Steinberg Nuendo 8.0 User manual

Operation Manual

Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, 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 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

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.

©

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

21 Setting Up MIDI

24 Connecting a Synchronizer

25 VST Connections

25 VST Connections Window

31 Renaming the Hardware Inputs and Outputs

33 Adding Input and Output Busses

33 Adding Child Busses

34 Presets for Input and Output Busses

35 Adding Group and FX Channels

35 About Monitoring

35 External Instruments and Effects

42 Editing the Bus Configurations

44 Project Window

45 Showing/Hiding Zones

45 Project Zone

58 Left Zone

68 Lower Zone

75 Right Zone

80 Keyboard Focus in the Project Window

81 Zooming in the Project Window

84 Snap Function

86 Cross-Hair Cursor

87 Edit History Dialog

90 Project Handling

90 Creating New Projects

91 Hub

92 New Project Dialog

93 About Project Files

93 About Template Files

94 Project Setup Dialog

98 Opening Project Files

101 Saving Project Files

101 Reverting to the Last Saved Version

102 Choosing a Project Location

102 Creating Self-Contained Projects

105 Tracks

105 Track Inspector Settings

107 Track Control Settings

109 Audio Tracks

117 Instrument Tracks

125 MIDI Tracks

133 Sampler Tracks

140 Arranger Track

141 Chord Track

144 FX Channel Tracks

150 Folder Tracks

152 Group Channel Tracks

158 Marker Track

160 Ruler Track

161 Signature Track

162 Tempo Track

163 Transpose Track

164 VCA Fader Track

166 Video Track

168 Loudness Track

171 Track Handling

171 Adding Tracks

174 Importing Tracks

177 Exporting Tracks as Track Archive

178 Exporting MIDI Tracks as Standard MIDI File

180 Splitting Multi-Channel Audio Tracks

182 Merging Mono Audio Tracks to Multi-Channel

Tracks

183 Removing Tracks

184 Moving Tracks in the Track List

184 Renaming Tracks

184 Coloring Tracks

185 Showing Track Pictures

187 Setting the Track Height

188 Selecting Tracks

189 Duplicating Tracks

189 Disabling Tracks

189 Organizing Tracks in Folder Tracks

190 Handling Overlapping Audio

190 Track Folding

192 How Events are Displayed on Folder Tracks

192 Modifying Event Display on Folder Tracks

192 Working with Lanes

196 Defining the Track Time Base

197 TrackVersions

Table of Contents



4

204 Track Presets

211 Parts and Events

211 Events

215 Parts

217 Editing Techniques for Parts and Events

241 Range Editing

241 Creating a Selection Range

243 Creating Different Selection Ranges

244 Editing Selection Ranges

247 Playback and Transport

247 Transport Panel

249 Transport Menu

256 Transport

256 Transport Pop-Up Window

257 Left and Right Locators

258 Setting the Project Cursor Position

259 Auto-Scroll

260 Time Formats

260 Pre-Roll and Post-Roll

261 Punch In and Punch Out

262 Metronome

265 Chase

267 Virtual Keyboard

267 Recording MIDI With the Virtual Keyboard

268 Virtual Keyboard Options

269 Recording

269 Basic Recording Methods

273 Monitoring

275 Audio Recording Specifics

280 MIDI Recording Specifics

286 Remaining Record Time

287 Lock Record

288 Importing Audio and MIDI Files

288 Importing Audio Files

296 Importing MIDI Files

299 Quantizing MIDI and Audio

299 Quantize Functions

300 Quantizing MIDI Event Starts

301 Quantizing MIDI Event Lengths

301 Quantizing MIDI Event Ends

302 Quantizing Audio Event Starts

302 Quantizing Audio Event Lengths (AudioWarp

Quantizing)

303 Quantizing Multiple Audio Tracks

304 Quantize Panel

314 Fades, Crossfades, and Envelopes

314 Event-Based Fades

319 Creating Clip-Based Fades

321 Crossfades

328 Auto Fades and Crossfades

330 Event Envelopes

333 Arranger Track

334 Adding Arranger Events on the Arranger

Track

334 Arranger Editor

338 Setting up an Arranger Chain and Adding

Events

340 Jump Mode

342 Arranging Music to Video

343 Transpose Functions

343 Project Root Key

346 Transpose Track

348 Keep Transpose in Octave Range

349 Transpose on the Info Line

350 Excluding Individual Parts or Events from

Global Transpose

352 Markers

352 Position Markers

352 Cycle Markers

353 Markers Window

360 Marker Track

364 Importing and Exporting Markers

374 ADR

374 ADR and Marker Selection

375 ADR Statuses

375 ADR Modes

376 ADR Panel

377 ADR Setup

380 Setting Up ADR Tracks

382 Setting Up the ADR Environment

384 Rehearsing Takes

385 Recording Takes

385 Reviewing Takes

387 MixConsole

387 MixConsole in Lower Zone

390 MixConsole Window

441 VCA Faders

441 VCA Fader Settings

442 Creating VCA Faders

443 Nested VCA Faders

444 VCA Fader Automation

444 VCA Rack

447 Control Room

447 Adding Channels to the Control Room

448 Output Routing

448 Exclusive Assignment of Monitor Channels

449 Control Room Channels

451 Control Room Mixer

457 Control Room Setup

459 Setting Up a Cue Mix

461 Adjusting the Overall Cue Send Level

462 Metering and Loudness

462 Metering

463 Loudness Measurement

467 Loudness Track

469 Normalizing Loudness on Export

470 Audio Effects

470 Insert Effects and Send Effects

Table of Contents



5

473 Insert Effects

481 Send Effects

486 Side-Chain Input

488 Dither Effects

489 External Effects

489 Effect Control Panel

491 Effect Presets

496 Plug-In Information Window

499 Direct Offline Processing

500 Direct Offline Processing Workflow

501 Direct Offline Processing Window

508 Built-In Audio Processes

517 Applying Direct Offline Processing Using Key

Commands

519 Time Stretch and Pitch Shift Algorithms

519 élastique

520 MPEX

520 Standard

521 Limitations

523 Audio Functions

523 Detect Silence

526 Spectrum Analyzer

528 Statistics

531 Game Audio Connect

531 Game Audio Connect Window

532 Game Audio Connect Settings Dialog

533 Setting Up Game Audio Connect for Network

Communication

534 Renaming Events

536 Exporting Audio Assets to a Game Audio

Engine

539 Sample Editor

541 Toolbar

546 Info Line

546 Overview Line

547 Sample Editor Inspector

549 Ruler

550 Waveform Display

552 Range Editing

556 Regions List

559 Snap Point

561 Hitpoints

561 Calculating Hitpoints

564 Locating to Hitpoints in the Project Window

564 Slices

567 Creating a Groove Quantize Map

567 Creating Markers

567 Creating Regions

568 Creating Events

568 Creating Warp Markers

569 Creating MIDI Notes

571 Tempo Matching Audio

571 Algorithm Presets

572 Stretching Audio Events to the Project Tempo

572 Musical Mode

574 Auto Adjust

574 Manual Adjust

576 Free Warp

579 Flattening Realtime Processing

579 Unstretching Audio Files

580 VariAudio

580 VariAudio and Offline Processes

581 Segmenting Monophonic Audio

582 Segments and Gaps

582 Manual Editing of Segments

588 Pitch Changes

591 Micro-Pitch Changes

594 Timing Modifications

596 Reset Functions

597 Extracting MIDI from Audio

600 Flattening Realtime Processing

600 Harmony Voices for Audio

602 Audio Part Editor

604 Toolbar

609 Info Line

609 The Ruler

610 About Lanes

610 Operations

614 Controlling Sample Playback with Sampler

Tracks

614 Creating Sampler Tracks

615 Sampler Control

625 Sample Editing and Playback Functions

627 Transferring Samples from Sampler Control

to VST Instruments

628 Pool

628 Pool Window

632 Working with the Pool

651 MediaBay

651 MediaBay in Right Zone

652 MediaBay Window

678 Working with the MediaBay

682 Working with MediaBay-Related Windows

684 MediaBay Aspects

685 Working with Volume Databases

687 MediaBay Settings

688 MediaBay Key Commands

689 Surround Sound

690 Deliverables

690 Available Surround Channel Configurations

693 Preparations for Surround Mixing

696 VST MultiPanner

714 MixConvert V6

716 Surround Mix Export

717 Automation

717 Automation Curves

717 Static Value Line

717 Write/Read Automation

Table of Contents



6

718 Writing Automation Data

721 Editing Automation Events

723 Automation Tracks

725 Virgin Territory vs. Initial Value

726 Automation Panel

743 MIDI Controller Automation

747 VST Instruments

747 Adding VST Instruments

748 Creating Instrument Tracks

748 VST Instruments in the Right Zone

749 VST Instruments Window

749 VST Instruments Toolbar

750 VST Instrument Controls

752 Presets for Instruments

753 Playing Back VST Instruments

755 Latency

756 Import and Export Options

758 VST Quick Controls

760 Side-Chain Input for VST Instruments

761 External Instruments

762 Installing and Managing Plug-ins

762 Installing VST Plug-ins

762 Plug-in Manager

765 Compiling a New Effects Collection

766 Track Quick Controls

766 Assigning Parameters to Quick Controls

770 Connecting Quick Controls with Remote

Controllers

771 Activating Pick-up Mode for Hardware

Controls

771 Quick Controls and Automatable Parameters

773 Remote Controlling Nuendo

773 Setting Up

775 Operations

777 The Generic Remote Device

781 Track Quick Controls

782 The Remote Control Editor

788 Joysticks

789 Apple Remote (macOS only)

790 MIDI Realtime Parameters and MIDI Effects

790 MIDI Track Parameters

792 MIDI Modifiers

797 MIDI Effects

800 Transpose and Velocity on the Info Line

802 Using MIDI devices

802 MIDI devices – general settings and patch

handling

809 About Device panels

813 MIDI Processing

813 MIDI functions vs. MIDI modifiers

813 What is affected by the MIDI functions?

814 Transpose

815 Making your settings permanent

817 Dissolve Part

819 Bounce MIDI

819 Repeat Loop

819 Other MIDI functions

825 MIDI Editors

825 Common MIDI Editor Functions

832 Key Editor

845 Key Editor Operations

864 Drum Editor

879 Drum Editor Operations

883 Drum Maps

888 List Editor

898 List Editor Operations

903 In-Place Editor

906 Expression maps

906 Introduction

908 Using expression maps

912 Creating and editing expression maps

919 Note Expression

919 Introduction

921 Setting up the Note Expression Inspector

Section

924 Mapping controllers

925 Recording

927 Editing Note Expression data

933 Note Expression and MIDI

937 HALion Sonic SE

938 Chord Functions

938 Chord Track

939 Chord Events

946 Scale Events

947 Voicings

950 Converting Chord Events to MIDI

951 Controlling MIDI or Audio Playback Using the

Chord Track

954 Assigning Voices to Notes

955 Extracting Chord Events from MIDI

956 Recording Chord Events with a MIDI

Keyboard

958 Chord Pads

961 Functions Menu

962 Preparations

962 Chord Assistant

964 Assigning Chords to Chord Pads

968 Moving and Copying Chord Pads

968 Playing Back and Recording Chords

970 Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control

974 Chord Pad Settings – Players

980 Chord Pad Settings – Pad Layout

980 Chord Pads Presets

981 Creating Events from Chord Pads

982 Logical Editor

982 Introduction

983 Opening the Logical Editor

983 Window overview

Table of Contents



7

983 Setting up filter conditions

993 Selecting a function

994 Specifying actions

998 Applying the defined actions

998 Working with presets

1000 Project Logical Editor

1000 Window Overview

1001 Filter Conditions

1011 Specifying actions

1014 Selecting a function

1015 Applying Macros

1015 Applying the defined actions

1015 Working with presets

1017 Editing Tempo and Time Signature

1017 Project Tempo Modes

1017 Track Time Base

1018 Tempo Track Editor

1020 Tempo Track

1021 Setting up Tempo Changes for Projects

1026 Setting up a Fixed Project Tempo

1028 Beat Calculator

1029 Tempo Detection

1030 Exporting a Tempo Track

1030 Importing a Tempo Track

1031 Process Tempo

1032 Process Bars

1032 Time Warp

1034 Set Definition From Tempo

1035 Project Browser

1035 Window Overview

1037 Editing tracks

1046 Track Sheet

1047 Viewing the Pages in the Track Sheet

1047 Adjusting the View

1048 Additional Settings

1049 Printing the Track Sheet

1050 Rendering Audio and MIDI

1050 Render Tracks

1053 Render Selection

1056 Export Audio Mixdown

1057 Mixing Down to Audio Files

1058 Available Channels for Export

1060 File Location

1062 File Format

1070 Audio Engine Output

1072 Import Into Project

1073 Post Process

1074 Networking

1074 Introduction

1074 What can I use the Networking functions for?

1074 Networking protocol and ports

1076 The network dialogs

1076 Selecting a user name

1078 Setting up a network

1081 Sharing projects

1089 Joining projects

1091 Working with shared projects

1094 Further options

1096 Synchronization

1096 Background

1097 Timecode (positional references)

1100 Clock sources (speed references)

1101 Frame edge alignment (phase)

1102 The Project Synchronization Setup dialog

1113 Synchronized operation

1114 Example Scenarios

1120 Working with VST System Link

1124 Activating VST System Link

1132 Video

1132 Video File Compatibility

1133 Frame Rates

1134 Video Output Devices

1134 Preparations for Creating Video Projects

1137 Preparations for Video Playback

1139 Editing Video

1141 Audio Editing to Picture

1141 Video Timeline and the Grid

1142 Conforming Production Audio

1144 Use Video Follows Edit Mode

1144 Event-Based Fades and Volume Envelopes

1145 Placing Audio to Picture

1148 Adjusting and Editing Audio

1152 Film Transfers

1152 Pull-Down and Speed Changes

1152 Telecine Process

1155 Compensating for Speed Changes

1159 Working with Video Tape Recorders

1159 Tips

1161 ReConform

1161 Prerequisites

1161 ReConform Workflow

1162 ReConform Dialog

1163 EDLs

1170 ReConform Settings

1176 Video Preview

1180 Exchanging Files with Other Applications

1180 OMF Files

1184 AAF Files

1188 AES31 Files

1190 OpenTL Files

1194 ReWire

1194 Introduction

1194 Launching and quitting

1195 Activating ReWire channels

1196 Using the transport and tempo controls

1196 How the ReWire channels are handled

1197 Routing MIDI via ReWire

1197 Considerations and limitations

Table of Contents



8

1199 Key Commands

1199 Introduction

1200 Setting Up Key Commands

1207 Setting Up Tool Modifier Keys

1208 The Default Key Commands

1222 Customizing

1222 Workspaces

1225 Using the Setup Options

1227 Configuring the Main Menu Items

1229 Appearance

1232 Applying Colors in the Project Window

1236 Where are the Settings Stored?

1238 Profiles

1243 Optimizing

1243 Optimizing Audio Performance

1247 Preferences

1247 Preferences Dialog

1249 Appearance

1250 Configuration

1250 Editing

1259 Editors

1260 Event Display

1264 General

1265 MIDI

1270 MediaBay

1271 Metering

1272 Record

1274 Scores

1276 Transport

1279 VST

1283 VariAudio

1283 Video

1284 Score Layout and Printing

1285 How the Score Editor works

1285 About this chapter

1285 Welcome!

1285 How the Score Editor operates

1285 MIDI notes vs. score notes

1286 Display Quantize

1289 Entering notes by hand vs. recording notes

1290 The basics

1290 About this chapter

1290 Preparations

1290 Opening the Score Editor

1291 The project cursor

1292 Playing back and recording

1292 Page Mode

1293 Changing the zoom factor

1294 The active staff

1295 Making page setup settings

1295 Designing your work space

1299 About the Score Editor context menus

1299 About dialogs in the Score Editor

1299 Setting clef, key, and time signature

1306 Transposing instruments

1307 Printing from the Score Editor

1307 Exporting pages as image files

1308 Working order

1309 Force update

1310 Transcribing MIDI recordings

1310 About this chapter

1310 About transcription

1310 Getting the parts ready

1311 Preparing parts for score printout

1311 Staff settings

1312 Situations which require additional

techniques

1313 Inserting Display Quantize changes

1314 The Explode function

1315 Using "Scores Notes To MIDI"

1317 Entering and editing notes

1317 About this chapter

1317 Score settings

1319 Note values and positions

1321 Adding and editing notes

1324 Selecting notes

1326 Moving notes

1329 Duplicating notes

1329 Cut, copy, and paste

1330 Editing pitches of individual notes

1331 Changing the length of notes

1333 Splitting a note in two

1333 Working with the Display Quantize tool

1334 Split (piano) staves

1335 Strategies: Multiple staves

1336 Inserting and editing clefs, keys, or time

signatures

1338 Deleting notes

1339 Staff settings

1339 About this chapter

1339 Staff settings

1339 Making settings

1340 Working with staff presets

1341 Staff names

1341 Key and clef

1342 Display Quantize and Interpretation Options

1345 Display Transpose

1346 The Options tab

1348 The Polyphonic tab

1348 The Tablature tab

1349 Polyphonic voicing

1349 About this chapter

1349 Background: Polyphonic voicing

1351 Setting up the voices

1353 Strategies: How many voices do I need?

1353 Entering notes into voices

1354 Checking which voice a note belongs to

1354 Moving notes between voices

1356 Handling rests

1357 Voices and Display Quantize

Table of Contents



9

1358 Creating crossed voicings

1359 Automatic polyphonic voicing – Merge All

Staves

1360 Converting voices to tracks – Extract Voices

1361 Additional note and rest formatting

1361 About this chapter

1361 Background: Note stems

1362 Setting stem direction

1363 Stem length

1364 Accidentals and enharmonic shift

1366 Changing the note head shape

1366 Other note details

1369 Coloring notes

1370 Copying settings between notes

1371 Handling beaming

1377 About tied notes

1379 Graphic moving of notes

1380 Cue notes

1381 Grace notes

1383 Tuplets

1386 Working with symbols

1386 About this chapter

1386 Background: The different layers

1388 The Symbols Inspector

1391 Important! – Symbols, staves, and voices

1391 Adding symbols to the score

1402 Selecting symbols

1403 Moving and duplicating symbols

1408 Changing length, size, and shape

1409 Deleting symbols

1409 Copy and paste

1410 Alignment

1410 Symbol details

1421 Working with chords

1421 About this chapter

1421 Inserting chord symbols

1424 Global chord settings

1426 Working with text

1426 About this chapter

1426 Adding and editing text symbols

1430 Different types of text

1437 Text functions

1442 Working with layouts

1442 About this chapter

1442 Background: Layouts

1443 Creating a layout

1443 Opening a layout

1443 Layout operations

1445 Using layouts – an example

1445 Marker Track to Form

1446 Working with MusicXML

1446 Introduction

1447 Importing and exporting MusicXML files

1451 Designing your score: additional techniques

1451 About this chapter

1451 Layout settings

1453 Staff size

1454 Hiding/showing objects

1456 Coloring notes

1456 Multiple rests

1457 Editing existing bar lines

1458 Creating upbeats

1459 Setting the number of bars across the page

1461 Moving bar lines

1462 Dragging staves

1465 Adding brackets and braces

1465 Displaying the Chord Symbols from the

Chord Track

1466 Auto Layout

1468 Reset Layout

1469 Breaking bar lines

1471 Scoring for drums

1471 About this chapter

1471 Background: Drum maps in the Score Editor

1472 Setting up the drum map

1474 Setting up a staff for drum scoring

1474 Entering and editing notes

1474 Using “Single Line Drum Staff”

1476 Creating tablature

1476 About this chapter

1476 Creating tablature automatically

1478 Creating tablature manually

1479 Tablature number appearance

1479 Editing

1479 Note head shape

1480 Rhythmic Notation

1480 About this Chapter

1481 Showing Rhythmic Notation

1481 Rhythm Bar Indicators

1482 Showing Regular Notation

1482 Clearing Bars

1483 Showing Repeat Bar Signs

1483 Notation Style

1485 The score and MIDI playback

1485 About this chapter

1485 Scores and the Arranger mode

1485 Working with mapped dynamics

1489 Tips and Tricks

1489 Overview

1489 Useful editing techniques

1493 Frequently asked questions

1496 If you wish you had a faster computer

1497 Index

Introduction

10

The documentation covers the following Steinberg products: Nuendo.

Nuendo is a powerful audio production system that offers a vast range of dedicated

functions focused on post production, studio production, and live recording. This system has

professional music tools and instruments included.

Platform-Independent Documentation

The documentation applies to the operating systems Windows and macOS.

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 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> Nuendo 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 Nuendo reference documentation, with detailed descriptions of

operations, parameters, functions, and techniques.

Remote Control Devices

Lists the supported MIDI remote control devices.

Introduction

Conventions

11

Plug-in Reference

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

instruments, and MIDI effects.

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

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.

Introduction

Key Commands

12

RELATED LINKS

Lists related topics that you can find 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.

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 macOS.

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/macOS modifier key-key

EXAMPLE

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

Getting Into the Details

Setting Up Your System

14

To use Nuendo, 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 Nuendo, 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

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

Setting Up Audio

15

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

Nuendo 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 Nuendo to communicate with the audio hardware.

Normally, when you start Nuendo, 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> Device 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.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

16

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Device 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 macOS, 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.

The following options are available:

ASIO Driver

Allows you to select a driver.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

17

Release Driver when Application is in Background

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

hardware even though Nuendo 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, Nuendo 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

18

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.

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

Nuendo.

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

19

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, Nuendo must be notified that it receives external

clock signals and derives its speed from that source.

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Device Setup.

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

3. Activate Externally clocked.

RESULT

Nuendo 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. Nuendo 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 Nuendo is

running.

PREREQUISITE

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

Setting Up Your System

Setting Up Audio

20

PROCEDURE

1. Select Devices> Device 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

Nuendo or separately, when Nuendo 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 Nuendo. These devices can be

plugged in and switched on while the application is running. Nuendo 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.

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.

Page is loading ...

Steinberg Nuendo 8.0 User manual

Steinberg Nuendo 8.0 User manual

Related papers

Other documents