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Audio effects
Adding insert effects to output busses
All output busses have insert slots, just like regular audio
channels. The procedures for adding insert effects are the
same.
• Insert effects added to an output bus will affect all audio
routed to that bus, like a “master insert effect”.
Typically you would add compressors, limiters, EQ or other plug-ins to
tailor the dynamics and sound of the final mix. Dithering is a special case,
as described below.
Output busses only appear as tracks in the track list after
their automation Write buttons have been activated at least
once. Only then will you be able to make Inserts settings for
the corresponding busses in the Inspector section. How
-
ever, you can always make Inserts settings in the Channel
Settings window.
Dithering (Cubase Elements only)
Dithering is a method for controlling the noise produced
by quantization errors in digital recordings. The theory be
-
hind this is that during low level passages, only a few bits
are used to represent the signal, which leads to quantiza-
tion errors and hence distortion.
For example, when “truncating bits”, as a result of moving
from 24 to 16 bit resolution, quantization errors are added
to an otherwise immaculate recording. By adding a spe
-
cial kind of noise at an extremely low level, the effect of
these errors is minimized. The added noise could be per
-
ceived as a very low-level hiss under exacting listening
conditions. However, this is hardly noticeable and much
preferred to the distortion that otherwise occurs.
When should I use dithering?
• Consider dithering when you mix down to a lower reso-
lution, either in realtime (during playback) or with the Ex-
port Audio Mixdown function.
A typical example is when you mix down a project to a 16-bit stereo au-
dio file for audio CD burning.
What is a “lower resolution” then? Well, Cubase uses 32-
bit float resolution internally, which means that all integer
resolutions (16 bit, 24 bit, etc.) are lower. The negative ef
-
fects of truncation (no dithering) are most noticeable when
mixing down to 8 bit, 16 bit and 20 bit format; whether to
dither when mixing down to 24 bits is a matter of taste.
Applying dithering
1. Open the VST Output Channel Settings window by
clicking the “e” button for the Output channel in the Mixer.
2. Open the Inserts pop-up menu for slot 7 or 8.
The two last Insert effect slots (for all channels) are post-fader, which is
crucial for a dithering plug-in. The reason is that any master gain change
applied after dithering would bring the signal back to the internal 32 bit
float domain, rendering the dithering settings useless.
3. Select the included UV22HR plug-in from the pop-up
menu.
The included dithering plug-ins and their parameters are described in the
separate PDF document “Plug-in Reference”. If you have installed an
-
other dithering plug-in that you prefer, you can of course select this in-
stead.
4. Make sure that the plug-in is set to dither to the cor-
rect resolution.
This would be the resolution of your audio hardware (on playback) or the
desired resolution for the mixdown file you want to create (as set in the
Export Audio Mixdown dialog, see the chapter
“Export Audio Mixdown”
on page 296).
5. Use the other parameters in the control panel to set up
the dithering to your liking.
Using group channels for insert effects
Like all other channels, group channels can have up to
eight insert effects (four in Cubase AI and Cubase LE).
This is useful if you have several audio tracks that you
want to process through the same effect (e.
g. different vo-
cal tracks that you want to be processed by the same
compressor).
Another special use for group channels and effects is the
following:
If you have a mono audio track and want to process this
through a stereo insert effect (e.
g. a stereo chorus or an
auto panner device), you cannot just insert the effect as
usual. This is because the audio track is in mono – the
output of the insert effect will be in mono as well, and the
stereo information from the effect will be lost.
One solution is to route a send from the mono track to a
stereo FX channel track, set the send to pre-fader mode
and lower the fader completely for the mono audio track.
However, this makes mixing the track cumbersome, since
you cannot use the fader.