User manual

119
Recording
Audio recording specifics
• In the Preferences dialog (Metering page) you can find the “Map Input Bus
Metering to Audio Track (in Direct Monitoring)” option.
When Direct Monitoring is activated in the Device Setup dialog, this option allows
you to map the input bus metering to monitor-enabled audio tracks. This gives you
the opportunity to watch the input levels of your audio tracks when working in the
Project window.
When Direct Monitoring is activated in the Device Setup dialog, this function works as
follows:
- When “Map Input Bus Metering to Audio Track (in Direct Monitoring)” is activated,
audio tracks show the metering signal from the input bus they are routed to as
soon as the track is record-enabled.
Note that the tracks are mirroring the input bus signal, i. e. you will see the same
signal in both places. When using mapped metering, any functions (e.
g. trimming)
you apply to the audio track are not reflected in its meters.
- When “Map Input Bus Metering to Audio Track (in Direct Monitoring)” is not
activated, metering works as usual.
External monitoring
External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it goes into Cubase) requires
some sort of external mixer for mixing the audio playback with the input signal. This
can be a stand-alone physical mixer or a mixer application for your audio hardware, if
this has a mode in which the input audio is sent back out again (usually called “Thru”,
“Direct Thru” or similar).
When using external monitoring, you cannot control the level of the monitor signal
from within Cubase or add VST effects or EQ to the monitor signal. The latency value
of the audio hardware configuration does not affect the monitor signal in this mode.
Ö If you want to use external monitoring, you need to make sure that monitoring via
Cubase is not activated as well. Select the “Manual” monitoring mode in the
Preferences dialog (VST page) and do not activate the Monitor buttons.
ASIO Direct Monitoring
If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may support ASIO Direct Monitoring
(this feature may also be available for audio hardware with Mac OS X drivers). 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. This means that the
audio hardware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off automatically by
Cubase, just as when using internal monitoring.
• To activate ASIO Direct Monitoring, open the Device Setup dialog on the Devices
menu and activate the Direct Monitoring checkbox on the page for your audio
hardware.
If the checkbox is grayed out, your audio hardware (or its driver) does not support
ASIO Direct Monitoring. Consult the audio hardware manufacturer for details.
• When ASIO Direct Monitoring is activated, you can select a monitoring mode in
the Preferences dialog (VST page), as when monitoring via Cubase (see
“Monitoring via Cubase” on page 118).
• Depending on the audio hardware, it may also be possible to adjust the monitoring
level and panning from the MixConsole (including the Control Room section, but
excluding the Talkback and External Return channels – Cubase only) by adjusting
the volume faders, and the input gain controls and the send levels for Control
Room cue channels.
Consult the documentation of the audio hardware if in doubt.
• VST effects and EQ cannot be applied to the monitor signal in this mode, since the
monitor signal does not pass through Cubase.