Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual

							Preferences
Transport
1081
Stop after Automatic Punch Out
If this is activated, playback will automatically stop after automatic Punch Out 
(when the Project Cursor reaches the Right Locator and Punch Out is 
activated on the Transport panel). If the Post-roll value on the Transport panel 
is set to a value other than zero, playback will continue for the set time before 
stopping.
Stop playback while winding
You can use the winding functions during playback. When this option is 
activated, audio playback is stopped as soon as you click the Rewind or Fast 
Forward buttons on the Transport panel.
When this option is deactivated, audio playback will continue until you release 
the Rewind or Fast Forward button.
Wind Speed Options
These options affect the fast forward/rewind speed.
•If Adjust to Zoom is activated, the wind speed will be adapted to the 
horizontal zoom factor.
If you zoom in very close for detailed editing, you probably do not want 
to have a high fast forward/rewind speed. Because of this, the Speed 
Factor does not have any effect in this mode. The Fast Wind Factor still 
applies though.
•If Fixed is activated, the wind speed will always be the same regardless 
of the horizontal zoom factor.
• Use the Speed Factor option to set the wind speed. You can set a 
value between 2 and 50. The higher the value, the faster the wind speed 
will be.
If Adjust to Zoom is activated, this has no effect.
• Use the Fast Wind Factor to set the wind speed multiple for fast 
winding.
If you press [Shift] while fast forwarding or rewinding, the wind speed 
will increase. The increase in speed is a multiple of the Speed Factor. 
Meaning that if you set the Fast Wind Factor to 2, the wind speed will 
be twice as fast. If you set it to 4, the wind speed will be four times as 
fast, etc. You can set a value between 2 and 50.
Show Timecode Subframes
If this is activated, all frame based display formats (“.fps” and “.dfps”) will also 
show subframes. There are 80 subframes per frame.
User-definable Frame Rate
This is where you set the frame rate (the number of frames per second) for the 
Display format “User”. This frame rate will then be used in every ruler for which 
you select the User display format.
Stationary Cursors
If this option is activated, the Project cursor will be positioned in the middle of 
the screen (if possible), and the window will scroll continuously during 
playback (instead of moving from one “page” to the next). 
						

							Preferences
VST
1082
Locate When Clicked in Empty Space
When this is activated, you can move the Project Cursor by clicking anywhere 
in an “empty” area of the Project window.
Transport - Scrub
Scrub Volume
This lets you set the playback volume for the Scrub function in the Project 
window and audio editors.
Use High Quality Scrub Mode
When you activate this option, effects are enabled for scrubbing and the 
resampling quality is higher. However, scrubbing will be more demanding on 
the processor.
Use Inserts While Scrubbing
When you activate this option, you can activate insert effects for scrubbing 
with the shuttle speed control. By default, insert effects are bypassed.
VST
This page contains settings for the VST audio engine.
Connect Sends automatically for each newly created Channel
When this option is enabled, creating a new audio or group channel will 
automatically connect the send routing for existing FX channels. Note that this 
option is disabled by default to save memory resources.
Instruments use Automation Read All and Write All
If you deactivate this option, the Read and Write automation status in VST 
instrument panels are not affected by the “Activate/Deactivate Read for All 
Tracks” and “Activate/Deactivate Write for All Tracks” automation switches.
Mute Pre-Send when Mute
If this is activated, sends set to “Pre-fader” mode will be muted if you mute 
their channels.
Default Send Level
This allows you to specify a default level for your send effects.
Group Channels: Mute Sources as well
By default, when you mute a group channel no audio will pass through the 
group. However, other channels that are routed directly to that group channel 
will remain unmuted. If any of those channels have cue sends routed to other 
group channels, FX channels or output busses, those will still be heard. 
						

							Preferences
VST
1083
If Group Channels: Mute Sources as well is activated, muting a group 
channel will cause all other channels directly routed to it to be muted as well. 
Pressing mute again will unmute the group channel and all other channels 
directly routed to it. Channels that were muted prior to the group channel 
being muted will not remember their mute status and will be unmuted when 
the group channel is unmuted.
NOTE
Group Channels: Mute Sources as well does not affect how mute 
automation is written. Writing mute automation on a group channel only 
affects the group channel and not channels routed to it. When writing the 
automation you will see the other channels being muted when this option is 
checked. However, upon playback, only the group channel will respond to the 
automation.
Delay Compensation Threshold (for Recording)
Cubase features full delay compensation - any delay inherent in the VST 
plug-ins you use will automatically be compensated for during playback. 
However, when you play a VST instrument in realtime or record live audio 
(with monitoring through Cubase activated), this delay compensation may 
result in added latency. To avoid this, you can click the Constrain Delay 
Compensation button on the Project window toolbar. This function tries to 
minimize the latency effects of the delay compensation, while maintaining the 
sound of the mix as far as possible.
The Delay Compensation Threshold setting is a kind of “tolerance” setting for 
the Constrain Delay Compensation function - only plug-ins with a delay higher 
than this threshold setting will be affected by the Constrain Delay 
Compensation function. By default, this is set to 0.0
 ms, which means that all 
plug-ins will be affected (e.
 g. turned off) when you activate Constrain Delay 
Compensation. If you feel that a little latency is acceptable, you can raise this 
threshold value.
Default Stereo Panner Mode (Cubase Pro only)
This allows you to specify the default pan mode for inserted audio tracks 
(Stereo Balance Panner, Stereo Dual Panner or Stereo Combined Panner).
Activate ‘Link Panners’ for New Tracks (Cubase Pro only)
Activate this to activate Link Panners by default for new tracks so that the 
channel sends section always mirrors the Pan settings made in the channel 
fader section.
Auto Monitoring
Determines how Cubase handles monitoring (listening to the input signal 
during recording). The following options are available:
•Manual
This option allows you to turn input monitoring on or off by clicking the 
monitor button in the track list, Inspector, or MixConsole.
•While Record Enabled
With this option you will hear the audio source connected to the 
channel input whenever the track is record enabled. 
						

							Preferences
VST
1084
•While Record Running
This option switches to input monitoring only during recording.
•Tapemachine Style
This option emulates standard tapemachine behavior: input monitoring 
in Stop mode and during recording, but not during playback.
NOTE
The automatic monitoring options apply when you are monitoring through 
Cubase, or when you are using ASIO Direct Monitoring. If you are monitoring 
externally (listening to the input signal from an external mixer, for example), 
select the “Manual” mode and keep all audio monitor buttons turned off in 
Cubase.
Warn on Processing Overloads
When you activate this option, a warning message is displayed as soon as the 
CPU overload indicator (on the Transport panel) lights up during recording.
VST - Plug-ins
Warn Before Removing Modified Effects
If this is activated, a dialog will appear whenever you remove an effect plug-in 
for which you have made parameter changes, asking for confirmation as to 
whether you really want to remove the effect.
If you do not want this dialog to appear and modified effects to be removed 
without confirmation, leave this option deactivated.
Open Effect Editor after Loading it
When this is activated, loading an effect or VST instrument (e. g. in one of the 
plug-in slots of the Send or Insert sections) will automatically open the control 
panel for the plug-in.
Create MIDI track when loading VSTi
This pop-up menu allows you to what specify happens when you add a VSTi 
in the VST Instruments window. The following options are available:
•Always
When this is selected, a corresponding MIDI track will always be 
created when you add a VST instrument.
•Do not
When this is selected, no MIDI track will be created when you add a 
VSTi in the VST Instruments window. This is the behavior from earlier 
versions of Cubase.
•Always ask to
When this is selected, you will be asked whether a corresponding MIDI 
track is created when you add a VSTi in the VST Instruments window. 
						

							Preferences
VST
1085
Suspend VST3 plug-in processing when no audio signals are received
When this is activated, VST plug-ins will not consume any CPU power during 
“silent” passages, i.
 e. when no audio is passing through them. This can 
improve system performance noticeably.
NOTE
Note however that this might lead to situations where you loaded more 
plug-ins in Stop mode than the system will be able to play back 
simultaneously. As a safety measure, try playing back the part of your project 
which contains the largest number of audio events to make sure that your 
computer system can handle the current number of VST plug-ins.
Synchronize Plug-in Program Selection to Track Selection
If you route multiple MIDI tracks to multi-timbral instruments and activate this 
option, track selection and plug-in program selection are synchronized.
Plug-in Editors “Always on Top”
When this is activated, the control panels for effect plug-ins and VST 
instruments will always be shown on top of other windows.
VST - Control Room (Cubase Pro only)
This page contains settings for the Control Room.
Show Control Room Volume in Transport Panel
When this is activated, the Transport panel will display the Control Room 
Volume if the Control Room is enabled. If the Control Room is disabled, the 
volume of the Main Mix bus will be shown in the Transport panel.
Auto Disable Talkback Mode
Allows you to specify, if Talkback is disabled during recording, during 
playback and recording, or not at all.
NOTE
Set the Talkback DIM level to 0 dB so as not to radically change the mix level 
when punching in and out of record mode.
Use Phones Channel as Preview Channel
When this is activated, the Phones channel will be used for monitoring. When 
this is deactivated, the Monitor channel in the Control Room will be used.
Dim Cue during Talkback
When this option is activated, the cue mix heard in a studio will be dimmed 
(by the amount set in the Talkback Dim Level field in the Control Room) for as 
long as the Talkback channel is used. When this option is deactivated, the cue 
mix level remains the same during Talkback. 
						

							Preferences
VariAudio (Cubase Pro only)
1086
Exclusive Device Ports for Monitor Channels
When activated, the port assignment for Monitor channels is exclusive. If your 
scenario does not require you to assign ports to several Monitor channels, it 
is recommended to activate this option. This way you can make sure that you 
do not accidentally assign ports to inputs/outputs and Monitor channels at the 
same time.
NOTE
This setting is saved with the Control Room presets.
Reference Level
The reference level is the level that is used in calibrated mixing environments, 
such as film dubbing stages. Use this option to specify the reference level that 
can be assigned to the Control Room level.
NOTE
You can also manually adjust the reference level in the Control Room settings.
Main Dim Volume
Use this to set the amount of gain reduction applied to the Control Room 
channel when the DIM button is activated.
VariAudio (Cubase Pro only)
Inhibit warning when changing the Sample Data
When you are modifying audio material that is used in several places in the 
project in the Sample Editor, a warning message is shown. This message can 
be deactivated: If you activate the Please, don’t ask again checkbox, the 
message will not be displayed in the future (when editing the pitch or time of 
audio material that is used several times in one project).
To display this message again, and thus be informed whether the audio is 
used in other places, deactivate this option.
Inhibit warning when applying Offline Processes
When you are applying offline processes (e. g. with the Envelope or Normalize 
functions) to audio material that is used in several places in the project, a 
warning message is shown. This message can be deactivated: If you activate 
the Please, don’t ask again checkbox, the message will not be displayed in 
the future.
To display this message again, and thus be informed whether the audio is 
used in other places, deactivate this option. 
						

							Preferences
Video
1087
Video
Extract Audio on Import Video File
If this option is activated and you import a video file, the audio data of the video 
is automatically extracted and saved as a separate audio clip.
Thumbnail Memory Cache Size
The value entered here determines how much memory is available for 
displaying thumbnails. The currently shown image of a video is buffered in the 
thumbnail memory cache. Whenever you move to another image and there is 
no memory capacity left, the “oldest” picture in the cache is replaced by the 
current one. If you have long video clips and/or work with a large zoom factor, 
you may have to raise this value. 
						

							1088
Part II - Score Layout and 
Printing (Cubase Pro only) 
						

							1089
How the Score Editor works
About this chapter
In this chapter you will learn:
• How the Score Editor and MIDI data relate.
• What Display Quantize is and how it works.
Welcome!
Welcome to scoring in Cubase! The Score Editor has been created to allow you to 
get any possible piece of music displayed as a score, complete with all the 
necessary symbols and formatting. It allows you to extract parts out of a full 
orchestra score, to add lyrics and comments, create lead sheets, score for drums, 
create tablature, etc. In other words: just about any type of notation you could ever 
desire!
There are a few basic principles to how the Score Editor works, which you have to 
understand to make full use of it.
How the Score Editor operates
The Score Editor does the following:
• Reads the MIDI notes in the MIDI parts.
• Looks at the settings you have made.
• Decides how the MIDI notes are displayed according to the settings.
The Score Editor takes MIDI data and settings as input and produces a score as 
output.
The Score Editor does all this in realtime. If you change some of the MIDI data (for 
example by moving or shortening a note) this is immediately reflected in the score. 
If you change some of the settings (for example the time signature or key signature) 
this is also immediately apparent. 
						

							How the Score Editor works
MIDI notes vs. score notes
1090
Do not think of the Score Editor as a drawing program, but rather as an “interpreter” 
of MIDI data.
MIDI notes vs. score notes
MIDI tracks in Cubase hold MIDI notes and other MIDI data. As you may know, a 
MIDI note in Cubase is only defined by its position, length, pitch and velocity. This 
is not nearly enough information to decide how the note is to be displayed in a 
score. The program needs to know more: What type of instrument are we talking 
about, Drums? Piano? What key is the piece in? What is the basic rhythm? How 
should the notes be grouped under beams? You provide this information by making 
settings and working with the tools available in the Score Editor.
An example of the MIDI/score relationship
When Cubase stores a MIDI note’s position, it makes the measurement in an 
absolute value, called ticks. There are 480 ticks to a quarter note. Have a look at the 
example below:
A quarter note at the end of a 4/4 measure
The note is on the fourth beat of the measure. Now, let’s say you change the time 
signature to 3/4. This shortens the length of a “measure” to only three quarter notes 
– 1440 ticks. Suddenly our quarter note is in the next measure:
The same note in 3/4
Why? Since you are not changing the MIDI data in the track/part (that would ruin 
your recording!) by changing the time signature, the note is still at the same absolute 
position. It is just that now each “measure” is shorter, which effectively moves the 
note in the score.
What we are trying to get across here is that the Score Editor is an “interpreter” of 
the MIDI data. It follows rules that you set up by making settings in dialogs, on 
menus, etc. And this interpretation is “dynamic”, or in other words, it is constantly 
updated whenever the data (the MIDI notes) or the rules (the score settings) 
change.
Display Quantize
Let’s say you used the Project window to record a figure with some staccato eighth 
notes. When you open the Score Editor, these notes are displayed like this: