Quick Start

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Tutorial 7: Surround production (Cubase only)
Surround busses
Using surround sound in Cubase is effortless. Surround
becomes an extension of what we’ve already learned - just
with a few more channels added. Let’s set up our inputs
and outputs so that we are surround-ready.
To fully use surround sound on your computer, you will
need an audio card that has 6 or more inputs and outputs.
If your audio card only has between 2-5 inputs or outputs,
there may be sections of this tutorial that will not apply to
your configuration.
To learn more about surround beyond this tutorial, consult
the chapter “Surround Sound” in the Operation Manual.
Setting up surround outputs
1. Go to the Devices menu and choose “VST Connec-
tions”.
The default key command for this is [F4].
2. Let’s choose the “Output” tab first. We want to start
from scratch and remove anything that is currently there,
just in case it’s set up incorrectly. If you see anything in the
“Bus Name” column, right-click with the mouse and
choose “Remove Bus”.
3. Click the “Add Bus” button. Choose “5.1” for configu-
ration and “1” for count and click “OK”.
This will add a new surround sound 5.1 bus (Left, Right, Center, LFE,
Left Surround and Right Surround) allowing us to have audio in Cubase
route to our audio hardware.
4. Click in the Device Port column for the channels in the
bus and select the desired outputs (those connected to
your speakers) from the context menu.
Since 5.1 surround requires 6 speakers (or 6 individual outputs), make
sure you select 6 separate outputs in the Device Port column.
Setting up surround inputs
Now let’s open the “Input” tab and set up the inputs we are
going to use for recording surround sound into Cubase.
1. Do the same as mentioned above for the outputs.
Right-click and select “Remove Bus”.
2. Now click the “Add Bus” button. Choose “5.1” for
configuration and “1” for count and click “OK”.
This has now added a new surround sound 5.1 bus (Left, Right, Center,
LFE, Left Surround and Right Surround), allowing us to record audio into
Cubase in 5.1 surround.
3. Click in the Device Port column for the channels in the
bus and select the desired inputs on your audio card from
the context menu.
Since 5.1 surround requires 6 individual inputs, make sure you select 6
separate inputs in the Device Port column.
!
Load the project called “Surround 1” found in the
“Tutorial 7” folder.