Impressed with Cubase- am I crazy? What impresses you?

[captain caveman]

You talking about ruler tracks reminded me of one thing that is really useful - the Split Project Window feature. Its the line icon at the top of the track list next to the global M S R W buttons.

If you stick you mins secs ruler, marker track, arranger and transpose to the top of the track list, select the lowermost of them and press the Split Project Window icon then you can scroll up and down in the lower window with all your music and have all the markers and rulers visible at all times.

I'll leave it at that since you'll have a lot of info to "assimilate" over the next while.

[koolkeys]

You talking about ruler tracks reminded me of one thing that is really useful - the Split Project Window feature. Its the line icon at the top of the track list next to the global M S R W buttons.

If you stick you mins secs ruler, marker track, arranger and transpose to the top of the track list, select the lowermost of them and press the Split Project Window icon then you can scroll up and down in the lower window with all your music and have all the markers and rulers visible at all times.

I'll leave it at that since you'll have a lot of info to "assimilate" over the next while.

I did notice that window, but didn't quite understand how to place things above it or below it. Apparently you can't just drag tracks into the top area? So you select a track and then hit the button, and everything above it goes to the top part, right? I did read somewhere that you can put tracks up there to keep them always in view, but haven't explored it yet.

Thanks for the tip, and let me know if I don't have the above statements right.

Brent

[susiwong]

Hi Brent,
so you like the screensets (or correctly workspaces)?
You'll soon notice a bug: all fresh created channels come up with EQs even if you set the mixer to show inserts.
Workaround:
use macros to recall your workspaces as in this example:

Workspaces - Workspace 2
Mixer - Command Target All Channels
Mixer - Views: Inserts

Then assign a key to that macro - voila, 1 click - correct view
Just a simple little introduction to what is possible, modify to taste.
Cheers,
susiwong

[captain caveman]

Thanks for the tip, and let me know if I don't have the above statements right.

Brent

Everything seems right, I am a bit of a vintage guy though with Cubase 4 so won't be any help on the C5 stuff.

A couple of wee tips though...

To avoid the window re-sizing thing, just unmaximise the project window and stretch to the size it was before.

For keycommands, if you perform a command and then open the KC window the last action performed will be highlighted and ready to be (re)assigned so you can quickly learn or adjust what keycommands do what.

It makes assigning keycommands 20%-40% quicker than in other hosts.

[captain caveman]

Apparently you can't just drag tracks into the top area? So you select a track and then hit the button, and everything above it goes to the top part, right? I did read somewhere that you can put tracks up there to keep them always in view, but haven't explored it yet.

Sorry, I missed that point - you right click on the track in the track list and select the strangely titled Toggle Track List.

[koolkeys]

Hehe, more great tips! I'll have to try those when I wake up.

I do already just drag a window to it's full size for the screensets I've made. I was just experimenting. The main window is really all that I would care about being maximized, and even that is such a small difference from just dragging it to full size. But good to know various options. I'm sure I'll find several preferred ways of working over the coming days. I need to start making all my track presets as well for all my instruments.

Time to sleep! I'll have more exciting stuff to discuss tomorrow(errr, today?)! Thanks for the help so far!

Brent

[soulata]

And in my wife's opinion, everything musical that I buy is a waste of money!

Same here

She doesn't mind sharing the profit I make with it though


k

p.s.: I use Cubase 5 and like it a lot.

[koolkeys]

Hi Brent,
so you like the screensets (or correctly workspaces)?
You'll soon notice a bug: all fresh created channels come up with EQs even if you set the mixer to show inserts.
Workaround:
use macros to recall your workspaces as in this example:

Workspaces - Workspace 2
Mixer - Command Target All Channels
Mixer - Views: Inserts

Then assign a key to that macro - voila, 1 click - correct view
Just a simple little introduction to what is possible, modify to taste.
Cheers,
susiwong

Hmmm, I just "got" the point of what your post is about! I was thinking it was something cool, but I read it slightly wrong the first time. Now I see what you are saying. Very good idea indeed! Thanks!

Keep the tips coming. Now, for real, I'm going to sleep! That is, unless I can't get to sleep(like last night). Being sick really throws my whole body off. So if all else fails, I'll be back!

Brent

[LawrenceF]

Play around with the Control Room Section. The speaker dimming, switching, monitor reference level memory and some other stuff there is really handy. Things I use when mixing that I would use with a real mixer.

Notice how you don't have to jump through hoops to get a click track (or main/sub/cue mix) somewhere. You just turn it on/off. Little stuff like this make the CR really handy.




Re: KC's. There should be key command presets right there in the key command editor.



A potential workflow tip. If you use the channel strip use the customization options, very cool. One of my favorite "morphs" is "fader only", having a single floating fader that follows channel selection.

Use the little arrow menu to switch channels.



More tips:

- If you do a lot of time critical timeline editing enable the crosshair cursor.

- Quick controls have their own midi controller map in "Devices". No matter what you assign to a particular channel's quick controls the hardware knobs you've assigned to control 1-8 will control those different things per channel. You can also edit the names of the things being controlled in the Quick control panel.

So instead of a bunch of controls that say CC-X you name them what makes sense. "Synth LFO" or whatever. Below I'm controlling a string bikini.

[advaya]

One question though. There is supposed to be the grand piano from the Yamaha S90. Is that on the second disk, the one called "VST Sound Collection"?

If not, I believe that it can still be downloaded from steinberg's site... It's worth the download if it's not on the disc. It's got just a wee bit too much resonance on the upper keys, but other than that, it's pretty nice for a freebe.

[LawrenceF]

The Halion One soundset actually isn't too bad for some bread and butter sounds.
Brent

I'm an old school midi guy who learned midi from old school midi guys and the first thing they taught me is there is no such thing as a bad synth, only bad synth programmers.

The second thing they taught me is that if the sound isn't what you want, make it what you want. In my first studio we would often layer midi sounds, 4 bass patches, 3 pianos, 4-5 string patches... to make whatever sound we needed... along with tweaking synth parameters of course. Many of the layered sounds that hit that Tascam 8-track back then didn't exist on any one synth and we had a DX7 a Kawai K1, Korg M1, some Roland stuff and a ton of hardware midi sound modules.

If you've ever heard 4 pianos (acoustic, rhodes, electric, other) layered from 4 different mfg's hardware synths... through a mixer and treated/blended to a single sound... nice. No such patch exists anywhere on any synth... and never will again anywhere. It only exists at that moment for that song.

I do the same thing with VSTi's and hardware now... layer, so I don't get too caught up with the quality or lack of from factory sounds from any synth. Not for pop music anyway.

[Kmeister]

I'm an old school midi guy who learned midi from old school midi guys and the first thing they taught me is there is no such thing as a bad synth, only bad synth programmers.

The second thing they taught me is that if the sound isn't what you want, make it what you want. In my first studio we would often layer midi sounds, 4 bass patches, 3 pianos, 4-5 string patches... to make whatever sound we needed... along with tweaking synth parameters of course. Many of the layered sounds that hit that Tascam 8-track back then didn't exist on any one synth and we had a DX7 a Kawai K1, Korg M1, some Roland stuff and a ton of hardware midi sound modules.

If you've ever heard 4 pianos (acoustic, rhodes, electric, other) layered from 4 different mfg's hardware synths... through a mixer and treated/blended to a single sound... nice. No such patch exists anywhere on any synth... and never will again anywhere. It only exists at that moment for that song.

I do the same thing with VSTi's and hardware now... layer, so I don't get too caught up with the quality or lack of from factory sounds from any synth. Not for pop music anyway.

Amen

I'm not from the old school but I've found myself mixing and layering sounds to get what I really want on just about every track since I started making tunes on a PC waaay way back in 2001.

[Oxytoxine]

congrats!

you won't get fat, as you'll discover sports.. no, seriously, i simply replaced my blunt and other cigarettes addiction with running/cross-country etc. (ok, and partially also with cabernet . works quite well, although it admittedly has a negative impact on music production - ya know, more time in nature than in front of the daw.. but i assume health is more important. i otherwise do not like this sort of things, but maybe it helps you to have from time to time a look at a list with all the things that improved in your body since you stopped smoking? anyway, all the best - you'll do it!

Re: Smoking...

3 weeks and counting... nicotine free. Eating everything in sight. I expect to be a really fat man in about a year so I'm gonna get laid as much as I can this summer before that happens.



Are you gonna eat that? ... huh...?

[koolkeys]

Wow, lots to digest! Thanks. But first, I gotta get some lunch and, ummmm.........digest that first?

Be back soon!

Brent

[Oxytoxine]

real musicians do not need food..

Wow, lots to digest! Thanks. But first, I gotta get some lunch and, ummmm.........digest that first?

Be back soon!

Brent