Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

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The MediaBayThe Results list
Setting up the Results list columns
For each media type, or for combinations of media types, you can specify the attribute 
columns that are displayed in the Results list. In most cases, you will probably only 
want to display a few main attributes in the Results list and use the Attribute Inspector 
to view the complete list of attribute values for the files.
Proceed as follows:
1.Select the media type (or combination of media types) that you want to make 
settings for.
2.Click the “Set up Result Columns” button and activate or deactivate the options 
on the submenus.
Activate the attributes that you want to be displayed in the Results list.
ÖIf you want to see none of the attributes of a certain category, choose the “Select 
None” option on the corresponding submenu.
ÖWhen the “Allow Editing in Results List” option is activated in the Preferences dialog, 
you can also edit attributes in the Results list. Otherwise this is only possible in the 
Attribute Inspector.
Performing a text search
You can limit the number of results in the Results list using the text search function. 
When you enter text in the Text Search field, only media files whose attributes match 
the entered text will be displayed.
For example, if you are looking for all audio loops relating to drum sounds, simply enter 
“drum” in the search field. The search results will contain loops with names such as 
“Drums 01”, “Drumloop”, “Snare Drum”, etc. Also, all media files with the Category 
attribute Drum&Percussion, or any other attribute that contains “drum” will be found.
When you enter text in the field, its background becomes red, to indicate that a text 
filter is active for the list. To reset the text filter, delete the text.
Click here to open the pop-up menu. 
						

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The MediaBayThe Results list
The rating slider
Using the rating slider above the Results list, you can specify rating settings for your 
files, ranging from 1 to 5. This makes it possible to exclude certain files from the 
search according to their quality.
When you move the rating slider, the active rating filter is indicated in red. All files of 
this rating are displayed in the list.
The search in progress indicator
At the top right in the Results list you will find an indicator which shows whether the 
MediaBay is currently searching for files.
Resetting the list
When you have set up filters for the Results list, you can set everything back to default 
by clicking the Reset Results Filter button to the right of the Rating slider.
This will delete any text in the text search field, set the rating slider to display all files 
and deactivate all the media type filters.
Shuffling the results
If you click the “Shuffle Results” button, the result list entries are listed in a random 
order.
Inserting the files into the project
You can insert files into the project by right-clicking on them and selecting one of the 
“Insert into project” options from the context menu, or you can double-click them. 
What happens next depends on the track type:
Audio files, MIDI loops, and MIDI files can be inserted into the project by double-
clicking them in the Results list. They will be inserted on the active track, if this 
matches the file type or onto a new track if no corresponding track is active. The files 
will be inserted at the current project cursor position.
Similarly, if you double-click on a track preset, it will be applied to the active track, if 
the track type matches the track preset. Otherwise, a new track will be inserted, 
containing the settings of the track preset.
If you double-click a VST preset, an instrument track is added to the project, 
containing an instance of the corresponding instrument. For some VST presets, this 
will load the entire instrument settings, programs, etc. For others, only one program 
will be loaded, see 
“Applying instrument presets” on page 419.
When you double-click on a pattern bank, a new MIDI track is created in the Project 
window, with an instance of the Beat Designer plug-in as insert effect which is using 
this pattern.
With this setting, only files with a rating of at least 2 are displayed.
When this indicator is shown, a media search is in progress. 
						

							403
The MediaBayPreviewing files
Managing files in the Results list
•You can move/copy a file from the Results list to another location by clicking on it 
and dragging it to another folder in the Define Locations section.
You will be asked whether you want to copy or move the file to the new location.
•You can change the display order in the Results list by clicking on a column 
heading, and dragging that heading to another position in the display.
•To delete a file, right-click it in the list and select Delete from the context menu.
A warning message is displayed, asking you to confirm that you really want to 
move this file to the operating system’s trash folder. The data you delete here will 
be permanently deleted from your computer, therefore be sure to delete only the 
files you do not want to use any more.
Previewing files
When you have sufficiently narrowed down the list of files, you will want to preview 
individual files to find out which one to use in your project. This is done in the 
Previewer section.
Note that some MediaBay-specific Preferences affect the playback of media files, see 
“Preferences” on page 416. 
The elements visible in this section and their functions depend on the type of media 
file.
Previewing audio files
To preview an audio file, click the Play button. What happens next depends on the 
following settings:
•When “Auto Play New Results Selection” is activated, any file you select in the 
Results list is automatically played back.
•When “Align Beats to Project” is activated, the file you selected for preview in the 
Results list is played back in sync with the project, starting at the project cursor 
position. Note that this may apply realtime time stretching to your audio file.
When you import an audio file into your project for which “Align Beats to Project” 
is activated in the Previewer, Musical Mode is automatically activated for the 
corresponding track.
!When a file was deleted in the Explorer/Finder, it will still be displayed in the Results 
list, although it is no longer available to the program. To remedy this, you have to re-
scan the corresponding folder.
!The Previewer section is not available for video files, project files, and audio track 
presets.
Preview 
level Transport 
controlsAuto Play New 
Results SelectionAlign Beats to 
Project
Wait for Project Play 
						

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The MediaBayPreviewing files
•When “Wait for Project Play” is activated, the Play and Stop functions from the 
Transport panel are synchronized with the Play and Stop buttons in the Previewer 
section.
This option is very useful for previewing audio loops. To use it to its full extent, set 
the left locator at the beginning of a bar, then start playing back the project using 
the Transport panel. The loops that you now select in the Results list will start 
together with the project in perfect sync. Play and Stop of the Previewer transport 
can still be used if needed.
Previewing audio track presets
Track presets for audio tracks can only be previewed in the Presets browser (see 
“Loading track or VST presets in the Inspector or the context menu of the track” on 
page 425).
Previewing MIDI files
•To preview a MIDI file (.mid), you first have to select an output device from the 
Output pop-up menu.
“Auto Play New Results Selection” and “Align Beats to Project” work as for audio 
files, see above.
Previewing MIDI loops
•To preview a MIDI loop file, click the Play button.
“Auto Play New Results Selection” works as for audio files, see above. MIDI loops are 
always played back in sync to the project.
Previewing VST presets and track presets for MIDI and instrument tracks
Track presets for MIDI or instrument tracks and VST presets require MIDI notes for 
previewing. These notes can be sent to the track preset in the following way:
-Via MIDI Input
- Using a MIDI file
- Using the Memo Recorder
- Via the computer keyboard
These methods will be described in the following sections.
OutputTransport controls
Computer keyboard 
inputSequence Mode 
pop-up menu Transport 
controlsPreview Level 
fader 
						

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The MediaBayPreviewing files
Previewing presets via MIDI input
MIDI input is always active, i. e. when a MIDI keyboard is connected to your computer 
(and set up properly), you can directly start playing the notes to preview the selected 
preset.
Previewing presets using a MIDI file
Proceed as follows:
1.On the Sequence Mode pop-up menu, select “Load MIDI File”.
2.In the file dialog that opens, navigate to the desired MIDI file, and click Open.
The name of the MIDI file is displayed on the pop-up menu.
3.Click the Play button to the left of the pop-up menu.
The notes received from the MIDI file are now played back with the settings of the 
track preset applied.
ÖThe recently used MIDI files are kept on the menu, for quick access. To remove an 
entry from this list, select it on the menu and then select “Remove MIDI File”.
Previewing presets using the Memo Recorder
The Memo Recorder function continually repeats a given sequence of notes as a loop.
To use the Memo Recorder, proceed as follows:
1.On the Sequence Mode pop-up menu, select Memo Recorder.
2.Enter the notes via the MIDI or computer keyboard.
The Play button is automatically activated and you will instantly hear the notes you 
play with the preset settings applied.
•When you stop playing notes and wait for 2 seconds, the note sequence you 
played until this moment will be played back in a continuous loop. 
To use another sequence, simply start entering notes again.
ÖYou cannot use the Memo Recorder when previewing presets using a MIDI file.
Previewing presets via the computer keyboard
Proceed as follows:
1.Activate the “Computer Keyboard Input” button.
The keyboard display in the Previewer section works in the same way as the Virtual 
Keyboard, see 
“The Virtual Keyboard” on page 108.
2.Enter the notes via the corresponding keys on the computer keyboard.
!When you activate the “Computer Keyboard Input” button, the computer keyboard is 
used exclusively for the Previewer sections, i.
 e. the usual key commands are blocked. 
The only exceptions are: [Ctrl]/[Command]-[S] (Save), Num [*] (Start/Stop Record), 
[Space] (Start/Stop Playback), Num
 [1] (Jump to left locator), [Delete] or [Backspace] 
(Delete), Num [/] (Cycle on/off), and [F2] (Show/Hide Transport panel). 
						

							406
The MediaBayThe Filters section
Previewing pattern banks
Pattern banks containing drum patterns can be created with the MIDI plug-in Beat 
Designer. Detailed information on the Beat Designer and its functions can be found in 
the chapter “MIDI effects” in the separate PDF document “Plug-in Reference”. One 
pattern bank contains 4 subbanks which in turn contain 12 patterns each. In the 
Previewer section for a pattern bank file, a keyboard-style display allows you to select 
a subbank (click on a number at the top) and a pattern (click on a key).
•To preview a pattern, select the pattern bank in the Results list. In the Previewer 
section, choose a subbank and pattern. Then click the Play button.
Note that subbanks can contain empty patterns. Selecting an empty pattern in the 
Previewer section will have no effect. Patterns containing data are indicated by a 
circle in the upper part of the key in the display.
•“Auto Play New Results Selection” works as for audio files, see above.
•When “Link Playback to Chord Track” is activated, and you preview a pattern 
bank, the events of the MIDI loop are transposed to play back in context with the 
chord track. Note that you need a chord track with chord events for this.
When “Link Playback to Chord Track” is activated, and you insert a MIDI loop via 
the MediaBay into the project, “Follow Chord Track” is automatically activated for 
the track.
The Filters section
With the MediaBay, you can perform very refined file searches. You have two 
possibilities: Logical or Attribute Filtering.
Applying a logical filter
Logical filtering is similar to working with the Logical Editor (Cubase only), see the 
chapter 
“The Logical Editor, Transformer, and Input Transformer” on page 580.
If you click the Logical button in the Filters section, you can set up complex conditions 
that must be met for files to be found. Here, you can search for a specific file attribute 
value, for example.
Proceed as follows:
1.In the Locations section, select the Location in which you want to search for files.
2.Activate the Logical search mode by clicking on the Logical button in the Filters 
section.
A condition line appears.
Transport 
controlsPreview 
levelAuto Play New Results 
Selection
Link Playback to 
Chord Track 
						

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The MediaBayThe Filters section
3.Click in the leftmost field, to open the Select Filter Attributes dialog.
The dialog shows an alphabetical list of file attributes you can choose from. At the 
top of the list, the MediaBay maintains an automatically generated list of the last 5 
attributes selected during previous searches.
4.Select the attribute(s) you want to use, and click OK.
•Note that you can select more than one attribute. This creates an OR condition: 
the files found will match either one or the other attribute.
5.Click OK to set the attribute(s) to search for.
6.On the Condition pop-up menu next to the Attribute pop-up menu, select the 
desired option.
The following options are available:
7.Enter the text or number you are looking for in the field to the right.
The Results list is automatically updated, showing only the files that correspond to 
your search conditions.
ÖFor all conditions except “range”, you can enter more than one string in the text field 
(separate the different search strings with a space). These strings form an AND 
condition, i.
 e. the files that are found will match all the strings entered in the field.
•To add another filter line, click the “+” button to the right of the text field.
This way, you can add up to seven filter lines in which you can define further 
search conditions. Note that two or more filter lines form an AND condition, i.
 e. the 
files searched for must match the conditions defined in all filter lines. Click the “-” 
button for a filter line to remove it.
•To reset all search fields to their default settings, click the Reset Filter button in the 
top right corner of the Filters section.
OptionDescription
containsThe search result must contain the text or number specified in the text field to 
the right.
omitsThe search result must not contain the text or number specified in the text 
field to the right.
equalsThe search result must correspond exactly to the text or number specified in 
the text field to the right, including any file extension. Text searches are not 
case-sensitive.
>=The search result must be higher than or equal to the number specified in the 
field to the right.

						

							408
The MediaBayThe Filters section
Advanced text search
You can also perform very advanced text searches using boolean operators. Proceed 
as follows:
1.Select the desired location.
2.Activate Logical filtering by clicking on the Logical button at the top of the Filters 
section.
A condition line appears.
3.Select the desired attribute on the Attributes pop-up menu, or leave the setting on 
“Any Attribute”.
4.Make sure that the condition is set to “matches”.
5.Specify the desired text in the field to the right using boolean operators.
The available options are described in the section “Performing a text search” on 
page 401.
Performing a context menu search
If you have selected a file in the Results list or the Attribute Inspector which contains 
an attribute you are interested, there is a very fast way to look for other files with the 
same attribute.
•Right-click the selected file to open the context menu and select the attribute value 
from the “Search for…” submenu.
This way you can easily find all the files that have this value in common, for example 
if you want to view all files that were created on the same day.
ÖThis is the same as specifying a logical search string, see above. When you select any 
of the “Search for…” options, the Filters section automatically switches to Logical 
filtering and the corresponding filter condition line is displayed. To return to the 
previous settings, click the Go Back button in the Filters section. 
						

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The MediaBayThe Filters section
Applying an attribute filter
The MediaBay allows you not only to view and edit some of the standard file attributes 
found in all computer files, but it also provides preconfigured attributes, or “tags”, that 
you can use to organize your media files, see 
“The Attribute Inspector” on page 410. 
If you click the Attribute button, the Filters section displays all values found for a 
specific attribute. Selecting one of these values will result in a list of files all showing 
this particular attribute value. For example, you could look for sample rates and pick 
44.1
 kHz to give you a list of all files with that particular sample rate.
The advantages of the use of attributes become obvious when having to find a 
specific file in a large database, without knowing the name of that file. 
When you activate Attribute filtering, the Filters section shows attribute columns, each 
with its own list of attribute values. If the columns are wide enough, the number of files 
that match this criteria is displayed to the right of the filter name.
•To define an Attribute filter, click on the values in an attribute column.
Only the files that match the selected attribute values are now shown in the 
Results list. Select more attribute values from other columns to further refine your 
filter.
•Selected attribute values in the same column form an OR condition.
This means that files must be tagged according to either one or the other attribute 
value to be displayed in the Results list.
ÖNote that this is not true for the Character attribute, which always forms an AND 
condition, see below.
!In Cubase Artist, the Attribute search is the only search mode available.
!Some attributes are directly linked to each other (e. g. for each Category value, there 
are certain Sub Category values available). Changing the value in one of these 
attribute column will give you different values in the other column!
!Each attribute column displays only the attribute values found in the currently selected 
location! This means that selecting another location may lead to the display of different 
attributes. 
						

							410
The MediaBayThe Attribute Inspector
•Attribute values in different columns form an AND condition.
This means that files must be tagged according to all these attribute values to be 
shown in the Results list.
Assigning attribute values to your files makes it easy to organize the media files. This is 
described in detail in the section 
“The Attribute Inspector” on page 410. 
ÖYou can also create user attributes (see “Defining user attributes” on page 415) to 
create your own categories.
Further options for attribute searches 
•You can change which attribute type is displayed in each column by clicking on 
the column title and selecting another attribute from the context menu.
•You can select an attribute value, by clicking on it. To deselect it, click the value 
again.
Note that you can select more than one value in each attribute column.
•You can clear all settings in the attribute columns by clicking the Reset Filter 
button at the top right of the Filters section.
Clicking this button also resets the Results list.
The Attribute Inspector
Attributes (or “tags”) for media files are sets of metadata providing additional 
information on the file.
When you have selected one or more files in the Results list, the Attribute Inspector 
shows a two-column list of attributes and their values. This is very handy to get a quick 
overview of a selected file (for example when you are stepping through the files in the 
Results list).
The different types of media files have different attributes: For example, for .wav audio 
files you will find attributes like name, length, size, sample rate, etc., while for .mp3 
files, additional attributes such as artist or genre are available.
In this section, you can also edit the attribute values of files or enter new attribute 
values, see below.
The available attributes are divided into several groups (Media, Audio, Staff, etc.), so 
as to keep the list manageable and make it easy to find the desired element quickly.