User manual

137
Control Room (Cubase only)
Control Room operations
In traditional analog studios, the control room section of
the console contained the most used set of controls in the
whole studio. Often, the studio monitor level had all the
markings rubbed off from so much use.
The need to constantly be able to switch monitoring
sources, adjust the volume of monitors and route various
cue mixes and other sources to headphone systems is the
norm in most sessions. Meeting the needs of several per-
formers in the studio plus a producer and the engineer be-
comes a constant task that requires flexibility and ease of
operation. Communication between everyone must be
flawlessly clear without intruding on the creativity of per-
formers.
With all this in mind, the Cubase Control Room Mixer is
designed to fill those needs with a simple yet highly flexi-
ble solution. The virtual mixing environment of VST is the
ideal solution to the varied needs of a control room matrix.
With a virtual mixer, a high degree of customization and
precise settings are possible with the ability to completely
recall these settings at any time.
Configuring the Control Room
The Control Room features are configured in several loca-
tions within Cubase.
• The VST Connections window has a tab labelled “Studio” in
which the hardware inputs and output are defined for the
Control Room channels.
• On the Devices menu you will find the Control Room Over-
view that gives you a visual overview of the Control Room
channels and signal flow.
• On the Devices menu you will find the Control Room Mixer
which allows operation of the Control Room features.
• In the Preferences dialog (VST–Control Room page) you will
find some general Control Room settings.
VST Connections – Studio tab
The Studio tab of the VST Connections window is where
you configure the inputs and outputs for the Control Room
Mixer. For more information, see the chapter “VST Connec-
tions: Setting up input and output busses” on page 13. By
default, one stereo Monitor channel is created after install-
ing Cubase.
Control Room channels
There are five types of channels that you can create, each
defining either an input or output of the Control Room
Mixer. As more channels are created, the Control Room
Mixer expands to display controls for each channel.
• Monitors
Each Monitor channel is a set of outputs that are connected to monitor
speakers in the Control Room. Each Monitor can be configured for a
mono, stereo or up to 6.0 surround speaker configuration. Up to four
Monitors can be created, each with a different speaker configuration.
• Phones
The Phones channel is used by the engineer in the control room for
checking cue mixes and as another option for listening to the mix or ex-
ternal inputs on a pair of headphones. It is not intended for cue mixes that
performers use while recording. Only one stereo Headphone channel is
available.
•Studios
Studio channels are intended for sending cue mixes to performers in the
studio during recording. They have talkback and click functions and can
monitor the main mix, external inputs or a dedicated cue mix. Up to four
Studios can be created allowing four discrete cue mixes for performers.
• External inputs
External inputs are for monitoring external devices such as CD players,
multi-channel recorders or any other audio source. Up to six external in-
puts can be created with various configurations from mono up to 6.0 sur-
round.
• Talkback
The Talkback is a mono input used for a communications system be-
tween the control room and performers in the studio. Only one mono
Talkback channel is available.
Control Room channels cannot share hardware inputs or
outputs with external FX or external instruments, as de-
fined in the VST Connections window (see “Connecting
the external effect/instrument” on page 20). As you create
connections for each channel, only those device ports that
have not been used for external FX or instruments will be
available.