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Steinberg Nuendo 4 Operation Manual

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    When you select the Category search mode, the Filter 
    section will show the tag columns, each with its own list of 
    tag values. 
    The default setup of Category search mode
    By clicking on individual tag values in the tag columns, you 
    define the search filter: only the files that match the se-
    lected tag values will be displayed in the Viewer. Select 
    more tag values from other columns to further refine your 
    search.Selected tag values in the same tag column form an OR 
    condition.
    This means that files must be tagged according to either one or the other 
    value to be displayed in the Viewer section.
    For the “Style” tag, the files found will show either the “Blues” OR the 
    “Jazz” tag value.
    Tag values in different columns form an AND condition.
    This means that files must be tagged according to all these values to be 
    displayed in the Viewer section.
    The files found will belong to the “E. Guitar” sub category tag AND 
    show “Blues” for the Style tag.
    Categorization by tagging makes it easy to organize your 
    media files. How to assign tag values to your files is de-
    scribed in the section “The Tag Editor” on page 323 and 
    in the section “Tagging media files” on page 325. 
    ÖNote that you can use existing tags or use the user tag 
    feature (see “Defining user tags” on page 324) to create 
    your own categories.
    Category searches are used not only in the MediaBay, but 
    throughout Nuendo in various SoundFrame-related con-
    texts (see the chapter “SoundFrame” on page 311).
    !By default, the first two tag columns are set to “Cate-
    gory” and “Sub Category”. These tags are directly 
    linked to each other: for each Category value, there is 
    a number of Sub Category values. Changing to a dif-
    ferent Category value in the first tag column will give 
    you different values in the Sub Category column!
    !Each tag column displays only the tag values found 
    in the folder selected in the Browser section of the 
    MediaBay! This means that selecting a different 
    folder in the Browser may lead to the display of dif-
    ferent Category search settings.
    These tag values were found in the currently selected folder.
    The files displayed in the Viewer match the selected tag values. 
    						
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    Further options for Category searches
    The text field at the top serves as an additional name fil-
    ter: you can enter a file name or part of a file name here.
    This corresponds to a “Name: contains” Details search, which means 
    that the name of the searched file must contain the text you enter here. 
    See also “Performing a Details search” on page 320.
    In addition to the filter defined by the tag columns, the name of the 
    searched file must contain “120bpm”.
    You can change which tag is displayed at the top of 
    each tag column by clicking on the tag and selecting a dif-
    ferent tag from the Filter tag list pop-up menu.
    How to configure the Filter tag list is described in the section “Managing 
    the tag lists” on page 323.
    To select a tag value, simply click on it. To deselect it, 
    click the value again.
    Note that you can select more than one value in each tag column.
    Click the Reset button on the top right of the Filter sec-
    tion to clear all settings in the tag columns.
    This will also reset the tag list settings.
    Previewing files in the Scope section
    Below the Viewer you will find the Scope section. It allows 
    you to play back files selected in the Viewer section.
    The elements visible in this section and their functions 
    depend on the type of media file selected in the Viewer.
    Previewing audio files
    The Scope section for an audio file.
    To preview an audio file, simply click the Start button.
    When Auto Play is activated, selecting a file in the 
    Viewer will automatically start playback.
    When “Play in Project context” is activated, the file will 
    be played back together with the current project, starting 
    at the current project cursor position.
    Previewing MIDI files
    The Scope section for a MIDI file.
    To preview a MIDI file (.mid), you first have to select an 
    output device in the Output pop-up.
    The “Auto Play” and “Play in Project context” options work in the same 
    way as with audio files.
    Auto Play and “Play in Project context” work as for audio 
    files, see above.
    Previewing MIDI loops
    To preview a MIDI loop file, click the Start button.
    Auto Play works as for audio files, see above.
    MIDI Loops are always played in the project context.
    !The Scope section does not play back video files or 
    project files. Also, it is not possible to preview audio 
    track presets in the MediaBay (see below).
    Auto PlayPlay in Project 
    context Preview level Transport controls
    OutputAuto  Play Play in Project 
    context Transport controls 
    						
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    Previewing track and instrument presets
    The Scope section for a MIDI track preset.
    Track presets for MIDI or Instrument tracks and VST plug-
    in presets require MIDI notes for previewing. There are 
    two ways these notes can be sent to the track template:
    Click the “MIDI Input” button and play MIDI notes on a 
    MIDI keyboard connected to your system.
    Clicking “Choose MIDI File” will open a file dialog where 
    you can navigate to a MIDI file. When you now click “Play”, 
    the notes received from the MIDI file will be played with 
    the settings of the track preset applied.
    Track presets for audio tracks cannot be previewed in the 
    MediaBay. You can do this in the Apply Track Template 
    dialog (for further information, see “Previewing track or 
    VST presets before applying” on page 336).
    The Tag Editor
    When a file is selected in the Viewer section, the Tag Editor 
    shows a two-column list of tags and tag values for this file.
    Tags for media files (also called “attributes”) are sets of 
    metadata providing additional information on the file. The 
    different types of media files have different tags: for exam-
    ple, for .wav audio files you will find standard tags like 
    name, length, size, sample rate, etc., while for .mp3 files, 
    additional tags such as “Artist” or “Genre” are available.The Media Management System provides further tags, 
    such as “Category” or “Character”.
    You have access not only to the standard tags and the 
    preconfigured tags provided by Nuendo, but you can also 
    define your own tags and add these to your files. 
    The following sections describe how to set up the various 
    tag lists, how to edit tags in the Tag Editor, and how to de-
    fine user tags.
    Managing the tag lists
    Lists of tags and tag values are used in various places in 
    the MediaBay window. You can configure these lists and 
    define certain tag properties in the Manage Tags dialog.
    Proceed as follows:
    1.Open the Manage Tags dialog by clicking on the Man-
    age Tags button in the lower right corner of the MediaBay 
    window.
    2.Click one of the filter buttons at the top of the Manage 
    Tags dialog to select the file type for which you want to 
    configure the tag lists.
    The Manage Tags dialog shows a list of all tags available for the media 
    files supported by the MediaBay, and three columns of checkboxes, one 
    for the Filter section, one for the Viewer and one for the Tag Editor.
    3.To display a certain tag in the Filter tag lists, the Viewer 
    or the Tag Editor, activate the corresponding checkbox for 
    this tag:
    4.Close the Manage Tags dialog by clicking its close box.
    Your settings will be applied.
    The Type column shows whether the value for a tag is a 
    number, text or a Yes/No-type switch. The Precision col-
    umn shows the number of decimals displayed after a point 
    for number tags.
     MIDI In activity
    The “Category” tag 
    is selected for dis-
    play in the Filter tag 
    lists, the Viewer and 
    in the Tag Editor. 
    						
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    Click and drag in the tag display to select several tags 
    (click somewhere outside the selected area to deselect).
    This way, you can activate/deactivate all selected check boxes in one go.
    To return to the default tag display settings for the Filter, 
    Viewer and Tag Editor sections, click the “Reset to Default” 
    button (above the tag display) in the Manage Tags dialog.
    Displaying tags in the Tag Editor
    You can switch the tag display in the Tag Editor:
    Click on “Managed” to show only the tags activated for 
    display in the Manage Tags dialog.
    Use this view to limit the tag display to only those tags that are of interest 
    to you.
    Click on “All” to show all tags for the file selected in the 
    Viewer for which values are available.
    Use this display if you wish to see all tags, including standard file at-
    tributes such as Name, Size or Date Modified.
    Displaying tags in the Viewer
    Most of the time, tags displayed in the MediaBay are 
    sorted alphabetically. Only in the Viewer can you change 
    the tag display order:
    Move the mouse pointer to a column heading, click and 
    drag that heading to a different position in the display.
    Editing tags in the Tag Editor
    You can use the Tag Editor to edit tag values of the vari-
    ous media files. 
    ÖNote that changing a tag value in the Tag Editor may 
    permanently change the corresponding file.
    When it comes to editing, you will notice that there are dif-
    ferent types of tags:
    “Display only” tags cannot be edited. Their values are 
    displayed in a slightly lighter color.
    In this case, the file format probably doesn’t permit changing this value, 
    or changing a particular value makes no sense (e. g. you cannot change 
    the file size in the MediaBay, because you have no way of adding or re-
    moving media information).
    Most tag values can be edited by double-clicking in the 
    Value column of the Tag Editor.
    Tag values can be text, numbers or yes/no switches. Simply enter/change 
    the text, number or Yes/No setting in the field displayed for a value.
    Renaming a file in the Tag Editor
    When clicking in the Value column for “Category”, “Sub 
    Category” or “Style”, a pop-up menu opens from which 
    you can choose a value.
    The tags “Category” and “Sub Category” are directly linked to each 
    other. The “Category” pop-up allows you to set a category, the “Sub 
    Category” pop-up allows you to set a category and a corresponding sub 
    category. If you pick a sub category from a category that is different from 
    the category set for the “Category” tag, this tag will be changed as well.
    Clicking in the Value column for the “Character” tag will 
    open the Edit Character dialog.
    Click a radio button on the left or the right side and then click OK to de-
    fine values for the Character tag.
    Clicking in the Value column for the Rating tag allows 
    you to rate the file on a scale from 1 – 5.
    For example, use this to indicate the file’s sound quality or its suitability 
    for a certain purpose.
    Defining user tags
    You can define your own tags and save these in the Media-
    Bay. You can use such user tags for example to define your 
    own filter categories, further refining the categorization of 
    your media files.
    To define a user tag, proceed as follows:
    1.Open the Manage Tags dialog by clicking the Manage 
    Tags button in the lower right corner of the MediaBay win-
    dow.
    2.Click on the Add Tag button.
    The Add User Tag dialog opens.
    3.Enter a name for the new tag and define its type.
    Tags can be of type “Text”, “Number” or “Yes/No” switch.
    For tags of type “Number”, you can also specify how 
    many decimals should be displayed after a decimal point.
    Enter the corresponding value in the Precision field. 
    						
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    4.Click OK.
    The new tag is added to the list of available tags and can be displayed in 
    the Tag Editor and the Viewer.
    To remove a user tag, select it in the Tags list and click 
    the Remove Tag button.
    The tag will be removed from all tag lists in which it was previously dis-
    played.
    Media management
    General handling
    You can use the [Tab] key on your computer keyboard 
    to move the focus between the different sections of the 
    MediaBay window. Use the arrow keys to navigate to dif-
    ferent folders, files or tags.
    When assigning tag values, note that you can select 
    several files and assign the same tag value to all files.
    File management
    You can use the MediaBay for various file management 
    tasks, similar to what you can do in the Windows Explorer/
    Mac OS Finder.
    When the option “Show file extensions” is activated in 
    the Preferences dialog (MediaBay page), file name exten-
    sions (e. g. “.wav” or “.cpr”) will be displayed in the Media-
    Bay. When this is deactivated, file extensions will not be 
    shown.
    Browser operations
    The following tasks can be performed in the Browser sec-
    tion:
    To delete a folder, right-click on the folder icon and se-
    lect “Delete from Disk” from the context menu.
    A warning message is displayed, asking you to confirm that you really 
    want to move this folder to the operating system’s trash folder.
    To rename a folder, select it in the list, click on its name 
    and enter a new name.
    You can drag & drop a folder to a different location.
    You will be asked if you wish to copy or move the folder to the new 
    location.
    Viewer operations
    You can move/copy a file from the Viewer section to a 
    different location by clicking and dragging it to a different 
    folder in the Browser section.
    You will be asked if you wish to copy or move the file to the new location.
    To insert a file into the project, right-click the file and se-
    lect one of the “Insert into project” options from the con-
    text menu.
    This will import this file into your current project, either at the start of the 
    project or at the current cursor position.
    To delete a file, right-click on it in the Viewer 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.
    When the option “Allow Editing in Viewer” is activated 
    in the Preferences dialog–MediaBay page, you can also 
    edit tags in the Viewer.
    Otherwise this is possible only in the Tag Editor.
    Tagging media files
    The search functions, especially the Category search 
    mode, become a truly powerful media management tool 
    when making extensive use of tagging.
    Media files are usually organized in complex folder struc-
    tures to provide a logical way of guiding the user to the 
    desired files, with the folder and/or file names indicating 
    the instrument, style, tempo etc.
    To find a particular sound or loop in such a folder structure 
    can be very time consuming – tagging is the answer! To 
    assign a number of meaningful tags, e. g. to a library of 
    loop files, proceed as follows:
    1.Copy the loop files to your hard disk.
    Tagging means editing the files, so you need them on your system.
    2.Open the MediaBay and browse to where the new 
    loops are located.
    3.Navigate to a folder containing loops.
    For example, you might have a folder containing Metal style drum loops, 
    at 120 bpm.
    4.In the Viewer, select all files contained in this folder.
    Make sure that the Deep Results button is deactivated, so that only files 
    contained in this folder are displayed. 
    						
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    5.Assign tags that reflect the information indicated by 
    the folder structure.
    In the above example, you would put “Metal” as a value for the Style tag, 
    and “Drums” for the Instrument tag. The Tag Editor also allows you to 
    display a “Tempo” tag, for which you could specify a value of “120”.
    You can now use the Category search mode to find quickly 
    all Metal style drum loops at 120 bpm, without the need to 
    navigate through a large number of folders and subfolders. 
    						
    							23
    Track Presets 
    						
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    Track Presets
    Introduction
    Track presets are templates that you can create from au-
    dio, MIDI or instrument tracks – or several of these tracks. 
    With these track presets, you can then create new tracks 
    or apply them to existing tracks of the same type. 
    The idea behind track presets is:
    To allow you to quickly access, browse, select, change 
    and preview sounds.
    To give you an easy way to reuse channel settings 
    across projects.
    Track presets are part of the SoundFrame concept (see 
    “SoundFrame” on page 311) and organized in the Sound 
    Browser (a view of the MediaBay, see “The MediaBay” on 
    page 314). This allows you to categorize track presets 
    with tags like “EPiano” or “Jazz” and search for these tags.
    Related topics
    Nuendo offers a variety of related functions that allow you 
    to handle presets of program settings:
    You can save and load channel settings in the mixer (not 
    for MIDI), see “Saving mixer settings” on page 146.
    You can save and load inserts rack and EQ presets, see 
    “Inserts and EQ settings from track presets” on page 337. 
    You can export and import tracks as track archives , see 
    “Exporting and importing tracks” on page 500.
    Types of track presets
    There are four kinds of track presets:
    Audio
    Instrument (this also includes certain VST3 presets, see 
    “VST (Instrument) presets” on page 330)
    MIDI
    Multi (any number of the three preset types above in any 
    sequence)
    Since the purpose of track presets is to make sound 
    handling easier, only parameters are saved that are rele-
    vant for the sound of a certain track.
    Audio track presets
    Track presets for audio tracks include all inserts and ef-
    fects that “define” the sound. Since there are big differ-
    ences between the typical settings for a trumpet and a 
    human voice, for example, audio track presets are a quick 
    way to optimize your track.
    For example, you can:
    Easily audition your audio track with the factory presets.
    Use the factory presets as a starting point for your own 
    editing.
    Save the audio settings that you optimized for an artist 
    with which you often work and use the resulting audio 
    track preset for future recordings.
    Data saved in audio track presets
     Insert FX settings
     EQ settings (including VST effect presets)
    
     Input Gain + Phase
    ÖNote that volume, pan, input gain and input phase will 
    be restored only when creating a new track from a track 
    preset.
    Instrument track presets
    Instrument track presets are best choice when handling 
    sounds of simple, mono-timbral VST Instruments. Like the 
    instrument track, they offer both MIDI and audio features. 
    You can use instrument track presets like the audio 
    track presets above for auditioning your tracks, inspiration, 
    or saving your preferred sound settings. 
    In addition, you can directly extract sounds from instru-
    ment track presets and VST presets for use in instrument 
    tracks.
    VST presets also behave like instrument track presets, 
    see “VST (Instrument) presets” on page 330. 
    						
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    Track Presets
    Data saved in instrument track presets
    
    
     Audio Volume + Pan
     Audio Input Gain + Phase
     MIDI Insert FX
    
     Input Transformer
    
    And also:
     Staff settings
     Color settings
    ÖVolume, pan, input gain and input phase will be re-
    stored only when creating a new track from a track preset.
    MIDI track presets
    MIDI tracks offer more possibilities than instrument tracks; 
    therefore, they should be used for multi-timbral VST In-
    struments and external instruments.
    Due to the resulting complex settings, more details have 
    to be taken into account when working with MIDI track 
    presets, to ensure that the saved settings are really usable 
    as presets for new tracks.
    To ensure that saved MIDI track presets for external in-
    struments will work again with the same instrument later, 
    install the instrument as MIDI device, because in this case 
    the MIDI interface and the connecting ports are irrelevant. 
    (For this to work, the MIDI device has to have exactly the 
    same name as in the original setup.) For more information 
    about this, see the separate pdf document “MIDI Devices”.
    Include MIDI Channel or MIDI Patch
    There is an additional Include option when creating MIDI 
    track presets: 
    Choose “MIDI Patch” if you want to save the MIDI track 
    preset with the currently set patch. This is useful if your ex-
    ternal MIDI device offers sounds as certain patches but 
    does not require any specific channel settings.
    Choose “MIDI Channel” if you want to save the MIDI 
    track preset with the currently set channel. This is useful if 
    you have the sounds of an external device always on the 
    same channel, e.g. strings on channel 12, trumpets on 
    channel 13.ÖThe choice is exclusive – you can either save the 
    channel or the patch, but not both.
    Example 1: Multi-timbral external instrument
    Assume you have a multi-timbral external instrument (for 
    example, a MIDI Expander), with all sounds available on all 
    channels, but the sounds (patches) might change.
    In this case, set it up as an external instrument, open a 
    MIDI track and select it as output. In the Programs List, 
    select a patch. Then save the MIDI track preset with the 
    patch included.
    Example 2: Multi-timbral external instrument with pre-
    configured setup
    In a rarer case we have a multi-timbral external instrument 
    (for example, a Sampler) which is completely pre-config-
    ured. There is no sound (patch) to configure, but only the 
    device and the MIDI channel to know. 
    In this case, include the channel in the MIDI track preset 
    so that the correct channel will be called up.
    Example 3: VSTi as pre-configured setup
    If you want to use a MIDI track preset for a pre-configured 
    VST Instrument setup, the following conditions have to be 
    met:
     The VST Instrument(s) are installed in the VST Instruments 
    window.
     The VST Instrument patches have not been changed since the 
    track preset was saved (that means for example that no other 
    FXP/FXB was installed in the meantime).
    To ensure this, use a template project with the VSTi setup 
    included and put the sounds (track presets) of this tem-
    plate project into specific subfolders, as they only work 
    within this setup. 
    						
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    Track Presets
    Data saved in MIDI track presets
     MIDI Modifiers (Transpose etc.)
     MIDI Inserts (FX)
     Output + Channel or Program Change
     Input Transformer
     Volume + Pan
    And also:
     Staff settings
     Color settings
    ÖNote that volume and pan will be restored only when 
    creating a new track from a track preset.
    Multi track presets
    If you select more than one track when creating a track 
    preset, the settings of all selected tracks will be saved as 
    one multi track preset. Since you can apply a multi track 
    preset only if the target tracks are of the same type, num-
    ber and sequence as the tracks in the track preset, multi 
    track presets are useful when you have a reoccurring situ-
    ation with very similar tracks and settings.
    For example, this would be the case for:
    Recording setups that require several microphones, 
    e. g. when recording a drum set or a choir, where you 
    record always under the same conditions and have to edit 
    the resulting tracks in a similar way.
    Layered tracks, where you use several tracks to gener-
    ate a certain sound instead of manipulating only one track.
    Data saved in multi track presets
    For each track type, the respective track preset parame-
    ters are saved in the same sequence as the tracks in the 
    Project window.
    VST presets
    As of VST3, VST presets make it easy for you to work with 
    VST plug-ins and instruments, substituting the .fxp and 
    .fxb files of the VST2 standard.
    There are two kinds of VST presets:
     VST presets based on effect plug-ins
     VST presets based on VST Instrument plug-ins
    ÖIn this manual, the wording “VST presets” stands for 
    VST3 Instrument presets, unless stated otherwise.
    VST effect plug-in presets
    VST effect plug-ins are available in VST3 and VST2 for-
    mat, for example as insert effects like Expander or Limiter. 
    Therefore, VST effect presets can be part of audio track 
    presets, see also “SoundFrame” on page 311.
    VST (Instrument) presets
    VST3 (Instrument) presets (extension .vstpreset) are me-
    dia files that can be managed in the Sound Browser and 
    to which you can assign tags. VST presets are also listed 
    in dialogs like the “Add Track” dialog, see below.
    The VST presets behave like instrument track presets in 
    the context of the Project window and contain a VST In-
    strument and its settings but no modifiers, MIDI inserts, in-
    serts or EQ settings:
    You can create instrument tracks from VST presets just 
    like from instrument track presets, see “Creating tracks 
    from track presets or VST presets” on page 333.
    In the Inspector of the new instrument track, the VST Instrument, the se-
    lected program and the name of the applied VST preset are displayed.
    You can apply VST presets to instrument tracks just like 
    instrument track presets, see “Applying audio, MIDI and 
    instrument track presets” on page 334.
    When selecting VST presets in the Browse presets 
    section or the Sound Browser, you can preview them like 
    instrument track presets, see “Creating tracks from track 
    presets or VST presets” on page 333.
    Like with instrument tracks presets, you can extract the 
    “sound” of VST presets, see “Extracting sound from an in-
    strument track or VST preset” on page 335. 
    						
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