoints. This can be useful to isolate recorded sounds.
Making selections from regions Drawing in the Sample Editor If you select a region in the list and click the Select Region button above, the corresponding section of the audio clip is selected (as if you had selected it with the Range Selection tool). This is useful if you want to apply processing to the region only. It is possible to edit the audio clip at sample level by drawing with the Pencil tool. This can be useful if you need to manually edit out a spike or click, etc.
Audio Warp realtime processing/ Tempo matching audio to the project tempo • In this mode, you can adjust the start and end of the event in the clip by dragging the event handles in the waveform display. When you move the pointer over the event handles (no matter what tool may be selected), it takes on the shape of an arrow, to indicate that you can click and drag. Audio warp is the generic name for the realtime timestretching and pitch-shifting functions in Cubase.
Determining the audio tempo automatically and time-stretching your audio • Make a selection range in a longer clip and click the Audition Loop button. Adjust the selection range until the loop is smooth. If you want to use an audio file with an unknown tempo in your project context, the easiest way to determine the tempo is to define a loop. You can then determine the tempo of the loop automatically (or manually) and finally match the tempo of this loop to the project tempo in Cubase. 1.
In this pop-up you can find various options that govern the audio quality of the realtime time-stretching. There are presets for common types of audio material and an Advanced option where you can manually set warp parameters: When you click Auto Adjust, the following happens: • If you created a loop by defining a selection range in a longer audio file, the snap point (S symbol) will be moved to the loop start. • In the waveform, vertical lines will be displayed.
If you select the Advanced menu item, a dialog opens where you can manually adjust the three parameters that govern the sound quality of the time-stretching: Parameter Description Grainsize The realtime time-stretching algorithm splits the audio into small pieces called “grains”. This parameter determines the size of the grains. For material with many transients you should use low Grainsize values for best results.
When you have correctly set a tempo or length for an audio clip, this information is saved with the project. This allows you to import files into the project with Straighten Up mode already activated. The tempo (if set) is also saved when exporting files. ! ! You can change the modifiers for this in the “Define Auto Grid” category in the Preferences dialog (Editing-Tool Modifier page). 2. Audition the file to determine where the first downbeat occurs. Cubase supports ACID® loops.
8. Click and drag the red flag (Stretch Bars) to the left or right until the second bar in the ruler is aligned with the position of the second downbeat of the sample, and release the mouse button. 10. Now have a look at the single beats in between the bars, and, if necessary, hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] to use the blue flag (Adjust Beat Position - Single) to adjust them. Drag the flag until the single beat position is aligned with the waveform, and release the mouse button.
Working with hitpoints and slices Determining the tempo of an audio loop and slicing your audio Hitpoint detection is a special feature of the Sample Editor. It detects attack transients in an audio file and then adds a type of marker, a “hitpoint”, at each transient. These hitpoints allow you to create “slices”, where each slice ideally represents each individual sound or “beat” in a loop (drum or other rhythmic loops work best with this feature).
Calculating hitpoints and slicing a loop 4. If you now move the hitpoint sensitivity slider to the left, this gradually hides the hitpoints. Moving the slider to the right increases the sensitivity to reveal additional hitpoints detected during the calculate process. Before proceeding, find a suitable loop using the criteria above. Proceed as follows: 1. Open the event or clip for editing in the Sample Editor.
8. To make the loop follow any further tempo changes, make sure the track is set to “Musical time base” by using the respective button in the Track list or Inspector (the button should show a note symbol – see “Switching between musical and linear time base” on page 42). Auditioning slices A slice is a section of the waveform, from one hitpoint to the next. • Note that if the project tempo is lower than the original tempo of the loop, there may be audible gaps between each slice event in the part.
3. Now you can simply point and click in any slice area and the corresponding slice will be played back from the beginning to the end. Option Description Metric Bias This is like the “All” mode, but all hitpoints that are close to even meter divisions (1/4 notes, 1/8 notes, 1/16 notes, etc.) get a “sensitivity boost” – they are visible at lower sensitivity slider settings.
Locking slices 3. Activate Snap to Zero Crossing on the Sample Editor toolbar. If you lock a hitpoint by clicking on its handle with the Edit Hitpoints tool, it will stay even if you drag the sensitivity slider all the way to zero. This can be used in situations where one or several slices contain double hits, but raising the sensitivity adds a lot of unwanted slices.
Match-Quantizing audio • If you edited an event on an audio track, the Sample Editor closes. • The audio event is “sliced” so that there is a separate event for each hitpoint. In other words, the sections between the hitpoints become separate events, all referring to the same original file. • On the audio track, the former audio event is replaced by an audio part that contains the slices. If you edited a clip from the Pool, you need to drag it to an audio track to get a part with the slices.
Proceed as follows: Create Regions 1. Check the audio tempo and define the audio grid as described above. If your audio event contains calculated hitpoints, you can click the Create Regions button in the Hitpoints tab to automatically create regions from hitpoints. This can be useful to isolate recorded sounds, in order to upload them, e.g. to HALion either as velocity or keyzones. 2. Create and edit hitpoints as described above. You don’t have to create slices – just set up the hitpoints.
• You can also use this function on individual events (in the Audio Part Editor or Project window). 1. Open the audio file you wish to process in the Sample Editor. The events don’t have to be slices – you can use Close Gaps simply to stretch an audio event to the start position of the next event. 2. Activate the “Snap to Zero Crossings” button in the Sample Editor toolbar. When you activate this button, warp tabs will snap to zero crossings and hitpoints (if shown). Free Warp 3.
8. In our example, the first beat of the third bar in the audio event is slightly offset from the corresponding grid position and thus needs to be moved back a bit. 11. Release the mouse button. Now the first beat in the audio event is perfectly aligned with the corresponding position in the project! The third downbeat in the audio event. 9. Place the pointer at the position of the first beat of the third bar in the audio event and click and hold. When you click, a warp tab is added.
This example illustrates the general methods of using warp tabs and the Free Warp tool. But you can of course use warp tabs for other operations than aligning downbeats to grid positions. With the Free Warp tool, you can literally stretch any region within a sample to any position! Unstretching audio files By selecting “Unstretch Audio” from the Realtime Processing submenu of the Audio menu, all realtime time-stretching (by sizing or by warp tabs) can be removed.
Realtime pitch-shifting of audio events Flattening the realtime processing You can “flatten” any realtime processing at any time. This can be done to serve two purposes; to conserve CPU power and to optimize the sound quality of the processing. Audio events can be pitch-shifted in realtime just like MIDI events. The process is very simple: • Select the audio event(s) you wish to process and select “Flatten Timestretch and Transpose” from the Realtime Processing submenu of the Audio menu. 1.
The MPEX3 algorithm allows you to select one of seven different quality settings: Option Description Preview This mode should only be used for preview. Mix Fast This mode is a very fast mode for preview. This works best with composite music signals (mono or stereo material). Solo Fast Use this mode for single instruments (monophonic material) and voice. Solo Musical Same as above but higher quality. Poly Fast Use this for processing monophonic and polyphonic material.
19 The Audio Part Editor
Background Window overview The Audio Part Editor allows you to view and edit the events inside audio parts. Essentially, this is the same type of editing that you do in the Project window, which means that this chapter contains a lot of references to the chapter “The Project window” on page 25. Audio parts are created in the Project window in one of the following ways: • By selecting one or several audio events on the same track, and selecting “Events to Part” from the Audio menu.
About lanes Overlapping events If you make the editor window larger, this will reveal additional space below the edited events. This is because an audio part is divided vertically in lanes. Only one event per track can be played back at the same time! This means that if you have overlapping events (on the same lane or different lanes) these will cut each other off, according to the following rules: • For events on the same lane, the ones that are on top (visible) will be played.
Operations ! • When auditioning with the Speaker tool or Audition icon, audio will be routed directly to the Control Room (Cubase only) or to the Main Mix (the default output bus), if the Control Room is disabled. In Cubase Studio, the Main Mix bus is always used for auditioning. Zooming, selecting and editing in the Audio Part Editor are done just as in the Project window (see “Operations” on page 35). By using regular playback • Note that if a part is a shared copy (i.e.
Handling several parts • It is possible to cycle between parts, making them active, with key commands. When you open the Audio Part Editor with several parts selected – all on the same track or on different tracks – they might not all “fit” in the editor window, which can make it hard to get an overview of the different parts when editing. In the Key Commands dialog – Edit category, there are two functions: “Activate Next Part” and “Activate Previous Part”.
Options and Settings Creating an audio part from regions 1. In the Project window, select the event you recorded in Cycle mode. The following options and settings are available in the Audio Part Editor: After recording, this will play the last take. • Snap 2. Pull down the Audio menu and select “Events to Part”. You can specify an independent Snap mode (and snap value for the Grid mode) in the editor. The functionality is exactly the same as in the Project window.
20 The Pool
Background Opening the Pool You open the Pool in any of the following ways: What is the Pool? • By clicking the Pool icon in the Project window. Every time you record on an audio track, a file is created on your hard disk. A reference to this file – a clip – is also added to the Pool. Two general rules apply to the Pool: • All audio and video clips that belong to a project are listed in the Pool. • By selecting “Pool” on the Project menu or “Open Pool Window” on the Media menu.
Toolbar overview Hide/show info line View/Attributes Pop-up The Pool window columns Open/Close all Folders Various information about the clips and regions can be viewed in the Pool window columns. The columns contain the following information: Project Folder Path Import Button Column Description Media This column contains the Audio, Video and Trash folders. If the folders are opened, the clip or region names are shown and can be edited. This column is always shown.
About the Status column symbols Customizing the view The Status column can display various symbols that relate to the clips status. The following symbols can be shown: Symbol Description This indicates the current Pool Record folder (see “Changing the Pool Record folder” on page 281). This symbol is shown if a clip has been processed. The question mark indicates that a clip is referenced to the project but is missing from the Pool (see “About missing files” on page 277).
Operations Inserting clips into a project Ö Most of the Pool-related main menu functions are also available on the Pool context menu (opened by right-clicking in the Pool window). By using menus 1. Select the clip(s) you want to insert into the project. 2. Pull down the Media menu and select an “Insert into Project” option. Renaming clips or regions in the Pool “At Cursor” will insert the clip(s) at the current project cursor position.
Deleting clips Removing unused clips from the Pool Removing clips from the Pool To remove a clip from the Pool without deleting it from the hard disk, proceed as follows: This function finds all clips in the Pool that are not used in the project. You can then decide whether to move them to the Pool Trash folder (where they can be permanently deleted) or to remove them from the Pool: 1. Select the clip(s) and select “Delete” from the Edit menu (or press [Backspace] or [Delete]). 1.
Searching for audio files 5. To close the search pane, click the Search button in the toolbar again. The Pool can help you locate audio files in your Pool, on your hard disk or other media. This works much like the regular file search, but with a couple of extra features: The Find Media window Alternatively to the search pane in the Pool, you can open a stand-alone Find Media window by selecting the “Search Media…” option from the Media or context menu (also available from the Project window).
About missing files 3. The Extended Search pop-up menu opens. This contains six options determining which search criteria will be displayed above the Location field (Name, Size, Bitsize, Channels, Sample Rate or Date) and the Add Filter and Presets submenus. When you open a project, the Resolve Missing Files dialog (see below) may open, warning you that one or more files are “missing”. If you click Close, the project will open anyway, without the missing files.
• If you select Folder, a dialog opens to let you specify the directory in which the missing file can be found. • By selecting a clip and activating the Play button. The whole clip will play back, unless you stop playback by clicking the Play button again. This might be the preferred method if you have renamed or moved the folder containing the missing file, but the file still has the same name. Once you select the correct folder, the program finds the file and you can close the dialog.
Opening clips in the Sample Editor This is a standard file dialog, where you can navigate to other folders, audition files etc. The following audio file formats can be imported: The Sample Editor allows you to perform detailed editing on the clip (see “The Sample Editor” on page 233).
Importing audio CD tracks When you select a file in the Import Medium dialog and click Open, the Import Options dialog opens: You can import tracks (or sections of tracks) from an audio CD directly into the Pool by using the “Import Audio CD” function on the Media menu. This opens a dialog in which you can specify which tracks should be copied from the CD, converted to audio files and added to the Pool. For details about the Import Audio CD dialog, see “Importing audio CD tracks” on page 454.
Changing the Pool Record folder Applying processing to clips in the Pool The Pool Record folder. You can apply audio processing to clips from within the Pool in the same way as to events in the Project window. Simply select the clip(s) and choose a processing method from the Audio menu. To find out more about audio processing, see the chapter “Audio processing and functions” on page 216. All audio clips that you record in the project will end up in the Pool Record folder.
Importing and exporting Pool files (Cubase only) 3. After the minimizing is finished, another alert appears, because the file references in the stored project have become invalid. You can import or export a Pool as a separate file (file extension “.npl”), by using the “Import Pool” and “Export Pool” options on the Media or context menu. Click Save Now to save the updated project or click Later to proceed with the unsaved project.
Options Extract Audio from Video When you convert a file, you can use the Options pop-up to set one of the following options regarding what to do with the new file: This Media menu item allows you to extract the audio from a video file on disk. It automatically generates a new audio clip that will appear in the Pool Record folder.
21 VST Sound
Introduction One of the biggest challenges in typical project studio environments is how to manage the ever-growing number of plug-ins, instruments, presets, etc. Cubase provides a truly universal, fully integrated solution to this problem: VST Sound.
• In the Inspector for instrument tracks as a button for extracting sounds. • In the Inspector or the Channel settings window as buttons for extracting Inserts or EQ settings from track presets. What can VST Sound do for you? • VST Sound allows you to manage any sound from any software or hardware synthesizer under a single, unified user interface.
22 The MediaBay
Introduction Accessing the Media Management System Cubase provides the following options to access the Media Management System: Modern music production involves having to deal with a multitude of media files, e.g. audio, MIDI, video, etc. • Pull down the Media menu and select “Open MediaBay”, “Open Loop Browser” or “Open Sound Browser” (or use the respective key commands).
Window overview The Filter section, see “Finding files in the Viewer section” on page 292. The Tag Editor (Cubase only), see “The Tag Editor (Cubase only)” on page 296. The Browser section, see “Browsing for media files” on page 289. The Scope section, see “Previewing files in the Scope section” on page 295. The Viewer section, see “Finding files in the Viewer section” on page 292. Browsing for media files The info line The info line is located at the bottom of the window.
Scanning operations • When the scan is complete, the scanning indicator will not be shown. When you open the MediaBay, the Loop Browser or the Sound Browser for the first time, a scan for the media files needs to be performed. Specify which folders or directories should be included in the scan by activating the check boxes to the left of their name. Depending on the amount of media files on your computer, the scan may take a while. The scan result is saved in the MediaBay database.
Folder operations • You can create a new folder inside the folder selected in the Browser section by clicking the “Create New Folder” button (the folder icon). The Browser section shows the folder structure of your computer’s file system in a way very similar to the Windows Explorer or the Mac OS Finder: A dialog is opened in which you can enter a name for the new folder. • Click on the folder icons in the Browser display to select the corresponding folder.
4. Click OK. Depending on your settings, the number of files displayed in the Viewer can be huge (the info line at the bottom of the window shows the number of files found with the current filter settings). Therefore, the MediaBay provides a number of ways to display only specific files and to perform very refined file searches. The new preset is added to the Select Browse Location Presets pop-up menu (which can be opened by clicking on the down arrow icon).
• Once a search operation has been completed, the very first entry in the Viewer list is selected. When you now press [Tab] once, this selected entry will receive the focus and you can use the Up and Down arrow keys to browse the list of files. • To reset all search fields to their default settings, click the Reset button in the top right corner of the Filter section. This will also reset the tag list settings.
Performing a Category search ! The MediaBay allows you not only to view and edit some of the standard file attributes found in all computer files, but it also provides preconfigured tags, or “categories”, that you can use to organize your media files. • Selected tag values in the same tag column form an OR condition. The advantages of such categorization become obvious when having to find one specific file, e.g.
Previewing files in the Scope section Further options for Category searches • The text field at the top serves as an additional name filter: you can enter a file name or part of a file name here. Below the Viewer you will find the Scope section. It allows you to play back files selected in the Viewer section. This corresponds to a “Name: contains” Details search, which means that the name of the searched file must contain the text you enter here.
The Tag Editor (Cubase only) Previewing MIDI loops • To preview a MIDI loop file, click the Start button. When a file is selected in the Viewer section, the Tag Editor shows a two-column list of tags and tag values for this file. • Auto Play works as for audio files, see above. MIDI Loops are always played in the project context. Previewing track and instrument presets MIDI In activity The Scope section for a MIDI track preset.
Managing the tag lists (Cubase only) Displaying tags in the Tag Editor Lists of tags and tag values are used in various places in the MediaBay window. You can configure these lists and define certain tag properties in the Manage Tags dialog. You can switch the tag display in the Tag Editor: Proceed as follows: Use this view to limit the tag display to only those tags that are of interest to you. • Click on “Managed” to show only the tags activated for display in the Manage Tags dialog. 1.
Media management • When clicking in the Value column for “Category”, “Sub Category” or “Style”, a pop-up menu opens from which you can choose a value. General handling The tags “Category” and “Sub Category” are directly linked to each other. The “Category” pop-up allows you to set a category, the “Sub Category” pop-up allows you to set a category and a corresponding sub category.
• To delete a file, right-click on it in the Viewer and select “Delete” from the context menu. A warning message is displayed, asking you to confirm that you really want to move this file to the operating system’s trash folder. • Cubase only: When the option “Allow Editing in Viewer” is activated in the Preferences dialog–MediaBay page, you can also edit tags in the Viewer. Otherwise this is possible only in the Tag Editor.
23 Track Presets
Introduction Audio track presets Track presets are templates that you can create from audio, MIDI or instrument tracks – or several of these tracks. With these track presets, you can then create new tracks or apply them to existing tracks of the same type. Track presets for audio tracks include all inserts and effects that “define” the sound.
Ö The choice is exclusive – you can either save the channel or the patch, but not both. Data saved in instrument track presets • • • • • • • • Audio Insert FX Audio EQ Audio Volume + Pan Audio Input Gain + Phase MIDI Insert FX MIDI Track Parameters Input Transformer VST Instrument Example 1: Multi-timbral external instrument Assume you have a multi-timbral external instrument (for example, a MIDI Expander), with all sounds available on all channels, but the sounds (patches) might change.
VST presets Data saved in MIDI track presets • • • • • MIDI Modifiers (Transpose, etc.) MIDI Inserts (FX) Output + Channel or Program Change Input Transformer Volume + Pan As of VST3, VST presets make it easy for you to work with VST plug-ins and instruments, substituting the .fxp and .fxb files of the VST2 standard.
Browsing for presets Browse Presets section When you create a new track, the Add Track dialog opens: Using the Sound Browser When browsing track presets, the quickest way is to use the Sound Browser, as it is set up specifically to display track and VST presets. To open this browser, select “Open Sound Browser” on the Media menu. The “Add MIDI Track” dialog. (For a more detailed description of the Add Track dialog, see “Handling tracks” on page 40.) Click “Browse Presets...
Browser section The Presets browser In addition to the Browse Presets section, you can click “Show Location” to open the Browser section. It is similar to the one in the MediaBay (see “Browsing for media files” on page 289), but only necessary if you want to take an explicit look at the contents of presets subfolders within the VST Sound node (as you can’t move up to other folders).
Creating a track preset Track presets are saved in the “Track Presets” folder in default subfolders named according to their track type (audio, MIDI, instrument and multi). For further information, see “Where are the settings stored?” on page 473. A track preset is created from an existing audio, MIDI or instrument track – or several of these tracks. Proceed as follows: ! 1. Select one or more tracks in the Project window.
Applying track presets Creating one or more audio, MIDI or instrument tracks with the Add Track function Track presets can be applied to tracks of their own type only, i.e. audio track presets to audio tracks, etc. 1. To create one or more new tracks from a track preset, proceed as if adding a new track by selecting the corresponding option on the context menu (or by using the key command). When you apply a track preset, all saved settings are applied, see “Types of track presets” on page 301.
Ö Once the track preset is applied, you cannot undo the changes! 3. Select a track or VST preset from the list. If the list is very long and you cannot find the needed preset easily, you can click Categories in order to expand the view. It now shows a customizable filter section that is similar to the one in the MediaBay, see “Performing a Category search” on page 294. Reloading track or VST presets To revert to the default settings of the applied preset, click the “Reload Track Preset” button.
3. Select an instrument track preset or VST preset and click OK. The VST instrument and its settings (but no inserts, EQs and modifiers) of 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.
Inserts and EQ settings from track presets Instead of handling complete track presets, it is also possible to apply settings for Inserts or Equalizers from track presets. This can be done via the Inspector or via the Channel settings window. • In the Inspector, select e.g. an Instrument track and click the VST Sound button on the Inserts or Equalizers tab to open the presets pop-up menu. There, select the option “From Track Preset…”.
24 Track Quick Controls
Introduction Assigning parameters to quick controls The opened Quick Controls tab shows eight slots, one for each quick control. To start with, these slots are empty. Proceed as follows to assign track parameters to the quick control slots: Cubase can give you instant access to up to eight parameters of each audio track, MIDI track or instrument track. This is done with the aid of the so-called quick controls, set up on the Quick Controls Inspector tab for these tracks. 1.
Replacing a quick control assignment 2. Hold down the [Ctrl]/[Command] key and click on the slot for quick control 1. • To replace a parameter assignment with a different parameter, click on the corresponding quick control slot and double-click on a different parameter in the browser popup menu list. The parameter selection context menu is opened, but it lists not the parameters of the current track, but all automatable parameters. The parameter assignment in this slot is changed.
This will open the Quick Controls section on the right of the dialog: Here, quick controls 1-8 have been set up to control the main volume of five audio tracks. 3. With your remote controller device connected to Cubase via MIDI, select the corresponding MIDI port on your computer in the MIDI Input pop-up (or select “All MIDI Inputs”). The Quick Controls tab has become a “secondary” mixer, dedicated to quick-controlling parameters on other tracks.
16 Automation
Background About automation subtracks Audio tracks, group channel tracks and FX channel tracks all have automation subtracks. These allow you to view and edit the automation of all mixer settings for the track, including settings for the track’s insert effects. There is one automation subtrack for each parameter, and subtracks can be shown or hidden in any combination. Cubase provides very comprehensive automation features. Virtually every mixer and effect parameter can be automated.
What can be automated? For each VST Instrument: • VST Instrument plug-in parameters and program selection Mixing in Cubase can be completely automated. The following parameter settings can be recorded automatically – or manually drawn in – on automation subtracks: plus (for each mixer channel/separate output used by the instrument): • Volume • Mute • Linked Panner state (controlled with the button “Link Send Routing Panners to Channel Panner” on the Control Strip section of the Channel settings window).
Automation track operations Opening additional automation subtracks • If you position the mouse pointer over the lower left corner of an automation subtrack, a “+” sign (“Append Automation Track”) will appear. If you click this (or indeed, if you click anywhere on the left border of the track), another subtrack opens, by default showing the next parameter in the Add Parameter list (see below).
Assigning a parameter to an automation track 3. Select “More...”. The Add Parameter dialog appears. This dialog shows a list with all parameters that can be automated for the selected channel (sorted into different categories), including the parameters for any assigned insert effects. See “What can be automated?” on page 205 for a list of the available parameters according to channel type. To view the parameters in each category click the “+” sign for the category folder.
Showing only used automation subtracks You can click the “Append Automation Track” button (the “+” sign) for the automation subtrack several times to open additional subtracks and repeat the above procedure to assign a parameter to each subtrack. Removing automation subtracks To remove automation subtracks from the Track list, proceed as follows: • To remove a single subtrack, click the parameter name and select “Remove Parameter” from the pop-up menu.
The “Automation follows Events” setting There are also global Read and Write buttons in the common panel of the mixer and at the top of the Track list: If you activate “Automation follows Events” on the Edit menu (or in the Preferences–Editing page), automation events will automatically follow when you move an event or part on the track. This makes it easy to set up automation related to a specific event or part, rather than to a specific position in the project.
About the five automation modes (Cubase only) ! • Overwrite mode affects volume automation only. It works like Autolatch mode, with one significant difference: the program starts writing the automation as soon as you start playback, and stops writing when you turn off Write. In Cubase Studio, the automation mode is always “Touch Fader”. This means that automation will be written continuously from the moment you start playback until you turn off Write – even if you don’t touch any controls.
4. Deactivate Write mode and click the global Read button (“All Automation to Read Status”) in the mixer common panel. 4. Start playback and adjust some effect parameters in the control panel. When you are finished, stop playback and return to the position where you started playback. Cubase is now in global Read mode. 5. Deactivate Write and instead click the Read button on the control panel. 5. Start playback, and watch the Mixer window.
Where did the automation data I recorded end up? • If you have manually added any automation events or used write automation for the corresponding parameter, and then deactivate Read mode, the automation curve will be greyed-out in the automation subtrack event display and the static value will be used instead. When using global Write automation, you can write automation data on the automation tracks of all channels.
5. When you release the mouse button, the number of automation events is reduced to a few events, but the basic shape of the curve still remains the same. • The Line tool in Parabola mode works in the same way, but aligns the automation events with a parabolic curve instead, resulting in more “natural” curves and fades. This “thinning out” of events is governed by the Automation Reduction Level setting in the Preferences, see “About the Automation Reduction Level preference” on page 215.
Editing automation events in the Project Browser Removing automation events There are several ways to remove event points: You can also edit automation events in the Project Browser. Proceed as follows: • By selecting points and pressing [Backspace] or [Delete] or selecting Delete from the Edit menu. 1. Open the Project Browser by selecting it from the Project menu. • By clicking on a point with the Eraser tool.
Tips and common methods Options and Settings There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to describing which automation method you should use. You can for example never even open an automation subtrack, and stick with write automation throughout a project. Or you can stick to drawing automation curves to automate settings in a project. Both methods have their advantages, but it is of course up to you to decide what to use and when.
25 MIDI realtime parameters and effects
Introduction For each MIDI track, you can set up a number of track parameters, or modifiers, and MIDI effects. These affect how the MIDI data is played back, “transforming” MIDI events in real time before they are sent to the MIDI outputs. On the following pages, the available parameters and effects are described. Keep in mind: • The actual MIDI events will not be affected – the changes happen “on the fly”.
Basic track settings The topmost Inspector section contains the basic settings for the selected MIDI track. Parameter Description Lock button Activate this to disable all editing of all events on the track. Lane Display Type button Allows you to divide the tracks in lanes. For more about lanes, see “Recording audio in Stacked mode” on page 77. Volume Use this to adjust the level for the track. Changing this setting will move the track’s fader in the mixer window, and vice versa.
Other Inspector sections • If a MIDI track is routed to a plug-in assigned to a FX Channel track, a corresponding FX sub-panel is added to the Inspector.
MIDI Modifiers Velocity Shift This setting lets you change the dynamics of all notes on the track. The value in this field is added to the velocity of each note message that is sent out (use negative values to lower the velocities). The range is -127 to +127 with 0 representing no change in velocity. Note that the effect of changing the velocity depends on the sound and instrument. Ö You can also adjust the velocity of events in individual MIDI parts using the Velocity field in the info line.
Random Range The Random settings let you introduce random variations to various properties of MIDI notes. Anything from very subtle variations to dramatic changes can be applied. There are two separate “random generators”, set up in the following way: The Range function lets you specify a note (pitch) or velocity range and either force all notes to fit within this range, or exclude all notes outside this range from playback. As with the Random function, there are two separate Range settings.
MIDI effects MIDI Inserts section Cubase comes with a number of MIDI effect plug-ins, capable of transforming the MIDI output from a track in various ways. Just like the MIDI modifiers, MIDI effects are applied in real time to the MIDI data played back from the track (or to MIDI you play live “thru” the track).
About presets MIDI Sends section Several of the MIDI plug-ins come with a number of presets for instant use. The controls for handling presets consist of a Presets pop-up menu along with Store (+) and Remove (-) buttons. Store button This allows you to add up to four MIDI send effects. Unlike audio send effects, you can select and activate send effects individually for each track.
Managing plug-ins Applying a MIDI insert effect – an example Here is a step-by-step example of how to add a MIDI insert effect to a MIDI track: Selecting Plug-in Information from the Devices menu opens a window in which all loaded plug-ins, audio and MIDI, are listed. 1. Select the MIDI track and open the Inspector. 2. Open the MIDI Inserts tab in the Inspector. • To view the MIDI effect plug-ins, click the MIDI Plug-ins tab.
26 MIDI processing and quantizing
Introduction • In the Project window, the MIDI functions apply to all selected parts, affecting all events (of the relevant types) in them. This chapter describes the various MIDI processing functions available on the MIDI menu. They offer various ways to edit MIDI notes and other events, either in the Project window or from within a MIDI editor. • In the MIDI editors, the MIDI functions apply to all selected events. If no events are selected, all events in the edited part(s) will be affected.
Setting up quantize on the toolbar Setting up quantize in the Quantize Setup dialog At its most basic, setting up quantizing consists of selecting a note value from the Quantize pop-up menu on the toolbar (in the Project window or a MIDI editor). If you want more options than those available on the popup menu, select “Quantize Setup…” from the MIDI menu (or “Setup…” from the Quantize pop-up menu) to open the Quantize Setup dialog.
The Quantize Setup dialog contains the following settings: Magnetic Area The Grid and Type pop-ups This allows you to specify that only notes within a certain distance from the grid lines should be affected by quantizing. These are used to determine the basic note value for the quantizing grid. In other words, these have the same functionality as the Quantize pop-up menu on the toolbar. • When the slider is set to 0%, the Magnetic Area function is deactivated, i.e. all notes are affected by quantizing.
Apply and Auto Applying quantize These functions allow you to apply quantizing directly from the dialog, see below. There are several ways to apply the quantize: ! • The standard method is to select “Over Quantize” from the MIDI menu (or using a key command, by default [Q]). If you don’t want to apply the quantizing you have set up in the dialog, close the window by clicking its standard close box. This quantizes the selected MIDI parts or notes according to the current Quantize pop-up menu setting.
Advanced Quantize functions Quantize Ends Quantize Lengths The Quantize Ends function on the Advanced Quantize submenu will only affect the end positions of notes. Apart from that, it works just like regular quantizing, taking the Quantize pop-up menu setting into account. ! This function is only available from within the MIDI editors. This function (on the Advanced Quantize submenu on the MIDI menu) will quantize the length of the notes, without changing their start positions.
Transpose Keep Notes in Range The Transpose item on the MIDI menu opens a dialog with settings for transposing the selected notes: When this is activated, transposed notes will remain within the Upper and Lower Limit values. • If a note ends up outside the limits after transposition, it will be shifted to another octave, keeping the correct transposed pitch if possible.
Freeze MIDI Modifiers 4. Select “Merge MIDI in Loop” from the MIDI menu. A dialog appears with the following options: The “Freeze MIDI Modifiers” function affects the following settings for MIDI tracks: • Several settings on the main tab of the Inspector (program and bank selection and the Delay parameter). • The settings on the MIDI Modifiers tab (i.e. Transpose, Velocity Shift, Velocity Compression and Length Compression). • The settings on the MIDI Inserts tab (if, e.g.
Dissolve Part Now, for each MIDI channel used in the selected part(s), a new MIDI track is created and set to the corresponding MIDI channel. Each event is then copied into the part on the track with the corresponding MIDI channel. Finally, the original part(s) are muted. The Dissolve Part function on the MIDI menu has two separate uses: • When you work with MIDI parts (on MIDI channel “Any”) containing events on different MIDI channels.
O-Note Conversion When you activate the “Legato Mode: Selected Only” option, the length of the note will be adjusted so that it reaches the next selected note, allowing you e.g. to only apply Legato to your bass line (when playing on a keyboard). See “Working with drum maps” on page 359 for more information on drum maps and O-Notes. Fixed Lengths Repeat Loop ! With this function, the events inside the independent track loops will be repeated until the end of the part, i.e.
Delete Notes OK and Cancel Allows you to delete very short or weak notes. This is useful for automatically removing unwanted “ghost notes” after recording. Selecting “Delete Notes…” opens a dialog in which you set up the criteria for the function. Clicking OK performs the automatic delete according to the rules set up. Clicking Cancel closes the dialog without deleting notes.
The following types of velocity processing are available: Extract MIDI Automation Add/Subtract This option allows you to automatically convert continuous controller data of a MIDI part into MIDI track automation data. Proceed as follows: This simply adds a fixed number to the existing velocity values. You set the value (positive or negative) with the Amount parameter. 1. Select the desired MIDI part containing the continuous controller data. Compress/Expand 2. Select “Extract MIDI Automation”.
27 The MIDI editors
About editing MIDI About this chapter This chapter describes how to use all editors except the Score Editor (which is described in detail in “Part II: Score layout and printing” on page 484). There are several ways to edit MIDI in Cubase. You can use the tools and functions in the Project window for large-scale editing, or use the functions on the MIDI menu to process MIDI parts in various ways (see “What is affected by the MIDI functions?” on page 325).
Ö If the part you open for editing is a shared copy, any editing you perform will affect all shared copies of this part. • The button “Show Part Borders” can be used if you want to see clearly defined borders for the active part. Shared copies are created by pressing [Alt]/[Option]+[Shift] and dragging, or by using the Repeat function with the “Shared copies” option activated. In the Project window, shared copies are indicated by the part name in italics and an icon in the bottom right corner of the part.
The Key Editor – Overview Info line Toolbar Ruler Controller display Note display The toolbar Mouse pointer display: Current Color pop-up menu pitch and meter position Chord recognition display As in other windows, the toolbar contains tools and various settings. You can specify which toolbar items should be shown and store/recall different toolbar configurations – see “The Setup dialogs” on page 466.
The ruler The note display The ruler shows the time line, by default in the display format selected on the Transport panel. You can select a separate format for a MIDI editor ruler on the Ruler pop-up menu, opened by clicking the arrow button to the right of it. For a list of the available formats, see “The ruler” on page 34. At the bottom of the pop-up menu, there are two additional items: The note display is the main area in the Key Editor. It contains a grid in which MIDI notes are shown as boxes.
Ö Unlike notes, events in the controller display have no length. The value of an event in the display is “valid” until the start of the next event: The controller display The area at the bottom of the Key Editor window is the controller display. This consists of one or several controller lanes, each showing one of the following properties or event types: • • • • • • If you delete the second event… Velocity values of the notes. Pitch Bend events. Aftertouch events. Poly Pressure events.
• To edit a single note, click on it with the Trim tool. The range between the mouse cursor and the end of the note will be removed. Autoscroll You can use the mouse position display in the toolbar to find the exact position for the trim operation. • To edit several notes, click and drag with the mouse across the notes.
Coloring notes and events The independent track loop is indicated in purple in the ruler. By using the Colors pop-up menu on the toolbar, you can select a color scheme for the events in the editor. The following options are available: Ö The MIDI events will be looped as long as the Loop button is activated and the MIDI editor window is open. To turn the loop into actual MIDI notes, use the Repeat Loop function on the MIDI menu, see “Repeat Loop” on page 333.
• If Snap is activated, this determines the start position of the created note. Setting velocity values When you draw notes in the Key Editor, the notes will get the velocity value set in the insert velocity field on the toolbar. • If you click once, the created note will have the length set on the Length Quantize pop-up menu on the toolbar. You can create a longer note by clicking and dragging. The length of the created note will be a multiple of the Length Quantize value.
Selecting notes • To select all notes of a certain pitch, press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click on the desired key in the keyboard display to the left. Selecting notes is done using any of the following methods: • Use the Arrow tool. All notes of the corresponding pitch are selected. The standard selection techniques apply, like selecting by clicking on the note or using a selection rectangle.
Moving and transposing notes Duplicating and repeating notes To move notes in the editor, use any of the following methods: Notes are duplicated much in the same way as events in the Project window: • Click and drag to a new position. • Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag the note(s) to a new position. All selected notes will be moved, maintaining their relative positions. If Snap is activated, this determines to which positions you can move the notes, see “Snap” on page 343.
• “Paste Time” inserts at the project cursor position, but moves (and if necessary, splits) existing notes to make room for the pasted notes. Splitting notes There are three ways to split notes: • Clicking on a note with the Scissors tool splits the note at the position you pointed (taking the Snap setting into account if activated). Selecting “Paste Time” with this data on the clipboard and the project cursor here… If several notes are selected, they are all split at the same position.
Deleting notes How the Key Editor handles drum maps To delete notes, either click on them with the Eraser tool or select them and press [Backspace]. When a drum map (see “Working with drum maps” on page 359) is assigned to a MIDI track, the Key Editor will display the drum sound names as defined by the drum map. Editing on the info line The drum sound names are displayed… The info line shows the values and properties of the selected event(s).
3. Use the note buttons on the toolbar to decide which properties should be changed by the MIDI input. 3. Click anywhere in the note display to set the start position (the desired position of the first note or chord). You can enable editing of pitch, note-on and/or note-off velocity. The step input position is shown as a blue line in the note display, and in the lower mouse pointer display in the toolbar.
Editing in the controller display • Selecting “Setup…” opens a dialog in which you can specify which continuous controller event types should be available on the pop-up menu. About controller lanes By default, the controller display has a single lane, showing one event type at a time. However, you can add lanes by right-clicking in the display and selecting “Create new controller lane” from the Quick menu. This allows you to view and edit different controllers at the same time.
Editing velocity values • Use the Line tool in Line mode for creating linear velocity ramps. When “Velocity” is selected for viewing, the lane shows the velocity of each note as a vertical bar. Click where you want the ramp to start and drag the cursor to where you want the ramp to end. When you release the mouse button, the velocity values are aligned with the line between the two points. Velocity values are edited with the Pencil or the Line tool.
Adding and editing events in the controller display • Clicking and dragging with the Line tool in Line mode shows a line in the controller lane, and creates events with values aligned to this line. When any option other than “Velocity” is selected for a controller lane, you can create new events or edit the values of existing events using the Pencil tool or the Line tool in its various modes: This is the best way to draw linear controller ramps.
Ö In Line and Parabola modes, the length quantize value determines the “density” of created controller curves (if Snap is activated). Moving and copying events You can move or duplicate events in a controller lane, much like you can with notes: For very smooth curves, you should use a small length quantize value or turn off Snap. To avoid over-dense controller curves (which may cause MIDI playback to “stutter”), use a medium-low density. 1.
2. Click on the arrow button next to the note number field to the left of the controller lane. Deleting events in the controller display You delete events by clicking on them with the Eraser tool or by selecting them and pressing [Backspace]. Please note: A pop-up menu appears, listing all note numbers for which there already are Poly Pressure events. 3. Select a note number from the pop-up menu. • Deleting a controller event makes the last event before this valid up until the next event.
This expands the MIDI track to show something like a miniature Key Editor, allowing you to edit MIDI notes and controllers. • To close the In-Place Editor for one or several selected tracks, you can use the key command or click the “Toggle the In-Place Editor” button above the Track list. • To close the In-Place Editor for one track, you can click the Edit In-Place button in the Track list or double-click below the controller display in the In-Place Editor.
The Drum Editor – Overview Ruler Toolbar Note display Controller display Drum Maps Drum sound list The toolbar and info line The drum sound list These are much the same as the toolbar and info line in the Key Editor (see “The Key Editor – Overview” on page 339), with the following differences: • The Drum Editor has no Pencil tool – instead there is a Drumstick tool (for entering and removing notes) and a Line tool with various line and curve modes (for drawing several notes in one go or editing cont
• You can reorder the columns by dragging the column headings, and resize them by dragging the dividers between the column headings. • You can select more than one line in the drum sound list (using [Shift]/[Ctrl] as usual), which will show all velocity controller events for all notes on all selected lines. The note display This will help you when having to adjust the controller values between different drum sounds. Drum Editor operations The basic handling (zooming, playback, auditioning, etc.
The length of the inserted note is determined by the Insert Length setting on the toolbar. However, if this is set to “Drum-Map Link”, the note will get the length of the quantize value for the drum sound. There is one other thing to note: When you move or copy several selected notes by dragging them and Snap is activated but Use Global Quantize is deactivated, the notes will snap to positions according to the quantize values for the drum sounds.
Other editing methods Drum map settings As in the Key Editor, you can edit notes on the info line or via MIDI, and enter notes using step input, see “Editing on the info line” on page 348. A drum map consists of settings for 128 drum sounds (one for each MIDI note number). To get an overview of these settings, open the Drum Editor and use the Map pop-up menu below the drum sound list to select the “GM Map” drum map.
Column Description I-note This is the “input note” for the drum sound. When this MIDI note is sent into Cubase, (i.e. played by you), the note will be mapped to the corresponding drum sound (and automatically transposed according to the Pitch setting for the sound). O-note This is the “output note”, i.e. the MIDI note number that is sent out every time the drum sound is played back. Channel The drum sound will be played back on this MIDI channel.
The channel and output settings Selecting “No Drum Map” turns off the drum map functionality in the Drum Editor. Even if you don’t use a drum map, you can still separate sounds by name using a name list (see “Using drum name lists” on page 362). You can set separate MIDI channels and/or MIDI outputs for each sound in a drum map. The following rules apply: • When a drum map is selected for a track, the MIDI channel settings in the drum map override the MIDI channel setting for the track.
Open the Functions pop-up menu in the top left corner to open a list of available functionalities: Button Description New Map Click this to add a new drum map to the project. The drum sounds will be named “Sound 1, Sound 2” and so on, and have all parameters set to default values. The map will be named “Empty Map”, but you can rename it by clicking and typing in the list. New Copy Adds a copy of the currently selected drum map.
The List Editor – Overview Toolbar Filter view Ruler Value display Event list Event display The toolbar The list The toolbar contains several items that are the same as in the Key Editor (edit solo, snap, quantize settings, etc.). These are described earlier in this chapter. The following toolbar items are unique to the List Editor: This lists all events in the selected MIDI part(s), in the order (from top to bottom) in which they are played back.
List Editor operations • Notes will get the insert velocity value set in the insert velocity field on the toolbar. See “Setting velocity values” on page 344. Customizing the view You can click and drag the divider between the list and the event display to make one area wider and the other narrower. Furthermore, the list can be customized in the following ways: Editing in the list The list allows you to perform detailed numerical editing of the events properties.
Ö For SysEx (system exclusive) events, you can only edit the position (Start) in the list. • To see one event type only (hide all other event types), press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click its checkbox. If you [Ctrl]/[Command]-click again, all checkboxes are cleared (all events will be visible). However, when you click the Comment column, the MIDI SysEx Editor opens, in which you can perform detailed editing of system exclusive events (see “Working with System Exclusive messages” on page 390).
In addition to the above options, the menu also gives you access to the presets available in the Logical Editor (see “The Logical Editor, Transformer and Input Transformer” on page 367). Furthermore, the “Setup…” item on the Mask pop-up menu gives you direct access to the Logical Editor. In that editor you can create very complex masking settings. Exactly which value is shown for an event depends on the event type.
28 The Logical Editor, Transformer and Input Transformer
Introduction About the Input Transformer Again, this is very similar to the Logical Editor. Just like the Transformer effect, the Input Transformer works in real time. However, the Input Transformer filters out and transforms MIDI data as it is recorded. In other words, the settings you make in the Input Transformer will affect the actual MIDI events you record. Most of the time you will perform your MIDI editing graphically in one of the main graphic editors.
Window overview This is the filter condition list, specifying which events to look for. Setting up filter conditions This is where you select a function (Transform, Delete, etc.). The field to the right shows an additional explanation of the selected function. General procedure The upper list is where you set up the filter conditions, determining which events to find. The list contains one or several conditions, each on a separate line.
Column Description Condition Events will be found if their Filter Target property… Bar Range This column is only used if the Filter Target is “Position” and one of the “Bar Range” options is selected in the Condition column. In these cases, you use the Bar Range column to specify “zones” within each bar (allowing you to find e.g. all events on or around the first beat of every bar). See “Searching for events at certain positions” on page 370.
• If you select one of the Bar Range options in the Condition column, the Bar Range column will show a graphic bar display. You specify the range within the bar by clicking and dragging in the bar display (the specified Bar Range is indicated in blue). Since value 1 and 2 have different meanings for different events, searching for e.g. value 2 = 64 would both find notes with the velocity 64 and controllers with the amount 64, etc.
Searching for controllers Searching for properties There is similar extended functionality when searching for controllers: If you’ve added an additional “Type = Controller” condition line, the Logical Editor will “know” you are searching for controllers. The Parameter 1 column will then show the names of the MIDI controllers (Modulation, Volume, etc.) when Value 1 is selected as Filter Target. On the Filter Target pop-up menu you will find an option called Property.
Ö If two condition lines are combined with a boolean Or, one of the conditions (or both) must be fulfilled for an event to be found.
Ö Expressions within brackets are evaluated first. Below, the available options are listed. Note that some options are available in the Logical Editor only – not in the Transformer effect. If there are several layers of brackets, these are evaluated “from the inside out”, starting with the innermost brackets. You add brackets by clicking in the bracket columns and selecting an option. Up to triple brackets can be selected.
Specifying actions Operation This setting determines what to do with the Action Target. The options on this pop-up menu are different depending on the selected Action Target. Below, all available operations are listed: Add The lower list in the Logical Editor window is the action list. This is where you specify any changes that should be made to the found events (relevant for all function types except Delete and Select). Adds the value specified in the Parameter 1 column to the Action Target.
Set Relative Random Values between Use Value 1 This will add a random value to the current Action Target value. The added random value will be within the range specified with Parameter 1 and 2. Note that these can be set to negative values. This is only available when Action Target is set to Value 2. If this option is selected, the Value 1 setting in each event will be copied to the Value 2 setting.
Applying the defined actions This also makes it easy to share presets with other Cubase users, by transferring the individual preset files. Once you have set up filter conditions, selected a function and set the required actions (or loaded a preset), you apply the actions defined with the Logical Editor by clicking the Do It button. Ö The list of presets is read each time the Logical Editor is opened. The Input Transformer Logical Editor operations can be undone just like any other editing.
In both cases, the button lights up and the Input Transformer opens. Setting up filtering and actions This is done just like in the Logical Editor. Here is a brief rundown: • Click the Add Line buttons to add lines to the filter condition list or action list. To remove a line, click it to select it and click the Delete Line button to the right. • Clicking the columns in the filter condition list opens pop-up menus allowing you to specify the conditions to match.
29 The Project Logical Editor
Introduction By combining filter conditions, functions and the specific actions, you can perform very powerful processing. On the Edit menu you will find the function “Project Logical Editor…” that opens a Project Logical Editor for the entire project. It works similar to the Logical Editor on the MIDI menu, see “The Logical Editor, Transformer and Input Transformer” on page 367.
Selecting a preset You set up a filter condition line by clicking in the columns and selecting options from the pop-up menus that appear. Here is a brief description of the columns: To understand the Project Logical Editor, it might be a good idea to start by exploring the included presets. These are found on the Presets pop-up menu at the bottom of the window, to the right.
Searching for Media types Searching for Container types 1. Select Media Type in the Filter Target pop-up menu. 1. Select Container Type in the Filter Target pop-up menu. This allows you to find elements of certain types of media only. This allows you to find parts, events or tracks. 2. Open the pop-up menu in the Parameter 1 column and select the desired option. 2. Open the pop-up menu in the Parameter 1 column and select the desired option.
Combining Media type and Container type Searching for Names The combination of the Filter Targets Media type and Container represents a versatile tool for logical operations: 1. Select Name on the Filter Target pop-up menu. 2. Enter the desired name, or a part of a name in the Parameter 1 column. 3. Open the pop-up menu in the Condition column and select the desired condition.
Searching for elements at certain positions • If you select any condition other than the Range, Bar Range, Cursor, Loop or Cycle options, you set up a specific position (in bars, beats, sixteenth notes and ticks) in the Parameter 1 column. Note that the position for Bar Range is measured in ticks related to the start of the bar. 1. Select Position in the Filter Target pop-up menu.
Searching for elements of certain lengths Searching for properties 1. Select Length in the Filter Target pop-up menu. 1. Select Property on the Filter Target pop-up menu. This allows you to find elements of a certain length only. The Length parameter is interpreted via the time base setting of the tracks, i.e. in ticks (musical) or ms (time), except for audio parts or events: these are always measured in samples. 2. Open the pop-up menu in the Condition column and select the desired condition.
Combining multiple condition lines Using brackets As described above, you can add condition lines by clicking the Add Line button to the right of the list. The result of combining condition lines depends on the boolean And/ Or operators and the brackets. The bracket (parenthesis) columns let you enclose two or more condition lines, dividing the conditional expression into smaller units. This is only relevant when you have three or more condition lines and want to use the boolean Or operator.
Selecting a function Specifying actions The lower list in the Project Logical Editor window is the action list. This is where you specify any changes that should be made to the found elements, relevant for the function type Transform. The pop-up menu in the top left corner of the Project Logical Editor is where you select the function – the basic type of editing to be performed.
Operation Description Track Operation Set Relative Random Values between This will add a random value to the current Position value. The added random value will be within the range specified with Parameter 1 and 2. Note that these can be set to negative values. For example, if you set Parameter 1 to -20 and Parameter 2 to +20, the original Position value will get a random variation, never exceeding ±20. This lets you change the track status.
Working with presets Setting up key commands for your presets If you have stored Project Logical Editor presets, you can set up key commands for them: The Presets section in the bottom right section of the window allows you to load, store and manage Project Logical Editor presets. A preset contains all settings in the window, which means you can simply load a preset and click Do It. 1. Pull down the File menu and select “Key Commands…”. The Key Commands dialog appears. 2.
30 Working with System Exclusive messages
Introduction 2. Make sure that recording of Sysex data is not filtered, by unchecking the Sysex checkbox in the Record section. The Sysex checkbox in the Thru section can be left as it is (by default activated). SysEx (System Exclusive) messages are model-specific messages for setting various parameters of a MIDI device. This makes it possible to address device parameters that would not be available via normal MIDI syntax. Every major MIDI manufacturer has its own SysEx identity code.
Recording System Exclusive parameter changes Transmitting a bulk dump back to a device 1. Make sure the MIDI track with the System Exclusive data is routed to the device. Often you can use SysEx to remotely change individual settings in a device, e.g. open a filter, select a waveform, change the decay of the reverb etc. Many devices are also capable of transmitting changes made on the front panel as SysEx messages. These can be recorded in Cubase, and thus incorporated into a regular MIDI recording.
Editing System Exclusive messages Editing a value The selected value can be edited directly in the main display or in the decimal and binary displays. Just click on it and type in the desired value as usual. While SysEx events are shown in the List Editor/Project Browser, their entire content is not (only the beginning of the message is displayed in the Comment column for the event). Also, you cannot edit the event (other than moving it) as you can with other event types in the List Editor.
31 Working with the Tempo track
Ö To adapt the tempo track to time-based material, you can use the Time Warp tool, see “The Time Warp tool” on page 402. Background For each track in Cubase that can make use of this function, you can specify whether it should be time-based or tempo-based (see “Switching between musical and linear time base” on page 42).
The ruler The time signature area The ruler in the Tempo Track Editor shows the timeline. As in other windows, you can select a display format by clicking on the arrow button to the right of the ruler and selecting an option from the pop-up menu that appears. The area below the ruler contains time signature events.
Operations 4. Drag the curve point to the desired tempo value (indicated in the tempo display), and release the mouse button. Zooming The tempo curve point is inserted. The result depends on whether you selected “Ramp” or “Jump” in step 1 above: Changing the magnification is done using any of the following methods: Insert curve set to “Ramp”: • By using the zoom sliders in the lower right corner of the window. • By using the Magnifying Glass tool. This works according to the standard procedures.
Selecting tempo curve points Adjusting the curve type Selecting curve points is done using any of the following methods: You can change the curve type of a tempo curve segment at any time, using the following method: • Use the Arrow tool. 1. Select all curve points within the segment you want to edit. The standard selection techniques apply. • Use the Select submenu on the Edit menu. The options are: Option Description All Selects all curve points on the Tempo track.
Setting the Fixed tempo Exporting and importing Tempo tracks When the Tempo track button is deactivated, the Tempo track curve is grayed out (but still visible). Since the Fixed tempo is constant throughout the whole project, there are no tempo curve points. Instead, the Fixed tempo is displayed as a horizontal black line in the tempo curve display. You can export the current tempo track for use in other projects by selecting “Tempo Track” from the “Export” submenu on the File menu.
4. Enter the desired End or Length in the corresponding fields of the New Range section. The dialog contains the following elements: You can select a time format for the new range in the Time Display Format pop-up. Option Description Bar Range The Bar Range display gives you a graphical overview of the position of the bar range within the project as well as its length.
Options and settings • If you need to adjust the selection, you can go back to the Project window, leaving the Beat Calculator open. Snap To re-calculate the tempo after adjusting the selection, click Refresh. You activate or deactivate Snap by clicking the Snap icon on the toolbar. The behavior of the function depends on the display format selected for the ruler: 4.
Merge Tempo From Tapping The Time Warp tool This function allows you to create a complete tempo track based on your tapping. Typically, you would use this if you have an audio file with no tempo mapping and want to be able to add sequenced material afterwards, etc. The Time Warp tool lets you adjust the Tempo track so that “musical time-based” material (positions related to the tempo) matches “linear time-based” material (positions in time). Some typical applications: 1.
Viewing and adjusting tempo events While you are dragging, the track(s) you are editing are temporarily switched to linear time base. This means that the contents of the tracks remain at the same time positions regardless of the tempo (there is an exception to this in the Project window, see below). When you select the Time Warp tool, the ruler of the active window is shown in brown. Existing tempo events are shown in the ruler as “flags” with the tempo values displayed. 4.
Matching a musical score to video • Note that this affects the snapping to the ruler (tempo grid) when you click! In addition, the tool can be “magnetic” to events in the Project window when you drag – for this, you need to activate Snap and select “Events” on the Snap pop-up menu. Here’s an example of how to use the Time Warp tool in “musical events follow” mode. Let’s say you are creating the music for a film.
You need to create a “lock point” – a tempo event at the first cue position: Making a tempo map for a “free” recording The following example shows how to use the Time Warp tool in the Sample Editor to create a tempo map matching freely recorded music. Let’s say you have recorded a drummer, playing without a metronome – this typically means the tempo varies ever so slightly.
7. Click at that position in the event display and drag the position to the downbeat of the second bar in the recording. 11. Now match the tempo grid to the next (unmatched) beat by clicking and dragging with the Time Warp tool. When you click, the pointer will snap to the ruler grid. 12. Work your way through the recording this way – when you find that the recording drifts from the tempo, repeat steps 9 to 11 above. The tempo event you inserted in step 10 will be adjusted.
32 The Project Browser
Window Overview The Time Format (display format) pop-up menu. The Add pop-up menu and Add button for The Filter pop-up menu, used when editing MIDI. creating new parts, events and regions. The Project Structure list. This is where you navigate through the project. The event display. This is where you view and edit parts, events and Regions. While the Project window and the editors display events and other data graphically, the Project Browser window provides a list based representation of the project.
• The actual editing is done in the event display, using regular value editing techniques. Editing tracks There is one exception: You can rename items in the Project Structure list by clicking on their names and typing. Editing audio tracks Audio tracks can have two “subitems”: Track Data and Automation. Customizing the view • The Automation item corresponds to the Automation subtrack in the Project window, and contains the track’s automation events (see “Editing Automation tracks” on page 411).
Parameter Description Editing MIDI tracks Offset This determines “where in the audio clip” the event starts. Adjusting this value is the same as sliding the contents of the event in the Project window (see “Sliding the contents of an event or part” on page 50). You can only specify positive Offset values, since the event cannot start before the start of the clip. Likewise, it cannot end after the end of the clip. If the event already plays the whole clip, the Offset cannot be adjusted at all.
The list columns for MIDI parts: Creating MIDI events Parameter Description Name The name of the part. You can use the Project Browser to create new MIDI events: Start The start position of the part. Editing this value is the same as moving the part. End The end position of the part. Changing this is the same as resizing the part (and will automatically affect the Length value as well). Length The length of the part. Changing this resizes the part and automatically changes the End value.
Editing the Video track Editing the Tempo track When the Video track is selected in the Project Structure list, the event display lists the video events on the track, with the following parameters: When the Tempo track is selected in the Project Structure list, the event display shows the events on the Tempo track, with the following parameters: Column Description Parameter Description Name The name of the video clip that the event refers to. Position Start The start position of the event.
33 Export Audio Mixdown
Introduction Mixing down to an audio file The Export Audio Mixdown function in Cubase allows you to mix down audio from the program to a file on your hard disk, in a number of formats. You can choose to mix down one of the following: 1. Set up the left and right locators to encompass the area that you want to mix down. • An output bus. This includes muting unwanted tracks or parts, making manual mixer settings and/or activating the R (Read) automation buttons for some or all mixer channels. 2.
• Activate the option “Use Project Audio Folder” to specify a path. This saves the mixdown file in the Project Audio folder. • If you have activated any of the “Import into project” options, the file will be imported back into the project. 5. Select a file format with the File Format pop-up menu. When playing back the re-imported file in Cubase, remember to mute the original tracks so that you really hear the correct file. 6.
Option Description Option Description Insert Broadcast Wave Chunk (File Format section) This allows you to include information about the date and time of creation, a timecode position (allowing you to insert exported audio at the correct position in other projects, etc.) along with author, description and reference text strings in the exported file.
Wave64 files (Cubase only) Option Description Wave64 is a proprietary format developed by Sonic Foundry Inc. In terms of audio quality, Wave64 files are identical to standard wave files, but in the file headers Wave64 files use 64-bit values for addressing where wave files use 32-bit values. The consequence of this is that Wave64 files can be considerably larger than standard Wave files. Wave64 is therefore a good file format choice for really long recordings (file sizes over 2GB), e.g.
Ogg Vorbis files Other file formats Ogg Vorbis is an open source, patent-free audio encoding and streaming technology, offering compressed audio files (extension “.ogg”) of small size, but with comparatively high audio quality. Steinberg also offers optional Dolby Digital (AC3) and DTS encoders for export directly to AC3 or DTS format (Cubase only). Please go to www.steinberg.net for more information.
The following options are available: you to select from various levels of desired quality, with 10 being the lowest and 100 the highest. Generally, the higher the bitrate or quality you select, the larger the final file will be. The menu also shows the channel format (5.1 or stereo). General tab In the Input Stream section, you set the sample rate (44.1, 48 or 96 kHz) and the bit resolution (16 bit or 24 bit) of the encoded file.
• Surround Reduction Coefficients Here you can specify which amount of volume reduction, if any, should be applied to the different channels in a surround encoding. These settings affect how the audio is reproduced on a system incapable of playing back the file in surround, in which case the surround channels of the file will be combined into two channels and played back in stereo instead. The default values will normally produce satisfactory results, but you can change the values manually if you wish.
34 Synchronization
Background Synchronization signals What is synchronization? Basically there are three types of synchronization signals for audio: timecode, MIDI clock and word clock. Synchronization is said to exist when you make two pieces of equipment agree on time or tempo and position info.
MIDI Clock Synchronizing Cubase’s playback MIDI Clock is a tempo-based type of synchronization signals, i.e. it is related to the number of “beats per minute”. MIDI Clock signals are suitable for synchronizing two devices that agree on tempo, such as for example Cubase and a drum machine. Let’s assume now that we use external timecode synchronization with Cubase. For example, we might synchronize playback to a tape recorder.
If you aim to perform synchronization to external signals, we strongly recommend that you obtain proper synchronization equipment. This encompasses: In the Project Setup dialog are two settings for frame rates: • An audio card that can be slaved to external word clock. • A synchronizer that can read timecode (and possibly house clock) and generate the required sync signals from that, such as the Steinberg TimeLock Pro.
Making connections Transmitting MIDI Clock The following connections are required for external sync via a synchronizer, including resolving of the audio card. For details on audio card and synchronizer settings and connections, see the manuals for these devices. If you transmit MIDI Clock to a device supporting this type of synchronization signal, the other device will follow Cubase’s tempo. The tempo setting in the other device is of no relevance. Instead, it plays at the same tempo as Cubase.
Setting Up MIDI Timecode 1. Connect the desired MIDI Outputs from Cubase to the device(s) that you plan to synchronize. In this mode, Cubase is the slave and the timecode is sent by the MIDI Timecode Source specified in the corresponding section. 2. Open the Project Synchronization Setup dialog from the Transport menu. Setting up Cubase for external sync to timecode 1. In the Project Synchronization dialog, set Timecode Source to MIDI Timecode. Timecode Source settings 2.
ASIO Audio Device • You can also set this with the function “Set Timecode at Cursor” on the Project menu. ! This is useful if you know that a certain position in your project coincides with a certain timecode position in the external device. Move the project cursor to the desired position, select “Set Timecode at Cursor” and specify the corresponding timecode position in the dialog that appears – the Start value is adjusted accordingly.
Hardware and software requirements for APP You can now set up the synchronization: • Your computer audio hardware (in the example above this would be an ADAT card in your computer) must support all the functionality required for the ASIO Positioning Protocol. That is, it must be able to read the digital audio and the corresponding position information from the external device. • There must be an ASIO 2.0 driver for the audio hardware.
• You can also set this with the function “Set Timecode at Cursor” on the Project menu. Machine Control This is useful if you know that a certain position in your project coincides with a certain timecode position in the external device. Move the project cursor to the desired position, select “Set Timecode at Cursor” and specify the corresponding timecode position in the dialog that appears – the Start value is adjusted accordingly.
4. Open the Project Synchronization Setup dialog via the Transport menu in Cubase. Cubase: 5. In the Master Machine Control Device section, activate the “MC Master Active” checkbox. The MIDI Machine Control master transport panel appears. 13. Pull down the Devices menu and select MMC Master. 6. Select the correct MMC Inputs and Outputs from the respective pop-up menus.
Working with VST System Link Cubase as MMC slave (Cubase only) This is set up in the MIDI Machine Control Slave section. Simply specify the MIDI ports and the MMC Device ID. VST System Link is a network system for digital audio that allows you to have several computers working together in one large system. Unlike conventional networks it does not require Ethernet cards, hubs, or CAT-5 cables; instead it uses the kind of digital audio hardware and cables you probably already possess in your studio.
Synchronization • The audio hardware must have digital inputs and outputs. Before you proceed, you need to make sure that the clock signals on your ASIO cards are synchronized correctly. This is essential when cabling any kind of digital audio system, not just VST System Link. Of course, to be able to connect the computers, the digital connections must be compatible (i.e. the same digital formats and connection types must be available).
Setting up your software • Typically, the ASIO control panel for an audio card contains some indication of whether the card receives a proper sync signal or not, and the sample rate of that signal. Now it’s time to set up your programs. The procedures below describe how to set things up in Cubase; if you are using another program on the other computer, please refer to its documentation. This is a good indication that you have connected the cards and set up clock sync properly.
Settings for the audio hardware 23-bit audio (the least significant bit of this last channel will be used for networking). In practice this makes no discernible difference to the audio quality, since you will still have around 138dB headroom on this channel. When you send VST System Link data between computers, it is important that the digital information isn’t changed in any way between the programs.
• You can double-click on the name in bold (which is the name of the computer you’re currently working on) and set it to whatever other name you wish. VST System Link sends and understands all transport commands, so you can play, stop, fast forward, rewind etc. the entire network from one computer without a problem – try it! If you jump to a locator point on one machine, all other machines will also instantly jump to that locator point.
This allows you to route MIDI tracks to VST instruments running on another computer, as described in the application examples (see “Using one computer for VST instruments” on page 437). 3. Route the FX channel track to another VST System Link bus (Bus 3). The “Active ASIO Ports for Data only” setting 5. Go back to computer 1 and check the corresponding four VST System Link input busses. 4. Route the VST instrument channel to yet another bus (Bus 4).
Application examples tem Device Setup panel (see “ASIO Direct Monitoring” on page 73). Most modern ASIO cards support this function. If yours doesn't you may want to change the Offset value in the VST System Link Setup panel to compensate for any latency issues. Using one computer for VST instruments In this example, one computer will be used as main record and playback machine, and another computer as a virtual synth rack.
Creating a virtual effect rack Getting extra audio tracks The effect sends for an audio channel in Cubase can either be routed to an FX channel track or to any activated Group or output bus. This allows you to use a separate computer as a “virtual effect rack”, by setting things up in the following way: All computers on a VST System Link network are locked with sample-accuracy.
35 Video
Background When this information reads “0x0 pixel”, “0.000 s” and “0 Frames”, the video file is either corrupt, or the format is not supported by the codecs available to the selected video player. You will either have to change the video player, or install the required codec. Cubase plays back video films in a number of formats. Under Windows, video playback can be done using one of three playback engines: Video for Windows, DirectShow or QuickTime 7.1.
Operations Importing a video file Video files are imported in the same manner as audio files. About the QuickTime video playback engine • By using the File menu (Import–Video File). In Cubase for Windows, you select a playback engine in the Device Setup–Video Player page: • By using drag and drop from the Windows Explorer/ Mac OS Finder, the Pool or the MediaBay. This requires that a video track has been added to the Project and that you drop the video file onto this track.
Advantage of thumbnail cache files A window will be displayed, showing you the progress and the estimated time for the process. Ö To display video thumbnails in the Project window, the option “Show Video Thumbnails” has to be activated in the Preferences dialog (Event Display–Video page). When working with video in Cubase, video files are displayed as events/clips on the video track with thumbnails representing the frames in the film. These are calculated in real time, i.e.
Extracting audio from a video file In the track list and Inspector, you will find the following controls for video tracks: If a video file contains audio, it can be extracted. Regardless of the audio format in the actual file, the resulting audio file will always be in the format (Sample Rate and Record Format) that is specified for the Project in the Project Setup dialog. There are several ways to extract audio from a video file: • By activating “Extract Audio” in the Import Video dialog.
Setting the Window size Playing back a video via FireWire (Mac OS X only) If you are playing back video in a window on your computer screen, you may want to adjust the size. For Apple computers equipped with a FireWire port, you can easily connect external video hardware via this, as OS X has built-in video support for the most common formats (NTSC/PAL/DVCPRO). FireWire is capable of high data-transfer speed and is the most common standard for communicating with video-related peripheral equipment.
36 ReWire
Introduction Launching and quitting ReWire and ReWire2 are special protocols for streaming audio between two computer applications. Developed by Propellerhead Software and Steinberg, ReWire provides the following possibilities and features: When using ReWire, the order in which you launch and quit the two programs is very important: • Real-time streaming of up to 64 separate audio channels (256 with ReWire2), at full bandwidth, from the “synthesizer application” into the “mixer application”. 1.
Activating ReWire channels Using the transport and tempo controls ReWire supports streaming of up to 64 separate audio channels, while ReWire2 supports 256 channels. The exact number of available ReWire channels depends on the synthesizer application. Using the ReWire Device panels in Cubase, you can specify which of the available channels you want to use: ! This is only relevant if the synthesizer application has some sort of built-in sequencer or similar.
How the ReWire channels are handled in Cubase Routing MIDI via ReWire2 ! When you activate ReWire channels in the ReWire Device panels, they will become available as channel strips in the mixer. The ReWire channel strips have the following properties: This feature is only available with ReWire2-compatible applications. When using Cubase with a ReWire2-compatible application, additional MIDI outputs will automatically appear on the MIDI Output pop-up menus for MIDI tracks.
37 File handling
Working with Projects • Click “Activate” to open and activate the new project. The active project is indicated by the blue Activate button in the upper left corner of the Project window. To make another project active, simply click its Activate button. New Project The New Project command on the File menu allows you to create a new project, either empty or based on a template: 1. Select New Project from the File menu. The templates list is displayed.
Save and Save As Save as Template The commands Save and Save As allow you to save the active project as a project file (file extension “.cpr”). The Save command stores the project under its current name and location, while Save As allows you to rename and/or relocate the file. If a project has not been saved yet or if it hasn’t been changed since it was last saved, only Save As will be available. This function allows you to save the current project as a template.
Save Project to New Folder Startup Options This function is very useful if you want to move or archive your project. Auto Save 1. Select “Save Project to New Folder”. A file dialog opens in which you can choose an existing, empty folder or create a new folder to save the project. 2. Click OK to confirm your choice.
Working with libraries (Cubase only) The following options are available: Option Description Do Nothing Cubase launches without opening a project. Open Last Project The last saved project is opened on launch. Open ’Default’ Template The default template is opened, see “Setting up a default template” on page 451. Show Open Dialog The Open dialog opens on launch, allowing you to manually locate and open the desired project.
Importing audio Selecting one of the Import Audio CD menu items brings up the following dialog: Ö For exporting Audio, see the chapter “Export Audio Mixdown” on page 413. Ö For the option “Replace Audio in Video File”, see “Replacing the audio in a video file (Cubase only)” on page 444. Importing audio files For information on audio file import preferences, please see “Audio file import options” on page 43. For information on import into the Pool and import options, see “Import Medium…” on page 279.
5. Click on Copy to generate a local copy of the audio file(s) or section(s). • If you want to copy and import a section of an audio CD track only, select the track in the list and specify the start and end of the selection to be copied by dragging the handles in the copy selection ruler. The copied files are listed at the bottom of the dialog. By default, imported audio CD tracks will be stored as Wave files (Windows) or AIFF files (Mac) in the Audio folder of the current project.
Importing Audio from Video files 4. Locate and select the file and click Open. The file is imported and automatically adjusted to the current Cubase tempo. While you can automatically extract the audio when importing a video file (see “Extracting audio from a video file” on page 443), it is also possible to import the audio from a video file without importing the video itself: Unlike a regular audio file, the imported REX file will consist of several events, one for each “slice” in the loop.
The following file types are supported: MPEG audio files MPEG, which stands for Moving Picture Experts Group, is the name of a family of standards used for coding audiovisual information (e. g. movies, video, music) in a digital compressed format. Cubase can read two types of audio MPEG files: MPEG Layer 2 (*.mp2) and MPEG Layer 3 (*.mp3). Currently, mp3 is the most common of these formats, while the mp2 format is mostly used in broadcast applications.
• Select whether you want to include all audio data in the OMF file (“Export All to One File”) or use references only (“Export Media File References”). • If the OMF file contains Video Event information, you are asked whether you want to create Markers at the start position of the Video Events. If you choose “Export All to One File”, the OMF file will be totally “selfcontained”, but possibly very large.
When you have specified a location and a name for the file, click “Save”. The Export Options dialog opens, allowing you to specify a number of options for the file – what should be included in the file, its type and its resolution (see below for descriptions of the options). The Export Options dialog. You will also find these settings in the Preferences (MIDI– MIDI File page). If you set these up once and for all in the Preferences, you only need to click OK in the Export Options dialog to proceed.
Exporting and importing MIDI loops The MIDI file is imported. The result depends on the contents of the MIDI file and the Import Options settings in the Preferences (MIDI–MIDI File page). The Import Options are as follows: Option Description Extract First Patch If this is activated, the first Program Change and Bank Select events for each track are converted to Inspector settings for the track.
Importing tracks from a track archive Sample rate conversion on track archive import The Import Track Archive function lets you import tracks exported from another Cubase (or Nuendo) project. A track archive may contain media files with a sample rate that is different from the sample rate of your currently active project. You can see the sample rate difference in the Project Settings area. Ö Note that the sample rates of the active project and the track archive have to match.
4. When the scan is complete, you can select files by clicking in the list. Use [Ctrl]/[Command]-click to select several files, and [Shift]-click to select a range of files. You can also click the Select All button to select all files in the list.
38 Customizing
Background Workspaces The user can customize the appearance and functionality of Cubase in various ways. A configuration of Cubase windows is called a “workspace”. A workspace stores the size, position and content of all windows, allowing you to quickly switch between different working modes via the menu or by using key commands. E.g., you may want as large a Project window as possible when you are editing, whereas you may want the Mixer and effect windows open during mixdown.
3. In the dialog that opens, enter a name for the workspace. The list to the left shows the workspaces in the active project, while the list to the right shows the workspace presets. While workspaces are stored with each project, workspace presets can be stored globally, allowing you to set up a number of workspaces for use in any project. Workspace presets store the position and size of the main windows only – project-specific windows are not included.
The Setup dialogs Customizing via the Setup dialog If you select “Setup…” from the setup context menus, the Setup dialog opens. This allows you to specify which elements should be visible/hidden and to set the order of the elements. You can also save and recall setup presets in this dialog.
Customizing track controls Setting the track type The settings made in the Track Controls Settings dialog apply to the selected track type (Marker, MIDI, Group/FX Channel, Folder, Video, Instrument, Audio). The selected track type is shown in the menu display in the top left corner of the dialog. You can configure (separately for each track type) which track controls should be shown in the Track list.
Grouping track controls Resetting Track list settings If you resize the Track list, the position of the controls will change dynamically to accommodate as many controls as possible in the available space (given that Wrap Controls is activated – see below). By grouping several track controls you ensure that they will always be positioned side by side in the Track list.
A dialog opens, allowing you to type in a name for the preset. 3. Click in the Store column of the Preferences items you wish to save. Note that if you activate a Preferences page that contains subpages, these will also be activated automatically. If this is not what you want, simply deactivated the subpages. 3. Click OK to save the preset. Your saved settings will now be available from the Preference Presets pop-up for your future projects. 4.
Meters Work Area The coloring of meters in Cubase can be controlled in sophisticated ways. Multiple colors can help to visually indicate what levels are being reached, e.g. in a channel of the VST Mixer. To do this, the meter on the Appearances– Meters page has color handles that allow you to define what color the meter will have at a given signal level. The work areas in Cubase are those places where the actual data are displayed such as the project window event display.
Coloring parts and events 2. To bring up the color palette, click the track color selector. There are two ways to color parts and events in the Project window: Using the color selector 1. Select the desired parts or events. Click the arrow in the track name title bar or… 2. Choose a color from the color selector in the toolbar. …click the color strip in the Track list. Using the color tool 1. On the toolbar, select the color tool. In the Mixer, click the track color selector below the channel name.
Customizing the event background • Open the Color pop-up menu on the toolbar and select “Select Colors…”. On the Event Display page in the Preferences, you can find the option “Colorize Event Background”. In the Event Colors dialog, you can fully customize the color palette, apart from the default color (gray). Increase/decrease brightness for all colors Insert new color This option affects the display of events in the project window.
Where are the settings stored? As you have seen, there are a large number of ways in which you can customize Cubase. While some of the settings you make are stored in each project, others are stored in separate preference files. If you need to transfer your projects to another computer (e.g. in another studio), you can bring all your settings along by copying the desired preference files and installing them on the other computer.
Setting Stored in Setting Stored in Patch name scripts \Scripts\Patchnames\ as *.txt file Workspace presets (global) Window Layouts.xml Preferences presets \Presets\Configurations\.xml Zoom presets \Presets\RAMPresets.xml Quick Controls MIDI.xml Quantize presets \Presets\RAMPresets.xml Quick Control Settings Score – Settings Score Setting Window.xml Score – Default font Score Default Font.xml Score – Custom Palettes Score Custom Palettes.xml Score – Guitar symbols GuitarLib.
39 Key commands
Introduction Setting up key commands Most of the main menus in Cubase have key command shortcuts for certain items on the menus. In addition, there are numerous other Cubase functions that can be performed via key commands. These are all default settings. If you want, you can customize existing key commands to your liking, and also add commands for menu items and functions currently not assigned any. The following is a description of how you set up key commands and save them as presets for easy access.
To add a key command, proceed as follows: 1. Pull down the File menu and select “Key Commands…”. The Key Commands dialog appears. 2. Use the list in the Commands column to navigate to the desired category. If a key command already is assigned to another function, you can either ignore this and proceed to assign the key command to the new function instead, or you can select another key command. 3. Click the plus-sign to open the category folder and display the items it contains.
Removing a key command To remove a key command, proceed as follows: 1. If the key commands dialog isn’t already open, pull down the File menu and select “Key Commands…”. 2. Use the list of categories and commands to select the item or function for which you wish to remove a key command. The key command for the item is shown in the Keys list and the Keys column. A macro with three commands. 3. Select the key command in the Keys list and click the Remove button (the trash icon).
2. Click the Save button next to the Presets pop-up menu. 4. Navigate to the file you want to import and click “Open”. A dialog appears, allowing you to type in a name for the preset. 5. Click OK to exit the Key Commands dialog and apply the imported settings. The file is imported. The settings in the loaded key commands or macros file now replace the current settings. About the “Reset” and “Reset All” functions 3. Click OK to save the preset.
Setting up tool modifier keys The default key commands A tool modifier key is a key you can press to get an alternate function when using a tool. For example, clicking and dragging an event with the Arrow tool normally moves it – holding down a modifier key (by default [Alt]/[Option]) will copy it instead. Below, the default key commands are listed according to category. The default assignments for tool modifier keys can be found in the Preferences (Editing–Tool Modifiers page).
Option Key command Option Key command Insert Silence [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Shift]+[E] Open [Ctrl]/[Command]+[O] Left Selection Side to Cursor [E] Quit [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Q] Lock [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Shift]+[L] Save [Ctrl]/[Command]+[S] Move to Cursor [Ctrl]/[Command]+[L] Save As [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Shift]+[S] Mute [M] Save New Version [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Alt]/[Option]+[S] Mute Events [Shift]+[M] Mute/Unmute Objects [Alt]/[Option]+[M] Media category Open Default Editor [Ctrl]/[Command]+[E]
Option Key command Option Up: Select next in the Project window/ Move selected event in the Key Editor one semitone up [Up Arrow] Play tool [9] Previous Tool [F9] Range tool [2] Select tool [1] Bottom [End] Select bottom track in the track list Top: Select top track in the track list [Home] Key command Split tool [3] Zoom tool [6] Transport category Nudge category Option Key command Option Key command End Left [Alt]/[Option]+[Shift]+[Left Arrow] AutoPunch In [I] End Right [Alt]
Option Key command Set Marker 1 [Ctrl]/[Command]+[1] Set Marker 2 [Ctrl]/[Command]+[2] Set Marker 3 to 9 [Ctrl]/[Command]+Pad [3] to [9] or [Ctrl]/[Command]+ [3] to [9] Set Right Locator [Ctrl]/[Command]+Pad [2] Start [Enter] Start/Stop [Space] Stop Pad [0] To Left Locator Pad [1] To Marker 1 [Shift]+[1] To Marker 2 [Shift]+[2] To Marker 3 to 9 Pad [3] to [9] or [Shift]+[3] to [9] To Right Locator Pad [2] Use External Sync [T] Workspace category Option Key command Lock/Unlock A
Part II: Score layout and printing
1 How the Score Editor works
About this chapter MIDI notes vs. score notes In this chapter you will learn: MIDI tracks in Cubase hold MIDI notes and other MIDI data. As you may know, a MIDI note in Cubase is only defined by its position, length, pitch and velocity. This is not nearly enough information to decide how the note should be displayed in a score.
Display quantize Now we have eighth notes, as we wanted. All we have to do now is to add staccato articulation which can be done with one simple mouse click using the Pencil tool (see the chapter “Working with symbols” on page 556). Let’s say you used the Project window to record a figure with some staccato eighth notes.
like above. But again, please note that when you hit Play, the passage will still play as it originally did. The display quantize setting only affects the score image of the recording. One last important note: ! With Notes display quantize set to sixteenth notes, but Rests display quantize set to eighth notes.
Permanent alteration of MIDI data As a last resort, you can resize, quantize or move the actual note events. However, this would result in the music not playing back like it originally did. Often it is possible to get the score to look the way you want without altering any MIDI data. Summary This closes our discussion on the basic concept of display quantizing. There are a number of other special situations which require more advanced techniques, which you will find out about in the next chapters.
2 The basics
About this chapter Editing parts on different tracks If you have selected parts on two or more tracks (or several entire tracks – no parts) and open the Score Editor, you will get one staff for each track (although you can split a staff in two, e.g. when scoring for piano). Think of the Project window as an overview of your entire score and the tracks as representing one instrument each. In this chapter you will learn: • • • • How to open the Score Editor. How to switch between Page Mode and Edit Mode.
Page Mode • By using the page number indicator in the lower right corner. When you are preparing a score for printout, you should set the Score Editor to Page Mode. This is done by selecting Page Mode from the Scores menu. When Page Mode is activated, a check mark will appear next to this menu option. The number can be adjusted using the standard value editing techniques. The Page Number indicator – adjust it to move to another page.
Changing the Zoom factor The active staff There are two ways to change the zoom in Page Mode: by setting a zoom factor on the zoom pop-up menu or by using the Zoom tool (magnifying glass). One thing to note when you are working with multiple staves is the “active” staff. Only one staff at a time can be active, and is indicated by a blue rectangle to the left of the clef symbol. Using the zoom pop-up menu Above the vertical scrollbar to the right you will find a popup allowing you to set the zoom factor.
Designing your work space The ruler In the Score Editor there are no meter/time position rulers as in the other editors. Instead, there are horizontal and vertical “graphic rulers” in Page Mode. These help you in positioning symbols and graphical objects in the score. Some of the areas in the Score editor can be hidden. Exactly which areas to show/hide depends e.g. on what kind of project you are working on, and how big a monitor you have.
The symbols Inspector The Position Info window The symbol buttons, which are used to add symbols to the score, can be found in the Score Editor Inspector to the left of the score display. To help you further when positioning objects in the score, Page Mode has a special Position Info window, in which you can view and adjust object positions numerically, in the unit selected for the ruler. To display the Position Info window, click in the ruler.
Setting key, clef and time signature Option Description Split Rests Displays markers in the score wherever you have split multiple rests (see “Splitting multi-rests” on page 606). Stems/Beams Displays markers in the score where you have made any stem or beam adjustments (see “Setting stem direction” on page 542 and “Manual adjustment of beams” on page 550).
6. Open the Time Sign tab of the Inspector and click on the symbol for the time signature value that you wish to use. Composite time signatures and the For Grouping Only option If you cannot find the desired time signature, you can use the Edit Time Signature dialog (see below). For composite signatures, the numerator can be made up of up to four groups. For example, “4+4+3+/” on the upper line and 8 on the lower means the time signature is 11/8.
• The score always shows the time signature events on the tempo track, regardless of whether or not the Tempo button is activated. Likewise, any time signatures you create in the Score Editor will be shown in the tempo track. • You cannot create composite time signatures from the tempo track.
In a split system • If you want to use more than one key on different staves, make sure that the option “Key Changes for the entire Project” is deactivated. If you have a split system (see “Split (piano) staves” on page 523 and “Strategies: How many voices do I need?” on page 535) you can of course set different clefs for the upper and lower staff. In the key context menu 2. Select a clef for the upper staff.
On the Score Settings–Staff page Setting a local key 1. Make sure the desired staff is the active staff and open the Score Settings–Staff page. You can also set a different key for the selected staff only. This is useful for instruments like oboe and english horn that change display transpose and therefore also the key. 1. Make sure the desired staff is the active staff and open the Score Settings–Staff page. 2. Activate the option “Local Keys” on the Main subpage in the Clef/Key section.
Display transpose in the Edit Key dialog • If you have recorded music into tracks already, try adjusting the score “picture” as much as possible without permanently editing the notes. If you want to change the display transpose setting in the middle of the score, you can do this by inserting a key change (see “Inserting and editing clefs, keys or time signatures” on page 524).
3 Transcribing MIDI recordings
About this chapter Strategies: Preparing parts for score printout In this chapter you will learn: Below follow a few tips that you might want to refer to when preparing a score for printout: • How to make initial staff settings to make a score as legible as possible. • How to use the Display Quantize tool to handle “exceptions” in the score. • How to resolve parts that contain mixed notes and triplets.
Staff settings Applying settings and selecting other staves The Score Settings dialog is non-modal (see “About dialogs in the Score Editor” on page 496). This means you click Apply to apply the settings you’ve made to the active staff. The first thing to do after opening the Score Editor is to make initial staff settings. This is done on the Score Settings–Staff page.
Display quantize 4. Activate the Auto Quantize option. 5. Activate the Deviation (”Dev.”) and Adapt flags if you need them. When Deviation is activated, triplets/straight notes will be detected even if they are not exactly “on the beat”. However, if you know your triplets/ straight notes are perfectly recorded (quantized or entered by hand), deactivate this option. When Adapt is activated, the program “guesses” that when one triplet is found, there are probably more triplets surrounding it.
For a “modern” notation of syncopated notes, activate Syncopation. If using Clean Lengths doesn’t help in a particular situation, you will have to manually resize the offending note(s) or use the Display Quantize tool (see “Inserting display quantize changes” on page 509). No Overlap When notes starting at the same position have different lengths, the program tends to add more ties than you may want. This can be avoided by using No Overlap. Without and with Syncopation.
The Options tab Shuffle In jazz it is very common to score a shuffled beat as straight notes, simply to make it more legible. When the Shuffle flag is activated, the program searches for eighth note or sixteenth note pairs where the second note is played late (with a “swing feel” or as the third note in a triplet). Such pairs are displayed as regular eighth or sixteenth notes instead of triplet-based figures. Without and with Shuffle.
Situations which require additional techniques Score Drum Map These settings are all described in the chapter “Scoring for drums” on page 615. The notes may not always appear in the score as you expect them to, initially. This is because there are a number of situations which require special techniques and settings.
Inserting display quantize changes • If two notes on the same position are too close to each other or if you want their order in the part reversed, you can do this without affecting playback. See “Graphic moving of notes” on page 552. Some situations may require different staff settings on different sections of the track. The staff settings are valid for the entire track, but you can insert changes wherever you like: • If a note has the wrong accidental, this can be changed.
The Explode function • If you are using polyphonic voices (see “Polyphonic voicing” on page 531), you can insert a display quantize event for all voices by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking with the tool. This function allows you to “split” the notes on a staff into separate tracks. It is also possible to use this function to convert a polyphonic staff into polyphonic voices – this is described in the section “Automatically – the Explode function” on page 536.
Using “Scores Notes To MIDI” For very complicated scores, there may be situations where you have tweaked the parameters for display quantize and interpretation as best you can, and you still can’t get the score exactly as you want it. Perhaps one setting works fine in one section of the track and another is needed for another section. In such a case, “Scores Notes To MIDI” will help you out.
4 Entering and editing notes
About this chapter Staff presets When you want to reuse settings made for one track in other tracks, you will save some time by creating a staff preset (see “Working with staff presets” on page 527). In this chapter you will learn: • How to make various settings for how notes are displayed. • How to enter notes. • How to use tools and settings to make the score as legible as possible. • How to set up a split (piano) staff. • How to work with multiple staves.
Note values and positions Selecting a display quantize value When you move the mouse pointer over the score, you will see that the position box on the toolbar tracks your movement and shows the current position in bars, beats, sixteenth notes and ticks. Two of the most important settings for entering notes (and the ones you will change most often) are the length of the note (the note value) and the minimum spacing between notes (the quantize value).
The upper field shows the pitch according to the vertical position of the pointer in a staff. The lower field shows the “musical position” in bars, beats, sixteenth notes and ticks: 2/2 4/4 8/8 • The relation between beats and bars depends on the time signature: In 4/4 there are 4 beats to a bar. In 8/8 there are eight, in 6/8 there are six, etc. • The third number is the sixteenth note within the beat. Again, the time signature determines the number of sixteenth notes to each beat.
Entering notes with the mouse Adding more notes To add a note to the score, proceed as follows: 1. If you want the next note to be of another note value, select a new note value. 1. Make the staff active. Notes are always inserted on the active staff. See “The active staff” on page 493 for details. 2. If you need finer positioning, or if the current value is too fine, change the quantize value. 2. Select the desired note value. 3. Move the mouse to the desired position, and click.
• Generally the program adds ties where necessary (if a note stretches over a beat), but not always. For more “modern” notation of syncopated notes (less ties), you will need to use the syncopation feature, see “Syncopation” on page 505. • The note has an accidental when it shouldn’t, or it doesn’t when it should. Maybe the note is simply of the wrong pitch? Click on it (using the Object Selection tool) and look at the info line (if this is not shown, see “The info line” on page 494).
Using a selection rectangle Deselecting everything 1. Click in an empty area in the score with the Object Selection tool and keep the mouse button pressed. To deselect everything, simply click in an empty area of the score with the Object Selection tool. 2. Drag the mouse pointer. Moving notes A selection rectangle appears. You can drag to select notes on several voices or staves if you wish. Moving by dragging 1. Set the quantize value. The quantize value will restrict your movement in time.
Activating auditioning • When moving notes to the left or right using key commands, the notes will be moved in steps according to the current quantize value. The keys assigned for up/down nudging will transpose notes in semitone steps. Auditioning activated. Moving across staves – the Lock button If you are editing several tracks, you may want to move notes from one staff to another.
Ö There are also “L” and “P” layer buttons, for the layout and project layer, respectively. Notes that you have put on the clipboard by cutting or copying can be inserted into the score again in the following way: Clicking these buttons allows you to lock the layout layer and project layer (see “Background: The different layers” on page 557). 1. Activate the desired staff. Duplicating notes 2. Move the project cursor to the position where you want the first note to appear. 1.
Changing the length of notes Using key commands Instead of transposing the note with the mouse, you can assign key commands for this. When it comes to note lengths, the Score Editor is special in that it doesn’t necessarily display the notes with their actual length. Depending on the situation, you may want to change the “physical length” of the notes or the “display length”. • The commands for which you can assign key commands are found in the Nudge category in the Key Commands dialog.
Lengthening a note by gluing two notes together 2. Locate the “Displ. Length” setting. By default, this is set to “Auto”, i.e. the note will be displayed according to its actual length (and the display quantize settings). You can create unusual note length values by gluing notes of the same pitch together. 3. Double-click in the value field and enter a new length value (displayed in bars, beats, sixteenth notes and ticks). 1. Insert the notes you want to glue together (if they don’t already exist).
Split (piano) staves Adding notes Setting up the split staff This is done just as on a single system, see “Adding and editing notes” on page 515. Please note the following: 1. Make a staff active. • When you enter a note, use the mouse position box (on the toolbar) to determine the pitch. Whether it ends up on the upper or lower staff has nothing to do with where you aim with the mouse. The Splitpoint setting always decides if a note goes on the upper or lower clef.
• If several staves share settings, you will save some time by using staff presets. Set up the staff settings for the first staff, and save them as a preset. This preset can then be applied to any of the other staves, one at a time. See “Working with staff presets” on page 527 for details. 3. Move the mouse over the staff where you want to insert a new symbol. Use the mouse position box to find the exact location. The vertical position is of no relevance as long as you click somewhere in the staff.
Deleting notes Moving clefs Clefs inserted into the score have an effect on how notes are displayed. If you for example insert a bass clef in the middle of a treble staff, the staff switches to show bass pitches. Therefore it is very important where you insert the clef. Notes can be deleted in two ways: Using the Erase tool 1. Select the Erase tool from the toolbar or Quick menu.
5 Staff settings
About this chapter Making settings In this chapter you will learn: 1. Open the Score Settings–Staff page. • How to make staff settings. • How to work with staff presets. 2. With the dialog open, make the desired staff active. Staff settings 3. Select the desired tab and make whatever settings you need to do. Below follows a run-through of all staff settings, more detailed information about the ones already described and references to other places in the manual for some options.
• To load a preset, select it on the Presets pop-up menu. • You can also specify two separate subnames by double-clicking the staff name and entering them in the upper and lower text entry fields in the dialog that appears. Note that this loads the settings in the preset into the dialog – to apply these to a staff you must click the Apply button as usual. You can also apply staff presets directly in the score – see below.
Display quantize and interpretation options Interpretation options These two sections of the dialog contain a number of settings used to determine how the notes should be interpreted. While these settings are more critical to making MIDI recorded music appear as legible as possible it is still important to have them set correctly when entering notes using the mouse. Below you will find a brief summary of the settings – for more details, see “Display quantize” on page 505.
The Options tab Option Description Size Allows you to set a size for the systems, as a percentage (with 100% being the default value). In effect, this setting scales the score vertically. See “Creating tablature manually” on page 621 for an example of how this can be used with tablature. Score Drum Map These settings are all described in the chapter “Scoring for drums” on page 615. Fixed Stems If you activate this checkbox, the stems of all notes will end at the same vertical position.
6 Polyphonic voicing
About this chapter How voices are created There are eight voices. The first thing you do is to set them up. This includes “telling” the program which voices belong to the upper clef and which belong to the lower, how you want rests displayed for each voice, etc. In this chapter you will learn: • • • • How to decide when to use polyphonic voicing. How to set up voices. How to automatically convert your score to polyphonic voicing. How to enter and move notes into voices.
! 3. Pull down the Staff Mode pop-up and select Polyphonic. When you make a note part of a voice, you are in fact changing its MIDI channel value. However, when you change the voice’s MIDI channel values in the setup dialog, this does not affect the notes’ MIDI channel setting. This can lead to serious confusion, since the relationship between the notes and the voices is affected. It might even make notes disappear (the program will warn if this happens).
About the polyphonic presets 7. If you have activated “Rests–Show” for a voice, but don’t want rests to be shown in empty bars, click in the “Rests–Reduce” column for that voice. The Presets pop-up menu on the Polyphonic tab (below the list of voices) contains three very useful setups. Instead of making settings by hand, you can select one of the presets, saving some time. The presets are: This is especially useful for cue voices, see “Cue notes” on page 553. 8.
Strategies: How many voices do I need? 4. If you need to switch the voice icons to the right “clef”, click somewhere in the system you want to insert notes in. Well, it depends… 5. Select one of the voices by clicking on the corresponding button. Any notes you enter from now on will be inserted into that voice. • If you are scoring for vocals, you simply need one voice for each voice, so to speak.
Moving notes between voices Automatically – the Explode function Manually The Explode function distributes notes, either into new tracks (see “The Explode function” on page 510) or into polyphonic voices: To manually move notes to a particular voice, proceed as follows: 1. Pull down the Scores menu and select “Explode…” from the Functions submenu. 1. Select the note(s) you want to move to a particular voice. 2.
Alternative ways of handling voices • To avoid having several rests displayed in empty bars, you can activate the Rests–Reduce option for all voices (that have rests) except one. This option causes the program to hide rests in empty bars. Below we suggest further “advanced” ways of putting notes into voices. This is based on the relation between voices and MIDI channels, so please make sure you understand how this connection works.
Creating crossed voicings 3. Select the Display Quantize tool. Often, for example in vocal scoring, you will have crossed voicings on one system. You can of course move notes manually into voices to get the stem direction and other note properties right, but there’s a quicker way. Let’s explain how to do this by example. Without using polyphonic voicing, you have entered this: 1. Open the Score Settings–Staff page and select the Polyphonic tab. 4. Click at the position you want to insert the event.
Automatic polyphonic voicing – Merge All Staves 8. Select the two notes that should be moved from voice 1 to voice 2. If you have already created some tracks which look and play back as they should, and you want to combine these into one track with polyphonic voices, there is a special function on the Scores menu for this: Two notes in voice 1 selected. 9. Move the notes to voice 2. 1. Open the tracks (up to four) in the Score Editor.
Converting voices to tracks – Extract Voices This function does the opposite of “Merge All Staves” – it extracts polyphonic voices from an existing track and creates new tracks, one for each voice. Proceed as follows: 1. Open a track containing 2 to 8 polyphonic voices in the Score Editor. 2. Pull down the Scores menu and select “Extract Voices” from the Functions submenu. A number of new tracks is created and added to the display of the Score Editor.
7 Additional note and rest formatting
About this chapter On the Score Settings–Staff page (Polyphonic tab), stem direction can be set separately for each voice. In this chapter you will learn: • • • • • • This is the stem setting with the lowest priority. It is only valid if no other settings were made specifically. How to control stem direction. How to control beaming, and create cross staff beaming. How to make detailed adjustments to note appearance. How to perform “graphic moving” of notes. How to create grace notes.
Stem length Independent stem direction under a beam If you need stems attached to the same beam to go in different directions, this is achieved by dragging the beam’s start and end points, as described in the section “Manual adjustment of beams” on page 550. This feature is available in Page Mode only. Adjusting stem length (Page Mode) 1. Click on the end of the stem so that a handle appears. The stem handle selected. 2.
Accidentals and enharmonic shift 2. With the radio buttons to the right, you can decide how five of the most common intervals outside the scale should be displayed, as sharps or as flats. Making global settings On the Score Settings–Project page (Accidentals subpage), you will find a number of options for how accidentals are displayed in the score. Once set, these are valid for all tracks in the project. Proceed as follows: ! 1.
Changing the note head shape • If the Set Note Info dialog is already open, you simply select the desired notes, adjust the settings in the dialog and click Apply. 1. Select the notes for which you wish to change the note head shape. The settings are applied to all currently selected notes. Make sure not to select the stems, only the note heads. 2. Open the Set Note Info dialog.
Coloring notes Option Description No Stem Hides the note stem completely No Flag/Beam Activate this to hide the flags or beams of the selected note(s). Bracket Head When this is activated, notes will be displayed with brackets: You can assign colors to notes using the color pop-up menu on the toolbar. 1. Simply select the notes for which you wish to use colors, click the Color Scheme Selector field to the right in the toolbar and pick a color from the pop-up menu.
Copying settings between notes 3. Set the denominator, if necessary. 4. Activate “For Grouping Only”. If you have made various settings in the Set Note Info dialog for a note, and want to use these settings for other notes as well, there is an easy way to do this: 1. Set up the first note as desired. This includes the settings in the Set Note Info dialog, but also any noterelated symbols (such as accents, staccato, articulation, etc. – see “Adding note symbols” on page 562). 2.
Grouping quarter notes or larger under a beam (“Brillenbass”) 5. Click OK to close the dialog. • Double-clicking on the “Grouping” text opens the Grouping dialog, allowing you to adjust the “note value” for the symbols. It is also possible to use the grouping feature for notes that are not displayed with beams (quarter notes, half notes, etc.). The result are so called “Brillenbass” symbols, commonly used for indicating repeated accompaniment patterns, etc.
Removing groups 2. Right-click on one of the notes and select “Auto Group Notes” from the context menu. If you have made a grouping as described above, and wish to remove it, proceed as follows: In 4/4 you will for example get two groups of eighth notes per bar, in 3/4 you will get one group per bar, etc. 1. Display the display filter bar in the Scores window (by clicking the “Show Filter View” button on the toolbar) and make sure the “Grouping” checkbox is activated.
5. If needed, adjust the beam appearance (see “Manual adjustment of beams” on page 550). • Show Small Slants as Flat Beams. When this is activated, beams that would be only slightly slanted will be displayed flat. Without and with “Show Small Slants as Flat Beams”. • Slanted Beams only Slightly Slanted. Cross staff beaming with the beam in the middle. Activate this if you only want a slightly slanted beam even though there might be a significant pitch difference between the notes under the beam.
Syncopation 3. Drag the handle up or down. The slant of the beam changes. When the Syncopation option is activated on the Main tab of the Score Settings–Staff page, Cubase will be less prone to cut and tie notes. For example, the second quarter note in the figure above would not have been cut if syncopation had been activated. Dragging a handle and the effect it has.
Graphic moving of notes 2. Set the Quantize pop-up menu to an appropriate value. As usual, this determines where you will be able to click. There might be instances where the “graphical” order of the notes isn’t the one you want. In this case you can move the note without affecting the score or playback in any way. There are two ways to do this: 3. Click in the bar containing the note(s) you want to cut manually, at the position you want them cut.
Cue notes Turning individual notes into cue notes 1. Select one or several notes. You can create cue notes by using voices or by converting individual notes into cue notes. 2. Double-click one of the notes. Setting a voice to display cue notes The Set Note Info dialog appears. You can also click the “i” button on the extended toolbar, or right-click on a note head and select “Properties” from the context menu to open this dialog. 1. Open the Score Settings–Staff page and select the Polyphonic tab. 3.
From here on there are two ways to go: Converting grace notes to normal notes • Select the note(s) and click the “i” icon on the extended toolbar. 1. Select the notes you want to convert. If you want to make sure that all notes in the score are normal notes, you can select all notes (using the Select All command on the Edit menu). The Set Note Info dialog appears and you can select the Grace note type and make other settings if needed. 2. Double-click on one of the selected grace notes.
3. Select “Build N-Tuplet” from the Scores menu. 4. Click Quantize. The Tuplets dialog appears. Now the tuplet is displayed correctly. You can make additional settings for how the tuplet should appear, as described below. 5. If necessary, adjust the notes. ! Lengths and positions in a tuplet group are probably best edited using the info line. Editing tuplet settings 1. Double-click on the text above the Tuplet group to bring up the Tuplets dialog. 4. Set the type of tuplet in the Type field.
8 Working with symbols
About this chapter • All other note layer symbols (tempo, dynamics, chords etc.). Their position is related to the bar. (Whichever way you edit the notes, these symbols remain unaffected.) However, their positions are fixed within a measure. If you for example change the spacing of the bars across the page (see “Setting the number of bars across the page” on page 608), this will affect the symbols positions. In this chapter you will learn: • What the different types of symbols are.
Why three layers? The symbol Inspector Setup dialog There are several reasons for this division into layers: If you right-click on any closed tab in the symbol Inspector and select “Setup…” from the context menu, a dialog appears. In this dialog you can configure where the separate tabs should be placed in the Inspector and save/recall different configurations of the Inspector.
• If you click the Save button (disk icon) in the Presets section, you can name the current configuration and save it as a preset. Moving and handling palettes Palettes are handled as any window, which means that you can: • To remove a preset, select it and click the trash icon. • Move a palette to another position by dragging its title bar. • Saved configurations are available for selection from the Presets pop-up in the dialog, or directly from the Inspector context menu.
Staccato Accent Pizzicato The “Chord Symbols” palette. Tenuto Accent Bow down Bow up Damped Thumb pos. Tremolo Tremolo Tremolo Open Hihat Closed Hihat Accent Accent Accent Staccato Staccato Fermata Spoken tone Glissando Fermata Fermata Diamond note Glissando Fall Fall Doit Articulation Articulation Articulation Staccato Staccato Staccato Staccato The “Note Symbols” palette. These symbols are always tied to a note. The “Guitar Symbols” palette.
Arpeggio Arpeggio Arpeggio Hand indication Hand indication Strum Strum Segno (sizable) Trill Turn Trill Trill Octave Octave Trill The “Project” palette. These symbols will be present in all layouts. Trill Acc. voice Main voice Ending Ending Line Line Beam Beam Beam Beam The “Words” palette. This is described in the section “The Words tab” on page 591. Bracket beam Bracket beam Tuplet bracket Tuplet bracket The “Line/Trill” palette.
Adding symbols to the score • To remove a symbol from the Favourites tab, select “Remove from Favourites” from the context menu or hold down [Alt]/[Option] and click on it. Making space and handling margins • If you find there isn’t enough space between staves to add symbols (like for example text), see “Dragging staves” on page 610 for info on how to separate the staves. • If you find the score looks crammed after adding symbols, check out the section “Auto Layout” on page 612.
3. Either click on the note or above or below it. Adding a symbol without tying it to a note If you click on the note, the symbol is put in at a predefined distance from the note. If you instead click “above or below” the note, you decide for a vertical position yourself. In either case, the symbol is aligned horizontally with the note. It can later be moved up/down. Note-dependent symbols can be entered freely, too. This allows you to add a fermata to a rest symbol for example. 1.
Adding slurs and ties Adding a slur/tie between two notes Slurs can be drawn in manually or inserted automatically for a group of notes. Ties are usually added by the program but can also be drawn in as “graphic” symbols. 1. Select two notes. 2. Click (or double-click) the correct slur/tie symbol in the Inspector, so that the Pencil tool is selected. Ö There are two types of slurs – “regular” slurs and Bezier slurs (with which you have full control over thickness, curve shape, etc.). 3.
Inserting symbols across staves • To change the shape of the slur, click on one of the middle curve points and drag in any direction. If you hold down [Alt]/[Option] while adding a symbol to one staff in a grand staff, this symbol will be put in at corresponding positions on all staves. This allows you for example to insert rehearsal marks, repeats, etc. for all instruments at the same time.
• If you right-click on an inserted keyboard symbol and select “Properties” from the context menu, a dialog opens allowing you to specify further properties for the symbol. 3. Click in the score, at the position where you want the symbol to appear. The Guitar Symbol dialog appears. You can also double-click on an inserted keyboard symbol to open this dialog. Option Description Size Governs the width of the keys. Start Note This is the leftmost note in the keyboard symbol.
You can edit the symbol at any time by double-clicking it, changing the settings in the dialog and clicking Apply. Note that you can also access the symbols you have defined in the guitar library by right-clicking a guitar symbol – see below. • The symbol you create will also be “interpreted” and its name will be displayed to the right of the fretboard symbol. Ö If you select “Make Chord Symbol” from the context menu, the corresponding chord symbol will be displayed above the guitar symbol.
Ö You can also use Project symbols in combination with the Arranger mode to have the program play back according to the score – including repeats, Da Capos, endings etc. Using layout symbols Symbols inserted from the “Layout” tab belong to the layout layer. When you are editing a layout containing several tracks, you can have inserted layout symbols automatically copied to any combination of tracks in the layout.
Moving and duplicating symbols 2. Assign each event type to a layer (1, 2 or 3). It is a good idea to assign event types that might “conflict graphically” to different layers. For example, you might want to assign bar numbers and note symbols to different layers, if you find that you accidentally move bar numbers when editing note symbols and vice versa. There are four ways to move and duplicate symbols: • By dragging them with the mouse (see below).
The rulers The window contains the following settings and values: Unlike other editors, the Score Editor does not have a meter/time position-based ruler. Instead, its rulers are “graphical”, i.e. they indicate the actual x-y position of objects (with “zero” at the upper left corner). Option Description Measure in Click this label to change units for the Position Info winInch/cm/mm/pt dow. This choice will also affect the units used in the rulers. Abs/Rel.
Moving by using the computer keyboard 5. If you have several subsequent bars to which you want to copy symbols, set the “Repeats” value to this number of bars. You can assign key commands for moving symbols, notes or rests graphically in the Key Commands dialog on the File menu. The commands are found under the “Nudge” category and are called “Graphical Left”, “Graphical Right”, “Graphical Top” and “Graphical Bottom”.
Resizing note symbols and dynamics • If you didn’t hold down [Alt]/[Option] when dragging the bar handle, the symbols (and other event types specified in the dialog) are removed from the “source” bar. 1. Right-click on a dynamic or note symbol. 2. Select the desired option from the Size submenu. ! If there already are symbols (or other objects) of the specified types in the “target” bars, these will be removed! The size of the symbol will change accordingly.
Alignment • By dragging the end points of a slur or tie, you can change its shape without affecting its “relation” to the notes it belongs to. Symbols can be aligned as in drawing programs. Proceed as follows: In other words, the end point of the slur/tie will then keep its relative distance to that note when the note is moved with the Layout tool or when the measure width is adjusted. 1. Select all objects you want to align. 2. On the Scores menu, Align Elements submenu, select the desired option.
Option When you click with the Pencil tool, a dialog appears allowing you to specify the time signature. When you double-click on an existing time signature symbol, the same dialog appears allowing you to change the type. This dialog is described in detail in the section “Editing the time signature” on page 497. When you right-click on a time signature, you can change the type on the context menu that appears.
Crescendo and diminuendo (decrescendo) • It’s also possible to “flip” crescendo symbols, by selecting the option in the context menu or by clicking the Flip button on the extended toolbar. In the Dynamics tab, there are three kinds of crescendo symbols: regular crescendo, regular diminuendo and a “double” crescendo (diminuendo–crescendo). Aligning dynamics • To insert a crescendo (<) or diminuendo (>), select the corresponding symbol from the tab and drag from left to right.
• You can specify globally how tuplets should be displayed in the “Notation Style” subpage of the Score Settings–Project page. A pedal down/up symbol combination can be displayed as “Two Symbols”, ““Ped.” + Bracket” or as “Bracket only”. Just right-click on the pedal symbol and chose an option from the context menu. You can also set this on the Score Settings–Project page, on the Notation Style subpage (Miscellaneous).
Additional symbols Da Capo and Dal Segno symbols If you click on the “Select Symbol” button and then into the score, the “Select Symbol” dialog opens. Here you can chose note heads, accidentals and rests that work only as drawing elements, i.e. they do not insert any note data into the track. They do not affect MIDI playback! You can set the desired symbol font size directly in the Font Size field. The “D.C.”, “D.S.
Tempo change as note symbol 5. Click the new empty symbol field to the left to make sure it’s selected. The drawing area is cleared. 6. Continue creating new symbols this way. This symbol allows you to specify a tempo change as a change from one note value to another. The example above would mean “lower the tempo by a third”. • You can edit existing symbols at any time by selecting them to the left and using the tools and functions.
Tool Description Menu item Color pop-up Selects Frame or Fill Color for objects. The “Select Colors…” menu item brings up a standard color dialog. Align Aligns the selected objects to each other. View Sets the zoom factor for the drawing area. Line Width Allows you to change the line width used for the selected object. The Note Linked pop-up lets you create symbols linked to note positions. This affects the whole symbol, not a selected graphic object.
9 Working with chords
About this chapter 4. Specify a chord type in the “Chord Type” field. You can either enter it directly (for example, by typing a “7”) or select an option from the pop-up menu (click the arrow button to open it). In this chapter you will learn: • How to enter chord symbols manually and automatically using the “Make Chord Symbol” feature. • Which settings can be made for chord symbols.
• To open the Edit Chord Symbol dialog for an existing chord, double-click on the symbol. 5. Select “Make Chord Symbol” from the Scores menu. The chords appear. They can be moved, duplicated and deleted as any other symbol. You can also double-click on a chord symbol to edit it in the Edit Chord Symbol dialog (in the same way as when creating chords manually – see above). You can also right-click on the symbol and select “Properties” on the context menu to open the dialog.
Global chord settings Notation Fonts On the Score Settings–Project page (Chord Symbols and Notation Fonts subpages), there are several global settings that affect how chords are displayed. These settings affect all chords in the project. Chord Symbols • Use the Score Font pop-up to select a font for the display of note heads, clefs etc. Available are Legacy, Classical and Jazz. • Use the Chord Symbols Font pop-up to select a font for the chords.
10 Working with text
About this chapter About the melisma lines When you add a text symbol, you will find a handle at the right edge of the text. By dragging this handle to the right, you can extend a “melisma line” from the text. This has several uses: In this chapter you will learn: • • • • Which different types of text are available. How to enter and edit text. How to set font, size and style. How to enter lyrics.
Editing the text 6. Click Apply to apply the settings to the selected text. Note that you can select other text blocks while the dialog remains open – the dialog will be updated to reflect the settings of the currently selected text. If you made a mistake when typing or for some other reason wish to change text, double-click on a text block with the Object Selection tool, edit the text and press [Return] to close it. 7. When you are done, close the Score Settings dialog.
Editing text attribute sets Similarly, you can copy selected text by using the “Text to Clipboard” option from the context menu. If you edit the settings in a text attribute set, all texts using this particular set will be affected. This is very practical, since it allows you to use the same number of “generic” sets for all your projects (for titles, comments, lyrics, etc.), and simply change the fonts, sizes, etc. for a different project if necessary.
• To select all words in one verse only, press [Shift] and double-click on the first word in that verse. the option “Don’t Sync Lyrics” in the Lyrics category on the Score Settings–Project page (Notation Style subpage). If this is activated, the note positions will not be affected, which may be preferable. This selects all following words in the verse. Inserting lyrics into voices • When entering words with several syllables you normally separate the syllables with a dash (-).
Layout text The RTF Settings dialog The text symbols in the Layout symbol tab are part of the layout layer, and can thus be hidden or shown for different tracks in the layout, by activating the “L” column on the Score Settings–Layout page. The text will appear in all staves, for which you have activated the “L” column. This means it is tied to the bar and staff position. If you move the bar or the entire staff, it moves with it.
Using the Score Settings (Text page) 5. Adjust the settings for how the text should be positioned: Option Description Show on all pages When this is activated, the text will be shown on all pages. The “Except First” checkbox allows you to exclude the very first page. Show on first page When this is selected, the text will only be shown on the first page. Line This determines how the text should be aligned.
Text functions • Right-clicking one of the fields opens a context menu with a number of options: The Words tab If you have certain words that you use a lot, you can “store” these as dedicated symbols on the Words tab. This will save time, since you don’t have to type the same word over and over again. • Select “Edit…” to open the Custom Text Editor dialog. • Select “New” to add a new empty symbol to the Words tab. • Select “Remove” to delete any unwanted symbols from the Words tab.
Staff names Bar Numbers You can make settings for staff names in several places: Bar Number settings can be made in several places as well: • On the Score Settings–Layout page, you specify whether the staff names should be shown at all, and whether to use the names of the actual edited tracks in the score. General settings In a multi-track layout, you can choose for which tracks the staff names should be shown, by clicking in the “N” column for each track. 1.
Offsetting bar numbers • You can also define text attribute sets on the Text Settings subpage, as a means to quickly change text. If you double-click on a bar number, a dialog appears, allowing you to skip a number of bars in the otherwise continuous bar numbering. Note that you can select a defined attribute set from the context menu opened when right-clicking on a text element (see “Text attribute sets” on page 586). This is used for example when a section repeats.
11 Working with layouts
About this chapter Creating a layout In this chapter you will learn: Layouts are created automatically when you open a new combination of tracks for editing. • • • • • • What layouts are and what they contain. How to create layouts. How to use layouts for opening combinations of tracks. How to apply, load, save and delete layouts. How to import and export layouts. An example of how layouts can be used.
Working with Display Transpose Here you can perform a number of operations: You can specify for each staff in a layout whether it should use display transpose. Just click in the D column in the Score Settings–Layout page to activate or deactivate the option. Note that this setting affects this layout only! Opening the tracks in a layout To select another combination of tracks for editing, select the corresponding layout in the list.
• You can also import all layout symbols from the “Full Score” layout, by opening the Score Settings–Layout page, selecting the “Full Score” layout in the list to the left and selecting “Get Form” from the Functions pop-up menu (see “Importing layout symbols” on page 596). ! Be careful not to change any of the properties which are not part of the layout (or you will modify the “Full Score”, too!). 6.
12 Working with MusicXML
Introduction Is MusicXML better than MIDI? MusicXML is a music notation format developed by Recordare LLC in 2000 based primarily on two academic music formats. It allows the representation of scores in the current symbolic representation of western music notation, used since the 17th century. With Cubase you can now import and export MusicXML files created with version 1.1.
Importing and exporting MusicXML files Export Cubase can import and export MusicXML Files, which makes it possible to transfer musical scores to and from applications that support this file format.
Exporting MusicXML files 1. Set up the score the way you want it in the Score editor of Cubase. 2. Open the File menu and open the Export submenu. 3. On the submenu, select “MusicXML…”. Note that this option is only available when the Score editor is opened. 4. A file dialog opens in which you can choose an existing empty folder or create a new folder for saving the MusicXML file (as *.xml file).
13 Designing your score: additional techniques
About this chapter The track list In this chapter you will learn: The track list lists the tracks included in the layout and allows you to make the following settings: • • • • • How to change the staff size. How to create multi-rests. How to add and edit bar lines. How to create upbeats. How to set measure spacing and the number of bars across the page. How to control staff and grand staff spacing. How to use the Auto Layout dialog. How to use the Reset Layout function. How to break bar lines.
Staff Separators For all tracks in a layout When this option is activated, separator symbols are inserted at the beginning of each grand staff. 1. Open the Score Settings–Layout page. 2. Change the Size parameter. The values range from 25% up to 250% of the normal size. 3. Click Apply. All staves will now get the desired size. Staves that have individual size settings (see above) will still be proportionally smaller/larger. A staff separator between two systems.
Hiding in this layout only Showing a hidden note If you want the hiding to be “local” to the current layout, hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] when selecting “Hide/Show” as described above. While all hidden notes can be made visible by ticking the Hidden Notes checkbox on the display filter bar, you may want to make some of them “permanently” visible again: ! 1. Activate the Hidden Notes checkbox on the display filter bar. This is not possible when hiding notes, only other symbols. 2.
Multiple rests Multi-rest appearance The Score Settings–Project page contains several subpages, on which you can make settings for multi-rests: Multiple consecutive rests can be automatically displayed as multi-rests. Proceed as follows: • The subpage “Notation Style” contains the following settings concerning multi-rests: 1. Open the Score Settings–Layout page. 2. Set the Multi-Rests option to the number of empty bars that should be “allowed” before Cubase will display them as a multi-rest.
2. If you wish the bar line to be shown with “brackets”, activate the Brackets checkbox. 5. Activate the option “Pickup Bar” and click OK. This is only relevant for repeat signs. 3. Click on the desired bar line type. The dialog closes and the bar line type is changed. 4. If you do not want to display bar lines at the beginning of the parts, open the Score Settings–Project page, on the Notation Style subpage (Bar Lines category) and activate the option “Hide First Bar line in Parts”.
5. If you use bar numbers, adjust them as described in the previous example. • To change the number of bars for the active staff and all following staves, click “All Staves”. In other words, to set all systems on all pages to the same number of bars, make the very first staff active and use the All Staves option. Using the tools The final upbeat. • To make a bar “fall down” on a new staff, use the Split tool to click on its bar line.
Moving bar lines Making indents on several lines Moving a bar line If you hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag the first or last bar line in a system, all following systems will get the same indent. If you want all lines on all pages to be indented in the same way, hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag the appropriate bar line on the first system of the score. If you drag a bar line to the left or right, the surrounding bars are adjusted proportionally.
Dragging staves Setting the same distance between all grand staves For the following operations, you can use the Object Selection tool or the Layout tool. 1. Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag the first staff of the second system, until you have reached the desired distance between this and the first system. Ö Note that dragging staves can only be done in Page Mode. 2. Release the mouse button and the [Alt]/[Option] key. The distances between all the systems will be adjusted accordingly.
Adding brackets and braces Moving one staff only You may wish to move one staff without affecting any other staff in any way: 2. Drag any staff as described above. Brackets and braces (curly brackets) are added on the Score Settings–Layout page. The settings you make are specific for the current layout, i.e. you can have different brackets or braces set up for different track configurations. Moving staves between pages 1. On the Scores menu, select “Settings...
Auto Layout Move Staves This changes the measure width (as with Move Bars) but also the vertical staff distance, of the active staff and all following staves. This item on the Scores menu brings up a dialog with several options. Activating one of these makes the program “walk through” the score and make adjustments to measure widths, staff distances etc. automatically. Exactly which parts and properties of the score are affected depends on which option you activate/deactivate.
Reset Layout Optimize All All of the above in one fell swoop. This procedure might take some time but usually yields great results. This function allows you to delete invisible layout elements, which in effect restores the score to default settings. Other functions 1. Select “Reset Layout…” from the Scores menu. The Reset Layout dialog appears.
Breaking bar lines • To re-connect bar lines in several grand staves, hold down [Alt]/[Option] and click with the Glue tool. Sometimes you may not want a bar line to stretch all the way across a grand staff. If this is the case, you have the possibility to “break it”. The bar lines between the corresponding staves are connected in all following grand staves.
14 Scoring for drums
About this chapter Pitch vs. Display Note In this chapter you will learn: In the Drum Map Setup dialog you will find a column Pitch and a column Display Note. • • • • How to set up the drum map. How to set up a staff for drum notes. How to enter and edit drum notes. How to use a single line drum staff. • The Pitch corresponds to the I-note for the drum sound and cannot be edited here. • The Display Note value is used to set where the note should be displayed vertically.
The dialog contains the following options: Option Description Pitch This corresponds to the I-note of the sound in the drum map, and cannot be edited here. Instrument The name of the drum sound in the map. Display Note The display pitch, i.e. the pitch at which the note will be shown in the score. For example, you typically want all three hi-hat sounds to be shown on the same system line in the score (but with different symbols). Therefore, you set these to the same display pitch.
Setting up a staff for drum scoring Using “Single Line Drum Staff” 1. Open the Score Settings–Staff page and select the Options tab. When this option is activated on the Options tab on the Score Settings–Staff page, there is only one line in the system. Furthermore, notes can only appear below the line, on the line and above the line. 2. Make sure “Use Score Drum Map” is activated. 3.
15 Creating tablature
About this chapter 3. Select one of the predefined instruments from the pop-up menu. In this chapter you will learn: 4. Activate “Tablature Mode”. • How to create tablature, automatically and manually. • How to control the appearance of the tablature notes. • How to edit tablature. 5. If you are not using one of the predefined instruments, set the open tuning of each string using the value fields. You can create tablature for up to 12 strings. To disable a string, set it to Off, the lowest value.
1. Many guitar synthesizers are able to transmit each string on a different MIDI channel. If you have such an instrument, set it up so that the high E string transmits on MIDI channel 1, the B string transmits on MIDI channel 2 etc. 5. On the Tablature tab, activate “Tablature Mode”. This feature can be used for MIDI string instruments with up to six strings. 2. Record the project. Quantize and edit it as desired. Tablature Mode activated. 3.
Editing Tablature can be edited like any other score. You can move notes, handle beaming, stem direction, etc. Moving notes to another string If you want for example a “C” to appear as a “8” on the low E-string rather than a “3” on the A-string on a guitar, proceed as follows: 1. Select one note or a number of notes that you want to move to a new string. 2. Right-click on one of the selected notes and, from the “Move to String” submenu, select the desired string.
16 The score and MIDI playback
About this chapter Setting up In this chapter you will learn: 1. On the Score Settings–Project page, open the MIDI Meaning subpage. • How you can have the playback follow the structure of the score. • How you can make the score affect how the MIDI notes play back. • How to use the MIDI Meaning function. • How to use crescendo/diminuendo symbols with integrated dynamics.
Dynamic crescendo symbols 4. On the Score Settings–Project page, select the MIDI Meaning subpage and make sure the Active checkbox is ticked. In the Symbol inspector – Dynamics tab, you will find a special crescendo symbol: The dynamic crescendo/diminuendo makes use of the MIDI Meaning function and uses the velocity scaling you have set up for the dynamics symbols in this dialog. 5. Start playback. You should now hear the crescendo or diminuendo affect the note velocities.
17 Printing and exporting pages
Printing Exporting To export the score, proceed as follows: Printing from the Score Editor 1. Make sure you are in Page Mode. 1. On the Scores menu, activate “Page Mode”. 2. If your score contains several pages, select the desired page. Printing is only possible from within Page Mode. 2. Select Page Setup from the File menu and make sure all your printer settings are correct. Close the dialog. ! 3. Pull down the File menu and on the Export submenu, select “Export Scores…”.
18 Frequently asked questions
How to use this chapter Suddenly many display quantize events appear in the score. This chapter answers to a number of questions that might arise when you use the Score Editor. For more information about the functions referred to below, please check the previous chapters. If you don’t know where to look, use the index. This is not a malfunction. If you had Auto Quantize on and start inserting display quantize events, the auto quantizing is automatically transformed into display quantize events.
When I select a note, nothing is shown on the info line. The note is probably tied to another note. This means that the second note doesn’t really exist, it is just a graphic indication that the main note is long. Try selecting the main note instead. Symbols and layout Symbols from the Layout Symbols tab are sometimes invisible when I open the score. This is not a malfunction. Those symbols are part of a layout.
19 Tips and Tricks
Useful editing techniques Using the bar handles Double-clicking a bar handle opens the Bar Copy dialog. This function is great for copying accents, but you can also use it for copying drum phrases, etc. For more information, see “Moving and duplicating with the bar handles” on page 571. Moving a note without transposing it If you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] while moving a note (or a number of notes) sideways, moving is restricted to horizontally only, i.e.
Zero system lines Speeding up inserting key changes Having no system lines at all might seem like a stupid idea to start with. But this option allows you to create chord sheets really quickly, see “Using Make Chord Symbol” on page 582. If you have a grand staff with many instruments, inserting key changes one by one can take an awful lot of time.
Index
A Accelerando 548 Accents above Staves 563 Accents above Stems 563 Accidentals About 544 Distance From Note 545 ACID® loops 250 Activate Next/Previous Part 338 Activate project button 450 Active ASIO Ports for Data only 436 Active Part 338 Active Staff 493 Add Bus 16 Child Bus 16 Add Space 530 Add Track 40 Adding Notes 515 Adjust Fades to Range 89 Advanced Quantize 329 Aftertouch Deleting 354 Editing 352 Recording 82 AIFF files 415 Align Dynamics 575 Symbols 573 Text 586 Alt/Option key 12 Alternative Key Se
Auto Layout About 612 Hide Empty Staves 612 Move Bars 612 Move Bars and Staves 612 Move Staves 612 Optimize All 613 Spread Page 612 Auto Monitoring modes 72 Auto Quantize 81, 505 Auto Save 452 Auto Select Events under Cursor MIDI editors 345 Project window 46 Automatic MIDI Record Quantize 81 Automation About 204 Editing in Project Browser 411 Opening automation subtracks 206 Reduction Preference 215 Showing and hiding 206 Trimming/offsetting curves 210 Write/Read buttons 209 Automation events About 212 Dra
Click 85 Clips, see “Audio clips” Close Gaps 258 Close project 450 Color pop-up menu 546, 605 MIDI editors 343 Project window 41 Color tool 41 Coloring notes 546, 605 Colorize Event Background 39 Common Time 497 Configuring Studio Sends 158 Configuring the Control Room Mixer 151 Conform Files 283 Consolidate Rests 506 Constrain Delay Compensation 193 Context menus 496 Control Room About 147 Channels 148 Configuring 148 Creating a Channel 149 Features 147 Mixer 151 Operations 153 Overview 151 Preferences 157
Disable sends 172 Disable Track 63 Display Arrow after Inserting Symbol 562 Display filter bar 494, 495 Display format 34 Display Length 522, 545 Display Markers 597 Display Quantize About 487 Auto 505 In Polyphonic Voices 537 Inserting changes 509 Rest 488 Setting 505 Tool 488, 509 Value 514 Display Transpose 500, 507 Display transpose 529 Dissolve Part Audio 44 MIDI 332 Dithering 167 Dividing the Track list 42 Don’t Center Hyphens 588 Don’t Sync Lyrics 588 Double Click Symbol to get Pencil Tool 562 Drag D
External effects About 20 Favorites 23 Freezing 24 Missing plug-ins 24 Setting up 21 External Inputs (Control Room Channel) 148, 149, 152 External instruments About 20 Favorites 23 Freezing 24 Missing plug-ins 24 Setting up 22 Extract Audio from Video 456 Extract MIDI Automation 335 Extract Voices 540 F Fade handles 88 Fade In/Out functions 89 Faders 128 Fades Auto Fades 93 Creating 88 Editing in dialog 90 Presets 91 Processing 89 Removing 89 Fill Loop 48 Filter (MIDI) 84 Filter (Project Browser) 411 Filte
Independent track loop Audio Part Editor 267 MIDI editors 342 Indicate Transpositions 115 Info Line 494, 521 Info line Customizing 466 Drum Editor 356 Key Editor 339 Pool 272 Project window 33 Inhibit Restart 431 Initialize Channel 137 I-Note 360 Input (MIDI) 79 Input busses About 14 Adding 16 Routing to channels 17 Viewing in the mixer 18 Input channels 128 Input Gain About 129 Setting record level 71 Input levels 70 Input Phase switch 129 Input Transformer 377 Input/Output routing panel (Mixer) 122 Inputs
Line mode Automation 213 MIDI controllers 352 MIDI velocity 351 Linear Record Mode Audio 74 MIDI 81 Linear time base 42 Lines To Tracks Explode Function 510, 536 List Editor Adding events 364 Editing in the list 364 Editing in the value display 366 Filtering events 365 Masking events 365 Local (Input Transformer) 377 Local Keys 500 Locate when clicked in empty space 61 Locators 62 Lock 51 Lock button 519 Lock Event Attributes 51 Lock Frames 431 Lock Hitpoints 256 Lock Layers 568 Logical Editor About 368 Act
MIDI inputs Renaming 79 Selecting for tracks 79 MIDI Meaning 624 MIDI notes Deleting 348 Drawing 343 Editing velocity 351 Moving 346 Muting 347 Muting in Drum Editor 358 Quantizing 325 Resizing 347 Selecting 345 Splitting and gluing 347 Transpose (Function) 330 Transposing (in editor) 346 MIDI outputs In drum maps 361 Renaming 79 Selecting for tracks 80 Send effects 322 MIDI parts About 26 Drawing 44 Editing 337 Editing in Project Browser 411 Sliding contents 50 MIDI Record Catch Range 83 MIDI reset 83 MIDI
Note-dependent Symbols 557 Notes Adding 515 Assigning colors 546 Deleting 525 Display Length 522 Duplicating 520 Editing Via MIDI 521 Graphic 546 Graphic moving 552 Grouping 547 Head Shape 545 Info Dialog 543 Ledger lines 545 Length 521 Moving 518 Note Values 514 Selecting 517 Splitting 522 Notes, see also “MIDI notes” Npl files Libraries 453 Pool files 282 Nudge buttons MIDI editor toolbar 346 Project window toolbar 47 Nudge key commands 571 Nudge position buttons 63 Nudging notes 518 Number of Bars dialog
Pool About 271 Auditioning 278 Convert Files 282 Handling audio clips 274 Import Medium 279 Importing Pool files 282 Locate missing files 277 Record folder 281 Search Filters 277 Search Functionality 276 Status column icons 273 Position cursor 491 Position Info Window 570 Position Mode 200 Postroll 84 Pre/Post-CrossFade 218 Precount 85 Pre-fader sends 171 Preferences Presets 468 Transferring 473 Prepare Archive 282 Preroll 84 Printing From the Score Editor 627 Making Settings 493 Process Bars 400 Process Te
Rests Creating Multi-Rests 606 In Polyphonic Voices 533, 537 Retrospective Record 83 Return To Start Position on Stop 63 Reverse 224 Reverse (MIDI function) 335 Revert 453 ReWire About 446 Activating 447 Channels 448 Routing MIDI 448 REX files 456 Right locator 62 Ritardando 548 Root key 113 Routing Audio to and from busses 17 Effect sends 171 Effect sends (Panning) 172 Ruler 494, 570 About 34 Adding additional time scales 34 Ruler tracks 34 S S button 52 Sample Editor Audio clip information 235 Definition
Snap to Zero Crossing Audio Editor 269 Preference setting 58 Sample Editor 246 Snap Track Heights 37 Solo Audio Part Editor 267 Folder tracks 104 MIDI editors 342 Mixer 130 On Selected Track 52 Tracks 52 Solo Defeat 130, 174 Solo Record in MIDI Editors 83 Speaker Icon 519 Speaker icon (MIDI editors) 343 Speaker tool Audio Part Editor 267 Project window 44 Speakers (SurroundPanner) 200 Spectacle Bass 548 Spectrum Analyzer 230 Split Events 48 Range 56 Split at Cursor MIDI editors 347 Project window 48 Split L
System Exclusive About 391 Bulk Dumps 391 Editing 393 Recording parameter changes 392 System Lines 530 System Sizes (Staff Settings) 530 T Tablature Automatic Creation 620 Capo 620 Clef 621 Editing 622 Manual Creation 621 MIDI Channels 620 Number Note Head 621 Talkback (Control Room Channel) 148, 149, 153 Tap Tempo 401 Templates 451 Tempo About 395 Calculating 401 Editing 397 Editing in Project Browser 412 Importing and exporting 399 Recording 398 Setting in Fixed mode 399 Tapping 401 Tempo based tracks 42
Transport panel Customizing 466 Display format 62 Hiding and showing 61 Key commands 61 Overview 60 Transpose Info line 34 MIDI function 330 Track parameter 319 Transpose track About 112 Transposing 520 Transposing instruments 500 Triangle mode Automation 213 MIDI editing 353 Trills 565 Trim buttons 50 Trim tool 341 Tuplet 327 Tuplets 554 Display Options 555 Group Symbols 575 U Undo Processing 227 Recording 74 Zoom 38 Undo Quantize 329 Ungroup 50 Unlock 51 Unlock Layout when editing single parts 492 Unstre
WMA files Importing 457 WMA Pro files 418 Word Clock About 423 Selecting for sync 428 Setting up 425 Words Palette 591 Workspaces 464 Wrap Controls (Track list) 37 Write button 209 X X Stem (Spoken) 546 Z Zero Crossings 58 Zoom 493 About 36 History 38 Pop-up menu 493 Presets 38 Sample Editor 240 Tool 493 Track height 37 Waveforms 37 Zoom N Tracks 37 Zoom Tool Standard Mode 36 Zoom while Locating in Time Scale 37 649 Index
