User manual

194
Audio effects
Freezing (rendering) insert effects for a track
Effect plug-ins can sometimes require a lot of processor
power. If you are using a large number of insert effects for
a track, you may reach a point where the computer cannot
play back the track properly (the CPU overload indicator
in the VST Performance window lights up, you get crack
-
ling sounds, etc.).
To remedy this, you can freeze the track, by clicking the
Freeze button in the Inspector.
• The Freeze Channel Options dialog opens, allowing you
to set a “Tail Size” time in seconds.
This adds time at the end of the rendered file to allow reverb and delay
tails to fully fade out.
• The program now renders the output of the track, in-
cluding all pre-fader insert effects, to an audio file.
This file is placed in the “Freeze” folder within the Project folder (Win-
dows). On the Mac, the Freeze folder is stored under “User/Documents”.
• The frozen audio track is locked for editing in the Project
window.
The frozen insert effects cannot be edited or removed and you cannot
add new insert effects for the track (except post-fader effects).
• On playback, the rendered audio file is played back.
You can still adjust the level and panning in the Mixer,
make EQ settings and adjust the effect sends.
In the Mixer, the channel strip for a frozen track is indicated by a “snow
flake” symbol on the volume fader handle.
After freezing the Inserts for a track, you hear the track
play back as before but the insert effects do not have to
be calculated in real time, easing the load on the computer
processor. Typically, you would freeze a track when it is
finished and you do not need to edit it anymore.
• You can only freeze audio tracks this way, not group
channel tracks or FX channel tracks.
• The last two insert effects will not be frozen. This is
because these are post-fader insert slots.
• You can also freeze VST instruments and their insert
effects – see the chapter
“VST instruments and instru-
ment tracks” on page 206.
Unfreezing
If you need to edit the events on a frozen track or make
settings for the insert effects, you can unfreeze the track:
1. Click the Freeze button in the Inspector for the track.
You will be asked whether you really want to unfreeze the channel and if
you wish to keep or delete the freeze files.
2. Click “Unfreeze” or “Keep Freeze files”.
This reactivates the frozen insert effects. Clicking “Keep Freeze Files”
will unfreeze the channel but not delete the freeze files. After editing, you
can freeze the track again.
Send effects
Background
As their name implies, send effects are outside of an audio
channel’s signal path, i. e. the audio data to be processed
must be sent to the effect (as opposed to insert effects,
which are inserted into the channel’s signal path).
To this end, Cubase provides FX channel tracks. When
you have created such a track, it is added to the track list
and can be selected as a routing target in the Send slots
of audio channels.
• When selecting an FX channel track in one of the send
slots of an audio channel, the audio is sent to the FX chan-
nel and through any insert effects set up for it.
The sends can be routed to different FX channels, and thus different FX
channel insert effect configurations. You control the amount of signal
sent to the FX channel by adjusting the effect send level.
• If you have added several effects to the FX channel, the
signal passes through the effects in series, from the top
(the first slot) downward.
This allows for “custom” send effect configurations – e. g. a chorus fol-
lowed by a reverb followed by an EQ and so on.
• The FX channel track has its own channel strip in the
Mixer, the effect return channel.
Here you can adjust the effect return level and balance, add EQ and
route the effect return to any output bus.
• Each FX channel track can have any number of automa-
tion tracks, for automating various effect parameters.
See the chapter “Automation” on page 227 for more information.