Steinberg Nuendo 4 Manual
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81 Recording Recording different types of MIDI messages Notes When you press and release a key on your synth or other MIDI keyboard, a Note On (key down) and a Note Off (key up) message are sent out. The MIDI note message also contains the information which MIDI channel was used. Normally, this information is overridden by the MIDI chan- nel setting for the track, but if you set the track to MIDI channel “Any”, the notes will be played back on their orig- inal channels. Continuous messages Pitch bend, aftertouch and controllers (like modulation wheel, sustain pedal, volume etc.) are considered as MIDI continuous events (as opposed to the momentary key down and key up messages). If you move the Pitch bend wheel on your synthesizer while recording, this movement is re- corded together with the key (Note On and Note Off mes- sages), just as you’d expect. But the continuous messages can also be recorded after the notes have been recorded (or even before). They can also be recorded on their own tracks, separately from the notes to which they belong. Say, for instance, that you record one or several bass parts on track 2. If you now set another track, like track 55, to the same output and MIDI channel as track 2, you can make a separate recording of just pitch bends for the bass parts on track 55. This means that you activate recording as usual and only move the pitch bend wheel during the take. As long as the two tracks are set to the same output and MIDI channel, it will appear to the MIDI instrument as if the two recordings were made at the same time. Program Change messages Normally, when you switch from one program to another on your keyboard (or whatever you use to record), a num- ber corresponding to that program is sent out via MIDI as a Program Change message. These can be recorded on the fly with the music, recorded afterwards on a separate track, or manually entered in the Key or List Editors. System Exclusive messages System Exclusive (SysEx) is a special type of MIDI mes- sage used to send data that only makes sense to a unit of a certain make and type. SysEx can be used to transmit a list of the numbers that make up the settings of one or more sounds in a synth. For more about viewing and edit- ing SysEx messages, see the chapter “Working with Sys- tem Exclusive messages” on page 410. The Reset function The Reset function on the MIDI menu sends out note-off messages and resets controllers on all MIDI channels. This is sometimes necessary if you experience hanging notes, constant vibrato, etc. Nuendo can also automatically perform a MIDI reset on stop. You can turn this function on or off in the Preferences (MIDI page). Also in the Preferences (MIDI page), you can find the option “Insert Reset Events after Record”. This is a very handy function for MIDI recording. At the end of each re- corded part, a Reset event will be inserted, resetting controller data such as Sustain, Aftertouch, Pitchbend, Modulation, Breath Control, etc. This is useful if a MIDI part is recorded and e.g. the Sustain pedal is still held after stopping recording. Usually, this would cause all following parts to be played with Sustain, as the Pedal Off command was not recorded. This can be prevented by activating “Insert Reset Events after Record”. Retrospective Record This feature allows you to capture any MIDI notes you play in Stop mode or during playback and turn them into a MIDI part “after the fact”. This is possible due to the fact that Nuendo can capture MIDI input in buffer memory, even when not recording. Proceed as follows: 1.Enable the Retrospective Record option in the Prefer- ences (Record-MIDI page). This activates the buffering of MIDI input, making Retrospective Record possible. 2.Make sure a MIDI track is record-enabled. 3.When you have played some MIDI material you want to capture (either in Stop mode or during playback), select Retrospective Record from the Transport menu (or use the key command, by default [Shift]-[Pad*]). !You can decide exactly which event types should be recorded by using the MIDI filters – see “Filtering MIDI” on page 82.
82 Recording The content of the MIDI buffer (i.e. what you just played) is turned into a MIDI part on the record enabled track. The part will appear where the project cursor was when you started playing – this means that if you played along dur- ing playback, the captured notes will end up exactly where you played them in relation to the project. The Retrospective Record Buffer Size setting in the Preferences (Record-MIDI page) determines how much data can be captured. MIDI Preferences There are several other options and settings in the Prefer- ences that affect MIDI recording and playback: MIDI page Length Adjustment Adjusts the length of notes so that there is always a short time between the end of one note and the start of another (of the same pitch and on the same MIDI channel). The time is set in ticks. By default there are 120 ticks per 1/16 note, but you can adjust this with the MIDI Display Reso- lution setting on the same page. Record-MIDI page Snap MIDI Parts to Bars When this is activated, recorded MIDI parts will automatically be length- ened to start and end at whole bar positions. If you are working in a Bars+Beats-based context, this can make editing (moving, duplicating, repeating, etc.) easier. Solo Record in MIDI Editors If this is activated and you open a part for editing in a MIDI editor, its track is automatically record-enabled. Furthermore, Record Enable is deacti- vated for all other MIDI tracks until you close the editor again. This makes it easier to record MIDI data when you’re editing a part – you will always be sure the recorded data ends up in the edited part and not on any other track. MIDI Record Catch Range in ms When you record starting at the left locator, this setting helps you make sure the very start of the recording is included. A very annoying scenario is when you have recorded a perfect MIDI take, only to find out that the very first note wasn’t included – because you started playing a little bit too early! If you raise the Record Catch Range, Nuendo will catch the events played just before the recording start point, eliminating this problem. For a description of the other options, click the Help but- ton in the Preferences. Filtering MIDI The MIDI–MIDI Filter page in the Preferences allows you to prevent certain MIDI messages from being recorded and/or “thruput” (echoed by the MIDI Thru function). The dialog is divided into four sections: Section Description Record Activating any of these options prevents that type of MIDI message from being recorded. It will, however, be thru- put, and if already recorded, it will play back normally. Thru Activating any of these options prevents that type of MIDI message from being thruput. It will, however, be re- corded and played back normally. Channels If you activate a channel button, no MIDI messages on that MIDI channel will be recorded or thruput. Already re- corded messages will, however, be played back normally. Controller Allows you to prevent certain MIDI controller types from being recorded or thruput. To filter out a controller type, select it from the list at the top of the Controller section and click “Add”. It will ap- pear on the list below. To remove a controller type from the list (allow it to be re- corded and thruput), select it in the lower list and click “Remove”.
83 Recording Options and Settings Recording-related Transport Preferences A couple of settings in the Preferences (Transport page) are relevant for recording. Set these according to your preferred method of work: Deactivate Punch In on Stop If this is activated, punch in on the Transport panel is auto- matically deactivated whenever you enter Stop mode. 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 postroll value on the Transport panel is set to a value other than zero, playback will continue for the set time before stopping (see below). About Preroll and Postroll The preroll and postroll value fields (below the left/right locator fields) on the Transport panel have the following functionality: By setting a preroll value, you instruct Nuendo to “roll back” a short section whenever playback is activated. This applies whenever you start playback, but is perhaps most relevant when recording from the left locator (punch in activated on the Transport panel) as described below. By setting a postroll value, you instruct Nuendo to play back a short section after automatic punch out before stopping. This is only relevant when punch out is activated on the Transport panel and “Stop after Automatic Punch Out” is activated in the Preferences (Transport page). To turn preroll or postroll on or off, click the correspond- ing button on the Transport panel (next to the pre/postroll value) or use the “Use Preroll” and “Use Postroll” options on the Transport menu.An example: 1.Set the locators to where you want to start and end re- cording. 2.Activate Punch in and Punch out on the Transport panel. 3.Activate the option “Stop after Automatic Punch Out” in the Preferences (Transport page). 4.Set suitable preroll and postroll times by clicking in the corresponding fields on the Transport panel and typing in time values. 5.Activate preroll and postroll by clicking the buttons next to the preroll and postroll times so that they light up. 6.Activate recording. The project cursor “rolls back” by the time specified in the preroll field and playback starts. When the cursor reaches the left locator, recording is automatically activated. When the cursor reaches the right locator, re- cording is deactivated, but playback continues for the time set in the postroll field before stopping. Using the metronome The metronome can output a click that can be used as a timing reference. The two parameters that govern the tim- ing of the metronome are tempo and time signature, and these are edited in the Tempo Track window (see “Editing the tempo curve” on page 417). You can use the metronome for a click during recording and/or playback or for a precount (count-in) that will be heard when you start recording from Stop mode. Click and precount are activated separately: To activate the metronome, click the Click button on the Transport panel. You can also activate the “Metronome On” option on the Transport menu or use the corresponding key command (by default [C]). To activate the precount, click the Precount button on the Transport panel. You can also activate the “Precount On” option on the Transport menu or set up a key command for this. Preroll value field and on/ off switch. Postroll value field and on/off switch. Click on/off Precount on/off
84 Recording Metronome settings You make settings for the metronome in the Metronome Setup dialog, opened from the Transport menu. The metronome can use either an audio click played back via the audio hardware, send MIDI data to a connected device which will play back the click or do both. The following metronome settings can be made in the dia- log: Metronome OptionsDescription Metronome in Record / PlayAllows you to specify whether the metronome should be heard during playback, recording or both (when Click is activated on the Transport panel). Use Count BaseIf this option is activated, a field appears to the right where you specify the “rhythm” of the metronome. Nor- mally, the metronome plays one click per beat, but setting this to e.g. “1/8” gives you eighth notes – two clicks per beat. It’s also possible to create unusual metronome rhythms such as triplets etc. Precount OptionsDescription Precount Bars Sets the number of bars the metronome will count in be- fore it starts recording if precount is activated on the Transport panel. Use Time Signa- ture at Record Start TimeWhen this is activated, the precount will automatically use the time signature and tempo set at the position where you start recording. Use Time Signature at Project TimeWhen this is activated, the precount will be in the time signature set in the Tempo track. Furthermore, any tempo changes in the Tempo track during the precount will be applied. Use Signature… This lets you set a time signature for the precount. In this mode, tempo changes in the Tempo track won’t affect the precount. MIDI Click Description Activate MIDI ClickSelects whether or not the metronome will sound via MIDI. MIDI Port/ ChannelThis is where you select a MIDI output and channel for the metronome click. Hi Note/ VelocitySets the MIDI note number and velocity value for the “high note” (the first beat in a bar). Lo Note/ VelocitySets the MIDI note number and velocity for the “low notes” (the other beats). Audio Click Description Activate Audio ClickSelects whether or not the metronome will sound via the audio hardware. Beeps When this is selected, the audio clicks will be beeps gen- erated by the program. Adjust the pitch and level of the beeps for the “Hi” (first) beat and “Lo” (other) beats using the sliders below. Sounds When this is selected, you can click in the “Sound” fields below to load any audio files for use as the “Hi” and “Lo” metronome sounds. The sliders set the level of the click. Precount OptionsDescription
85 Recording Recovery of audio recordings after system failure Normally, when a computer crashes, all changes made to your current project since you last saved it will be lost. Usu- ally, there is no quick and easy way to recover your work. With Nuendo, when your system crashes while you are re- cording (because of a power cut or other mishap), you will find that your recording is still available, from the moment when you started recording to the time when your com- puter crashed. When you experience a computer crash during a record- ing, simply relaunch the system and check the project record folder (by default this is the Audio subfolder inside the project folder). It should contain the audio file you were recording at the time of the crash. !Please note: This feature does not constitute an “overall” guarantee by Steinberg. While the program itself was improved in such a way that audio record- ings can be recovered after a system failure, it is al- ways possible that a computer crash, power cut, etc. might have damaged another component of the computer, making it impossible to save or recover any of the data. !Warning: Please do not try to actively bring about this kind of situation to test this feature. Although the internal program processes have been improved to cope with such situations, Steinberg cannot guaran- tee that other parts of the computer are not damaged as a consequence.
87 Fades, crossfades and envelopes Creating fades There are two main types of fade-ins and fade-outs in au- dio events in Nuendo: fades created by using the fade handles (see below) and fades created by processing (see “Fades created by processing” on page 89). Fades created by using the fade handles Selected audio events have blue handles in the upper left and right corners. These can be dragged to create a fade- in or fade-out respectively. Creating a fade-in. The fade is automatically reflected in the shape of the event’s waveform, giving you a visual feedback of the result when you drag the fade handle. Fades created with the handles are not applied to the au- dio clip as such but calculated in real time during play- back. This means that several events referring to the same audio clip can have different fade curves. It also means that having a huge number of fades may demand a lot of processor power. If you select multiple events and drag the fade handles on one of them, the same fade will be applied to all se- lected events. A fade can be edited in the Fade dialog, as described on the following pages. You open the dialog by double-clicking in the area above the fade curve, or by selecting the event and selecting “Open Fade Editor(s)” from the Audio menu (note that this will open two dialogs if the event has both fade-in and fade-out curves). If you adjust the shape of the fade curve in the Fade dialog, this shape will be maintained when you later adjust the length of a fade. You can make the fade longer or shorter at any time, by dragging the handle. You can actually do this even without selecting the event first, i.e. without visible handles. Just move the mouse pointer along the fade curve until the cursor turns into a bidirectional arrow, then click and drag. If the option “Show Event Volume Curves Always” is ac- tivated in the Preferences dialog (Event Display–Audio page), the fade curves will be shown in all events, regard- less of whether they are selected or not. If the option is deactivated, the fade curves are shown in selected events only. If the option “Fade Handles always on Top” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Event Display-Audio page), the fade handles stay at the top of the event, and vertical help lines indicate the exact end or start points of fades. This is useful in situations where you want the event volume to be very low, as this option allows you to still see the fade handles. If the option “Thick Fade Lines” is activated in the Pref- erences dialog (Event Display-Audio page), the fade lines and volume curve are thicker, increasing their visibility. Fade handles on top of the event and thicker fade and volume lines al- low you to edit and view fades even in situations where event volume is very low. When the option “Use Mouse Wheel for Event volume and Fades” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Edit- ing–Audio page), you can use the mouse wheel to move the volume curve up or down. When you hold down [Shift] while moving the mouse wheel, this will change the fade curves. This is useful in situations where the fade handles are not visible (e. g. because of a very high zoom factor). When you position the mouse pointer somewhere in the left half of the event, the fade in end point is moved. When the mouse pointer is in the right half of the event, the fade out start point will move. ÖYou can set up key commands for changing the event volume curve and any fade curves, if you don’t want to use the mouse for this. You will find these commands in the Key Commands dialog, in the Audio category. See “Key commands” on page 517. ÖAs an alternative to dragging the fade handles, you can use the items “Fade In to Cursor” and “Fade Out to Cursor” on the Audio menu to create fades. Position the project cursor on an audio event where you want a fade in to end or a fade out to begin, and select the appropriate option from the Audio menu. A fade will then be created, ranging from the event’s start or end to the position of the cursor.
88 Fades, crossfades and envelopes Creating and adjusting fades with the Range Selection tool “Handle-type” fades can also be created and adjusted with the Range Selection tool, in the following way: 1.Select a section of the audio event with the Range Se- lection tool. The result depends on your selection, in the following way: If you select a range from the beginning of the event, a fade-in will be created within the range. If you select a range that reaches the end of an event, a fade- out will be created in the range. If you select a range encompassing a middle section of the event, but not reaching neither the start nor the end, both a fade-in and a fade-out will be created outside of the selected range. In other words, the fade-in will cover the area from the beginning of the event to the beginning of the selected range, and the fade-out will cover the area from the end of the se- lected range to the end of the event. 2.Pull down the Audio menu and select “Adjust Fades to Range”. The fade areas are adjusted according to the selection range. Applying Default Fades You can also create fades by using the commands “Apply Standard Fade In” and “Apply Standard Fade Out” from the Audio menu. 1.Select one or more audio events in the project window. 2.From the Audio menu, choose either “Apply Standard Fade In” or “Apply Standard Fade Out”. A fade will be created that is the same length and shape as the Default fade (see “As Default button” on page 90 for more information on how to define Default fades). About the volume handle A selected audio event also has a blue handle in the top middle. This is the volume handle, and it provides a quick way of changing the volume of an event, directly in the Project window. It is linked directly with the volume setting on the info line, that is, dragging the volume handle also changes the value on the info line. Removing fades To remove the fades for an event, select the event and se- lect “Remove Fades” from the Audio menu. You can also use the Range Selection tool to remove fades and crossfades within the selected range: 1.Drag the Range Selection tool in the Project window, so that the selection encloses all of the fades and cross- fades you wish to remove. 2.Select “Remove Fades” from the Audio menu. !You can select multiple audio events on separate tracks with the Range Selection tool, and apply the fade to all of them simultaneously. Drag the Volume handle up or down to change the volume of the event. The volume change is displayed numerically in the info line. The event waveform reflects the volume change.
89 Fades, crossfades and envelopes Fades created by processing If you have selected an audio event or a section of an au- dio event (using the Range Selection tool), you can apply a fade-in or fade-out to the selection by using the “Fade In” or “Fade Out” functions on the Process submenu on the Audio menu. These functions open the corresponding Fade dialog, allowing you to specify a fade curve. Fades created this way are applied to the audio clip rather than to the event. Please note the following: If you later create new events that refer to the same clip, these will have the same fades. You can remove or modify the fades at any time using the Of- fline Process History (see “The Offline Process History dialog” on page 251). If other events refer to the same audio clip, you will be asked whether you want the processing to be applied to these events or not. Continue will apply the processing to all events that refer to the audio clip. New Version will create a separate, new version of the audio clip for the selected event. You can also activate “Do not show this message again”. Re- gardless of whether you then choose “Continue” or “New Ver- sion”, any further processing will conform to the option you select. The Fade dialogs The Fade dialogs appear when you edit an existing fade or use the “Fade In”/”Fade Out” functions on the Process submenu on the Audio menu. The picture below shows the Fade In dialog; the Fade Out dialog has identical set- tings and features. If you open the Fade dialog(s) with several events se- lected, you can adjust the fade curves for all these events at the same time. This is useful if you want to apply the same type of fade-in to more than one event, etc. Curve Kind These determine whether the fade curve should consist of spline curve segments (left button), damped spline seg- ments (middle button) or linear segments (right button). Fade display Shows the shape of the fade curve. The resulting wave- form shape is shown in dark gray, with the current wave- form shape in light gray. You can click on the curve to add points, and click and drag existing points to change the shape. To remove a point from the curve, drag it outside the display. Curve shape buttons These buttons give you quick access to some common curve shapes. !Note that the length of the fade area is determined by your selection. In other words, you specify the length of the fade before you enter the Fade dialog. !Also note that you can select multiple events and ap- ply the same processing to all of them simultaneously. !You can change this setting at any time in the Prefer- ences dialog (Editing–Audio page), under “On Pro- cessing Shared Clips”.
90 Fades, crossfades and envelopes Restore button The Restore button (to the right above the fade display) is only available when editing fades made by dragging the fade handles. Click this to cancel any changes you have made since opening the dialog. Fade Length Value The Fade Length Value can be used to enter fade lengths numerically. The format of values displayed here are deter- mined by the Primary Time Display in the Transport Panel. When you activate the “Apply Length” option, the value entered in the Fade Length value field will be used when clicking “Apply” or “OK”. This setting is deactivated by de- fault. Presets If you have set up a fade-in or fade-out curve that you may want to apply to other events or clips, you can store it as a preset by clicking the Store button. To apply a stored preset, select it from the pop-up menu. To rename the selected preset, double-click on the name and type a new one. To remove a stored preset, select it from the pop-up menu and click Remove. As Default button The “As Default…” button is only available when editing fades made by dragging the fade handles. Click this to store the current settings as default fade. This shape will be used whenever you create new fades by dragging event handles. Both the shape and length will be used when you create fades using the “Apply Standard Fade…” commands from the Audio menu. Preview, Apply and Process The buttons in the bottom row are different depending on whether you are editing a fade made with the fade handles or applying a fade using processing: The Edit Fade dialogs have the following buttons: The Process Fade dialogs have the following buttons: !When you set the current Fade as the Default fade, the length value is included as part of the default set- tings. !Stored fade-in presets will only appear in the Fade In dialog, and fade-out presets will only appear in the Fade Out dialog. Button Function OK Applies the set fade curve to the event, and closes the dialog. Cancel Closes the dialog. Apply Applies the set fade curve to the event, without closing the dialog. Button Function Preview Plays back the fade area. Playback will repeat until you click the button again (the button is labeled “Stop” during playback). Process Applies the set fade curve to the clip, and closes the dialog. Cancel Closes the dialog without applying any fade. The Edit Fade dialog. The Process Fade dialog.