Steinberg Cubase 9.0 User manual

Operation Manual

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

Benjamin Schütte, Marita Sladek

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

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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 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 GmbH. Registered licensees

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®

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please visit www.steinberg.net/trademarks.

©

Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2017.

Table of Contents

3

10 Introduction

10 Platform-Independent Documentation

10 About the Documentation

11 Conventions

12 Key Commands

13 Getting Into the Details

14 Setting Up Your System

14 Setting Up Audio

22 Setting Up MIDI

24 Connecting a Synchronizer

25 Setting Up Video

26 VST Connections

26 VST Connections Window

32 Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

34 Adding Input and Output Busses

34 Adding Child Busses(Cubase Pro only)

35 Presets for Input and Output Busses

36 Adding Group and FX Channels

36 About Monitoring

36 External Instruments and Effects(Cubase

Pro only)

43 Editing the Bus Configurations

45 Project Window

46 Showing/Hiding Zones

46 Project Zone

59 Left Zone

68 Lower Zone

75 Right Zone

80 Keyboard Focus in the Project Window

81 Zooming in the Project Window

84 Snap Function

87 Cross-Hair Cursor

87 Edit History Dialog

89 Project Handling

89 Creating New Projects

90 Hub

91 Project Assistant

92 About Project Files

92 About Template Files

93 Project Setup Dialog

97 Opening Project Files

98 Saving Project Files

99 Reverting to the Last Saved Version

99 Choosing a Project Location

99 Removing Unused Audio Files

100 Creating Self-Contained Projects

102 Tracks

102 Track Inspector Settings

104 Track Control Settings

106 Audio Tracks

113 Instrument Tracks

121 MIDI Tracks

129 Sampler Tracks

135 Arranger Track

137 Chord Track

140 FX Channel Tracks

146 Folder Tracks

148 Group Channel Tracks

154 Marker Track

155 Ruler Track

156 Signature Track

157 Tempo Track

158 Transpose Track

159 VCA Fader Track(Cubase Pro only)

162 Video Track

164 Track Handling

164 Adding Tracks

167 Removing Tracks

167 Moving Tracks in the Track List

167 Renaming Tracks

167 Coloring Tracks

168 Showing Track Pictures

170 Setting the Track Height

171 Selecting Tracks

172 Duplicating Tracks

172 Disabling Tracks

172 Organizing Tracks in Folder Tracks

173 Handling Overlapping Audio

174 Track Folding

175 How Events are Displayed on Folder Tracks

175 Modifying Event Display on Folder Tracks

175 Working with Lanes

179 Defining the Track Time Base

180 TrackVersions

187 Track Presets

194 Parts and Events

194 Events

198 Parts

199 Editing Techniques for Parts and Events

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214 Range Editing

214 Creating a Selection Range

216 Editing Selection Ranges

219 Playback and Transport

219 Transport Panel

221 Transport Menu

227 Transport

228 Left and Right Locators

229 Setting the Project Cursor Position

230 Auto-Scroll

231 Time Formats

231 Pre-Roll and Post-Roll

232 Punch In and Punch Out

233 Metronome

235 Chase

237 Virtual Keyboard

237 Recording MIDI With the Virtual Keyboard

238 Virtual Keyboard Options

239 Recording

239 Basic Recording Methods

243 Monitoring

245 Audio Recording Specifics

250 MIDI Recording Specifics

256 Remaining Record Time

257 Lock Record

258 Quantizing MIDI and Audio

258 Quantize Functions

259 Quantizing MIDI Event Starts

260 Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths

260 Quantizing MIDI Event Ends

261 Quantizing Audio Event Starts

261 Quantizing Audio Event Lengths (AudioWarp

Quantizing)(Cubase Pro only)

262 Quantizing Multiple Audio Tracks(Cubase

Pro only)

263 Quantize Panel

273 Fades, Crossfades, and Envelopes

273 Event-Based Fades

277 Creating Clip-Based Fades

279 Crossfades

282 Auto Fades and Crossfades

285 Event Envelopes

287 Arranger Track

288 Adding Arranger Events on the Arranger

Track

288 Arranger Editor

292 Setting up an Arranger Chain and Adding

Events

294 Jump Mode

296 Arranging Music to Video

297 Transpose Functions

297 Project Root Key

301 Transpose Track

302 Keep Transpose in Octave Range

304 Transpose on the Info Line

304 Excluding Individual Parts or Events from

Global Transpose

306 Markers

306 Position Markers

306 Cycle Markers

307 Markers Window

311 Marker Track

315 Importing and Exporting Markers

317 MixConsole

317 MixConsole in Lower Zone

320 MixConsole Window

370 VCA Faders(Cubase Pro only)

370 VCA Fader Settings

372 Creating VCA Faders

373 Assigning VCA Faders to Link Groups

373 Removing VCA Faders from Link Groups

374 Nested VCA Faders

374 VCA Fader Automation

377 Control Room(Cubase Pro only)

377 Adding Channels to the Control Room

378 Output Routing

378 Exclusive Assignment of Monitor Channels

378 Control Room Channels

380 Control Room Mixer

386 Control Room Setup

388 Setting Up a Cue Mix

389 Adjusting the Overall Cue Send Level

390 Metering and Loudness (Cubase Pro only)

390 Metering

391 Loudness Measurement

396 Audio Effects

396 Insert Effects and Send Effects

399 Insert Effects

406 Send Effects

412 Side-Chain Input

414 Dither Effects

415 External Effects(Cubase Pro only)

415 Effect Control Panel

416 Effect Presets

421 Plug-In Information Window

424 Audio Processing and Functions

424 Common settings and features

425 Envelope

426 Fade In and Fade Out

427 Gain

428 Merge Clipboard

428 Noise Gate

429 Normalize

429 Phase Reverse

430 Pitch Shift

433 Remove DC Offset

434 Resample

434 Reverse

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5

434 Silence

434 Stereo Flip

435 Time Stretch

436 Applying Plug-Ins(Cubase Pro only)

438 Offline Process History

439 Freeze Edits

440 Detect Silence

443 Spectrum Analyzer

445 Statistics

447 Time Stretch and Pitch Shift Algorithms

450 Rendering to Audio

450 Render Tracks

453 Render Selection

456 Sample Editor

458 Toolbar

463 Info Line

463 Overview Line

464 Sample Editor Inspector

467 Ruler

467 Waveform Display

469 Range Editing

473 Regions List

476 Snap Point

478 Hitpoints

478 Calculating Hitpoints

481 Locating to Hitpoints in the Project Window

481 Slices

484 Creating a Groove Quantize Map

484 Creating Markers

484 Creating Regions

485 Creating Events

485 Creating Warp Markers

486 Creating MIDI Notes

488 Tempo Matching Audio

488 Algorithm Presets

489 Stretching Audio Events to the Project Tempo

489 Musical Mode

491 Auto Adjust

492 Manual Adjust

493 Free Warp

496 Flattening Realtime Processing

496 Unstretching Audio Files

497 VariAudio(Cubase Pro only)

497 VariAudio and Offline Processes

498 Segmenting Monophonic Audio

499 Segments and Gaps

499 Manual Editing of Segments

505 Pitch Changes

508 Micro-Pitch Changes

511 Timing Modifications

513 Reset Functions

514 Extracting MIDI from Audio

517 Flattening Realtime Processing

517 Harmony Voices for Audio

519 Audio Part Editor

520 Toolbar

525 Info Line

526 The Ruler

526 About Lanes

526 Operations

530 Controlling Sample Playback with Sampler

Tracks

530 Creating Sampler Tracks

531 Sampler Control

541 Sample Editing and Playback Functions

543 Transferring Samples from Sampler Control

to VST Instruments

544 Pool

544 Pool Window

548 Working with the Pool

564 MediaBay

564 MediaBay in Right Zone

565 MediaBay Window

590 Working With the MediaBay

593 Working with MediaBay-Related Windows

595 Working With Volume Databases

597 MediaBay Settings

598 MediaBay Key Commands

599 Surround Sound(Cubase Pro only)

599 Deliverables

600 Available surround configurations

601 Preparations

602 Using VST MultiPanner

613 Using the MixConvert V6 plug-in

614 Exporting a surround mix

615 Automation

615 Automation Curves

615 Static Value Line

615 Write/Read Automation

616 Writing Automation Data

619 Editing Automation Events

621 Automation Tracks

623 Virgin Territory vs. Initial Value(Cubase Pro

only)

624 Automation Panel(Cubase Pro only)

633 MIDI Controller Automation

637 VST Instruments

637 Adding VST Instruments

638 Creating Instrument Tracks

638 VST Instruments in the Right Zone

639 VST Instruments Window

639 VST Instruments Toolbar

640 VST Instrument Controls

642 Presets for Instruments

643 Playing Back VST Instruments

645 About Latency

646 Import and Export Options

648 VST Quick Controls

650 Side-Chain Input for VST Instruments

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6

651 External Instruments(Cubase Pro only)

652 Installing and Managing Plug-ins

652 Installing VST plug-ins

652 Plug-in Manager

655 Compiling a New Effects Collection

656 Track Quick Controls

656 Assigning Parameters to Quick Controls

660 Connecting Quick Controls with Remote

Controllers

661 Activating Pick-up Mode for Hardware

Controls

661 Quick Controls and Automatable Parameters

663 Remote controlling Cubase

663 Setting Up

665 Operations

667 The Generic Remote device

671 Track Quick Controls

672 The Remote Control Editor

678 Apple Remote (Macintosh only)

680 MIDI Realtime Parameters and MIDI Effects

680 MIDI Track Parameters

683 MIDI Modifiers

687 MIDI Effects

691 Transpose and Velocity on the Info Line

692 Using MIDI devices

692 MIDI devices – general settings and patch

handling

700 About Device panels(Cubase Pro only)

704 MIDI Processing

704 MIDI functions vs. MIDI modifiers

704 What is affected by the MIDI functions?

705 Transpose

706 Making your settings permanent

708 Dissolve Part

710 Bounce MIDI

710 Repeat Loop

710 Other MIDI functions

716 MIDI Editors

716 Common MIDI Editor Functions

723 Key Editor

735 Key Editor Operations

755 Basic Score Editor(Cubase Artist only)

762 Score Editor Operations(Cubase Artist only)

770 Drum Editor

784 Drum Editor Operations

788 Drum Maps

793 List Editor

803 List Editor Operations

808 In-Place Editor

811 Expression maps(Cubase Pro only)

811 Introduction

813 Using expression maps

817 Creating and editing expression maps

823 Note Expression

823 Introduction

825 Setting up the Note Expression Inspector

Section

828 Mapping controllers

829 Recording

831 Editing Note Expression data

837 Note Expression and MIDI

841 HALion Sonic SE

842 Chord Functions

842 Chord Track

843 Chord Events

850 Scale Events

851 Voicings

854 Converting Chord Events to MIDI

855 Controlling MIDI or Audio Playback using the

Chord Track

858 Assigning Voices to Notes

859 Extracting Chord Events from MIDI

860 Recording Chord Events with a MIDI

Keyboard

862 Chord Pads

865 Functions Menu

865 Preparations

866 Chord Assistant

868 Assigning Chords to Chord Pads

871 Moving and Copying Chord Pads

872 Playing Back and Recording Chords

873 Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control

878 Chord Pad Settings – Players

883 Chord Pad Settings – Pad Layout

884 Chord Pads Presets

885 Creating Events from Chord Pads

886 The Logical Editor

886 Introduction

887 Opening the Logical Editor

887 Window overview

887 Setting up filter conditions

897 Selecting a function

898 Specifying actions

902 Applying the defined actions

902 Working with presets

904 Project Logical Editor(Cubase Pro only)

905 Opening the Project Logical Editor

905 Window overview

906 Setting up filter conditions

915 Specifying actions

919 Selecting a function

919 Applying Macros

919 Applying the defined actions

920 Working with presets

922 Editing Tempo and Time Signature

922 Project Tempo Modes

922 Track Time Base

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7

923 Tempo Track Editor

925 Tempo Track

926 Setting up Tempo Changes for Projects

931 Setting up a Fixed Project Tempo

933 Beat Calculator

934 Tempo Detection(Cubase Pro only)

935 Exporting a Tempo Track(Cubase Pro only)

935 Importing a Tempo Track(Cubase Pro only)

936 Process Tempo(Cubase Pro only)

937 Process Bars(Cubase Pro only)

937 Time Warp(Cubase Pro only)

939 Set Definition From Tempo

941 Project Browser(Cubase Pro only)

941 Window Overview

943 Editing tracks

952 Export Audio Mixdown

953 Mixing Down to Audio Files

954 Available Channels for Export

955 File Location

958 File Format

965 Audio Engine Output

966 Import Into Project

967 Post Process

969 Synchronization

969 Background

970 Timecode (positional references)

972 Clock sources (speed references)

973 The Project Synchronization Setup dialog

978 Synchronized operation

979 Example Scenarios(Cubase Pro only)

980 Working with VST System Link

984 Activating VST System Link

992 Video

992 Before You Start

995 Preparing a Video Project

998 Playing Back Video

1001 Editing Video

1001 Extracting Audio From a Video File

1002 Replacing the Audio in a Video File

1003 ReWire

1003 Introduction

1003 Launching and quitting

1004 Activating ReWire channels

1005 Using the transport and tempo controls

1005 How the ReWire channels are handled

1006 Routing MIDI via ReWire

1006 Considerations and limitations

1008 Key Commands

1008 Introduction

1009 Setting up key commands

1013 Setting up tool modifier keys

1014 The default key commands

1027 File handling

1027 Importing audio

1033 Exporting and importing OMF files(Cubase

Pro only)

1036 Exporting and importing standard MIDI files

1039 Exporting and importing MIDI loops

1040 Exporting and importing track

archives(Cubase Pro only)

1043 Track Import from Projects

1047 Customizing

1047 Workspaces

1051 Using the Setup options

1052 Appearance

1056 Applying colors in the Project window

1060 Where are the settings stored?

1062 Profiles(Cubase Pro only)

1067 Optimizing

1067 Optimizing Audio Performance

1071 Preferences

1071 Preferences Dialog

1073 Appearance

1074 Editing

1083 Editors

1083 Event Display

1087 General

1089 MIDI

1094 MediaBay

1094 Metering

1095 Record

1097 Scores(Cubase Pro only)

1100 Transport

1102 VST

1106 VariAudio(Cubase Pro only)

1106 Video

1107 Score Layout and Printing

1108 How the Score Editor works

1108 About this chapter

1108 Welcome!

1108 How the Score Editor operates

1108 MIDI notes vs. score notes

1109 Display Quantize

1112 Entering notes by hand vs. recording notes

1113 The basics

1113 About this chapter

1113 Preparations

1113 Opening the Score Editor

1114 The project cursor

1115 Playing back and recording

1115 Page Mode

1116 Changing the zoom factor

1117 The active staff

1118 Making page setup settings

1118 Designing your work space

1122 About the Score Editor context menus

1122 About dialogs in the Score Editor

1122 Setting clef, key, and time signature

1129 Transposing instruments

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8

1130 Printing from the Score Editor

1130 Exporting pages as image files

1132 Working order

1132 Force update

1133 Transcribing MIDI recordings

1133 About this chapter

1133 About transcription

1133 Getting the parts ready

1134 Preparing parts for score printout

1134 Staff settings

1135 Situations which require additional

techniques

1136 Inserting Display Quantize changes

1137 The Explode function

1138 Using "Scores Notes To MIDI"

1140 Entering and editing notes

1140 About this chapter

1140 Score settings

1142 Note values and positions

1144 Adding and editing notes

1148 Selecting notes

1149 Moving notes

1152 Duplicating notes

1152 Cut, copy, and paste

1153 Editing pitches of individual notes

1154 Changing the length of notes

1156 Splitting a note in two

1156 Working with the Display Quantize tool

1157 Split (piano) staves

1158 Strategies: Multiple staves

1159 Inserting and editing clefs, keys, or time

signatures

1161 Deleting notes

1162 Staff settings

1162 About this chapter

1162 Staff settings

1162 Making settings

1163 Working with staff presets

1164 Staff names

1164 Key and clef

1165 Display Quantize and Interpretation Options

1168 Display Transpose

1169 The Options tab

1171 The Polyphonic tab

1171 The Tablature tab

1172 Polyphonic voicing

1172 About this chapter

1172 Background: Polyphonic voicing

1174 Setting up the voices

1176 Strategies: How many voices do I need?

1177 Entering notes into voices

1177 Checking which voice a note belongs to

1178 Moving notes between voices

1179 Handling rests

1180 Voices and Display Quantize

1181 Creating crossed voicings

1182 Automatic polyphonic voicing – Merge All

Staves

1183 Converting voices to tracks – Extract Voices

1185 Additional note and rest formatting

1185 About this chapter

1185 Background: Note stems

1186 Setting stem direction

1187 Stem length

1188 Accidentals and enharmonic shift

1190 Changing the note head shape

1190 Other note details

1193 Coloring notes

1194 Copying settings between notes

1195 Handling beaming

1201 About tied notes

1203 Graphic moving of notes

1204 Cue notes

1205 Grace notes

1207 Tuplets

1210 Working with symbols

1210 About this chapter

1210 Background: The different layers

1212 The Symbols Inspector

1215 Important! – Symbols, staves, and voices

1215 Adding symbols to the score

1227 Selecting symbols

1228 Moving and duplicating symbols

1232 Changing length, size, and shape

1234 Deleting symbols

1234 Copy and paste

1234 Alignment

1235 Symbol details

1246 Working with chords

1246 About this chapter

1246 Inserting chord symbols

1249 Global chord settings

1251 Working with text

1251 About this chapter

1251 Adding and editing text symbols

1255 Different types of text

1262 Text functions

1267 Working with layouts

1267 About this chapter

1267 Background: Layouts

1268 Creating a layout

1268 Opening a layout

1268 Layout operations

1270 Using layouts – an example

1270 Marker Track to Form

1271 Working with MusicXML(Cubase Pro only)

1271 Introduction

1272 Importing and exporting MusicXML files

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9

1276 Designing your score: additional techniques

1276 About this chapter

1276 Layout settings

1278 Staff size

1279 Hiding/showing objects

1281 Coloring notes

1281 Multiple rests

1283 Editing existing bar lines

1283 Creating upbeats

1285 Setting the number of bars across the page

1286 Moving bar lines

1287 Dragging staves

1290 Adding brackets and braces

1291 Displaying the Chord Symbols from the

Chord Track

1291 Auto Layout

1293 Reset Layout

1294 Breaking bar lines

1297 Scoring for drums

1297 About this chapter

1297 Background: Drum maps in the Score Editor

1298 Setting up the drum map

1300 Setting up a staff for drum scoring

1300 Entering and editing notes

1301 Using “Single Line Drum Staff”

1302 Creating tablature

1302 About this chapter

1302 Creating tablature automatically

1304 Creating tablature manually

1305 Tablature number appearance

1305 Editing

1305 Note head shape

1306 Rhythmic Notation

1306 About this Chapter

1307 Showing Rhythmic Notation

1307 Rhythm Bar Indicators

1308 Showing Regular Notation

1308 Clearing Bars

1309 Showing Repeat Bar Signs

1309 Notation Style

1311 The score and MIDI playback

1311 About this chapter

1311 Scores and the Arranger mode

1311 Working with mapped dynamics

1315 Tips and Tricks

1315 Overview

1315 Useful editing techniques

1319 Frequently asked questions

1322 If you wish you had a faster computer

1323 Index

Introduction

10

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 Mac OS.

Features and settings that are specific to one of these platforms are clearly indicated. In all

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

and Mac OS.

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 Mac OS.

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.

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

Conventions

11

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.

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 fulfill a condition before starting a

procedure.

PROCEDURE

Lists the steps that you must take to achieve a specific 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 undertake after completing the

procedure.

RELATED LINKS

Lists related topics that you can find in this documentation.

Introduction

Key Commands

12

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.

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 modifier keys,

some of which are different depending on the operating system.

For example, the default key command for Undo is Ctrl-Z on Windows and Cmd-Z on Mac OS.

When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with

the Windows modifier key first, in the following way:

•

Windows modifier key/Mac OS modifier key-key

EXAMPLE

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

Getting Into the Details

Setting Up Your System

14

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 amplifier 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

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

15

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.

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 microphones, for example, different inputs can be used,

such as consumer line level (-10

dBV) or professional line level (+4

dBV).

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 specifically for the hardware. If no ASIO driver is installed, contact the

manufacturer of your audio hardware for information on available ASIO drivers. If no specific

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

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Devices 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 Your System

Setting Up Audio

16

Setting Up Audio Hardware

PREREQUISITE

You have selected a driver for your audio hardware.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Devices Setup.

2. In the Devices list to the left, select the driver to open the driver settings for your audio

hardware.

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

•

On Windows, click Control Panel.

•

On Mac OS, click Open Config 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 Devices> Device Setup and select VST

Audio System in the Devices list to the left.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

17

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.

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.

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.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

18

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.

Record Shift

Allows you to shift the recordings by the specified value.

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 Devices> Device

Setup and select the audio driver in the Devices list to the left.

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.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

19

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.

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 notified that it receives external

clock signals and derives its speed from that source.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Devices Setup.

2. In the Devices list, select the page of 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 field on the 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

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 Devices> Devices Setup.

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

3. Activate Release Driver when Application is in Background.

RESULT

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

Audio Hardware Configuration

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.

Plug and Play Support for ASIO Devices

The Steinberg UR hardware series supports plug and play in Cubase. These devices can be

plugged in and switched on while the application is running. Cubase automatically uses the

driver of the UR series and re-maps the VST connections accordingly.

Steinberg cannot guarantee that this works with other hardware. If you are unsure of

whether your device supports plug and play, refer to the documentation of your device.

IMPORTANT

If a device that does not support plug and play is connected or disconnected while the

computer is running, it can get damaged.

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