Steinberg Cubase Artist 11.0 User manual

Operation Manual

The Steinberg Documentation Team: Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Lillie Harris, Christina Kaboth, Insa

Mingers, Matthias Obrecht, Sabine Pfeifer, Benjamin Schütte, Marita Sladek

Translation: Ability InterBusiness Solutions (AIBS), Moon Chen, Jérémie Dal Santo, Rosa Freitag, Josep Llodra

Grimalt, Vadim Kupriianov, Filippo Manfredi, Roland Münchow, Boris Rogowski, Sergey Tamarovsky

This document provides improved access for people who are blind or have low vision. Please note that due to the

complexity and number of images in this document, it is not possible to include text descriptions of images.

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on

the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License

Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as

specically 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 GmbH. Registered licensees of the product

described herein may print one copy of this document for their personal use.

All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. For more information, please

visit www.steinberg.net/trademarks.

Cubase Artist_11.0.0_en-US_2020-11-11

Table of Contents

8 New Features

11 Introduction

11 Platform-Independent Documentation

11 PDF Documents and Online Documentation

12 Conventions

13 Key Commands

14 Setting up Your System

14 Studio Setup Dialog

15 Setting up Audio

22 Setting up MIDI

25 Synchronizers

26 Audio Connections

26 Audio Connections Window

27 Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

28 Adding Input and Output Busses

29 Presets for Input and Output Busses

30 Monitoring Bus

30 Bus Congurations

32 Project Window

33 Showing/Hiding Zones

33 Project Zone

47 Left Zone

54 Lower Zone

60 Right Zone

65 Keyboard Focus in the Project Window

66 Zooming in the Project Window

69 Snap Function

72 Cross-Hair Cursor

73 Edit History Dialog

74 Color Handling

82 Project Handling

82 Creating New Projects

82 Hub

84 Project Assistant Dialog

85 Project Files

85 Template Files

88 Project Setup Dialog

91 Opening Project Files

92 Saving Project Files

93 Reverting to the Last Saved Version

93 Choosing a Project Location

94 Self-Contained Projects

96 Tracks

96 Track Inspector Settings Dialog

99 Track Controls Settings Dialog

104 Add Track Dialog

105 Audio Tracks

108 Instrument Tracks

112 Sampler Tracks

115 MIDI Tracks

119 Group Channel Tracks

122 FX Channel Tracks

125 Ruler Track

127 Folder Tracks

129 More Tracks

141 Track Handling

141 Adding Tracks via the Add Track Dialog

141 Adding Tracks Using Track Presets

142 Adding Tracks by Dragging Files from the

MediaBay

142 Exporting MIDI Tracks as Standard MIDI Files

144 Removing Selected Tracks

144 Removing Empty Tracks

144 Moving Tracks in the Track List

145 Renaming Tracks

145 Automatically Assigning Colors to New Tracks/

Channels

145 Showing Track Pictures

147 Setting the Track Height

148 Selecting Tracks

149 Deselecting Tracks

149 Duplicating Tracks

149 Disabling Tracks

149 Organizing Tracks in Folder Tracks

150 Handling Overlapping Audio

150 Track Folding Menu

151 Events Display on Folder Tracks

151 Modifying Event Display on Folder Tracks

152 Lanes, Takes and Overlapping Events

155 Dening the Track Time Base

156 Track Versions

163 Track Presets

170 Parts and Events

170 Events

174 Parts

175 Editing Techniques for Parts and Events

191 Range Editing

191 Creating a Selection Range

193 Editing Selection Ranges

196 Playback and Transport

196 Transport Panel

201 Transport Menu

206 Transport Bar

211 Transport Pop-Up Window

212 Time Display Window

213 Left and Right Locators

215 Setting the Project Cursor

216 Auto-Scroll Settings Menu

217 Time Formats

217 Pre-Roll and Post-Roll

218 Punch In and Punch Out

219 Metronome Click

227 Chase

229 On-Screen Keyboard

229 Recording MIDI With the On-Screen Keyboard

229 On-Screen Keyboard Options

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Cubase Artist 11.0.0

231 Recording

231 Basic Recording Methods

236 Monitoring

238 Audio Recording Specics

243 MIDI Recording Specics

251 Remaining Record Time

251 Lock Record

252 Importing Audio and MIDI Files

252 Audio File Import

259 MIDI File Import

261 Quantizing MIDI and Audio

261 Quantize Functions

262 Quantizing MIDI Event Starts

263 Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths

263 Quantizing MIDI Event Ends

263 Quantizing Audio Event Starts

264 Quantizing Audio Event Lengths (AudioWarp

Quantizing)

264 Quantize Panel

271 Fades, Crossfades, and Envelopes

271 Event-Based Fades

275 Creating Clip-Based Fades

276 Crossfades

279 Auto Fades and Crossfades

281 Event Envelopes

283 Arranger Track

283 Adding Arranger Events on the Arranger Track

284 Arranger Editor

287 Setting up an Arranger Chain and Adding

Events

289 Jump Mode

290 Arranging Music to Video

292 Transpose Functions

292 Project Root Key

295 Transpose Track

297 Keep Transpose in Octave Range

298 Transpose on the Info Line

299 Excluding Individual Parts or Events from

Global Transpose

300 Markers

300 Position Markers

300 Cycle Markers

301 Markers Window

305 Marker Track

306 Importing and Exporting Markers

308 MixConsole

308 MixConsole in Lower Zone

311 MixConsole Window

364 Audio Effects

364 Insert Effects and Send Effects

366 Insert Effects

371 VST Effect Selector

372 Send Effects

376 Side-Chaining

381 Dither Effects

381 Effect Control Panel

385 Effect Presets

389 System Component Information Window

392 Direct Oine Processing

393 Direct Oine Processing Workow

393 Direct Oine Processing Window

399 Built-In Audio Processes

407 Key Commands for Direct Oine Processing

408 Time Stretch and Pitch Shift Algorithms

408 élastique

408 MPEX

409 Standard

410 Limitations

411 Audio Functions

411 Detect Silence Dialog

414 Spectrum Analyzer Window

416 Statistics Window

418 Sample Editor

420 Sample Editor Toolbar

424 Info Line

425 Overview Line

425 Sample Editor Inspector

428 Ruler

429 Waveform Display

431 Range Editing

435 Regions List

437 Snap Point

440 Hitpoints

440 Calculating Hitpoints

443 Locating to Hitpoints in the Project Window

443 Slices

445 Creating a Groove Quantize Map

446 Creating Markers

446 Creating Regions

446 Creating Events

447 Creating Warp Markers

447 Creating MIDI Notes

449 Tempo Matching Audio

449 Algorithm Presets

450 Stretching Audio Events to the Project Tempo

450 Musical Mode

452 Auto Adjust

452 Manual Adjust

454 Free Warp

456 Flattening Realtime Processing

456 Flatten Realtime Processing Dialog

457 Unstretching Audio Files

458 Pitch Editing and Time Correction with

VariAudio

458 VariAudio and Oine Processes

459 VariAudio Inspector Section

460 Smart Controls

462 Segmenting Monophonic Audio

463 Segments and Gaps

464 Auditioning

464 Navigation and Zoom

465 Segment Editing

467 Pitch Changes

474 Timing Modications

475 Showing MIDI Reference Tracks

476 Formant Shifting

477 Editing Volume

477 Functions Menu

481 Harmony Voices for Audio

483 Audio Part Editor

484 Audio Part Editor Toolbar

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Cubase Artist 11.0.0

488 Info Line

489 Ruler

489 Lanes

489 Operations

493 Extensions in Cubase

493 Activating an Extension in Cubase

494 Editor for Extensions

495 Activating the Extension for Further Audio

Events

495 Deactivating the Extension for Audio Events

496 Audio Event Editing

497 Sampler Tracks

497 Loading Audio Samples into Sampler Control

498 Loading MIDI Parts into Sampler Control

498 Creating Sampler Tracks

498 Sampler Control

513 Sample Editing and Playback Functions

517 Transferring Samples from Sampler Control to

VST Instruments

519 Pool

519 Pool Window

523 Working with the Pool

537 MediaBay and Media Rack

537 Media Rack in Right Zone

548 MediaBay Window

575 Working with Volume Databases

577 MediaBay Settings

579 Automation

579 Recording your Actions

579 Automation Curves

580 Static Value Line

580 Write/Read Automation

580 Writing Automation Data

582 Editing Automation Events

587 Automation Tracks

589 VST Instruments

589 Adding VST Instruments

589 VST Instrument Control Panel

591 VST Instrument Selector

592 Creating Instrument Tracks

592 VST Instruments in the Right Zone

593 VST Instruments Window

593 VST Instruments Window Toolbar

594 VST Instrument Controls

596 Presets for Instruments

598 Playing Back VST Instruments

600 Latency

601 Import and Export Options

602 VST Quick Controls

604 Side-Chaining for VST Instruments

606 Installing and Managing VST Plug-ins

606 Plug-ins and Collections

609 Adding New Plug-in Collections

610 Hiding Plug-ins

611 Reactivating Plug-ins from the Blocklist

612 Track Quick Controls

613 Parameter Assignment

616 Controlling Automatable Parameters

617 Connecting Track Quick Controls with Remote

Controllers

619 Remote Controlling Cubase

619 Connecting Remote Devices

619 Removing the Remote Input from All MIDI

Inputs

620 Setting up Remote Devices

622 Remote Devices and Automation

622 Assigning Commands to Remote Devices

623 Generic Remote Page

628 Remote Control Editor

633 Joysticks

633 Track Quick Controls

633 VST Quick Controls

634 MIDI Realtime Parameters and MIDI Effects

634 MIDI Track Parameters

636 MIDI Modiers

641 MIDI Effects

644 Transpose and Velocity on the Info Line

645 Using MIDI Devices

645 Program Change Messages and Bank Select

Messages

646 Patch Banks

646 MIDI Device Manager

652 MIDI Functions

652 Transpose Setup Dialog

653 Merging MIDI Events into a New Part

655 Dissolve Part Dialog

656 Repeating MIDI Events of Independent Track

Loops

656 Extending MIDI Notes

657 Fixing MIDI Note Lengths

657 Fixing MIDI Note Velocities

658 Rendering Sustain Pedal Data to Note Lengths

658 Deleting Overlaps

658 Editing Velocity

659 Deleting Double Notes

659 Deleting Controller Data

660 Deleting Continuous Controller Data

660 Restricting Polyphonic Voices

660 Thinning Out Controller Data

660 Extracting MIDI Automation

661 Reversing the Playback Order of MIDI Events

661 Inverting the Order of Selected MIDI Events

662 MIDI Editors

662 Common MIDI Editor Functions

670 Controller Display

691 Key Editor

706 Key Editor Operations

719 Score Editor

725 Score Editor Operations

732 Drum Editor

744 Drum Editor Operations

747 Drum Maps

752 List Editor

760 List Editor Operations

765 In-Place Editor

768 Note Expression

769 VST Note Expressions

770 MIDI Controllers

774 Note Expression Inspector Section

778 Note Expression Tools

778 Controller Mapping

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Cubase Artist 11.0.0

780 Recording

783 Note Expression Event Editor

788 Trimming Note Expression Data

789 Removing All Note Expression Data

789 Note Expression MIDI Setup Dialog

793 Chord Functions

793 Chord Track

794 Chord Events

798 Scale Events

800 Voicings

803 Converting Chord Events to MIDI

804 Controlling MIDI Playback Using the Chord

Track

808 Assigning Voices to Notes

808 Extracting Chord Events from MIDI

809 Recording Chord Events with a MIDI Keyboard

810 Chord Pads

810 Chord Pads Zone

813 Functions Menu

813 Chord Assistant

815 Chord Assignment

817 Swapping Chord Assignments

817 Copying Chord Assignments

818 Playing Back and Recording Chords

821 Player Setup

827 Chord Pads Setup Dialog

833 Chord Pads Presets

834 Creating Chord Events from Chord Pads

834 Creating MIDI Parts from Chord Pads

835 Transformer

835 Window Overview

836 Filter Conditions

840 Selecting a Function

840 Specifying Actions

842 Presets

843 Editing Tempo and Time Signature

843 Project Tempo Modes

843 Track Time Base

844 Tempo Track Editor

846 Tempo Track

847 Tempo Changes for Projects

849 Setting up a Fixed Project Tempo

851 Beat Calculator

852 Set Denition from Tempo Dialog

853 Time Signature Events

855 Rendering Audio and MIDI

855 Render Tracks Dialog

858 Render Selection Dialog

861 Export Audio Mixdown

861 Export Audio Mixdown Dialog

868 Mixing Down to Audio Files

868 File Formats

873 Saving File Format Presets

875 Synchronization

875 Master and Slave

876 Timecode Formats

877 Clock Sources

878 Project Synchronization Setup Dialog

884 External Synchronization

885 VST System Link

885 Setting up VST System Link

890 Activating VST System Link

892 Application Examples

896 Video

896 Video File Compatibility

897 Frame Rates

897 Video Output Devices

898 Preparations for Creating Video Projects

900 Preparations for Video Playback

903 Editing Video

903 Export Video

906 Extracting Audio from Video

907 Exchanging Files with Other Applications

907 AAF Files

912 ReWire

912 Enabling ReWire Applications

913 Launching and quitting

914 Activating ReWire channels

914 Using the transport and tempo controls

915 How the ReWire channels are handled

915 Routing MIDI via ReWire

916 Considerations and limitations

917 Key Commands

917 Key Commands Dialog

920 Assigning Key Commands

920 Searching for Key Commands

921 Removing Key Commands

921 Setting up Macros

921 Saving Key Commands Presets

922 Loading Key Command Presets

922 Resetting Key Commands

922 Default Key Commands

935 Setting up Tool Modier Keys

936 Customizing

936 Workspaces

939 Setup Options

940 Windows Dialog

941 Where are the Settings Stored?

942 Safe Mode Dialog

945 Optimizing Audio Performance

945 Performance Aspects

946 Settings That Affect Performance

946 Audio Performance Window

947 ASIO-Guard

949 Preferences

949 Preferences Dialog

951 Editing

956 Editors

956 Event Display

959 General

961 MIDI

964 MediaBay

965 Metering

965 Record

967 Transport

968 User Interface

970 VST

971 VariAudio

972 Video

Table of Contents

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Cubase Artist 11.0.0

973 Index

Table of Contents

7

Cubase Artist 11.0.0

New Features

The following list informs you about the most important improvements in Cubase and provides

links to the corresponding descriptions.

New Features in Version 11.0.0

Highlights

Imager

● This new plug-in helps you to get a better, cleaner mix. You can place audio tracks in the

stereo eld independently in up to four bands, allowing you to expand or reduce the stereo

width of your sound. The individual scope and correlation displays help you to get your

panning absolutely perfect. The plug-in is described in the separate document Plug-in

Reference. See Imager.

Squasher

● This dynamic plug-in combines up and down compression for up to three bands. Use it to

help your lead sounds cut through the mix, tame aggressive bass lines, or enhance subtle,

spacey reverberation. The plug-in is described in the separate document Plug-in

Reference. See Squasher.

SpectraLayers One

● This compact version of the acclaimed visual audio editing tool allows you to visualize and

accurately clean up your audio. Thanks to the state-of-the-art source separation engine,

you can separate the vocal part from any kinds of audio tracks. Its advanced ARA

technology allows a spectrogram view of audio tracks with the ideal balance of selection,

editing, and display tools for surgical editing tasks like improving dialogue and location

sounds straight from a eld recorder, with no need for any third-party application. The tool

is described in the separate document SpectraLayers One. See Spectralayers One.

VariAudio 3

● Ultimate control of your audio, with more creative tools and Smart Controls to speed up

your workow. See Pitch Editing and Time Correction with VariAudio.

Sampler Track Improvements

● The sampler track comes with a number of great new features. The new slicing mode chops

up your loops so they’re ready-to-play with just a click. There are now two global LFOs

available to add motion and interesting effects. You can go for a vintage feel or the highest

delity with the sample engine’s new quality modes. And the new mono legato glide is

perfect for typical 808 basslines and more. See Sampler Tracks.

Pitchbend and Controller Editing Improvements

● You can select whether you want ramps or steps as the default type for new controller

events. See Controller Lane Setup Menu.

● You can copy all of your CC edits to another track. See Controller Lane Context Menu.

● You can set your pitchbend steps to semitones to always be perfectly in tune. See

Pitchbend Controller Lanes.

● You can create ramps and curves in the CC and pitchbend lanes, just like you are used to

with automation. See Creating Smooth Transitions between Continuous Controller Events.

● You can delete MIDI notes with a simple, fast double-click. See Deleting Note Events.

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Cubase Artist 11.0.0

Scale Assistant in the Key Editor

● The Scale Assistant is a superb addition to your songwriting toolkit. You can set your

song’s scale in the Key Editor and follow its lead, quantize a solo to scale or play live in

perfect tune. You can change the view to only see the notes of the set scale. You can even

let the Scale Assistant analyze your MIDI recording and suggest the right scale. Now there

are no more excuses for wrong notes. See Scale Assistant in the Key Editor.

File Format Presets

● Create and restore le format presets from your favorite or most used le format settings.

See Saving File Format Presets.

Variable DPI on Windows 10

● Cubase now supports more scaling settings for Windows 10, such as 125 %, 150 %, and

200 %. Even plug-ins that do not support HiDPI can now be scaled based on the scaling

factor of Windows. See General.

More New Features

SuperVision

● This plug-in is a fully customizable multimeter audio analyzer for professional productions.

SuperVision lets you choose from several different modules for level, spectral, phase, and

waveform analysis. This plug-in suite allows you to create your own custom layout with up

to nine module slots with individual display settings for each module to give you a

supremely accurate visual picture of your sound. It is described in the separate document

Plug-in Reference. See SuperVision.

Unlimited Audio, MIDI, and Instrument Tracks

● You can now add an unlimited number of audio tracks to your project. See Add Track Dialog

– Audio.

● You can now add an unlimited number of instrument tracks to your project. See Add Track

Dialog – Instrument.

● You can now add an unlimited number of MIDI tracks to your project. See Add Track Dialog

– MIDI.

Range Editing Improvements for Combine Selection Tools mode

● If Combine Selection Tools is activated and you split a selection range, the newly created

events are automatically selected. See Splitting Selection Ranges.

Marker Lines

● Vertical marker lines are shown on all tracks to indicate marker positions on all tracks

throughout the entire project. See Markers.

Last but Not Least

Keyboard Focus Indication for Divided Track Lists

● When working with the Divide Track List feature, it is now clearly indicated which of the

track lists has the keyboard focus. See Keyboard Focus in the Project Window.

Show Version Name in Track List

● The version name of a track version can be shown/hidden in the track list. See Track

Version Names.

Details View for Maximizer Channel Strip Module

● The Maximizer channel strip module now offers a details view in the Channel Settings

window. See Maximizer – Details View.

New Features

9

Cubase Artist 11.0.0

Support of Multiple Side-Chain Inputs

● For plug-ins that support multiple side-chain inputs, for example, Squasher, you can now

set up an individual side-chain routing for any of these inputs. This allows you to control

each plug-in side-chain input with a different side-chain source. See Side-Chain Routing.

Poly Pressure Lane Handling Improvements

● Selecting and editing poly pressure events on the controller lane is much more intuitive

now. See Adding Poly Pressure Events.

Dene the Visible Pitches in the Key Editor

● You can dene which pitches are visible in the event display and the piano keyboard display

of the Key Editor. See Showing Specic Pitches in the Key Editor.

New Features

10

Cubase Artist 11.0.0

Introduction

This is the Operation Manual for Steinberg’s Cubase. Here you will nd detailed information

about all the features and functions in the program.

The screenshots are taken from Cubase Pro.

Platform-Independent Documentation

The documentation applies to the operating systems Windows and macOS.

Features and settings that are specic to one of these platforms are clearly indicated. In all other

cases, the descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for Windows and macOS.

Some points to consider:

●

The screenshots are taken from Windows.

●

Some functions that are available on the File menu on Windows can be found in the

program name menu on macOS.

PDF Documents and Online Documentation

The documentation consists of several documents. You can read them online or download them

from steinberg.help.

You can reach steinberg.help from the program by selecting Help > Cubase Help.

Operation Manual

The main Cubase reference documentation, with detailed descriptions of operations,

parameters, functions, and techniques.

Plug-in Reference

Describes the features and parameters of the included VST plug-ins, VST instruments,

and MIDI effects.

Remote Control Devices

Lists the supported MIDI remote control devices.

MIDI Devices

Describes how to manage MIDI devices and device panels.

Groove Agent SE

Describes the features and parameters of the included VST instrument Groove Agent

SE.

HALion Sonic SE

Describes the features and parameters of the included VST instrument HALion Sonic

SE.

Retrologue

Describes the features and parameters of the included VST instrument Retrologue.

Padshop

Describes the features and parameters of the included VST instrument Padshop.

11

Cubase Artist 11.0.0

Steinberg Library Manager

Describes how you can register and manage your VST Sound libraries.

Conventions

In our documentation, we use typographical and markup elements to structure information.

Typographical Elements

The following typographical elements mark the following purposes.

Prerequisite

Requires you to complete an action or to fulll a condition before starting a procedure.

Procedure

Lists the steps that you must take to achieve a specic result.

Important

Informs you about issues that might affect the system, the connected hardware, or

that might bring a risk of data loss.

Note

Informs you about issues that you should consider.

Tip

Adds further information or useful suggestions.

Example

Provides you with an example.

Result

Shows the result of the procedure.

After Completing This Task

Informs you about actions or tasks that you can perform after completing the

procedure.

RELATED LINKS

VST Plug-in Manager Window on page 607

ASIO Driver Setup Page

This page allows you to set up your ASIO driver.

●

To open the page where you can set up the ASIO driver, select Studio > Studio Setup and

select the audio driver in the Devices list.

The following options are available:

Control Panel

Opens the control panel for the audio hardware.

Input Latency

Shows the input latency of the audio driver.

Output Latency

Shows the output latency of the audio driver.

Clock Source

Allows you to select a clock source.

Externally Clocked

Activate this option if you use an external clock source.

Setting up Your System

Setting up Audio

19

Cubase Artist 11.0.0

Direct Monitoring

Activate this option to monitor via your audio hardware and to control it from Cubase.

In the Ports section, the following options are available:

Reset

Allows you to reset all port names and visibilities.

I/O

The port input/output status.

Port System Name

The system name of the port.

Show As

Allows you to rename the port. This name is used in the Input Routing and Output

Routing pop-up menus.

Visible

Allows you to activate/deactivate audio ports.

State

The state of the audio port.

In the general section, the following options are available:

Reset

Resets the selected remote device.

Apply

Applies the settings.

Using External Clock Sources

If you are using an external clock source, Cubase must be notied that it receives external clock

signals and derives its speed from that source.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select your audio hardware driver.

3. Activate Externally Clocked.

RESULT

Cubase now derives its speed from the external source.

NOTE

For proper audio playback and recording, you must set the sample rate of the project to the

sample rate of the incoming clock signals.

When a sample rate mismatch occurs, the Record Format eld on the Project window status line

is highlighted in a different color. Cubase accepts a sample rate mismatch, and playback is

therefore faster or slower.

Setting up Your System

Setting up Audio

20

Cubase Artist 11.0.0

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Steinberg Cubase Artist 11.0 User manual

Steinberg Cubase Artist 11.0 User manual

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