User manual
Table Of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Part I: Getting into the details
- Setting up your system
- VST Connections
- The Project window
- Working with projects
- Creating new projects
- Opening projects
- Closing projects
- Saving projects
- The Archive and Backup functions
- The Project Setup dialog
- Zoom and view options
- Audio handling
- Auditioning audio parts and events
- Scrubbing audio
- Editing parts and events
- Range editing
- Region operations
- The Edit History dialog
- The Preferences dialog
- Working with tracks and lanes
- Playback and the Transport panel
- Recording
- Quantizing MIDI and Audio
- Introduction
- Quantizing Audio Event Starts
- AudioWarp Quantize (Cubase Only)
- Quantizing MIDI Event Starts
- Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths
- Quantizing MIDI Event Ends
- Quantizing Multiple Audio Tracks (Cubase Only)
- AudioWarp Quantizing Multiple Audio Tracks (Cubase Only)
- The Quantize Panel
- Additional Quantizing Functions
- Fades, crossfades, and envelopes
- The arranger track
- The transpose functions
- Using markers
- The MixConsole
- Overview
- Configuring the MixConsole
- Keyboard Navigation in the MixConsole
- Working with the Fader Section
- Working with the Channel Racks
- Linking Channels (Cubase only)
- Metering (Cubase only)
- Using Channel Settings
- Saving and Loading Selected Channel Settings
- Resetting MixConsole Channels
- Adding Pictures
- Adding Notes
- The Control Room (Cubase only)
- Audio effects
- VST instruments and instrument tracks
- Surround sound (Cubase only)
- Automation
- Audio processing and functions
- The Sample Editor
- The Audio Part Editor
- The Pool
- The MediaBay
- Introduction
- Working with the MediaBay
- The Define Locations section
- The Locations section
- The Results list
- Previewing files
- The Filters section
- The Attribute Inspector
- The Loop Browser, Sound Browser, and Mini Browser windows
- Preferences
- Key commands
- Working with MediaBay-related windows
- Working with Volume databases
- Working with track presets
- Track Quick Controls
- Remote controlling Cubase
- MIDI realtime parameters and effects
- Using MIDI devices
- MIDI processing
- The MIDI editors
- Introduction
- Opening a MIDI editor
- The Key Editor – Overview
- Key Editor operations
- The In-Place Editor
- The Drum Editor – Overview
- Drum Editor operations
- Working with drum maps
- Using drum name lists
- The List Editor – Overview
- List Editor operations
- Working with SysEx messages
- Recording SysEx parameter changes
- Editing SysEx messages
- The basic Score Editor – Overview
- Score Editor operations
- Working with the Chord Functions
- Introduction
- The Chord Track
- The Chord Track Inspector Section
- The Chord Editor
- The Chord Assistant (Cubase only)
- Creating a Chord Progression from Scratch (Chords to MIDI)
- Extracting Chords from MIDI (Make Chords)
- Controlling MIDI or Audio Playback with the Chord Track (Follow Chords)
- Assigning Chord Events to MIDI Effects or VST Instruments
- Expression maps (Cubase only)
- Note Expression
- The Logical Editor, Transformer, and Input Transformer
- The Project Logical Editor (Cubase only)
- Editing tempo and signature
- The Project Browser (Cubase only)
- Export Audio Mixdown
- Synchronization
- Video
- ReWire
- File handling
- Customizing
- Key commands
- Part II: Score layout and printing (Cubase only)
- How the Score Editor works
- The basics
- About this chapter
- Preparations
- Opening the Score Editor
- The project cursor
- Playing back and recording
- Page Mode
- Changing the zoom factor
- The active staff
- Making page setup settings
- Designing your work space
- About the Score Editor context menus
- About dialogs in the Score Editor
- Setting clef, key, and time signature
- Transposing instruments
- Printing from the Score Editor
- Exporting pages as image files
- Working order
- Force update
- Transcribing MIDI recordings
- Entering and editing notes
- 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: Multiple staves
- Inserting and editing clefs, keys, or time signatures
- Deleting notes
- Staff settings
- Polyphonic voicing
- About this chapter
- Background: Polyphonic voicing
- Setting up the voices
- Strategies: How many voices do I need?
- Entering notes into voices
- Checking which voice a note belongs to
- Moving notes between voices
- Handling rests
- Voices and Display Quantize
- Creating crossed voicings
- Automatic polyphonic voicing – Merge All Staves
- Converting voices to tracks – Extract Voices
- Additional note and rest formatting
- Working with symbols
- Working with chords
- Working with text
- Working with layouts
- Working with MusicXML
- Designing your score: additional techniques
- About this chapter
- Layout settings
- Staff size
- Hiding/showing objects
- Coloring notes
- Multiple rests
- Editing existing bar lines
- Creating upbeats
- Setting the number of bars across the page
- Moving bar lines
- Dragging staves
- Adding brackets and braces
- Displaying the Chord Symbols from the Chord Track
- Auto Layout
- Reset Layout
- Breaking bar lines
- Scoring for drums
- Creating tablature
- The score and MIDI playback
- Tips and Tricks
- Index
252
VST instruments and instrument tracks
Introduction
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.
Some VST instruments are included with Cubase, others can be purchased
separately from Steinberg and other manufacturers.
This chapter describes the general procedures for setting up and using VST
instruments. The included VST instruments and their parameters are described in the
separate PDF document “Plug-in Reference”.
Ö Depending on the VST version the instrument is compatible with, an icon may be
displayed in front of the instrument name, see
“About VST 3” on page 227.
VST instrument channels vs. instrument tracks
Cubase allows you to make use of VST instruments in two different ways:
• By activating instruments in the VST Instruments window.
This creates a VST instrument channel, which can be played by one (or several)
MIDI track(s) routed to it.
• By creating instrument tracks.
Instrument tracks are a combination of a VST instrument, an instrument channel,
and a MIDI track. You play and record MIDI note data directly for this track.
Both methods have their advantages and should be selected according to what best
suits your needs. The following sections describe the two approaches.
VST instrument channels
You can access a VST instrument from within Cubase by creating a VST instrument
channel and associating this channel with a MIDI track. Proceed as follows:
1. On the Devices menu, select “VST Instruments”.
The VST Instruments window opens.
2. Click in one of the empty slots to open the instrument pop-up menu and select the
desired instrument.