User manual

69
Working with projects
Audio handling
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 during recording. This audio clip refers
to an audio file on the hard disk that itself 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.
An audio clip does not necessarily refer to just one original audio file! If you apply
some processing to a specific section of an audio clip, for example, this will create a
new audio file containing only this section. The processing will then be applied to the
new audio file only, leaving the original audio file unchanged. Finally, the audio clip is
automatically adjusted, so that it refers both to the original file and to the new,
processed file. During playback, the program will switch between the original file and
the processed file at the correct positions. You will hear this as a single recording,
with processing applied to one section only. This feature makes it possible to undo
processing at a later stage, and to apply different processing to different audio clips
that refer to the same original file.
An audio event is the object that you place on a time position in Cubase. If you make
copies of an audio event and move them to different positions in the project, they will
still all refer to the same audio clip. Furthermore, each audio event has an Offset value
and a Length value. These determine at which positions in the clip the event will start
and end, i.
e. which section of the audio clip will be played back by the audio event. For
example, if you resize the audio event, you will just change its start and/or end position
in the audio clip – the clip itself will not be affected.
An audio region is a section within a clip with a length value, a start time, and a snap
point. Audio regions are shown in the Pool and are best created and edited in the
Sample Editor.
Ö If you want to use one audio file in different contexts, or if you want to create several
loops from one audio file, convert the corresponding regions of the audio clip to
events and bounce them into separate audio files. This is necessary since different
events that refer to the same clip access the same clip information.
Auditioning audio parts and events
Audio parts and events can be auditioned in the Project window with the Play tool:
1. Select the Play tool.
2. Click where you want playback to start, and keep the mouse button pressed.
Only the track on which you click is played back, starting at the click position.
3. Release the mouse button to stop playback.
!
When auditioning, audio will be routed directly to the Control Room (Cubase only), if
the Control Room is activated. When the Control Room is deactivated, the audio will
be routed to the default output bus, bypassing the audio channel’s settings, effects
and EQs. In Cubase Artist, the Main Mix bus is always used for monitoring.