Steinberg Sequel 3 Manual
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Sequel Operation Manual by Steve Kostrey, Michael Baggley Revision and Quality Control: Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Sabine Pfeifer The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publica- tion may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Windows XP is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. The Mac logo is a trademark used under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks. © Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2007. All rights reserved.
4 Table of Contents 6Introduction 7Welcome 7About this manual 7Key command conventions 8System requirements and installation 9About this chapter 9Minimum requirements 9Installing Sequel 9Activating Sequel 9Register your software 10Read on… 11Tutorial 1: Recording 12The tutorials 12Recording audio 17Recording Instrument parts 19Tutorial 2: Editing 20Introduction 20Editing audio events 23Editing Instrument parts 26Tutorial 3: Mixing 27Introduction 27Setting levels 27Setting Pan 28Mute and Solo 28Adding EQ 29Audio Effects 31Adding Automation 32Exporting 34Tutorial 4: Live Pads and Chain Play mode 35Introduction 35Arranger parts 35Live Mode 36Chain Play Mode 37The Pilot Zone 38Introduction 38The Sequel menu (Mac only) 38The File and Edit menus 38Minimizing, maximizing and closing 39The File button/menu 40The Edit button/menu 42About the Project, Automation and Edit buttons 43The Ruler Zone 44The Tuner 44The Transport controls 46The Metronome 46Computer Usage 46The Pilot Zone display 48The Arrange Zone 49Introduction 49Resizing the Arrange Zone 49About tracks and track controls 52Timeline and grid 52Zooming in the Arrange Zone 53Working with the Smart Tool 55The Multi Zone 56Introduction 56The Mixer page 58The Track Inspector page 62The Media Bay page 65The Editor page 70The Arranger page 71The Program Settings page 73Advanced features 74Introduction 74Adding silence 75Audio quantization and warp 77Smart Transpose 79One button record 80Setting up your system 81About this chapter 81General notes on how to set up your system 81Defragmenting the hard disk (Windows only) 81MIDI requirements 81Audio hardware 83Setting up audio 86Setting up MIDI 86Optimizing audio performance
5 Table of Contents 88Key commands 89Introduction 89The available key commands 91Effects reference 92Introduction 92Track/Global Effects 93Instrument parameters 94Index
7 Introduction Welcome Congratulations and thank you for your purchase of Stein- berg Sequel. You have now become a member of the worlds largest community of music production software users. Looking back at more than 20 years of innovation in computer-based music production, Steinberg has always been the driving force behind software technology. Sequel is a new entry-level sequencer designed to be an easy-to-use, all-inclusive music production platform. Se- quel provides all of the tools needed to record, edit and mix music. Sequel can be used in the ‘traditional’ way to record, edit and mix audio or virtual instruments. For example, a home musician could record himself playing an instrument (either an acoustic or a virtual instrument) or singing. An electric guitar can be plugged directly into an audio interface and then be recorded with Sequel’s on-board effects. Music enthusiasts may want to take a wholly different ap- proach to creating music. Their starting point is Sequel’s extensive library of loops and phrases. Pieces of music can be assembled based entirely on loops and without actually playing a single note on a keyboard or instrument. Typi- cally, this is a more DJ-oriented workflow and very popular especially for current dance and electronic music styles. Another key-application for Sequel is live performance. The concept of mixing and remixing is familiar to practically everyone today. Mixing and remixing has become a cre- ative act in its own right and sometimes totally unrelated to creating new music itself. Sequel provides all the tools necessary to mixing and remixing (rearranging) music. The act of performing music on stage using a computer has become standard in today’s music and club scene. The goal of performing music on stage might be some- one’s primary motivation to use his/her computer for mak- ing music. Sequel puts a special focus on the live aspect of making music, which separates it from traditional se- quencers. Instead of linear playback, it has special tools to perform and interact, by mixing and re-combining sections of a song or project.After you have registered Sequel online, take some time to explore the community section at www.steinberg.net. You will find lots of useful information and get to know other users in our discussion forums. Registering at www.mysteinberg.com also gives you access to special offers from Steinberg in the future. Have fun creating your own music! The Steinberg Sequel Team About this manual This manual is divided into two sections. The first section guides you through several tutorials showing you how to use Sequel. The second section gives you a brief description of every feature in Sequel. At the end of this manual you will find useful tips for your work with Sequel and information on how to set up your computer. We are sure that after you have completed both sections you will be on your way to having a lot of fun and making exciting music. Key command conventions Many of the default key commands in Sequel use modifier keys, some of which are different depending on the oper- ating system. For example, the default key command for Undo is [Ctrl]+[Z] under Windows and [Command]+[Z] under Mac OS X. When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier key first, in the following way: [Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]+[key] For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Z] means “press [Ctrl] un- der Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press [Z]”. Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]+[X] means “press [Alt] under Windows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”.
9 System requirements and installation About this chapter This chapter describes the requirements and installation procedures for the Windows version and the Mac version of Sequel. Minimum requirements The following requirements are based on performance measurements for a typical project with an average 12 tracks (incl. 3 to 5 instrument tracks), global effects, com- pressor and EQ per track, measured at 512 samples buffer size. Slower computers can still be used, but with fewer tracks and/or higher buffer size. To use Sequel, your computer must meet the following minimum requirements: Windows Windows XP (Home or Professional), compatible with Win- dows Vista Home Basic Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 2 GHz processor 6 GB of free hard disk space Windows DirectX compatible audio hardware; ASIO compati- ble audio hardware recommended for low latency performance. Display resolution of 1280x1024 pixels DVD ROM drive required for installation Internet connection required for license activation Macintosh Mac OS X 10.4 Power Mac G5 1.8 GHz or Core Solo 1.5 GHz 6 GB of free hard disk space Display resolution of 1280x1024 pixels CoreAudio compatible audio hardware DVD ROM drive required for installation Internet connection required for license activation Installing Sequel The installation procedure puts all files in the right places, automatically. Windows 1.Insert the Sequel DVD into the DVD drive of your com- puter. 2.Locate and double-click the file called “Setup.exe” on the Sequel installation DVD. 3.Follow the instructions on screen. Macintosh 1.Double-click the file called “Sequel.mpkg”. 2.Follow the instructions on screen. Whether you install Sequel on a Mac or Windows com- puter you will need to activate Sequel. Activating Sequel After installing Sequel you will have to activate the pro- gram on your computer. •As the last step in the installation, the Syncrosoft License Control Center is opened. The “License Download Wizard” is displayed. Follow the instructions and enter your Sequel activation code. Register your software We encourage you to register your software! By doing so you are entitled to technical support and kept aware of up- dates and other news regarding Sequel. There are two ways to register: In Sequel, open the File menu and select the “User Registration...” option. This is an Internet link that will open the Registration page of the Steinberg web site. To register, follow the instructions on screen. When you launch Sequel, you will also be prompted to launch the registration process. Included on the Sequel installation DVD you can find a registration form in pdf format. To register, print out the form, enter all required information and send it to Steinberg.
10 System requirements and installation Read on… …to learn how to use Sequel: First, you will find tutorials that will get you up and run- ning quickly. These tutorials refer to projects located in the default project folder, and video files that you will find on the program DVD. Detailed descriptions of all program functions can be found in the chapters covering the various Sequel “zones”. At the end of this manual you will find information on more advanced techniques, tips on how to set up your computer system for audio work, the effects reference, and a list of the Sequel keyboard shortcuts.