Cubase vst- Getting into the Details by - HTML preview

Creating a Custom Startup Song

Creating a custom Startup Song actually only involves two steps:
1. Setting up the program exactly as you want it to be each time you start up.

2. Saving those settings in a default Song (“Def.All”; hereafter referred to as the “startup song”).

 

Before customizing...

 

... and after.

Examples of things to customize

Below follows a brief list of candidates for customizing. At this point you might not understand what all the functions below are for and what they do. Either look them up in the rest of this manual or leave them out for now.

Preferences

This is the most natural place to start. The various Preferences dialogs on the Edit menu contain many very useful functions that allow you to make Cubase VST look and behave as you want it to.

Key Commands, MIDI Remote and Toolbar

If you prefer to invoke commands from the computer keyboard or via MIDI, please be aware that a huge number of commands can be set up for key or remote MIDI control. You can connect any key and practically any MIDI message to any function. See page 639.

If you’d rather use your mouse, you can set up your own Toolbar, as described on page 642. This let’s you use graphical “buttons” for all the same functions that can be accessed from the computer keyboard and via MIDI.

Window Settings and Sets

You can move and change the size of the windows, open various types of windows, move dividers and set the magnification, to tailor the windows to your needs. Saving this in the startup song will make the program appear as you want it.

In addition to this you can create Window Sets (see page 655) that allow you to quickly switch between various window configurations.

 

Tracks

You can create and name Tracks, set them to different Track classes, etc. For example if you know you always want a Drum Track that plays on MIDI Channel 10, simply create it!

A more advanced option is to prepare empty Folder Tracks, for example for various sections in your orchestra.

 

You can also rearrange, hide and resize Track columns as you like.

 

Parts

You can even have Parts in your startup song. These could for example contain libraries of often used drum patterns or riffs. Or, they could contain system Exclusive dumps of settings that load your instruments with certain sounds. Put the Parts on muted Tracks and drag them onto other Tracks when you need them.

Transport Bar settings

You might for example prefer to record in Replace Mode, or you might always want Automatic Quantizing of your recordings. If you do, simply set this up on the Transport Bar.

Editor settings and Drum Map

 

If you prefer certain settings in the editors, for loops, quantizing etc, set them up and save them with the startup song.

 

A perfect candidate for customizing is the Drum Map. This includes which Drum Maps to use and how they should be set up.

 

MIDI Track Mixer

As described on page 315, you can modify the MIDI Track Mixer to include various “custom control panels”. Preparing such maps and including them in the startup song allows you to access many important control functions in your MIDI instruments from the MIDI Track Mixer.

Mixer Maps

 

You can have up to eight Mixer maps loaded in a song. You might for example have different “editors” for various MIDI instruments in your rig.

 

Audio Settings

 

There are a number of things you can prepare that are related to Audio:

• System settings as described on page 535. This is mainly done to optimize the number of audio channels, EQs and effects.
• Initial mix settings, channel naming, effect settings etc, as found in the VST Channel Mixers and in the various effects windows. This allows you to start with a basic tracking setup every time you begin on a new song.
• Audio buses, sends etc. This is mainly for those using audio hardware with multiple outputs. Preparing this assures all outputs are used for their right purposes for every new project.
• The Pool window allows you to determine how you want the files and segments listed.

Grooves and other Quantize settings

 

If you have created a few favorite Grooves or made settings for Iterative Quantize, make these part of your startup Song.

 

Metronome, MIDI Setup and MIDI Filter

Do you want a click at all? Do you want it via the computer speaker or via MIDI? How long do you want the count-in to be? All this is set in the “Metronome” dialog, reached from the Options menu. The “MIDI System Setup” dialog, reached from the MIDI Setup submenu on the Options menu, contains information about your MIDI Interface (among many other things). Since you don’t want to have to set this every time you launch Cubase VST you should save this setting in the startup Song.

If you have equipment that generates MIDI data that you don’t want to record, use the “MIDI Filter” dialog, reached from the MIDI Setup submenu on the Options menu.

 

Sync

Most often you will synchronize to the same external equipment – for example the tape recorder in your studio. By setting up the Synchronization dialog as you want it, activate Sync on the Transport Bar and save this with the startup Song, Cubase VST will automatically synchronize as soon as you hit play on the tape recorder.

Saving the Startup Song

Once you have set up the Song, perform the following steps.
1. Pull down the File menu and select “Save As...”.
2. From the File Format pop-up, select “Songs (*.ALL)”.

3. Make sure you save in the same directory as where you have your Cubase VST program.
4. In the File Name field, type in the name “Def.All”.

5. Click OK.
Now the next time you launch the program, the Song you just saved will automatically be loaded.

Opening the Last Song on Startup

Normally, the Def.All Song is automatically loaded when you launch Cubase VST. However, if you activate the option “Open Last Song on Startup” in the PreferencesGeneral-General dialog, the last Song you had open in your previous Cubase VST session will be opened instead!

Creating a “Startup Arrangement”

As described in the Getting Started book, the “New Arrangement” function on the File menu will add a new Arrangement to the Song. If there is a file named “Def.arr” in the Cubase VST program folder, the new Arrangement will be based on this file. This allows you to create a custom “Startup Arrangement”, by setting things up the way you like them and saving the Arrangement as “Def.arr” - the next time you create a new Arrangement, it will have the looks and settings of your saved Def.arr.

Starting from other Song documents –Templates

There are only two things special about the Def.All Song, compared to other Songs:

 

• It loads automatically on startup if found in the same directory as the program.

 

• It loads automatically if you select the “New Song” item on the File menu. You can in fact use any Song document for customizing on startup. This is convenient if you do different types of work and want different “templates” for each.

1. Set up the Song as you want it.
2. Save it under any name in any directory on your hard disk.

3. When you want to use a “template” song, simply double click on the document icon in the Explorer.
Cubase VST launches and the Song is loaded automatically.