Steinberg Cubase Pro 9.5 User manual

Operation Manual

Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Lillie Harris, Christina Kaboth, Insa Mingers, Matthias Obrecht, Sabine Pfeifer,

Benjamin Schütte, Marita Sladek

This PDF provides improved access for vision-impaired users. 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_9.5.40_en-US_2018-10-16

8 Introduction

8 Platform-Independent Documentation

8 About the Documentation

9 Conventions

10 Key Commands

11 Setting Up Your System

11 Setting Up Audio

18 Setting Up MIDI

20 Connecting a Synchronizer

21 Audio Connections

21 Audio Connections Window

27 Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

28 Adding Input and Output Busses

28 Adding Child Busses (Cubase Pro only)

29 Presets for Input and Output Busses

30 Adding Group and FX Channels (Cubase Pro

only)

30 About Monitoring

30 External Instruments and Effects (Cubase Pro

only)

36 Editing the Bus Congurations

38 Project Window

39 Showing/Hiding Zones

39 Project Zone

51 Left Zone

61 Lower Zone

67 Right Zone

73 Keyboard Focus in the Project Window

74 Zooming in the Project Window

78 Snap Function

81 Cross-Hair Cursor

82 Edit History Dialog

83 Project Handling

83 Creating New Projects

84 Hub

85 Project Assistant

85 About Project Files

86 About Template Files

87 Project Setup Dialog

90 Opening Project Files

91 Saving Project Files

92 Reverting to the Last Saved Version

92 Choosing a Project Location

93 Creating Self-Contained Projects

95 Tracks

95 Track Inspector Settings

96 Track Control Settings

98 Audio Tracks

105 Instrument Tracks

112 MIDI Tracks

118 Sampler Tracks

124 Arranger Track

126 Chord Track

128 FX Channel Tracks

134 Folder Tracks

135 Group Channel Tracks

140 Marker Track

142 Ruler Track

143 Signature Track

144 Tempo Track

145 Transpose Track

146 VCA Fader Track (Cubase Pro only)

148 Video Track

151 Track Handling

151 Adding Tracks

153 Importing Tracks (Cubase Pro only)

156 Exporting Tracks as Track Archive (Cubase Pro

only)

157 Exporting MIDI Tracks as Standard MIDI File

159 Removing Tracks

159 Moving Tracks in the Track List

160 Renaming Tracks

160 Coloring Tracks

161 Showing Track Pictures

162 Setting the Track Height

163 Selecting Tracks

164 Duplicating Tracks

164 Disabling Tracks

164 Organizing Tracks in Folder Tracks

165 Handling Overlapping Audio

166 Track Folding

167 How Events are Displayed on Folder Tracks

167 Modifying Event Display on Folder Tracks

167 Working with Lanes

170 Dening the Track Time Base

171 TrackVersions

179 Track Presets

185 Parts and Events

185 Events

188 Parts

190 Editing Techniques for Parts and Events

204 Range Editing

204 Creating a Selection Range

205 Editing Selection Ranges

208 Playback and Transport

208 Transport Panel

210 Transport Menu

Table of Contents

3

215 Transport

217 Transport Pop-Up Window

218 Time Display Window

219 Left and Right Locators

220 Setting the Project Cursor Position

221 Auto-Scroll

221 Time Formats

222 Pre-Roll and Post-Roll

223 Punch In and Punch Out

224 Metronome Click

232 Chase

234 On-Screen Keyboard

234 Recording MIDI With the On-Screen Keyboard

235 On-Screen Keyboard Options

236 Recording

236 Basic Recording Methods

239 Monitoring

242 Audio Recording Specics

246 MIDI Recording Specics

252 Remaining Record Time

252 Lock Record

254 Importing Audio and MIDI Files

254 Importing Audio Files

261 Importing MIDI Files

264 Quantizing MIDI and Audio

264 Quantize Functions

265 Quantizing MIDI Event Starts

266 Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths

266 Quantizing MIDI Event Ends

266 Quantizing Audio Event Starts

267 Quantizing Audio Event Lengths (AudioWarp

Quantizing) (Cubase Pro only)

267 Quantizing Multiple Audio Tracks (Cubase Pro

only)

269 Quantize Panel

278 Fades, Crossfades, and Envelopes

278 Event-Based Fades

282 Creating Clip-Based Fades

283 Crossfades

285 Auto Fades and Crossfades

288 Event Envelopes

290 Arranger Track

290 Adding Arranger Events on the Arranger Track

291 Arranger Editor

294 Setting up an Arranger Chain and Adding

Events

296 Jump Mode

298 Arranging Music to Video

299 Transpose Functions

299 Project Root Key

302 Transpose Track

304 Keep Transpose in Octave Range

305 Transpose on the Info Line

306 Excluding Individual Parts or Events from

Global Transpose

307 Markers

307 Position Markers

307 Cycle Markers

308 Markers Window

312 Marker Track

315 Importing and Exporting Markers

317 MixConsole

317 MixConsole in Lower Zone

320 MixConsole Window

365 VCA Faders (Cubase Pro only)

365 VCA Fader Settings

367 Creating VCA Faders

368 Assigning VCA Faders to Link Groups

368 Removing VCA Faders from Link Groups

369 Nested VCA Faders

369 VCA Fader Automation

372 Control Room (Cubase Pro only)

372 Adding Channels to the Control Room

373 Output Routing

373 Exclusive Assignment of Monitor Channels

373 Control Room Channels

374 Control Room - Main Tab

380 Control Room - Inserts Tab

382 Setting Up a Cue Mix

383 Adjusting the Overall Cue Send Level

385 Metering and Loudness (Cubase Pro only)

385 Metering

386 Loudness Measurement

391 Audio Effects

391 Insert Effects and Send Effects

393 Insert Effects

400 Send Effects

405 Side-Chain Input

407 Dither Effects

408 External Effects (Cubase Pro only)

408 Effect Control Panel

409 Effect Presets

414 System Component Information Window

416 Direct Oine Processing

417 Direct Oine Processing Workow

417 Direct Oine Processing Window

425 Built-In Audio Processes

433 Applying Direct Oine Processing Using Key

Commands

435 Time Stretch and Pitch Shift Algorithms

435 élastique

436 MPEX

436 Standard

437 Limitations

438 Audio Functions

438 Detect Silence

440 Spectrum Analyzer

443 Statistics

445 Sample Editor

447 Toolbar

451 Info Line

451 Overview Line

452 Sample Editor Inspector

455 Ruler

455 Waveform Display

457 Range Editing

461 Regions List

463 Snap Point

Table of Contents

4

465 Hitpoints

465 Calculating Hitpoints

468 Locating to Hitpoints in the Project Window

468 Slices

470 Creating a Groove Quantize Map

470 Creating Markers

471 Creating Regions

471 Creating Events

471 Creating Warp Markers

472 Creating MIDI Notes

474 Tempo Matching Audio

474 Algorithm Presets

475 Stretching Audio Events to the Project Tempo

475 Musical Mode

477 Auto Adjust

477 Manual Adjust

479 Free Warp

481 Flattening Realtime Processing

481 Unstretching Audio Files

483 VariAudio (Cubase Pro only)

483 VariAudio and Oine Processes

484 Segmenting Monophonic Audio

485 Segments and Gaps

485 Manual Editing of Segments

490 Pitch Changes

493 Micro-Pitch Changes

497 Timing Modications

498 Reset Functions

499 Extracting MIDI from Audio

501 Flattening Realtime Processing

502 Harmony Voices for Audio

503 Audio Part Editor

505 Toolbar

509 Info Line

509 The Ruler

510 About Lanes

510 Operations

514 Controlling Sample Playback with Sampler

Tracks

514 Loading Audio Samples into Sampler Control

514 Loading MIDI Parts into Sampler Control

515 Creating Sampler Tracks

515 Sampler Control

524 Sample Editing and Playback Functions

526 Transferring Samples from Sampler Control to

VST Instruments

527 Pool

527 Pool Window

531 Working with the Pool

546 MediaBay

546 Media Rack in Right Zone

552 MediaBay Window

578 Working with MediaBay-Related Windows

580 Working with Volume Databases

582 MediaBay Settings

583 MediaBay Key Commands

584 Surround Sound (Cubase Pro only)

584 Deliverables

585 Available Surround Channel Congurations

586 Preparations for Creating Surround Mixes

589 VST MultiPanner

601 MixConvert V6

605 Surround Mix Export

606 Automation

606 Automation Curves

606 Static Value Line

606 Write/Read Automation

607 Writing Automation Data

609 Editing Automation Events

614 Automation Tracks

615 Virgin Territory vs. Initial Value (Cubase Pro

only)

616 Automation Panel (Cubase Pro only)

625 MIDI Controller Automation

628 VST Instruments

628 Adding VST Instruments

629 Creating Instrument Tracks

629 VST Instruments in the Right Zone

630 VST Instruments Window

630 VST Instruments Toolbar

631 VST Instrument Controls

632 Presets for Instruments

634 Playing Back VST Instruments

635 Latency

636 Import and Export Options

638 VST Quick Controls

639 Side-Chain Input for VST Instruments

640 External Instruments (Cubase Pro only)

641 Installing and Managing Plug-Ins

641 Installing VST Plug-Ins

641 VST Plug-In Manager

644 Compiling a New Effects Collection

645 Track Quick Controls

646 Parameter Assignment

649 Quick Controls and Automatable Parameters

651 Connecting Track Quick Controls with Remote

Controllers

652 Remote Controlling Cubase

652 Connecting Remote Devices

652 Removing the Remote Input from All MIDI

Inputs

653 Setting Up Remote Devices

655 Remote Devices and Automation

655 Assigning Commands to Remote Devices

656 Generic Remote

661 The Remote Control Editor

665 Joysticks

665 Apple Remote (macOS only)

666 Track Quick Controls

667 VST Quick Controls

668 MIDI Realtime Parameters and MIDI Effects

668 MIDI Track Parameters

670 MIDI Modiers

675 MIDI Effects

678 Transpose and Velocity on the Info Line

679 Using MIDI devices

679 MIDI devices – general settings and patch

handling

687 About Device panels (Cubase Pro only)

690 MIDI Functions

690 Transpose Setup

Table of Contents

5

691 Merging MIDI Events into a New Part

692 Dissolve Part

694 Bouncing MIDI Parts

695 Repeating MIDI Events of Independent Track

Loops

695 Extending MIDI Notes

696 Fixing MIDI Note Lengths

696 Fixing MIDI Note Velocities

696 Rendering Sustain Pedal Data to Note Lengths

697 Deleting Overlaps

697 Editing Velocity

698 Deleting Double Notes

698 Deleting Controller Data

698 Deleting Continuous Controller Data

699 Restricting Polyphonic Voices

699 Thinning Out Controller Data

699 Extracting MIDI Automation

700 Reversing the Playback Order of MIDI Events

700 Inverting the Order of Selected MIDI Events

700 Creating a Tempo Track from Tapping (Cubase

Pro only)

702 MIDI Editors

702 Common MIDI Editor Functions

709 Key Editor

720 Key Editor Operations

737 Basic Score Editor (Cubase Artist only)

743 Score Editor Operations (Cubase Artist only)

750 Drum Editor

764 Drum Editor Operations

767 Drum Maps

771 List Editor

780 List Editor Operations

785 In-Place Editor

788 Expression Maps (Cubase Pro only)

789 Articulations

789 Expression Map Setup

790 Creating and Editing Expression Maps

797 Inserting Articulations

800 Note Expression

800 VST 3 Controller Parameters

801 MIDI Controller Parameters

801 Note Expression Inspector Section

804 Note Expression Tools

805 Controller Parameter Mapping

806 Recording

809 Note Expression Event Editor

814 Trimming Note Expression Data

815 Removing All Note Expression Data

815 Note Expression MIDI Setup Dialog

819 Chord Functions

819 Chord Track

820 Chord Events

827 Scale Events

828 Voicings

830 Converting Chord Events to MIDI

831 Controlling MIDI or Audio Playback Using the

Chord Track

834 Assigning Voices to Notes

834 Extracting Chord Events from MIDI

835 Recording Chord Events with a MIDI Keyboard

837 Chord Pads

840 Functions Menu

840 Preparations

841 Chord Assistant

843 Assigning Chords to Chord Pads

846 Moving and Copying Chord Pads

847 Playing Back and Recording Chords

848 Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control

852 Chord Pad Settings – Players

857 Chord Pad Settings – Pad Layout

858 Chord Pads Presets

858 Creating Events from Chord Pads

860 Logical Editor

860 Window overview

861 Filter Conditions

870 Selecting a function

871 Specifying actions

874 Applying the Dened Actions

874 Presets

876 Project Logical Editor (Cubase Pro only)

876 Window Overview

877 Filter Conditions

886 Specifying Actions

889 Selecting a Function

890 Applying Macros

890 Applying the Dened Actions

890 Presets

892 Editing Tempo and Time Signature

892 Project Tempo Modes

892 Track Time Base

893 Tempo Track Editor

894 Tempo Track

896 Setting up Tempo Changes for Projects

900 Setting up a Fixed Project Tempo

902 Beat Calculator

903 Tempo Detection (Cubase Pro only)

904 Exporting a Tempo Track (Cubase Pro only)

904 Importing a Tempo Track (Cubase Pro only)

905 Process Tempo (Cubase Pro only)

906 Process Bars (Cubase Pro only)

906 Time Warp (Cubase Pro only)

908 Set Denition From Tempo

908 Time Signature Events

911 Project Browser (Cubase Pro only)

911 Toolbar

912 Project Structure

912 Event Display

915 Rendering Audio and MIDI

915 Render Tracks

917 Render Selection

920 Export Audio Mixdown

921 Mixing Down to Audio Files

922 Available Channels for Export

923 File Location

926 File Format

932 Audio Engine Output

933 Import Into Project

934 Post Process

935 Synchronization

935 Background

Table of Contents

6

936 Timecode (positional references)

938 Clock sources (speed references)

939 The Project Synchronization Setup dialog

943 Synchronized operation

944 Example Scenarios (Cubase Pro only)

945 Working with VST System Link

948 Activating VST System Link

956 Video

956 Video File Compatibility

957 Frame Rates

957 Video Output Devices

958 Preparations for Creating Video Projects

960 Preparations for Video Playback

962 Editing Video

964 Exchanging Files with Other Applications

964 OMF Files (Cubase Pro only)

968 ReWire

968 Introduction

968 Enabling ReWire Applications

969 Launching and quitting

970 Activating ReWire channels

970 Using the transport and tempo controls

971 How the ReWire channels are handled

971 Routing MIDI via ReWire

972 Considerations and limitations

973 Key Commands

973 Adding Key Commands

974 Searching for Key Commands

974 Removing Key Commands

974 Setting Up Macros

975 Saving Key Commands Presets

975 Loading Key Command Presets

976 Importing Key Command Settings

976 Resetting Key Commands

977 The Default Key Commands

988 Setting Up Tool Modier Keys

990 Customizing

990 Workspaces

994 Using the Setup Options

995 Customizing the Meter Colors

996 Customizing the User Interface Colors

997 Color Selector Pane

998 Coloring Tracks, Parts, or Events Manually

998 Auto Track Color Mode

999 Colorizing Track Controls

1000 Project Colors Dialog

1001 Proles (Cubase Pro only)

1005 Where are the Settings Stored?

1007 Optimizing

1007 Optimizing Audio Performance

1011 Preferences

1011 Preferences Dialog

1013 Editing

1020 Editors

1021 Event Display

1024 General

1025 MIDI

1030 MediaBay

1030 Metering

1031 Record

1033 Scores (Cubase Pro only)

1035 Transport

1036 User Interface

1037 VST

1040 VariAudio (Cubase Pro only)

1041 Video

1042 Index

Table of Contents

7

The documentation covers the following Steinberg products: Cubase Pro and Cubase Artist.

Functions that are only available in Cubase Pro and not in Cubase Artist are clearly indicated. 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.

About the Documentation

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

from steinberg.help. To visit steinberg.help, do one of the following:

● Enter www.steinberg.help in the address bar of your web browser.

● In the program, select Help > Cubase Help.

Quick Start Guide

Covers the following areas without going into details:

● System requirements, installation procedure, and license activation.

● Setting up your system for audio and MIDI work.

Operation Manual

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

parameters, functions, and techniques.

Score Layout and Printing (Cubase Pro only)

Describes the professional music notation, score editing, and printing features

included in the Score Editor.

Remote Control Devices

Lists the supported MIDI remote control devices.

Plug-in Reference

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

instruments, and MIDI effects.

Introduction

8

HALion Sonic SE

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

SE.

Groove Agent SE

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

SE.

Retrologue

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

MIDI Devices

Describes how to manage MIDI Devices and device panels.

VST Connect SE (Cubase Pro only)

Describes how to work with the VST Connect SE features.

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.

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

Lists related topics that you can nd in this documentation.

Markup

Bold text indicates the name of a menu, option, function, dialog, window, etc.

EXAMPLE

To open the Functions menu, click Functions Menu in the top right corner of the MixConsole.

Introduction

Conventions

9

If bold text is separated by a greater-than symbol, this indicates a sequence of different menus

to open.

EXAMPLE

Select Project > Add Track.

Key Commands

Many of the default key commands, also known as keyboard shortcuts, use modier keys, some

of which are different depending on the operating system.

When key commands with modier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the

Windows modier key rst followed by the macOS and the key:

● Windows modier key/macOS modier key-Z

EXAMPLE

Ctrl/Cmd-Z means: press Ctrl on Windows or Cmd on macOS, then press Z.

Introduction

Key Commands

10

To use Cubase, you must set up your audio, and if required, your MIDI system.

Setting Up Audio

IMPORTANT

Make sure that all equipment is turned off before making any connections.

Simple Stereo Input and Output Setup

If you only use a stereo input and output from Cubase, you can connect your audio hardware, for

example, the inputs of your audio card or your audio interface, directly to the input source and

the outputs to a power amplier and speaker.

Audio Connections

Your system setup depends on many different factors, for example, on the kind of project that

you want to create, on the external equipment that you want to use, or on the computer

hardware that is available to you. Therefore, the following sections can only serve as examples.

How to connect your equipment, that is, whether to use digital or analog connections also

depends on your setup.

Setting Up Your System

11

About Recording Levels and Inputs

When you connect your equipment, make sure that the impedance and levels of the audio

sources and inputs are matched. Using the correct type of input is important to avoid distortion

or noisy recordings. For example, different inputs can be used, such as consumer line level (-10

dBV) or professional line level (+4 dBu).

Sometimes, you can adjust input characteristics on the audio interface or on its control panel. For

details, refer to the documentation that came with the audio hardware.

IMPORTANT

Cubase does not provide any input level adjustments for the signals that are coming into your

audio hardware, since these are handled differently for each card. Adjusting input levels is either

done in a special application that is included with the hardware or its control panel.

Word Clock Connections

If you are using a digital audio connection, you may also need a word clock connection between

the audio hardware and external devices. For details, refer to the documentation that came with

the audio hardware.

IMPORTANT

Set up word clock synchronization correctly, or you may experience clicks and crackles in your

recordings.

Selecting an Audio Driver

By selecting an audio driver, you allow Cubase to communicate with the audio hardware.

Normally, when you start Cubase, a dialog opens that prompts you to select a driver, but you can

also select your audio hardware driver as described below.

NOTE

On Windows operating systems, we recommend that you access your hardware via an ASIO

driver developed specically for the hardware. If no ASIO driver is installed, contact the

manufacturer of your audio hardware for information on available ASIO drivers. If no specic

ASIO driver is available, you can use the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select VST Audio System.

3. Open the ASIO Driver pop-up menu and select your audio hardware driver.

4. Click OK.

Setting Up Audio Hardware

PREREQUISITE

You have selected a driver for your audio hardware.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

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

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

12

3. Do one of the following to open the control panel for your audio hardware:

● On Windows, click Control Panel.

● On macOS, click Open Cong App.

This button is available only for some hardware products. If it is not available in your

setup, refer to the documentation of your audio hardware.

NOTE

The control panel is provided by the manufacturer of your audio hardware and is different

for each audio interface brand and model. However, control panels for the Generic Low

Latency ASIO Driver

(Windows only) are provided by Steinberg.

4. Set up your audio hardware as recommended by the manufacturer.

VST Audio System

In the VST Audio System section you can select an ASIO driver for your audio hardware.

● To open the VST Audio System section, select Studio > Studio Setup and select VST Audio

System in the Devices list.

The following options are available:

ASIO Driver

Allows you to select a driver.

Release Driver when Application is in Background

Releases the driver and allows other applications to play back via your audio

hardware even though Cubase is running.

Input Latency

Shows the input latency of the audio hardware.

Output Latency

Shows the output latency of the audio hardware.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

13

ASIO-Guard Latency

Shows the ASIO-Guard latency.

HW Sample Rate

Shows the sample rate of your audio hardware.

HW Pull Up/Down

Shows the pull up/down status of the audio hardware.

Set to Defaults

Allows you to restore the default settings.

Processing Precision

Allows you to set the audio processing precision to 32 bit oat or 64 bit oat.

Depending on this setting, all channels are processed and mixed in 32-bit oating-

point or 64-bit oating-point format.

NOTE

A processing precision of 64 bit oat can increase CPU load and memory

consumption.

To show all plug-ins that support 64-bit oat processing, open the VST Plug-in

Manager and activate Show Plug-ins That Support 64-Bit Processing in the

Display Options pop-up menu.

NOTE

VST2 plug-ins and instruments are always processed with 32-bit precision.

Activate Multi Processing

Allows you to distribute the processing load evenly to all available CPUs. This way,

Cubase can make full use of the combined power of multiple processors.

Activate ASIO-Guard

Activates the ASIO-Guard. This is only available if Activate Multi Processing is

activated too.

ASIO-Guard Level

Allows you to set the ASIO-Guard level. The higher the level, the higher the

processing stability and audio processing performance. However, higher levels also

lead to an increased ASIO-Guard latency and memory usage.

Audio Priority (Windows only)

This setting should be set to Normal if you work with audio and MIDI. If you do not

use MIDI at all, you can set this to

Boost.

Activate Steinberg Audio Power Scheme

If this option is activated, all power safe modes that have an impact on realtime

processing are deactivated. Note that this is only effective for very low latencies, and

that it increases the power consumption.

Disk Preload

Allows you to specify how many seconds of audio are preloaded into RAM prior to

starting playback. This allows for smooth playback.

Adjust for Record Latency

If this is activated, the plug-in latencies are taken to account during recording.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

14

Record Shift

Allows you to shift the recordings by the specied value.

RELATED LINKS

VST Plug-In Manager Window on page 641

ASIO Driver Setup

This section allows you to set up your ASIO driver.

● To open the section 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.

Direct Monitoring

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

Cubase.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

15

Ports 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.

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 status line is highlighted

in a different color. Cubase accepts a sample rate mismatch, and playback is therefore faster or

slower.

Using Several Audio Applications Simultaneously

You can allow other applications to play back via your audio hardware even though Cubase is

running.

PREREQUISITE

Other audio applications accessing the audio hardware are set to release the audio driver.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select VST Audio System.

3. Activate Release Driver when Application is in Background.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

16

RESULT

The application that has the focus gets access to the audio hardware.

Audio Hardware Conguration

Most audio cards provide one or more small applications that allow you to customize your

hardware.

The settings are normally gathered on a control panel that can be opened from within Cubase or

separately, when Cubase is not running. For details, refer to the audio hardware documentation.

Settings include:

●

Selecting which inputs/outputs are active.

● Setting up word clock synchronization.

● Turning on/off monitoring via the hardware.

● Setting levels for each input.

● Setting levels for the outputs so that they match the equipment that you use for

monitoring.

● Selecting digital input and output formats.

● Making settings for the audio buffers.

Setting Up Input and Output Ports

Once you have selected the driver for your audio hardware and have set it up, you must specify

which inputs and outputs to use.

PREREQUISITE

You have selected a driver for your audio hardware.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

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

3. Make your settings.

4. Click OK.

RELATED LINKS

ASIO Driver Setup on page 15

Audio Bus Setup

Cubase uses a system of input and output busses to transfer audio between the program and

the audio hardware.

● Input busses let you route audio from the inputs of your audio hardware into Cubase. This

means that audio is always recorded through one or several input busses.

●

Output busses let you route audio from Cubase to the outputs of your audio hardware.

This means that audio is always played back through one or several output busses.

Once you have set up the internal input and output busses, you can connect your audio source,

for example a microphone, to your audio interface and start recording, playing back, and mixing.

RELATED LINKS

Audio Connections on page 21

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

17

Monitoring

In Cubase, monitoring means listening to the input signal while recording.

The following ways of monitoring are available.

●

Externally by listening to the signal before it reaches Cubase.

● Via Cubase.

● By using ASIO Direct Monitoring.

This is a combination of the other methods.

RELATED LINKS

External Monitoring on page 240

Monitoring via Cubase on page 240

ASIO Direct Monitoring on page 240

Setting Up MIDI

IMPORTANT

Turn off all equipment before making any connections.

PROCEDURE

1. Connect your MIDI equipment (keyboard, MIDI interface, etc.) to your computer.

2. Install the drivers for your MIDI equipment.

RESULT

You can use your MIDI equipment in Cubase.

MIDI Connections

To play back and record MIDI data from your MIDI device, for example, a MIDI keyboard, you

need to connect the MIDI ports.

Connect the MIDI output port of your MIDI device to the MIDI input port of your audio hardware.

This way, the MIDI device sends MIDI data to be played back or recorded inside your computer.

Connect the MIDI input port of your MIDI device to the MIDI output port of your audio hardware.

This way, you can send MIDI data from Cubase to the MIDI device. For example, you can record

your own playing, edit the MIDI data in Cubase, and then play it back on the keyboard and record

the audio that is coming out of the keyboard for a better edited performance.

Showing or Hiding MIDI Ports

You can specify if a MIDI port is listed on the MIDI pop-up menus in the program.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select MIDI Port Setup.

3. To hide a MIDI port, deactivate its Visible column.

4. Click OK.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up MIDI

18

Setting Up All MIDI Inputs

When you record MIDI, you can specify which MIDI input each recording MIDI track should use.

However, you can also record any MIDI data from any MIDI input. You can specify which inputs

are included when you select

All MIDI Inputs for a MIDI track.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Studio > Studio Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select MIDI Port Setup.

3. Activate In ‘All MIDI Inputs’ for a port.

NOTE

If you have a MIDI remote control unit connected, make sure to deactivate the In ‘All MIDI

Inputs’ option for that MIDI input. This avoids accidental recording of data from the

remote control when All MIDI Inputs is selected as input for a MIDI track.

4. Click OK.

RESULT

When you select All MIDI Inputs on the Input Routing menu of a MIDI track in the Inspector,

the MIDI track uses all MIDI inputs that you specied in the MIDI Port Setup.

MIDI Port Setup

The MIDI Port Setup page in the Studio Setup dialog displays the connected MIDI devices and

allows you to set up their ports.

● To open the MIDI Port Setup page, select Studio > Studio Setup and activate MIDI Port

Setup in the Devices list.

The following colums are displayed:

Device

The connected MIDI devices.

I/O

The port input/output status.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up MIDI

19

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 MIDI ports.

State

The state of the MIDI port.

In 'All MIDI Inputs'

Allows you to record MIDI data from all MIDI inputs.

NOTE

Deactivate this option if you use remote control devices.

The following options are available:

Use System Timestamp for 'Windows MIDI' Inputs

Activate this option if you have persistent timing problems such as shifted notes. If

this is activated, the system timestamp is used as a time reference.

Use Device 'DirectMusic'

If you do not use a device with a DirectMusic device driver, you can leave this option

deactivated. This enhances the system performance.

Use System Timestamp for 'DirectMusic' Inputs

Activate this option if you have persistent timing problems such as shifted notes. If

this is activated, the system timestamp is used as a time reference.

Plug and Play Support for USB MIDI Devices

Cubase supports plug and play of USB MIDI devices. These devices can be plugged in and

switched on while the application is running.

Connecting a Synchronizer

When using Cubase with external tape transports, you most likely must add a synchronizer to

your system.

IMPORTANT

Make sure that all equipment is turned off before making any connections.

For information on how to connect and set up your synchronizer, refer to the documentation of

your synchronizer.

RELATED LINKS

Synchronization on page 935

Setting Up Your System

Connecting a Synchronizer

20

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Steinberg Cubase Pro 9.5 User manual

Steinberg Cubase Pro 9.5 User manual

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