User manual

109
Quantizing MIDI and audio
Introduction
What is quantizing?
Quantizing is a function that moves recorded audio or
MIDI, positioning it on the nearest grid position that is mu
-
sically relevant. Quantizing can be used to correct errors,
or in a creative way.
In Cubase, you can quantize audio and MIDI to a grid (see
“Options for quantizing to a musical grid” on page 113) or
to a groove (see “Options for quantizing to a groove” on
page 113). You can also quantize multiple audio tracks
simultaneously while keeping their phase relation (see
“Quantizing multiple audio tracks (Cubase only)” on page
114).
Audio and MIDI can be quantized at the same time. How-
ever, what exactly happens during quantizing differs for
audio and MIDI:
• Audio quantizing affects the audio event starts (see
“Audio – quantizing audio event starts” on page 110), or
the content of your audio (see “Audio Warp Quantize” on
page 110).
• MIDI quantizing can affect the starts of MIDI events in a
part (see “MIDI – quantizing MIDI event starts” on page
110), the MIDI event lengths (see “Quantize MIDI Event
Lengths” on page 110), or the MIDI event ends (see
“Quantize MIDI Event Ends” on page 111).
Ö When you apply quantizing, the result is based on the
original position of the events. Therefore, you can freely try
out different quantize settings without the risk of “destroy-
ing” anything.
Where are the quantize functions located?
Quantize functions on the Edit menu
• To apply the quantize function, you can either open the
Edit menu and select Quantize, or use the default key
command [Q].
• To apply one of the advanced quantizing functions,
open the Edit menu and select the desired function on the
Advanced Quantize submenu.
Quantize functions on the toolbar
The Quantize section on the Project window toolbar pro-
vides the following parameters:
• The “Q” button
If you click the “Q” button, it toggles to “iQ”. This changes the mode from
default to iterative quantize (see
“iQ option and Iterative Strength set-
ting” on page 112).
• The Quantize Presets pop-up menu
On this pop-up menu, you can select a preset for quantizing (see “Quan-
tize Presets pop-up menu” on page 111).
• The “Open Quantize Panel” button
By clicking on this button you can open the Quantize Panel (see “The
Quantize Panel” on page 111).