Steinberg Cubase 6 Manual

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Track Quick Controls
4.Now assign a parameter of one particular channel to 
quick control 1, and another parameter of another channel 
to quick control 2.
The Quick Controls tab has become a “secondary” mixer, 
dedicated to quick-controlling parameters on other tracks.
!Quick controls that are assigned that way cannot 
work when saved as track presets. 
						

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Remote controlling Cubase 
						

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Remote controlling Cubase
Introduction
It is possible to control Cubase via MIDI. A large number 
of MIDI control devices is supported. This chapter de
-
scribes how to set up Cubase for remote control. The 
supported devices are described in the separate PDF 
document “Remote Control Devices”.
•There is also a Generic Remote Device option, allowing 
you to use any MIDI controller to remote control Cubase.
How to set this up is described in the section “The Generic Remote de-
vice” on page 345.
Setting Up
Connecting the remote device
Connect the MIDI output on the remote unit to a MIDI in-
put on your MIDI interface. Depending on the remote unit 
model, you may also need to connect a MIDI Out on the 
interface to a MIDI In on the remote unit (this is necessary 
if the remote unit features “feedback devices” such as in
-
dicators, motorized faders, etc.).
If you are recording MIDI tracks, you do not want any MIDI 
data from the remote unit to be accidentally recorded as 
well. To avoid this, you should make the following setting:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.
2.Select “MIDI Port Setup” in the list on the left.
3.Check the table on the right and locate the MIDI input 
to which you have connected the MIDI remote unit.
4.Deactivate the checkbox in the “In ‘All MIDI Inputs’” 
column for that input, so that the State column reads 
“Inactive”.
5.Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog.
Now you have removed the remote unit input from the “All 
MIDI Inputs” group. This means that you can record MIDI 
tracks with the “All MIDI Inputs” port selected without risk
-
ing to record the data from the remote unit at the same 
time.
Selecting a remote device
1.Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.
2.If you cannot find the remote device you are looking 
for, click on the plus sign in the top left corner and select 
the device from the pop-up menu.
The selected device is added to the Devices list.
•Note that it is possible to select more than one remote 
device of the same type.
If you have more than one remote device of the same type, these will be 
numbered in the Devices list. For example, to be able to use a Mackie 
Control Extender, you must install a second Mackie control device.
3.Select your MIDI control device model from the De-
vices list.
Depending on the selected device, either a list of programmable function 
commands or a blank panel is shown in the right half of the dialog window.
4.Select the correct MIDI input from the pop-up menu.
If necessary, select the correct MIDI output from the pop-up menu.
5.Click OK to close the dialog.
You can now use the MIDI control device to move faders and knobs, ac-
tivate Mute and Solo, etc. The exact parameter configuration depends on 
which external MIDI control device you are using. 
						

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Remote controlling Cubase
•In the Project window (track list) and the Mixer (bottom 
of channel strips) you will now see white stripes indicating 
which channels are currently linked to the remote control 
device.
Audio 10 can be remote controlled, while Audio 11 is not linked to the 
remote control device. 
Operations
Global options for remote controllers
In the Device Setup dialog, on the page for your remote 
device, some (or all) of the following global functions may 
be available (depending on your remote device):
Writing automation using remote controls
Automating the Mixer in Touch mode using a remote control 
device is done in the same way as when you operate on-
screen controls in Write mode. In order to replace existing 
automation data for a control in Touch mode, the computer 
needs to know how long the user actually “grabbed” or 
used the control. When doing this “on screen”, the program 
simply detects when the mouse button is pressed and re
-
leased. When you are using an external remote control de-
vice without touch-sensitive controls, Cubase cannot tell 
whether you “grab and hold” a fader or simply move it and 
release it.
Therefore, when you are using a device without touch-
sensitive controls and want to replace existing automation 
data, pay attention to the following:
•If you activate Write mode and move a control on the re-
mote control device, all data for the corresponding para-
meter is replaced from the position where you moved the 
control, up to the position where playback is stopped.
In other words, as soon as you move a control in Write mode, it remains 
“active” until you stop playback.
•Make sure that you move only the controller you want to 
replace.
Assigning remote key commands
For some remote devices, you can assign any Cubase 
function (to which a key command can be assigned) to 
generic buttons, wheels, or other controls. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog and select your remote 
device.
On the right side of the window you will find a three column table. This is 
where you assign commands.
2.Use the Button column to locate a remote device con-
trol or button to which you wish to assign a Cubase func-
tion.
3.Click in the Category column for the control and select 
one of the Cubase function categories from the pop-up 
menu.
4.Click in the Command column and select the desired 
Cubase function from the pop-up menu.
The available items on the pop-up menu depend on the selected category.
5.Click “Apply” when you are done.
!Sometimes communication between Cubase and a 
remote device is interrupted or the handshaking pro-
tocol fails to create a connection. To re-establish 
communication with any device in the Devices list, 
select it and click the Reset button in the lower part 
of the Device Setup dialog. The “Send Reset Mes-
sage to all Devices” button at the top left of the dia-
log next to the “+” and “-” buttons will reset every 
device in the Devices list.
OptionDescription
Bank pop-up 
menuIf your remote device contains several banks, you can se-lect the bank you want to use. The bank you select here is used by default when Cubase 
is launched.
Smart Switch 
DelaySome of the Cubase functions (e. g. Solo and Mute) sup-port the so called “smart switch” behavior: In addition to 
regular activation/deactivation of a function by clicking a 
button, you can also activate the function for as long as 
the button is pressed. Upon releasing the mouse button, 
the function is deactivated. 
This pop-up menu allows you to specify how long a but-ton must be pressed before it goes into “smart switch” 
mode. When “Off” is selected, the “smart switch” func-tion is deactivated in Cubase.
Enable Auto 
SelectIf this option is activated, touching a fader on a touch-
sensitive remote control device automatically selects the 
corresponding channel. On devices without touch-sensi
-tive faders, the channel gets selected as soon as you 
move the fader. 
						

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Remote controlling Cubase
•Click “Reset” to revert to the default settings.
The selected function is now assigned to the button or 
control on the remote device.
A note about remote controlling MIDI tracks
While most remote control devices will be able to control 
both MIDI and audio channels in Cubase, the parameter 
setup may be different. For example, audio-specific con
-
trols (such as EQ) will be disregarded when controlling 
MIDI channels.
Accessing user panel parameters via remote 
control devices (Cubase only)
Cubase allows you to control external MIDI devices through 
user device panels. When you have assigned project pa
-
rameters to a device panel to be displayed in the Mixer (i.e. 
when creating the panel, you must select the Channel Strip 
Size option in the Add Panel dialog), you can access these 
parameters through some of the remote control devices 
supported by Cubase.
This feature is supported for the following devices:
•Steinberg Houston
• Mackie Control
•Mackie HUI
• Yamaha DM 2000
• CM Motormix
•SAC2K
These remote control devices provide an extra display 
page in the Inserts section for the selected channel.
This page is called User and is displayed as the 9th insert 
page for audio channels and as the 5th insert page for MIDI 
channels. It allows you to control the parameters assigned 
to your user device panel from your remote control device.
The Generic Remote device
If you have a generic MIDI controller, you can use this for 
remote control of Cubase by setting up the Generic Re
-
mote device:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog on the Devices menu.
If the Generic Remote device is not on the Devices list, you need to add it.
2.Click the “+” sign in the top left corner and select the 
“Generic Remote” device from the pop-up menu.
•When the Generic Remote device is added in the Device 
Setup dialog, you can open the corresponding window by 
selecting “Generic Remote” from the Devices menu.
3.Select the Generic Remote device in the Devices list 
to the left.
The settings for the Generic Remote device are displayed, allowing you 
to specify which control on your device should control which parameter 
in Cubase.
4.Use the MIDI Input and Output pop-up menus to se-
lect the MIDI port(s) to which your remote device is con-
nected. 
						

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Remote controlling Cubase
5.Use the pop-up menu to the right to select a bank.
Banks are combinations of a certain number of channels, and are used be-
cause most MIDI devices can control only a limited number of channels at 
a time (often 8 or 16). For example, if your MIDI control device has 16 vol-
ume faders, and you are using 32 Mixer channels in Cubase, you would 
need two banks of 16 channels each. When the first bank is selected you 
can control channel 1 to 16; when the second Bank is selected you can 
control channel 17 to 32.
6.Set up the table at the top according to the controls 
on your MIDI control device.
The columns have the following functionality:
•If you find that the table at the top holds too many or too 
few controls, you can add or remove controls with the Add 
and Delete buttons to the right of the table.
•If you are uncertain of which MIDI message a certain 
controller sends, you can use the Learn function.
Select the control in the upper table (by clicking in the Control Name co-
lumn), move the corresponding control on your MIDI device and click the 
Learn button to the right of the table. The MIDI Status, MIDI Channel, and 
Address values are automatically set to those of the moved control.
•If you use the Learn function for a control that sends a 
Program Change value, the “Prog. Change Trigger” op
-
tion is automatically selected on the “MIDI Status” pop-up 
menu. This allows you to use the different values of a Pro
-
gram Change parameter to control different parameters in 
Cubase.
If this does not give you the result you want, try using the “Prog. Change” 
value instead.
7.Use the table at the bottom to specify which Cubase 
parameters you want to control.
Each row in the table is associated to the controller in the corresponding 
row in the first table (as indicated by the Control Name column). The 
other columns have the following functionality:
ColumnDescription
Control NameDouble-clicking this field allows you to enter a descriptive 
name for the control (typically a name written on the con-sole). This name is automatically reflected in the Control 
Name column in the lower table.
MIDI StatusClicking in this column opens a pop-up menu, allowing you 
to specify the type of MIDI message sent by the control 
(e.
 g. Controller, Prog. Change Trigger).  The NRPN and RPN controllers are part of the MIDI spec-ification and present a way to extend the available control 
messages. The “Ctrl JLCooper” option is a special version 
of a Continuous Controller where the 3rd byte of a MIDI 
message is used as address instead of the 2nd byte (a 
method supported by various JL-Cooper remote devices). 
For a description of the Ctrl-Houston status value, see the 
Steinberg Houston hardware manual.
MIDI ChannelClicking in this column opens a pop-up menu, allowing 
you to select the MIDI channel on which the controller is 
transmitted.
AddressThe Continuous Controller number, the pitch of a note, or 
the address of a NRPN/RPN Continuous Controller.
Max. ValueThe maximum value the control will transmit. This value is 
used by the program to “scale” the value range of the 
MIDI controller to the value range of the program para
-meter.
FlagsClicking in this column pulls down a pop-up menu, allow-ing you to activate or deactivate three flags:Receive – activate this if the MIDI message should be 
processed on reception.
Transmit – activate this if a MIDI message should be trans-mitted when the corresponding value in the program 
changes.
Relative – activate this if the control is an “endless” rotary 
encoder, which reports the number of turns instead of an 
absolute value.
ColumnDescription
DeviceClicking in this column opens a pop-up menu, used for 
determining which device in Cubase is controlled. The 
special “Command” option allows you to perform certain 
command actions by remote control. One example of this 
is the selection of remote banks.
Channel/
CategoryThis is where you select the channel to be controlled or, if 
the “Command” Device option is selected, the Command 
category.
Value/ActionClicking in this column pulls down a pop-up menu, allow-ing you to select the parameter of the channel to be 
controlled (typically, if the “VST Mixer” Device option is 
selected, you can choose between volume, pan, send 
levels, EQ, etc.).
If the “Command” Device option is selected, this is where 
you specify the “Action” of the category.
FlagsClicking in this column pulls down a pop-up menu, allow-ing you to activate or deactivate three flags:Push Button – When activated, the parameter is only 
changed if the received MIDI message shows a value 
unequal to 0.
Toggle – When activated, the parameter value is switched 
between minimum and maximum value each time a MIDI 
message is received. The combination of Push Button and 
Toggle is useful for remote controls which do not latch the 
state of a button. One example is controlling mute status 
with a device on which pressing the Mute button turns it 
on, and releasing the Mute button turns it off. If Push But
-ton and Toggle are activated, the Mute status will change 
between on and off whenever the button is pressed on the 
console.
Not Automated – When activated, the parameter will not 
be automated.  
						

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Remote controlling Cubase
8.If necessary, make settings for another bank.
Note that you only need to make settings in the bottom table for this bank. 
The table at the top is already set up according to the MIDI remote device.
•If necessary, you can add banks by clicking the Add 
button below the Bank pop-up menu.
Clicking the Rename button allows you to assign a new name to the cur-
rently selected bank, and you can remove an unneeded bank by select-
ing it and clicking the Delete button.
9.When you are finished, close the Device Setup win-
dow.
Now, you can control the specified Cubase parameters from the MIDI re-mote device. To select another bank, use the pop-up menu in the Generic 
Remote window (or use a control on the MIDI remote device, if you have 
assigned one for this).
Importing and exporting remote setups
The Export button in the top right corner of the Generic 
Remote Setup window allows you to export the current 
setup, including the Control configuration (the table at the 
top) and all banks. The setup is saved as a file (with the file 
extension “.xml”). Clicking the Import button allows you to 
import saved remote setup files.
ÖThe last imported or exported remote setup will auto-
matically be loaded when the program starts or the Ge-
neric Remote control is added in the Device Setup dialog.
Track Quick Controls
If you have an external remote control device, you can set 
it up to control up to eight parameters of each audio track, 
MIDI track or instrument track, using the Track Quick Con
-
trols feature in Cubase. How to set up your device and 
how to assign parameters to it is described in the chapter 
“Track Quick Controls” on page 337.
Apple Remote (Macintosh only)
Many Apple computers come with an Apple Remote Con-
trol, a small hand-held device akin to TV remote controls. It 
allows you to remotely control certain features in Cubase.
Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog and select Apple Re-
mote Control from the Add Device pop-up menu.
2.In the list on the right, the Apple Remote’s buttons are 
listed. For each button you can open a pop-up menu from 
which you can select a Cubase parameter.
The parameter you select is assigned to the corresponding button on the 
Apple Remote.
By default, the Apple Remote always controls the applica-
tion that currently has the focus on your Macintosh com-
puter (provided that this application supports the Apple 
Remote).
•When the “Disable when application is not in front” op-
tion is not selected, the Apple Remote will control Cubase 
even if it does not have the focus. 
						

							28
MIDI realtime parameters and effects 
						

							349
MIDI realtime parameters and effects
Introduction
For each MIDI track, you can set up a number of track pa-
rameters, or modifiers, and MIDI effects. These affect how 
the MIDI data is played back, “transforming” MIDI events 
in realtime before they are sent to the MIDI outputs.
On the following pages, the available parameters and ef-
fects are described. Keep in mind:
• The actual MIDI events will not be affected – the changes 
happen “on the fly”.
• Since the modifier settings do not change the actual MIDI 
data on the track, they will not be reflected in the MIDI editors. 
To convert the track settings into “real” MIDI events, use the 
Freeze MIDI Modifiers function or the Merge MIDI in Loop 
function (see 
“Making your settings permanent” on page 368). 
The Inspector – general handling
The MIDI modifiers and effects are set up in the Inspector 
(although some settings are available in the Mixer as well). 
•To show the Inspector, click the “Set up Window Lay-
out” button on the toolbar and activate the Inspector op-
tion.
The Inspector is displayed to the left of the track list.
•For MIDI tracks, several sections are available in the In-
spector. Which of these are displayed is determined in the 
setup context menu or the Setup dialog of the Inspector.
For information about setting up the Inspector, see “Using the Setup op-tions” on page 534.
•You can fold or unfold the sections individually by click-
ing on the section name.
Clicking the name for a hidden section brings it to view and hides the 
other sections. [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking the tab allows you to hide or 
show a section without affecting other sections. [Alt]/[Option]-clicking a 
tab shows or hides all sections in the Inspector.
ÖFolding or hiding (via the Setup dialog) a section does 
not affect the functionality but merely hides the section 
from view. This means your settings will still be active even 
if you fold or hide the Inspector settings.
The Inspector sections
Basic track settings
The topmost Inspector section contains the basic track 
settings. These settings either affect the basic functional
-
ity for the track (mute, solo, enable record, etc.) or send 
out additional MIDI data to the connected devices (pro
-
gram change, volume, etc.). The section contains all set-
tings that are available in the track list (see “The track list” 
on page 39), with a few additional parameters: 
ParameterDescription
Track name 
fieldClick once to show/hide the topmost Inspector section. 
Double-click to rename the track.
Edit buttonThis opens the Channel Settings window for the track (a 
window showing a channel strip with volume fader and 
other controls, along with effect settings – see 
“Using Channel Settings” on page 158).
Mute/Solo 
buttonsMutes or solos the MIDI track.
Read/Write 
buttonsUsed for automating the track settings – see “Enabling and disabling the writing of automation data” on page 228.
Open Device 
Panels buttonCubase only: If the MIDI track is routed to a device with a 
panel, clicking this button opens the respective panel. For 
more information, see the separate PDF document “MIDI 
Devices”.
Input trans-former buttonOpens the Input Transformer dialog, allowing you to trans-form incoming MIDI events in realtime, see “The Input Transformer” on page 450.
Record enable 
buttonActivate this to make the track ready for recording. 
						

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MIDI realtime parameters and effects
ÖNote that the functionality of the Bank and Patch selec-
tor settings (used for selecting sounds in the connected 
MIDI instrument) depends on the instrument to which the 
MIDI output is routed, and how you have set it up in the 
MIDI Device Manager. The MIDI Device Manager allows 
you to specify which MIDI instruments and other devices 
are connected to the various MIDI outputs, thus making it 
possible to select patches by name. See the chapter 
“Us-
ing MIDI devices” on page 356 for details about the MIDI 
Device Manager. 
ÖMany of the basic track settings are duplicated in 
“mixer channel strip form” in the MIDI Fader section of the 
Inspector (see below).
Expression Map section (Cubase only)
This section is used when working with the Expression 
Map features, see the chapter 
“Expression maps (Cubase 
only)” on page 419. 
Note Expression section (Cubase only)
This section is used when working with the Note Expres-
sion features, see the chapter “Note Expression (Cubase 
only)” on page 428. 
MIDI Modifiers 
The settings on this tab affect the MIDI events on the track 
in realtime during playback. They will also be in effect if 
you play “live” with the track selected and record enabled 
(provided that “MIDI Thru Active” is activated in the Prefer
-
ences dialog, MIDI page). This makes it possible, for exam-
ple, to transpose or adjust the velocity of your live playing.
ÖIf you want to compare the result of your modifier set-
tings with the “unprocessed” MIDI, you can use the Bypass 
button in the MIDI Modifiers section. When this is activated, 
the MIDI Modifiers settings will be temporarily disabled. A 
bypassed section is indicated by a yellow Bypass button.
Transpose
This allows you to transpose all notes on the track in semi-
tones. The available range is -127 to +127 semitones, but 
remember that the total range of MIDI note numbers is 0 
to 127. Furthermore, not all instruments can play back 
notes over the whole range. Therefore, extreme transposi
-
tions can give rather strange and unwanted results.
Monitor buttonWhen this is activated (and the “MIDI Thru Active” option 
is activated in the Preferences dialog, MIDI page), in-coming MIDI will be routed to the selected MIDI output.
Toggle Time 
Base buttonSwitches between musical (tempo related) and linear 
(time related) time base for the track, see “Defining the track time base” on page 74.
Lock buttonActivate this to disable all editing of all events on the 
track.
Lane Display 
Type buttonAllows you to divide the tracks in lanes. For details about 
lanes, see “Working with lanes” on page 76.
VolumeUse this to adjust the level for the track. Changing this set-ting will move the track’s fader in the Mixer window, and 
vice versa. See “Setting volume in the Mixer” on page 152 for details about setting levels.
PanUse this to adjust the panning of the track. 
DelayThis adjusts the playback timing of the MIDI track. Posi-tive values delay the playback while negative values 
cause the track to play earlier. The values are set in milli-seconds.
In/Out/Chn  pop-up menusThis is where you select MIDI input, MIDI output, and 
MIDI channel for the track.
Edit Instrument 
buttonIf the MIDI track is routed to a VST instrument, clicking 
this button opens the control panel for the VST instru-ment.
Bank and Patch 
Selector pop-
up menuAllows you to select a sound, see below. (If no bank is 
available, only the Patch selector is shown.)
Map pop-up 
menuAllows you to select a drum map for the track – see “Managing drum maps” on page 401.
Apply Track 
Preset buttonAllows you to apply a track preset, see “Applying track presets” on page 333.
Parameter Description