Cubasis VST 4.0 – Manual

Transcription

Cover Inner Page Page 1 Tuesday, August 27, 2002 5:39 PM
Operation Manual
Operation Manual by Ludvig Carlson, Anders Nordmark, Roger Wiklander
Quality Control: C.Bachmann, H. Bischoff, S. Pfeifer, C. Schomburg
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies AG. 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. No part of this
publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any
purpose, without prior written permission by Steinberg Media Technologies AG.
All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners.
Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP are
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
© Steinberg Media Technologies AG, 2002.
All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
7
Introduction
55
Recording Audio
8
9
10
56
60
10
Welcome!
About Cubasis VST...
About this manual and the
HTML Help
How you can reach us
11
Guided Tour
12
13
13
14
What is Cubasis VST?
What is Digital Audio?
What is MIDI?
The Main Windows and
Panels in Cubasis VST
70
23
Requirements
73
24
25
Minimum Requirements
Computer Requirements
Preparations
Selecting and setting up a
track
Performing the first
recording
Recording more on the
same track
Recording the next track –
Overdubbing
Recording from Play mode –
Punch In
Advanced: Recording
Multiple Audio Channels
If you get Audio Performance
Problems
75
Recording MIDI
27
Installation
28
29
Getting the Computer ready
Installing the Audio Card
and its Driver
Installing the MIDI Interface/
Synthesizer card
Installing Cubasis VST
Register your software!
Installation done! Where do
I go next?
76
76
81
About this Chapter
Preparations
Advanced: Program
Change and Bank Select
Advanced: Working with
SoundFonts
Advanced: Recording
SysEx Messages
30
31
32
32
33
Setting up your
System
34
Making Settings for Audio
work
Enabling/Disabling Audio
Setting up for MIDI
MIDI Settings in
Cubasis VST
46
47
53
CUBASIS VST
4
Table of Contents
67
69
70
71
83
86
87
Playback, Tempo and
the Transport Bar
88
89
90
92
The Transport Bar
About Position Values
Setting the Song Position
Tempo and Time Signature
Handling
Locators
About the Cycle
Setting up the Metronome
Click
95
96
97
99
Arrangement Editing
147 Editing Audio
100
About songs and arrangements
About tracks, parts and
arranging
Creating and managing
tracks
Mute and Solo
Working with parts
Using the Magnifying Glass
Tool
Editing the arrangement
structure
Using the Inspector
Quantizing MIDI notes
Other MIDI Functions
148
101
102
104
105
115
116
120
122
123
125 Using the Pool
126
127
127
129
131
132
135
137
138
141
143
143
146
What is the Pool?
Opening the Pool
Viewing Files and Segments
Customizing the View
Finding out how a segment
is used in the song
File Operations
Handling “Missing Files”
Creating Wave Images and
keeping them up to date
Segment Operations
Importing Files into the Pool
Exporting Files and
Segments
Dragging from the Pool to
the Arrange window
Saving and Loading the
Audio Pool
148
150
About the different Audio
Editing methods
Editing in WaveLab Lite
Using another Wave Editor
application
151 Editing MIDI
152
153
153
154
165
172
183
193
What can I do with the MIDI
Editors?
Opening an Editor
About Editor tools
Key Edit
List Edit
The Score Editor
Common settings/functions
Closing the Editor
195 Mixing
196
196
212
223
Introduction
Mixing Audio
Mixing MIDI
What is GM/GS/XG?
225 The included VST
Effects
226
227
Introduction
Table Of Contents
269 Importing and
Exporting Audio
270
271
271
276
279
Importing audio files into the
arrangement
Importing Audio using
“Drag and Drop”
Importing ReCycle Files
Import Mixman File (*.trk)
Mixing down to an audio file
Table of Contents
CUBASIS VST
5
283 Using
VST Instruments
284
284
286
287
289
290
291
292
294
296
304
306
308
311
314
Introduction
Activating a VST Instrument
Playing the VST Instrument
Selecting Patches and
making Settings
Making Mixer Settings
Automating a VST Instrument
The included VST
Instruments
The Neon
CS40
JX16 Synthesizer
VB-1
LM-9
Universal Sound Module
(USM)
Brother Gregory
Easy Guitar
321 InWire and RocketPower
322
322
323
324
326
327
328
329
329
Introduction
What do I need?
Basic Terminology
Setting Rocket Preferences
in Cubasis VST
Activating RocketPower
and joining a Session
Receiving a project
The InWire Settings in the
Pool
Posting
Disconnecting
CUBASIS VST
6
Table of Contents
331 Movies
332
332
Introduction
Playing a movie in sync with
Cubasis VST
335 Saving and Opening
336
339
341
344
345
Saving
Opening
Saving and Importing Parts:
the Audio and MIDI Library
functions
Exporting MIDI Files
Importing MIDI Files
347 The Master Unit
Program
348
349
350
351
360
363
365
366
368
369
371
About Master Unit
Using Master Unit
The Master Unit window
The Track List
The Effects section
The Waveform Display
Available disk space
Processing the Tracks
Normalizing
Recording the CD-R
The Menus
373 Index
1
Introduction
Welcome!
In a few short years the world has changed. Once music making was
strictly divided between those with access to professional studios,
expensive equipment and other musicians, and those whose music
making was confined to the realms of second rate equipment, limited
funds and a good deal of dreaming.
We at Steinberg are pleased to be part of the continuing revolution
that has broken down these barriers, allowing anyone with musical
ambitions to realize their true musical potential.
Cubasis VST 4.0 – the program you now have in front of you –
embodies the experience of over fifteen years of Steinberg history.
Together with Windows 98, 98 SE, ME, 2000 or XP, it provides an
excellent framework for making music on computers.
Karl Steinberg
CUBASIS VST
1–8
Introduction
Manfred Rürup
About Cubasis VST...
Now that you have Cubasis VST, which is a version of Cubase, you
belong to one of the largest music software user groups in the world.
Cubase is a family of music software, ranging from the easy-to-understand package for the beginner to professional tools for the most demanding applications. That's the Cubase advantage, Cubase grows
as you develop musically.
Cubasis VST 4.0 was created as a result of years of experience in
both software engineering and listening to our users. The users of our
software were always an important information resource for how the
program could be further developed. With the rise of the Internet this
whole aspect has taken off. Instead of just communicating directly with
Steinberg, our users have now become a vibrant and dynamic group,
driving the direction of future Cubasis and Cubase VST versions. And
with the introduction of the InWire technology, the interaction between
our users has reached a new high point as they actively produce music
live together in the www.cubase.net Internet studios. If anyone tells
you that computer musicians are a lonely breed, don't believe them.
See you out there…
Your Steinberg Team.
www.steinberg.net
www.cubase.net
Introduction
CUBASIS VST
1–9
About this manual and the HTML Help
This document describes all features in Cubasis VST 4.0. However, if
you want information about a specific window, dialog or menu item it
may be more convenient to use the HTML Help:
•
To get information about the active window or dialog, press [F1] on
the computer keyboard or click the Help button in the actual dialog.
You can also open the help from the Help menu in the program and browse to the description of a particular window.
•
To get information about a menu item, open the HTML Help from the
Help menu in the program and browse to the desired menu item in the
Help window that appears.
How you can reach us
The Help menu contains direct links to Steinberg’s web pages. These
allow you to get technical support, answers to frequently asked questions, information about new products, upgrade offers and other important info.
❐ For the web links to work, you need to have a working Internet connec-
tion and properly set up browser software.
CUBASIS VST
1 – 10
Introduction
2
Guided Tour
What is Cubasis VST?
Cubasis VST is an application that allows you to record, edit and mix
music. Included with the Cubasis VST package are two stand-alone
programs; WaveLab Lite, that you can use for editing/processing audio files, and Master Unit, which is used for preparing/processing your
recordings before burning your own CDs, using the program together
with a CD-R recorder (not included).
Cubasis VST records two types of musical information, digital audio
and MIDI. It allows you to do the following (among other things):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Record any sound source such as a microphone, guitar, etc.
Record MIDI data from synthesizers or other MIDI instruments.
Play back up to 64 tracks in any combination of MIDI and audio tracks (up to
48 separate channels of audio).
Play VST Instruments – software synthesizers contained within the program.
A number of different VST Instruments are included with the program, and
others can be purchased or downloaded from the Internet.
Apply cut and paste techniques to your music, to rearrange recorded parts.
Perform detailed editing of your MIDI recordings.
Mix your music, applying effects and EQ to your audio recordings. A wide variety of effect plug-ins are included with the program.
Create stereo-compatible surround audio mixes.
Create a mixdown audio file on your hard disk, in AIFF, Wave, Real Audio or
MP3 format (MP3 export is a trial feature, limited to 20 times, but can be upgraded to unlimited functionality).
Collaborate with other Cubasis VST users on the Internet, using the InWire/
RocketPower technology.
View movies and play your music along with the movie playback.
Make printed scores.
Real time
One specific point to note about Cubasis VST is that it operates in
complete real time. You don’t need to stop the music to perform any
type of editing, switch between windows or anything else. You can
even Save to disk while playing!
CUBASIS VST
2 – 12
Guided Tour
Undo/Redo
Practically any operation in Cubasis VST can be undone, using the
Undo item on the Edit menu. After something has been undone, this
item changes to Redo, allowing you to “undo the undo”.
What is Digital Audio?
“Audio” is any sound source that you can connect to the sound input
of your PC audio card, a microphone, an electric guitar or similar.
“Digital” we say because the computer converts the audio signal to
numbers, which Cubasis VST captures and stores on your hard disk.
The fact that the sound is converted to numbers opens up enormous
possibilities in terms of manipulation of recordings.
What is MIDI?
MIDI is a type of control information used with synthesizers. Let’s
explain this with an analogy: Your computer can send messages to a
printer about how you want a page to look. The printer then takes care
of converting this information to the actual “ink” on paper.
With MIDI the synthesizer works much like a “musical printer”: the
computer sends information to it, specifying which notes you want it
to play, and it takes care of actually creating the audio.
One of the advantages of this technique is that a recording made with
for example a piano sound can be played back with a harpsichord,
brass or guitar sound, just by changing settings on the synthesizer.
General MIDI (abbreviated GM) is an additional specification for MIDI
instruments. If an instrument is General MIDI compatible, it will have a
common, wide ranging set of sounds built in (piano, bass, drums,
brass, strings etc.). If you create music with a General MIDI compatible instrument it can be played back on any other GM instrument and
the music will sound more or less the same. This allows you to share
your Cubasis VST songs with other people, and even publish your
works in a common data format, for example on the Internet!
Cubasis VST also supports two expansions of the GM standard,
called GS (Roland) and XG (Yamaha).
Guided Tour
CUBASIS VST
2 – 13
The Main Windows and Panels in Cubasis VST
The Transport Bar
This is much like the transport control on any tape recorder. This is
where you play, stop, “wind the tape” etc. But the Transport Bar is
also used for setting tempo, time signature etc.
This shows you the current song
These are used for defining
These meters indicate
where to start and end recording position in bars, beats and ticks.
MIDI In (recording) and
and what section to Cycle.
Out (playback) activity.
The tempo and time signature.
Activates the
Master Track.
These buttons are the equivalents When you activate this,
of the transport controls on a regu- the program will cycle
lar cassette tape recorder.
the section between
the locators.
Activates the metronome.
The Toolbar
Below the main menu bar, you will find a horizontal strip with icons,
called the Toolbar. This gives you quick access to some of the most
common functions in Cubasis VST. For example, you can cut, copy or
paste, or open various important windows by clicking the corresponding icons on the Toolbar, instead of selecting items from the main
menus.
VST Channel Mixer VST Send Effects
New Song Save Copy Undo Redo
Open
Cut
Paste
MIDI Track Mixer
VST Instruments
CUBASIS VST
2 – 14
Guided Tour
MIDI Lib
Audio Pool
Audio Lib
Key Edit Score Edit
List Edit
Show/Hide Transport Bar External Wave Editor
The Arrange window
This is where you record and assemble your music. Each Cubasis VST
song can contain several arrangements, each with its own Arrange
window.
Vertically, the Arrange window is divided into tracks, letting you organize your recordings. You might use one track for drums, another for
bass, a third for main vocals, a fourth for vocal harmonies, etc.
The left part of the Arrange window is called the Track List:
This column shows you
whether anything is being
played back from the track.
Click in this column to mute
(silence) a track.
The track’s channel
This symbol indicates
an audio track
This symbol indicates a
MIDI track
The name of the track.
Double click to change.
The active (selected)
track. Recording always
happens on the active
track.
This button opens the Inspector, in which you can
make detailed settings for the selected track.
Guided Tour
CUBASIS VST
2 – 15
The right part of the Arrange window is called the Part Display.
The song position
Time runs from left to right,
as the ruler indicates.
The Left Locator
The Right Locator
Each recording you make appears in the
Part Display as a box, called a part.
The horizontal position shows you where in the song the part starts.
The width of the
box shows you
the length of the
recording.
The vertical position of the part
shows you which track it is on.
In the part you will see a visual representation of the recording.
At the top of the Arrange window is a bar with various pop-ups and
settings.
Click here to listen to
the selected track only
This note value is used
for the Quantize function.
The “precision” for editing operations,
like moves and splits
CUBASIS VST
2 – 16
Guided Tour
This pop-up menu lets you
color the different parts.
The mouse pointer’s position
in bars, beats and ticks.
The VST Channel Mixer
This is where you mix your audio tracks, that is, adjust the levels (volume) and stereo panning. The section to the right is the Master section, where you activate Surround and adjust the final output level of
the mix.
Mute and Solo buttons
Mixer automation controls
Master faders
Pan controls
Input level
switch
Clip indicator
Level fader
Level meter
Guided Tour
CUBASIS VST
2 – 17
In addition, each audio channel has a two band parametric EQ, two
effect sends and one insert effect slot.
Insert effect slot
EQ section
Effect sends
The VST Instruments Window
This is where you activate and manage VST Instruments, software
synthesizers (or other sound sources) contained within Cubasis VST.
You can have up to four different VST Instruments activated at the
same time. Each VST Instrument has its own control panel in a separate window.
The VST Instruments window (top) and the Neon control panel.
CUBASIS VST
2 – 18
Guided Tour
The MIDI Track Mixer
This is one of the places where you can adjust the levels, panning and
other parameters for the sounds created by your MIDI synthesizer.
Mixer automation
controls
Mute and
Solo buttons
Pan controls
Mutes all audio
tracks.
Level fader
Level (velocity)
meter
The Audio Pool
This window lists all your audio recordings, allowing you to manage
them in various ways.
This is a file containing an audio recording.
These are segments that play parts of the file.
By dragging segments into the arrangement, you can use the audio file in your song.
Guided Tour
CUBASIS VST
2 – 19
The MIDI Editors
There are three different editors for editing your MIDI recordings:
Key Edit
Notes
Continuous events
This editor consists of a “grid” with the notes shown as boxes. The
pitch of a note is indicated by the vertical position, and the note length
is indicated by the width of the box. This is the editor to use when you
want quick graphical editing of notes and continuous controllers, such
as modulation and volume.
CUBASIS VST
2 – 20
Guided Tour
List Edit
The Event List
The Event Display
In this editor, all MIDI notes, controllers and other events are shown
and edited in a list. List Edit is useful when you want absolute control
over values and positions, or if you are used to numerical editing.
Score Edit
Here, the MIDI notes are presented as a musical score. Use Score
Edit to print scores, or simply if you are used to working with musical
notation.
Guided Tour
CUBASIS VST
2 – 21
The List Mastertrack
This window allows you to add tempo and time signature changes in
the song.
CUBASIS VST
2 – 22
Guided Tour
3
Requirements
To use Cubasis VST, WaveLab Lite and Master Unit you need the following:
•
A PC computer with Windows installed and ready.
For more details about the computer requirements and supported Windows versions,
see below.
•
A compatible audio card.
By audio card we mean a card capable of recording and playing back digital audio using
your hard disk as a storage medium. It must also be Windows Multimedia or DirectX
(6.1 or higher) compatible or come with a separate ASIO driver.
For MIDI
•
At least one MIDI interface (or a MIDI instrument with a built-in computer connector), including the necessary cables.
•
At least one MIDI instrument.
Sometimes, the MIDI interface and instrument are built into the same card. Many audio
cards also include MIDI synthesizers.
•
Any audio equipment necessary to listen to the sound from your MIDI
devices.
For Printing
•
To print out scores, you also need a Windows compatible printer.
For burning CDs with Master Unit
•
A CD-R recorder.
This can be connected via IDE or SCSI, but must be DAO (Disc At Once) compatible.
CUBASIS VST
3 – 24
Requirements
Computer Requirements
Below, the minimum and recommended systems are listed. The following sections describe each system component (processor, RAM,
etc.) in more detail.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Intel Pentium II or AMD Duron.
128 MB RAM (192 MB if you are using Windows 2000 or XP).
Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
Fast IDE hard drive.
SVGA graphics card (16 bit color at 800x600 pixels).
MME-, DirectX- or ASIO-compatible sound card.
CD-ROM drive.
Recommended System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon.
256 MB RAM.
Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
Fast IDE or SCSI hard drive.
SVGA graphics card (16 bit color at 1024x768 pixels).
Audio card with low latency ASIO driver (10 ms or less).
Steinberg USB MIDI interface.
CD-ROM drive.
CD Recorder (for use with the included Master Unit application).
Processing Power
The difference between running Cubasis VST on a faster computer
and a slower one is noticeable in two areas:
Number of audio channels and real time processing
When you use Cubasis VST for recording audio, there is a direct relation between the speed of your system and the number of audio channels and, especially, the available real-time processing power (effects,
equalizers, VST Instruments etc.).
Screen updates
Even when only working with MIDI or when preparing scores, you
benefit from using a fast computer. Scrolling, editing and manipulating
objects is simply “snappier” on a faster machine.
Requirements
CUBASIS VST
3 – 25
RAM
Each program you run on your computer requires a certain amount of
RAM. In Cubasis VST, the exact amount of RAM required depends
largely on the number of audio channels you plan to use.
In addition, the RAM requirements depend on whether you plan to run
other programs at the same time as Cubasis VST. The more RAM you
have, the more programs you will be able to run simultaneously.
Hard Disk
MIDI
Cubasis VST document files are relatively small, which means that
MIDI recording in Cubasis VST puts little demand on your hard disk in
terms of disk space.
Audio
For audio recording, a large and fast hard disk is very important.
•
•
The size of the hard disk determines how many minutes of audio you will be
able to record. Recording one minute of stereo CD quality audio, requires
approximately 10 MBytes of hard disk space. That is, eight stereo tracks in
Cubasis “eat up” 80 MBytes of disk space per recording minute.
The performance of the hard disk has a significant impact on the number of
audio channels you will be able to record.
CUBASIS VST
3 – 26
Requirements
4
Installation
Getting the Computer ready
Before you proceed you should have the computer set up:
•
Make sure Windows is properly installed and check that all basic
functionality seems to work as intended.
•
Study the manuals that come with the computer and familiarize yourself with concepts such as file handling, clicking, double clicking,
dragging etc.
•
If you plan to record audio on a hard disk where you have already
stored other files, you should also defragment it.
Defragmentation reorganizes the physical allocation of space on the hard disk in order
to optimize its performance. Defragmentation utilities are included with Windows
and are also available commercially.
❐ It is crucial to the audio recording performance that your hard disk is de-
fragmented.
Installing a CD Recorder
For general instructions on installing SCSI cards and CD-R recorders,
please refer to the instructions that came with the computer, Windows,
the SCSI controller and the CD-R recorder itself.
About Printers
If you intend to print, install the printer. Use the software included with
the printer or some other software you already have installed (such as
a word processing application) to verify that the printer works as expected.
CUBASIS VST
4 – 28
Installation
Installing the Audio Card and its Driver
1. Install the audio card and related equipment in the computer, as described in the card’s documentation.
For some audio cards, you may need to check hardware settings such as jumper
switches, etc.
2. Install the driver(s) for the card.
There are three types of drivers that could apply: Windows Multimedia drivers, DirectX
drivers and card-specific ASIO drivers:
Windows Multimedia Driver
These drivers are normally included with all types of regular PC audio
cards. Some are even included with Windows itself. Depending on
whether the audio card is “Plug’n’Play compatible” or not, the installation of the card is done differently:
•
If the card is “Plug’n’Play compatible”, Windows will detect the
card once it is plugged in, and ask for the necessary driver disks.
•
If not, you need to use the “Add New Hardware” feature in the Control
Panel to install the card and its drivers.
Refer to the documentation that comes with the card.
DirectX Driver
If your audio card is DirectX compatible, its DirectX drivers will most
likely be installed when you install the card (as with the Windows Multimedia driver). If you have downloaded special DirectX drivers for the
audio card, you should follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
Special ASIO Driver
If your audio card has a specific ASIO driver it may be included with
the audio card, but you should always make sure to check the audio
card manufacturer’s web site for the most recent drivers. For details
on how to install the driver, refer to the manufacturers instructions.
❐ Should you have an audio card, but no driver, please ask your music or
computer dealer for help.
Installation
CUBASIS VST
4 – 29
Testing the Card
To make sure the audio card will work as expected, perform the following two tests:
•
Use any software included with the audio card to make sure you can
record and play back audio without problems.
•
If the card is accessed via a standard Windows driver, use the MediaPlayer application (included with Windows) to play back audio.
Both tests of course assume you have the outputs of the card connected to a sound
system or headphones.
Installing the MIDI Interface/Synthesizer card
Installation instructions for the MIDI Interface should come with the interface. However, here’s an outline of the necessary steps:
1. Install the interface (or MIDI synthesizer card) inside your computer or
connect it to a “port” (connector) on the computer.
Which is right for you depends on which type of interface you have. Note that some
MIDI instruments can be connected directly to a computer, without the need for a MIDI
interface (usually, these instruments have a connection labeled “To Host”, “Computer”
or similar). Again, see the instrument’s documentation for details on which type of cable to use, etc.
2. If the interface has a power supply and/or a power switch, turn it on.
3. Install the driver for the interface, as described in its documentation.
This is most likely done using the “Add New Hardware” feature in the Control Panel in
Windows. It is likely that you will need a floppy disk supplied by the manufacturer of the
MIDI interface.
❐ There might be settings you have to make for Base Address and IRQ for
the interface/synth card. Make absolutely sure the settings in Windows
are in accordance with the settings actually made on the card. Also make
sure no two cards in your computer use the same Base Address or IRQ
settings! This is extremely important; Base Address and IRQ conflict is
the single most common installation problem!
Should you have an interface, but no corresponding driver, please ask
your music or computer dealer for help.
CUBASIS VST
4 – 30
Installation
Installing Cubasis VST
Installing the files on the CD-ROM
❐ Before proceeding, read the Software Licensing Contract included in this
package. By opening the disk pack or sending back the registration card,
you are declaring yourself to be in agreement with the conditions in the
contract.
A special installation procedure unpacks all the files and puts them in
the right places, automatically.
1. Start the computer and let Windows start.
2. Insert the Cubasis VST CD-ROM.
A pop-up dialog should automatically appear. If it does not appear, open the CD-ROM
on the desktop, and double click the “Autorun.EXE” icon.
3. To start the installation, click on the picture in the dialog.
A number of dialogs will appear, guiding you through the installation process.
•
During the procedure you will be asked to decide which of the included
programs you want to install.
The options are Cubasis VST, WaveLab Lite, Master Unit and Muon Tau/M-Drive. When
the installation is finished, you can find the program(s) among your other programs on
the Start menu and/or the Desktop.
4. Finally, you will be told that you need to restart the computer. Do so.
The program has now created a Cubasis VST folder on your hard
disk, and also installed some files in your Windows System.
5. Open the new Cubasis VST folder on your hard disk and check for
“Late Changes” text files.
These list any changes to the program made after this manual was written.
6. Remove the CD-ROM and store it in a safe place.
You may want to browse the CD-ROM and copy additional files to your hard disk.
Installation
CUBASIS VST
4 – 31
Register your software!
Please fill out and send in the registration card that comes in this
package. Doing so will make sure you are entitled to technical support
and kept aware of updates and other news regarding Cubasis VST.
Installation done! Where do I go next?
We suggest that you do the following:
•
Follow the instructions in the next chapter (to set up your MIDI and audio system properly).
•
Try the Tutorial Song, for a quick hands-on introduction to the most
important Cubasis VST features.
To open the Tutorial Song, launch Cubasis VST and select “Tutorial Song” from the
Help menu.
•
Read through the rest of this book and try out the different possibilities as you go along.
•
Browse the Cubasis VST folder and the CD for files that might be of
use for you.
CUBASIS VST
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Installation
5
Setting up your System
Making Settings for Audio work
Connecting a musical instrument, a microphone or a mixer
About microphones
If you plan to record vocals or a musical instrument, we recommend
that you contact a retailer of musical equipment to find a suitable microphone and a cable with the appropriate type of connector. Also, you
should be aware that microphones generally produce rather low signal
levels. Therefore, you should only connect the microphone to a dedicated mic input on the audio hardware (or even better, via a separate
microphone preamp or a mixer – see below).
About electric instruments
You might have an electric instrument such as an electric guitar, electric bass, organ or similar, that normally requires an amplifier. If you do,
you need to be a bit careful about how to connect it to the audio hardware, in order to make your recordings sound as good as possible.
Generally, electric guitars and basses should be connected to a microphone input, since they deliver a weak signal. Synthesizers, keyboards
and other devices deliver a stronger signal called a “line level signal”.
These should always be connected to the “line input” of the audio card.
❐ It is very important to make sure you use the correct type of input on your
audio card, or your recordings will either be distorted or unnecessarily
noisy.
CUBASIS VST
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Using an audio mixer
This is usually the best option. If you have access to an audio mixer,
connect your microphones or instruments to this, and connect the
output of the mixer to the line input on the audio hardware. The picture
below shows a possible configuration:
Audio Card
Send/Bus Out
Main Out
In this example, the mixer is used not only for sending audio into the
computer, but also for listening to all sound sources (including a MIDI
synthesizer). However, this requires that the mixer has separate, independently controllable outputs for recording into the computer and listening to the mix. This is necessary, because otherwise you will not be
able to record a separate sound source – since everything (the synthesizers, microphones and even the computer’s own sound) will be
recorded at the same time!
A common method is to use a special output on the mixer called a
“monitor send” or a separate “bus”, connected to the input of the audio card. This ensures you can separately control what gets recorded
on an audio track.
The main outputs of the mixer are connected to the speakers, and it is
via this connection you are able to hear the output of the audio card
and the synthesizers, blended to a final mix.
Naturally, there are endless variations on this concept depending on
the type of mixer, the sources to be recorded and the specification of
the audio card. Contact your music dealer for help on configuring a
system ideal for your specific needs.
CUBASIS VST
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Use the Audio Hardware Setup application
Often, an audio card or external audio interface has several inputs: a
microphone input, a stereo line input, possibly digital inputs and maybe
a connection from the CD-ROM drive in your computer. Typically, audio hardware comes with one or more small applications that let you
configure the inputs of the card to your liking. This includes:
•
•
•
•
Selecting which ins/outs are active.
Turning monitoring via the card on/off (see page 64).
Setting levels for each input. This is very important!
Setting levels for the outputs, so that they match the equipment you use for
monitoring.
❐ It is a good idea to make sure audio recording and playback works prop-
erly before you launch Cubasis VST. This is best done using Windows’
Sound Recorder and Media Player applications.
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Selecting an ASIO Driver
ASIO (Audio Stream Input Output) is a technology developed by
Steinberg, that acts as a “connector” between an audio application (in
this case, Cubasis VST) and the audio hardware. For audio playback
and recording to work in Cubasis VST, you must select the proper
ASIO driver:
1. If you haven’t launched Cubasis VST, do so.
2. Pull down the Options menu and select “Audio System Setup...” from
the Audio Setup submenu.
The Audio System Setup dialog appears.
3. Pull down the ASIO Device pop-up menu.
The pop-up menu lists the available ASIO drivers. To know which one to select, use
the following general guidelines:
•
If there is a dedicated ASIO driver for your audio hardware (that is, an
ASIO driver specifically written for that audio hardware), you should
select that!
Dedicated ASIO drivers generally give much lower latency (see below), and can provide audio hardware-specific features. Make sure you get the latest ASIO driver from
the manufacturer of the audio hardware.
•
If there is no dedicated ASIO driver, you can try selecting the ASIO
DirectX Full Duplex driver.
This makes use of Microsoft DirectX, which can provide reasonably low latency (see
below). When you have successfully selected the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver, you
should check the ASIO settings as described on page 39.
CUBASIS VST
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❐ To be able to use the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver, you need Microsoft
DirectX installed on your computer (version 6.1 or higher is recommended). A DirectX Installer is included on the Cubasis VST CD-ROM, but
you should also check Microsoft’s web page for updates. Furthermore,
your audio hardware and its drivers must support DirectX. If in doubt, consult the audio hardware manufacturer.
•
If your audio hardware doesn’t support DirectX (in which case you will
get an error message when you try to select the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver) you should select the ASIO Multimedia driver.
This makes use of the Windows Multimedia System, which often gives quite large latency times (see below). When you have selected the ASIO Multimedia driver, you
should make ASIO settings as described on page 41.
Even if your audio hardware supports ASIO DirectX, there may still be reasons to use
the ASIO Multimedia driver, as explained on page 40.
A word about Latency
In this chapter we mention latency, which means the delay between
when audio is “sent” from the program and when you actually hear it.
The latency in an audio system depends on the audio hardware and
its drivers. Latency may become a problem in the following situations:
•
•
•
When you are playing VST Instruments “live” from a MIDI keyboard, the sound
of the VST Instrument will be delayed according to the latency.
When you monitor through Cubasis VST, the monitored sound will come out
delayed. This is probably the area that requires the lowest latency, but then
again, if you monitor externally or directly through the audio hardware this
won’t be a problem at all.
When you mix your audio, a high latency will give a clearly noticeable delay between when you e.g. mute an audio channel and when the sound is muted.
❐ Audio playback and recording timing will not be affected by latency, since
VST takes the latency into account, and adjusts the timing accordingly.
Similarly, if you play back MIDI parts routed to VST Instruments, the playback precision is sample accurate, regardless of the latency.
CUBASIS VST
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Making settings for ASIO DirectX Full Duplex
This assumes that you have selected the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex
driver, as described on page 37.
1. In the Audio System Setup dialog, click the ASIO Control Panel button.
The ASIO Direct Sound Full Duplex Setup dialog appears.
This dialog lists the available output and input ports, and also allows
you to adjust buffer sizes and make other settings. For now, we will
concentrate on three things:
2. Check the Direct Sound Output Ports list (the upper list) and make
sure the desired outputs are activated.
In many cases, there will only be one output port available. Ports are activated by clicking the checkbox to the left in the list.
An activated output port.
CUBASIS VST
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3. Check the Direct Sound Input Ports list (the lower list) and make sure
the desired inputs are activated.
See the note below about emulated inputs.
4. In the Card Options section to the right in the dialog, make sure the
“Full Duplex” checkbox is activated.
Full Duplex means that the audio system can record and play back audio at the same
time. If your audio card doesn’t support this, you are limited to either recording or playing back (activating the VST Inputs selects recording mode, deactivating them selects
playback mode).
5. Click OK to close the dialog.
If you experience problems with audio playback or recording, you may want to go back
to this dialog and try changing some settings. See the online help for descriptions of
the settings.
About emulated inputs
There is one important thing to note about the inputs: To be able to
take full advantage of DirectX Full Duplex, the audio hardware must
support WDM (Windows Driver Model) in combination with DirectX
version 6.1 or higher.
In all other cases, the audio inputs will be emulated by DirectX. Emulated inputs are indicated by the symbol “<E>” at the beginning of the
device name in the Direct Sound Input Ports list.
An emulated audio input.
Using emulated inputs will result in higher latency. If your audio input(s) are reported as emulated and you get a high latency, you may
want to use the ASIO Multimedia driver instead, as this gives you
some more possibilities to fine-tune the settings (see page 42).
❐ Make sure to check with the audio hardware manufacturers for new
driver versions.
CUBASIS VST
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Making settings for the ASIO Multimedia driver
This assumes that you have selected the ASIO Multimedia driver, as
described on page 37.
1. In the Audio System Setup dialog, click the ASIO Control Panel button.
The ASIO Multimedia Setup panel appears. This is used for setting up your audio card.
2. Pull down the Presets pop-up menu.
This contains pre-programmed setups for some common audio cards, but you can also
add your own Presets here.
3. Select the Preset for your audio card.
There may be several Presets for a single audio card type. For example, you may be
able to select a “half duplex” or a “full duplex” setup. “Full duplex” means that the card
has the ability to record and play back at the same time, which is a great benefit. If your
audio card supports this feature (see the audio card documentation), make sure to select the “full duplex” Preset.
4. Close the dialog by clicking OK and then close the Audio System
Setup dialog.
Once the settings are done, they are automatically saved together with the program.
CUBASIS VST
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If there is no Preset for your audio card
If you cannot find a Preset for your audio card model, you need to set
up the card manually:
1. In the ASIO Multimedia Setup dialog, click on the “Advanced Options...”
button.
A dialog with more settings appears.
2. Locate your audio card in the Output and Input Port lists and make
sure the checkboxes to the left in both lists are activated for your card.
If you have more than one audio card in the computer, only one should be active at this
point. See the online help for more info on advanced options.
3. If your card has the ability to record and play back at the same time
(“full duplex”), make sure that this option is activated on the Card
Options pop-up menu in the lower right corner of the dialog.
If you are unsure about your specific card’s ability, check its documentation.
4. Click OK to close the Advanced Options dialog and close the basic
ASIO Multimedia Setup dialog.
The settings are automatically saved together with the program, but you can go back
later and save your Advanced ASIO Multimedia settings as a Preset (see the online
help).
CUBASIS VST
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Additional Audio Settings
While you’re in the Audio System Setup dialog, you need to make a
few additional settings:
1. If you like, adjust the Number of Channels value.
The number of audio channels determines how many audio recordings you can play
back at the same time (with stereo recordings using two audio channels). You can always adjust this value later if needed.
❐ How many channels you will actually be able to use depends on your com-
puter’s processing power, the speed of the hard disk and other factors.
2. Make sure Audio Clock Source is set to Internal for now.
Depending on your audio hardware, there may be other options on this pop-up menu,
allowing you to synchronize the sample rate to an external source. For example, if you
record audio from digital inputs on your audio hardware, you should select the corresponding option on this pop-up menu, so that Cubasis VST’s sample rate is properly
synchronized to the device producing the digital signal (see the hardware and ASIO
driver documentation for details).
3. Leave the Disk Cache Scheme setting as it is for now.
This determines how Cubasis VST transfers audio data to and from disk. If you get performance problems, you should try selecting another Disk Cache Scheme.
4. Click OK to close the Audio System Setup dialog.
CUBASIS VST
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About Monitoring
In Cubasis VST, Monitoring means listening to the signal being recorded while preparing to record or while recording. There are basically three ways to monitor:
•
Via a mixer
If you have the equipment connected to a mixer and then to the audio card, you can of
course choose to listen to the connected equipment directly from the mixer. If you
should choose this option or not depends on how advanced your mixer is.
•
Via Cubasis VST
In this case, the audio passes from the input into Cubasis VST and back to the output.
You then control monitoring via settings in Cubasis VST.
•
Directly via the audio hardware
In this case, the computer’s audio input is connected directly to its output. If supported
by the audio hardware, you activate this feature (usually called “through”, “monitor” or
similar) in the hardware’s ASIO Control Panel (accessed from Cubasis VST’s Audio
System Setup dialog) or in a mixer application that comes with the hardware.
Which should I choose – “Direct” or “Cubasis” monitoring?
•
Monitoring via Cubasis VST has the advantage that any effect and
other settings you make in the program will also be apparent on the
monitored signal, not only on recordings you have already made and
play back.
This will not be the case if you monitor directly via the audio hardware.
•
Monitoring via Cubasis VST has one disadvantage: There is an unavoidable delay in the Monitor signal (the monitored sound will appear
to be a little late). This delay, called latency, is due to the way audio is
handled on computers and audio cards.
The latency time depends on the audio card, its drivers and settings. Audio hardware
with separate ASIO drivers may have a low enough latency to allow proper monitoring
through Cubasis VST, while audio cards that use the ASIO Multimedia driver or the
ASIO Direct X Full Duplex driver (see page 37) may have too large a latency for this to
be possible.
Direct monitoring does not have this problem.
CUBASIS VST
5 – 44
Setting up
•
If you want to use Cubasis VST’s monitoring, pull down the Options
menu and select “Enable Monitor” from the Audio Setup submenu (if
the menu item says “Disable Monitor”, monitoring is already enabled
and you don’t need to change the setting).
You also need to make sure there is no monitoring (or “through”) function activated in
the card’s mixer application or ASIO Control Panel.
•
If you want to monitor directly through the audio hardware, make sure
this function is activated in the card’s mixer application or ASIO Control Panel.
You also need to pull down the Options menu and select “Disable Monitor” from the
Audio Setup submenu (if the menu item says “Enable Monitor”, monitoring is already
disabled and you don’t need to change the setting).
•
If you want to monitor “externally” using a mixer, pull down the Options
menu and select “Disable Monitor” from the Audio Setup submenu (if
the menu item says “Enable Monitor”, monitoring is already disabled
and you don’t need to change the setting).
CUBASIS VST
5 – 45
Enabling/Disabling Audio
On the Audio Setup submenu on the Options menu you will find a setting called Disable Audio, which allows you to disable all audio input
and output. This feature is mainly for two situations:
•
When you only want to record and play back MIDI and don’t want to
waste processing power on the audio engine.
This lets the computer use all power for screen updates and MIDI playback.
•
When the computer you use is not powerful enough to run Cubasis
VST with the VST engine enabled.
CUBASIS VST
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Setting up for MIDI
This section describes how to connect and set up MIDI equipment. If
you have no MIDI equipment you can skip this section and move directly to page 56.
Connecting the MIDI Equipment
Below you find five setup examples for small MIDI systems. You might
need or want to hook things up differently!
Example 1A – Using the Keyboard for recording and playback, via a
separate MIDI Interface
1. Connect the MIDI Out of the instrument to a MIDI In on the interface.
If you have several MIDI inputs, it doesn’t matter which on you use. Cubasis VST can
record from all inputs on a multi-port interface.
2. Connect a MIDI Out on the interface to a MIDI In on the instrument.
MIDI In
MIDI Out
Your MIDI interface may have more than one MIDI Out. Each MIDI port
can address up to 16 different devices (or the 16 different voices in a
multitimbral module). On smaller MIDI interfaces, the outputs all carry
the same information, so it doesn’t matter which one you use.
CUBASIS VST
5 – 47
On larger, multi-port interfaces, the MIDI outputs are all separate, that
is, they carry different sets of the 16 MIDI channels. This allows Cubasis
VST to send MIDI data selectively to different MIDI channels on any of
the available outputs. If you have a multi-port interface, you should connect the first output to your instrument, and use the following outputs if
you need to connect more instruments.
Example 1B – Using a Keyboard with a built-in MIDI Interface
If your instrument has a built-in MIDI interface, no MIDI cables are
needed, only a serial or USB cable (see the instrument’s documentation for cable specifications).
1. Make the connections with computer and instrument turned off.
2. Connect the cable between the serial/USB port on the computer and
the computer connection on the instrument.
Many instruments have a special switch that needs to be set for the computer connection to be active (see the instrument’s documentation).
Computer Connection
The connection above allows you to feed the computer with the signals from the keyboard, during recording. It also allows you to send
MIDI signals from the computer to the instrument during playback.
CUBASIS VST
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Example 2A – Using a separate Keyboard and MIDI Card
If you have a card in your computer with a built-in MIDI synthesizer (for
example your audio card), you don’t need to make any MIDI connection to get Cubasis to play back from the card. However, to be able to
record MIDI data you need at least a separate MIDI keyboard, that
produces no sound but only transmits MIDI signals. This should then
be connected to the MIDI In on the computer.
MIDI Synthesizer
inside computer
MIDI In
MIDI Out
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Example 2B – Using a separate Keyboard and Sound Module
If you have a separate MIDI keyboard, that produces no sound, and a
sound module without keyboard, you should hook things up as in the
picture below. Using Cubasis VST’s MIDI Thru feature (described
later) you will still be able to hear the sound from the sound module
while playing the keyboard and when recording.
MIDI In
MIDI Out
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Example 3 – Adding more devices using the MIDI Thru connectors on the
instruments
MIDI In
MIDI Out
MIDI Thru
You might want to use more instruments for playback. Connect MIDI
Thru on the first instrument to MIDI In on the next, and so on. In this
hook-up, you will always play the first keyboard when recording. But,
thanks to the Thru connection, you can still use all your devices for
providing sounds on playback.
❐ If you plan to use more than three sound sources we recommend that
you either use an interface with more than one output, or a separate
MIDI Thru box instead of the Thru jacks on each unit.
Setting up the Instruments
If you have a General MIDI, Roland GS or Yamaha XG compatible instrument, you may want to set it to its GM/GS/XG mode. If you have
other types of instruments, set each Sound (Timbre, Part, Program,
Patch) to receive on a different MIDI channel.
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Activating and Ordering MIDI Ports
Before you launch Cubasis VST, you should check your MIDI interface(s). This is done by using a small utility program called Setup MME:
1. Open the Windows Start menu and select “Setup MME” from the Cubasis VST program group.
The Setup MME dialog appears. This lists the available MIDI inputs and outputs.
2. Make sure the necessary inputs and outputs are activated.
To change the status of a port, select it in the list and click the “Set inactive/Set active”
button.
3. If you like, you can rename ports, to make them easier identifiable in
Cubasis VST.
This is done by selecting the port, clicking Rename and typing in a new name.
4. If you want to reorder the outputs, select one of them in the list and
use the Move Up and Move down buttons.
Since new MIDI tracks in Cubasis VST will default to the first output on the list, you
may want to move the output you are most likely to use to the top. For MIDI Inputs, this
is not relevant, since Cubasis VST receives data on all activated inputs, regardless of
their order.
5. Click OK.
You can now launch Cubasis VST for the changes to take effect.
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MIDI Settings in Cubasis VST
Setting MIDI Thru and Local On/Off
On the Options menu you will find a setting called “MIDI Thru” which
can be enabled or not. This is related to a setting in your instrument
called “Local On/Off” or “Local Control On/Off”.
•
If you use a MIDI keyboard instrument, as described in Example 1 earlier in
this chapter, MIDI Thru should be activated and that instrument should be set
to Local Off (sometimes called Local Control Off – see the instrument’s operation manual for details).
This will let the MIDI signal from the keyboard get recorded into Cubasis VST and at
the same time re-routed back to the instrument so that you hear what you are playing,
without the keyboard “triggering” its own sounds.
When “MIDI Thru” is active in Cubasis VST,
MIDI data received is immediately “echoed”
back out.
MIDI data coming in to the instrument
is played by the “Synth” inside it.
“Synth”
MIDI In
MIDI Out
When you press a key,
it is sent out via MIDI
to Cubasis VST.
•
•
When Local Control is On in the instrument, the keys you
press will be played by the “Synth” inside the Instrument.
When Local Control is turned Off, this connection is cut off.
If you use a separate MIDI keyboard, that does not produce any sounds itself,
as in Example 2, MIDI Thru in Cubasis VST should also be activated, but you
don’t need to look for any Local On/Off setting in your instruments.
The only situation where MIDI Thru should be deactivated is if you use Cubasis VST with only one keyboard instrument and that instrument cannot be set
to Local Off mode.
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Checking your MIDI Setup
1. Select a MIDI track by clicking on its name in the Track List (to the left
in the Arrange window).
MIDI tracks are indicated by the note symbol in the “C” column.
2. Play your MIDI keyboard.
3. If the “In” indicator on the Transport Bar lights up, Cubasis VST receives MIDI data.
4. If you have Thru activated, the “Out” indicator should indicate output
of data.
When this lights up, Cubasis VST is receiving MIDI data.
When this lights up, Cubasis VST is transmitting MIDI
5. Make sure you hear the instrument that you are playing.
If not, check your MIDI connections and Cubasis VST’s MIDI Thru setting. Also check
the audio equipment and audio connections.
6. If you are playing a MIDI instrument with a built-in sound source, listen
to make sure the instrument doesn’t sound “thin” or “flanged”.
If it does, you have probably not set the instrument to Local Off. This means that every
key you press is played twice, once directly on the instrument and once via MIDI.
CUBASIS VST
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6
Recording Audio
Preparations
Selecting a Sound Source
Before you begin recording, you have to select which sound source to
record. You may for example have a microphone connected, as well
as some kind of line level instrument or mixer, and the audio output of
an internal CD drive. Depending on which audio hardware you use,
you may be able to make this selection from inside Cubasis VST, by
clicking the ASIO Control Panel button in the Audio System dialog.
For many audio cards, however, the input source selection and other
settings are made in a small, separate application program included
with the audio card. See the documentation for the audio card.
•
A standard stereo audio card often lets you mix several input sources.
However, if you plan to record a single sound source, we recommend that you turn
down or deactivate the other sources, to avoid unnecessary noise.
Activating VST Inputs
Cubasis VST allows you to use audio hardware with several inputs
and route different inputs to different audio channels. For now, however, let’s stick to a “basic” 2 in/2 out setup (such as a simple stereo
audio card). Still, you need to make sure that these inputs are activated before you attempt to record anything:
1. Pull down the Panels menu and select “VST Inputs”.
The VST Inputs window appears:
To the left are the available “physical” input ports (in this case there are two inputs).
The right column shows the names that will be used for each input throughout the
program. The indicator(s) in the middle column show which inputs are active.
2. Make sure that the indicator in the middle column is lit.
If not, click on it so that it lights up. This shows that the inputs are active.
3. Close the Inputs window by clicking its close box.
❐ For details on using audio hardware with several inputs, see page 71.
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Recording Audio
Selecting a Sample Rate
Before recording you have to set the sample rate for the song:
1. On the Options menu select “Audio System Setup...” from the Audio
Setup submenu.
The Audio System Setup dialog opens.
2. Use the Sample Rate popup to select a sample rate.
The higher the sample rate, the better the audio quality of your recordings (but the higher
the demands on disk space and processing power). The most common options are:
Sample Rate
Description
44.100 kHz
The standard sample rate used on commercial audio CDs.
48 kHz
Another common sample rate, used e.g. with DAT recorders.
96 kHz
A very high-quality setting, used for professional audio recordings.
Please note that not all audio cards support all these sample rates
(see the card’s documentation for details).
❐ This setting is done once and for all for the whole song. You cannot
make some recordings at one sample rate and others at some other
sample rate.
3. Close the Audio System Setup dialog by clicking OK.
The settings are saved.
Recording Audio
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Selecting Recording Resolution
You select the resolution for recording on the Record Mode pop-up
menu above the Part Display in the Arrange window.
The options are 16 or 24 Bit resolution. While 16 Bit resolution is
considered high audio quality (this is for example the format used on
commercial audio CDs), 24 Bit files have an even greater dynamic
range, and thus a higher audio quality. Note however:
•
24 Bit recording is only useful if your audio hardware supports a higher
resolution than 16 Bit.
Preferably, 24 Bit resolution should be supported, but it would also make sense to use
24 Bit recording if your audio hardware supported e.g. 20 Bit resolution. However, recording in 24 Bit mode with a 16 Bit audio card would not add to the audio quality in
any way.
•
24 bit files will be 1.5 times the size of 16 bit files.
•
If you are using the ASIO Multimedia driver, you need to deactivate the
“Use 16-Bit only” option in the ASIO Control Panel (ASIO Multimedia
Setup Advanced Options - see the online help).
You can freely mix audio files of different resolution in the same song.
Regardless of the resolution of the actual audio files, Cubasis VST
processes audio internally in 32 bit float resolution to ensure pristine
audio quality.
It is also important to understand that the recording resolution has
nothing to do with the resolution of the final mix. If you use the Export
Audio Tracks function to mix down to a file, you can freely specify the
desired resolution as described on page 281. If you are mixing down
to an external recorder, the resolution depends on the audio hardware, the connection and the recorder.
Finally, audio hardware that supports high resolution may also support
high sample rates, allowing for very high audio quality (e.g. 24 bit/
96kHz). As described above, you select a sample rate in the Audio
System Setup dialog. Note that the sample rate setting is global for
the song - all files must be recorded with the same sample rate, otherwise some will play back with the wrong speed and pitch.
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Recording Audio
Setting a tempo and time signature for the song
Before you start you should specify tempo and time signature. These
are both adjusted on the Transport Bar:
The tempo determines the “speed” of the music.
The number is in beats (quarter notes) per minute.
The time signature determines
the number of beats to each bar.
For now, we recommend that you
leave the Cycle function deactivated.
For now, make sure
Master is not activated
on the Transport Bar.
Tempo tip
A good way of setting the tempo is to activate playback and adjust the
tempo on the Transport Bar while listening to the metronome (Click)
that is generated on each beat (quarter note). For the metronome to
be heard, you need to make sure that the Click button on the Transport Bar is activated:
Click activated on the Transport Bar.
❐ If you start playback with Click activated and still cannot hear the metro-
nome, you need to adjust the settings in the Metronome dialog on the
Options menu (see page 97 to find out about the parameters and options in the dialog).
Recording Audio
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Selecting and setting up a track
About Stereo and Mono
Before you select a track to record on, it is necessary to understand
the basic concept about audio channels and how Cubasis VST handles mono and stereo recordings:
•
•
•
•
All audio is played back via audio channels. The number of available audio
channels is determined by the “Number of Channels” setting in the Audio System Setup dialog (up to 48; actual maximum depending on computer/hard
disk performance).
Each audio channel can play back one mono audio recording at a time.
Stereo recordings play back on two audio channels, one for each “stereo
side”. A stereo channel pair always consists of an odd channel and the next
even channel (e.g. channel 1+2, 3+4, etc.).
Channels that are used in stereo pairs cannot be used for mono recordings,
and vice versa.
Setting Up
Set up a track for recording as follows:
1. Select an audio track by clicking on its name field in the list.
•
If you don’t have any empty audio tracks in your arrangement, you
need to create one, for example by using the Create Track item on the
Structure menu.
To make sure the track is an audio track, position the mouse in the “C” column for the
track, pull down the pop-up menu and select “Audio Track”.
2. Set the track’s channel (Chn) to the audio channel you plan to record
on.
If this is the first audio track you record on, select 1. Generally, you should avoid using
a channel already used by another track, since each channel only can play one recording at a time.
The “Any” channel setting is explained on page 71. For now, select a
“normal” channel number.
❐ If you plan to make a stereo recording, you must select an odd channel
number.
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3. Make sure the Inspector (the area to the left of the Track List) is open.
You open or close the Inspector by clicking on the icon below the Track List.
Click on this icon...
...to open the Inspector.
4. Decide if you want the recording to be in mono or stereo by using the
Mono/Stereo button in the Inspector.
The label on the switch (Mono/Stereo) indicates which mode is currently selected for
the track. But the switch also indicates whether it is possible to switch mode or not:
The track is set to Mono. The lit button
means that you can switch to Stereo
by clicking on the button.
The track is set to Stereo. The lit
button means that you can switch to
Mono by clicking on the button.
The track is set to Mono, and the dark button
indicates that it cannot be switched to Stereo. This is either because the track is set to
an even channel, or because the next channel is already used for a mono recording.
The track is set to Stereo and cannot
be switched to Mono. This is because there is already a stereo recording on the track.
Recording Audio
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If you select Stereo for a track, it will use the audio channel you set in
step 2 above for the left side of the stereo recording, and the next
channel for the right side. These two channels are then reserved for
stereo use, so that no mono track can be set to any of these channels.
5. Double click on the track name, type in a new name for the track and
press [Return].
Since the recorded audio file will get the name of the track, it is a good idea to use descriptive track names.
Now you need to make sure the correct inputs are selected for the selected audio channel(s). By default, the left input on your audio card is
assigned to odd-numbered channels, and the right input is assigned
to even-numbered channels, but you may want to change this:
6. Pull down the Panels menu and select VST Channel Mixer.
The VST Channel Mixer window opens.
7. Locate the “mixer strip” for the audio channel(s) you have selected for
recording.
There is one mixer strip for each audio channel (the value you set in the Chn column for
the track). At the top of the strip, you find a button with the name of the input selected
for the channel.
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8. Click on the right half of the Input button to pull down a pop-up menu
with the two inputs.
9. Select the input to which your sound source is connected.
•
If you have selected Stereo above, there will be a stereo channel pair
in the mixer, with a common Input pop-up menu.
In that case, the Input pop-up menu will list stereo input pairs. If you are using audio
hardware with a single stereo input, the left and right inputs will automatically be assigned to the odd and even channel, respectively.
10.Go back to the Arrange window and click on the Enable button in the
Inspector, to make the track and its selected audio channel ready for
recording.
If this is the first time you enable audio recording in the song, you will be asked to select a folder for storing your recorded audio files.
Selecting a folder for your Audio Files
When you enable recording for the first time in a new song, a file dialog box will appear, asking you to select a folder for your audio files.
This folder will be used to store all audio files recorded for the song. If
you have the opportunity, we recommend that you store your audio
files on a separate hard disk.
•
If you want to change the folder for your audio files during the session,
you can do this at any time by pulling down the Options menu and selecting “Audio Files Folder…” on the Audio Setup submenu.
This opens the same file dialog, letting you select a new folder, which will be used from
that point on.
Recording Audio
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Monitoring
As described on page 44, you can monitor via Cubasis VST, directly
via the audio hardware or externally via a mixer.
If you monitor via Cubasis VST, you set this up in the following way:
1. Pull down the Options menu and open the Audio Setup submenu.
2. Select the item called “Enable Monitor”.
This is the global “master switch” for monitoring in Cubasis VST. If the menu item says
“Disable Monitor”, monitoring is already enabled, and you don’t need to change anything.
3. Activate monitoring for the audio track by clicking on the left half of the
Input button in the Inspector.
The incoming audio will now be “echoed” back out again.
❐ For this method of monitoring to be useful, audio hardware with low la-
tency is required! See page 38 for details.
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Checking the Input Levels
Digital recording (as in Cubasis VST) is different from analog recording when it comes to recording levels. Whereas with analog recording
it is often perfectly acceptable to let the “needle hit the red” (record at
levels actually higher than the system can reproduce accurately), this
is not true when it comes to digital recording.
The term used here is headroom. The headroom is the difference in
level between the signal you record and the maximum level the system
can handle. When the signal increases, the headroom diminishes towards 0 dB (decibels).
When the signal is stronger than the system can handle – when you
exceed the available “headroom” – in a digital recording system, hard
clipping occurs, which results in clearly audible and very unpleasant
distortion. To avoid this, you should use the Input meter function in the
VST Channel Mixer window to accurately check the recording levels:
1. Pull down the Panels menu and select VST Channel Mixer.
The VST Channel Mixer window opens.
2. Click the “In” button above the level meter for the recording channel
to activate the Input meter function.
When this button is activated, the meter shows the signal level at the input selected for
the audio channel.
When the button is deactivated, the meters show the output level of each audio channel, which is what you want when you play back your recordings.
❐ Note that all actual settings (volume, pan, etc.) relate to the output sig-
nals, regardless of this switch. It is not possible to set the Input Gain with
the volume fader!
•
If you are making a stereo recording, activate the “In” buttons for both
channels in the stereo pair.
Recording Audio
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3. Sing or play the connected instrument and check the meter and the
numeric level display above the fader.
The level should be as high as possible, without ever clipping (exceeding 0 dB).
Clipping is indicated by the red clip light above the “In” button. To reset the clip
indicator, click on it.
4. If needed, adjust the recording level in the audio card’s mixer application (or adjust the output level of the sound source or external mixer).
5. While you are in the VST Channel Mixer window, you may want to adjust the output level of the monitored channel.
Use the volume fader for the channel to set a comfortable listening level (this only
works if you are monitoring through Cubasis VST).
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Recording Audio
Performing the first recording
Setting start- and end-points for the recording
When you start recording from Stop mode, the recording will always
start at the position of the Left Locator and end at the Right Locator.
To position the locators, simply click on the ruler - the left mouse button sets the Left Locator to where you clicked, the right button sets
the Right Locator.
Recording
1. If you want to record to a metronome click, activate the Click button
on the Transport Bar.
2. Click the Record button.
By default, you will hear a two bar count-in (you can adjust the length of this or turn it
off completely in the Metronome dialog, as described on page 97).
3. After the precount, start performing.
Recording will automatically be deactivated when you reach the Right Locator, if you
don’t hit Stop before that.
4. When you are done, press Stop.
The program will now calculate an image file so that a waveform can be displayed in
the program. Depending on the length of your recording, this may take a few seconds,
during which a dialog box shows the progress of the calculation.
The program has now created an audio file in the folder you selected
on page 63. The file will appear in the Pool (a window containing a list
of all audio used in the song), along with an audio segment. A segment is a “building block” that tells the program which section of the
audio file to play back. In this case, the segment will play back the
whole audio file.
•
Read more about audio files and segments on page 127.
Recording Audio
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In the Arrange window, a part is created between the start and end
points of the recording. Parts are containers for your recordings (in
this case, the part contains the audio segment that plays back the recorded audio file). As described in the chapter “Arrangement Editing”,
you can move, copy, paste and manipulate parts in many other ways
to edit and assemble songs.
A part.
Listening to the Recording
1. To hear what you just did, use the transport controls to move back to
the beginning of the recording and click Play.
2. Stop when you are done.
If you don’t like what you just recorded
If you are not satisfied with the recording, you can select Undo from
the Edit menu to remove the recorded part, or select the part (by clicking on it) and press [Backspace].
However, neither of these methods will remove the actual audio file on
your hard disk! If you want to permanently delete the recorded audio
file, proceed as follows:
1. Click on the part to select it.
2. Hold down [Ctrl] and press [Backspace].
You will be asked whether you want to delete the audio file permanently.
Click Yes.
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Recording more on the same track
To record more on the same track, proceed as follows:
1. Move the Left Locator to the position where you want to start recording.
This can be at a “free” area on the track, or at some place where something is already
recorded, as described below.
2. Make sure the Right Locator is to the right of the Left Locator. If it isn’t,
please move it.
You cannot activate recording if the Right Locator is to the left of the Left Locator.
3. Activate recording just as you did the first time on the track.
A new file is automatically created.
About overlap
When you record again, where something has already been recorded
on the track, you will get a new part which overlaps the previous one(s).
However, when you play back, only the parts that you can actually see
are played back. This is because each audio channel can only play
back one audio file at a time.
The Smooth Segments option
When audio segments on the same channel are lined up after each
other (with no gap at all) or overlapping, this can give rise to clicks and
pops during playback. The reason is that the signals in the two segments may have a different amplitude (level) at the intersection point,
which in turn creates a transient (a sudden and dramatic change in
signal level). This can be especially noticeable when working with
ReCycle files (see page 271).
To remedy this, you should activate the option Smooth Segments on
the Audio Setup submenu on the Options menu. When this is on, Cubasis VST will add small crossfades at the intersection points between
segments during playback. This ensures that the transition from one
segment to the next is smooth, and removes the transients (and thus
the clicks and pops).
❐ This function uses some processing power and RAM. Therefore, if you
don’t need it, turn it off.
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Recording the next track – Overdubbing
Recording the next track is done just as with the first. Here follows a
summary of the steps:
1. Select another audio track and make sure it’s set to another audio
channel.
2. Make sure the track is set to the correct audio input.
3. Set up the locators and activate recording.
Now, the previously recorded tracks will play back and you are able to
record the new track as an overdub.
Recording from Play mode – Punch In
Sometimes it is useful to go directly from playback to recording. This
is called “punching in”, and can be very useful. For example, if you
have made a mistake in the middle of a chorus, you can play back from
the beginning of the chorus, punch in just before the flawed section
and replace that section with a new performance.
Similarly “punch out” is when you deactivate recording without stopping playback. If – in the example above – the chorus is followed by a
verse which is perfectly OK, you would punch out at the end of the
chorus so that you don’t record anything over the verse.
In Cubasis VST you punch in by clicking the Record button (or pressing [*] on the numeric keypad) during playback. To punch out, click
Record again. Also, since recording always stops at the Right Locator, you can use this as an “automatic” punch out – just set the Right
Locator at where you want the recording to end (in our example
above, that would be at the end of the flawed section to be replaced).
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Advanced: Recording Multiple Audio Channels
If you have audio hardware with several inputs, you can record from
any combination of these at the same time. For example, you may want
to make a recording with several microphones or record several players at the same time. The key to this is recording on an audio track set
to channel “Any”:
❐ A single “Any” track can contain recordings on multiple channels. In fact
one track can contain mono recordings on as many channels as the system supports.
Proceed as follows:
1. Activate the inputs you need in the VST Inputs window on the Panels
menu.
2. Open the VST Channel Mixer and select the correct audio inputs for
the audio channels you wish to record.
You select inputs on the pop-up menus at the top of the channel strips, as described
on page 63.
3. Select or create an audio track to record on.
4. Open the Inspector for the track and set it to channel “Any”.
A number of Record Info buttons appear. Exactly how many depends on the number of
audio channels in your audio recording system (set in the Audio System Setup dialog).
A track set to “Any” in a 16 channel system. For stereo channel pairs, only the first
Record Info button is shown.
Recording Audio
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•
There is also a group of Monitor buttons in the Inspector, as many as
there are audio channels.
These work just like the Monitor button for a single channel track, allowing you to manually turn monitoring on and off for each audio channel.
5. For the channels you plan to record on, click the corresponding
Record Info button in the Inspector.
Activated Record Info buttons will be red.
6. Activate recording as usual.
All activated audio channels will now be recorded at once.
When you finish recording, a part is created as usual. However, the
part will only contain the data recorded on the first audio channel (or
the first stereo channel pair). The audio recorded on the other channels has been stored in audio files on the hard disk, and the files have
been added to the Pool, but you have to move the files into the arrangement manually.
7. Make sure there are separate audio tracks available for the remaining
recorded channels.
8. Pull down the Panels menu and select Audio Pool, or click the Audio
Pool icon on the Toolbar.
The Pool window opens.
9. Drag the audio files for these channels from the Pool into the Arrange
window, and line them up with the original recording.
For an example of dragging from the Pool into the Arrange window, see page 143.
10.Finally, set the “Any” channel track to the correct audio channel.
This should be the first audio channel recorded. That is, if you recorded on channels 3,
4, 7 and 9, you should set the track to channel 3.
Now you can play back the tracks and hear all the recorded channels.
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Recording Audio
If you get Audio Performance Problems
If you experience audio dropouts, crackles or “untight” playback, there
are some audio settings you can adjust (and some general precautions to take):
•
Try selecting another Disk Cache Scheme in the Audio System Setup
dialog.
•
Adjust the MIDI to Audio Time Offset in the Audio System Setup dialog.
This is useful if there is a fixed time offset between the MIDI and audio playback.
•
Adjust the settings in the ASIO Control Panel.
These are opened by clicking the ASIO Control Panel button in the Audio System
Setup dialog. See the online help for the ASIO Control Panel for more info.
•
Don’t run other applications when you use Cubasis VST, if you don’t
explicitly need them.
•
Check the integrity of your hard disk(s) regularly.
Even though nothing may appear to be wrong, there can be various small hard disk errors that affect performance. When working with hard disk recording, it’s also important to defragment your hard disk regularly, for maximum hard disk efficiency.
There are several hard disk analysis and repair tools available – just make sure you use
a version compatible with your Operating System and file structure!
Recording Audio
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Recording Audio
7
Recording MIDI
About this Chapter
In this chapter, you will learn how to make a MIDI recording.
This chapter assumes the following:
•
•
That you have connected a MIDI keyboard (or other controller) and some kind
of MIDI sound source. As described earlier in this book, this could be a MIDI
keyboard with a built-in sound source, or any combination of a MIDI controller
and a sound module, external or built into the audio card in the computer.
You are already familiar with audio recording as described in the previous
chapter.
Preparations
Tempo, Time Signature and Click
If this is your first recording in a new arrangement, set up the time signature, tempo and Click as described on page 59 in this book.
Selecting and naming a track
The tracks with the note symbol in the “C” column are for MIDI recording. An arrangement can contain up to 64 tracks.
1. Select a track by clicking on its name in the list.
•
If you don’t have any empty MIDI tracks in your arrangement, you need
to create one, for example by using the Create Track item on the
Structure menu.
To make sure the track is a MIDI track, position the mouse in the “C” column for the
track, pull down the pop-up menu and select “MIDI Track”.
2. Double click on the track name, type in the name you desire and press
[Return].
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Recording MIDI
Setting MIDI Channel and Output
Setting the MIDI Channel in the Instrument
Most MIDI synthesizers can play several sounds at the same time,
each on a different MIDI channel. This is the key to playing back several sounds (bass, piano etc.) from the same instrument.
Some devices (such as General MIDI compatible sound modules) always receive on all 16 MIDI channels. If you have such an instrument,
there’s no specific setting you need to make in the instrument.
On other instruments you will have to use the front panel controls to
set up a number of “Parts”, “Timbres” or similar so that they receive on
one MIDI channel each. See the manual that came with your instrument for more information.
Setting the MIDI Channel and Output in the Track List
1. If you cannot see the Chn and Output columns in the Track List, point
at the Divider (the border between the Track List and the Part Display),
click and drag it to the right.
2. Set the Chn column for the track to the same MIDI channel as you just
set up to use on the synthesizer.
❐ In General MIDI, channel 10 is always used for drums!
3. Make sure the track is set to the MIDI output that the synthesizer is actually connected to. If it isn’t, pull down the Output menu for that track
and select the desired MIDI output.
The available MIDI outputs on the menu depend on your MIDI interface(s) and on the
settings you have made in the Setup MME application (see page 52). For example, if
you have a standard SoundBlaster card, the MIDI Outputs menu will contain a “MIDI
Out” item and one or more “Synth” items for the card’s built-in synthesizer(s) - provided that you haven’t turned any of these outputs off in the Setup MME application.
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Selecting a sound
When you play your keyboard, you should now hear the sound that
the instrument plays on this MIDI channel (the track’s “Chn” setting).
To select a sound, proceed as follows:
1. Open the Inspector.
2. Set a numeric Program Change value in the “Prg” field.
See also page 81 for more information about Program Change and Bank Select.
You may also be able to select sounds by name, using the Patchname
pop-up menu. This is possible if:
•
•
The MIDI instrument is SoundFont compatible (e.g. a synthesizer on a sound
card - see also page 83).
The MIDI instrument is a VST Instrument that supports patch selection.
3. Play the keyboard to try out the new sound.
Setting levels
While you can set volume, pan, etc. from the Inspector, it is much easier to do this from the MIDI Track Mixer:
1. Pull down the Panels menu and select MIDI Track Mixer, or click the
MIDI Track Mixer icon on the Toolbar.
The MIDI Track Mixer window opens. This window contains “mixer strips” for all MIDI
tracks, which you can use to mix your MIDI sound sources, manually or automatically.
Pan Control
Volume Fader
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Recording MIDI
2. Locate the mixer strip for the track you plan to record on.
3. Use the volume fader and pan control to set volume and pan for the
sound.
❐ Note that your instrument must be able to respond to MIDI Volume and
Pan messages for this to work. Refer to the instrument’s documentation.
If your MIDI instrument is compatible with the GS (Roland) or XG
(Yamaha) standards, you can use the MIDI Track Mixer to control a lot
of other parameters in your instrument. This is described on page 223.
4. Press [Return] to close the MIDI Track Mixer window.
Verifying the Settings
Now when you play your keyboard you should hear the right sound in
the synthesizer (and only that sound). If not, check the following:
•
•
•
•
•
Is the track set to the correct MIDI channel?
Is the track set to the MIDI output the instrument is connected to?
Do you have MIDI Thru enabled on the Options menu in Cubasis VST?
Do you have Local Off activated in your instrument (if needed and/or available)?
Is the synthesizer set up to receive MIDI Program Change?
Recording MIDI
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Recording
1. Set start and end-points using the locators, and decide if you want a
Click or not, just as when recording audio.
2. Click the Record button.
By default, you will hear a two bar count-in (you can adjust the length of this or turn it
off completely in the Metronome dialog, as described on page 97).
3. After the precount, start performing.
Recording will automatically be deactivated when you reach the Right Locator, if you
don’t hit Stop before.
4. When you are done, press Stop.
A part appears.
Now, you can listen, undo or record more on the same track, just as
with audio tracks.
About overlap
MIDI tracks are different from audio tracks when it comes to overlapping Parts. When you record again where something has already been
recorded on the track, the new recording is simply added to whatever
was on that track before. When you play back, you will hear both recordings.
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Recording MIDI
Advanced: Program Change and Bank Select
Program Change Display Setting
When you select sounds in your MIDI instrument from within Cubasis
VST, you are sending MIDI Program Change messages to the instrument. As described on page 78, this can be done numerically (using
the Prg setting in the Inspector) or by name (using the Patchname
pop-up menu).
If you select programs numerically, you may find that different MIDI instruments number their programs differently. Therefore, you can adjust how the program numbers are shown in Cubasis VST: Click on
the arrow symbol next to the Prg value in the Inspector and select one
of the options on the pop-up menu that appears.
Bank Select
❐ When using SoundFonts compatible instruments, the Bank setting in the
Inspector has a different functionality - see page 83.
With Program Change messages, you are able to select between 128
different programs in your MIDI device. However, many MIDI instruments contain a larger number of program locations. To make these
available from within Cubasis VST, you need to use Bank Select messages, a system in which the programs in a MIDI instrument are divided
into Banks, each bank containing 128 programs. If your instruments
support MIDI Bank Select, you can use the Bank field in the Inspector
to select a bank, and then the Prg field to select a program in this bank.
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In the MIDI standard, Bank Select messages consist of two separate
numbers: the “Most Significant Byte” (MSB) and the “Least Significant
Byte” (LSB). However, different instruments use different methods of
combining these two numbers when transmitting and receiving Bank
Select messages. To compensate for these variations, Cubasis VST
allows you to specify which method you want to use for each part or
track:
1. Select a track you want to make Bank Select settings for.
2. Open the Inspector.
3. Click on the arrow button next to the Bank Select value, to pull down
a small pop-up menu.
There are five options:
Option
Use when
Swap Value Bytes
(Roland)
When this is activated, the MSB and LSB values are swapped
when the Bank Select messages are transmitted from Cubasis
VST. This mode is suitable for some Roland instruments.
Send MSB first
When this is activated, the MSB number is sent out before the
LSB, instead of the other way around.
Send Only One Byte Sends only LSB values, use for devices that don’t differentiate
between the two Bank select types.
Send as PRG Change For devices that use Prg change messages 101-128 to change
banks.
Edit as MSB-LSB
When this is activated, the Bank Select value will be displayed
in the Inspector as two separate numbers (MSB–LSB).
4. Activate the suitable options for the instrument that the track is set to
transmit to.
Consult the operation manual for the instrument if you are unsure.
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Recording MIDI
Advanced: Working with SoundFonts
SoundFont is a PC file format for storing wavetable synthesized sounds.
The format is developed by E-mu Systems and Creative Technologies.
It allows users to create and edit multi-sampled sounds, and play them
back in wavetable synthesizers, typically on audio cards (e.g. Creative
Technologies Soundblaster Live!, Terratec EWS-64 and E-mu APS).
Effectively, this turns an ordinary sound card into a sampler.
If the MIDI output for a track or part is set to a SoundFont compatible
device (typically a synthesizer on a card in the computer), the program
automatically detects this and some SoundFont specific settings become available in the Inspector.
❐ If you have a SoundFont compatible audio card but it’s not possible to
select SoundFont Banks and patches in the Inspector (see below), some
SoundFont related software may not be properly installed. This is usually
done automatically when installing the card - if in doubt, consult the documentation for the audio card.
Managing SoundFont Banks in Cubasis VST
To load, clear or edit SoundFont Banks from within Cubasis VST, you
use the SoundFont Bank Manager dialog:
1. Select a MIDI track with its output set to the SoundFont device, and
open the Inspector.
2. Click in the Bank field (not the pop-up arrow).
A pop-up menu appears, showing any currently loaded SoundFont Banks, plus an additional item called “Manage...”.
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3. Select “Manage...”
The Bank Manager dialog appears.
In the dialog, you will find the currently loaded banks listed in the
“Banks” column to the left. The right column shows the patches included in the bank selected in the “Banks” column.
The buttons to the right have the following functionality:
Button
Description
Load Bank
Click this to load a SoundFont Bank file (extension “.SF2”) into the
RAM on, or allocated to, your audio card, and make it possible to play
the sounds in the bank from Cubasis VST. Note that the maximum number of SoundFont Banks that can be loaded at one time depends on
the amount of RAM on, or allocated to, your audio card.
Clear Bank
Removes the bank selected in the “Banks” column. Use this to unload
unwanted banks from the RAM on, or allocated to, your audio card.
Edit Bank
Click this button to open the selected bank in a SoundFont editor (the
application associated with .SF2 files on your computer).
Reload Bank
Click this to reload the selected bank, after you have edited it in another
application.
Clear Patch
Removes the patch selected in the “Patches” column from the SoundFont Bank.
Save Set
Allows you to save the current list of loaded banks as a SoundFont Set
file (extension “.SFS”).
Load Set
Allows you to locate and open a saved SoundFont Set file. When you
load a Set, the memory on the audio card is cleared, and all currently
loaded banks are replaced by the banks listed in the Set file.
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Recording MIDI
Selecting a Bank and Patch for playback in Cubasis VST
After you have loaded a bank and closed the Bank Manager dialog,
you need to select a patch in the bank, just as you would use Program
Change messages to select a sound on an external MIDI instrument:
1. Select a MIDI track with its output set to the SoundFont device.
2. In the Inspector, pull down the Bank pop-up menu and select the bank
you have loaded.
3. Pull down the Patchname pop-up menu.
A list is displayed, containing all the SoundFont names for the sounds in the selected
bank.
4. Select a patch from the pop-up menu.
The MIDI track will now play back the sound of the selected SoundFont Patch.
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Advanced: Recording SysEx Messages
System Exclusive (SysEx) is a special type of MIDI message used to
send data that only make sense to a unit of a certain make and type.
Every major MIDI manufacturer has its own SysEx identity code.
Sys Ex can be used to transmit a list of the numbers that make up the
settings of one or more sounds in a synth.
You can record System Exclusive messages in Cubasis VST, for example if you want to store program settings for your instrument in your
Cubasis VST song, or record automation for a VST Instrument. Recorded System Exclusive data can also be edited in Cubasis VST. This
is described on page 168.
•
To record System Exclusive messages, activate the option “Record
SysEx” on the Options menu, and record as usual.
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Recording MIDI
8
Playback, Tempo and the
Transport Bar
The Transport Bar
Below, you will find a brief description of what each control on the
Transport Bar is used for:
Record start point,
punch in point and
beginning of cycle
Tempo
Song position
Go to start
of arrange- Position
Go to end
slider
ment
of arrangement
Indicates
Time
MIDI In/Out
signature
activity
Rewind
Stop
Record
Master Track
Fast Forward
on/off
Cycle on/off
Play
Punch out point and end of cycle
Turns the metronome on/off
•
You can hide and show the Transport Bar by selecting “Hide/Show
Transport” on the Windows menu, by clicking the Transport Bar icon
on the Toolbar or by pressing [F12].
Regardless of whether the Transport Bar is visible or not, you can use
the numeric key pad to control many of the transport functions:
Num
Lock
÷
x
7
8
9
4
5
6
1
2
3
–
Record
Cycle on/off
Go to Right
Locator
Go to Left
Locator
Stop
CUBASIS VST
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0
,
Playback, Tempo and the Transport Bar
Lower tempo
Raise tempo
+
Play
Enter
In addition to this, the Page Up and Page Down keys function as Fast
Forward and Rewind and the space bar serves as an additional Stop
key.
•
You can move the Transport Bar by clicking the dark handles at the
edges and dragging.
•
The left/right double-arrows located at both sides of the position
slider can be used to either jump to the beginning or go to the end of
the arrangement, respectively.
•
Double clicking the Click button opens the Metronome dialog.
•
Double clicking the Master button opens the Mastertrack List editor
dialog.
About Position Values
In Cubasis VST, all positions are shown in meter format. This means
they are related to the tempo and time signature, rather than to exact
time.
Positions are displayed as Bars.beats.ticks.
•
•
Beats are the denominator in the time signature - often quarter notes. If the
time signature is 3/4, each beat is a quarter note and there are three beats to
each bar.
Ticks are subdivisions of the beats. There are 384 ticks to each quarter note.
When note lengths are shown numerically, they are displayed as ticks.
Here, the position is 3.2.0, which means at the start of the second beat in the third bar.
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Setting the Song Position
The Song Position Pointer is displayed in the Arrange window as a
vertical line with a triangular head in the ruler.
There are several ways to move the song position:
•
By double clicking in the ruler.
If you double click somewhere in the ruler, the Song Position Pointer is moved there.
Note that the Snap value determines to which positions you can move the Song Position Pointer with this method (e.g. if Snap is set to 1/4, the song position will be moved
to the closest quarter note position).
•
By [Alt]+[Shift]-clicking in the Arrange window.
Snap applies in the same way as explained above.
•
By using Fast Forward and Rewind on the Transport Bar.
If you hold down [Shift] while clicking the button, Rewind/FF is much faster.
•
By using the position slider on the Transport Bar.
The position slider is located on the Transport Bar. Drag the handle or click directly
somewhere on the line to move the handle there.
The range of the slider relates to the length of your arrangement. This means that if
you drag the slider all the way to the right, the song position will appear at the end
of the last part.
•
By double-clicking in the Position field on the Transport Bar and typing in a new position.
Finish by pressing [Return].
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Returning to the beginning of the song
If the song is stopped and you click the Stop button again (or press
[0] on the numeric key pad), the following happens:
•
The song position is moved to the Left Locator.
If the song position is already at the Left Locator or to the left of it, the song position is
moved to the beginning of the song.
This means that you can always click twice on the Stop button to return to the beginning of the song. You can also use the double-arrow
to the left of the position slider to do this.
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Tempo and Time Signature Handling
Transport Bar and Master Track Tempo
There is actually a choice of two sources for Cubasis VST’s tempo:
•
•
When the song uses a steady tempo throughout, you can turn off the Master
button and simply set the right tempo directly on the Transport Bar. The
tempo can be adjusted at any time, even while playing back.
When the song contains tempo changes, you need to use the Master Track,
(which is Cubasis VST’s tempo track). For those tempo changes to actually
“happen” on playback, the Master button on the Transport Bar must be activated.
The Tempo setting on the Transport Bar is used.
The Tempi set on the Master Track
are used and shown on the Transport
Setting the Transport Bar Tempo
To adjust the tempo value on the Transport Bar, use one of the following methods:
•
Right-click or left-click on the tempo value to raise or lower the tempo,
respectively.
If you hold down [Shift] while clicking, the value will change in steps of ten.
•
Press [Ctrl] and click on the value and drag the mouse up or down
with the mouse button pressed.
•
Double click and type in a value.
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Using the Master Track
If you want tempo changes in your song, you need to use the Master
Track. You open the List Mastertrack Editor by selecting Mastertrack
on the Edit menu, or by double-clicking the Master button on the
Transport Bar.
The Mastertrack window displays a list of all Tempo and Time Signature events in your song. To insert a new tempo within the song, proceed as follows:
1. Move the Song Position Pointer to where you want the new tempo to
be inserted.
2. In the Mastertrack window, pull down the pop-up menu to the left of
the Insert button and make sure “Tempo” is selected.
This determines the type of event to be inserted.
3. Click the “In” button.
A new tempo event is inserted at the song position.
4. Adjust the new tempo in the “Value” column, in the same way as you
adjust the tempo on the Transport Bar.
If you now rewind and activate playback (with the Master button activated on the Transport Bar) you will note how the tempo changes
when the Song Position Pointer reaches the correct position.
•
To delete a tempo event from the Mastertrack, select it and press
[Backspace].
You cannot delete the first tempo event.
❐ You should avoid changing the tempo after you have recorded audio!
Even though each separate audio part will start at the correct position in
the new tempo, the actual audio recordings within the parts will still be
playing in the tempo you had set when recording!
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Time Signatures
The time signature is the number of beats to the bar, e.g. 4/4 (four
beats) or 3/4 (three beats). You can adjust the basic time signature
directly on the Transport Bar, but you can also add time signature
changes in the Master Track window, in the same manner as with
tempo changes (you only have to select “Timesign” from the pop-up
menu in step 2 above).
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Locators
The locators are the two “L” and “R” flags in the ruler. They have several uses:
•
•
•
Recording starts at the Left Locator and ends at the Right Locator.
If you activate the Cycle button on the Transport Bar, playback will loop between the Left and Right Locator.
Some editing functions affect the area between the locators (see page 116).
As with the song position, there are several ways to set the position of
the locators:
•
By clicking in the ruler.
Click with the left mouse button to set the Left Locator, and with the right mouse button to set the Right Locator. The Snap value affects where the locator is positioned
(see page 105).
•
•
By adjusting the locator values numerically on the Transport Bar.
By enclosing a part.
If you select a part in the Arrange window (see page 106) and press [Alt]-[P] on the
computer keyboard, the locators are moved to the start and end position of the selected part, respectively.
This method also works with several parts selected, as shown in this figure.
Moving the Song Position to the Locators
You can move the song position to one of the locators by clicking on
the “L” and “R” flags on the Transport Bar (or by pressing [1] or [2] on
the numeric key pad, respectively).
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About the Cycle
Cubasis VST can play back and record in a cycle – a loop. You decide where the cycle starts and ends by setting the left and right locators. If the Cycle mode is active you can repeatedly listen to a section
of the arrangement, and record, adding more on each lap etc. Cycled
playback is also convenient when editing and when making adjustments in the Inspector.
You set up and activate the cycle in the following way:
1. Set the Left Locator to the position where you want the cycle to begin.
2. Set the Right Locator to the position where you want the cycle to end.
For this to make sense, the Right Locator should be to the right of the Left Locator.
3. Click on the Cycle button on the Transport Bar so that it gets activated, or press [÷] on the numeric key pad.
Cycle activated on the Transport Bar.
Now, when the Song Position Pointer reaches the Right Locator during playback, it will jump back to the Left Locator.
About Recording in Cycle Mode
When recording in Cycle mode, the results are different for MIDI and
audio recording:
•
When you record MIDI in Cycle mode, the notes you add for each cycle lap are simply added to the existing notes in the part.
For example, this is useful when you are recording drum patterns: record the bass
drum on the first lap, the hi-hat on the next, and so on.
•
When you record audio in cycle mode, the result is one long audio file,
containing all the cycle laps you recorded.
However, there will be a separate audio segment for each cycle lap. This allows you to
select the “best take”, by auditioning the segments in the Pool (see page 138) and
dragging the best one into the arrangement.
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Setting up the Metronome Click
Click activated on the Transport Bar.
As mentioned earlier, you turn the metronome click on and off on the
Transport Bar. You can also specify the click type and volume, whether
you want a count-in etc. These settings are made in the Metronome dialog, opened from the Options menu, or by double-clicking the Click
button:
The Precount section
Activate this if you want a count-in when you start recording from stop
mode. The Bars value sets the length of the Precount (by default, 2
bars).
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Audio Click
Activating this will give you an audio click, played back via the audio
hardware. You can set the volume of the click in the value field below.
MIDI Click
Activating this checkbox will give you a MIDI click, played back on
whatever MIDI instrument you have connected. The value fields in the
section allow you to select which MIDI channel and output the click
should be sent out to, as well as note number and velocity for the high
note (the first beat in each bar) and the low notes (the other beats).
❐ The Click button on the Transport Bar still governs whether the metro-
nome should be activated or not! However, if you deactivate all three
checkboxes, no click will be heard, even if you turn on the Click button.
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9
Arrangement Editing
About songs and arrangements
A song is the main Cubasis VST document format. This contains all
your recorded music and all settings.
•
You can only have one song open at a time.
In fact, there is always one song open – you cannot run Cubasis without a song
opened. This is very important to realize.
•
If you open a song, this will replace the current song.
If you have unsaved changes, you will be asked whether you want to save the current
song first.
•
If you want to create a new song, you should use the New Song command on the File menu (or click the New Song icon on the Toolbar).
Within the song, an arrangement contains your music. You can have
several arrangements in the same song (up to 16), each with its own
Arrange window. This allows you to create several versions of the
same piece, use one arrangement as a “storage facility” for recordings, phrases and alternate takes, etc. You can also use this feature to
create a collection of favorite pieces and save them all as one document (a song).
•
To create a new arrangement, select New Arrangement from the File
menu.
•
To select between open arrangements, click on the windows, or use
the Windows menu, which lists all arrangements in the song.
•
If you close an arrangement, a dialog appears that allows you to save
your changes. In this dialog, you will find an option called “Set Aside”.
By using this option, you will close the Arrange window but the actual data are kept in
memory. To reopen the window, select the arrangement from the Windows menu.
About Closing – Important!
The Close item on the File menu closes the current arrangement! It is
not possible to close the song by using this menu item. Therefore, if
you are finished working with a song, don’t use the Close command.
Instead, either quit Cubasis VST, open another song or start with a
new song, by selecting New Song from the File menu. This opens the
default song, allowing you to start with a clean slate.
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Arrangement Editing
About tracks, parts and arranging
As you have already seen, the Cubasis VST arrangement is roughly
structured in two “levels”: Several tracks, each containing a number of
parts. This chapter is about arrangement editing – in other words, rearranging tracks (done in the Track List, to the left in the Arrange window) and parts (done in the Part Display, to the right in the Arrange
window).
Arrangement Editing
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Creating and managing tracks
The track is one of the most basic concepts in Cubasis VST. Every
time you record something in Cubasis VST, the recorded material is
placed on a track. You can have up to 64 tracks in each Arrange window, and you can easily move or copy material between tracks, as
long as they are of the same type (MIDI or Audio).
When you are working with audio, different tracks can be set to play
back on different audio channels, which is essential if you want several audio files to be played back simultaneously. In MIDI recording,
the most obvious reason for putting the recorded material on different
tracks is perhaps that you want to have your music played back by different “instruments” – or maybe rather by different sounds on a MIDI
sound module or keyboard.
Creating tracks
You create tracks by using any of the following methods:
•
Double click in the empty area below the last track in the Track List.
•
Pull down the Structure menu and select Create Track.
•
Press [Ctrl]-[T] on the computer keyboard.
After creating a track, you may want to change its track class (MIDI or
Audio). This is done by clicking in the “C” column for the track and selecting MIDI Track or Audio Track from the pop-up menu that appears.
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Arrangement Editing
Making track settings
You make settings for a track by adjusting the values in the track
columns:
•
Column
Description
A (Activity)
Indicates playback or recording on a track. You cannot change anything in this column.
M (Mute)
Used for muting the track (see page 104).
C (Class)
Used for selecting MIDI or audio tracks.
Track
The name of the track. Double click to change.
Chn (Channel)
For MIDI tracks, this is the MIDI channel (1-16) for the track. Use this
to direct the track to a specific channel in your MIDI instrument.
For audio tracks, this is the audio channel (see page 60).
Output
If you have more than one MIDI output, you use this pop-up menu to
select an output for each MIDI track. By selecting different outputs for
different tracks, you can direct the tracks to different instruments, having one track send MIDI to an output on your MIDI interface while another track sends MIDI to a VST Instrument, etc.
You cannot change the Output setting for audio tracks.
Some of the track column settings can also be changed in the Inspector.
Selecting tracks
You select a track by clicking on its name field in the Track List, so
that it is highlighted. Selecting a track allows you to make settings in
the Inspector for all parts on that track. Recording is also automatically routed to the selected track.
Moving and duplicating tracks
To move a track up or down in the list, click on its name and drag it to
the desired position (the parts on the track will follow). To duplicate a
track, including its parts, press [Alt] and drag it to a new position in
the list.
Arrangement Editing
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Deleting tracks
To delete a track, proceed as follows:
1. Click in an empty area in the Part Display, to make sure no parts are
selected.
2. Select the track.
3. Click [Backspace] or select Delete Track from the Edit menu.
If the track contains any data, you will be asked to confirm that you really want to delete it.
Mute and Solo
•
If you click the Solo button at the top of the Arrange window, you will
only hear the active track.
•
By clicking in the Mute (M) column in the Track List, you can silence
any track temporarily.
The Solo button.
The dot indicates that
this track is muted.
•
You can also mute individual parts with the Mute tool.
See page 110.
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Arrangement Editing
Working with parts
Parts can be viewed as “containers” for your MIDI and audio data. By
manipulating parts in the Part Display, you can quickly rearrange and
structure your arrangement.
About the Snap value
When you are moving, duplicating or changing the length of parts, the
result of your actions depends on the Snap value.
The Snap pop-up menu
This value puts a restriction on the positions where you can perform
editing actions. If you for example set snap to “Bar” and move a part
by dragging it, it will always start at an exact bar line when you release
it. Likewise, if you cut the part in two, with the scissors, the split will
then always occur at an exact bar line.
If Snap is set to Bar...
...parts can only be dragged to exact bar lines.
If Snap is for example set to 1/4...
...parts can be put on any quarter note position.
The Snap values are as follows:
Snap Value
Description
Off
Any position is allowed.
Bar
Actions are restricted to exact bar lines.
1/2 to 1/16
Actions are restricted to the selected note value.
Arrangement Editing
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Naming parts
When you record a part, it gets the name of the track. You can rename
a part at any time, using one of the following methods:
•
Select the part, open the Inspector and double click on the name field.
Type in a new name and press [Return].
•
Hold down [Alt] and double click the part.
A text box opens, where you can type in a new name.
Saving parts
You can save audio or MIDI parts separately for later import into a different song or arrangement. This is best done by using the audio and
MIDI Libraries, see page 341.
Selecting parts
You have to select a part in order to move, delete or manipulate it in
any way. Selecting a part can be done in several different ways:
•
Clicking on a part selects it.
•
Holding down [Shift] and clicking on parts selects these too, without
deselecting other parts.
•
By pressing the mouse button with the pointer in a “free” area of the
Part Display, you can drag to create a selection rectangle.
This works just like when selecting files and folders on the desktop.
•
The Select All item on the Edit menu allows you to select all parts in
the arrangement.
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Arrangement Editing
Using the arrange window tools
For many part operations in the Arrange window, different tools are
needed. The tools are gathered in a “Toolbox”. To select a Tool, proceed as follows:
1. Right-click anywhere in the Part Display, and keep the mouse button
pressed.
The Toolbox appears.
2. Select one of the tools and release the mouse button.
The pointer takes on the shape of the selected tool.
Moving and duplicating parts
To move one or more parts to a new position, proceed as follows:
1. If you want to move several parts, select these.
2. Select the Arrow tool.
3. Click and drag the part(s) to a new position.
The Snap value applies as described on page 105.
❐ Note that you cannot move an audio part to a MIDI track or vice versa.
•
To duplicate (copy) parts, press [Alt] and drag.
You can also duplicate parts with the Repeat Parts function (see page 111).
Changing the length of parts
To change the length of a part, proceed as follows:
1. Select the Pencil tool
2. Click in the part and keep the mouse button pressed.
3. Drag to the new desired length.
The Snap value applies as usual.
Arrangement Editing
CUBASIS VST
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•
You can resize several parts at the same time, by selecting them and
resizing one of them with the Pencil tool.
This will move the endpoint of all selected parts to the same position.
❐ If you make a MIDI part shorter using this method, the notes in the
“removed” section will be erased!
Splitting parts
You can use the Scissors tool to split parts:
1. If you want to split several parts simultaneously, select these.
2. Select the Scissors tool.
3. Click on one of the selected parts.
All selected parts are split in two, at the position where you clicked (taking the Snap
value into account). The “new” parts will have the same name as the original parts.
•
If you hold down [Control] when you click with the Scissors tool, the
selected parts will be split at a position relative to each part’s start
points.
For example, if you have a 4 bar part and a 7 bar part selected, and click with the Scissors two bars into one of the parts, the other will also be split at a position two bars
from its start point.
•
If you hold down [Alt] when you click, the part(s) will be split into several sections, with the length determined by the click position.
For example, if you have a six bar part and [Alt]-split it after the first two bars, it will be
cut into three two bar parts.
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Arrangement Editing
Joining parts together
Joining parts means turning two shorter parts (on the same track) into
one long part. This is done by clicking on the first part with the Glue
Tube tool:
Gluing two parts together, regardless of if they are spread apart...
...gives you one long part with the name of the first.
•
If the parts overlap, they are merged in the overlapping area. No
events are lost.
•
If you hold down [Alt] and click on a part with the Glue Tube tool, all
the following parts on that track will be glued together.
Monitoring the contents of a part
With the Speaker tool, you can listen to the contents of each part separately in Stop mode:
1. Select the Speaker tool.
From there on, the procedure differs for audio parts and MIDI parts:
2. To monitor the contents of an audio part, click at the desired position
in the part.
You will hear the contents of the part played back, from the point where you clicked,
for as long as you keep the mouse button pressed (or until the end of the part).
3. To monitor the contents of a MIDI part, drag the pointer forwards or
backwards over the part.
Notes and other MIDI events will be played back according to how fast you drag the
pointer.
Arrangement Editing
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Muting a part
To mute (silence) a part, click on it with the Mute tool (the cross). To
“unmute” a part, just click on it again. Muted parts are “greyed out”.
Deleting parts
There are several ways to get rid of unwanted parts.
•
Select them and press [Backspace] on the computer keyboard.
•
Select them and use Delete Parts on the Edit menu.
•
Click on the parts with the Eraser tool.
If you hold down [Alt] when you click, the part and all the consecutive parts on the
track will be deleted.
❐ Deleting an audio part will not erase the actual audio file or the segment
in the Pool!
To delete an audio part and erase the corresponding audio file from the
hard disk, select the part, hold down [Ctrl] and press [Backspace].
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Arrangement Editing
Repeating parts
You can repeat one or several parts, on the same or different tracks,
using the Repeat Parts function on the Structure menu:
1. Select the part(s) you want to repeat.
2. Select the “Repeat Parts” item on the Structure menu (or press [Ctrl][K] on the computer keyboard).
The Repeat Parts dialog appears.
3. Enter the desired number of copies in the dialog.
4. If you activate the Ghost Copies checkbox, the copies will become
ghost parts.
See below.
5. Click “OK”.
The selected part(s) are repeated, and the copies are lined up “end-to-start” after the
original(s). The selected parts are treated as one block, so the relative spacing between the created parts is determined by the beginning of the first selected part and
the end of the last.
Original parts
Repeated parts
Arrangement Editing
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About ghost parts
Ghost part are “linked copies”, which means that if you edit the original or a copy in any of the Edit windows, the changes show up in all
the ghost copies (including the original part).
This can be useful e.g. if you have copied a few bars of drums
throughout the song, and need to adjust the drum pattern at a later
stage – just change the pattern in one of the parts and the other ghost
parts are automatically adjusted the same way.
•
If you alter the contents of a ghost part by recording over it, merging it
with another part or by splitting or joining, it is automatically converted
to a regular copy.
Repeating parts with the Pencil tool
An alternative way of repeating parts is to use the Pencil tool, in the
following way:
1. Select the parts you want to repeat.
2. Select the Pencil tool.
3. Press [Alt], click in one of the parts and drag to the right.
When you drag, a rectangular outline is shown.
4. Release the mouse button at the position where you want the last repeated part to end.
The parts are repeated to fill out the rectangular outline.
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Arrangement Editing
Trim Events to Part
This command makes sure that all events in a part end where the part
ends and no later. It only applies to events which have a length. With
MIDI, this means notes only.
About Trim Events to Part
Cubasis VST works differently from MIDI when it comes to handling
notes. Where MIDI regards Note Ons and Note Offs as separate entities, Cubasis VST stores notes, their position and length. This means
that even if you change the length of a part by using the Pencil or
Scissors tool you may get notes that play past the end of the part. This
is a valuable feature, but you may not always want this to be the case.
If you don't, you should use Trim Events to Part.
Performing Trim Events to Part
1. Select the part(s) that are to have their notes Trimmed.
2. Select Trim Events to Part from the Structure menu.
Using Copy and Paste
You can apply standard copy and paste techniques to your parts.
This, among other things, allows you to move parts between arrangements. The Cut, Copy and Paste commands are available on the Edit
menu, and also have their own icons on the Toolbar.
The Cut, Copy and Paste icons
Cut and Copy work just like in any Windows program with the following additional rules.
•
Pasted parts always appear on the same track(s) as they originally
came from.
•
If you paste in just one part, it appears at the song position. If you
paste several, the first part in the “block” appears at the song position.
The other parts keep their relative positions to the first.
Arrangement Editing
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Part Color
To distinguish parts, you may give them different colors. Proceed as
follows:
Adding Color to all parts on a track
1. Make sure no parts are selected.
2. Select the track in the Track List.
3. Select the desired color from the Part Color pop-up.
The Part Color pop-up is found
above the Part Display.
Choosing one of the colors from the menu
adds color to the parts.
Click here to edit the colors and names.
Adding Color to some part
1. Select the parts.
2. Select the desired color from the Part Color pop-up.
Selecting different colors for different parts can be very useful if you
want to edit several parts in a MIDI Editor. As described on page 187,
you can then choose to display the events in the color of their respective part, making it easier to distinguish the different parts.
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Arrangement Editing
Using the Magnifying Glass Tool
All main Cubasis VST windows have magnification controls in the
lower right corner allowing you to change magnification. In the Arrange
window, you also have the option to use the Magnifying Glass tool.
The Magnifying Glass can be used in the following ways:
•
Click in the Part Display to increase magnification one step.
•
Hold down [Ctrl] and click in the Part Display to decrease magnification one step.
When you press [Ctrl] the Magnifying Glass will be shown with a minus sign.
•
Drag with the Magnifying Glass to set a custom magnification.
A dotted rectangle is shown when you drag. When you release the mouse button, the
contents of the rectangle will be magnified to fit the Part Display.
Arrangement Editing
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Editing the arrangement structure
On the Structure menu you will find three functions for making largescale adjustments to your arrangement structure:
Cut at Locators
This command removes the area between the Left and Right Locator,
on all tracks.
•
•
•
The parts to the right of the Right Locator will be moved left, filling out the gap.
Any parts that have a section inside the Locators, are shortened, and the
events within these sections are removed.
Muted tracks are not affected, but the Master Track (for tempo and time signatures) is cut like any other track.
Insert at Locators
Insert at Locators is the opposite of Cut at Locators; an empty area is
inserted between the locator positions (on all unmuted tracks):
•
•
•
•
The length of the piece will be the number of bars between the Left and Right
Locator. For example, to insert four bars starting at bar three, set the Left Locator to 3.1.0 and the Right Locator to 7.1.0.
All music after the Left Locator is “pushed” to a later position.
Parts that start before the Left Locator and end after it, will be lengthened by
the selected amount of bars (the lengthened sections will be empty).
Muted tracks are not affected, but the Master Track is affected like any other
track.
Split at Locators
This command splits parts on all tracks at the Left and Right Locator
positions, just as if you had done it with the Scissors Tool.
•
•
If you only want to make one split, set the Left and Right Locators to the same
position.
Muted tracks are not affected.
An alternative splitting method (that will include muted tracks), is simply to select all parts and then split using the Scissors tool.
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Arrangement Editing
Optimize Arrangement
In certain cases, you may end up with long parts having sections containing no events. For example, you may have recorded a MIDI part in
real time, playing in certain places and not playing in other places, but
recording it as one continuous take. The resulting part will have
“empty” sections, containing no events. The Optimize Arrangement
operation will automatically cut and resize parts so that all empty sections are removed, thereby “tidying up” the arrangement.
❐ For audio tracks, remember that silence in a recording is part of the au-
dio event, and that Optimize Arrangement will only cut portions of parts
not containing any events.
1. Select the track or part(s) you want to Optimize.
If you want to Optimize the complete arrangement, select all parts.
2. Select “Optimize Arrangement” from the Structure menu.
A warning that the operation can’t be undone appears.
3. Click “Continue”.
Now all sections of parts containing a bar (or more) without events will have been cut
out and removed.
❐ When you use Optimize Arrangement, the Snap setting does not affect
where the parts are split. The resulting parts will always start and end on
whole bar positions.
Arrangement Editing
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Explode by Channel
This function works differently for MIDI and audio tracks:
With MIDI tracks
If you have one or several MIDI parts containing events on several
MIDI channels, these parts can be split up into new parts, one for
each MIDI channel.
You may get a MIDI part with events on several different MIDI channels
if you for example record music from another sequencer into Cubasis
VST, or record using a split keyboard that sends on two MIDI channels.
This is just fine, if all you want to do is listen to the recorded music –
just set the Channel setting for the track to “Any”, and each event will
be played back on its own, associated MIDI channel (and therefore the
right sound). But if you want to edit or rearrange the music you probably wish to work with the different “instruments” separately.
Explode by Channel therefore allows you to split up a track into new
parts on new tracks so that events get separated according to the
MIDI channel stored with each event:
1. Select a MIDI track to be Exploded.
2. Set the Left and Right Locators as boundaries for the Explode operation.
All MIDI data between the Locators on the selected track will be exploded.
3. Select Explode by Channel from the Structure menu.
Now the program will create a number of new parts, one for each MIDI channel used.
If possible, the parts are created on existing tracks set to the same MIDI channel and
Output; otherwise, as many new tracks as necessary are created. Each event in the
original part(s) is then copied to one of the new parts, depending on its MIDI channel
setting (the original parts are not affected). The result is a number of new parts on separate tracks, each playing back on its own MIDI channel.
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Arrangement Editing
With audio tracks
An audio track set to channel “Any” may contain audio events on several different audio channels. Again, you can use the Explode by channel function to separate these events into individual parts:
1. Select an audio track to be Exploded.
2. Set up the Left and Right Locators as boundaries for the operation.
All audio between the Locators will be exploded.
3. Select Explode by Channel from the Structure menu.
New tracks are created, as many as needed. New parts with events on one channel
each are created on those tracks, and each track is set to the corresponding audio
channel.
Arrangement Editing
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Using the Inspector
Cubasis VST features an area in the Arrange window called the Inspector. From here, you can make settings for the currently selected
MIDI parts, or (if no parts are selected) for the selected MIDI track.
❐ When you adjust Volume, Transpose, Velocity or Pan values in the Inspec-
tor, you don’t actually change the recorded data. Rather, your adjustments
affect the MIDI during playback. This also means that your changes won’t
be visible in a MIDI editor.
If you want to make your changes permanent, use the function “Freeze
Play Parameters” on the Functions menu.
Opening and closing the Inspector
The Inspector is opened/closed by clicking the Inspector icon in the
lower left corner of the Arrange window.
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Arrangement Editing
The Inspector Parameters
For MIDI parts and tracks, the Inspector contains the following settings:
The label “Part Info” shows
that one or several parts are
selected (if no part is selected,
the label says “Track Info”).
The name of the part. Double
click to rename it.
The Program Change value. Use
this for selecting sounds in your
MIDI instrument.
See also page 81
For SoundFont compatible
devices and VST Instruments, you
can also select sounds by name,
using this pop-up menu.
The Start and End
positions of the part.
Changing these will
move or resize the
part, respectively.
The Bank Select value
(necessary to select
sounds in your MIDI
instrument, if there are
more than 128 sounds
– see page 81).
Sends out a MIDI Volume
message on the selected parts’
MIDI channel(s).
Use this to transpose
the selected part(s) in
semitone steps.
Use this to adjust the Velocity
values of the notes in the selected part(s). On playback, the
value is added to/subtracted
from the actual velocity values.
Sends out a MIDI Pan
message on the selected parts’ MIDI
channel(s).
For audio tracks, the Inspector is mainly used for setting up for recording, as described on page 61.
Arrangement Editing
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Quantizing MIDI notes
What is Quantizing?
Quantizing is a function that automatically moves recorded MIDI notes,
positioning them on exact note values. If you for example record a series of eighth notes, some of them may end up slightly beside the exact
eighth note positions. Quantizing the notes with the Quantize value set
to eighth notes will move the “misplaced” notes to exact positions.
The Quantize value on the pop-up menu on the status bar determines
the exact positions the notes should be moved to when you quantize.
These are the options:
The middle column is for selecting the basic Quantize note value. As you see,
the available values range from 1 (whole note) to 128 (1/128 note).
If you select OFF,
no quantizing will
be done.
The left and right columns are for selecting Triplet (T) or Dotted (.)
Quantize values respectively.
❐ Quantizing in the arrangement is the method to use if you want the
Quantization to affect all notes in the selected part(s). If you only want to
quantize some of the notes in a part, you should use the Quantize function in one of the MIDI Editors instead.
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Arrangement Editing
Performing the Quantize
1. If you want to Quantize a certain set of parts, select these.
If instead, you want to Quantize all parts on a track, select this track in the Track List
and make sure no parts are selected in the Part Display.
2. Select the appropriate Quantize value, as described above.
3. Select Quantize from the Functions menu.
4. Play back to listen to the change.
Undoing Quantize
If you don’t like what you got when Quantizing, you can Undo it like
any other action. However, Undo of Quantizing goes one step further.
By using “Undo Quantize” on the Functions menu, you can revert
parts to their unquantized original at any time, even after saving!
Other MIDI Functions
On the Functions menu, you will also find two additional MIDI editing
functions:
Delete Doubles
This command erases all double notes in the selected part(s). Such
doubles most often occur when you record in Cycle mode and record
over more than one lap. Double notes can be hard to hear, but sometimes sound like short delays, flanger effects, or even just as one loud
note.
Delete Cont. Data
This command erases all Continuous data in the selected part(s), or
more specifically, the following:
•
•
•
•
Controllers
Pitch Bend
Channel Pressure
Poly Pressure
Arrangement Editing
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Arrangement Editing
10
Using the Pool
What is the Pool?
In the Pool, all audio files in the song are listed, similar to the display of
the files and folders in the Windows Explorer. Every time you add an
audio file to the song, by recording or by importing it from your hard
disk, it appears in the Pool.
But Cubasis VST is not restricted to playing complete files. It can also
play any section of a file from the beginning, at the end, or some snippet in the middle, short or long, it doesn’t matter.
A section of a file is called segment. A single audio file can have several segments. For example, different sections of an audio file might
be used several times in the song.
Below the audio file name, the segments are listed, each playing a different section of the file.
The number to the left of the name shows how many times each segment is used in the song.
❐ The Pool is not used for MIDI tracks.
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Using the Pool
Opening the Pool
The Pool is opened by selecting “Audio Pool” from the Panels menu,
by pressing [Ctrl]-[F], or by clicking the Audio Pool icon on the Toolbar.
Viewing Files and Segments
Files
Each file is represented by a line, preceded by a triangle.
The file columns have the following functionality:
File Heading
Explanation
File Name
The name of the file, on disk.
Disk
The Disk the file resides on. If the file can’t be found, three question
marks are shown instead (see page 135). Clicking on the letter in this
column lets you replace an audio file, as described on page 134.
S/M
Stereo/Mono – one circle indicates mono, while two intersecting circles indicate a stereo file.
Resolution
The bit depth of the file.
Img
This shows you the status of the waveform image for the file, see
page 137.
Length
This shows the size of the file in kilobytes.
Date and Time
This shows the date and time the file was created.
Quality and
Post as
These are described on page 328.
Using the Pool
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Segments
Each file that is in use has one or more segments, listed below the file
in the Pool.
The segment columns have the following functionality:
Segment Heading Explanation
Hear
To play the segment, click in this column (on the speaker symbol)
and hold down the mouse button (see also page 138).
Segment (name)
The name of the segment.
Start
The segment’s Start Inset in the file. Displayed in samples, as a
meter position, or as time code, depending on the selected format (as described on page 130). This value can be changed, see
below.
End
The segment’s End Inset in the file. Can be changed.
Length
The length of the segment. Cannot be changed.
SRate
The Sample Rate of the file.
Range
An overview of the segment in the file.
To display or hide the segments for one audio file, click on the triangle
preceding the file.
•
To show/hide all segments for all files, select Expand/Collapse from
the View pop-up menu.
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Using the Pool
Customizing the View
Hiding Headings
If you don’t need the Headings at the top of the window you can hide
them using the “Show/Hide Headings” item on the View pop-up menu.
Turning Information on and off
If you don’t need all the information fields for the files and segments,
you can deactivate these by clicking the “i” icon at the top of the window (or by using the “Show/Hide Info” item on the View pop-up
menu). Among other things this allows you to get a more detailed
overview of the waveforms.
Use Part Colors
If this item on the View pop-up menu is checked, the files and segments will be displayed with the colors of their respective parts in the
Arrange window.
Turning Waveforms on and off
If you don’t need to see the waveforms for the segments, you can hide
them by clicking on the waveform icon at the top of the window.
Zooming and setting Sizes of the Waveforms
If you change the width of the window, the waveforms are scaled accordingly. That is, the bigger you make the window the more detailed
the view of the waveform will be.
By using the vertical zoom control (below the scrollbar to the right)
you can set the vertical size of each line, to get a better overview of
the waveforms.
Using the Pool
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Selecting Time Formats
You can set whether the Start, End and Length values should be displayed in samples, as meter positions, or as time code values, by using the View pop-up menu.
•
If you select samples, the values are shown as numbers of samples.
How many samples there are to a second depends on the sample rate (48000 samples per second at 48kHz for example).
•
If you select time code format, the values are shown in the format
“minutes:seconds:frames:subframes”.
There are 25 frames to a second.
•
If you select meter position format, the start and end inset values indicate the start and end position of the first instance of the segment in
the song, as bars, beats and ticks.
If the segment is not used, the start inset will show 1.1.0 and the end inset will show
the end position as it would be if the segment had really started on 1.1.0.
The length value shows the length of the segment in bars, beats and ticks, starting with
0.0.0 – in other words the difference between the end inset value and the start inset
value.
❐ Please remember that if you have meter position format selected, the
End Inset and Length values depend on the tempo. That is, if you change
the tempo, these values will change as well.
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Using the Pool
Setting File and Segment Order
File Order
On the View menu, you can determine in which order the files should
be displayed:
Option
Description
By Name
Files are shown alphabetically.
By Date
Files are shown chronologically according to the time they were created,
with the newest file at the top.
By Size
Files are shown in size order, with the largest one at the top.
Segment Order
By selecting “Order Segments” from the View pop-up menu, you rearrange the segments so that they are shown in the order they appear
in the file.
Finding out how a segment is used in the song
One segment can be used in more than one place in a song. There
are a number of situations where you will want to find out where a segment is used, for example:
•
•
So that you can tell that a segment isn’t used anywhere and possibly delete it.
If you want to know if a segment is used in more than one place, so that you
can decide how editing the segment affects the song.
Number of Times the Segment is used
Next to the speaker icon for each segment, you will see a number telling you how many times in the song this segment is used. A segment
without numbers is not used anywhere.
Using the Pool
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File Operations
Renaming a File
To rename a file, proceed as follows:
1. Double click on the existing name, or select the file and press [Alt]-[N].
2. Enter a new name or edit the existing one.
3. Click outside the box or press [Return].
❐ This method is much better than renaming files in the Explorer. This way,
Cubasis VST “knows” about the change and will not lose track of the file
the next time you open the song. See page 135 for details about lost files.
Locating a File on the Hard Disk
To find out where on the hard disk a certain file is located, hold down
[Ctrl] and click on the file. A pop-up showing you the file location appears.
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Using the Pool
Deleting Files
Removing from Audio Pool
If you want to remove one or more files from the Audio Pool without
actually deleting them from the hard disk, proceed as follows:
1. Select the file(s).
Selecting more than one is done just as with any other object in Cubasis VST, by clicking in combination with the [Shift] key.
2. Select “Delete” from the Edit menu or press [Backspace].
•
This way you can only delete audio files from the Pool which are not
used in any part in the Arrange window (greyed out in the Pool).
Removing from the Audio Pool and deleting from Hard Disk
If you want to remove the file from the Audio Pool and also delete the
file permanently from the hard disk, proceed as follows:
1. Select the file(s).
2. Hold down [Ctrl] and press [Backspace].
A dialog box asks you if you are sure you want to perform this operation. Remember
that this operation can not be undone!
Creating a Segment
You can create a “default” segment for the file, that is one that plays
the entire file.
1. Select the file.
2. Select Duplicate Segment from the Do pop-up menu.
The new segment can be edited to play any part of the file (see page 139). You can
also select the new segment and use the Export Segment function (see page 143) to
create a copy of the original audio file.
Using the Pool
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Replacing a File in the Pool
There are situations when you may want to replace an audio file in the
Pool with another, but keep all segments that are in use. As an example, consider the following situation:
You have used an external Wave Editor to perform some dynamic or
spectral editing on an audio file. To be on the safe side, you save the
edited audio file under an new name. When you return to Cubasis
VST, you will want to be able to replace the original file, so that all segments refer to the new, edited audio file instead, and preferably be
able to switch back if you change your mind. Proceed as follows:
1. Click on the symbol in the Disk column for the file.
A dialog appears, asking if you want to “re-find” the file. Click “Yes”.
2. In the file dialog that appears, select the audio file that should replace
the existing file in the Pool.
In our example above, this would be the edited version of the audio file.
3. Click “Open”.
The audio file in the Pool is now replaced with the one you selected in the file dialog.
The segments keep their names and, if possible, their start and end inset positions. If
you later want to switch back to the original file, just repeat the operation.
❐ Please note that the replacing audio file must be of the same length as
the original file, for the segment start and end insets to be relevant! If you
perform any editing that involves changing the length of the file (such as
time stretch, truncating, etc.), this method does not work, since you will
have to create new segments.
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Using the Pool
Handling “Missing Files”
When you open a song, you may get a warning that one or more files
are “missing”. A file is considered missing under one of the following
conditions:
•
•
The file has been moved to another folder or renamed in the Explorer or on the
Desktop since the last time you changed the song, and you ignored the Missing files dialog when you opened the song.
With the program running and a song open, you have used the Explorer to
move or rename a file or change some of its properties (such as date).
In the dialog that appears you can select one of the following options:
•
Automatic
If you choose Automatic, the program scans all your hard disks for a file with the proper
name and creation date.
❐ Please note that Cubasis VST is quite strict about identifying the files
you use. The program retains information on the Name and Creation
Date of every file saved in a song. If these values are changed by you, or
a program you may be using, you will not be able to rely on Cubasis VST’
“auto-find” function. In this case you will have to use the “Manual” option
and “over-ride” the subsequent warnings.
•
Manual
If you choose Manual, the program will display a file dialog allowing you to locate the
file manually. When you have found the file, click OK to replace the missing file in the
Audio Pool. If the name or date is not identical to the missing one, the program will
warn you but let you proceed. The next time during this session that the program attempts to search for a missing file, it will first look at the position of the last found file.
Using the Pool
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•
Cancel
The program will ignore the missing file. A second dialog will appear, asking whether
you want to stop searching for any remaining missing audio files. Click No to continue
searching or click Yes to ignore all missing files and continue to open the song.
If you chose the “Cancel” option, the song will open without the missing files. In the Audio Pool you can check which files are considered
missing. This is indicated by three question marks in the Disk column.
This file is found
This file is missing
•
If you click on the question marks, the “Can’t find file” dialog will appear again, allowing you to locate the file, automatically or manually,
as described above.
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Using the Pool
Creating Wave Images and keeping them up to
date
With each audio file goes an image, a picture of the waveform for display in various places in Cubasis VST. The wave images are very useful, when editing files in the Arrange window or in the Audio Pool. A
wave image is stored in a separate file with the same name as the audio file, but with the extension “OVW”.
Wave images are created after you have completed recording, in a
process that may take a few seconds. In the Pool, the states of the
wave image are indicated like this:
Icon
Description
The image is OK.
The file has no image.
Updating the Wave Image
To update the wave image for one file, click on its icon.
Using the Pool
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Segment Operations
The Audio Pool allows you to create new segments, slightly or drastically different from those you already have in your song, and drag and
drop these into the Arrange window.
Auditioning a Segment
From the Beginning
To audition a segment from its beginning, click on the speaker icon to
the left of the segment name and keep the mouse button pressed.
From any Position
To start playback from any position in the segment, click with the
mouse pointer in the waveform to the right. Playback will start from the
position you click on.
Renaming a Segment
To rename a segment, proceed as follows:
1. Double click on the existing name or select the segment and press
[Alt]-[N].
2. Enter a new name or edit the existing one.
3. Click outside the box or press [Return].
Duplicating Segments
To create a copy of a segment, proceed as follows:
1. Select the segment by clicking on it.
2. Select Duplicate Segment from the Do pop-up menu.
The new segment appears in the Audio Pool.
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Using the Pool
Changing Start and End Insets
You can change the start and end points of the segment. This allows
you to change what part of the audio file the segment plays.
❐ Please note that this change will affect all places in the song where this
segment is used.
By Numerical Editing
You can adjust the start and end inset values by regular value editing.
See page 130 for a description of the different time formats.
By Dragging
You can also drag the start and end inset directly in the waveform.
1. Position the pointer over the beginning or end of the segment.
If the segment currently plays the entire file, these two points are at the beginning and
end of the waveform image.
2. Press the mouse button and drag left or right.
Moving the Segment
To move the segment within the file, without changing its length, proceed as follows:
1. Hold down [Ctrl].
2. Position the pointer over the segment, keep the mouse button
pressed and drag left or right.
An outline of the segment is shown while you are dragging.
Using the Pool
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Deleting segments
Deleting one or several segments from the Audio Pool
1. Select the segment(s).
Selecting more than one segment is done just as with any other object in
Cubasis VST, by clicking in combination with the [Shift] key.
2. Select Delete from the Edit menu or press [Backspace].
•
This way you can only delete audio files from the Pool which are not
used in any part in the Arrange window (and which are greyed out in
the Pool).
Deleting all Segments not used in the song (Purge)
To automatically delete all segments that are currently not used in the
song, select Purge Segments from the Do pop-up menu.
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Using the Pool
Importing Files into the Pool
If you have any other audio file on your hard disk, and would like to use
it in the song, you can import it into the Pool and then drag it into the
arrangement, as described on page 143.
File Specifications
The audio file must meet the following specifications:
•
•
•
•
The file format must be Wave (WAV), Audio IFF (AIFF) or MP3.
It must be an uncompressed 16 or 24 bit file (this does not apply to MP3
files).
The sample rate (also called sampling frequency) of the file should be the
same as the one used in the song (see page 57). Sample rates up to 96 kHz
are supported.
The file can be mono or stereo.
Importing the file
By using Drag and Drop
The simplest way to import files into Cubasis VST is to drag them into
the program from the desktop or a folder on your hard disk:
1. Open the Pool.
2. Arrange the windows so that you can see both the Pool and the desktop (if that’s where the audio file is).
3. Click on the file and drag it from the desktop into the Pool.
❐ It’s also possible to drag files directly from the desktop into the Arrange
window!
Using the Pool
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By using the File pop-up menu.
1. Open the Pool.
2. Select Import Audio from the File pop-up menu.
A regular file dialog appears.
3. Select a file format from the File Type pop-up.
Files of the selected type(s) are listed in the file dialog box.
4. Use the file dialog box to locate the file and select it.
•
You can audition the audio file with the Play button.
When you click the Play button, its label changes to “Stop” and the selected audio file
is played back. Playback continues until you click on Stop, or select another file.
•
You can select several files by using the [Shift] or [Ctrl] keys, as in
many other Windows applications.
Now, the file(s) will appear at the bottom of the Pool window, each complete with a
segment which can be dragged into the arrangement (see above).
•
Again, you can also import audio files directly into the arrangement,
using the “Import Audio File…” item on the File menu.
This will put the imported audio on the selected track, at the Left Locator.
❐ When you import an MP3 file, the program will create a copy of the file
and convert this to Wave format before importing it (the original MP3 file
will not be used in the Cubasis VST song). The Wave file will be placed in
the currently selected Audio Files folder (if you haven’t yet specified one,
you will be asked to do so). Please be aware that the converted Wave file
will be several times larger than the original MP3 file!
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Using the Pool
Exporting Files and Segments
You can export segments from the Audio Pool as individual files, for
use in other applications:
1. Select the segment you wish to export.
2. Select “Export Segment” from the Do pop-up menu.
A dialog appears asking you to confirm the export of the segment as a file. Click “Yes”.
3. Use the file dialog to find a location and name for the file.
4. Click Save.
Dragging from the Pool to the Arrange window
One of the most important features in the Pool is the possibility to
drag segments into the Arrange window. The example below describes how to drag segments into an empty Arrange window, but of
course, you can also add segments to an existing arrangement in the
same way. Proceed as follows:
1. Open a song in which there are some audio segments.
You could also start from a new song and add audio files to the Pool with the Import
Audio function or by using drag and drop.
2. Select New Arrangement from the File menu so that you get a new
empty arrangement.
3. Make sure you have a number of audio tracks at the top of the arrangement.
4. On the Transport Bar, set the correct tempo (the tempo in which the
audio files were recorded).
5. Pull down the Panels menu and select Audio Pool.
6. In the Pool window, select Expand from the View pop-up menu.
In the list, one or several segments will appear below each file that is in use.
Using the Pool
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7. Click on one of the segment names, and drag the segment onto an
audio track in the arrangement.
The following picture sequence shows this step in more detail.
1. Point at the segment name.
2. Drag it onto an audio track in the arrangement.
3. The segment appears as a part in the Part Display.
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Using the Pool
8. If the segment doesn’t appear at the place you intended, simply drag
it to the right track and bar position.
As always in the arrangement, the Snap value affects where the segment is positioned.
9. Play back to hear the new arrangement.
10.Drag another segment to another track, and position it in such a way
that they start at the same time. Play back to hear the results.
11.Add more parts in this way to build an arrangement.
Two tips:
•
Remember that you can repeat parts that are already in the arrangement.
This might be faster than dragging the same segment from the Pool many times.
•
Use the Cycle function to try out different files and see if they work together well.
The Cycle function makes the section between the Left and Right Locator repeat over
and over again. Just place the Left and Right Locators where you want them, click on
the Cycle button on the Transport Bar so that it is lit, and activate playback. Then drag
files to positions inside the Cycle while the program is playing back!
The Cycle button.
Using the Pool
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Saving and Loading the Audio Pool
The Audio Pool is automatically saved with the song. However, by using the Load and Save Audio Pool commands on the pop-up File
menu, you can freely save Audio Pools and load them into songs.
The three items at the bottom of this pop-up menu are described on page 328.
Saving
1. Select Save Pool from the File Pop-up menu.
2. In the dialog box that appears, specify if you want to save all files and
segments, or just the selected ones.
3. In the standard dialog box that appears, specify a name and a location
for the file.
❐ The audio files themselves are not saved in the Pool file, only a reference
to them. You should probably not move any audio file(s) until next time
you want to use the Pool. You should definitely not delete them!
Loading
An Audio Pool file is opened (loaded) with the Load Pool command
on the File pop-up menu. When you load an Audio Pool file, the files in
it are “added” to the current Audio Pool.
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Using the Pool
11
Editing Audio
About the different Audio Editing methods
In Cubasis VST, there are three principal ways in which you can edit
the audio files you have recorded or imported:
•
By editing the audio parts in the Arrange window.
This allows you to cut up, duplicate and resize audio recordings, or rather, affect how
they play back. This method does not change the actual audio files on your hard disk.
See the chapter “Arrangement Editing”.
•
By editing audio segments in the Pool.
In the Audio Pool, you can adjust the start and end insets of the audio segments, and
thereby adjust which sections of the audio files are actually played back. This is described on page 139. Again, this does not affect the actual audio files on disk.
•
By editing in the external WaveLab Lite audio editor application.
Cubasis VST comes with an external audio editor application: Steinberg’s WaveLab
Lite. This allows you to perform what is known as “destructive” editing, i.e. editing that
affects the actual audio files on disk. This method is described below.
Editing in WaveLab Lite
WaveLab Lite is a special version of Steinberg’s state-of-the-art audio
processing software WaveLab. Although some of WaveLab’s advanced functions are not included, WaveLab Lite retains the powerful
basic aspects of its big brother:
WaveLab Lite allows you to perform detailed editing of audio files, such
as cutting, applying fades, EQ-ing, normalizing, reversing and much
more. For details of the editing procedures and functions, please refer
to the documentation included with WaveLab Lite.
To launch WaveLab Lite from Cubasis VST and edit an audio file, proceed as follows:
1. If necessary, create a copy of the file you want to edit.
This may be a good thing to do, since editing in WaveLab Lite will change the audio file
permanently – by making a copy first, you can still use the original, unchanged file in
other songs, etc. You can make copies of files from the Audio Pool, as described on
page 133.
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Editing Audio
2. If WaveLab Lite uses the same audio hardware (sound card) as Cubasis VST to play back audio, you may need to deactivate “Play in Background” on the Options menu before launching WaveLab Lite.
Otherwise, WaveLab Lite may not be able to play back the edited audio. Whether this
step is necessary or not depends on your audio card driver.
3. Select the Audio Part containing the file, and select “Wave Editor”
from the Edit menu.
You can also click the Wave Editor icon on the Toolbar or double click the audio part
to open the external wave editor.
Now, WaveLab Lite launches and opens the Part’s audio file. If the
Part plays more than one audio file, only the first file will be opened for
editing.
4. Perform whatever editing you want.
For details, see the WaveLab Lite documentation.
5. Save the audio file (you may want to save it under another name, see
below) and close it.
You can keep WaveLab Lite open if you like, just remember to close the audio file.
6. Return to Cubasis VST.
•
If you have shortened the audio file in WaveLab Lite, the length of its
segments in Cubasis VST will automatically be adjusted if needed
(since a segment cannot be longer than its audio file).
•
If you have lengthened the audio file, the length and start point of its
segments will not be affected.
Switching between the original and edited file
If you use the “Save As” function in WaveLab Lite to save the file under another name, you can use the “Re-find” function in the Pool to
switch between the original and the edited file (see page 134). This
can be very convenient for trying out different edit versions of files.
❐ Note that this only works if you performed editing to the audio file that
didn’t change its length (e.g. dynamic or spectral editing).
Editing Audio
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Using another Wave Editor application
When Cubasis VST is installed together with WaveLab Lite, the programs are automatically placed in their respective folders. This allows
Cubasis VST to launch WaveLab Lite from within the program because the “path” to WaveLab Lite is already “known” to Cubasis VST.
If you wish to use another audio editor, or if you have changed the location of WaveLab Lite’s program folder on your hard disk, you have
to specify in a new path. Proceed as follows:
1. In Cubasis VST, pull down the Options menu and select “External
Wave Editor” from the Audio Setup submenu.
A dialog opens.
2. Click on the Browse button.
A regular file dialog opens. Find and select the Wave editor file you want to use, and
click OK.
The path and name of the selected Wave editor file is displayed in the
dialog, together with its program icon.
3. If you are using WaveLab Lite or WaveLab, you can activate the “Segment Range Selection” option.
When this is activated, the segment range in the audio file will automatically be selected when you open the file in the editor.
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Editing Audio
12
Editing MIDI
What can I do with the MIDI Editors?
When you record MIDI data, you fill parts with notes and other MIDI
“Events”. But you don’t really get to manipulate those events individually from the Arrange window. In the MIDI editors you do!
Cubasis VST has three different MIDI editors: Key Edit, List Edit and
Score Edit. These are described separately on the following pages.
❐ The features and settings that are common for all three MIDI editors are
described on page 183.
If you haven’t yet recorded any Part
You might want to open the editor to input notes from scratch, without
recording anything first. In this case you have to create a part, using
any of the following methods:
•
•
•
Draw a part with the Pencil tool.
Select the Create Part command on the Structure menu.
Double click between the locators (creates a part on the track you double
click on).
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Editing MIDI
Opening an Editor
There are several ways to open a MIDI editor:
•
By double clicking on one part.
Which editor opens depends on the “Double Click Opens” setting on the Options
menu.
•
By selecting the desired editor on the Edit menu.
•
By clicking the corresponding editor icon on the Toolbar.
Key Edit
•
List Edit
Score Edit
By using keyboard shortcuts.
The key commands for opening Key Edit, List Edit and Score Edit are [Ctrl]-[E], [Ctrl][G] and [Ctrl]-[R], respectively.
•
•
•
•
The editor will open with the currently selected part(s).
If no parts are selected, the editor will open with all parts on the selected
track.
In Key and Score Edit, it is possible to edit parts from several tracks at the
same time.
If you hold down [Shift] while opening an editor, any other open editors remain
open.
About Editor tools
All three MIDI editors have different tools for different editing purposes.
Just like in the Arrange window, you select tools from the Toolbox, in
the following way:
1. Right-click anywhere in the Editor window (although not on a numeric
value or in the Ruler).
The Toolbox appears.
2. Select a tool icon from the Toolbox and release the mouse button.
The pointer takes on the shape of the selected tool.
The different editor tools available are described with the respective
Editor, on the following pages.
Editing MIDI
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Key Edit
The three editors share certain basic functionalities but are designed
for performing specific tasks. The following guidelines may help you
determine when to use Key Edit:
Use Key Edit when...
•
•
•
You want to get a quick overview of the events.
You want to edit several parts at the same time.
You’re editing Continuous Data and velocity values.
Overview
Notes are displayed in all MIDI editors. Let’s look at a simple melody
line and how it is shown in Key Edit:
The piano keyboard to the left makes it easy to find the right
pitch when entering or editing notes.
The notes are shown as boxes, with higher notes higher up in the grid.
The note length is indicated by the length of the box.
•
If you are editing several parts on different tracks, one of these will be
the “active part”.
This is where recorded and entered notes end up, etc. The events in the inactive parts
are shown with “dimmed” colors. To switch to an active part, select an event in an inactive part, or use the Goto pop-up menu (see page 189).
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Editing MIDI
Entering Notes
The Pencil Tool.
You can use the Pencil tool to draw new notes one at a time. Here are
a few rules-of-thumb:
•
Click once with the Pencil to create a single note.
The new notes will get the length of the Quantize value.
•
Click and drag with the Pencil to create a note with a length of your
choice.
1. Set the Snap value to the smallest
division at which you want to enter a note.
If for example you only want to enter
notes at quarter note positions, set
Snap to “4”.
2. Set the default length
of the note to enter with
the Quantize value. For
example, the value “8” will
give you eighth notes.
3. Select the Pencil tool from the Toolbox.
Move the pointer onto the note display.
4. Aim at the correct position. Two fields on the status bar will help you by showing the position and
Pitch at which you point.
5. Click once with the
mouse. The note appears.
❐ If drawing notes doesn’t seem to work – make sure that Caps Lock is de-
activated on the computer keyboard (see page 157)!
Editing MIDI
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Entering Notes using the Brush Tool
The Brush Tool.
The Brush Tool is used for continuous “painting” of notes. The following rules apply:
•
The notes are created at a spacing defined by the Snap value.
•
The new notes will get the length of the Quantize value.
•
If you hold down [Shift] on the computer keyboard, movement is restricted to horizontally only when you are painting with the Brush tool.
That is, all notes will have the same pitch.
Editing Notes
Selecting Notes
The Arrow Tool.
Notes are selected for editing using the Arrow tool. This works just
like selecting parts in the Arrange window; you can use [Shift] to select several Notes, or drag an enclosing rectangle that will select all
the Notes it encompasses, etc.
Moving Notes
Just as in the Arrange window, notes can be dragged around as desired by using the Arrow tool. The set snap value is taken into account
when moving notes. If you select several notes, you can move them all
at once, maintaining the relative distance between the notes.
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Editing MIDI
Restricting movement to one direction
Sometimes you may want to transpose notes without moving them
sideways, or vice versa. Proceed as follows:
1. Click on the note (or on one of the selected notes) with the Arrow tool
and keep the mouse button pressed.
2. Start moving the note(s) in the desired direction.
3. Press [Shift] and continue moving the note(s).
The note(s) will now move in one direction only.
Duplicating Notes
Again like in the Arrange window, if you hold down [Alt], the notes you
drag will be duplicated.
Moving and Duplicating Notes using the computer keyboard
For precise, incremental position adjustments, you can use the computer keyboard to move or duplicate the selected notes:
•
Press [Ctrl] and use the arrow keys to move the selected notes up or
down (in semitone steps) or left or right (in steps according to the set
Snap value).
If you press [Ctrl] and [Shift] and use the up/down arrow keys, notes will be transposed in octave steps.
•
Press [Ctrl] and [Alt] and use the arrow keys to duplicate the selected
notes, and move the duplicates to the new position in the same way
as above.
Resizing Notes with the Pencil tool
You may change the size of notes that you have drawn or recorded,
using the Pencil tool:
1. Set the Snap value.
What you do when you resize a note, is moving the position where the note ends. You
can only resize notes in multiples of the set Snap value. That means, if Snap is set to 8,
you can move the end-position of a note to 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, etc.
2. If you want to resize several notes at the same time, select these.
Editing MIDI
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3. Click with the Pencil tool inside the note (or one of the selected
notes), and drag to the left or right with the mouse button pressed.
When you release the mouse button, the note(s) are resized, taking the Snap value into
account.
•
If several notes were selected, they will all get the same end position.
If you hold down [Ctrl] while resizing, the selected notes will be resized relatively instead (so that they all are lengthened or shortened by the same amount).
❐ It might be hard to determine whether you have the pointer inside a note
or not. To avoid painting in new events, activate [Caps Lock] on the computer keyboard. This disables creation of new events. Remember to deactivate [Caps Lock] when you are done resizing the notes.
Deleting Notes
Notes can be deleted in several ways:
•
Click on them with the Eraser tool.
The Eraser Tool.
or
•
Select them and press [Backspace] on the computer keyboard.
or
•
Select them and select Delete Events from the Edit menu.
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Editing MIDI
Editing Velocity
One type of data you’ll be likely to view and edit often is velocity (or,
more specifically, note-on velocity). This is slightly different from other
types, since velocity is not an event itself, rather a property of a note.
This means that if there are no notes in the edited part, you will not
see any velocity values. Also, you cannot create velocity values (you
have to enter new notes).
Although velocity values can be adjusted in List Edit, they are best
viewed and edited in Key Edit:
Showing and Hiding the Controller Display
Key Edit has a dedicated Controller Display at the bottom of the window, for showing velocity values and events other than notes.
•
To show or hide the Controller Display, click on the Controller Display
button in the lower left corner of the window.
You can also show/hide the Controller Display by pressing [Alt]-[C].
Once you have opened the Controller Display, you can change its size
by dragging the Divider up or down:
Editing MIDI
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Displaying Velocity in the Controller Display
The Controller Display can show various types of data, but only one
type at a time. To specify that the velocity values should be shown,
proceed as follows:
1. Position the pointer on the Event type icon (in the Controller Display)
and press the mouse button.
The Event Type pop-up menu appears.
2. Select “Velocity” from the pop-up menu.
The velocity values are shown as bars, positioned according to their respective notes
and with higher bars representing higher velocity values.
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Editing MIDI
Editing the Velocity values
To change the velocity of a note, proceed as follows:
1. Select the Pencil tool.
2. To change the velocity of a note, click on its velocity bar.
The display to the left shows the numerical value at the mouse position (in this case,
the velocity is set to 64).
•
To change a series of values, drag over them.
Creating a velocity ramp
To create a linear ramp, for example a fade-in, proceed as follows:
1. Select the Line tool.
2. Position the pointer where you want the ramp to start and press the
mouse button.
3. “Draw” the outline of the ramp with the mouse button pressed.
When you release the mouse button, the velocity values are changed:
Editing MIDI
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Editing Non-Note Events
By “non-note events” we mean all Controllers, After Touch, Pitch
Bend, Sustain-pedal, etc. – in other words, all events that are not associated with a note.
As with velocity values, you can edit non-note messages in List Edit,
but the best overview is offered by the Controller Display in Key Edit:
•
To show or hide the Controller Display, click on the Controller Display
button in the lower left corner of the window.
See page 159.
Selecting which Event Type to view
To select an event type to be displayed, click the Event type icon (to
the left in the display) and select an event type from the pop-up menu
that appears.
•
This pop-up menu contains the most common event types. To see the
full list of MIDI Controllers, move the pointer to the “Controller” option
at the bottom of the list.
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Editing MIDI
Entering new Events
To create new non-note events (e.g. add some modulation wheel
data), proceed as follows:
1. Select the type of data you want to enter.
2. Use the Snap value to decide what “density” you want for the events.
For very smooth Continuous Controller curves, you should use a small Snap value.
However, please note that this creates a very large number of MIDI events, which can
cause MIDI playback to “stutter” in some situations. A medium-low density like 1/16 is
often sufficient.
3. Hold down the [Alt] key.
From here on there are basically three ways to go:
If you want to enter just one event, click once with the Pencil:
If you want to “paint a curve”, drag the Pencil (with the mouse button pressed):
If you want to create a ramp, use the Line tool:
4. Release the [Alt] key.
Editing the Values
This is done just like creating new events, except you do not press the
[Alt] key:
•
•
•
To change one value with the Pencil, simply click on it.
To change a series of values, drag over them with the Pencil.
To create a ramp, use the Line tool.
Editing MIDI
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Deleting non-note Events
To delete non-note events, use one of the following methods:
•
Click on them with the Eraser tool.
or
1. Select the events, by dragging a frame around them with the Arrow
tool.
2. Click [Backspace] or select Delete Events from the Edit menu.
or
•
Use the Delete function on the Do pop-up menu.
This allows you to delete all events within a certain range, set by the loop or cycle. See
page 185.
or
•
Use the Delete Cont. Data function on the Functions menu on the
main menu bar.
See page 123.
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Editing MIDI
List Edit
Use List Edit when...
•
You need to perform detailed editing of single events.
Overview
The events are shown in the list
and in the display to the right.
This display shows “Value 2” for the events. In
the case of notes, these are the velocity values.
The song position is shown both in the Event List and in the Event display.
Editing MIDI
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Entering Events
1. Use the Insert pop-up menu to decide what type of event to Insert.
2. Set the Snap value to the smallest position you want to enter a note at.
3. If you are entering notes, set the length
with the Quantize value. For example, if you
set this to “8”, you will input eighth notes.
4. Click with the Pencil tool in the Event Display. Use the ruler to find the right position.
5. The event appears both in the Event Display and in the List.
❐ Key and Score Edit can be used to edit any combination of parts from dif-
ferent tracks. List Edit can only be used for parts on one track at a time.
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Editing MIDI
Editing in the List
The Columns
In List Edit, all properties of notes and other events are shown numerically in the list columns to the left.
•
To view all columns in the list, click the divider between the list and the
Event display and drag it to the right.
Two of the columns have the same functionality for all event types:
Column
Description
Start-Pos
Edit this value to move the event.
Chn
The MIDI channel of the event. Note that all events will play back on the
MIDI channel set for their part! If you want the MIDI events to play back
on their “own” MIDI channels, set the part or track to channel “Any”!
The other columns have different functionality for different event types.
In the tables below, only the used columns are listed:
•
•
Notes:
Column
Description
Length
Edit this value to make the note shorter or longer.
Val 1
The pitch of the note.
Val 2
The note-on velocity (see page 159).
Val 3
The note-off velocity, i.e. how fast the key was released. Note that not
all MIDI instruments support this feature.
Poly Pressure:
Polyphonic Pressure means that you can apply different amounts of aftertouch to different keys on a MIDI keyboard. Not all instruments support this feature.
Column
Description
Val 1
The pitch of the note to which Poly Pressure is applied.
Val 2
The amount of pressure.
Editing MIDI
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•
•
Control Change:
Column
Description
Val 1
This is the type of Control Change message (Modulation, Volume, etc.).
By changing this value, you convert a Control Change event to another
type.
Val 2
The actual Control Change value.
Event Type
This is a text representation of Val 1, showing the Control Change type in
words. You can convert the Control Change message in this column too.
Program Change:
When you play back a Program Change message, you tell the MIDI instrument to select another sound (just as when you select a program in the Inspector). For Program
Change events, you can only edit the Val 1 column, which is the Program number.
•
Aftertouch:
This is the most common form of key pressure, which affects all currently playing notes
on the same channel (often called Channel Pressure). For Aftertouch events, you can
only edit the Val 1 column, which is the amount of pressure.
•
Pitch Bend:
Pitch Bend is different from other events, since it really consists of two separate values
– one for the coarse amount and one for the fine amount of bend. Therefore it may be
more convenient to edit Pitch Bend data in the Controller Display in Key Edit (where
the two coarse and fine amounts are shown as one value).
•
Column
Description
Val 1
This is the fine Pitch Bend value.
Val 2
This is the coarse Pitch Bend value.
System Exclusive:
System Exclusive messages are a special kind of MIDI events, intended for detailed
control of the parameters of a MIDI device (for example storing a complete program
parameter dump). Since all devices have different parameters, each major manufacturer of MIDI devices has a special ID code that is included in the SysEx message.
SysEx messages can be edited in List Edit, by clicking in the Comment column (to the
right in the list) and editing the hexadecimal SysEx string that appears in a value box.
❐ Generally, you should not edit System Exclusive messages if you are not
sure of what you’re doing.
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Editing MIDI
•
Track Mute:
Track Mute events tell Cubasis VST when to mute or unmute a track, making it possible to have tracks mute and unmute “automatically” during playback. Generally, it is
recommended to keep track Mute events on a separate track with no music, to avoid
having the track mute itself!
Column
Description
Val 1
Track Number
Val 2
1: Mute; 0: Unmute
❐ The remaining event types cannot be edited in List Edit.
Editing Procedures
The positions and values of events can be edited in the List, using one
of the following methods:
•
•
Click on the value and drag the mouse up or down with the mouse button
pressed.
Double click and type in a value.
There are some things to note:
•
If you hold down the [Alt] key on the computer keyboard while you’re
changing a value, all events of the same event type will be edited.
The setting on the To pop-up menu is also taken into account, allowing you for example
to edit all Control Change events within the cycle. See page 183.
•
If you change an event’s Start Position, the List will be re-sorted.
The events are always shown in the order they are played back, with the earliest event
at the top and the latest at the bottom.
Editing MIDI
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Editing in the “Value 2” Display
The Value 2 Display
The graphical display to the right shows Value 2 for the events in the
List (where applicable) as horizontal bars. You may use this to change
values, create ramps etc.
The event types that use Value 2 are Notes, Poly Pressure, Control
Change and Pitch Bend. Perhaps the most common use for the display is to edit Value 2 for Note events, that is, the Note On velocity
value. To make it easier to distinguish the velocity values, the Value 2
bars are black for Note events and grey for other event types.
•
You do not have to select the Pencil tool to change the bars in the
“Value 2” display; the pointer automatically changes to the Pencil
when you move it into the display.
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Editing MIDI
Continuous Events in List Edit
The “mountains” of continuous data (as shown in the Key Edit Controller Display) are in reality a large number of single events. This becomes clear when looking at the same data in the List Edit Window:
The modulation events are listed in
their playback order.
Value 2 for each event is shown in the
list and in the bar display. The grey
color indicates non-note events.
Editing MIDI
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The Score Editor
Use Score Edit when...
•
•
When you are used to reading and writing scores.
When you are preparing your music for printing.
Score Edit displays your music as regular notation. Below you will find
a description of some of Score Edit’s main features:
Overview
The mouse position is shown in the mouse box and the pitch is shown as a note
name in the box below. When you move a note, the lower box instead shows the
amount of transposition in semitones.
The Song Position Pointer.
If you are editing several tracks at the same time,
the black rectangle at the beginning of the score
indicates the active track.
The “inverted” notes
are selected.
•
If you are editing one track, as much of it as possible is shown on several staves – one above the other – just as with a score on paper.
•
If you edit parts on several tracks, they are put on a grand staff (multiple staves, tied together by bar lines).
•
The number of measures across the screen depends on how many
notes there are in each measure.
•
The last measure in the part is indicated by a double bar line.
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Editing MIDI
Getting the Score displayed correctly
When you open Score Edit for a part played in real-time, the score
may not look as legible as you would first expect. The Score editor
can ignore the minor time variances in performance and make a neater
score almost instantly. To achieve this, there are a number of settings
in a Staff Settings dialog box that determine how the program displays the music.
There are two ways to open the Staff Settings dialog:
•
Double click in the white area to the left of the staff.
•
Activate a staff by clicking on any of the staves in the window. Then
select “Staff Settings…” from the Do pop-up menu.
The Staff Settings dialog appears:
The settings you make in this dialog box are independent for each Staff
(track), but common for a piano staff which you have created by choosing the “Split” option in the Staff Mode pop-up menu (see below).
Editing MIDI
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Staff Mode
This pop-up determines how the staff is displayed:
•
When set to “Single”, all notes in the part are shown in the same staff.
•
When set to “Split”, the part is split on the screen into a bass and treble clef, as in a piano score.
You use the Splitpoint field to set the note where you want the split to occur. Notes
above and including the split note will appear on the upper staff, and notes below the
split note will appear on the lower staff.
Before and after setting a split at C3.
•
To set the clef and key for the lower staff, activate the “Lower Staff”
checkbox in the Key/Clef section (see below).
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Editing MIDI
Display Quantize
Notes are not an absolute language, and you must give the program a
few hints on how the score should be displayed. This is done using
the Display Quantize section of the Staff Settings dialog.
❐ These are only display values used for the Score Editor. They do not af-
fect the actual recording in any way.
Here is a description of the functions:
Parameter
Description
Notes
Determines the smallest note value to be displayed and the “smallest
position” to be recognized and properly displayed. Set this to the
smallest significant note position used in your music.
For example, if you have notes on odd sixteenth note positions, you
should set this value to 16.
The “T” values are for triplet note values.
This setting is partly overridden by Auto Quantize (see below).
Rests
This value is used as a “recommendation” – the program will not display rests smaller than this value, except where necessary. In effect,
this setting also determines how the length of notes should be displayed. Set this value according to the smallest note value (length)
you want to be displayed for a single note, positioned on a beat.
Auto Quantize
Generally, if your music contains mixed triplets and straight notes, try
activating this checkbox. Otherwise, make sure it is deactivated.
Auto Quantize uses involved methods to make your score look as legible as possible. Auto Quantize allows you to mix straight notes with
tuplets (triplets) in a part. But, Auto Quantize also uses the Display
Quantize value. If it can't find an appropriate note value for a certain
note or group of notes, it will use the set Quantize value to display it.
Editing MIDI
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Key and Clef
The correct Key and Clef are set using the two scroll bars in the Key /
Clef section.
If you check the “Auto Clef” checkbox, the program attempts to
guess the correct clef, judging from the pitch of the music.
Display Transpose
Some instruments, for example a lot of brass and woodwind instruments, are written transposed. For example, if you want a tenor saxophone to play a C3 note, you would score it as a D4 note.
For this reason, you can specify a Display Transpose value for each
staff. This will not affect the playback, only how the notes are displayed and printed.
Display Transpose set for a tenor sax part (notes are displayed 14 semitones higher
than their actual pitch).
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Editing MIDI
Switches
These provide additional options for the display of the score:
Parameter
Description
Clean Lengths
When this is activated, notes that are considered to be chords will
be shown with identical lengths. This is done by showing the longer
notes as shorter than they are. When Clean Lengths is turned on,
notes with very short overlaps are also cut off; a bit as with No Overlap (see below), but with a more subtle effect.
No Overlap
When this is activated one note will never be shown as overlapping
another, lengthwise. This allows long and short notes starting at the
same point to be displayed without ties; the long notes are cut off in
the display. This will make the music more legible.
An example measure with No Overlap deactivated...
...and with No Overlap activated.
Syncopation
When this function is activated, syncopated notes are shown in a
more legible way.
This is a dotted quarter at the end of a bar when Syncopation is off...
...and when it is on.
Shuffle
Activate this function when you have played a shuffle beat and want
it displayed as straight notes (not triplets). This is very common in
jazz notation.
Flat Beams
When this is ticked, the beams over the notes will be flat (as opposed to slanted).
No Beams
When this is ticked, there will be no beams whatsoever in the part.
This is good for example for vocal scoring.
Editing MIDI
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Entering Notes
In Score Edit, you use the Note tool to input notes:
1. Set the Snap value to the smallest position at which you want to enter
a note.
2. Select a note value by clicking on a note button on the Score Toolbar.
The Note tool is automatically selected, and takes on the shape of the selected note
value.
3. Press the mouse button somewhere in the score display.
4. With the mouse button down, drag the note up/down.
Accidentals appear, to show you the exact pitch of the note. The pitch is also shown in
the value field under the mouse box.
5. When you have the note at the right note line with the correct accidental, release the mouse button.
Entering Rests
You can use the Rest tool to insert rests between notes. Like the Note
tool, the Rest tool changes appearance depending on the chosen
note value.
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Editing MIDI
Editing Notes
Moving and Transposing Notes
To move notes, you drag them with the Arrow tool as usual.
•
Use the two mouse boxes to determine where to place notes.
The upper box shows the position of the moved note
(as bars, beats and ticks).
The lower box shows the pitch when entering notes,
and the transposition value when moving notes.
When you move several notes, the upper mouse box shows the position of the note
you clicked on when starting to drag.
•
If you hold down [Ctrl] and transpose a note, it will only be transposed
within the set key.
If, for example, the key is C major (set in the Staff Settings dialog), you will only transpose to notes belonging to the C major scale.
•
You can also use the computer keyboard to move or duplicate notes,
as in Key Edit (see page 157).
Enharmonic Shift
The buttons to the right on the toolbar are used to shift the display of
selected notes so that for example an F# (F sharp) is instead shown
as a Gb (G flat) and vice versa:
1. Use the arrow tool to select the note(s) you want to affect.
2. Click on one of the buttons to display the selected note(s) a certain
way.
The middle button resets the notes to original display. The other four options are
double flats, flats, sharps and double sharps.
Editing MIDI
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Flip Stems
By pressing [Alt]-[X] on the computer keyboard, you can change the
stem direction of the selected note(s).
Joining Notes
The Glue Tube allows you to join two or more notes of the same pitch.
Splitting Notes
The Scissors tool allows you to split a tied note into two separate
notes.
Deleting Notes
As with all other objects in Cubasis there are two ways to erase notes
in Score Edit. Either select them and press [Backspace] on the keyboard, or select the Eraser from the Toolbox and click on the notes.
Adding Text
1. Select the Text Tool.
The Text Tool
2. Click anywhere in the score.
A text input line dialog box appears.
3. Enter the text.
You can press [Return] to create several lines of text if you like.
4. When you are done, click outside the text box.
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Editing MIDI
Changing the Font and Size
If you wish to change the font and size for some text you already put
in, proceed as follows:
1. Select the text.
2. Select “Text Settings…” from the Do pop-up menu.
3. Use the Font pop-up, the size setting and the style options in the dialog box that appears.
The fonts you find on the menu depend on what fonts you have installed on your computer.
4. Click “Apply” to apply your settings to the selected text object(s).
5. Close the dialog by clicking its close box.
You can have the dialog open while you are working in the Score Editor if you like.
❐ On your font menu you will also find one or more Cubase fonts. These are
not intended for text, but for the non-text symbols used in the program.
Title, Comment and Author
These are three standard text elements on the first page of your score.
To make settings for these, select “Score Title” from the Do pop-up
menu. This opens a dialog box, in which you can input texts and make
settings for font, size and attributes for each of the three elements.
Cubasis VST will automatically position the elements as follows:
•
•
•
The title is always centered, at the top of the page.
The comment is always positioned just below the title.
The author text is always positioned at the right side of the page, just above
the first system.
None of these elements are visible on screen but will be printed
correctly.
Editing MIDI
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Printing the Score
To print your score, proceed as follows:
1. Make settings for the Text, Title, Comment and Copyright elements,
as described on the previous pages.
2. Pull down the File menu and select “Print & Page Setup…”.
A dialog with printer settings opens.
3. Select the preferred printer, paper size, orientation, etc.
4. If you need to, change the margins by setting the Left, Right, Top and
Bottom settings.
The “Print…” item should now be available on the File menu. If it is greyed out, you
have not made the correct printer settings in the Print & Page Setup dialog – repeat
step 2 to 4 above.
6. Select “Print…” from the File menu.
A dialog box appears. The options in the dialog depend on the type of printer you use
(explained in your Windows documentation). Normally you should be able to specify a
number of copies to be printed, print all pages or just a specified range, etc.
7. Click OK.
A dialog will inform you of the progress of the printout. You can cancel printing at any
time by clicking the Cancel button.
❐ Note that printing is only available from Score Edit!
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Editing MIDI
Common settings and functions
Selecting and the To pop-up menu
The concept of selecting events is much the same as selecting parts:
•
Click on an event to select it (and deselect all others).
•
Hold [Shift] and click on an event to select it, keeping any previously
selected events.
•
Select several events by enclosing them in a rectangle using the
Arrow tool.
•
Use the Select All item on the Edit menu to select all events in the
editor.
The key command for this is [Ctrl]-[A].
•
Use the [←] and [→] keys to select the previous/next event in the
active part.
If you hold down [Shift] and use the arrow keys, the next/previous event will be selected, without deselecting already selected events.
Selecting Events from different parts
In Key Edit and Score Edit you can select events from both an active
and an inactive part:
1. Select the events you want in the active part, using any method described above.
2. Hold down [Shift].
3. Select one event from an inactive part by clicking on it.
This part now becomes active.
4. While keeping [Shift] pressed, use any method to select more events
from the now active part.
As long as you keep [Shift] pressed, you can switch active parts and select from as
many as you like, using this method.
❐ Usually, any type of editing you do (like moving, copying and so on) will
affect all selected events, whether they are in active or inactive parts.
See also below.
Editing MIDI
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The To Pop-up
All the editors have a pop-up menu called “To”. This is used together
with the loop and cycle functions to collectively choose a group of
events to be affected by your editing.
All events, active or inactive, will be affected.
All events inside the loop (see
page 192) will be affected,
whether the loop is on or off,
and regardless of whether the
events come from active or inactive parts.
All events inside the cycle will be
affected, whether the cycle is on
or off, and regardless of whether
the events come from active or
inactive parts.
All selected events, inactive
or active, will be affected.
Those events
that are inside
the loop and
selected will be
affected.
Those events that are inside the cycle
and selected will be affected.
Auditioning Events
The Speaker tool (all MIDI Editors)
If you click on an event with the Speaker tool, it is played back. You
can also drag over events to play them back one after the other.
The Speaker icon
When you click on the speaker symbol on the status bar, events will
be output automatically when you click on them, when you create
them using the pencil or paint brush, and when you make changes on
the Info line (see below).
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Editing MIDI
Editing on the Info Line
At the top of the Key and Score editors, you have the Info Line. The
Info Line shows the values for one selected note. The values can be
edited, just as in the List in List Edit:
1. To show/hide the Info Line, click on the i-button on the status bar or
press [Alt]-[I] on the computer keyboard.
When the i-button is lit, the Info Line is shown.
2. Select a single event.
Its values are shown on the Info Line. If no event is selected, the Info Line shows “– – –”
for all values. If several events are selected, the values for the last selected event are
shown.
3. Change the desired values using regular value editing.
You can either click on the value with the left/right mouse button to lower/raise the
value or double click on it and type in a new value from the computer keyboard.
The Do pop-up menu
In all three editors, the Do pop-up menu contains two editing functions (in Score Edit, the Do pop-up menu contains other options as
well, as described previously in this chapter). The functions are:
Fill
This function only works when the To pop-up menu is set to “All
Events”, “Looped Events” or “Cycled Events”. It then fills the whole
part/loop/cycle with notes that have the same pitch. The notes are
spaced according to the Snap value and are all given a length corresponding to the Quantize value.
•
In Key Edit you can specify the pitch of the “Fill notes” by clicking on a
key on the keyboard display before you perform the operation.
Delete
This deletes all events in the range defined by the To menu (notes,
Controllers, the lot).
Editing MIDI
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Cutting, Copying and Pasting
You can use the Cut, Copy and Paste commands (on the Edit menu
or the Toolbar) to move events between editors or to duplicate a series of events.
•
Cut or copied events are pasted in, starting at the song position. The
events will keep their relative positions, pitch and other properties.
Edit Solo
When this button is activated, you will only hear the track/parts that
are currently being edited. All other tracks are muted. Use this function when you want to concentrate on editing the parts in the editor,
rather than hearing the recording in context.
Follow Song
If Follow Song on the Options menu is turned on, the Edit window will
scroll automatically during playback, so that the current song position
is always visible.
•
You may also press [F] on the computer keyboard to turn Follow Song
on and off.
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Editing MIDI
Coloring notes in the Editors (Key and List Edit only)
In Key and List Edit, you can use the Color pop-up menu on the status
bar to add color to the notes.
1. Pull down the color pop-up menu.
2. Select one of the five options on the pop-up menu.
The options are described below.
Option
Description
Default
No color is used for the notes.
Channel colors
The notes get different colors depending on their individual MIDI
Channel values. Which color is associated with which MIDI Channel can be set with the Edit option (see below).
Pitch colors
The notes get different colors depending on their pitch. Which
color is associated with which pitch can be set with the Edit option
(see below).
Velocity colors
The notes get different colors depending on their velocity values.
Which color is associated with which velocity can be set with the
Edit option (see below).
Color by Parts
The notes get the same color as their respective part in the Arrange
window. Use this option when you are working with two or more
tracks in an editor, to see which notes belong to which track.
Editing MIDI
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Editing Color
If you have selected Channel, Pitch or Velocity colors, an extra item
appears at the bottom of the pop-up menu. This is used for setting
which colors should be used:
1. Select the option at the bottom of the color pop-up menu (named
“Channel colors...”, “Pitch colors...” or “Velocity colors...” depending
on what is selected).
A Color dialog is opened. Channel, Pitch and Velocity have separate color dialogs,
allowing you to set different color schemes for each color option.
The Pitch color dialog. There are twelve different pitch color steps (one for each
semitone).
2. Choose colors for the velocity levels/pitches/channels, using standard
Windows color selection.
See the Windows documentation for detailed information.
3. When you have edited the colors, click on the “OK” button.
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Editing MIDI
The Goto pop-up menu
You can move directly to certain useful positions in an editor by selecting from the Goto menu on the Function Bar. These options will
scroll your view to show the events at the chosen position.
Option
Description
Song Position
Takes you to the Song Position.
First Event
Takes you to the first event in the active part.
Last Event
Takes you to the last event in the active part.
First Selected
Takes you to the earliest of all the selected events.
Next Selected
Takes you to the next selected events.
Last Selected
Takes you to the last of the selected events.
Prev Selected
Takes you to the selected event before the one currently in view.
Next Part
This is mainly useful when you are editing several parts at the same
time in Key Edit. It takes you to the beginning of the next part. This
might just lead to a vertical scroll if there are several parts beginning at the same Position.
Prev Part
This is mainly useful when you are editing several parts at the same
time in Key Edit. Takes you to the beginning of the previous part.
This might just lead to a vertical scroll (see above).
Editing MIDI
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Editing Notes via MIDI
You can change the properties of notes via MIDI. This can be a handy
and fast way to get for example the right velocity value, since you will
hear the result even as you edit:
1. Select the note you want to edit.
2. Click on the MIDI Connector symbol on the status bar.
The symbol should be “lit”. This enables editing via MIDI.
3. Use the Note buttons on the status bar to decide what properties will
be changed by the MIDI input.
You can enable editing of Pitch, Note On- and/or Note Off-velocity.
With this setting, the edited notes will get the Pitch and Velo Off values of the notes
input via MIDI, but the Velo On values will be kept as they are.
4. Play a note on your MIDI instrument.
The note selected in the editor will take on the properties of the played note, according
to the setting made in step 3.
The next note in the active part automatically gets selected. A series of notes can
therefore quickly be edited.
•
If you want another try, select the note again (easiest by pressing the
[←] key on the computer keyboard) and again play a note on your
MIDI Instrument.
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Editing MIDI
Step Recording
If you prefer not to record your music in real time, you may use the
Step Recording function to input music one note at a time from your
MIDI instrument:
1. Set the desired spacing of notes with the Snap value.
2. Set the desired length of notes with the Quantize value.
3. Click the “Foot” button on the status bar to activate Step Recording.
The MIDI button is automatically activated, indicating that Cubasis VST is ready for
MIDI input.
4. Move the song position to where you want to start.
5. Play a note or a chord.
It is registered, and the Step Position jumps to the next position (according to the
Snap value). Proceed with the next note or chord, and so on.
•
To input a pause, press [Tab].
•
To remove the last note or chord and go back one step, press [Backspace].
6. When you are finished, turn off Step Recording by clicking the MIDI
symbol button (the “Foot” button is automatically deactivated).
Editing MIDI
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The Loop Function
In all MIDI editors you can set up a local loop, which is a sort of “minicycle” for the parts being edited. The loop facility operates in addition
to the cycle, meaning you can loop the parts you are editing while Cycling parts that are not being edited!
There are two principal ways to set the loop:
•
Drag the mouse in the Ruler to draw the loop area.
This will also automatically turn on the loop (see below).
This method does not work in Score Edit, since it has no Position Ruler.
•
Use the mouse and/or computer keyboard to set the values in the
loop boundary boxes on the status bar.
These boxes can also be opened for editing by pressing [Alt]-[L] and [Alt]-[R], respectively.
Either way, the current loop area is shown in blue on the Ruler when it
is activated, and in light grey when it is deactivated.
Turning the Loop on or off
•
Turn the loop on/off by clicking on its button or by pressing [Alt]-[O].
For this to work, you have to define the loop first, as explained above.
When the loop is active, the parts within the loop in the Edit window
loop almost independently of the rest of the music. We say “almost”,
because the loop is still dependent on the cycle. Every time the cycle
starts over again, so does the loop.
The loop is also used for directing editing to the events inside the
loop. See page 184.
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Editing MIDI
Closing the Editor
There are two ways of closing the editor, “Cancelling” and “Keeping”.
Cancelling
If you press [Esc] on the computer keyboard, a dialog box allows you
to change your mind:
•
•
Clicking “Yes” closes the editor and cancels all changes you’ve made since
opening the editor.
Clicking “No” closes the editor, but your changes are kept.
Cancelling can be thought of as a super-undo. It allows you to try out
a series of changes to a recorded piece of music and then easily revert back to its original state.
Keeping
If you close the editor by clicking the window’s Close box or by pressing [Return], the window closes and all editing you have done is kept.
The “Keep Appended Events?” Dialog
If you close the editor and a dialog appears asking you if you want to
“Keep appended Events”, this is because you have added events outside the part(s) being edited.
•
•
If you click “Yes”, the part will be extended to encompass the added events.
If you click “No”, the events outside the part will be discarded.
Editing MIDI
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Editing MIDI
13
Mixing
Introduction
This chapter describes the general procedures of handling levels, pan,
EQ and effects to create a final stereo mix. Mixing is done in different
windows in Cubasis VST, mainly the VST Channel Mixer (for audio)
and the MIDI Track Mixer (for MIDI).
❐ The MIDI Track Mixer is designed to interact with MIDI instruments com-
patible with any of the standards GM (General MIDI), GS or XG. However,
even if your instrument is not GM/GS/XG compatible, you may still be
able to use some of the functions in the mixer.
Mixing Audio
Setting Levels
1. Set up your audio tracks and possibly the locators so that they play
back the section you want.
2. Open the VST Channel Mixer by selecting “VST Channel Mixer” from
the Panels menu, by clicking the VST Channel Mixer icon on the Toolbar or by pressing [Ctrl] and [*] on the numeric keypad.
The VST Channel mixer window opens. This contains “channel strips” for the audio
channels, and a Master section for adjusting the level of the final mix.
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Mixing
3. Make sure the “In” buttons next to the faders are not activated for the
audio channels.
When these are activated, the level meters show the input level instead of the playback
level.
4. Make sure the Read and Write buttons are deactivated.
These are used for automating mixer movements, as described on page 210. For now,
we’ll stick to manual mixing.
5. Activate playback, and use the faders to set the relative volume for the
audio channels.
The fader settings are displayed numerically below the faders. You can boost weak
signals by +6 dB in the VST Channel Mixer, if you like. Just be sure to avoid signal levels above 0 dB (clipping).
Clip indicator
❐ Actually, due to Cubasis VST’s high internal resolution, clipping can usually
only occur in the Master section (when the signals are sent to the audio
hardware). Therefore, it can be OK to have the Clip indicators light up for
individual channels, as long as the Clip indicators in the Master section
never light up!
Mixing
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•
For stereo channel pairs, the faders are automatically “linked”, i.e.
moving the fader for the left channel will automatically move the fader
for the right channel, and vice versa.
To set the level independently for one channel in a stereo pair, hold down [Alt] and
drag the fader.
A stereo channel pair.
•
If you hold down [Ctrl] and click on a channel fader, it will automatically be set to position 0.0 dB.
6. Adjust the total volume with the faders in the Master section to the
right.
The faders are linked, i.e. if you move one fader the other will move as well. If you want
to adjust the level of one stereo channel independently, press [Alt] and move the fader.
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Mixing
Setting Pan
The pan controls are the boxes with the green vertical line, located
above each channel fader. This is where you set the stereo position of
each audio channel. Like volume, pan settings can be automated using the Write/Read functions.
•
When you are changing pan for a channel, the setting is shown numerically (L64–R64) in the level display below the fader.
To make the display show the fader setting again, click the fader handle.
•
To select the center pan position, hold down [Ctrl] and click on the
pan control.
•
For audio channels in a stereo pair, you should probably pan the left
(odd-numbered) channel fully left and the right (even-numbered) fully
right.
❐ If the Mono switch in the Master section is activated, all audio playback
will be in mono, and the pan settings will have no effect.
Mixing
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Using Mute and Solo
For each audio channel, there is a Mute and a Solo button. They are
useful when you want to listen closely to one or several audio channels. These work as follows:
•
Clicking the Mute button silences the output of the audio channel.
To deactivate Mute, click on the button again.
•
Clicking the Solo button silences the output of all other audio channels.
To deactivate Solo, click on the button again.
•
You may mute or solo several audio channels at the same time if you
like.
However, if you hold down [Ctrl] when you click Mute or Solo for a channel, the function will be exclusive. This means that only this channel will be muted or soloed – all
other channels are automatically un-muted/un-soloed.
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Mixing
Making Equalizer settings
Each audio channel in Cubasis VST is equipped with a two band
parametric equalizer. To activate and set EQ for a channel, proceed
as follows:
1. Click on the EQ button at the top of the channel strip.
The VST Channel Settings window for that channel opens. This contains a duplicate of
the channel strip, an effect section (see page 203) and 2 EQ modules.
❐ If you make Equalizer settings for one channel in a stereo channel pair,
the settings will automatically be reflected in the other channel.
2. Activate one or both EQ modules by clicking on their On buttons.
❐ The maximum total number of EQ modules (for all channels together) is
governed by your computer’s performance. If you activate more EQ modules than your system can handle, you will note that the Over indicator in
the VST Performance window lights red, and the audio playback stutters
and distorts. Keep an eye on the VST Performance bar graphs and deactivate a number of EQ modules, until the computer load seems to be normal.
Mixing
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3. Set the parameters for the activated EQ module.
It is probably easiest to set up a playback cycle and experiment with the settings until
you get the desired sound. The three basic EQ parameters are:
Parameter Description
Gain
Governs the amount of boost or attenuation around the set frequency.
The value range is ± 24 dB.
Frequency
The center frequency for the equalization. Around this frequency, the
sound will be boosted or attenuated according to the Gain setting.
Q
Determines the width of the frequency band around the center frequency
to be affected. The narrower the frequency band, the more drastic the
effect of the boost or attenuation.
❐ Please note that high Gain values may give rise to distortion. Check the
channel level meters and compensate with the channel volume faders.
4. Close the EQ window by clicking on its close box.
In the VST Channel Mixer window, the EQ button indicator for the audio channel will
now be lit, which means EQ is applied to that channel.
Applying Effects
There are two basic types of effects in Cubasis VST; insert effects
(applied separately to each channel, by using the channel inserts in
the VST Channel Mixer) and send effects (applied separately to each
channel by using the effect sends in the VST Channel Mixer).
Typical uses for insert effects would be distortion, filters, auto panners
or any effect that you want to send a whole channel through. Typical
send effects would be reverb, delay, chorus or anything that you want
to apply in different amounts to the different audio channels (see also
the note about stereo effects on page 205).
•
The following pages describe the general procedures for applying and
making settings for effects. The included effects are described on page
227.
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Mixing
Routing an Audio Channel through the Send Effects
You can have two different send effects in Cubasis VST, and each
channel has two effect sends. The first step is to select, activate and
make settings for the two effects:
1. Select VST Send Effects from the Panels menu or click the VST Send
Effects button on the Toolbar.
The VST Send Effects window opens. This contains up to two “slots”, each holding a
separate effect plug-in. If you have less than two effects activated, there will be a slot
at the bottom of the window, labeled “No Effect”.
2. Click the “No Effect” label (or, if you have two effects already, on one
of the effect names) and select an effect from the pop-up menu that
appears.
The available effects are listed on page 227.
•
The “No Effect” option is used for deactivating the effect processor
totally.
Use this if you need to conserve computer power, and don’t need the effect.
3. Make sure the red “power button” is activated for the effect.
4. Make sure the slider to the left is set to a suitably high value.
This is the master send level, governing the total amount of input level to the effect processor. If you later activate a lot of effect sends, you may need to turn down the master
send level somewhat, to avoid clipping (distortion) in the processor.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for the other processor if you like.
Now it’s time to set up the effect sends:
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6. In the VST Channel Mixer window, click on the FX button for the audio
channel to which you want to add the effect.
The VST Channel Settings window opens, as described on the previous pages. The
section between the channel fader and the EQ modules contains the effect sends.
Bypass button (affects both sends)
Pre-fader Send switch
Send On/Off
Send level
7. Click on the On button for one or both effect sends and turn the Send
level knobs to moderate values.
When you activate the On button, the channel’s FX button will light up in the VST
Channel Mixer.
8. If you want the signal to the effect to be independent of the channel
fader setting, click on the PRE button for the send.
With Pre-fader effect sends, the amount of effect for the channel is not affected by the
volume fader. With Post-fader effect sends (PRE button not activated), the amount of
effect is proportional to the channel volume, and will change with the volume fader
movements. This is the most common setting.
If you activate playback, you should hear the selected effect(s) being
added to the sound. At this point, you will probably want to try out the
different effect programs and make settings for the selected effects.
This is described below.
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Adding Insert Effects
Each audio channel has one insert effect slot. To add an insert effect
to an audio channel, proceed as follows:
1. In the VST Channel Mixer, click the Insert button for the channel.
The VST Channel Settings window opens. The Insert Effect settings are located above
the Effect Sends.
2. Pull down the Inserts pop-up menu and select an effect.
3. Activate the On button.
Now, the audio channel signal will pass through the insert effect.
❐ To deactivate an insert effect, pull down the Effect type pop-up menu and
select “No Effect”. If you just turn off the On button, the effect slot will still
be counted as “in use”, and thus consume some processor power.
A note about Stereo Effects
Several of the VST Plug-in effects affect the stereo image, in the form
of panning, stereo enhancement or stereo ambience. However, for
this to be heard, the output of the effect must be routed to a stereo
channel or bus (since otherwise, the output will be mixed to mono). In
short: Stereo image effects will not be heard if the effect is used as an
insert effect for a mono audio channel.
If you want to apply e.g. auto-panning to a mono audio channel you
should therefore use the plug-in as a send effect (the output of which
will be in stereo). Also, you would probably want to activate the Prefader Send switch and turn down the volume fader for the audio channel - this way you will only hear the “wet” (processed) sound and no
“dry” (unprocessed) sound.
Please note that some effects cannot be used as Send Effects.
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Editing Effects
•
For details on the parameters of the included effects, see page 227.
Each effect in Cubasis VST has a separate “control panel” window for
making settings. The window can have a standard panel (with sliders
for all parameters) or a custom panel with knobs, buttons and sliders.
•
To open the effect control panel for a send effect, click the Edit button
in the VST Send Effects window.
•
To open the effect control panel for an insert effect, click the Edit
button in the Inserts section in the VST Channel Settings window.
Either way, the control panel appears in a separate window.
A custom control panel (left), and a standard control panel.
To edit effects, use the following methods:
•
Select another effect program from the pop-up menu at the top of the
control panel.
You can also step between programs by clicking the arrow buttons next to the pop-up
menu. Note however that only some effects come with ready-made programs.
•
Use the settings in the control panel to adjust the sound of the effect.
You can save your settings as an effect program, by pulling down the File pop-up menu
and selecting “Save Effect”. The program is saved as a separate file on disk, and can
be loaded into other songs by using the “Load Effect” item on the same pop-up menu.
❐ Effect settings can be automated. See page 210.
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About DirectX Plug-ins
If you have installed any DirectX compatible effect plug-ins on your
computer, these will appear on a separate submenu on the Effect Type
pop-up menus in Cubasis VST. However, not all DirectX plug-ins may
be intended for musical audio processing. Therefore, you can disable
any unwanted plug-ins by opening the DirectX Plugins dialog on the
Panels menu, and deactivating their checkboxes in the leftmost column.
In this example, the two plug-ins at the top are activated and will appear on Cubasis
VST’s effect pop-up menus. The two plug-ins at the bottom of the list are deactivated,
and will not appear in Cubasis VST.
Copying Mixer Channel Settings
You can copy all settings from one channel to another in the VST
Channel Mixer. This is valuable if you want several channels to have
the same EQ settings, etc. Proceed as follows:
1. In the VST Channel Mixer window, select the channel you want to
copy settings from, by clicking on the channel number label below the
faders.
Channel 2 selected for copying.
2. Select Copy from the Edit menu (or press [Ctrl]-[C]).
3. Select the channel you want to apply the settings to, by clicking on its
channel number label.
4. Select Paste from the Edit menu (or press [Ctrl]-[V]).
All channel settings are copied.
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Creating Surround Mixes
With Cubasis VST you can turn a normal stereo mix into a surround
mix with spatial sound characteristics. The surround format is intended
for playback on a system with a surround decoder and five speakers:
left and right front, center and left and right surround speakers. Note:
•
•
•
•
Both surround speakers get the same signal, i.e. only a mono signal is created
for the surround (rear) speakers.
If a subwoofer speaker is present, it is not fed individually. The signal for this
has to be generated by the sound system.
The audio information for the different surround channels is encoded in stereo
format.
The surround mix is stereo compatible. That is, if you play it back on a conventional stereo system without surround decoder, the surround information is
automatically cancelled out and the mix plays back in normal stereo.
Activating Surround
To activate Surround, click the Surround “On” button in the Master
Section of the VST Channel Mixer.
Surround activated.
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Making Surround settings
Clicking the Surround “Edit” button in the Master Section opens the
Surround control panel:
This is where you set up your surround mix, according to the surround
system on which it is supposed to be played back. Proceed as follows:
1. Use the Meter/Feet switch to select the desired unit for measuring the
speaker distances.
This is just a display switch for your convenience - it doesn’t change the Surround
functionality.
2. Adjust the maximum distance between the listener and the speakers
with the Radius slider.
This determines the “scale” of the graphical display, with a distance range from 1 to 10
meters (or 4 to 40 feet).
3. Click and drag the individual speaker symbols in the graphical display,
so that they coincide with the desired or available speaker positions.
When you drag, the distance and angle between the speakers and the listener are displayed for all speakers.
4. Use the Front/Rear slider to the right to adjust the amount of Surround
effect.
The more to the Rear the slider, the more pronounced the Surround effect.
5. If you like, close the Surround control panel by clicking its close box or
pressing [Return].
Note that the Surround mode is active for as long as the Surround “On” button is activated in the VST Channel Mixer, regardless of whether the control panel is open or not.
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Automating the VST Mixer
It is possible to automate all VST Mixer actions, so that volume, pan,
EQ and effects can change automatically during playback. This is
done by “writing” your mixer actions into a special audiomix part.
When played back, this part will repeat your fader movements and
button settings just like you performed them. You will even see the
faders and buttons move on the screen, like on a physical mixer with
motorized controls.
Recording your actions
1. Open the VST Channel Mixer window.
2. Click on the Write button above the Master Section to the right.
While this button is “lit” (activated), every mixer action you make will be recorded.
3. Start playback.
4. Move the faders and other controls as you would during a manual
mixdown.
Since you can repeat this recording several times, it is probably easiest to mix one or a
couple of channels at a time, and stop and deactivate the Write function in between.
That way, you can also Undo your last run if you’re not satisfied, using the Undo command on the Edit menu.
5. Stop playback.
If you check the Arrange window, you will note that a special track called “Audio Mix”
has been created. This track contains one long part named “Audio Mix”, in which all
your mixer actions are stored. Don’t worry about the length of this part; it will automatically be lengthened if you record past its end.
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•
Please note that there is only one audiomix part/track, created the first
time you use the Write function in your arrangement.
No new parts are created the next time you use the Write function; information is
added to the existing part instead.
6. Deactivate the Write function by clicking on the button.
Exiting the mixer window will automatically deactivate the Write function.
❐ The Write function works in Stop mode as well as during playback. If you
activate Write when Cubasis VST is stopped, all changes you make to
your mixer parameters are recorded at the current song position. This
feature can be used creatively if you need initial mixer settings, abrupt
changes, etc.
Playing back your recorded Mixer actions
1. Activate the automated playback by clicking on the Read button
above the VST Channel Mixer’s Master Section.
You may have Write and Read activated simultaneously if you want to watch and listen
to your recorded mixer actions while you’re recording fader movements for another
mixer channel, etc.
2. Start playback as usual.
The monitor faders and controls will move automatically, following your recorded
actions.
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Mixing MIDI
❐ To be able to “mix” your MIDI tracks, your MIDI Instruments must be able
to respond to MIDI Volume and Pan messages. Furthermore, if your instruments support any of the standards GS (Roland’s extension of GM) or
XG (Yamaha’s extension of GM), you will be able to control various other
parameters in the instruments, such as effects, filters, envelopes, etc.
For details about the XG, GS and General MIDI standards, see page 223.
What is MIDI “Mixing”?
The easiest way to mix your MIDI tracks (or really, to change levels,
pans and other settings in your MIDI Instruments) is to use the MIDI
Track Mixer. This is opened by selecting MIDI Track Mixer on the Panels menu or by clicking the MIDI Track Mixer icon on the Toolbar.
Even though the MIDI Track Mixer resembles the VST Channel Mixer,
there is a big difference between how they work: While the VST
Channel Mixer actually affects the audio played back, the MIDI Track
Mixer emulates this by sending out MIDI Controller messages to your
MIDI Instruments. For example, changing the volume for a track in the
MIDI Track Mixer causes Cubasis VST to send out MIDI Volume messages to the instrument. This is important to realize, since it affects the
behavior of the Mixer in many ways.
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MIDI Track Mixer vs. Inspector settings
Many of the settings in the MIDI Track Mixer are also available in the
Inspector. Settings you make in the MIDI Track Mixer are reflected in
the Inspector, and vice versa, according to the following rules:
•
•
•
•
Inspector settings made for the track are reflected in the MIDI Track Mixer.
Inspector settings made for single parts are not reflected in the MIDI Track
Mixer.
Settings you make in the MIDI Track Mixer affect the Inspector settings for the
track (but not for individual parts).
Mixer automation (created with the Write/Read function in the MIDI Track
Mixer) will not be reflected in the Inspector.
When you play back a MIDI track this may cause some confusion:
Consider a track set to volume 90 (in the MIDI Track Mixer or Track Inspector). Somewhere a bit into the track, there is a part set to volume
127. On playback, when the song position reaches this part, the volume will be raised in your instrument, but this will not be reflected in
the MIDI Track Mixer! The same thing will happen if the parts contain
recorded controller messages. Therefore:
❐ If you want to have “absolute control” over the volume, pan, etc. from the
MIDI Track Mixer (manually or using automation), make sure that all Inspector Part Parameters are set to OFF and that the parts don’t contain
any controller messages of those types.
The relationship between tracks and “mixer channels”
For each MIDI track there is one channel fader. If you create new
tracks or delete any existing track, the Mixer will adjust accordingly.
❐ Please note that you can have several MIDI tracks set to the same MIDI
channel. Since all actions in the MIDI Track Mixer send out MIDI messages (volume, pan, etc.), this means that “mixing” one of these tracks
also affects all other tracks set to the same MIDI channel.
For example, if you move the fader for one of the tracks, the faders for
the other tracks on the same channel will move accordingly.
Tracks set to channel “Any” are displayed in the MIDI Track Mixer, but
you cannot make any settings for them.
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Setting Levels
You adjust the levels of your MIDI tracks by moving the faders.
When you move a fader, the display below it shows the setting
numerically (0-127). This is the value of the MIDI Volume message sent out on the corresponding MIDI channel.
About the Meters
As in the VST Channel Mixer, playback is reflected by the level meters
next to each fader. However, in the MIDI Track Mixer, the level meters
actually show the velocity values of the MIDI data being played back.
This means that the faders (which adjust the volume in the instrument)
don’t affect the meters (which indicate the velocity of each event that
is played back). Also, playing back one single long note will only
cause the level meters to flash briefly at the beginning of the note –
since they only respond to the note-on messages, not to the actual
sound level.
Setting Pan
You adjust the stereo position of the MIDI tracks with the pan controls.
When you change this setting, the display below the
fader shows the setting numerically (L64 - <C> - R63).
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Using Mute and Solo
On each Mixer channel strip, there is a Mute and a Solo button, which
can be of great use when you want to listen closely to one or several
MIDI tracks.
•
Clicking the Mute button silences the output of the track.
To deactivate Mute, click on the button again.
•
Clicking the Solo button silences the output of all other MIDI tracks.
Audio tracks are not affected by this. You may Solo several tracks at the same time if
you like. To deactivate Solo, click on the button again.
The Audio Mute button
Activating the Audio Mute button will turn off all audio output, by muting all audio tracks in the arrangement. Use this when you want to
concentrate on the MIDI material.
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The “Extended” Channel Strip
If you click on the arrow button at the top of a channel strip (MIDI
tracks only), the strip is extended to the right. Pressing [Alt] and clicking on any arrow button will extend all tracks.
An “extended” channel strip.
Which controls are available in the extended area differs depending
on the mode selected on the pop-up menu at the top:
The following modes are available:
Mode names
Description
XG 1 – Effect & Sends
Effect Sends and various sound control parameters for use
with instruments compatible with the Yamaha XG standard.
XG 2 – Global Settings Global settings for instruments compatible with the Yamaha
XG standard.
GS – Effect & Sends
Effect Sends and various sound control parameters for use
with instruments compatible with the Roland GS standard.
GS – Global Settings
Global settings for instruments compatible with the Roland
GS standard.
Off
In this mode, no control parameters are available.
The controls in each mode are described below.
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About the Reset and Off buttons
Regardless of the selected mode, you will find two buttons labelled
“Reset” and “Off” at the top of the extended channel strip. These have
the following functions:
•
Clicking the Reset button will set all parameters to their default values,
and send out the corresponding MIDI messages.
For most parameters, the default values will be zero or “no adjustment”, but there are
exceptions to this. For example, the default Reverb Send settings is 64.
•
Clicking the Off button will set all controls to their lowest value, without sending out any MIDI messages.
XG 1 – Effects & Sends
The following controls are available when the XG 1 mode is selected:
Control
Description
Send 1
Send level for the reverb effect.
Send 2
Send level for the chorus effect.
Send 3
Send level for the “variation” effect.
Attack
Adjusts the attack time of the sound. Turning the knob to the left shortens the attack, while turning it to the right gives a slower attack. Middle
position means no adjustment is made.
Release
Adjusts the release time of the sound. Turning the knob to the left shortens the release, while turning it to the right makes the release time
longer. Middle position means no adjustment is made.
Harm.C
Adjusts the harmonic content of the sound. Middle position means no
adjustment is made.
Bright
Adjusts the brightness of the sound. Middle position means no adjustment is made.
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XG 2 – Global Settings
In this mode, the parameters affect global settings in the instrument(s).
Changing one of these settings for a track will in fact affect all MIDI instruments connected to the same MIDI output, regardless of the MIDI
Channel setting of the track. Therefore, to avoid confusion it might be
a good idea to create an empty track and use this only for these global
settings. The following controls are available:
Control
Description
Eff. 1
This allows you to select which type of reverb effect should be used: No
effect (the reverb turned off), Hall 1-2, Room 1-3, Stage 1-2 or Plate.
Eff. 2
This allows you to select which type of chorus effect should be used: No
effect (the chorus turned off), Chorus, Celeste or Flanger.
Eff. 3
This allows you to select one of a large number of “variation” effect types.
Selecting “No Effect” is the same as turning off the variation effect.
Reset
Sends an XG reset message.
MastVol
This is used to control the Master Volume of an instrument. Normally you
should leave this in its highest position and set the volumes individually
for each channel with the volume faders.
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GS – Effects & Sends
The following controls are available when the GS 1 mode is selected:
Control
Description
Send 1
Send level for the reverb effect.
Send 2
Send level for the chorus effect.
Send 3
Send level for the “variation” effect.
Attack
Adjusts the attack time of the sound. Turning the knob to the left shortens
the attack, while turning it to the right gives a slower attack. Middle position
means no adjustment is made.
Decay
Adjusts the decay time of the sound. Turning the knob to the left shortens
the decay, while turning it to the right makes the decay longer. Middle position means no adjustment is made.
Release
Adjusts the release time of the sound. Turning the knob to the left shortens
the release, while turning it to the right makes the release time longer. Middle position means no adjustment is made.
CutOff
Adjusts the filter cutoff frequency. Middle position means no adjustment is
made.
Reson.
Adjusts the filter resonance. Middle position means no adjustment is made.
Press.
Allows you to send out aftertouch (channel pressure) messages on the
track’s MIDI channel. This is useful if your keyboard cannot send aftertouch,
but you have sound modules that respond to aftertouch. The default value
for this parameter is zero, i.e. fully left.
Modul.
Allows you to send out modulation messages on the track’s MIDI channel.
The default value for this parameter is zero, i.e. fully left.
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GS – Global Settings
In this mode, the parameters affect global settings in the instrument(s).
Changing one of these settings for a track will in fact affect all MIDI instruments connected to the same MIDI output, regardless of the MIDI
channel setting of the track. Therefore, to avoid confusion it might be a
good idea to create an empty track and use this only for these global
settings. The following controls are available:
Control
Description
Eff. 1
This allows you to select which type of reverb effect should be used:
Room 1-3, Hall 1-2, Plate, Delay or Panning Delay.
Para 1-4
Allows you to edit the four first parameters of the selected reverb effect.
Eff. 2
This allows you to select which type of chorus effect should be used:
Chorus, Flanger, Short Delay, Feedback Chorus or Feedback Delay.
Para 1-4
Allows you to edit the four first parameters of the selected chorus effect.
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Automating the MIDI Track Mixer
All actions in the MIDI Track Mixer window can be automated in a very
straightforward way: by “writing” them into a special “Track Mix” part.
When played back, this part will repeat your fader and knob movements just like you performed them. You will even see the faders and
buttons move on the screen, like on a physical mixer with motorized
controls.
Recording your actions
1. Open the MIDI Track Mixer window.
2. Click on the Write button in the upper left corner to activate recording.
While this button is “lit” (activated), every volume, pan, mute or effect setting you make
will be recorded.
3. Start playback.
4. Move the faders and pan controls as you would during a manual mixdown.
Since you can repeat this recording several times, it is probably easiest to mix one or a
couple of channels at a time, and stop and deactivate the Write function in between.
That way, you can also Undo your last run if you’re not satisfied, using the Undo command on the Edit menu.
❐ Note that you can record Mutes but not the Solo buttons!
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5. Stop playback.
If you check the Arrange window, you will note that a special Mixer track called “Track
Mix” has been created. This track contains one long part named “Track Mix”, in which
all your MIDI Track Mixer actions are stored. Don’t worry about the length of this part;
it will automatically be lengthened if you record past its end.
Please note that there is only one Track Mix part/track, created the first time you use
the Write function in your arrangement. No new parts are created the next time you use
the Write function; information is added to the existing part instead.
6. Deactivate the Write function by clicking on the button.
Recording Mixer settings in Stop mode
The Write function works in Stop mode as well as during playback. If
you activate Write when Cubasis VST is stopped, all changes you
make to your mixer parameters are recorded at the current song position. This feature can be used creatively if you need initial mixer settings, abrupt changes, etc.
Playing back your recorded Mixer actions
1. Check that the Track Mix track is not muted.
2. Activate the automated playback by clicking on the Read button in the
upper left corner of the MIDI Track Mixer.
You may have Write and Read activated simultaneously, if you want to watch and listen
to your recorded mixer actions while you’re recording fader movements for another
mixer channel, etc.
3. Start playback as usual.
The faders and controls will move automatically, following your recorded actions.
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What is GM/GS/XG?
General MIDI
General MIDI (GM) is a standard set up by the MIDI Manufacturers’
Association (MMA) and the Japanese MIDI Standards Committee
(JMSC).
It defines a standardized group of sounds and the minimum requirements for General MIDI compatible synthesizers or sound modules,
so that a specially prepared sequence or MIDI file that is sent to the
instrument via MIDI will play back the correct sound types, regardless
of make and model of the instrument.
MIDI identifies sounds by their program change number. Before the
GM standard was introduced, the same MIDI program change number often addressed totally different types of sound in any two synthesizers or sound modules from different manufacturers, e.g. a flute type
sound in one instrument and a piano type sound in the other.
With the introduction of GM standard compatible instruments this
changed. These instruments use the same program change numbers
for the same types of instruments. So, if you prepared a sequence or
MIDI file and want the melody to be played by a “piano”, you can use
a certain program change command embedded into the sequence to
automatically select a piano sound in any GM compatible sound module. The GM standard does not specify in great detail how that piano
should sound. It is simply assumed that the manufacturer reproduces
an acoustic piano within the capabilities used by the instrument.
General MIDI supports all 16 MIDI channels. Each channel can play a
variable number of voices (thus be polyphonic). Each channel can
play a different instrument (or sound or program). A minimum of 24
fully dynamically allocated voices are simultaneously available for both
melodic and percussion sounds.
Furthermore, in GM compatible instruments, percussion and drum instruments which are key-based always use MIDI channel 10 and specific note numbers are reserved for specific drum sounds.
There is a number of other MIDI messages that GM compatible instruments should respond to. Among these are the MIDI controller events
for Volume (Controller 7) and Pan (controller 10). By using these controllers, it is possible to create a MIDI Mix for a piece of music.
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Roland GS
This is a variation of General MIDI introduced by Roland. It defines additional standard procedures for selecting alternate drum kits and
sound variations, and for setting a number of other parameters in Roland GS compatible instruments.
Yamaha XG
This is a variation of General MIDI introduced by Yamaha. It defines
additional standard procedures for selecting alternate drum kits and
for setting a number of other parameters in Yamaha XG compatible instruments.
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14
The included VST Effects
Introduction
Cubasis VSTcomes with a number of VST Plug-in effects included.
This chapter describes the included effects parameters. For general
details about how to assign and set up effects, see page 202.
About VST 2.0
Version 2.0 of the VST plug-in standard allows plug-ins to receive
MIDI from the host application (in this case, Cubasis VST). Possible
uses for this feature include tempo-based delays, MIDI control of
pitch-shifters and harmonizers, etc.
•
MIDI Timing information is automatically provided to VST 2.0 plug-ins
that “requests it”.
Tempo Sync basics
Several of the new VST Plug-in effects can be synchronized to the
song tempo in Cubasis VST. In the control panels for the effect, you
normally set up tempo sync by specifying a base note value and a
multiplier. The resulting timing interval is the base note value multiplied with the multiplier value. For example, if you set the base note
value to 1/16 (a sixteenth note) and the multiplier to 3, the resulting
timing is 3/16. In the case of a delay effect, this means the interval between each delay repeat will be three sixteenth notes.
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Table Of Contents
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Autopan - see page 261.
bEATER PAN - see page 228.
BitCrusher - see page 230.
Chopper2 - see page 231.
Chorus - see page 232.
DoubleDelay - see page 233.
eROUNDELIZER - see page 234.
Flanger - see page 235.
Fuzzbox - see page 262.
Grungelizer - see page 263.
Karlette - see page 236.
Metalizer2 - see page 237.
MIDI Gate - see page 239.
Mysterizer - see page 241.
pDELAY - see page 244.
Phaser - see page 245.
PhatSync - see page 246.
Reverb - see page 249.
Rotary - see page 250.
Scopion - see page 264.
Stereo Echo - see page 265.
Stereo Wizard - see page 266.
Tranceformer2 - see page 252.
Vocoder - see page 253.
Voice Attenuator - see page 257.
Voice Detective - see page 258.
Wunderverb 3 - see page 267.
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bEATER PAN
The bEATER PAN rhythm reconstruction tool makes it possible to mutate rhythmic material in real time, creating completely new patterns
and grooves. Simply put, it works like a gate that opens repeatedly (in
sync with the song tempo) to let portions of the signal through. You
can adjust how long and how often the gate will open. The resulting
“chopped-up” signal can automatically be panned, and you can add
reverse, shuffle and half speed effects.
The bEATER PAN is best used as an insert effect (preferably on a stereo audio channel, to make use of the auto-panning feature - see the
note on page 205). To get a sense of what you can do with this plugin, set up a stereo drum loop, add bEATER PAN as an insert effect for
the channel and check out the included presets!
The parameters are as follows:
Parameter
Description
Depth
Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the effect. To hear
the processed sound only, set Depth to 100.
Rate
This determines the timing of the gate, in relation to the song tempo:
whole notes (1), half notes (2), quarter notes (3), eighth notes (4) or
sixteenth notes (5).
Length
This determines how long the gate will be open. The value is a percentage of the note value selected with the Rate control.
Panning Rate
Sets how fast the signal is panned between the left and right side of
the stereo image. The result depends on the Stereo Image setting.
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Parameter
Description
Stereo Image
Determines how far to the left and right the signal is panned by the
auto-panning feature. When set to 0, no auto-panning is applied (the
original stereo image is preserved).
Reverse
When this is activated, the signal will be played back in reverse.
Shuffle
When this is activated, the processed audio is chopped up and randomly reordered.
Half Speed
When this is activated, the audio is played back at half speed (and
thus at lower pitch).
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BitCrusher
If you’re into lo-fi sound, BitCrusher is the effect for you. It offers the
possibility of decimating and truncating the input audio signal by bit
reduction, to get a noisy, distorted sound. You can for example make
a 24 bit audio signal sound like an 8 or 4 bit signal, or even render it
completely garbled and unrecognizable. BitCrusher is usable as an insert effect or a send effect.
Parameter
Values
Description
Mode
I,II,III,IV
Select one of four operating modes for the BitCrusher.
Each mode will produce a different sounding result. Modes
I and III are nastier and noisier, while modes II and IV are
more subtle.
Depth
0-24
Use this to set the desired bit resolution. A setting of 24
gives the highest audio quality, while a setting of 1 will create mostly noise.
Sample Divider 1-65
This sets the amount by which the audio samples are decimated. At the highest setting (65), nearly all of the information describing the original audio signal will be eliminated,
thereby turning the signal into nothing more than unrecognizable noise.
Mix
N/A
This slider regulates the balance between the output from
the BitCrusher and the original audio signal. Drag the slider
upwards for a more dominant effect, and drag it downwards if you want the original signal to be more prominent.
Gain
N/A
Governs the output level from the BitCrusher. Drag the
slider upwards to increase the level.
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Chopper2
Chopper2 is a combined tremolo and autopan effect. It can use different waveforms to modulate the level (tremolo) or stereo position (pan),
either using Tempo Sync or manual modulation speed settings.
Parameters are as follows:
Parameter Values
Description
Input
0-100%
Sets the Input level.
Output
0-100%
Sets the Output level.
Mix
0-100%
Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the
effect. If Chopper2 is used as a send effect, this
should be set to maximum as you can instead control
the dry/effect balance with the send.
Tempo Sync 1/1 - 1/32,
When tempo sync is activated (the “Sync” button is
pop-up
1/1 - 1/32 Triplet, lit) clicking the field above the Speed knob opens a
1/1 - 1/32 Dotted. pop-up menu, on which you select a note value for
tempo-syncing the effect. Note that there is no note
value modifier for this effect (see page 226).
Speed
0-50Hz
lit), this knob selects note values (the same as selecting from the pop-up menu). When tempo sync is off,
this sets the tremolo/auto-pan speed freely.
Sync button On/Off
Turns Tempo Sync on or off.
Stereo/Mono Stereo/Mono
button
Determines whether the Chopper will work as an
auto-panner (button set to “Stereo”) or a tremolo effect (button set to “Mono”).
Waveform
buttons
Sine, Square, Saw, Sets the modulation waveform.
Rev. Saw, Triangle
Depth
0-100%
Sets the depth of the Chopper effect.
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Chorus
The Chorus plug-in adds a short delay to the signal, and pitch modulates the delayed signal to produce a “doubling” effect. The parameters are as follows:
Parameter
Values
Description
Mix
0-100%
Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the effect.
If Chorus is used as a send effect, this should be set to maximum as you can instead control the dry/effect balance with
the send.
Frequency
0-5Hz
This sets the modulation rate.
Delay
0-5ms
This controls the depth of the Chorus effect.
Stages
1-3
This adds one or two more delay taps, producing a thicker,
multi-layered chorus effect.
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DoubleDelay
This effect provides two separate delays. Cubasis VST automatically
provides the plug-in with the current song tempo. The parameters are
as follows:
Parameter
Values
Description
Mix
0-100%
Sets the level balance between the dry signal and
the effect. If DoubleDelay is used as a send effect,
this should be set to maximum (100%) as you can
instead control the dry/effect balance with the
send.
Tempo Sync
pop-up 1
No sync,
1/1 - 1/32,
1/1 - 1/32 Triplet,
1/1 - 1/32 Dotted
This pop-up menu (in the upper left corner of the
graphic display) is where you specify the base
note value for the first delay unit.
If “No Sync” is selected, the delay can be set in ms
with the TMP Sync knobs.
Tempo Sync
pop-up 2
As above.
This pop-up menu (in the lower left corner of the
graphic display) is where you specify the base
note value for the second delay unit.
Feedback
0-100%
This sets the number of repeats for both delays.
TMP Sync1
x1 to x10.
The note value multiplier for the first delay unit.
See page 226
TMP Sync2
x1 to x10.
As above, but for the second delay unit.
Pan1
-100 to 100%
This sets the stereo position for the first delay.
Pan2
-100 to 100%
This sets the stereo position for the second delay.
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eROUNDELIZER
The eROUNDELIZER is an advanced phaser plug-in, allowing for anything from smooth, subtle phasing to extreme effects. The plug-in has
the following parameters:
Parameter
Description
Depth
Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the effect. If eROUNDELIZER is used as a send effect, this should be set to maximum (100)
as you can instead control the dry/effect balance with the sends.
Feedback
This sets the amount of feedback. A higher value produces a more pronounced “tone” in the phasing sweep.
Rate
This sets the speed of the phaser sweep, when Sync is off (see below).
N. of stages
This controls the number of phaser stages, which dramatically changes
the character of the effect.
Sync
When this is on (button is lit) the phaser sweep will be synchronized to
the song tempo. When you click the button to turn Sync on, a pop-up
menu appears, allowing you to select a note value for the tempo sync
(1/1 to 1/32).
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Flanger
This is a classic flanger effect with stereo enhancement. Parameters
are as follows:
Parameter
Values
Description
Mix
0-100%
the effect. If Flanger is used as a send effect, this
should be set to maximum as you can instead control the dry/effect balance with the send.
Tempo Sync
pop-up
1/1 - 1/32,
This pop-up menu (in the upper right corner of the
1/1 - 1/32 Triplet, graphic display) is where you specify the base note
1/1 - 1/32 Dotted value for tempo syncing the flanger sweep.
If you select “No Sync”, the sweep rate can be set
freely with the Time knob, without sync to tempo.
Tempo Sync
knob
x1 to x10
This is the note value multiplier for the flanger sweep
when tempo sync is used. See page 226
Shape Sync
knob
1-16
This changes the shape of the modulating waveform, altering the character of the flanger sweep.
Feedback
0-100%
This determines the character of the flange effect.
Higher settings produce a more “metallic” sound.
Rate
0-5Hz
This sets the rate of the modulation sweep when
“No Sync” is selected, i.e. when tempo sync is off.
Depth
0-100%
This sets the depth of the modulation sweep.
Delay
0-100ms
This parameter affects the frequency range of the
modulation sweep, by adjusting the initial delay time.
Stereo Basis
0-100%
This sets the stereo width of the effect. 0% is mono,
50% original stereo, and 100% maximum stereo enhancement.
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Karlette
The Karlette is a four-channel delay, that emulates a “tape-loop” echo.
The four “tape-heads” can be set to a certain note value, or a certain
time, depending on whether Tempo Sync is activated or not. For each
of the four “tape-heads” you can set the following parameters:
•
Parameter
Values
Description
Delay
1/32 to 1/1, including
triplet (T) and dotted (*)
values.
Sync Off: 0 - 2 sec.
With the sync button activated, the delay can
be set to a note value synced to the Cubasis
VST tempo. If the sync button is deactivated,
the delay can be freely set to a time value.
Volume
Off to 0dB
The amplitude of the delay. With the knob
turned all the way to the left, the delay is
muted.
Damp
0.000 to 1.000
The higher the value, the more the delay is
dampened (the high frequencies are attenuated) to produce a more subtle effect.
Pan
L64 - < C > - R64
Sets the stereo position for the delay.
Feedback
0.000 to 1.000
Sets the number of delay repeats.
In addition to the individual parameters for the four “tape-heads” there is
a global Tempo Sync on/off button and a Dry/Wet control.
If Karlette is used as a send effect, this should be set to all “Wet” as you can instead
control the dry/effect balance with the send.
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Metalizer2
The Metalizer feeds the audio signal through a variable frequency filter, with Tempo sync or time modulation and feedback control.
Parameter
Values
Description
Output
0-100%
Mix
0-100%
the effect. If Metalizer is used as a send effect, this
should be set to maximum as you can instead control the dry/effect balance with the send.
Tempo Sync
pop-up
No sync,
1/1 - 1/32,
1/1 - 1/32 Triplet,
1/1 - 1/32 Dotted.
lit) clicking the field above the Speed knob opens a
pop-up menu, on which you select a note value for
tempo-syncing the effect. There is no note value
modifier for this effect (see page 226).
Speed
0-10Hz
lit), this knob selects note values (the same as selecting from the pop-up menu). When tempo sync is
deactivated (the “Sync” button is dark), this sets the
modulation speed freely.
On button
On/Off
Turns on and off the filter modulation. When turned
off, the Metalizer will work as a static filter.
Sync button
On/Off
Turns tempo sync of the modulation on or off.
Stereo/Mono Stereo/Mono
button
Determines whether the output of the Metalizer will
be in stereo or mono (see also the note on stereo effects on page 205).
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Parameter
Values
Description
Sharpness
0-100%
Governs the character of the filter effect. The higher
the value, the narrower the affected frequency area,
producing sharper sound and a more pronounced
effect.
Tone
0-100%
Governs the feedback frequency. The effect of this
will be more noticeable with high Feedback settings.
Feedback
0-100%
Sets the amount of feedback. Higher values produce a more “metallic” sound.
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MIDI Gate
Gating, in its fundamental form, silences audio signals below a certain
set threshold level. I.e. when a signal rises above the set level, the
Gate opens to let the signal through while signals below the set level
are cut off. MIDI Gate however, is a Gate effect that is not triggered by
threshold levels, but instead by MIDI notes. Hence it needs both audio
and MIDI data to function.
Setting Up
The MIDI Gate requires both an audio signal and a MIDI input to function.
To set it up, proceed as follows:
1. Select the audio to be affected by the MIDI Gate.
This can be audio material from any audio track, or even a live audio input routed to a
audio track (provided you have a low latency audio card). If a live audio input is used,
monitoring must be activated (the “In” buttons in the Inspector must be lit).
2. Select the MIDI Gate as an Insert effect for the Audio channel.
Click the Edit button to open the MIDI Gate panel.
3. Select a MIDI track to control the MIDI Gate.
This can be an empty MIDI track, or a MIDI track containing data, it doesn’t matter.
However, if you wish to play the MIDI Gate in real-time - as opposed to having a recorded Part playing it - the track has to be selected for the effect to receive the MIDI
output.
4. Click in the Output column for the MIDI track.
The Output pop-up menu appears, with the MIDI Gate as one of the items.
5. Select the MIDI Gate from the Output pop-up menu.
The MIDI Output from the track is now routed to the MIDI Gate.
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What to do next depends on whether you are using live or recorded
audio and whether you are using real-time or recorded MIDI. We will
assume for the purposes of this manual that you are using recorded
audio, and play the MIDI in real-time.
Make sure the MIDI track is selected and start playback.
6. Now play a few notes on your MIDI keyboard.
As you can hear, the audio track material is affected by what you play on your MIDI keyboard.
You can now make settings using the following parameters:
Parameter
Values
Description
Attack
0 - 500
This is used for determining how long it should take for the
Gate to open after receiving a signal that triggers it.
Hold
0 - 3.000
Regulates how long the Gate remains open after a Note
On or Note Off message (see Hold Mode below).
Release
0 - 3.000
This determines how long it takes for the Gate to close (in
addition to the value set with the Hold-parameter).
Note To
Attack
-100 - <Off> - The value you specify here determines how and to which
+100
extent the velocity values of the MIDI notes should affect
the Attack. If this is set to a positive value, the Attack time
will increase with higher note velocities. At negative values, higher velocities give shorter Attack times. If you
don’t wish to use this parameter, set it to <Off>.
Note To
Release
-100 - <Off> - The value you specify here determines how and to which
+100
extent the Velocity values of the MIDI notes should affect
the Release. Positive values will increase the Release time
and negative values will decrease the Release time. If you
do not wish to use this parameter, set it to <Off>.
Velocity To
VCA
0 - 127
This controls to which extent the velocity values of the
MIDI notes determine the output volume. A value of 127
means that the volume is controlled entirely by the velocity
values, while a value of 0 means that velocities will have
no effect on the volume.
Hold Mode
Note-On/
Note-Off
Use this switch to set the Hold Mode. In Note-On mode,
the Gate will only remain open for the time set with the
Hold and Release parameters, regardless of the length of
the MIDI note that triggered the Gate. In Note-Off mode
on the other hand, the Gate will remain open for as long
as the MIDI note plays, and then apply the Hold and Release parameters.
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Mysterizer
The Mysterizer is a multi-effect plug-in with a unique hands-on user interface. It can be used as an insert effect or a send effect, and allows
you to choose between eight different effects. For each effect, you
can control two parameters by clicking and dragging in the display, allowing for continuous real-time effect manipulation, subtle sweeping
changes or weird, wild mutations.
Here’s how to use the Mysterizer:
1. Play back some audio and route the audio channel through the Mysterizer (either as an insert or a send effect).
2. Open the Mysterizer effect control panel and click the Prog Select
field to the right to select the desired effect.
Each time you click, the next effect is selected. For a list of the effects, see below.
3. When you have selected an effect you want to use, the two text fields
to the left show you which parameters are controlled on the X-axis and
Y-axis respectively.
In the figure above, the Ring Mod effect is selected, with Amount controlled on the Xaxis and Frequency on the Y-axis.
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4. Click in the display and drag the hair cursor to change the parameter
settings.
The X-axis goes from left to right and the Y-axis goes from top to bottom, which means
that the “zero setting” for both axes is in the upper left corner of the display.
5. Experiment!
The Rate and Overshoot knobs
When you move the hair cursor, you will see how the small white dot
moves to follow your adjustments. This represents the actual parameter settings. The Rate and Overshoot controls at the bottom of the
window control how quickly and accurately the white dot follows your
movements - in other words how your mouse movements are “interpreted” by the effect.
•
The Rate knobs determine how fast the Mysterizer will respond when
you move the hair cursor to a new position.
You can make independent settings for the X- and Y-axis.
•
The Overshoot knobs determine how far from “the target position” the
white dot will be allowed to stray along the corresponding axis when
moving the hair cursor.
Moderate settings can give a more natural feel when a parameter is changed. Maximum Overshoot settings (turning the knob all the way to the right) will cause constant
movement back and forth along the corresponding axis relative to the target position,
because the white dot will never “reach the target” and come to rest. This can create
an undulating, LFO-like special effect, the speed and range of which can be controlled
with the corresponding Rate knob.
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The Mysterizer Effects
The following effects are available:
•
Ring Modulator
An effect with which the incoming audio is ring modulated by an internal, variable frequency oscillator, thereby producing new harmonics. The X-axis governs the amount of
effect; the Y-axis controls the frequency of the built-in oscillator.
•
Comb Delay
A delay with high feedback, causing resonating peaks at certain frequencies. The Xaxis controls the feedback amount; the Y-axis is the manual delay time control (effectively serving as a pitch control).
•
Mono Delay
A monaural delay. The X-axis controls the delay feedback while the Y-axis controls the
delay time.
•
Stereo Delay
A stereo delay with which the repeats are heard in both the left and right channels. The
X-axis controls the delay feedback while the Y-axis controls the delay time.
•
Low-Pass Filter (LP)
A filter that cuts off high frequencies according to a set frequency threshold. Only signals below the cut-off frequency will be heard. The X-axis governs the filter resonance;
the Y-axis controls the cut-off frequency.
•
High-Pass Filter (HP)
A filter that cuts off low frequencies according to a set frequency threshold. Only signals above the cut-off frequency will be heard. The X-axis governs the filter resonance;
the Y-axis controls the cut-off frequency.
•
Band-Pass Filter (BP)
A filter that cuts off all frequencies except those around the set cut-off frequency. The
X-axis governs the filter resonance; the Y-axis controls the cut-off frequency.
•
Distortion
A standard distortion effect. The X-axis is the drive control (amount of distortion); the
Y-axis serves as a tone control.
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pDELAY
The pDELAY is a stereo delay plug-in with tempo sync and pitch modulation controls, allowing for very weird and interesting effects. It can
be used (as a send or insert effect) with any type of audio recordings
but is especially excellent for transforming rhythmic material.
Parameter
Description
Depth
Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the effect. To hear
the processed sound only, set Depth to 100.
Rate
Determines the delay time, in relation to the song tempo. The settings
range from whole notes (0) to 1/32 notes (5).
Pitch
This control changes the pitch (playback speed) of each separate
“echo”. The range is ± 1 octave (half to double speed), with the value
50 indicating no change in pitch. With a high Rate setting, the timing
of the processed signal won’t be affected - only the pitch. If the Rate
setting is low, you will hear the change in playback speed when you
adjust the Pitch - this can be used for “shuffle feel” delays, etc.
Feedback
This determines the number of delay “echoes”. Note that each new
echo will be affected by the Pitch settings above, making it possible
to create “rising” or “falling” delay effects.
Position
Sets the stereo position of the first echo, with negative values being
left, positive values right and “0” middle position. Subsequent echoes
(as set by the Feedback control) will alternate between the left and
right side, at the same “distance” from the middle position.
Mod Rate
The Rate parameter (delay time) can be continuously modulated,
making the delay effect less static and more “spacey”. This control
determines the speed of the modulation.
Mod Depth
Determines how much the Rate parameter should be modulated.
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Phaser
The Phaser plug-in produces the classic “swooshing” sound that
characterizes phasing. It works by shifting the phase of the signal and
adding it back to the original signal, causing partial cancellation of the
frequency spectrum.
Parameter
Values
Description
Mix
0-100%
the effect. If the Phaser is used as a send effect,
this should be set to maximum as you can instead
Tempo Sync
pop-up
No sync,
1/1 - 1/32,
1/1 - 1/32 Triplet,
1/1 - 1/32 Dotted.
This pop-up menu (in the upper right corner of the
graphic display) is where you specify the base note
value for tempo syncing the Phaser sweep.
If you select “No Sync”, the sweep rate can be set
freely with the Time knob, without sync to tempo.
Feedback
0-100%
This sets the amount of Feedback. A higher value
produces a more pronounced effect.
TMP Sync
knob
x1 to x10.
This is the note value multiplier for the Phaser
sweep when tempo sync is used. See page 226.
Rate
0-6Hz
This sets the rate of the Phaser sweep, when “No
Sync” is selected, i.e. when tempo sync is off.
Stereo Basis
0-100%
This sets the stereo width of the effect. 0% is
mono, 50% original stereo, and 100% maximum
stereo enhancement.
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PhatSync
PhatSync is a pattern-controlled multimode filter that can create rhythmic, pulsating filter effects.
General Operation
PhatSync can produce two simultaneous 16-step patterns for the filter cutoff and resonance parameters, synced to the sequencer tempo.
Setting Step Values
•
Setting step values is done by clicking in the pattern grid windows.
Individual step entries can be freely dragged up or down the vertical axis, or directly set
by clicking in an empty grid box. By click-dragging left or right consecutive step entries
will be set to the pointer position.
Setting filter cutoff values in the grid window.
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•
The horizontal axis show the pattern steps 1-16 from left to right, and
the vertical axis determines the (relative) filter cutoff frequency and
resonance setting.
The higher up on the vertical axis a step value is entered, the higher the relative filter
cutoff frequency or filter resonance setting.
•
By starting playback and editing the patterns for the cutoff and resonance parameters, you can hear how your filter patterns affect the
sound source connected to PhatSync directly.
Selecting New Patterns
•
Created patterns are saved with the song, and up to 8 different Cutoff
and Resonance patterns can be saved internally.
Both the Cutoff and Resonance patterns are saved together in the 8 Pattern memories.
•
To select new patterns you use the Pattern Selector.
New patterns are all set to the same step value by default.
Pattern Selector.
Using Pattern Copy and Paste to create variations
You can use the Copy and Paste buttons below the Pattern selector
to copy a pattern to another Pattern memory location, which is useful
for creating variations on a pattern.
•
Click the Copy button with the pattern you wish to copy selected,
then select another Pattern memory location, and click Paste.
The pattern is copied to the new location, and can now be edited to create variations
using the original pattern as a starting point.
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PhatSync Parameters:
Parameter/Value
Description
Base Cutoff
This sets the base filter cutoff frequency. Cutoff values set in
the Cutoff Grid windows are values relative to the Base Cutoff
value.
Base Resonance
This sets the base filter resonance. Resonance values set in the
Resonance Grid windows are values relative to the Base Resonance value. Note that very high Base Resonance settings can
produce loud ringing effects at certain frequencies.
Glide
This will apply glide between the pattern step values, causing
values to change more smoothly.
Filter Mode
(LP, BP, HP)
This selects between lowpass (LP), bandpass (BP) or highpass (HP) filter modes.
Sync
This sets the pattern beat resolution, i.e. what note values the
(1/32, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4) pattern will play in relation to the tempo.
Mix
Adjusts the mix between dry and processed signal.
Gain
Sets the overall volume.
❐ All parameters can be automated as described on page 210.
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Reverb
Reverb is used to add ambience and “space” to recordings. The reverb
effect features the following parameters:
Parameter
Description
Mix
Sets the level balance between the dry signal and the effect. If Reverb is
used as a send effect, this should be set to maximum as you can instead
Room Size
Governs the “size” of the simulated room environment.
Predelay
This parameter sets a delay between the direct sound and the reverb effect output. A short predelay before the reverb reduces reverb “clutter”
which blurs the sound, and makes the reverb effect more natural-sounding.
Reverb Time
This parameter sets the length of the reverb effect.
Damp
This parameter “dampens” the higher frequencies, producing a rounder
and smoother sounding reverb.
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Rotary
The Rotary plug-in simulates the classic effect of a rotary speaker. A
rotary speaker cabinet features variable speed rotating speakers to
produce a swirling chorus effect, commonly used with organs. Rotary
features all the parameters associated with the real thing. The included presets provide good starting points for further tweaking of the
numerous parameters.
The parameters are as follows:
Parameter
Values
Speed
STOP/SLOW/FAST This controls the speed of the Rotary.
MIDI CC
Mod Wheel/Pitch
Selects the MIDI Continuous Controller for the
Bend/Sustain Pedal/ Speed parameter. See page 251.
Volume/Expression/
Velocity/CC# 2 to 14
Setting Mode
Switched/Variable
Selects whether the SLOW/FAST speed setting is a switch, or a variable control. When
switch mode is selected, and Pitch Bend is
the controller, the speed will switch with an up
or down flick of the bender. Other controllers
switch at 64.
Overdrive
0-100
Applies a soft overdrive or distortion.
Crossover
frequency
200-3000Hz
Sets the crossover frequency between the low
and high frequency loudspeakers.
Mic Angle
0-180 degrees
Sets the simulated microphone angle.
0=mono, 180=one mic on each side.
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Description
Parameter
Values
Description
Mic Distance
1-36 Inches
Sets the simulated microphone distance from
the speaker.
Low Rotor Amp 0-100
Mod
Adjusts amplitude modulation depth.
Low Rotor Mix
Level
0-100
Adjusts overall bass level.
Hi Rotor Amp
Mod
0-100
High rotor amplitude modulation.
Hi Rotor Freq
Mod
0-100
High rotor frequency modulation.
Phasing
-100 to 100
Adjusts the amount of phasing in the sound of
the high rotor.
Hi Slow
0.0-720 rpm
Fine adjustment of the high rotor SLOW speed.
Hi Rate
0.0-720 rpm/sec.
Fine adjustment of the high rotor acceleration
time.
Hi Fast
0.0-720 rpm
Fine adjustment of the high rotor FAST speed
Lo Slow
0.0-720 rpm
Fine adjustment of the low rotor SLOW speed.
Lo Rate
0.0-720 rpm/sec.
Fine adjustment of the low rotor acceleration
time.
Lo Fast
0.0-720 rpm
Fine adjustment of the low rotor FAST speed
Gain
Adjusts the overall output level.
Mix
Adjusts the mix between dry or processed
signal.
Directing MIDI to the Rotary
Whenever the Rotary has been selected as a Send or Insert effect, it
will be available in the Out column pop-up menu for MIDI tracks. This
allows you to control the Speed parameter via MIDI, by selecting a
MIDI track and routing it to the Rotary effect (just like playing a VST
instrument in real time - see page 286).
•
All parameters can be automated as described on page 210.
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Tranceformer2
Tranceformer2 is a ring modulator effect, in which the incoming audio
is ring modulated by an internal, variable frequency oscillator, producing new harmonics. A second oscillator can modulate the frequency
of the first oscillator, in sync with the song tempo if you wish.
Parameter
Values
Description
Input
0-100%
Sets the Input level.
Output
0-100%
Mix
0-100%
the effect.
Pitch
1 - 5000Hz
Governs the frequency (pitch) of the modulating
oscillator.
Tempo Sync
pop-up
1/1 - 1/32,
1/1 - 1/32 Triplet, lit) clicking the field above the Speed knob opens a
1/1 - 1/32 Dotted. pop-up menu, on which you select a note value for
tempo-syncing the effect. There is no note value
modifier for this effect (see page 226).
Speed
0-10Hz
lit), this knob selects note values (the same as selecting from the pop-up menu). When tempo sync
is off, this sets the modulation speed freely.
On button
On/Off
Turns modulation of the Pitch parameter on or off.
Stereo/Mono
Stereo/Mono
Governs whether the output will be stereo or mono.
Sync button
On/Off
Turns tempo sync of the modulation on or off.
Depth
0-100%
Governs the depth of the pitch modulation.
Waveform
buttons
Sine, Square, Saw, Sets the pitch modulation waveform.
Rev. Saw, Triangle
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Vocoder
The Vocoder can apply sound/voice characteristics taken from one
signal source called the “Modulator” and apply this to another source,
called the “Carrier”. A typical application of a vocoder is to use a voice
as a modulator and an instrument as a carrier, making the instrument
“talk”. A vocoder works by dividing the source signal (modulator) into
a number of frequency bands. The audio attributes of these frequency
bands can then be used to modulate the carrier.
The Vocoder has a built-in carrier, which is basically a simple polyphonic synthesizer, with a sound optimized to respond well to the
modulator input.
Setting Up
The Vocoder is set up slightly differently than other VST plug-in effects.
This is because the Vocoder requires both an audio signal (as the modulator source) and a MIDI input (to play the carrier) to function.
To set up for use, proceed as follows:
1. Select a source for the modulator.
The modulator source can be audio material from any VST audio track, or even a live
audio input routed to a VST audio track (provided you have a low latency audio card).
If a live audio input is used, monitoring must be set to input (the “In” buttons in the
Inspector must be lit).
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•
Good modulator source material are talking or singing voices or percussive sounds like drum loops for example.
Static pads or soft ambient material are generally less appropriate for use as modulators, but there are no hard and fast rules as to what could be used as a modulator
source.
2. Select the Vocoder as an Insert effect for the Audio channel with the
Modulator signal.
Click the Edit button to open the Vocoder panel.
3. Select a MIDI track.
This can be an empty MIDI track, or a MIDI track containing data, it doesn’t matter.
However, if you wish to play the vocoder in real-time - as opposed to having a recorded
Part playing it - the track has to be selected for the vocoder to receive the MIDI output.
4. Click in the Output column for the MIDI track.
The Output pop-up menu appears, with the Vocoder as one of the items.
5. Select the Vocoder from the Output pop-up menu.
The MIDI Output from the track is now routed to the vocoder.
That concludes the setting up and you are now ready to start vocoding!
What you do next depends on whether you are using live or recorded
audio as the modulator source and whether you are using real-time or
recorded MIDI as the carrier input. We will assume for the purposes
of this manual that you are using recorded audio as the modulator,
and play the carrier in real-time.
Make sure the MIDI track is selected and start playback.
6. Now play a few notes on your MIDI keyboard.
As you can hear, the audio track material, or rather its formant characteristics, is now
applied to the Vocoder’s built-in sound source!
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Vocoder Synth Parameters
The built-in synthesizer is always the carrier, i.e. it is the sound of this
instrument that the modulator source is applied to. The synth is up to
8 voice polyphonic, and features 2 oscillators per voice. The synth has
the following parameters:
Parameter
Values
Description
Max Poly
1-8
This sets the number of voices for the synth.
Fine Tune
-100 to +100
Cent
Tunes the oscillators in cent (100th of a semitone)
steps.
Pitch Bend
1-12 Semitones
Sets the up/down range of the Pitch Bend in semitone steps.
Noise
0-100
Adds white noise to the sound.
NoiseMod
0-100
This makes the oscillators modulate the noise level.
This gives the noise a rasping sound, turning “sss”
into “zzz”.
P.Drift
0-100
Adds random pitch variation to the oscillators.
P.Glide
0-100
This makes the pitch glide between notes played.
The parameter controls the time it takes for the
pitch to glide from one note to the next.
P.Bright
0-100
This is a lowpass filter that can be used to soften
the tone of the oscillators. It does not affect the
white noise generator.
P.Detune
-12.00 to 0.00.
Allows you to detune one of the oscillators in cent
steps.
LFO Rate
1-23Hz
Controls the LFO rate (for vibrato).
Vibrato
0-100
Adds vibrato to the oscillators. This can also be
controlled by using the Mod Wheel.
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Vocoder Parameters
The Vocoder parameters govern the general sound quality of the vocoded sound.
Parameter
Values
Description
NumBands
2-24
This governs how many frequency bands the modulator
signal is divided into. Fewer bands will provide a thinner
more resonant sound, whereas using more bands will
make the sound fuller and more intelligible.
Bandwidth
0-100
This sets the bandwidth for the frequency bands, which
affects the overall timbre. Very narrow bandwidth settings will produce a thin, whistle-like sound.
Min/Max Freq
40-8000Hz
These parameters set the minimum and maximum frequency limits for the vocoder, respectively.
Log/Lin
0-100
Log/Lin controls how the frequency bands are spaced
between the min and max frequencies. Log = equal
spacing in octaves, Lin = equal spacing in Hz. This affects the basic timbre of the vocoder.
Env.Speed
10-19699ms/ This determines the attack and release times of the voHOLD
coder envelope. Fast settings will cause the modulator
signal to trigger the vocoder instantly, longer settings
will gradually increase the attack/release times, providing a more subtle vocoder effect. If set to “HOLD” the
modulator is “frozen”, and doesn’t affect the carrier
synth at all.
High Thru
0-100
This lets through high frequencies around the “S” frequency from the original input signal while notes are
played.
Talk Thru
0-100
Adjusts the level of the original input signal passed to
the vocoder output while notes are played.
Gap Thru
0-100
Gap Thru sets the level of the original input signal that
is passed to the vocoder output when no MIDI notes
are being played. This lets you apply the vocoder to a
vocal track adding vocoded parts just where you want
them.
Output
-20 to 20
This controls the output level of the vocoder.
Emphasis
0-100
This is a highpass filter, gradually cutting lower frequencies while letting high frequencies pass.
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Voice Attenuator
This plug-in can be used to remove lead vocals from a recording, to produce a “karaoke” effect. The principle concept is based on the fact that
vocals are usually mixed to center position in the stereo field, and that
the human voice occupies a limited area of the frequency spectrum.
Note, however, that it is nearly impossible to remove a vocal completely, without using very complex processing beyond the scope of
this plug-in.
•
If the Remove Mono button is activated, the plug-in will sum the right and the
left channels (with one of the channels out of phase), in the frequency range
set by the Low and High Frequency parameters.
This method will only work with stereo material.
•
If the Notch Filter button is activated, the plug-in will filter out the signals
within the frequency range set with the Low and High Frequency parameters,
by applying a notch (band reject) filter.
This method can be used with both stereo and mono material.
•
The Gain parameter allows you to adjust the output level of the plug-in.
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Voice Detective
The Voice Detective is a real-time tool that analyzes an audio signal
(recorded or played in real time) and “translates it” to MIDI. This allows
you to sing a melody line and have it converted to MIDI - as a result,
you can control a MIDI synthesizer with your voice!
•
Although the Voice Detective is optimized for vocal input, you can of
course use other instruments as sound sources as well. However, for the
plug-in to be able to analyze the incoming audio, it must be monophonic
- you must play one note at a time.
You can either use the Voice Detective with an existing audio recording or with a “live” input signal. Here’s how you set things up:
Using Voice Detective with an existing audio recording
1. Set up the audio track with the recording, so that it plays back as
desired.
Remember that the recorded audio must be monophonic - the Voice Detective cannot
analyze chords.
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2. Set up the left and right locator to encompass the section you want
“translated” to MIDI.
3. Add the Voice Detective as an insert effect on the track’s audio channel.
4. Pull down the Options menu and make sure “Record SysEx” is activated.
5. Select an empty MIDI track.
This is where the MIDI events created by the Voice Detective will be recorded.
6. Start recording.
The audio track will play back through the Voice Detective. This will analyze the audio
and translate it to MIDI events, which will be recorded on the MIDI track.
7. When you are done, play back the MIDI track to hear the result.
Using Voice Detective on live input
This makes use of Cubasis VST’s audio input monitoring function (for
more about this, see page 64):
1. Pull down the Options menu and select the item called “Enable Monitor” on the Audio Setup submenu.
If the menu item says “Disable Monitor”, monitoring is already enabled, and you don’t
need to change anything.
2. Select an empty audio track and make sure the correct audio input is
selected.
This should be the audio input to which your sound source (e.g. a microphone) is connected. You select input in the Inspector or the VST Channel Mixer (see page 63).
3. Activate monitoring for the audio track by clicking on the left half of the
Input button in the Inspector.
The Input button should light up, indicating that monitoring is on. At this point, you may
also want to check input levels as described on page 65.
4. Add Voice Detective as an insert effect on the track’s audio channel.
5. Set up the left and right locator as usual when recording.
Recording always starts at the left locator and ends at the right.
6. Pull down the Options menu and make sure “Record SysEx” is activated.
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7. Select an empty MIDI track.
This is where the MIDI events created by the Voice Detective will be recorded.
8. Start recording and sing (or play your instrument - one note at a time).
The audio is sent into Cubasis VST and into the Voice Detective, where it is analyzed
and translated to MIDI events. The MIDI is recorded on the MIDI track.
9. When you are done, play back the MIDI track to hear the result.
About the plug-in latency
Although the analysis performed by the Voice Detective is very fast, it
isn’t instantaneous. As a result, the created MIDI events will be slightly
delayed compared to the original audio signal (around 200 ms).
Depending on the material, you may therefore want to adjust the positioning of the MIDI events after recording. This is easiest done by
turning off Snap and moving the MIDI events slightly to the left, either
in a MIDI editor or in the Arrange window.
Voice Detective parameters
The Voice Detective control panel contains very few parameters, making it extremely easy to set up:
Parameter
Description
Input Gain
Allows you to adjust the gain of the audio signal on a scale between
0 and 18 dB. However, this setting is only used for analysis and does
not affect the audio in any way.
Range Hi/
Range Low
Use these faders to set the upper and the lower limit for the frequency range to be used. Notes that are less than an octave outside
this range are raised/lowered by an octave, to “make them fit” into
the set range.
On
If this is activated (lit), the PB-Range and PB-Sensitivity settings are
used.
PB-Range
By clicking the up and down arrow keys, you can specify the pitchbend range (1 to 12 semitones).
The specified pitchbend range must correspond with the range of
the VST instrument/synth used. Otherwise the pitch of the note will
not be correct.
PB-Sensitivity
This setting allows you to define (on a scale between 1 and 100)
what is still considered Pitch Bend (how much a note may deviate
from its original pitch) and what is considered to be a new note.
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Autopan
Makes the sound move automatically between the left and right channel. The Autopan is best used as an insert effect for stereo channels
or as a send effect (see the note about stereo effects on page 205).
Parameter
Description
LFO Freq
This sets the speed of the panning effect.
Width
This sets the depth of the effect, that is, how far out to the left/right
speaker the sound should move.
Waveform
This sets the shape of the LFO producing the effect. Sine and Triangle
both produce a smooth sweep, but with different characteristics. Sawtooth creates a ramp (sweep from one speaker to the other and then a
quick jump back). Pulse makes the signal jump back and forth between the speakers.
Output Level
The stereo output level of the effect.
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Fuzzbox
This is a simulation of the good old transistor distortion stomp box. It
can be used as an insert or send effect.
The Electro Fuzz has the following parameters:
Parameter
Description
Boost
This governs the amount of distortion. If you want to increase the distortion without raising the signal level, you may have to adjust the Volume knob as well.
Clipback
Raising this parameter will “invert” the part of the signal that is above
the clipping level, instead of employing hard clipping. The result is that
more 2nd order harmonics are added, changing the character of the
distortion.
Volume
This is a volume control for the output signal from the Electro Fuzz.
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Grungelizer
The Grungelizer adds noise and static to your recordings - like listening to a radio with bad reception, or a worn, scratched vinyl record.
Parameter
Description
Crackle
This adds crackle to create that old vinyl record sound. The farther
to the right you turn the dial, the more crackle is added.
RPM switch
When emulating the sound of a vinyl record, this switch lets you
set the RPM (revolutions per minute) speed of the record.
Noise
This dial regulates the amount of static noise added.
Distort
Use this dial to add distortion.
EQ
Turn this dial to the right to cut off the low frequencies, and create
a more hollow, lo-fi sound.
AC
This emulates a constant, low hum of AC current.
Frequency switch
This sets the frequency of the AC current (50 or 60 Hz), and thus
the pitch of the AC hum.
Timeline
This dial regulates the amount of overall effect. The farther to the
right (1900) you turn this dial, the more noticeable the effect.
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Scopion
The Scopion is an on-board oscilloscope, that analyzes the left or
right side of a stereo input signal and displays the waveform contents
in real time. The Scopion requires a stereo input and must therefore
be used as an insert effect for a stereo channel pair. There are three
parameters:
•
Parameter
Description
L/R Switch
Clicking this switch allows you to choose between displaying the left
and right side of the stereo input signal.
Time Scale
This knob (directly below the L/R switch) allows you to scale the
waveform horizontally.
Gain Scale
This knob (at the bottom of the Scopion window) allows you to scale
the waveform vertically.
If you click the Scopion label plate below the display, a help screen
appears, explaining the functionality of the parameters in the window.
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Stereo Echo
The Stereo Echo is a delay with separate settings for the left and right
channel. It can also be used as a single mono delay, in which case the
maximum delay time will be doubled.
❐ The Stereo Echo accepts a mono input only. It is normally used as a send
effect.
The Stereo Echo has the following parameters:
Parameter
Description
Delay1
The delay time for the left channel. The maximum delay time is 500 ms,
unless you link both channels for mono operation, in which case the
maximum delay time is 1000 ms - see below (1000ms = 1 second).
Feedbck1
The delay feedback for the left channel. Higher values result in a higher
number of echo repeats.
Link 1-2
Activating this switch turns the effect into a mono delay. When Link is
on, only the left channel parameters will be available (Delay1,
Feedback1, etc.).
Delay 2
The delay time for the right channel.
Feedbck2
The delay feedback for the right channel.
Del2 Bal
This parameter determines how much of the left channel output is sent
to the right channel input. When set to 0.0 (fully left), then none of the
left channel output is added to the right channel input; when it is set to
1.0 (fully right), the right input receives both its normal source and the
complete output of the left channel.
Volume L
The output level of the left channel delay.
Volume R
The output level of the right channel delay.
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Stereo Wizard
The Stereo Wizard is a stereo width enhancer that takes a stereo input signal and makes it sound “wider”. It must be used as an insert effect for a stereo channel pair. Stereo Wizard will give best result if you
use “real” stereo material (as opposed to mono channels panned to
different positions in the stereo image). The effect has the following
parameters:
Parameter
Description
Amount
Higher values result in a greater stereo width. Normally, you should set
this to values between 0.00 - 0.20; higher values can be used for special effects.
Reverse
Reverses the left and right channel.
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Wunderverb 3
Wunderverb 3 is a reverb plug-in which provides natural sounding reverb effects, and still uses very little processor power. It accepts a
mono input and is used as a send effect. Use the Program pop-up to
select one of ten reverb types:
Reverb type
Description
Hall
The reverberation of a medium-sized hall.
Large Hall
The reverberation of a larger hall.
Large Room
The reverberation of a large room.
Medium Room
The reverberation of a medium-sized room.
Small Room
The reverberation of a very small room.
Plate
The slightly metallic effect of a plate reverb.
Gated
A special effect, where the reverb is abruptly cut off.
Effect 1
A special “bouncing” effect.
Echoes
An echo (delay) effect.
Effect 2
A special, resonant effect, suitable for “ringing” metal sounds.
After selecting a reverb type, you can use the following three parameters in the effect control panel to fine-tune the reverb:
Parameter
Description
Size
This is the size of the simulated room. Changing this will affect the
density and character of the reverb. If you have selected a Reverb
Type where you can hear the individual “bounces” (Effect 1, Echoes,
etc.), raising the Size will increase the time between each “bounce”,
like the time control on a delay effect.
Decay
This is the decay time for the reverb. The higher the value, the longer
the reverb.
Damp
Raising this value will cause the high frequency contents of the reverb
sound to die out quicker. This results in a softer, darker reverb.
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15
Importing and Exporting Audio
Importing audio files into the arrangement
You can quickly import audio into your arrangement without having to
open the Pool. This can be done in two ways:
•
•
By using the Import Audio function on the File menu.
By “dragging and dropping” an audio file directly onto the Arrange window.
Using the Import Audio function
1. Select the audio track to which you want to import an audio file.
Note that you can’t import stereo files to mono tracks and vice versa.
2. Move the Left Locator to where you want the audio file to start.
3. Pull down the File menu and select “Import”, then select “Audio File...”
from the submenu.
A file dialog opens.
4. Select a file format from the File Type pop-up menu.
Cubasis VST can import files of the formats AIFF, Wave, and MP3. For AIFF and Wave
files, 16 or 24 bit resolutions are supported, as are sample rates up to 96 kHz. Note
however, that all files in a song must have the same sample rate (the sample rate selected in the Audio System Setup dialog - see page 57.
5. Use the file dialog box to locate the file and select it.
•
You can audition the audio file with the Play button.
When you click the Play button, its label changes to “Stop…” and the selected audio
file is played back. Playback continues until you click on Stop, or select another file.
The file is imported into the Pool, just as when using the Import Audio File command
on the File menu in the Pool. A segment that plays the whole file is created and placed
in an audio part, which in turn is placed on the selected audio track, at the position of
the Left Locator.
•
If you import an MP3 file, the program will create a copy of the file and
convert this to Wave format before importing it (the original MP3 file will
not be used in the Cubasis VST song).
The Wave file will be placed in the currently selected Audio Files folder (if you haven’t
yet specified one, you will be asked to do so).
Please be aware that the converted Wave file will be several times larger than the original MP3 file!
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Importing Audio using “Drag and Drop”
1. Select an audio file to import.
This may be located anywhere on your drive – it doesn’t matter as long as you select it
from the Explorer.
2. Drag the file into the Arrange window and drop it on an audio track (or
in the empty area below all tracks).
In the latter case, an audio track will be created. Again, the regular mono/stereo conventions apply.
3. Release the mouse button.
The audio file appears in the arrangement at the position where you released the
mouse button (taking the Snap value into account).
Importing ReCycle Files
The “Import ReCycle File…” item on the File menu lets you import audio
files created in Propellerhead Software’s application ReCycle. ReCycle
is a program specifically designed for working with sampled loops. Using ReCycle you can “slice” a loop and make separate samples of each
beat. Among other things, this makes it possible to change the tempo of
loops without affecting the pitch, and edit the loop as if it were built from
individual sounds.
If you have ReCycle you can create and export files that you can use in
Cubasis VST. Also numerous CD-ROMs with ready-made ReCycle
(REX) files can be purchased, such as the Steinberg/Sounds Good
“Sounds & Cycles” series. To import a Recycle file into Cubasis VST,
proceed as follows:
1. In Cubasis VST, select an audio track to which you want to import the
file and set the Left Locator at the position where you want the file to
appear.
2. Pull down the File menu and select “Import”, then select “ReCycle
File...” from the submenu.
3. In the file dialog that appears, locate a ReCycle file for import.
There are currently three ReCycle file formats supported by Cubasis VST, Rex1 (*.rex),
Rex2 (*.rx2) and Recycle (*.rcy).
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•
You can use the Play button to audition the selected file before opening it.
4. Click Open.
The following happens:
•
A copy is made of the ReCycle file. This copy is converted to a Wav file, which
is added to the Pool.
❐ The original ReCycle file should not be deleted or moved, because it will
be called upon if you later want to re-import the corresponding Wav file
into the arrangement from the Pool. Cubasis VST “remembers” the location of the original file and will automatically try to open it when needed.
•
•
A number of segments are created for the file, each one corresponding to a
slice in ReCycle.
A part which will play these segments is automatically created on the active
track, starting at the Left Locator position.
Now you can play back the ReCycled file in any tempo. You can also quantize the audio part in the Arrange window, to change the groove.
•
If you need to re-import the file into the arrangement, drag the file item
from the Pool to the arrangement, just as any other file.
A new part is then created.
❐ Please note that the new file will sound very strange if played back in its
entirety. It should only be triggered from the part which has been created
in the arrangement.
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About tempo changes and the last Segment(s)
It may happen that you import a ReCycle file into an arrangement that
has a higher tempo than the loop originally had. In this situation, the
slices (segments) will overlap, and the last segment will “stick out”
past the end of the part.
An audio event in Cubasis VST should never play past the end of a part
(since you would then hear audio in the arrangement, that you couldn’t
“see”). Therefore, Cubasis VST automatically shortens segments that
would otherwise play past the end of the part, so that they end exactly
where the part ends. This is done automatically when you import the
ReCycle file.
If you have used a very high stretch factor in ReCycle, or if the Cubasis VST tempo is drastically different from the original loop tempo, not
only the last, but a few of the last segments could be affected by the
aforementioned problem and will be shortened.
If you later raise the tempo, the shortened segments will become too
short, since they no longer play to the end of the part.
•
To fix this, delete the existing part and re-import the ReCycle file, by
dragging the file symbol from the Pool to the Arrange window.
In the new part that appears the length of the last segment(s) will be adjusted to fit the
current tempo.
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If you get clicks during playback
While a sampler or sampling synthesizer is polyphonic, each track in
Cubasis VST is monophonic, that is, it can only play back one sound
at a time. This is not ideal for playing many short overlapping sounds,
like you do when playing ReCycled files.
This fact will normally not cause any problems with drum loops. However, with other types of material, bass loops etc., the monophonic
character of a Cubasis VST channel might lead to clicks in the transition between segments. There are two ways to remedy this:
Using Smooth Segments
•
Pull down the Options menu and activate the “Smooth Segments” option on the Audio Setup submenu.
Now, Cubasis VST will automatically create small crossfades between consecutive or
overlapping audio segments on the same audio channel. In many cases this should remove any clicks when playing back ReCycle files.
Importing into “Any” tracks – Polyphonic playback
Another way of avoiding the problems with monophonic playback of
ReCycle files is for Cubasis VST to “simulate” the polyphonic behavior of a sampler by splitting up a ReCycle file, so that the “slices” play
back on more than one channel.
Proceed as follows:
1. Examine your arrangement and locate two or more consecutive audio
channels that you can reserve for a ReCycle file.
How many channels you need for Polyphonic operation depends on the nature of the
loop. The trick is to completely avoid overlap between segments, since it is in the overlap that clicks might occur. If you have no idea what to choose, don’t worry, the program will suggest a number for you, see below.
2. Create or select an audio track and set it to channel “Any”.
In tracks set to channel “Any”, each audio segment will play back on its “own” channel,
much as with MIDI “Any” tracks.
3. Set the Left Locator to the position where you want the part to appear.
4. Import the ReCycle file from disk.
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5. In the dialog that appears, the program suggests a number of channels that ensures no overlap at all. If needed, you can change this.
For example, if you want the file to use channels 1, 2 and 3, specify “1” as the start
channel and “3” as the number of channels to use.
6. Click “OK”.
The slices will now alternate between the specified channels, thereby minimizing the
overlap (and thus the clicks).
The drawback of this procedure is that more than one audio channel
is “used up” by a single file. However, if you run out of audio channels
you can use the “Export: Audio Tracks…” feature to turn your “multichannel” ReCycle track into one file, that only requires one audio
channel, see below.
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Import Mixman File (*.trk)
Mixman TRK (for “Track”) files are the building blocks in the Mixman
Studio and Mixman Studio Pro, applications aimed at creating music by
matching and mixing beats and loops. To facilitate tempo-matching, the
Mixman TRK files contain “slices” internally (somewhat like ReCycle
REX files). There are a lot of Mixman TRK files available, and owners of
Mixman Studio or Studio Pro can also create their own Mixman TRK
files.
About Mixman TRK Files in Cubasis VST
Cubasis VST allows you to import Mixman TRK files onto audio tracks,
automatically matching their tempo to the current tempo in Cubasis
VST. Actually, the program doesn’t import the actual Mixman TRK files;
instead a copy of the file is created and converted to a regular audio
file, the tempo being matched automatically in the process. This audio
file is then imported onto the audio track, as when using the regular
“Import Audio File” function. This means that once you have imported
the file, it will not follow any tempo changes you make in Cubasis VST
- should you want to change the tempo, you need to re-import the file.
Importing a Mixman TRK File
1. Select an audio track to which you wish to import the track file.
2. Pull down the File menu and select “Import”, then select “Mixman File
(*.trk)...” from the submenu.
A dialog opens where you can locate the Mixman Track files on your computer. Track
files have the extension “.trk”.
3. Locate and select the Mixman TRK file you want to open.
Don’t double click on the file - you need to make some settings first:
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4. Specify the tempo to which you want to match the Mixman file, in the
“Song” field to the left in the Tempo section.
By default, this is set to the current song tempo in Cubasis VST, but you can change
this if you wish. The “Track” value to the right is the original tempo of the Mixman file.
❐ Note that changing the tempo setting here only affects the imported au-
dio file - it will not change the actual song tempo in Cubasis VST! Should
you change the tempo for the imported loop here, you need to adjust the
song tempo in Cubasis VST later (unless you specifically don’t want the
tempi to match).
5. Use the settings in the Pitch Shift section to determine whether you
want the pitch of the imported audio to be changed.
•
If you activate the “Auto” option, the pitch of the imported audio will
be adjusted according to the change in tempo.
The effect will be the same as if you matched the tempo of the imported loop simply by
playing it faster or slower.
•
If the “Auto” option isn’t activated, you can specify the desired pitch
shift (in semitones and cents) in the “Half-Steps” field.
If you don’t want to change the pitch of the imported audio, you should deactivate
“Auto” and make sure “Half-Steps” is set to 0:00.
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6. Use the settings in the Time Stretch section to determine the length of
the “slices” in the imported audio.
Internally, the Mixman TRK files are “sliced” at each rhythmically important position.
When Cubasis VST converts the Mixman file to an audio file and adjusts its tempo,
most often you would want to adjust the length of the slices too, to avoid empty gaps
in the audio (if you lower the tempo) or overlapping notes (if you raise the tempo).
•
If you activate the “Auto” option, the length of each slice is adjusted to
fit the new tempo.
This is the setting to use if you don’t want neither gaps nor overlaps.
•
If the “Auto” option isn’t activated, you can specify the desired Time
Stretch value for the slices.
A setting of 2.00 will double the length of each slice, while a setting of 0.50 will make
the slices half as long as the originals.
7. Audition the results of the settings by clicking the “Play Converted”
button.
This plays back the file as it will sound after you have imported it, giving you a chance
to fine-tune your settings before you proceed. Clicking the “Play Original” button plays
back the Mixman file in its original state, for reference.
8. When you are satisfied with the settings, click “Create File”.
The Mixman file is copied into the Audio files folder, converted to a Wave file (taking
the tempo, time stretch and pitch shift settings into account) and imported to the selected audio track. The new file will have the name of the original Mixman file but with
the extension “.wav “.
❐ Again, the converted file does not contain any “slices” or tempo informa-
tion, so it will not adjust to tempo changes made in Cubasis after it is imported. If you change the tempo of the song after having imported a
Mixman file, you need to re-import the file to make it fit the new tempo.
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Mixing down to an audio file
The “Export: Audio Tracks…” feature in Cubasis VST allows you to
mix down any number of audio tracks, complete with effects and mixer
automation, to a new audio file, in mono or stereo.
•
The rule is: All audio and VST Instruments you hear on playback will
be included in the Mixdown file!
However, please note that MIDI tracks that are not routed to a VST Instrument are not
included in this type of mixdown. To make a complete mixdown containing both MIDI
and audio, you first need to record your MIDI music onto audio tracks in Cubasis VST,
and then proceed with the mixdown.
1. Set up the Left and Right Locator to encompass the area that you
want to mix down.
2. Set up your tracks, so that they play back the way you want.
You can use the automation in the VST Channel Mixer window, as well as EQ, Surround and effects. If you don’t want to include any of these features in the exported audio file, you should turn them off while preparing the tracks, to hear what you get.
3. If you want to include the automation, make sure that the Read button
is activated in the VST Channel Mixer.
4. If you want the mixdown file to be automatically imported back onto a
specific track in Cubasis VST, select this track.
It should be empty and set to stereo or mono, depending on whether you want to make
a stereo or mono mixdown.
5. Pull down the File menu and select “Audio Tracks…” from the Export
submenu (or click the “Export Audio” button in the VST Channel
Mixer’s Master Section).
The Export Audio dialog opens.
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6. If you want to automatically import the resulting audio file back into
Cubasis VST, activate the checkbox “Add created file to current Song”.
This will automatically import the file into the Pool, and place a segment for the file in a
new part on the selected track, starting at the Left Locator. If no suitable track was selected, the program will create a new track.
7. Select a file format.
You can choose between Wave, AIFF, Real Audio or MP3. Which type to choose depends on which other programs you plan to use the file in.
•
Please note that MP3 export is limited to 20 times, after which the function is disabled. In other words, MP3 export is included as a fully functional “trial” feature.
When you export to mp3 a dialog will appear, telling you how many remaining encodings you have left. To upgrade your Cubasis VST copy to include unlimited MP3 encoding, please visit Steinberg’s online store on the web: pull down the Help menu and
select the Steinberg Online Shop item from the Steinberg on the Web submenu (a
working internet connection is required).
8. Select mono or stereo with the radio buttons (Wave, AIFF or MP3 file
types only).
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9. Select a sample rate and resolution (Wave and AIFF file types only).
Which values to choose depends largely on where you plan to use the files.
10.If you selected the Wave file type, you can use the Coding pop-up
menu to select a coding (compression) format for the file.
The “standard” format (required if you want to be able to re-import the files into Cubasis VST) is “PCM/uncompressed Waves”. The other coding formats may be useful if
you are creating audio for use in multimedia applications, etc. Which coding formats
are available depends on which compression codecs are installed on your computer.
11.If you selected the Real Audio file type, the Coding pop-up menu allows you to choose the desired audio quality for the file.
The text field below the Coding pop-up menu shows a description of the currently selected Coding and its proper use. Note that the choice of mono or stereo is included in
the Coding options.
12.If you selected MP3, you need to make two additional settings: encoding quality (Fast, Medium or Best) and bit rate (which determines
the audio quality and compression rate of the MP3 file).
You can experiment with different settings to find a suitable balance between processing time, audio quality and file size. Generally, 44100Hz (128 Kbit/s) files generated
with the “Medium” quality, are considered as “standard quality” MP3s.
13.Select a folder and a name for the audio file to be created.
14.Press the Create File button.
The audio is mixed down to an audio file of the format you have specified.
If you have activated “Add created file to current Song”, the file will be
imported into the Pool and onto an audio track. You can play it back to
check the results immediately. Just remember to mute the original
tracks, and turn off any EQ and/or effects for the audio channel(s)
used by the imported track, so that you really hear the true result.
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About creating a CD
In combination with the included WaveLab Lite and Master Unit programs, Cubasis VST provides a complete package for audio CD creation (provided that you have a CD recorder connected to your PC).
To prepare your music for CD creation, proceed as follows:
1. Use the Export Audio Tracks function (see above) to export each
Cubasis VST song as a separate stereo audio file, in uncompressed
Wave format with the sample rate 44.100 kHz.
This is the sample rate used for audio CDs.
2. If you like, open the exported files in WaveLab Lite and perform additional editing.
This may include trimming the files, adjusting overall level and EQ, etc.
3. Create a new Project in the Master Unit program, and import the audio
files.
Each file will become a separate CD track. You can then perform additional processing
before writing the CD. See page 347 for more information about Master Unit.
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16
Using VST Instruments
Introduction
VST Instruments are software synthesizers (or other sound sources)
that are contained within Cubasis VST. They are played internally via
MIDI, and their audio outputs appear on separate channels in the VST
Channel Mixer, allowing you to add effects or EQ, just as with audio
tracks.
You can activate and play up to four different VST Instruments at the
same time. Included with the program are several VST Instruments of
various kinds - analog-type synthesizers, a GM compatible sound
module, a drum machine and much more.
How to set up and use VST Instruments is described below. The included VST Instruments are described on page 292.
Activating a VST Instrument
In the descriptions on the following pages, we use the Neon synthesizer as an example, but the procedures are the same for other instruments as well. For descriptions of the included VST Instruments, see
page 291.
1. Pull down the Panels menu and select VST Instruments (or click the
VST Instruments icon on the Toolbar).
The VST Instruments window opens. This contains up to four “slots”, each with a separate VST Instrument. If you have less than four VST Instruments selected, there will be
a slot at the bottom of the window, labeled “No VST Instrument”.
The VST Instruments window with no VST Instruments selected.
2. Click at the “No VST Instrument” field.
A pop-up menu appears, listing the available VST Instruments.
3. Select “Neon”.
The Neon synthesizer appears in the slot, and a new, empty slot appears below it.
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4. Make sure the red button to the left is activated (lit).
The VST Instrument is now activated and ready for use.
5. Select an unused MIDI track in the Arrange window.
6. Click in the Output column for the track.
The Output pop-up menu appears. It will now contain an additional item, with the name
of the activated VST Instrument.
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Playing the VST Instrument
1. In the Arrange window, select a MIDI track.
This will be used for playing back (and recording) MIDI notes for the Neon synthesizer.
2. Pull down the Out pop-up menu for the track and select “Neon (V1)”.
Activated VST Instruments are automatically added to the MIDI Output lists. “V1”
stands for “Virtual Instrument slot 1”, to help you identify the VST Instruments (especially handy if you have activated several VST Instruments of the same kind).
•
The included Neon is single-timbral, and always in “Omni mode” (it receives on all MIDI channels).
Therefore, you don’t have to care about the MIDI channel setting when working with
the Neon. With other VST Instruments, you may need to select a MIDI channel in the
Chn column (as when playing any regular MIDI sound source).
3. Try playing your MIDI keyboard.
The incoming MIDI is now sent to the Neon synthesizer.
About Latency
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
real-time VST Instrument playback from a keyboard.
If this is the case, a workaround is to play and record your parts with
another MIDI sound source selected, and then switch to the VST Instrument for playback. However, we recommend that you use an audio card with a low-latency ASIO driver for best results.
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Selecting Patches and making Settings
1. In the VST Instruments window, try clicking the small arrow icon next
to the patch name.
A pop-up menu appears, listing the ready-made synth patches included with the Neon.
2. Select another patch from the pop-up menu.
This selects another sound. To freely adjust the synth parameters, you need to use the
Neon’s control panel:
3. Click the Edit button.
The control panel for the VST Instrument appears. In the case of the Neon, this resembles the panel of a simple “analog” synthesizer.
The power button, patch and file controls from the VST Instruments window are
duplicated at the top of the control panel.
4. Adjust the synthesizer parameters as desired.
You can also automate the VST Instrument parameters (see page 290).
•
You can save and load programs for a VST Instrument in the same
way as with VST Effect Plug-ins (see page 206).
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Using the Inspector
The inspector provides you with an additional way of selecting patches
and changing settings for a VST instrument to which a MIDI track is
routed. This means that you don’t necessarily need to have the VST
Instruments window open to be able to perform these operations:
•
To select a patch for a VST Instrument, click the Patchname pop-up
menu in the Inspector, and select a patch from the menu that appears.
•
To make settings for a VST Instrument, click the Edit button in the
Inspector, and the control panel for the Instrument appears.
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Making Mixer Settings
When you activate a VST Instrument, one or several extra channel
strips automatically appear in the VST Channel Mixer. This allows you
to adjust volume and pan, add effects or EQ to the VST Instrument
sound, just as with audio tracks. For general information about how
this is done, see page 196.
The Neon channel strips in the VST Channel Mixer.
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Automating a VST Instrument
Automation of VST Instrument parameters is not done using the standard VST Read/Write automation. Instead, you record parameter
changes on a regular MIDI track:
❐ VST Instrument automation uses System Exclusive messages to record
parameter changes. Before you follow the steps below, pull down the
Options menu and make sure “Record SysEx” is activated.
1. Set up a MIDI track for playback to a VST Instrument as described
above.
2. Select another MIDI track, and set its output (and possibly MIDI channel) to the same values as the first track.
This is the track on which you will record the automation data. You could also record
the automation on the MIDI track used for instrument playback, but we recommend
that you use a separate track, to make editing easier.
3. Set up the locators to encompass the section you want to record.
4. Start recording, and make the parameter changes you want to automate.
The parameter settings are recorded as special System Exclusive messages.
5. Stop recording and play back the recorded track.
The parameters will change as you recorded them.
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The included VST Instruments
The following VST Instruments are included with Cubasis VST:
•
Neon, a basic analog-style synthesizer with up to 16 voices.
See page 292.
•
CS40, a two-oscillator synthesizer, ideal for fat lead sounds.
See page 294.
•
JX16, a polysynth with built-in chorus and a wide variety of available
patches. See page 296.
•
VB-1, a virtual bass instrument built on real-time physical modelling
principles. See page 304.
•
LM-9, a sample-based drum machine. See page 306.
•
Universal Sound Module - a sound module with over 70 MB of sampled waveforms. See page 308.
•
Brother Gregory, the virtual singing monk! See page 311.
•
Easy Guitar, a virtual guitar plug-in. See page 314.
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The Neon
The Neon is a simple software synthesizer. It has the following properties:
•
The Neon is polyphonic with up to 16 voices.
However, since each added voice consumes CPU power, the maximum polyphony
may be limited by the speed of your computer.
•
The Neon receives MIDI in Omni mode (on all MIDI channels).
You don’t need to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to the Neon.
•
The Neon responds to the following MIDI messages:
MIDI Note On/Off (velocity governs volume).
Volume.
Pan (remember to pan the two instrument channels hard Left/Right if you want to use
MIDI Pan messages).
Pitch Bend (± 2 semitones).
Modulation (vibrato).
Furthermore, all parameters can be automated as described above.
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Neon Parameters
Parameter
Description
Range
Selects an octave range for the oscillators, 16, 8 or 4 feet.
Waveform
The basic waveform for the oscillators, Triangle, Sawtooth or
Square.
LFO Speed
Governs the speed of the vibrato. The vibrato depth is controlled via MIDI Modulation messages (for example, using the
Mod Wheel on your MIDI controller).
Osc 2 Detune
Allows you to detune the “second oscillator” ± 7 semitones.
By setting this to a value close to “twelve o’clock”, you will
get fine detuning, for a warmer, fatter sound.
VCF Cutoff
The Cutoff Frequency for the filter, governing the amount of
high frequencies in the sound. On the Neon, the Cutoff control also serves as a Depth control for the Filter Envelope
(VCF Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release), so that the lower the
setting of the Cutoff parameter, the more will the filter be affected by the Filter Envelope.
VCF Resonance
The Resonance control for the filter. Raise this for a more hollow, pronounced filter effect.
VCF Attack, Decay,
Sustain, Release
The Filter Envelope. Use these parameters to determine how
the filter should open and close with time, when a note is
played.
VCA Attack, Decay,
Sustain, Release
The Amplitude Envelope. Use these parameters to determine
how the amplitude (volume) should change with time, when a
note is played.
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CS40
The CS40 is a straightforward software synthesizer with the following
main features:
•
The CS40 is polyphonic with up to 6 voices.
•
The CS40 receives MIDI in Omni mode (on all MIDI channels).
You don’t need to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to the CS40.
•
The CS40 responds to the following MIDI messages:
Volume.
Pan.
Pitch Bend (± 2 semitones).
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CS40 Parameters:
Parameter
Description
Osc 1 Waveform
The waveform for oscillator 1; Triangle, Saw, Square or Pulse.
Osc 1 Range
Selects an octave range for oscillator 1; 32, 16, 8 or 4 feet.
Osc 1 Tune
Detunes Oscillator 1 ± 7 semitones.
Osc 2 Waveform
Same as Oscillator 1.
Osc 2 Range
Osc 2 Tune
Osc Blend
Adjusts the relative volume mix between oscillator 1 and 2.
LFO Speed
Governs the speed of the LFO. If LFO Sync is activated, this parameter sets the LFO speed in various beat increments to the sequencer tempo.
LFO Sync
If activated, the LFO speed will be synced to the song tempo.
LFO Amount
This governs the amount of LFO modulation applied to the destination parameters.
LFO Destination
This sets the destination parameter(s) for the LFO. Options are
as follows:
Off - No modulation
VCF - modulation of the VCF cutoff frequency.
VCA - amplitude modulation (tremolo).
Both - modulation of both the VCF and VCA.
Vibrato Speed
Governs the speed of the Vibrato LFO. The Vibrato amount is
controlled by the Mod Wheel.
VCF Cutoff
The Cutoff Frequency for the filter, governing the amount of high
frequencies in the sound.
VCF Resonance
The Resonance control for the filter. Raise this for a more hollow,
pronounced filter effect.
Filter Mod ADSR
This controls how much the VCF cutoff is affected by the VCF
Envelope. Negative values invert the Envelope settings.
VCF Attack, Decay,
Sustain, Release
The Filter Envelope. Use these parameters to determine how the
filter should open and close with time, when a note is played.
VCA Attack, Decay, The Amplitude Envelope. Determines how the amplitude (volSustain, Release
ume) should change with time, when a note is played.
MonoMode
When activated the CS40 will be monophonic.
Volume
Governs the overall volume.
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JX16 Synthesizer
The JX16 is a dual oscillator software synthesizer with the following
main features:
•
The JX16 is polyphonic with up to 16 voices.
The polyphony setting for each patch is user programmable.
•
•
Low CPU load and high quality sound (low aliasing distortion).
Multimode Filter.
Lowpass, Bandpass and Hipass filter modes are available.
•
Oscillator Lock function enables the creation of pulse and square
waveforms with classic PWM (Pulse Width Modulation).
See page 302.
•
•
Built-in stereo chorus effect.
The JX16 receives MIDI in Omni mode (on all MIDI channels).
You don’t need to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to the JX16.
•
The JX16 responds to MIDI Controller messages.
These are listed on page 303.
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JX16 Parameters
Osc 1+2 Section
This section contains parameters affecting both oscillators.
Parameter
Description
Octave
Tunes the oscillators in octave steps.
Fine Tune
Tunes the oscillators in cent (100th of a semitone) steps.
Vibrato
Governs how much the LFO should modulate the pitch of the oscillators (vibrato). The Vibrato parameter is also controllable via MIDI by
using the Mod Wheel.
Noise Mix
This parameter produces white noise mixed with the oscillators. By using the “Osc Lock” parameter you can “cancel out” the oscillators, and
use pure noise as the sound source. This is described on page 302.
Osc Lock
This is described separately on page 302.
The Oscillator 2 Section
This section contains parameters that affect oscillator 2 only.
Parameter
Description
Osc Mix
Controls the level of oscillator 2. 100 produces equal level to oscillator 1, which has a fixed output level.
Coarse
Tuning of Oscillator 2, in semitone steps (± 2 octaves).
Fine Tune
Fine tuning of Oscillator 2, in cents (=100th of a semitone) steps.
Vibrato
This lets you apply vibrato on the second oscillator only. This can be
useful for creating PWM effects - see page 302 for a further description. Both positive and negative values can be set.
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The Glide/Chorus Section
This section contains Glide parameters, and also the Polyphony and
Chorus parameters.
Parameter
Description
Mode
If set to “On” the pitch will glide up or down between notes played. If
set to “Held”, Glide will only be applied when you press a key while another key is held down.
Rate
Controls the time it takes for the pitch to glide from one note to the
next when using Glide. If Bend (see below) is used, this parameter
controls the time it takes for the pitch bend to “land” at the correct
pitch.
Bend
Applies a initial pitch bend to the notes played. Negative values causes
the pitch to slide up to the pitch of the note played, and vice versa.
Polyphony
This sets the polyphony, i.e. the number of voices a patch can use.
Chorus
This adds a stereo chorus effect. The values set different modulation
rates and depths for the effect.
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The LFO Section
This section contains the LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) parameters. LFOs are used to modulate parameters like pitch (vibrato) or the
filter cutoff.
Parameter
Description
LFO Wave
This sets the LFO waveform for modulating parameters:
- Sine waves have a smooth waveform, suitable for normal vibrato.
- Square waves will abruptly change between two values.
- Saw+ produces a ramp up cycle.
- Saw- produces a ramp down cycle.
- Random produces random stepped modulation.
LFO Sync
If this is activated, the LFO rate will be synced to the sequencer
tempo in various beat divisions that can be set with the LFO Rate parameter.
LFO Rate
Governs the modulation rate of the LFO.
LFO Rate
If the “LFO Sync” parameter is activated, the LFO rate will be synced
(tempo sync on) to the song tempo, according to the different beat divisions that can
be specified here.
LFO Velocity
This allows you to control the LFO Rate parameter with velocity, i.e.
by how hard or soft you strike a note on the keyboard. The harder you
play the faster the LFO rate.
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The VCF Section
This section contains the filter parameters:
Parameter
Description
VCF Mode
Sets the filter mode to either lowpass (LP), highpass (HP), bandpass
(BP) or off. The filter modes are described on page 303.
VCF Freq
(Cutoff)
Controls the filter frequency or “cutoff”. If a lowpass filter is used, it
could be said to control the opening and closing of the filter, producing the classic “sweeping” synthesizer sound. How this parameter
operates is governed by the filter mode (see page 303).
Resonance
The Resonance control for the filter. Raise this for a more pronounced
filter sweep effect. If set to 100, the filter will self-oscillate and produce a pitch. See the “VCF Key” parameter below for a description of
how this can be used.
VCF Env
Controls how much the filter cutoff should be affected by the VCF Envelope parameters. Negative values will invert the filter envelope settings.
VCF Vel
Determines how the filter cutoff will be affected by velocity, i.e. how
hard or soft you strike a key. Positive values will increase the cutoff
frequency the harder you strike a key. Negative values will invert this
relationship.
VCF Att/Dec
/Sus/Rel
The Filter Envelope Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release parameters.
Use these parameters to determine how the filter cutoff should open
and close with time, when a note is played.
VCF LFO
This controls how much the filter cutoff is modulated by the LFO (low
frequency oscillator).
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VCF Key
If this parameter is set to values over 0, the filter cutoff frequency will
increase the further up on the keyboard you play. If set to 100, it will
track the notes on the keyboard, enabling you to “play” the filter as an
extra sound source, as the filter self-oscillates and produces a pitch
when the resonance is set to 100.
VCF Touch
This sets the amount the VCF cutoff parameter should be affected by
Aftertouch. If positive values are set, the filter cutoff is raised the
harder you press. Negative values invert this relationship.
LFO Touch
This sets the amount the VCF LFO parameter should be affected by
Aftertouch. If positive values are set, the modulation increases the
harder you press. Negative values invert this relationship.
The VCA Section
This section contains the VCA Envelope parameters:
Parameter
Description
VCA Att/Dec/
Sus/Rel
The VCA Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release parameters. Use these
parameters to determine how the volume should change with time,
when a note is played.
VCA Velocity
This determines whether the VCA Envelope should be affected by
velocity, i.e. by how hard or soft you strike a note on the keyboard.
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About the “Oscillator Lock” parameter
JX16 features two oscillators per voice, with fixed sawtooth waveforms. You can, however, generate square waves and PWM (pulse
width modulation) with the JX16, by combining the two oscillators using the “Osc Lock” and Oscillator 2 “Vibrato” parameters. The following applies:
•
"Osc Lock" allows the phase of Oscillator 2 to be fixed relative to
Osc1, producing pulse waves when Oscillator 2 has the same pitch
and level as Osc1.
•
If the oscillators are tuned to the same pitch and level, an “Osc Lock”
setting of 50% produces a square wave with higher and lower settings producing progressively narrower pulse waveforms.
With an “Osc Lock” setting of 0% the two oscillators cancel out completely, which is
useful if you only want to use the noise generator as a sound source.
•
By applying the Oscillator 2 “Vibrato” parameter when Osc Lock is
set to around 50%, classic PWM is produced.
You can also detune Oscillator 2 for even richer modulation effects.
•
In “Free” mode the oscillator phase is allowed to drift, producing a
random timbre change.
By experimenting with these parameters, many different timbres and
modulation effects can be produced.
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About the Filter Modes
The JX16 features a multimode filter. The various filter modes are selected with the VCF Mode parameter, and are as follows:
•
Lowpass (LP)
Lowpass filters lets low frequencies pass and cuts out the high frequencies. This is the
most commonly used filter type in analog synthesizers.
•
Bandpass (BP)
A bandpass filter cuts frequencies above and below the cutoff frequency, allowing a
specific range of frequencies to pass while attenuating all others.
•
Highpass (HP)
A highpass filter is the opposite of a lowpass filter, cutting out the lower frequencies
and letting the high frequencies pass.
MIDI Controller Messages
The JX16 responds to the following MIDI Controller Messages:
Controller
Parameter/Value
Pitch Bend
+/- 2 Semitones
CC1 (Mod Wheel)
Vibrato
Aftertouch
Can control filter cutoff and filter cutoff modulation (by the
VCF LFO).
CC2
Increase filter cutoff
CC3
Decrease filter cutoff
CC7
Volume
CC16
Increase filter resonance
Program Change #
1-64
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VB-1
Damper switch.
Pick (slide left or right to
change position).
Pick-up position (slide left
or right to change position).
Volume knob.
Wave Morph knob.
The VB-1 is a virtual bass instrument built on real-time physical modelling principles. This has the following properties:
•
VB-1 is polyphonic with up to 4 voices.
•
VB-1 receives MIDI In Omni mode (on all MIDI channels).
You don’t need to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to the VB-1.
•
VB-1 responds to the following MIDI messages:
Volume.
Pan (remember to pan the two instrument channels hard Left/Right if you want to use
MIDI Pan messages).
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VB-1 Parameters
Parameter
Description
Volume
This regulates the VB-1 volume.
Damper
This switch controls the length of time the string vibrates after being
plucked.
Pick-up
position
By dragging the Pick-up left or right you can change the tone. Positioning it towards the bridge position produces a hollow sound that emphasizes the upper harmonics of the plucked string. When placed towards
the neck position, the tone is fuller and warmer.
Pick position
This determines where along the length of the string the initial pluck is
made. This controls the “roundness” of the tone, just like on a real bass.
Wave Morph
This knob selects the basic waveform that is used to drive the plucked
string model. This parameter can drastically change the sound character. The control smoothly morphs through the waves. It is possible to
create sounds that have no relation to a bass guitar with this control.
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LM-9
Program switch
Volume fader (one
for each drum sound)
Pad (one for each drum sound).
Press to audition the drum sound
assigned to the Pad, or to select a
sound for adjusting pan.
This sets the global velocity sensitivity for LM-9.
This adjusts the Pan (the position in
the stereo image) for the individual
drums. The setting is applied to the
currently selected drum, indicated by
a lit yellow LED over the Pad button.
The LM-9 is a basic drum machine. It has the following properties:
•
LM-9 is polyphonic with up to 9 voices.
•
LM-9 receives MIDI in Omni mode (on all MIDI channels).
You don’t need to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to LM-9.
•
LM-9 responds to the following MIDI messages:
Furthermore, all parameters can be automated as described above.
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LM-9 Parameters
Parameter
Description
Velocity
This sets the global velocity sensitivity for LM-9. The higher the
value, the more sensitive LM-9 will be to incoming velocity data. If
set to “0”, the sounds will play back with a fixed velocity value.
Volume sliders
The volume sliders are used to adjust the volume for each individual
drum sound.
Pad
The Pads are used for two things: To audition the individual drum
sounds, and to select a sound for adjusting pan.
Panorama
This is used to position an individual sound in the stereo image. The
setting applies to the currently selected sound, indicated by a lit yellow LED over the Pad button.
Drum Sounds
LM-9 comes with a number of different collections of drum sounds, all
with their own characteristic features. The table below shows how the
drum sounds typically are assigned to note values on your MIDI keyboard. The mapping is GM compatible:
Drum sound
Note value
Bass
C1
Snare
D1
Hi-Hat
F#1
O-Hi-Hat
A#1
Tom 1
D2
Tom 2
B1
Tom 3
A1
Crash
C#2
Ride
D#2
Switching the sets
Use the Program button to switch between the supplied drum sets,
just like you switch between effect programs.
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Universal Sound Module (USM)
The USM is a General MIDI compatible sound module. As described
on page 223, General MIDI (GM) is a standard defining a set of
sounds in MIDI instruments. GM instruments use the same program
change numbers for the same types of instruments.
So, if you prepared a sequence or MIDI file and want the melody to be
played by a “piano”, you can use a certain program change command
embedded into the sequence to automatically select a piano sound in
any GM compatible sound module. The GM standard, however, does
not specify in great detail how that piano should sound. It is simply assumes that the manufacturer reproduces an acoustic piano within the
capabilities of the instrument. A consequence of this is that, depending on the GM module used, a song may sound very different, even
though the instrument sounds were mapped correctly.
This problem is solved by the Universal Sound Module! Cubasis VST
users can make sure that their music created using the USM will
sound exactly the same when played back on another computer, because the sound reproduction is no longer hardware based – perfect
for InWire users!
❐ InWire and RocketPower are described on page 322.
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•
The USM features over 70 MB of sampled waveforms and four stereo
outputs.
•
The USM is polyphonic with up to 96 voices.
•
The USM receives MIDI in 16 channel Multi mode (simultaneous
multi-timbral playback on 16 MIDI channels).
In other words, one USM unit can play up to 16 MIDI tracks, each with a different
sound.
•
The USM responds to the following MIDI messages:
Volume.
Pan.
Pitch Bend (up to ± 12 semitones).
Selecting Sounds
❐ According to the General MIDI Standard, MIDI channel 10 is reserved for
drums. This cannot be changed.
The USM features 128 different sound patches. Selecting programs
is done by sending program change messages from the Inspector.
Selecting Outputs
The USM features four stereo outputs, allowing for flexible routing of
sounds to different effect processors etc. By default, all MIDI channels are routed to USM stereo output “1”.
•
To select another output, click the “Output” field below the Channel
Activity indicator for the MIDI channel you wish to direct to another
output.
This opens a pop-up allowing you to select one of the four stereo outputs.
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USM Parameters
Parameter
Description
Master Volume
Sets the master output volume for the USM.
Pitchbend Range
Sets the range for incoming Pitchbend messages (selectable
between 1 to 12 semitones).
LFO Speed
Governs the speed of the vibrato. The vibrato depth is controlled via MIDI Modulation messages (for example, using the
Mod Wheel on your MIDI controller).
MIDI channel activity
indicators 1-16.
These light up to indicate activity on the corresponding MIDI
channel.
Output 1-16
Clicking in this field opens a pop-up allowing you to direct the
corresponding USM MIDI channel to one of the four available
stereo outputs.
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Brother Gregory
Brother Gregory is an advanced monophonic vocal synthesizer, with
real-time control over pitch and vowel sound. With its built-in stereo
delay and amazing sound, Brother Gregory is excellent for deep vocal
drones, unusual lead lines and weird effects. Furthermore, the plug-in
control panel shows a 3D animation of a singing monk that reacts directly to your input!
You can either control the Brother Gregory via MIDI (just like any VST
Instrument), or directly in the plug-in control panel (using the XY field see below). When playing the Brother Gregory via MIDI, the MIDI note
numbers govern the pitch while pitch bend messages control the
vowel sound (see below for a complete MIDI implementation list).
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Parameters
The lower half of the control panel window contains the parameters:
Parameter
Description
Question mark
Click the question mark to display version information and labels for
the different plug-in controls.
XY field
This area allows you to play the Brother Gregory with the mouse, directly in the control panel: Click to make the monk sing and drag the
mouse to change pitch and vowel sound. The X-axis (horizontal)
controls the pitch and the Y-axis (vertical) controls the vowels.
Glide speed
Adjusts the glide (portamento) time, i.e. the time it takes for the pitch
to glide from one note to another. This is only relevant when playing
the Brother Gregory via MIDI.
Delay
Governs the mix between the “dry” signal and the delayed signal.
The further to the right you move the fader, the more echo effect.
Head Size
Changes the voice characteristics. When the knob is in middle position, the default voice is used; turning the knob left or right will make
the voice more “baritone” or “soprano”, respectively.
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MIDI Implementation
Playing the Brother Gregory via MIDI allows you to control all onscreen parameters via MIDI controllers, and gives you access to a
couple of parameters not available in the control panel:
MIDI event
Parameter
Note number or
CC 11 (Expression).
Pitch. Note that the Brother Gregory is not velocity sensitive.
Pitch Bend
Vowel sound.
CC 1 (Mod wheel)
Amount of vibrato.
CC 5
Portamento (glide) time.
CC 7
Volume.
CC 12
Delay mix.
CC 13
Voice character.
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Easy Guitar
•
This plug-in (developed by Wizoo) is included with Cubasis VST, but is
not automatically installed when you install the program.
Instead, you will find a separate Easy Guitar CD in the Cubasis VST package, containing an installer for Easy Guitar.
Easy Guitar is a “virtual” rhythm guitarist. It is based on Virtual Guitarist, a professional VST Instrument available as a separate plug-in. The
Easy Guitar plug-in provides two different instruments: Electric Guitar
and Acoustic Guitar.
These are the main characteristics:
•
•
•
Three different styles (players) for each guitar
Four variations (parts) for each style
Five different chords (Major, 7, maj7, m, sus4)
(Depending on the selected player, some players do not support all chords
listed above.)
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What Easy Guitar has to offer
Easy Guitar will provide you with a guitar track to accompany your
songs. All you have to do is to tell Easy Guitar through your MIDI keyboard in which key to play which chord. The timing, tuning and sound
of Easy Guitar will always be accurate. And in contrast to a “real” guitar recording, you can always edit chords and sound – right up to the
final mix.
How does Easy Guitar work?
There are several different ways of playing Easy Guitar:
•
•
•
You can play chords and vary the expression using keyboard velocity, MIDI
controllers, the sustain pedal, and program change messages.
If you’re not familiar with a keyboard, you can enter chords and other MIDI
events using one of the editors provided by Cubasis VST.
You can use Easy Guitar to dub tracks of existing songs and MIDI files to improve the way they sound. Many commercial MIDI files include special tracks
for use with chords, although duplicating a typical ‘pad sound’ track (such as
strings) with Easy Guitar will also produce good results.
Selecting a player
A player is a guitarist playing in a particular style. This style includes
both the way the guitar is played and how it sounds. You select the
player from the pop-up menu at the top of the Easy Guitar window.
The “acoustic players”
When you use Easy Guitar in “Acoustic Guitar” mode, the following
“acoustic players” are available:
•
•
•
Ringaracka: standard accompanying guitar, based on 8th notes.
Mellow: modern phrasing, based on 16th notes
Mean Reso: a western riff for blues styles
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The “electric players”
When you use Easy Guitar in “Electric Guitar” mode, the following
“electric players” are available:
•
•
•
Muted Fifths: standard accompanying guitar, based on muted 8th notes.
Heavy 1-5-8: distorted riffs for rock styles
Ultra: ultra heavy ‘New Metal’ guitar
Selecting a part
You can vary a player by switching to one of 4 different parts – and
unlike switching players, switching parts happens in real time. There
are three different ways to select a part:
•
•
•
To switch between the different players, click the arrows on the left and right
of the word “Part” in the Easy Guitar window.
Use a MIDI keyboard to send a program change message between 1 and 4,
with the message number referring to the number of the selected part.
Make sure that the Remote On/Off option (keyboard remote control) is selected and press a key between C1 and F#1. For more information on this option see page 319.
Tempo
Easy Guitar automatically adapts to the song tempo, even when there
are tempo changes during playback (e.g. an accelerando). The lowest
possible tempo is 85 bpm, the upper limit is defined by the maximum
song tempo – 350 bpm.
Accents and syncopation
When you hit a note or chord pretty hard (with a velocity value above
100), Easy Guitar will play the chord in a syncopated style. This
means that the chord will only be played on the weak beats, with the
chord on the strong beats being omitted.
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Chord recognition
Easy Guitar uses intelligent chord recognition. It recognizes what you
“want” to play and finds the correct chord. So normally you can simply
start playing.
When you play a chord (e.g. notes C, F and G for a Csus chord), it is
automatically recognized by Easy Guitar. Should the required chord
not be available, Easy Guitar will play a chord that is as suitable as
possible.
One finger chords
For the chord types major, 7 and minor you do not actually need to
play all the notes in the chord, but can simply work with the one-finger
method (which strictly speaking should be called the one-to-two-fingers method).
Proceed as follows:
•
Simply press a key, and Easy Guitar will play the corresponding major
chord. By pressing a second key you trigger different variations of this
chord:
Second key
Chord
None
major
White key to the left
7
Black key to the left
m
Chord display
As soon as Easy Guitar recognizes a chord, its name is displayed in
the Chord field.
Latch On/Off
The status of this option determines whether Easy Guitar continues to
play after you have released a key.
For more information about the latch option see page 318.
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Long chords
Easy Guitar can also be used to play long chords. You can insert
these in intros or outros or any other suitable part.
•
To play a long chord, press the sustain pedal and play the notes.
There are two different types of long chords, triggered by different velocities:
•
•
Low velocity: slowly strummed chord
High velocity: heavy chord
In case you do not have a sustain pedal, you can also simulate its
function using the F#1 key in the MIDI keyboard section used for remote control of Easy Guitar. For more information see page 319.
Sustain pedal
The sustain pedal is controlled by the status of the Latch On/Off option. Try out the following functions to understand how to use the sustain pedal (or the F#1 remote control key):
Latch on
Stop function
When you press the sustain pedal during playback, Easy Guitar will stop.
Long chords mode When you press the sustain pedal and press
note keys, Easy Guitar will play long chords
(see page 318).
Latch off
Sustain pedal
When releasing note keys while the sustain
pedal is pressed, Easy Guitar will not stop but
continue playing.
Long chords mode See Latch on.
Shuffle
Use this dial to adapt the swing feel of Easy Guitar to that of your
song. This option moves the off beats back a little. When you set the
dial to 100 %, phrasing will be in exact triplets.
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Decay
The Decay dial is used to change the decay time of individual beats.
With shorter decay, the guitar will sound more “staccato”, while
longer decay will make the guitar sound more fluid and “legato”.
Please note that a decay is a sound effect generated by applying a filter envelope curve to the original signal. The more of the effect is applied, the less natural the guitar will sound.
Remote On/Off
You can use the seven keys between C1 and F#1 (the first seven
keys on a five octave MIDI keyboard) of your MIDI keyboard to remote
control Easy Guitar. To activate remote control, switch on the Remote
On/Off option.
Remote control means that certain keys on your MIDI keyboard can be
used to trigger certain functions of Easy Guitar. The following table
lists the available key assignments:
Key
Function
C1
Pressing this key triggers the part numbered 1.
D1
E1
F1
C#1
When pressing this key, you will hear the noise of a finger gliding
over a string.
D#1
When pressing this key, you will hear the noise of hitting empty
strings while stopping these strings with your other hand.
F#1
The F#1 key is used like a sustain pedal, so if you do not own a sustain pedal, you can use the F#1 key instead
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17
InWire and RocketPower
Introduction
What is RocketPower and InWire?
RocketPower is a system for transferring musical data and managing
recording sessions over the Internet. Developed by Rocket Networks
Inc, RocketPower allows you to collaborate with other users of RocketPower applications, anywhere in the world.
InWire is Steinberg’s RocketPower support.
What do I need?
To use InWire, you need the following:
•
An internet connection (and a standard web browser application) on
the computer you use for music work.
While a fast connection is desirable, it isn’t absolutely required.
•
A RocketPower application.
In this case, the RocketPower application is of course Cubasis VST!
•
The latest version of the RocketControl system installed on your computer.
To download the Rocket software, go to http://www.inwire-studios.com and follow the download links and instructions on the page.
•
A Rocket Network account.
This will automatically be created when you fill out the forms to download the RocketControl software.
❐ After installing RocketControl, you will find an online manual in pdf (Acro-
bat) format in the RocketControl folder on your hard disk. We recommend
that you read that document to get detailed information about how the
Rocket system works, about account options, etc.
This chapter only describes the basic InWire/RocketPower use in Cubasis
VST.
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Basic Terminology
In Rocket Networks, the following terminology is used:
•
Account
In order to use InWire, you need to have a Rocket Networks account. This is your “user
profile”, and also determines your privileges (there are different types of accounts, as
described in the Rocket documentation).
•
Session
A session is a Rocket Networks project. You can join and contribute to existing public
sessions, or create a new session (depending on your account type).
•
Source Media
This is the audio data, as originally recorded. When you add your own audio recordings to a session, the source media (your recordings) will initially be stored locally on
your computer.
•
Rendering
Renderings are files of different compression rates, created from source media. Usually, you and the other session contributors will upload and download compressed renderings of the audio data during work (to save upload and download time). The source
media is also considered a rendering, and can be uploaded or downloaded as well
(e.g. when it’s time for the final mix).
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Setting Rocket Preferences in Cubasis VST
If you pull down the InWire menu in Cubasis VST and select Preferences, the Rocket Preferences dialog will open. This allows you to
make the following settings:
Setting
Description
Download Quality
This is where you select the quality of the renderings to receive.
Usually “Standard” is a good setting (although you may want to
select “Preview” if you have a slow internet connection).
As of this writing, the “Lossless” compression setting isn’t implemented, and should not be selected.
If unavailable take:
If the audio files are not available in the preferred Download
Quality, this setting determines which rendering to download instead.
Upload Quality
Similarly, this setting determines the quality of the renderings
sent from your computer when Posting. Again, do not select
“Lossless”.
For more about compression rates, see the Rocket documentation.
Default MIDI Devices Allows you to specify your default General MIDI-compatible devices (such as the Universal Sound Module).
Auto Allocate MIDI
channel
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If this is activated, MIDI channels will be automatically allocated
when you receive a Session (useful to avoid channel conflicts
when collaborating live with other users). If it is deactivated, the
original MIDI channel assignment (as set by the sender of the
data) is kept.
Setting
Description
Auto Allocate Audio
channel
If this is activated, audio channels will be automatically allocated
when you receive a Session (useful to avoid channel conflicts
when collaborating live with other users). If it is deactivated, the
original audio channel assignment (as set by the sender of the
data) is kept.
Erase Unused before If this is activated, the unused sections of all audio files in the
Posting
Pool are permanently deleted from your hard disk when you
Post.
Don’t activate this unless you are absolutely sure you
want the unused sections of all files in the Pool to be deleted!
Use Coloring and
Sort by Owner
If this is activated, received tracks will be organized and colored
according to their respective owner.
Get all Part Info Data When this is activated, the Inspector settings for all parts are inon Receive
cluded when you receive a session.
Auto Receive when
joining a Session:
This determines what happens when you enter a Rocket Networks session. The options are:
No: To receive the session (download the files) you will have to
click the Receive button in the Arrange window.
Yes – Ask: When you enter a new session, you will be asked
whether you want to receive the session files or not. This is
probably the most convenient option to choose.
Yes – Don’t Ask: When you enter a new session, it will automatically be downloaded.
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Activating RocketPower and joining a Session
To activate RocketPower and join an existing session, proceed as
follows:
❐ In this example, we assume that you selected the “Yes – Ask” option for
the “Auto Receive when joining a Session” setting in the Rocket Preferences dialog.
1. Start with an empty song.
This is not required, but it will make things less confusing when you receive the session.
2. Click the RocketPower button above the Arrange window ruler, or select RocketPower from the InWire menu.
The RocketControl application launches.
3. In the RocketControl window that appears, make sure your username
and password are correctly entered, and click Connect.
Now, your default web browser launches and takes you to the Steinberg InWire Public
Sessions on the Rocket Networks web site.
4. When you’re connected, you will automatically go to the “Welcome
Lobby” session, which is the default session for InWire users.
You can adjust this in the Account settings on the web page if you like.
•
In Cubasis VST, you will now be asked whether you want to receive
the session or not.
Click No for now.
5. To go to another session, locate it in the session list in the browser,
and click its Go button.
The session list shows you information about the different sessions. You can also get
details about the current section by clicking the “Session Details” tab in the browser.
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Receiving a project
Once you have found an interesting session to join, click Yes when
you’re asked whether you want to receive. If you clicked No (or if you
have turned off the automatic receive function altogether in the Rocket
Preferences), you can click the Receive button in Cubasis VST (next
to the RocketPower button) to receive the session at any time.
Now the following will happen:
1. Cubasis VST will ask you to specify a folder for the audio files to be
received.
This will become the folder for your local version of the session.
2. The files will be downloaded.
After the downloaded renderings have been decompressed, they will appear in the
Audio Pool in Cubasis VST.
❐ Depending on the amount of data to be downloaded, this process may
take some time to complete.
3. An alert appears, telling you to save the song under a new name.
4. Finally, a Save dialog appears. Go to the folder you specified in step 1
and save the song under a new name.
Now, you can try playing back the song to hear how it sounds – then,
it’s your turn to add some music! Proceed with recording audio and
MIDI, just as usual.
❐ Depending on your account type, it may also be possible to create a new,
empty session. You could then either start from scratch with an empty
Cubasis VST song, or upload an existing song as a starting point.
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The InWire Settings in the Pool
Some items in the Audio Pool are directly related to InWire:
File list
Menu item
Description
Quality
Clicking in this column for a file brings up a pop-up menu showing all available renderings. Selecting a rendering will insert it into
the Arrange window (after downloading it, if it isn’t available locally on your own disk).
Post as
Clicking in this column for a file brings up a pop-up menu, allowing you to specify which renderings should be posted. Renderings shown with a check mark will be uploaded when you Post
(see below). To turn Posting on or off for a rendering, select it on
the pop-up menu.
File pop-up menu
Menu item
Description
Delete Low Quality
Renderings
Selecting this item will delete low quality renderings stored locally on your computer. These renderings may be received again
by selecting them from the Quality popup menu in the File list.
Get Best Quality
Select this to receive the best quality renderings available from
the server, of all files in the Pool.
Post Best Quality
Select this to post the source renderings of all files you own
(have created yourself) in the Pool.
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Posting
Once you have added something that you’re satisfied with, you can
post your changes to the session, to make them available to the other
Session contributors:
1. Set up the Posting options in the Audio Pool (see above).
2. Pull down the InWire menu and select Post, or click the Post button
next to the RocketPower button.
All edited sections of the arrangement (audio files and parts) are sent. You can stop
the posting by selecting Cancel Post from the menu, if needed.
Disconnecting
When you’re finished working, you disconnect from Rocket Networks
in the following way:
1. Select the RocketControl application.
2. Pull down the File menu and select Disconnect.
You are disconnected, and the login window appears again.
3. Click the Exit button.
RocketControl quits.
4. Quit the web browser as usual.
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18
Movies
Introduction
Cubasis VST allows you to open a movie file and play it on your screen,
synchronized with the audio and MIDI playback. This is done by using
Direct Show, a part of Microsoft DirectX Media which in turn is an extension to Windows. Movie files in the formats QuickTime (extension
“.qt” or “.mov”) or Video for Windows (extension “.avi”) are supported.
❐ Note that only movie files created for Quick Time version 3 or earlier are
supported, i.e. it is not possible to open movie files for QuickTime versions
higher than 3. This is because of the fact that this function uses components of the Windows Media Player, which in its fundamental form does
not contain the necessary codecs.
Playing a movie in sync with Cubasis VST
Adding the movie to the song
1. Pull down the File menu and select “Open Movie”.
A standard file dialog appears.
2. Locate the movie file and click Open.
The movie appears in a separate window.
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Movies
Playing back
1. Pull down the Options menu and select “Options...” from the Movie
submenu.
The Movie Options dialog appears.
2. Make sure that the “On Line” option is activated.
This makes the movie follow the playback in Cubasis VST.
3. If you like, adjust the size of the Movie window by selecting an option
on the pop-up menu.
4. Close the dialog by clicking OK.
5. Activate playback in Cubasis VST.
The movie will play back in sync, starting at the beginning of the Cubasis VST song.
❐ The audio in the movie is not played back when you play the Movie from
within Cubasis VST.
Setting an Offset
If you don’t want the movie to start at the beginning of the Cubasis VST
song, you can define an offset value. Proceed as follows:
1. Open the Movie Options dialog by selecting “Options” from the Movie
submenu on the Options menu.
2. Specify a new start position for the movie file in the Offset value field.
The value is in time code format (hours: minutes: seconds: frames). If you for example
set this to 00: 01: 00: 00, the movie will start exactly one minute after the beginning of
the song.
Movies
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Other options
On the Movie submenu on the Options menu you will find two more
items:
•
Hide/Show Title Bar
Allows you to hide the title bar of the Movie window.
•
Hide/Show Movie
Allows you to temporarily hide the Movie window from view.
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Movies
19
Saving and Opening
Saving
Once you have created some music of your own, you’ll probably want
to save it to your hard disk. When you save your music in Cubasis VST,
there are three document formats you can use for saving your music:
song, arrangement or MIDI file. You should only choose MIDI files if you
want your music (MIDI only – no audio) to be playable in other sequencers. If you want to save your music for further use in Cubasis VST, you
should use either the song or the arrangement format:
Song
When you save a song, the following is saved:
•
•
•
•
All the arrangements.
All settings in the dialogs, on the Transport Bar, etc.
The Pool, all audio settings and audio file references (but not the actual audio
files themselves).
The settings in the VST and MIDI Track Mixer windows.
Arrangement
When you save an arrangement, the following is saved:
•
•
All the things you see in one Arrange window; the tracks, the parts, Inspector
settings, tempo, etc.
The audio file references for the audio parts used in the arrangement.
The arrangement format is often perfectly adequate for saving a piece
of music. The pros and cons of both formats are shown in the table on
the next page:
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Saving and Opening
File Format Advantages
Disadvantages
Arrangement • Takes up little disk space.
• Does not contain any audio set• Can be saved, and opened in
tings, other than the audio file refanother song, which is an easy way erences used in the arrangement.
to transfer music between different • Does not contain a complete
songs.
“snapshot” of the program’s
• Does not contain “unnecessary” “state”.
settings if all you want to save is the
music.
• Opening an arrangement does not
affect settings in dialog boxes and
on menus, which, in some situations,
is an advantage.
Song
• Contains the complete Pool and all • Takes up more disk space than
other audio settings.
the arrangement file format, even if
• Contains more than one arrange- you only have one arrangement in
ment.
the song.
• Saves all the settings on all menus,
in all dialog boxes etc.
❐ Even though the song files contain all audio references, they do not con-
tain the actual audio files! If you want to transfer a song containing audio
to another computer, you need to move the audio files as well.
Performing the Save
1. Pull down the File menu and select “Save As...”.
The file dialog appears.
2. Use the standard controls to navigate to the desired folder.
3. Use the File Type pop-up to select a format, song or arrangement.
4. Type in a name for the file.
5. Click Save.
Saving and Opening
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Using “Save”
On the File menu you will find a menu item called “Save”.
•
•
If you have already saved your song once (using “Save As...”) this menu command will save your song without asking for a file name and location. The file
you save now will simply overwrite the earlier version.
If you have not yet saved your song, selecting “Save Song” is the same as selecting “Save As...”.
The “Save Song” command can also be executed by pressing [Ctrl][S] on the computer keyboard, or by clicking the Save icon on the
Toolbar.
Exporting in old Cubasis format
The first versions of Cubasis (1.0 - 2.x) used a different file format
structure. Even though Cubasis VST 4.0 can read files created with
Cubasis 1.0 - 2.x, the opposite is not true. Therefore, you have the option to export your songs in a format compatible with older Cubasis
versions. This is done by selecting “Export - Cubasis 1.0 - 2.x Song...”
from the File menu.
•
If you plan to continue working with the song in Cubasis VST 4.0, you
should perform a regular save as well – otherwise settings specific to
version 4.0 will be lost!
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Saving and Opening
Opening
Just as with saving, Cubasis VST can open three different file types:
songs, arrangements and MIDI files. Opening MIDI files which is useful if you import music created in other sequencers, is done with the
“Import MIDI File…” command, described later in this chapter. This
section describes how to open songs or arrangements.
1. Select “Open...” from the File menu (or click the Open icon on the
Toolbar).
The Open dialog appears.
2. Use the File Type pop-up to select which type of file you want to open,
song or arrangement.
Song files have the extension “.all” and arrangement files have the extension “.arr”.
3. Navigate to the desired folder.
4. Select the file and click Open.
About opening songs
There can only be one song open at a time. If the currently open song
contains unsaved changes, you will be asked whether you want to
save the current song first before a new song is opened.
About opening arrangements
If the file is an arrangement, it will appear as a new window on screen,
in addition to any Arrange windows already open. You can have up to
16 arrangements open at the same time.
About the default song
Each time you launch Cubasis VST, a default song called “Def.All” is
opened. This makes it possible to customize the default functionality
and layout of the program:
1. Launch the program.
2. Set up the program as you want it.
This may include the number and organization of tracks, MIDI setup, metronome settings, audio settings, part color etc.
3. Select “Save as…” from the File menu.
Saving and Opening
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4. Navigate to the Cubasis VST program folder.
5. Type in the name “Def.All” (without the quote signs) and click Save.
You will be asked if you want to replace the current Def.All file. Click Yes.
Next time you launch Cubasis VST, you will automatically get your desired setup and layout.
About the New Song command
When you select New Song from the File menu in Cubasis VST, the
following happens:
1. If you have unsaved changes in the current song, you are asked
whether you want to save it or not.
2. Then, a file creation dialog opens, allowing you to select a folder and
specify a name for your New Song file.
3. An empty song with the specified name is created, together with a
subfolder called “XXX.Audio” (where “XXX” is the name of the new
song, minus the “.all” extension).
The new song is set up according to the default song, with the new
audio folder selected as Audio Files Folder.
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Saving and Opening
Saving and Importing Parts: the Audio and
MIDI Library functions
Often it can be useful to save smaller “building-blocks” of your music.
For example, you may have created rhythm patterns, combined audio
files etc. that you want to use in different arrangements or songs. By
saving these as audio or MIDI parts, you can easily import them into
other songs. Audio parts also include the necessary audio file references, making it possible to import audio parts into other songs without having to import their audio files separately in the Pool. This
feature is also helpful if you are working with ReCycle (REX) files (see
page 271), as you can edit REX files in Cubasis VST and then save
them as parts for use in other songs.
It’s possible to save parts to any folder on your hard disk, but there are
two special folders intended just for this: the Audio Library and MIDI
Library folders. These are automatically created when you install Cubasis VST, and can quickly be accessed from the program. Proceed
as follows:
Opening the Audio and MIDI Libraries
To open the Audio or MIDI Library, select “Audio Library” or “MIDI Library” from the Panels menu, or click the corresponding icon on the
Toolbar.
The Audio and MIDI Library icons.
Saving and Opening
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When you click the icon, the corresponding Library window opens on
the computer desktop.
Click the Audio Library icon...
...to open the Audio Library window.
•
You may want to move the Library window(s) and resize the Arrange
window so that they all can be visible at the same time.
Saving Parts
To save a MIDI or audio part, simply drag it from the Arrange window
and drop it in the corresponding Library window. A part file (extension
“.prt”) is automatically created.
•
You can also save several audio parts or several MIDI parts by selecting them and dragging the selection to the Library window.
A single part file will be created, containing all the selected parts and their data.
•
It is recommended that you save MIDI parts in the MIDI Library, and
audio parts in the Audio Library, to avoid confusion.
For the same reason, you should not save audio and MIDI parts combined as one file.
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Saving and Opening
Importing Parts
To import a MIDI or audio part, simply drag the part file from its Library
window and drop it on a track in Cubasis VST.
•
The part will appear at the position where you dropped it (taking the
Snap value into account).
If the part file contains more than one part, the first part will appear on the drop position, and the following parts will maintain their original positions in relation to the first.
•
Note that you must drop the part on a track of the same track class
(MIDI or audio).
You can also drop the part in the empty area at the bottom of the Track List – a new
track will automatically be created.
•
When you import an audio part this way, its audio file references are
automatically added to the Audio Pool.
•
When you import a MIDI part this way, please note that the channel
and output of the part you import is saved with it.
E.g. if a MIDI part was routed to channel 1 of your first MIDI output when it was saved
in the MIDI Library, and you drop this part on a MIDI track that is routed to channel 2 of
the fourth MIDI output, the routing of the track will change to MIDI channel 1 and MIDI
output 1.
Saving and Opening
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Exporting MIDI Files
You might want to export an arrangement as a standard MIDI file, so
that it can be loaded into other computer programs or hardware sequencers, for example.
❐ A standard MIDI file contains MIDI data only – no audio. Any audio tracks
in your arrangement will automatically be excluded from the created
MIDI file.
1. Mute all the tracks you don’t want to be included in the MIDI file.
2. Make sure the song runs at the correct tempo.
The Master button should be activated on the Transport Bar, since the exported MIDI
file will get the tempo stored in the Master Track.
•
The part parameters set up in the inspector (volume, transpose, program change, etc.) are automatically converted to “real” events and
values in the exported MIDI file.
This way, the MIDI file will play back like the original Cubasis VST song, as much as
possible.
3. Pull down the File menu and select “MIDI File...” from the Export
submenu.
4. In the file dialog that appears, select a name and location for the file.
The file will get the extension “.MID”, which is the standard extension for MIDI files.
5. Click Save.
6. In the alert box that appears, you can specify the following:
•
Whether you want the exported MIDI file to be of format 0 or 1 (default).
MIDI files of format 0 contain only one track that plays back on several MIDI channels.
In MIDI files of format 1, the track structure is preserved. Which format to select depends on in which applications and devices you want to use the MIDI file later – format
1 is the preferred choice, but some sequencers can only read format 0 files.
•
Song Name for Track 0
This allows you to enter a name for the track, in addition to the name of the file, and the
name you enter here will be displayed when looking at the file properties/information.
Note however, that this only applies when exporting as format 0, as described above.
•
Copyright Notice
If the file is original work, you can enter the name of its originator(s) here. This will be
displayed when looking at the file properties/information.
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Saving and Opening
Importing MIDI Files
1. On the File menu, select “MIDI File...” from the Import submenu.
A file dialog appears.
2. Locate the file and select it in the file list.
MIDI files have the extension “.mid”.
3. Click Open.
4. In the dialog box that appears, decide if you want the file to appear in
a new Arrange window or if you want to merge the MIDI file into the
current arrangement.
If you choose the latter option, the file will appear in the current arrangement, starting
at the Left Locator position.
When importing MIDI files, the data is automatically split up into
shorter segments (parts) to make it easier to edit the music in the
Arrange window.
Saving and Opening
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Saving and Opening
20
The Master Unit Program
About Master Unit
By using Master Unit, your PC and your CD recorder, you can create
your personal audio CD from your own recordings made in Cubasis
VST/WaveLab Lite or from some other source. Master Unit gives you
easy-to-use high-quality tools that let you compile and process the audio before burning the CD. Master Unit is a compact program that you
can use to record, import and the process audio data, as well as create your own audio CD according to the “Red Book” standard.
In Master Unit you can compile audio files in a play list, create fade ins
and outs and shorten the length. You can furthermore use the three
additional Effects “Bass Boost”, “Stereo Spread” and “Brilliance” to
considerably refresh the audio quality of the files, if needed.
The effects can be used and set in real-time. That means, you can
hear how your settings change the respective recording. The effects
can be set individually for each CD track.
You can directly record audio in Master Unit or import audio files from
hard disk etc. A complete CD project can be recorded onto CD-R(W)
and saved onto hard disk.
As you can see from this short description, Master Unit is the ideal tool
to optimize and save your audio material on a user-friendly medium. In
this context, we would like to remind you to observe and respect the
copyrights of other artists.
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Using Master Unit
This section gives you a general overview on how to use Master Unit
in practice. It also contains cross-references to sections with information about the respective issues.
The basic concept behind Master Unit is that you work on a CD project.
In order to use Master Unit you must therefore first create a new project
or load one that you have saved previously. A project is a file that contains the complete data set of the CD you are about to create.
•
Open the File menu and select “New Project…” or “Open Project…”.
Find more information on page 371.
•
Import the desired tracks from disk as WAV or MP3 files (will be converted into WAV format) or from an audio CD - or record them.
Find more information about these issues on page 352 (“Importing Tracks from hard
disk”), page 353 (“Importing Tracks from audio CDs”), and on page 359 (“Recording
audio in Master Unit”).
•
You can now play back, name and sort the tracks and determine the
gap time (the length of the pause between any two tracks).
Read about this on page 356 (playback), page 354 (naming and gap time) and on
page 355 (sorting).
•
You can shorten track lengths and define a fade in and/or fade out for
each track.
See page 363 and page 364.
•
You can use a number of very powerful pro-quality effects to process
the sound of each track.
Processing can be done in real-time, so that you can monitor the effect, or by calculating and creating a file. For more information, see page 360.
•
Finally, you can use Master Unit to record the CD-R.
This is described on page 369.
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The Master Unit window
The Master Unit window is divided into a number of different areas.
They represent the major functional groups within the program.
The most important of these are called Track List, Effects section and
Waveform display. They are described in the following sections of this
chapter.
Track List
Volume section
Effects section
Waveform
display
The Master Unit main window
The Master Unit has a number of additional controls and displays.
Among these are the Volume controls, the Processing buttons as well
as various other displays.
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The Track List
CD track number
Author
Name
Track title
Gap length
Track time
Fader for scrolling the List
List entries
Sort buttons
Stop
Cycle Play
Play
Record
Rewind
Previous track
Next track
Fast Forward
The Track List
The Track List is located in the upper left corner of Master Unit window. You can use it to import, name, record and play back audio
tracks as well as change the order in which the tracks are recorded
onto CD-R. This is also where tracks are removed from a project or
even completely deleted from your hard disk. At the bottom of the
Track List you can find a number of recording and playback functions.
All entries in the Track List – except for Time - can be changed directly
in the list.
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Importing Tracks from hard disk
Master Unit lets you import audio files in WAV and MP3 format. Importing MP3 files is described on page 372. Proceed as follows to import a piece of audio, that is available as a WAV file, into the Track List:
1. Click on the “Import” button.
A file selector opens.
2. Select the desired WAV and click “Open”.
The file is imported and displayed in the Track List. If the file is monophonic and in 16
Bit/44.1 kHz format, Master Unit transforms it into a stereo file of the same format and
checks whether enough space is available to save the file.
You can also import several WAV files in one go:
•
Hold down the [Ctrl] key on your computer keyboard while selecting
the files with the mouse.
To import several files that are adjacent to each other in the file selector, hold down
[Shift] on your computer keyboard and click on the first and the last file of the desired
block.
❐ Importing tracks into Master Unit is not limited to the total playing time of
an audio CD (up to 80 minutes). You can exceed this time limit, e.g. to
save your audio data onto a DAT cassette (longer playing time) instead
of on CD.
Drag and Drop
You can also use Drag and Drop to drag WAV files from the Desktop,
“My Computer” window or Windows Explorer, into the Track List:
•
Find the desired file, click on it and drag it into the Track List while you
continue to hold down the mouse button.
❐ Project files can also be opened by using Drag and Drop, see page 371.
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Importing Tracks from audio CDs
You can use Master Unit to directly import audio from any audio CD.
The data is saved as a WAV-file, i.e. a digital copy of the imported
track is saved onto your hard disk. There is no D/A conversion, thus
no loss in quality. This method of directly reading the audio data from
CD is often called grabbing. Proceed as follows:
1. Open the Import menu and select “Import Tracks from CD…”.
A dialog opens.
The Import audio tracks from CD dialog.
2. Select the CD-ROM drive from which you wish to import the audio
tracks by using the pop-up menu in the top left of the dialog.
If you only have one CD-ROM drive installed in your computer system, it will be the
only option in this menu.
3. Insert an audio CD in the selected drive.
The tracks on the CD appear in a list in the dialog.
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4. Select one or several tracks for import onto your hard disk by clicking
on them.
Selecting works as in the Windows Explorer - press [Ctrl] or [Shift] to select several
tracks.
❐ You can directly add more tracks to an open project. Use the “Add to
Project” function in the “Import Tracks from CD…” dialog for this purpose. The files that you import with this method are stored in the same
directory as the previously imported files for this project.
5. Enter a file name and a path for the imported WAV file(s). (If you add
files to an already open project, this will not be necessary.)
To do this, click on the small grey button with the three dots, next to the “Cancel” button in the dialog. When you first open the dialog, its standard path setting is
C:\track.wav.
6. Start importing by clicking on the “Import” button.
Imported files are directly added to the Track List.
7. Close the dialog by clicking “Cancel”.
Changing the entries in the Track List
To edit an entry in the Track List (Author, Title or Gap), double click it,
type in the desired changes and confirm by pressing [Return].
•
Preset gap time – the length of the pause between two tracks on the CD
– is 2 seconds. You can change this to a value between 0 and 4 seconds.
Higher values will automatically be corrected to 4 seconds.
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Changing the Track order in the List
This is how you change the track order:
1. Click on the desired track to select it.
2. Use the Sort buttons in the lower right corner of the Track List area to
move the track up or down.
The Sort buttons
•
Track time can be changed by using the Markers in the Waveform display.
This is described on page 363.
Scrolling the Track List
If the Track List contains more than 16 tracks, you can use the slider
to the right of the list to scroll the list up or down.
Removing a Track from the Track List
When Playback is stopped, you can remove a track from the Track
List, without deleting its WAV file from your hard disk: Select the file in
the list and click the “Remove” button below the Track List or press
the [Delete] key on your computer keyboard.
Deleting a Track
You can also remove a track from the Track List and delete its WAV
file permanently from your hard disk: Select the file in the list and click
the “Delete” button below the Track List.
❐ Deleting is an irreversible action! If you delete a file it is lost and cannot
be recovered!
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Recording and Playback functions
Setting up
Master Unit records and plays back using Windows Multimedia system, which means your audio hardware must have been properly installed under Windows. Before playing back or recording, you should
make sure the proper audio device is selected (and possibly adjust its
settings):
1. Pull down the Options menu and select Soundcard Settings.
A dialog appears.
2. Use the Playback pop-up menu to select the desired audio device for
playing back.
3. Use the Recording pop-up menu to select the desired audio device
for recording.
•
You can also adjust the number and size of the buffers used when
playing back and recording. Normally, you shouldn’t need to change
these settings.
Only if you experience crackles, pops and glitches when playing back and/or recording
should you try raising these values. Make a note of the current values before changing
anything.
4. Close the dialog by clicking OK.
Note: A typical sound card may have more than one stereo input pair
- line inputs, mic inputs, direct inputs from the CD player, etc. To select which input should be used when recording into Master Unit, use
the mixer application provided with the sound card (check the sound
card documentation for details).
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Record and Playback controls
❐ To use the Recording and Playback functions, you must first create a
project or load one from disk.
These buttons essentially work in the same way as those on your cassette recorder or CD player. Here’s what each button does:
This button
is called
Click it to…
Stop
…stop playback.
Play
…start playback.
Rewind
…move the current playback position backwards in time.
Previous
Track
…select the previous track in the Track List.
Fast
Forward
…move the current playback position forward in time.
Next Track
…select the next track in the Track List.
Record
…start recording audio in Master Unit. Find more information on page 359.
Cycle
playback
…repeat playback of the current track indefinitely. Attention: this button actually is an on/off switch!
❐ Except for the Record and Cycle buttons, all buttons always affect the
track that is selected in the Track List!
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Setting Record and Playback volume
Two pairs of faders and level indicators, called “Input”
and “Output”, are located between the Track List and
the Effects section. You can use them to control Master Unit’s Record and Playback volume.
The “Input” faders control the level of the signal that
you record to hard disk via your sound card. The
“Input” level indicators show this level.
Using the Output faders, you only control the volume
of your sound card output (i.e., the volume that you
actually hear during playing). This is not the same as
the actually recorded level of the file on hard disk. Its
level is visible in the “Output” level indicators during
playback.
❐ When recording audio on your hard disk, please make sure that the sig-
nal has a sufficient level, but avoid distortion. The “Input” level indicators
should do most of their “jumping” within the yellow part of the indicator,
if possible, but not reach into the red part. The level of recorded audio
files can also be optimized after recording. Find more information on
page 368 and page 372.
When controlling Record or Playback volume, use the mouse to drag
one of the two handles of the respective fader pair (“Input” faders or
“Output” faders). The other fader handle of the pair will follow automatically.
•
You can also make individual settings for each fader in a pair by pressing [Shift] and dragging the desired fader handle with the mouse.
•
To reset a fader pair, press [Ctrl] and click on one of the faders.
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Recording audio in Master Unit
You can not only process audio files in Master Unit, you can also
record audio. Proceed as follows:
1. Activate recording by clicking on the Record button and start playback
of the signal source that you want to record.
Master Unit immediately starts recording. A new entry appears in the Track List:
“recorded, Title x” (where the x stands for the new track number).
2. Stop recording by clicking the Stop button.
You will probably want to make a test recording to optimize the level setting. You can
control the level of what’s recorded on your hard disk by dragging Master Unit’s “Input”
fader up or down. Make sure that the level indicator does not touch the red part.
3. Delete the test recording by selecting it and clicking on the “Delete”
button. Then start recording for real.
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The Effects section
All Effects on/off
Effect intensity sliders
Stereo/Mono
switch
Value fields
Effect on/off
switches
The Effects section
The Effects section is located in the upper right part of the Master Unit
window. Its effects combine extremely simple handling with excellent
quality.
•
•
•
•
The effects can be used to provide your recordings with more punch, brilliance and width.
All effects are controlled in the same way, in spite of their totally different effect on the audio material. Each effect can be activated/deactivated by clicking on its On/Off switch. You can use the effect’s fader to control intensity.
Values between 0 (no effect) and 100 (full effect) are available.
By clicking on the general “Effects” On/Off switch in the top left corner of the
Effects section, you can switch all active effects on or off in one go.
The “mono/stereo” switch can be used to toggle between mono and stereo
playback. Master Unit calculates active effects in real-time during playback.
Mono playback demands a lot less processing power from your computer
than stereo playback. If you run Master Unit on a less powerful system and
playback starts to stutter, try setting the “mono/stereo” switch to mono.
❐ When you write a CD-R with Master Unit, the data is always recorded in
stereo. The setting of the “mono/stereo” switch is irrelevant to the writing process.
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Each track in the Track List can be processed individually with the effects. Therefore, it is possible to only apply a slight Brilliance effect on
track 1, but use the Bass Boost and the Stereo Spread on the next
track. Master Unit automatically memorizes the effect settings that you
make. If you change from one track to another, Master Unit resets the
effect parameters to the last state memorized for this track.
❐ As always, when using effects and aiming for a professional result, you
should apply the effect intensity individually and purposely. In other
words, when in doubt: less is more!
By using a key command you can copy the effect settings from one
track to another track. Proceed as follows:
1. In the Track List, select the track whose settings you wish to copy and
press [Ctrl]-[C].
2. Now select the track to which you want to apply the effect settings
and press [Ctrl]-[V].
Bass Boost
Sometimes you may encounter recordings that lack punch or depth in
the lower frequencies. Bass Boost can remedy this to a certain degree. Its centre frequency is 60 Hz and its filter quality (Q) value is 4.
Stereo Spread
The stereo image in audio material retrieved from older media does
not always meet the expectations: Maybe someone recorded his or
her first own demo tapes without a sound engineer, or maybe a vinyl
record suffered from the many times it was played. The Stereo Spread
effect will help to overcome the resulting “narrow” sound. Stereo
Spread widens the stereo basis of the signal, thereby making the material significantly more transparent and giving it a more open sound.
•
Please note that the mono compatibility of the signal might suffer, if you
make extensive use of Stereo Spread.
In a worst case scenario, this could mean that instruments completely vanish from the
Mix when the audio file is played back in mono. If mono compatibility is important for
you, you should use the “mono/stereo” button in the top right corner of the Effects section to test whether the signal is still mono compatible.
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Brilliance
Older sound material, especially if it was recorded using an analog
tape, may have suffered high frequency loss. Applying the Brilliance
effect, you can make up for this. It can also be used to considerably
freshen up any material that lacks “sparkle” in the higher frequencies.
The effect treats frequencies from 5 kHz upwards. The higher the frequency that is processed, the greater the degree of amplification.
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The Waveform Display
Fade-in Marker (top) and
Start Marker (bottom)
Fade-in time
The Waveform display
Fade-out Marker (top) and
Stop Marker (bottom)
Fade-out time
Fader for scrolling the
Waveform display
Selected time (time of track)
Zoom in/out
The Waveform display shows a graphic waveform of the track that is
currently selected in the Track List. It is in this display that you can determine where the track starts and ends, as well as whether it should
have a fade in or fade out.
Setting the Track length – The Start and End Markers
•
Drag the green Start Marker (the lower box on the left side) with the
mouse to determine a new start position. This may be useful if the
starting point of the audio file is not identical to the acoustic starting
point.
•
You can determine the end of the audio file in a similar fashion: Use
the mouse to drag the red End Marker (the lower box on the right side)
to the desired position.
The “Selected time” display informs you about the current length of the track, as defined by the Start and End Marker settings.
•
To reset all Markers to the edges of the waveform, hold down the [Ctrl]
key and click on the Waveform display with the left mouse button.
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•
The Start and End Markers disappear once an imported track or one that
you have recorded with Master Unit has been processed or manually
been set to “ready” status – see page 366.
If you manually set a track to “ready” status by clicking its track number with the right
mouse button, its Marker and Fade in/out settings are not being used since nothing has
been processed. You can of course re-define the Start/End Markers and the Fade in/
out Markers for each track at any time. To do so, click on its track number with the right
mouse button. If it has been processed or manually set to “ready” status before – indicated by the green color of its track number – it will be set back into “not processed”
status – indicated by a red track number.
Effects can be applied on the same track more than once.
The Fade in and Fade out Markers
You can use the Fade in and Fade out Markers to gradually increase
(fade in) and/or decrease (fade out) the volume within a definable time
frame at the beginning and at the end of the audio file.
•
To fade in a track, use the mouse to drag the Fade in Marker (the upper box on the left side) to the right.
The length of the fade in hours/minutes/seconds is shown in the “Fade in” field.
•
If you want to fade out a track, use the mouse to drag the Fade out
Marker (the upper green box on the right side} to the left until the fade
out has the required length.
The “Fade out” field below the Waveform display informs you about the exact length of
the fade, in hours/minutes/seconds.
•
To reset all Markers to the edges of the waveform, press [Ctrl] and
click on the Waveform display with the left mouse button.
Zoom – Changing the size of the displayed Waveform
If needed, you can use these two buttons to zoom in or out on the
waveform in the Waveform display. As an alternative, you can also use
the [+] and [-] keys on your computer keyboard.
•
If you have set a high degree of magnification, the waveform might not
be completely visible in the Waveform display.
You can then use the slider under the display to move the visible part of the waveform.
CUBASIS VST
20 – 364
Available disk space
This display informs you about how much space you have left on your
hard disk. The red bar represents the occupied part space of the storage medium, selected under “Select CD-R file directory” in the File
menu (see page 371). In the field next to it you can see how much
space is left in terms of hours/minutes/seconds.
❐ Importing tracks into Master Unit is not limited to the total playing time of
an audio CD (up to 80 minutes). You can exceed this time limit, e.g. to
save your audio data on a DAT cassette (longer playing time) instead of
on CD.
CUBASIS VST
20 – 365
Processing the Tracks
Before you can actually burn your selection of tracks onto a CD,
Master Unit must calculate the effect settings you have made and create a new audio file that includes them. There’s one exception: if you
wish to burn unchanged tracks to CD, you can manually set them to
“ready” status. All tracks that are ready to be recorded on a CD have
a green track number. Even after the tracks have been processed, it is
possible to re-define the Start/End and Fade in/out Markers. See
page 364.
•
To process the currently selected track, click on the “process single
track” switch, located below the fader section in the Master Unit window. If you wish to process the complete project, click on the “process” switch. If you wish to interrupt processing for any reason, just
click the “Cancel” switch.
If you cancel, the data that has already been written to the disk during the processing
will automatically be deleted.
❐ Calculating the effect data needs additional hard disk space. Make sure
that enough free space is left on your hard disk: For each track to be calculated, you will need as free space as the track already occupies on the
disk.
•
If you click on a track number with the right mouse button, the number
will change to green (“ready” status) and the corresponding original
track can be recorded onto a CD without having been processed by
Master Unit. To set all tracks into “ready” status without processing
them, hold down [Ctrl] on your computer keyboard and click on any
track number.
❐ The “ready” status of a track can at any time be re-defined by clicking on
it with the right mouse button. A red track number indicates that the
track has not been processed, a green number that it has or that it manually has been set to “ready” status.
CUBASIS VST
20 – 366
The Process time display
During the processing, this display informs you about how long it will
presumably take until Master Unit finishes processing the current
track. Simultaneously, a red bar to the left of the display gives you a
graphic impression about the progress of the processing.
Total Time and Remaining Time CD-R
These two displays at the bottom of Master Unit window are meant to
facilitate your overview of the current project.
•
•
•
The “TOTAL TIME” display shows the total time of all tracks that are currently
in the Track List. If the total time exceeds the recording time available on the
CD-R, the value is displayed in red.
The “remaining time CD-R” display informs you how much free space is left on
the CD-R. If the total time of all tracks in the Track List exceeds the total available time on the CD-R, the surplus time is displayed as a negative value.
If the total time of the tracks that you wish to place on one CD-R exceeds
74 minutes, either remove tracks or try using the Start and End as well as
the Fade in and out Markers to shorten longer tracks.
CPU load
Processing the effects in real-time puts a heavy workload on the processor. How many effects Master Unit can actually calculate during
playback is to a large degree dependent on the power of your processor (CPU). The “CPU load” display shows you how much of the available processor power is currently being consumed by the calculations
the processor has to make. The more to the right the “CPU load” bar
moves, the greater is the workload for the CPU. If the bar enters the
red area, the processor has reached its peak performance. As a result, audio file playback will suffer from interruptions and clicks. You
should then deactivate individual effects until the “CPU load” bar returns into its green area again and there are no interruptions during
playback.
❐ How you can use all effects without having a powerful processor is de-
scribed on page 360.
CUBASIS VST
20 – 367
Normalizing
While analog systems generally show a relatively tolerant behavior
when fed with signal peaks higher than 0 dB, a digital system for technical reasons responds to levels above 0 dB by creating very unpleasant distortions, called digital clipping.
Digital recordings with a very low level on the other hand suffer from a
low resolution and therefore from background noise.
The solution to the problem consists of two components:
•
•
When recording, you should make sure that the recorded signal has a sufficient level. This, however, should never exceed 0 dB, as that would result in a
distorted signal.
Master Unit has a Normalize function that you can use to optimize the level of
a recorded signal.
The Normalize function searches an audio file for its highest peak
level. It then calculates the difference between the highest dB value it
found and 0 dB (the highest level technically possible in a digital system). Finally, Normalize raises the level of the complete audio file by
the level difference it found. Normalize can of course not differentiate
between background noise and useful signal, but it adds no noise itself. The Normalize function is also useful to balance (match) the levels of several tracks that you want to put on one CD.
❐ We recommend that you only use the Normalize function after you have
completed processing Master Unit’s effect settings. If you normalize first,
the highest level in your audio file will already have a value of 0 dB. As
some effects (e.g. Bass Boost and Brilliance) are likely to further increase
the level, this will inevitably lead to ugly sounding digital distortion.
Therefore please keep in mind: process first – then normalize!
CUBASIS VST
20 – 368
Normalizing one or all Tracks
This is how you normalize one track in your Track List:
1. Select the desired track in the Track List by clicking on it.
The corresponding line in the Track List will be highlighted.
2. Select “Normalize selected Track” on the Normalize menu.
A dialog box appears, where you can confirm the action by clicking “Yes” or cancel it
by clicking “No”. If you click “Yes”, the calculation starts immediately.
This is how you normalize all tracks in your Track List:
•
Select “Normalize all Tracks” on the Normalize menu.
A dialog box appears, where you can confirm the action by clicking “Yes” or cancel it
by clicking “No”. If you click “Yes”, the calculation starts immediately.
Recording the CD-R
When you have prepared all files in your current project by using the
Processing and possibly the Normalizing functions or if you have not
processed and instead manually set them to “ready” status, you can
record them onto CD-R.
1. To do this, open the CD-R menu and select “Create CD-R…” to bring
up the following dialog:
The table below lists all items in this dialog. Which items are available depends on your
system.
Item
Description
CD writer
If your system detects a CD recorder, this field will display its type
designation. If the CD recorder is not found, a message will appear.
Make sure that the CD recorder is correctly connected and that its
power switch is On. Then let Master Unit scan your system again by
clicking on the “rescan” button.
burning track
During the writing process, Master Unit shows you which track is currently written. The red bar next to this field informs you about how
much of the complete CD has already been written.
CUBASIS VST
20 – 369
Item
Description
status
This field displays the current CD recorder activity.
simulation
If you activate this switch, the writing process onto CD-R is only simulated. This is similar to the real writing process, except that in this
mode the laser in your CD recorder doesn’t actually write data onto
the CD-R. If you want to make sure that your CD recorder is correctly
installed, that your system can manage the data transfer rate and that
the Track List doesn’t contain errors, you should first use this mode to
test things. Master Unit will inform you of possible errors that have occurred during the test and you can solve possible installation problems before actually risking to ruin an empty CD-R.
eject
Use this to eject the CD-R from the CD recorder.
rescan
Click this button to let Master Unit scan your system once more for the
presence of a CD recorder.
1x / 2x / 4x
Use any of these switches to determine the CD-R recording speed.
The number of options available here depends on the features of your
CD recorder.
burn
This switch is only visible if Master Unit has detected a CD recorder
connected to your system and if an empty CD-R is in the recorder.
Click on the “Burn” switch to actually start writing the CD-R.
If the “simulation” switch is active at the same time, no data will be
written to the CD-R. The transfer and writing process will then only be
simulated.
cancel
Click on this button to close the dialog.
CUBASIS VST
20 – 370
The Menus
This section contains a short description of all items on Master Unit
menus.
The File menu
Menu item
Description
New Project…
Selecting this item creates an empty new project. In the dialog that
opens, select the directory in which you want to save the project
and give the new project a name.
Open Project…
Selecting this opens a previously saved project from the hard disk. A
project can also be opened using Drag & Drop; a previously open
project will then automatically be saved.
Save Project
This item lets you save the current project under the name and path
that you have specified when creating it.
Save Project As… This lets you save the currently open project under a new file name
and path.
Export Audiotracks As…
If you select this item, the currently selected track in the Track List
will be saved to disk as a WAV file. You can specify a new name and
path for it.
Export Track List This item lets you save the Track List entries as an ASCII file (text
as…
only) under a name and path of your choice.
Select temp file
directory…
You can use this item to determine the directory in which Master Unit
saves the processed files (those that are written onto the CD-R).
Quit
Selecting this will terminate the program.
About Master Unit Some information about Master Unit and the people who contributed to it.
The Options Menu
Menu item
Description
Mono playback
Here you can set which channel should be used for monophonic
playback.
Soundcard
settings
Opens a dialog where you can select a sound card for playback and
recording as well as the number and size of its buffers.
CUBASIS VST
20 – 371
The Normalize menu
Menu item
Description
Normalize
selected Track
This function finds the highest peak level in the track that is currently
selected in the Track List and optimizes it to a level of 0 dB. The rest
of the track is optimized in equal proportion.
Normalize all
Tracks
This function finds the highest peak level within each track in the
Track List and optimizes it to a level of 0 dB. The rest of each track is
optimized in equal proportion.
The CD-R menu
Menu item
Description
CD info…
Checks the size of the CD.
Create CD-R…
Selecting this item opens a dialog where you can make a number of
settings concerning your CD recorder and start the writing process.
Find more detailed information on page 369.
The Import menu
Menu item
Description
Import Tracks
from CD…
Selecting this item lets you load (“grab”) audio data directly from an
audio CD in a drive connected to your system. The data is saved as
WAV-files. It is a digital copy that is written to your hard disk as an
audio file. A D/A conversion, which could downgrade audio quality,
does not take place.
MPEG1-Layer3- Opens a file selector where you can load and convert one or several
file…
MP3 files into WAV format. These files can then be processed in
Master Unit as any other WAV files and be recorded onto CD-R.
When you select an MP3 file, another dialog opens, and you can define where you want to store the resulting WAV file.
❐ Please read and respect all copyright information on the CDs from which
you load tracks!
CUBASIS VST
20 – 372
Index
A
Aftertouch
Creating 163
Editing 163
Any
Audio Channel (Recording) 71
Audio Channel
(ReCycle files) 274
MIDI Channel 167
Arrange window 15
Arrangement
About 101
Arrange window 15
Closing 100
Opening 339
Saving 336
Arrow Tool
Arrangement 107
Editors 183
ASIO Control Panel
ASIO DirectX 39
ASIO Multimedia 41
ASIO DirectX Full Duplex
About 37
Settings 39
ASIO Driver 37
ASIO Multimedia
About 38
Settings 41
Audio
About 13
Disabling 46
Input Source 56
Mixing 196
Recording 67
Setting up for 34
Audio Card
Defined 24
Selecting in Master Unit 356
CUBASIS VST
374
Index
Audio Channel
About 60
Any 71
Copying Settings 207
Number of Channels 43
Setting 60
Stereo/Mono 60
Audio Clock Source 43
Audio Editor 148
Audio Files
Deleting in Pool 133
Deleting with Parts 68
Editing 148
Exporting 143
Importing in Pool 141
Importing into Arrangement 270
Locating Missing 135
Locating on Hard Disk 132
Mixing Down 279
Naming 132
Pool 127
Replacing 134
Selecting a folder for 63
Audio Files Folder 63
Audio Inputs
Activating 56
Emulated (DirectX) 40
Selecting for Recording 63
Audio Library 341
Audio Mixer (External) 35
Audio Mute Button 215
Audio Parts
About 68
Overlapping 69
Saving and Importing 341
Audio Pool
About 126
Dragging Parts from 143
Importing files 141
Loading 146
Saving 146
Time Formats in 130
Auditioning
Arrange Window 109
Audio Pool 138
MIDI Editors 184
Auto Quantize (Score) 175
Automation
MIDI Track Mixer 221
VST Channel Mixer 210
B
Bank Select 81
Bass Boost (Master Unit) 361
Bouncing Audio Files 279
Brilliance (Master Unit) 362
Brush Tool 156
Burning a CD 282
C
Cancel 193
CD creation 282
CD-R
Creating in Master Unit 369
Channel
Audio 60
MIDI (Events) 167
MIDI (Tracks) 77
Clean Lengths 177
Clef 176
Click
Activating 59
Settings 97
Clipping
About 65
Indicators 197
Collapse 128
Color
For Parts 114
In MIDI Editors 187
Comment (Score Edit) 181
Controller Display
Key Edit 159
List Edit 170
Controllers
Creating 163
Deleting 123
Editing 163
Copy
Arrange window 113
Editors 186
Copyright (Score Edit) 181
CPU load (Master Unit) 367
Create
Continuous Events 163
Notes 155
Parts 152
Tracks 102
Create CD-R (Master Unit) 369
Create File 279
Cut
Arrange window 113
Editors 186
Cut At Locators 116
Cycle
About 96
Recording in 96
Restricting Editing to 184
Index
CUBASIS VST
375
D
Def.All (Default Song) 339
Delay
In Monitoring 44
MIDI to Audio 73
Playing VST Instruments 286
Delete
All Events 185
Audio Files (Permanently) 68
Parts 110
Segments 140
Delete Cont. Data 123
Delete Doubles 123
Deleting Tracks (Master Unit) 355
Digital Recording 43
DirectShow 332
DirectX Plug-ins 207
Disable Audio 46
Disable Monitor 45
Disk Cache Scheme 73
Display Quantize 175
Display Transpose 176
Double Click Opens 153
Drag and Drop 141
Duplicate
Events 157
Parts 107
Segments 138
Tracks 103
F
E
Edit Solo 186
Editing via MIDI 190
Editors
About 152
Closing,
Cancelling Changes 193
Keeping Changes 193
Opening 153
CUBASIS VST
376
Effects
About 202
Editing 206
Included VST Plug-ins 227
Inserts 205
Parameters 226
Sends 203
Enable Monitor 45
Enharmonic Shift 179
EQ Button 201
Equalizer 201
Eraser Tool
Arrange Window 110
Editors 158
Events
Creating in List Edit 166
Duplicating 157
Moving 156
Scrubbing 184
Selecting 183
Expand 128
Explode By Channel
With Audio Tracks 119
With MIDI Tracks 118
Export Audio File 279
Export Cubasis 1.0-2.x Song 338
Export MIDI File 344
Exporting Files and Segments 143
External Wave Editor 148
Index
Fade in and Fade out Markers
(Master Unit) 364
Fill 185
Flat Beams 177
Flip Stems 180
Follow Song 186
Freeze Play Parameters 120
Full Duplex
ASIO DirectX 40
ASIO Multimedia 41
G
K
General MIDI See GM
Ghost Parts 112
Glue Tube tool
Arrangement 109
Score Edit 180
GM
About 223
Names in Inspector 78
GS
About 224
In MIDI Track Mixer 219
Keep 193
Keep Appended Events 193
Key (Score) 176
Key Edit
About 154
Creating Notes 155
Non-note Events 163
Velocity 159
I
Import Audio File
Arrangement 270
Master Unit 352
Pool 142
Import Mixman File 276
Importing Tracks from audio CD
(Master Unit) 353
In/Out Indicators 54
Info Line 185
Input Level Meters 65
Inputs
Activating 56
Selecting for Recording 63
Insert At Locators 116
Insert Effects 205
Inspector 120
Installation 31
J
L
Latency
About 38
Monitoring 44
VST Instruments 286
Levels
Audio 196
Line Tool 161
List Edit
About 165
Columns 167
Insert pop-up menu 166
Value 2 Display 170
Load Pool 146
Local On/Off 53
Locators
About 95
Moving Song Position to 95
Setting up the Cycle 96
Loop
About 192
Restricting Editing to 184
Joining Notes 180
Joining Parts 109
Index
CUBASIS VST
377
M
M Column 104
Magnifying Glass Tool 115
Master Button 92
Master Track 92
Master Unit 348
Memory Requirements 26
Meter Position 89
Metronome Dialog 97
Microphone 34
MIDI
About 13
Connecting 47
In/Out Indicators 54
Recording 80
Selecting Sounds 78
MIDI Channel
Setting for Recording 77
MIDI Colors 188
MIDI Connector Button 190
MIDI File Import and Export 344
MIDI Input 190
MIDI Interface
Connecting 47
Installing 30
MIDI Library 341
MIDI Output 77
MIDI Thru 53
MIDI to Audio Time Offset 73
MIDI Track Mixer
About 212
Automating 221
Levels 214
Pan 214
Mixer
Audio (VST Channel Mixer) 196
External 35
Mixing Down to File 279
CUBASIS VST
378
Index
Mixman TRK files 276
Monitoring
About 44
Activating 64
Mono
Audio Channels 60
Audio Track 61
Master Section 199
Move
Notes 156
Parts 107
Tracks 103
Movies
Offset 333
Opening 332
Playing Back 333
Setting Up 332
MP3
Exporting 280
Importing in Arrangement 270
Importing into Pool 142
Mute
Track 104
Mute Tool 110
N
New Song 340
No Beams 177
No Overlap 177
Normalizing (Master Unit) 368
Note Info Line 185
Note Tool 178
Number of Channels 43
O
Open
Arrangement 339
Song 339
Optimize Arrangement 117
Output (MIDI) 77
Overdubbing
Audio 70
MIDI 80
P
Pan
Inspector 121
Part Display 16
Parts
About 68
Audio-Overlapping 69
Copying 113
Creating 152
Deleting 110
Duplicating 107
Joining 109
MIDI-Overlapping 80
Moving 107
Naming 106
Repeating 111
Resizing 107
Saving and Importing 341
Selecting 106
Paste
Arrange window 113
Editors 186
Patchname pop-up menu 78
Pencil Tool
Arrangement 107
Editors 166
List Edit 170
Pitch Bend
Creating 163
Editing 163
Play in Background 149
Plug-ins
DirectX 207
Parameters 226
Pool See Audio Pool
Position Format 89
Position Slider 90
Precount 97
Prg Setting 81
Printers 28
Program Change
Display Setting 81
Editing Events 168
Inspector 121
Sending 78
Purge Segments 140
Q
Quantizing 122
R
RAM 26
Read Button
Real Audio 280
Record Mode 58
Record SysEx 86
Recording Audio (Master Unit) 359
Recording Levels 65
Recording Resolution 58
ReCycle Files 271
Remaining Time (Master Unit) 367
Repeating Parts 111
Resizing Notes 157
Resolution 58
Roland GS 224
Index
CUBASIS VST
379
S
Sample Rate 57
Save
Arrangement 336
Pool 146
Song 336
Scissors tool
Arrangement 108
Score Edit 180
Score Edit
Deleting Notes 180
Entering Notes 178
Moving Notes 179
Transposing Notes 179
Scrubbing 184
Segment Range Selection 150
Segments
About 128
Auditioning 138
Creating in Audio Pool 133
Deleting 140
Deleting Unused 140
Dragging into Arrangement 144
Duplicating 138
Exporting 143
In the Pool 131
Renaming 138
Start and End Insets 139
Select Audio Files Folder 63
Selecting
Audio File in Pool 133
Events 183
Parts 106
Segment in Pool 138
Tracks 103
Send Effects 203
Set Aside (Arrangement) 100
Setup MME 52
Shuffle (Score) 177
CUBASIS VST
380
Index
Smooth Segments
About 69
With ReCycle files 274
Snap Value 105
Solo
Edit Solo 186
Track 104
Song
Opening 339
Saving 336
Song Position Pointer 90
SoundFonts
About 83
Bank Manager 83
Speaker Icon 184
Speaker Tool
Arrangement 109
Editors 184
Split (Piano) Staff 174
Split At Locators 116
Splitting Notes 180
Staff Mode 174
Start and End Insets
Changing in Audio Pool 139
Start and End Markers
(Master Unit) 363
Stereo
Audio Channels 60
Audio Track 61
Master Section 199
Stereo Spread (Master Unit) 361
Surround 208
Syncopation 177
System Exclusive
Editing 168
Recording 86
T
V
Tempo 92
Text (Score Edit) 180
Thru
Audio 64
MIDI Setting 53
Ticks 89
Time Signature 92
Title (Score Edit) 181
To Pop-up Menu 184
Toolbar (Main) 14
Toolbar (Score Edit) 178
Tools
Arrangement 107
Editors 153
Track Mute Events 169
Tracklist (Master Unit) 351
Tracks
About 101
Creating 102
Muting and Soloing 104
Transport Bar
About 88
Hiding and Showing 88
Transpose 121
Transposing Notes (Score) 179
Trim Events to Part 113
TRK files 276
Tutorial Song 32
Velocity
Creating Ramp 161
Editing in Key Edit 159
Editing in List Edit 170
Editing via MIDI 190
Inspector Setting 121
Volume
Inspector 121
VST Instruments
Activating 284
Automating 290
Descriptions of included 291
Editing 287
Mixing 289
Playing 286
Selecting Patches 287
VST Performance 201
U
Undo Quantize 123
Undo/Redo 13
Universal Sound Module 308
Use 16-Bit only 58
W
Wave Editor 148
Wave Images 137
Waveform Display
(Master Unit) 363
WaveLab Lite 148
Write Button
X
XG
About 224
In MIDI Track Mixer 217
Y
Yamaha XG 224
Index
CUBASIS VST
381
CUBASIS VST
382
Index

Cubasis VST 4.0 – Manual

Transcription

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