User manual

78
Recording
5. To turn off the lane display mode for the track, click the
Lane Display Type button in the Track list and select “Lanes
Off”.
If the button is hidden, you can bring it to view in the Track Controls Set-
tings dialog – see “Customizing track controls” on page 472.
The Lane Display Type button
Recording with effects (Cubase only)
Normally you record the audio signals “dry” and add ef-
fects non-destructively during playback as described in
the chapter “Audio effects” on page 150. However, Cu-
base also allows you to add effects (and/or EQ) directly
while recording. This is done by adding insert effects and/
or making EQ settings for the input channel in the mixer.
Ö This will make the effects become part of the audio file
itself – you cannot change the effect settings after record-
ing.
About the record format
When you record with effects, you should consider setting
the record format (bit depth) to 32 Bit Float. This is done
in the Project Setup dialog on the Project menu. Note that
this is not required in any way – you can also record with
effects in 24 or 16 Bit format.
However, there are two advantages to 32 Bit Float format:
• With 32 Bit Float recording, you do not risk clipping
(digital distortion) in the recorded files.
This can of course be avoided with 24 or 16 Bit recording as well, but re-
quires more care with the levels.
• Cubase processes audio internally in 32 Bit Float for-
mat – recording in the same format means the audio qual-
ity will be kept absolutely pristine.
The reason is that the effect processing in the input channel (as well as any
level or EQ settings you make there) is done in 32 Bit Float format. If you
record at 16 or 24 Bit, the audio will be converted to this lower resolution
when it is written to file – with possible signal degradation as a result.
Note also that it does not matter at which actual resolution
your audio hardware works. Even if the signal from the au-
dio hardware is in 16 Bit resolution, the signal will be 32
Bit Float after the effects are added in the input channel.
An example
This example shows how to apply the “SoftClipper” effect
while recording. Note that this is only an example. The prin-
ciple is the same for all effects (or combinations of effects).
1. Set up an audio track for recording and select the de-
sired input bus.
For best results, you should also activate monitoring as this allows you to
hear and try out your settings before actually recording. See “Monitoring
via Cubase” on page 73 for a description of monitoring via Cubase.
2. Open the Mixer and make sure the full extended view
is shown.
To show the extended mixer view, either click the arrow icon (“Show Ex-
tended Mixer”) in the Common Panel, select “Show Extended View” from
the Window submenu on the Mixer context menu or use a key command
(this can be set in the Key Commands dialog, see “Setting up key com-
mands” on page 480).
3. Locate the input channel (bus) from which you record.
If the input channels are hidden, click on the Show/Hide Input Channels
button to the left.
4. Check the input level (of the signal coming into the au-
dio hardware) as described in the section “Setting input
levels” on page 71 and adjust the level of the source audio
if necessary.
5. Pull down the View Options pop-up menu for the input
channel and select “Inserts”.
The View Options pop-up menu is opened by clicking the arrow button
between the fader panel and the extended panel.