User manual

16
Setting up your system
• When using the Mixer inside Cubase, you can use the
inputs on your audio hardware to connect microphones
and/or external devices. Use the outputs to connect your
monitoring equipment.
Cubase only: You can create very complex setups using external instru-
ments and external effects, and integrate Cubase seamlessly with all
your external equipment using the Control Room feature (see the chap
-
ters “VST Connections” on page 25 and “Control Room (Cubase only)”
on page 172).
Mixing inside Cubase
Connecting for surround sound (Cubase only)
If you plan to mix for surround sound, you can connect the
audio outputs to a multi-channel power amplifier, driving a
set of surround channels.
A surround sound playback configuration
Cubase supports surround formats with up to 6 speaker
channels. The figure above shows a 5.1 surround setup.
Recording from a CD player
Most computers come with a CD-ROM drive that can also
be used as a regular CD player. In some cases the CD
player is internally connected to the audio hardware so
that you can record the output of the CD player directly
into Cubase (consult the audio hardware documentation if
you are uncertain).
• All routing and level adjustments for recording from a
CD (if available) are done in the audio hardware setup ap-
plication (see below).
• You can also grab audio tracks directly from a CD in
Cubase (see the chapter
“File handling” on page 521).
Word clock connections
If you are using a digital audio connection, you may also
need a word clock connection between the audio hard-
ware and external devices. Please refer to the documenta-
tion that came with the audio hardware for details.
About recording levels and inputs
When you connect your equipment, you should make sure
that the impedance and levels of the audio sources and in
-
puts are matched. Typically, different inputs may be de-
signed for use with microphones, consumer line level
(-10
dBV) or professional line level (+4 dBV), or you may
be able to adjust input characteristics on the audio inter-
face or in its control panel. Please check the audio hard-
ware documentation for details.
Using the correct types of input is important to avoid dis-
tortion or noisy recordings.
!
It is very important that word clock synchronization is
done correctly or there might be clicks and crackles
in recordings that you make!
!
Cubase does not provide any input level adjustments
for the signals coming in to your audio hardware,
since these are handled differently for each card. Ad
-
justing input levels is either done in a special applica-
tion included with the hardware or from its control
panel (see below).