Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual

							Audio Effects
Insert Effects
381
Adding Insert Effects to Group Channels
You can add insert effects to group channels. This is useful if you have several audio 
tracks that you want to process through the same effect (e.
 g. different vocal tracks 
that you want to be processed by the same compressor).
PROCEDURE
1. Create a group channel track and route it to the desired output bus.
2. Add the desired effect to the group channel as an insert effect.
3. Route the audio track to the group channel.
RESULT 
The signal from the audio track is sent directly to the group, where it passes through 
the insert effect.
NOTE
You can also process mono audio tracks through stereo insert effects.
Freezing Insert Effects for a Track
Freezing insert effects for a track allows you to reduce processor power.
• To freeze a track, click its Freeze button in the Inspector.
• The Freeze Channel Options dialog opens, allowing you to set a “Tail Size” 
time in seconds.
This adds time at the end of the rendered file to allow reverb and delay tails to 
fully fade out.
• The program now renders the output of the track, including all pre-fader insert 
effects, to an audio file.
This file is placed in the “Freeze” folder within the Project folder.
• The frozen audio track is locked for editing in the Project window.
The frozen insert effects cannot be edited or removed and you cannot add 
new insert effects for the track (except post-fader effects).
• On playback, the rendered audio file is played back. You can still adjust the 
level and panning in the MixConsole, make EQ settings and adjust the effect 
sends.
In the MixConsole, the channel for a frozen track is indicated by a “snow flake” 
symbol above the channel name. 
						

							Audio Effects
Send Effects
382
After freezing the Inserts for a track, you hear the track play back as before but the 
insert effects do not have to be calculated in real time, easing the load on the 
computer processor. Typically, you would freeze a track when it is finished and you 
do not need to edit it anymore.
NOTE
You can only freeze audio tracks this way, not group channel tracks or FX channel 
tracks.
NOTE
Post-fader inserts can not be frozen.
• To unfreeze a frozen track, click its Freeze button again.
Send Effects
Send effects are outside of an audio channel’s signal path, i. e. the audio data to be 
processed must be sent to the effect.
To this end, Cubase provides FX channel tracks. When you have created such a 
track, it is added to the track list and can be selected as a routing target in the Send 
slots of audio channels.
• When selecting an FX channel track in one of the send slots of an audio 
channel, the audio is sent to the FX channel and through any insert effects set 
up for it. 
The sends can be routed to different FX channels, and thus different FX 
channel insert effect configurations. You control the amount of signal sent to 
the FX channel by adjusting the effect send level.
• If you have added several effects to the FX channel, the signal passes through 
the effects in series, from the top (the first slot) downward.
This allows for “custom” send effect configurations – e. g. a chorus followed 
by a reverb followed by an EQ and so on.
• The FX channel track has its own channel in the MixConsole.
Here you can adjust the effect return level and balance, add EQ and route the 
effect return to any output bus.
• Each FX channel track can have any number of automation tracks, for 
automating various effect parameters.
RELATED LINKS
Automation on page 576 
						

							Audio Effects
Send Effects
383
Adding an FX Channel Track
PROCEDURE
1. Select Project > Add Track > FX Channel.
A dialog opens.
2. Select a channel configuration for the FX channel track.
Normally, stereo is a good choice since most effect plug-ins have stereo outputs.
3. Select an effect for the FX channel track.
4. Click Add Track.
An FX channel track is added to the track list, and the selected effect, if any, is loaded 
into the first insert effect slot for the FX channel (in that case, the lit Inserts tab for the 
FX channel track in the Inspector indicates that an effect has been assigned and 
automatically activated).
RESULT 
All FX channel tracks you create will appear in a dedicated “folder” track in the track 
list. This makes it easy to manage and keep track of all your FX channel tracks, and 
also allows you to save screen space by folding in the FX Channel folder.
FX channel tracks are automatically named “FX 1”, “FX 2” etc., but you can rename 
them if you wish. Just double-click the name of an FX channel track in either the 
track list or the Inspector and type in a new name. 
						

							Audio Effects
Send Effects
384
Adding and Setting Up Effects
You can add a single insert effect when you create the FX channel track. To add 
and set up effects after the FX channel track is created, you can either use the 
Channel Settings window or the Inspector for the track.
PROCEDURE
1. In the track list, the MixConsole, or the Inspector, click the Edit button for the 
FX channel track to open the Channel Settings window.
On the left in the window you can find the Inserts section.
2. On the toolbar, open the Output pop-up menu and make sure that the FX 
channel is routed to the correct output bus.
3. To add an insert effect in an empty slot (or to replace the current effect in a 
slot), click the slot and select an effect from the selector.
4. In the control panel of the effect, set the wet/dry Mix control to all wet.
This is because you control the balance between the wet and the dry signal with the 
effect sends.
RESULT 
The handling and operation of insert plug-ins for FX channels is the same as for 
audio channels. You can adjust level, pan and EQ for the send in the Channel 
Settings window, the MixConsole or in the Inspector.
RELATED LINKS
Routing Through Insert Effects on page 375 
						

							Audio Effects
Send Effects
385
Routing an Audio Channel to the FX Channel
The next step is to set up a send for an audio channel and route it to the FX channel.
This can be done in the MixConsole, in the Channel Settings window, or in the 
Inspector for the audio track. The example below shows the Channel Settings 
window, but the procedure is similar for all the sections:
PROCEDURE
1. Click the “e” button for an audio channel to bring up its Channel Settings 
window.
Each of the sends has the following controls:
• An On/Off button for activating/deactivating the effect
• A send level slider
2. Click the arrow icon in an empty send slot to open the selector, and select an 
FX channel track as routing destination.
• If the first item on this menu (“No Bus”) is selected, the send is not routed 
anywhere.
• Items called “FX 1”, “FX 2” etc. correspond to existing FX tracks. If you 
renamed an FX track, that name will appear on this menu instead of the default.
• The menu also allows for routing a send directly to output busses, separate 
output bus channels or Group channels.
• Cubase Pro only: You can apply or remove a send to or from all the selected 
channels at once by holding down [Shift]-[Alt]/[Option] and selecting the 
desired effect from any of the effect slots.
3. Activate the On/Off button for the send. 
						

							Audio Effects
Send Effects
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4. Click and drag the send level slider to determine how much of the signal from 
the audio channel is routed to the FX channel.
Setting the Send level
You can also double-click and enter a value numerically. If you hold down 
[Alt]/[Option] when double-clicking, the send destination is shown in the Channel 
Settings window. If you have routed the send to an FX channel, the plug-in panel 
opens.
NOTE
To determine how much of the signal from the FX channel is sent to the output bus, 
open the Channel Settings window for the FX track and adjust the effect return level.
RELATED LINKS
Adding an FX Channel Track on page 383
Pre/Post Fader Sends
Normally you want the effect send to be proportional to the channel volume 
(post-fader send). However, you can send the signal to the FX channel before the 
audio channel’s volume fader.
• If you want the signal to be sent to the FX channel before the audio channel’s 
volume fader in the MixConsole, right-click on a send and select “Move to 
Pre-Fader”.
The picture below shows where the sends are “tapped” from the signal in pre and 
post-fader mode: 
						

							Audio Effects
Send Effects
387
NOTE
Use the channel’s Mute button to determine whether a send in pre-fader mode is 
affected. This is done with the “Mute Pre-Send when Mute” option in the 
Preferences dialog (VST page).
NOTE
Cubase Pro only: The FX channels themselves have sends, too.
Setting Pan for the Sends (Cubase Pro only)
There are several possibilities to set up pan for the sends:
• To position the send signal at center pan in the stereo FX channel (or 
anywhere you like), route a send from a mono channel to a stereo FX channel 
track.
• To use the pan control as a crossfader, determining the balance between the 
stereo sides when the stereo send signal is mixed to mono, route a send from 
a stereo channel to a mono FX channel track.
• To use the surround panner to position the send signal in the surround image, 
route a send from a mono or stereo channel to an FX channel track in surround 
format.
PROCEDURE
1. Open the Channel Settings window for the audio channel.
In the Sends section of the Channel Settings window, on the Panning tab, each send 
is shown with a pan fader. On the Functions menu, you can activate the “Link 
Panners” option. The send panners will then follow the pan for the channel, making 
the stereo imaging as clear and true as possible. This behavior can also be set as 
default for all channels. The corresponding setting is available in the Preferences 
dialog (VST page). 
						

							Audio Effects
Side-Chain Input
388
2. Click and drag the pan control for the desired send(s) in the display.
You can reset the pan control to the center position by [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking on 
the pan control.
If the FX channel is configured in a surround format, the pan control will be a miniature 
surround panner.
You can click and drag the “ball” in the miniature panner display to position the send 
in the surround field, or double-click in the display to bring up the surround panner.
NOTE
If both the send (the audio channel) and the FX channel are in mono, the pan control 
is not available.
RELATED LINKS
Surround Sound (Cubase Pro only) on page 558
Side-Chain Input
Many VST 3.0 effects feature a side-chain input. Side-chaining allows you, for 
example, to lower the music volume when someone is speaking (“ducking”) or to 
use compression (e.
 g. on a bass sound) when the drums are hit, thereby 
“harmonizing” the intensity of the two instruments. Another possibility is to use the 
side-chain signal as a source for modulation.
Effects from the following categories feature side-chain: Delay, Dynamics, 
Modulation, and Filter.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
For detailed descriptions of the plug-ins that feature side-chaining, see the separate 
PDF document 
						

							Audio Effects
Side-Chain Input
389
About drag & drop
When you drag effects from one insert slot to another (on the same channel or 
between different channels), the following applies:
• When you move an effect within a channel (e. g. from slot 4 to slot 6), the 
side-chain connections will be kept.
• When you drag and drop an effect between two channels, the side-chain 
connections will not be kept.
• When copying an effect into another effect slot (for the same or a different 
channel), the side-chain connections will not be copied, i.
 e. they will be lost.
Creating a Ducking Delay
You can silence the delay repeats by side-chain signals exceeding a certain 
threshold. You can use this feature to create a so-called “ducking delay” for your 
vocals. Let’s say you want to add a delay effect that is audible only when no signal 
is present on the vocal track. For this, you need to set up a delay effect which is 
deactivated every time the vocals start again.
PROCEDURE
1. Select the vocal track.
2. On the Project menu, select “Duplicate Tracks”.
Now you can use the vocal events on the second track to silence the delay effect.
3. Open the Inserts tab for the first vocal track in the Inspector and select 
“PingPongDelay” from the effects selector.
The control panel for the effect opens.
4. On the control panel for the effect, make the desired effect settings and 
activate the Side-Chain button.
Try out the effect settings to find out which settings will work best with your project. 
For detailed descriptions of the parameters, see the separate PDF document “Plug-in 
Reference”.
5. In the track list, select the second vocal track. 
						

							Audio Effects
Side-Chain Input
390
6. On the Output Routing selector, locate the Side-Chain node and select the 
PingPongDelay effect that you set up for the vocal track.
This way, the signals from the second (duplicate) track are routed to the effect (and 
do not end up in the mix).
RESULT 
Now every time the signals on the vocal track exceed the threshold, the delay will 
be deactivated. Since the threshold for the delay effect is fixed, you may have to 
adjust the volume of track 2, in this example, to ensure that vocal parts of low or 
middle volume will also silence the delay effect.
Triggering a Compressor Using Side-Chain Signals
Compression, expansion or gating can be triggered by side-chain signals 
exceeding a specified threshold. This allows you to lower the volume of one 
instrument every time another instrument is played. In this example, you lower the 
volume of the bass guitar during the bass drum hits.
PROCEDURE
1. Select the bass guitar track.
2. In the Inspector, open the Inserts section, and select the Compressor effect 
found in the Dynamics category.
The effect is loaded into the effect slot and the effect control panel opens.
3. Activate the Side-Chain button.
4. Select the bass drum track.
5. In the Inspector, open the Sends section, open the effects selector, and from 
the Side-chains mode, select the Compressor effect you created for the bass 
guitar track.
6. Adjust the Send level.
This way, the bass drum signal triggers the compressor on the bass guitar track.
RESULT 
When you now play back the project, the bass guitar will be compressed whenever 
the signals on the bass drum track exceed the threshold.