User manual

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Synchronization
Cubase as MMC slave (Cubase only)
This is set up in the MIDI Machine Control Slave section.
Simply specify the MIDI ports and the MMC Device ID.
Some mixers support the MMC-Master protocol for con-
trolling external devices, including Tascam DM-24, Yamaha
DM2000 and SSL. This means that Cubase can be used
as a “recorder”, where track arming and transport com-
mands can be sent from the master device. In addition,
some digital audio workstations (DAWs) can only operate
in MMC-Master mode.
Sync Options
The following Sync options are available in the Project
Synchronization Setup dialog:
Lock Frames
Using this field you can set how many frames of “correct”
timecode Cubase should receive before attempting to
“lock” (synchronize) to incoming timecode. If you have an
external tape transport with a very short start-up time, you
could try lowering this number to make lock-up even faster
than it already is.
Drop Out Frames
On an analog tape with timecode, dropouts may occur. If
a drop-out is very long, Cubase may (temporarily) stop. In
the Dropout Frames field you can set how long a drop-out
(in frames) should be tolerated until Cubase decides that
the tape isn't good enough to synchronize to. If you have a
very stable timecode source, you may lower this number
to make Cubase stop more swiftly after the tape recorder
has been stopped.
Inhibit Restart
Some synchronizers will still transmit MIDI Time Code for
a short period after an external tape machine has been
stopped. These extra frames of timecode can sometimes
cause Cubase to restart suddenly. Inhibit Restart allows
you to control the amount of time in milliseconds that Cu-
base will wait to restart (ignoring incoming MTC) once it
has stopped.
Working with VST System Link
VST System Link is a network system for digital audio that
allows you to have several computers working together in
one large system. Unlike conventional networks it does not
require Ethernet cards, hubs, or CAT-5 cables; instead it
uses the kind of digital audio hardware and cables you
probably already possess in your studio.
VST System Link has been designed to be simple to set
up and operate, yet give enormous flexibility and perfor-
mance gains in use. It is capable of linking computers in a
“ring” network (the System Link signal is passed from one
machine to the next, and eventually returns to the first ma-
chine). VST System Link can send its networking signal
over any type of digital audio cable, including S/PDIF,
ADAT, TDIF, or AES, as long as each computer in the sys-
tem is equipped with a suitable ASIO compatible audio in-
terface.
Linking up two or more computers gives you vast possibil-
ities:
• Dedicate one computer to running VST instruments while re-
cording audio tracks on another.
• If you need lots of audio tracks, you may simply add tracks on
another computer.
• You could have one computer serve as a “virtual effect rack”,
running CPU-intensive send effect plug-ins only.
Since you can use VST System Link to connect different
VST System Link applications on different platforms, you
can take advantage of effect plug-ins and VST instru-
ments that are specific to certain programs or platforms.
Preparations
Requirements
The following equipment is required for VST System Link
operation:
• Two or more computers.
These can be of the same type or use different operating systems – it
doesn’t matter. For example, you can link an Intel-based PC to an Apple
Macintosh without problems.
• Each computer must have audio hardware with specific
ASIO drivers, installed and working.