Steinberg Nuendo 5 Manual
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371 Remote controlling Nuendo 9.When you are finished, close the Device Setup win- dow. Now, you can control the specified Nuendo parameters from the MIDI re- mote device. To select another bank, use the pop-up menu in the Generic Remote window (or use a control on the MIDI remote device, if you have assigned one for this). Importing and exporting remote setups The Export button in the top right corner of the Generic Remote Setup window allows you to export the current setup, including the Control configuration (the table at the top) and all banks. The setup is saved as a file (with the file extension “.xml”). Clicking the Import button allows you to import saved remote setup files. ÖThe last imported or exported remote setup will auto- matically be loaded when the program starts or the Ge- neric Remote control is added in the Device Setup dialog. Track Quick Controls If you have an external remote control device, you can set it up to control up to eight parameters of each audio track, MIDI track or instrument track, using the Track Quick Con - trols feature in Nuendo. How to set up your device and how to assign parameters to it is described in the chapter “Track Quick Controls” on page 362. Deactivating joysticks When you have a joystick connected to your system, but do not want to use it with Nuendo, you can deactivate it: 1.Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu. 2.Select the device in the list to the left in the dialog. The corresponding settings are shown to the right. 3.You can now activate/deactivate the joystick by acti- vating or deactivating the respective dialog option. Apple Remote (Macintosh only) Many Apple computers come with an Apple Remote Con- trol, a small hand-held device akin to TV remote controls. It allows you to remotely control certain features in Nuendo. Proceed as follows: 1.Open the Device Setup dialog and select Apple Re- mote Control from the Add Device pop-up menu. 2.In the list on the right, the Apple Remote’s buttons are listed. For each button you can open a pop-up menu from which you can select a Nuendo parameter. The parameter you select is assigned to the corresponding button on the Apple Remote. By default, the Apple Remote always controls the applica- tion that currently has the focus on your Macintosh com- puter (provided that this application supports the Apple Remote). •When the “Disable when application is not in front” op- tion is not selected, the Apple Remote will control Nuendo even if it does not have the focus.
373 MIDI realtime parameters and effects Introduction For each MIDI track, you can set up a number of track pa- rameters, or modifiers, and MIDI effects. These affect how the MIDI data is played back, “transforming” MIDI events in realtime before they are sent to the MIDI outputs. On the following pages, the available parameters and ef- fects are described. Keep in mind: • The actual MIDI events will not be affected – the changes happen “on the fly”. • Since the modifier settings do not change the actual MIDI data on the track, they will not be reflected in the MIDI editors. To convert the track settings into “real” MIDI events, use the Freeze MIDI Modifiers function or the Merge MIDI in Loop function (see “Making your settings permanent” on page 397). The Inspector – general handling The MIDI modifiers and effects are set up in the Inspector (although some settings are available in the Mixer as well). •To show the Inspector, click the “Set up Window Lay- out” button on the toolbar and activate the Inspector op- tion. The Inspector is displayed to the left of the track list. •For MIDI tracks, several sections are available in the In- spector. Which of these are displayed is determined in the setup context menu or the Setup dialog of the Inspector. For information about setting up the Inspector, see “Using the Setup op-tions” on page 572. •You can fold or unfold the sections individually by click- ing on the section name. Clicking the name for a hidden section brings it to view and hides the other sections. [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking the tab allows you to hide or show a section without affecting other sections. [Alt]/[Option]-clicking a tab shows or hides all sections in the Inspector. ÖFolding or hiding (via the Setup dialog) a section does not affect the functionality but merely hides the section from view. This means your settings will still be active even if you fold or hide the Inspector settings. The Inspector sections Basic track settings The topmost Inspector section contains the basic track settings. These settings either affect the basic functional - ity for the track (mute, solo, enable record, etc.) or send out additional MIDI data to the connected devices (pro - gram change, volume, etc.). The section contains all set- tings that are available in the track list (see “The track list” on page 41), with a few additional parameters: ParameterDescription Track name fieldClick once to show/hide the topmost Inspector section. Double-click to rename the track. Edit buttonThis opens the Channel Settings window for the track (a window showing a channel strip with volume fader and other controls, along with effect settings – see “Using Channel Settings” on page 163). Mute/Solo buttonsMutes or solos the MIDI track. Read/Write buttonsUsed for automating the track settings – see “Enabling and disabling the writing of automation data” on page 240. Open Device Panels buttonIf the MIDI track is routed to a device with a panel, clicking this button opens the respective panel. For more informa-tion, see the separate PDF document “MIDI Devices”. Input trans- former buttonOpens the Input Transformer dialog, allowing you to trans-form incoming MIDI events in realtime, see “The Input Transformer” on page 440. Record enable buttonActivate this to make the track ready for recording.
374 MIDI realtime parameters and effects ÖNote that the functionality of the Bank and Patch selec- tor settings (used for selecting sounds in the connected MIDI instrument) depends on the instrument to which the MIDI output is routed, and how you have set it up in the MIDI Device Manager. The MIDI Device Manager allows you to specify which MIDI instruments and other devices are connected to the various MIDI outputs, thus making it possible to select patches by name. See the chapter “Us- ing MIDI devices” on page 380 for details about the MIDI Device Manager. ÖMany of the basic track settings are duplicated in “mixer channel strip form” in the MIDI Fader section of the Inspector (see below). VST Expression section (Nuendo Expansion Kit only) This section is used when working with the VST Expression features, see the chapter “VST Expression” in the Nuendo Expansion Kit manual. MIDI Modifiers The settings on this tab affect the MIDI events on the track in realtime during playback. They will also be in effect if you play “live” with the track selected and record enabled (provided that “MIDI Thru Active” is activated in the Prefer - ences dialog, MIDI page). This makes it possible, for exam- ple, to transpose or adjust the velocity of your live playing. ÖIf you want to compare the result of your modifier set- tings with the “unprocessed” MIDI, you can use the Bypass button in the MIDI Modifiers section. When this is activated, the MIDI Modifiers settings will be temporarily disabled. A bypassed section is indicated by a yellow Bypass button. Transpose This allows you to transpose all notes on the track in semi- tones. The available range is -127 to +127 semitones, but remember that the total range of MIDI note numbers is 0 to 127. Furthermore, not all instruments can play back notes over the whole range. Therefore, extreme transposi - tions can give rather strange and unwanted results. •You can also transpose individual MIDI parts using the Transpose field in the info line. The transposition in the info line (for the individual part) is added to the transpose value you have set up for the whole track in the Inspector. Monitor buttonWhen this is activated (and the “MIDI Thru Active” option is activated in the Preferences dialog, MIDI page), incom-ing MIDI will be routed to the selected MIDI output. Toggle Time-base buttonSwitches between musical (tempo related) and linear (time related) time base for the track, see “Switching be-tween musical and linear time base” on page 63. Lock buttonActivate this to disable all editing of all events on the track. Lane Display Type buttonAllows you to divide the tracks in lanes. For details about lanes, see “Recording audio in Stacked mode” on page 101. VolumeUse this to adjust the level for the track. Changing this set-ting will move the track’s fader in the Mixer window, and vice versa. See “Setting volume in the Mixer” on page 157 for details about setting levels. PanUse this to adjust the panning of the track. DelayThis adjusts the playback timing of the MIDI track. Posi-tive values delay the playback while negative values cause the track to play earlier. The values are set in milli-seconds. In/Out/Chn pop-up menusThis is where you select MIDI input, MIDI output, and MIDI channel for the track. Edit Instru-ment buttonIf the MIDI track is routed to a VST instrument, clicking this button opens the control panel for the VST instru-ment. Bank and Patch Selector pop-up menuAllows you to select a sound, see below. (If no bank is available, only the Patch selector is shown.) Apply Track Preset buttonAllows you to apply a track preset, see “Applying track presets” on page 358. Parameter Description
375 MIDI realtime parameters and effects ÖThis setting is also affected by the global Transpose settings. For detailed information, see the chapter “The transpose functions” on page 129. Velocity Shift This setting lets you change the dynamics of all notes on the track. The value in this field is added to the velocity of each note message that is sent out (use negative values to lower the velocities). The range is -127 to +127 with 0 representing no change in velocity. Note that the effect of changing the velocity depends on the sound and instrument. ÖYou can also adjust the velocity of events in individual MIDI parts using the Velocity field in the info line. The ve - locity shift in the info line (for the individual part) is added to the velocity shift you have set up for the whole track in the Inspector. Velocity Compression This function multiplies the velocity values with the factor you specify. This factor is set using a numerator (left value) and a denominator (right value), resulting in a fractional number (1/2, 3/4, 3/2 etc.). For example, if you set the factor to 3/4, the velocities will be three quarters of their original values. This will also affect the difference in veloc - ity between the notes, thus compressing or expanding the velocity scale. Typically, you would combine this setting with the Velocity Shift parameter. An example: Let’s say you have three notes with the velocity values 60, 90 and 120, and wish to “even out” the velocity differ - ences somewhat. If you set the Velocity Compression value to 1/2, the notes will play back with the velocities 30, 45 and 60. By adding 60 in the Velocity Shift field, the notes will play back with the velocities 90, 105 and 120, meaning you have compressed the velocity range. In a similar way, you can use Velocity Compression values greater than 1/1 together with negative values in the Ve - locity Shift field, to expand the velocity range. Length Compression This value adjusts the lengths of all notes on the track. As with Velocity Compression, the value is set with a numer - ator and denominator. For example, the value 2/1 means that all note lengths will be doubled, while 1/4 means all note lengths will be a quarter of the actual lengths. Random The Random settings let you introduce random variations to various properties of MIDI notes. Anything from very subtle variations to dramatic changes can be applied. There are two separate “random generators”, set up in the following way: 1.Pull down the Random pop-up menu and select which note property is randomized. The options are position, pitch, velocity and length. ÖKeep in mind that depending on the content of the track, certain parameter changes might not be immedi - ately noticeable or have any effect at all (as would be the case if applying random length to a percussion track play - ing “one-shot” samples for example). To best audition the random changes, choose a track with clearly defined rhythm and note content (as opposed to a string pad). 2.Set the desired range of random deviation by entering values in the two number fields. The two values govern the limits of the randomization, so that the values will vary between the left value and the right value (you cannot set the left value higher than the right value). The maximum random range for each property is listed in the table below: ÖYou can make independent settings for the two random generators. •To deactivate the Random function, pull down the Ran- dom pop-up menu(s) and select “OFF”. !Remember that the maximum velocity is always 127 no matter how much you try to expand. PropertyRange Position-500 to +500 ticks Pitch-120 to +120 semitones Velocity-120 to +120 Length-500 to +500 ticks
376 MIDI realtime parameters and effects Range The Range function lets you specify a note (pitch) or ve- locity range and either force all notes to fit within this range, or exclude all notes outside this range from play - back. As with the Random function, there are two sepa- rate Range settings. Set them up as follows: 1.Pull down the Range pop-up menu and select one of the following four modes: 2.Use the two fields to the right to set the minimum and maximum values. These values will be shown as numbers (0–127) for the velocity modes and as note numbers (C-2 to G8) for the pitch modes. ÖNote that you can make independent settings for the two Range functions. •To deactivate the Range function, pull down the Range pop-up menu(s) and select “OFF”. MIDI Fader section This contains a single channel strip, allowing you to set volume, pan, mute/solo and other parameters for the track, and a panel view of the active sends/inserts. This is a “mir - ror” of the track’s channel strip in the Nuendo Mixer – see “MIDI channel strips” on page 174. Notepad section This is a standard notepad, allowing you to enter notes and comments about the track. Each track has its own notepad in the Inspector. Network section This contains controls related to Nuendo’s Network func- tions, see “Networking” on page 482. VST Instrument section If the MIDI track is routed to a VST instrument, a new sub- panel will appear at the bottom of the Inspector, labeled with the name of the VST instrument. Clicking this section shows a duplicate of the Inspector settings for the VST in - strument channel. This makes it easy to adjust the channel settings for the VST instrument while you are editing the MIDI track. •If the VST instrument has multiple outputs (and thus several Mixer channels), there will be a setting called “Output” at the top of the VST Instrument section. New subpanels will also be added in the following cases: • When a MIDI track is routed to an external instrument or effect that has an associated MIDI Device. In this case, the new sub - panel will get the name of the device. • When a MIDI track is routed to an effect plug-in that also re- ceives audio data, i. e. that is used as an insert effect for an audio track (e. g. MIDI Gate), a subpanel for this audio track appears in the MIDI track inspector. • If a MIDI track is routed to a plug-in assigned to a FX Channel track, a corresponding FX subpanel is added to the Inspector. ÖFor an easy way to combine MIDI and VST instru- ments, check out instrument tracks (see “VST instruments and instrument tracks” on page 215). User Panel section This allows you to display MIDI device panels, which are control panels for external hardware. This is described in the separate PDF document “MIDI Devices”. Quick Controls section This allows you to configure quick controls, e. g. to use re- mote devices. See the chapter “Track Quick Controls” on page 362 for details. ModeDescription Vel. LimitThis function affects all velocity values outside the speci-fied range. Velocity values below the Min setting (the lower limit of the range) are set to the Min value, and ve-locity values above the Max setting are set to the Max value. Notes with velocity values within the set range are not affected. Use this if you want to force all velocity val -ues to fit within a certain range. Vel. FilterVelocity Filter works by excluding all notes with velocity values outside the specified range. Notes with velocity values below the Min setting or above the Max setting will not be played back. Use this to “isolate” notes with cer -tain velocity values. Note LimitThis function allows you to specify a pitch range, and forces all notes to fit within this range. Notes outside the specified range are transposed up or down in octave steps until they fit within the range. Note: If the range is too “narrow”, so that some notes cannot be fit within the range by octave-transposing, these notes will get a pitch in the middle of the range. For example, if you have a note with a pitch of F3, and the range is C4-E4, that note will be transposed to D4. Note FilterNote Filter works by excluding all notes with pitches out-side the specified range. Notes lower than the Min setting or higher than the Max setting will not be played back. Use this to “isolate” notes with certain pitches.
377 MIDI realtime parameters and effects MIDI effects Nuendo comes with a number of MIDI effect plug-ins, ca- pable of transforming the MIDI output from a track in vari- ous ways. Just like the MIDI modifiers, MIDI effects are applied in re- altime to the MIDI data played back from the track (or to MIDI you play live “thru” the track). What are MIDI effects? Although a MIDI effect can be similar to an audio effect, it is important to remember that you’re not processing the sound resulting from MIDI playback, but the MIDI data (the “instructions” for how the music is played back). A MIDI effect will change properties of the MIDI events (e. g. change the pitch of notes) and/or generate new MIDI events (for example, a MIDI delay may add new MIDI notes, “echoing” the original notes). ÖThe included MIDI effect plug-ins are described in the separate PDF document “Plug-in Reference”. Insert and send effects As with audio effects, there are two ways to route the MIDI events on a track to an effect: ÖIf you add an insert effect, the MIDI events will be sent to the effect, which will process the data and pass it on to the track’s MIDI output (or to another insert effect). In other words, the MIDI events will be routed “through” the insert effect. ÖIf you use a send effect, the MIDI events will be sent both to the track’s MIDI output and to the effect. That is, you will get both the unprocessed MIDI events and the output of the MIDI effect. Note that the effect can send its processed MIDI data to any MIDI output – not necessarily to the one used by the track. There are separate sections in the Inspector for MIDI in- serts and MIDI sends. MIDI Inserts section This allows you to add up to four MIDI insert effects. The section contains the following items: ÖEffects that display their controls in the Inspector can be opened in a separate control panel window by press - ing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking the Edit button. ItemDescription Bypass buttonClick this to temporarily disable all insert effects for the track (useful for comparing with the unprocessed MIDI, etc.). Inserts section tabThe symbol on the right of the tab has a blue background when an insert effect is activated. Effect selec-tion pop-up menu (x 4)Selecting an effect from this pop-up menu automatically activates it and brings up its control panel (which can be a separate window or a number of settings below the in -sert slot in the Inspector).To remove an insert effect completely, select “No Effect”. On button (x 4)Allows you to turn the selected effect on or off. Edit button (x4)Click this to bring up the control panel for the selected ef-fect. Depending on the effect, this may appear in a sepa-rate window or below the insert slot in the Inspector. Clicking the button again hides the control panel.
378 MIDI realtime parameters and effects MIDI Sends section This allows you to add up to four MIDI send effects. Unlike audio send effects, you can select and activate send ef - fects individually for each track. The section contains the following items: ÖEffects that display their controls in the Inspector can be opened in a separate control panel window by press - ing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking the Edit button. About presets Several of the MIDI plug-ins come with a number of pre- sets for instant use. •To load a preset, select it from the Presets pop-up menu. •To store your current settings as a preset, click on the “+” button (“Save Preset…”) to the right of the Presets menu. You will be asked to specify a name for the preset. The saved preset will then be available for selection from the pop-up menu for all instances of that MIDI plug-in, in all projects. •To remove a preset, select it and click on the “-” button (“Remove Preset”). At the left and right borders of the Presets pop-up menu you will also find MIDI In and Out activity indicators. Whenever the plug-in receives or transmits MIDI data, the left or the right indicator will light up, respectively. ItemDescription Bypass buttonClick this to temporarily disable all send effects for the track (useful for comparing with the unprocessed MIDI, etc.). Sends section tabThe symbol on the right of the tab has a blue background when a send effect is activated. Effect selection pop-up menu (x 4) Selecting an effect from this pop-up menu automatically activates it and brings up its control panel (which can be a separate window or a number of settings below the send slot in the Inspector). To remove a send effect completely, select “No Effect”. On button (x 4)Allows you to turn the selected effect on or off. Pre/Post but-ton (x4)If this is activated, the MIDI signals will be sent to the send effects before the MIDI modifiers and insert effects. Edit button (x4)Click this to bring up the control panel for the selected effect. Depending on the effect, this may appear in a separate window or below the sends slot in the Inspec -tor. Clicking the button again hides the control panel. Output pop-up menu (x4)This determines to which MIDI output the effect will send the processed MIDI events. Channel setting (x4)This determines on which MIDI channel the effect will send the processed MIDI events. Save and Remove Preset buttons MIDI In and Out activity indicators
379 MIDI realtime parameters and effects Applying a MIDI insert effect – an example Here is a step-by-step example of how to add a MIDI in- sert effect to a MIDI track: 1.Select the MIDI track and open the Inspector. 2.Open the MIDI Inserts tab in the Inspector. •Alternatively you can use the Mixer: bring up the ex- tended Mixer panel and select “Inserts” on the view op- tions pop-up menu for the track’s channel strip. 3.Click in one of the insert slots to open the MIDI effect pop-up menu. 4.Select the desired MIDI effect from the pop-up menu. The effect is automatically activated (the power button for the insert slot lights up) and its control panel appears, either in a separate window or in the MIDI Inserts section below the slot (depending on the effect). Now all MIDI from the track will be routed through the ef- fect. 5.Use the control panel to make settings for the effect. All included MIDI effects are described in the separate PDF document “Plug-in Reference”. •You can bypass the insert effect by clicking its power button (above the insert slot). •To bypass all insert effects for the MIDI track, use the bypass button in the MIDI Inserts section in the Inspector, in the Mixer channel strip or in the track list. •To remove an insert effect, click in its slot and select “No Effect”. Managing plug-ins Selecting Plug-in Information from the Devices menu opens a window in which all loaded plug-ins, audio and MIDI, are listed. •To view the MIDI effect plug-ins, click the MIDI Plug-ins tab. •The leftmost column allows you to deactivate plug-ins. This is useful if you have plug-ins installed that you do not want to use in Nuendo. Only plug-ins that are activated (ticked checkbox) will appear on the MIDI effect pop-up menus. Note that plug-ins that are currently in use cannot be deactivated. •The second column shows how many instances of each plug-in are currently used in the project. •The remaining columns show various information about each plug-in and cannot be edited.