Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual

							Sample Editor
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Applying editing, offline processes, and VariAudio
The following offline processes and edits that affect the length of the audio file may 
lead to the reanalysis of the audio material:
• Options on the Select Process menu, on the Process tab of the Sample Editor 
Inspector, or in the Process submenu of the Audio menu that can be applied 
to selections.
• Effect processing using the options on the Select Plug-in menu on the 
Process tab of the Sample Editor Inspector or in the Plug-ins submenu of the 
Audio menu.
• Cut, paste, and delete, or drawing notes.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
Because of the reanalysis any existing VariAudio data becomes invalid. Therefore, 
you should always apply offline processing or edits before using the VariAudio 
features.
If you apply editing that affects the audio itself (like cutting portions, etc.) to a file 
containing VariAudio data, the following warning message is displayed:

						

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• If you activate the “Please don’t display this warning again” option in one of 
these warning dialogs before proceeding, Cubase will always proceed with 
the selected option.
You can reactivate the warning messages by deactivating the “Inhibit warning 
when changing the Sample Data” or “Inhibit warning when applying Offline 
Processes” options in the Preferences dialog (VariAudio page).
RELATED LINKS
Audio processing and functions on page 401
Editing selection ranges on page 446
Drawing in the Sample Editor on page 444
Segments mode
If you activate Segments mode on the VariAudio tab, your audio file is analyzed and 
split into separate segments.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
Due to the data gained during this process, the audio and thus the size of your 
project can increase. Furthermore, the analysis of long audio files might take some 
time.
When you want to change the pitch of audio that includes non-tonal portions, e. g. 
consonants or effect sounds like reverberation, you may have to edit the 
segmentation in order to include the non-tonal portions in the segments. Otherwise, 
pitch modifications will only affect the tonal portions.
Editing the segmentation includes changing the start and end position of a 
segment, cutting or gluing segments, and moving or deleting them. Just select the 
section of the file that you want to change, activate Segments mode, and edit the 
segmentation for the desired section. If you are not satisfied with your changes, you 
can go back to the original segmentation.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
Editing the segmentation always leads to a recalculation of the segment
						

							Sample Editor
VariAudio (Cubase Pro only)
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Changing the note start or end point
If you find that a note starts or ends too early or too late, e. g. when the reverb of a 
note or a consonant is not included in the segment, proceed as follows:
PROCEDURE
1. On the VariAudio tab activate Segments mode.
2. To change the length of a segment, move the mouse pointer over the 
start/end of the segment.
The mouse pointer becomes a double arrow.
3. Click and drag the segment start/end to the left or right.
RESULT 
The segment length changes accordingly. As the average pitch is recalculated, the 
segment may jump upwards or downwards. Snap will not be taken into account.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
If the resulting segment pitch cannot be calculated because of an increase in 
non-tonal data, the segment will be deleted.
NOTE
You can drag the segment start/end only until it reaches the start/end of the next 
segment. Segments cannot overlap each other.
Cutting a segment
If you notice that a segment includes more than one note, proceed as follows:
PROCEDURE
1. On the VariAudio tab activate Segments mode.
2. Move the mouse pointer over the lower border of the segment that you would 
like to cut.
The mouse pointer becomes a scissor.
3. Click at the desired position to cut the segment. 
						

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RESULT 
The segment is cut accordingly taking Snap into account.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
When the resulting segment pitch cannot be calculated because of an increase in 
non-tonal data, the segment will be deleted.
NOTE
There is a minimum size for a segment. Very short segments cannot be cut.
Gluing segments
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
We recommend to correct the segmentation before pitching. If you glue together 
segments after changing the pitch (this includes manual pitch modifications, 
Quantize Pitch, and Straighten Pitch), your modifications are reset and the original 
pitch will be heard.
If you notice that a single note is spread over two segments, proceed as follows:
PROCEDURE
1. On the VariAudio tab activate Segments mode.
2. Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and move the mouse pointer over the segment that 
you want to glue to the next.
The mouse pointer becomes a glue tube.
3. Click to glue the active segment to the next segment.
RESULT 
If several segments are selected, they are all glued together. Snap is not taken into 
account.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
If the resulting segment pitch cannot be calculated because of an increase in 
non-tonal data, the segment will be deleted. 
						

							Sample Editor
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Moving segments horizontally
After cutting a segment it may be necessary to move segments horizontally, for 
example, if you notice that a note is at the wrong position.
PROCEDURE
1. On the VariAudio tab activate Segments mode.
2. Move the mouse pointer over the upper border of the segment.
The mouse pointer becomes a double arrow.
3. Click and drag the whole segment to the left or right.
RESULT 
The segment is moved accordingly. If several segments are selected, they are all 
moved together. Snap is not taken into account.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
If the resulting segment pitch cannot be calculated because of an increase in 
non-tonal data, the segment will be deleted.
NOTE
You can only drag the segment start/end until it reaches the start/end of the next 
segment. Segments cannot overlap each other.
Deleting segments
Sometimes it might be useful to delete segments. This is the case in situations 
where you want the original audio to be played back, e.
 g. for non-tonal portions or 
consonants.
PROCEDURE
• You can delete segments by selecting them in Segments mode and pressing 
[Backspace].
Saving the segmentation
The corrected segmentation is saved with the project, no additional saving is 
required. 
						

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Pitch & Warp tool
If you activate the Pitch & Warp tool on the VariAudio tab, you can change the pitch 
and the timing of your audio.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
Before changing the pitch or timing of your segments, make sure that the segments 
you want to change are correct
You can edit the pitch and timing of audio segments for corrective purposes but 
also creatively. VariAudio allows you to experiment freely with note pitches in order 
to change the melody with or without preserving a natural sound. Furthermore, you 
can change the timing of the audio.
NOTE

						

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There are three different modes that affect the way in which a note will snap to a 
certain pitch that can be accessed using the following modifier keys:
NOTE
The default modifier key can be changed in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tool 
Modifier page).
3. Drag the segment up or down to the desired pitch and release the mouse.
However, be careful: The more the pitch deviates from the original pitch, the less likely 
it is that your audio sounds natural.
RESULT 
If the Solo algorithm preset is not turned on already, a warning appears informing 
you that Cubase has selected it automatically. The segment is pitched accordingly. 
While dragging, the original micro-pitch curve of the segment is shown in orange. 
If several segments are selected, they are all pitched.
You can also use the up/down arrow keys on your computer keyboard to edit the 
note pitches.
Proceed as follows:
• Use the up/down arrow keys to change the pitch in semitone steps.
• Hold down [Shift] while using the up/down arrow keys to change the pitch in 
cent steps.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
If you pitch-shift audio events with the Transpose options, the transposition is 
added to the pitch modifications that you introduced with the Pitch & Warp tool, 
even if this is not reflected in the segmentation display.
RELATED LINKS
Transpose Functions on page 271
Option Description Default modifier
Absolute Pitch Snapping Pitches the segment to the 
next semitone.[Ctrl]/[Command]
Relative Pitch SnappingSnaps the segment in 
relation to its current 
deviation in cents, i. e. if the 
segment has a pitch of C3 
and a deviation of 2 2 %, 
and you move it up by one 
semitone, it will be pitched 
to C#3 while keeping the 
deviation of 22 %.None
No Pitch Snapping Lets you edit the pitch 
freely.[Shift] 
						

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Quantize Pitch
You can also quantize the audio pitch upwards or downwards to iteratively reduce 
the deviation from the nearest semitone position.
PROCEDURE
1. Select the segments that you want to quantize.
2. Move the Quantize Pitch slider to the right.
RESULT 
The selected segments are quantized iteratively.
NOTE
You can set up a key command for Quantize Pitch in the Sample Editor category of 
the Key Commands dialog. When using the key command, the segments are 
directly quantized to the next semitone position.
RELATED LINKS
Key Commands on page 997
Tilting the micro-pitch curve
Sometimes changing the pitch of the whole note segment is not enough. In these 
cases you will have to modify how the pitch changes inside the segment. This is 
indicated by the micro-pitch curve.
Changing the Micro-Pitch Curve
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The micro-pitch curve displays the progression of the pitch for the tonal portion of 
the segment. For non-tonal portions of the audio, micro-pitch curves cannot be 
shown.
PROCEDURE
1. On the VariAudio tab, activate the Pitch & Warp tool.
2. To change the micro-pitch of a segment, move the mouse pointer over the top 
left/right corner of the segment.
The mouse pointer becomes an up/down arrow. 
						

							Sample Editor
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3. Drag upwards/downwards with the mouse to change the micro-pitch curve.
If the pitch falls at the end of the segment…
…activate the Pitch & Warp tool, point at the top right corner and drag upwards.
Changing the Pitch-Curve for Segment Start or End
If you want to change the pitch modulation only for the segment start or end, you 
can set an “anchor point” to specify which part of the segment is affected.
PROCEDURE
1. Move the mouse pointer over the top border of the segment.
The mouse pointer becomes an I-beam symbol.
2. Click at the position where you want to set an anchor.
A vertical line appears at the position where you clicked. A segment can only have 
one anchor.
3. Move the mouse pointer over the top left/right corner of the segment and drag 
upwards or downwards to tilt the micro-pitch curve.
The modulation curve is only changed from the segment border to the anchor.
Move the mouse over the top border and click to set an anchor…
…if you only want to compensate for the descending pitch at the end of the 
segment.
If you press [Alt]/[Option] while dragging up/down, the tilt anchor is used as an axis 
around which the micro-pitch curve can be rotated. 
						

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If you set a tilt anchor…
…and press [Alt]/[Option], the mouse pointer becomes a diagonal arrow…
…to indicate that you can rotate the micro-pitch curve.
4. Repeat the steps above to set anchors and tilt the micro-pitch curve until you 
are satisfied with the result.
If you want to remove a tilt anchor from a segment, hold down [Alt]/[Option], position 
the mouse pointer at the top border of the segment until it turns to a glue tube, and 
click.
The tilt anchor is deleted.
RELATED LINKS
Understanding the waveform display in VariAudio on page 469
Straighten Pitch
If you want to compensate for the rise and fall of notes, i. e. the deviation of the 
micro-pitch curve from the representative pitch, you can use the Straighten Pitch 
slider. This correction comes in handy when a note is played flat (pitch rises) or 
sharp (the pitch falls) at the end.
PROCEDURE
1. Select the segments.
2. Move the Straighten Pitch slider to the right.
This micro-pitch looks a bit off. By moving the Straighten Pitch slider to the right…