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VST instruments and instrument tracks
Ö Due to there being only one volume and pan control for
the instrument track, the Mute button will mute the com-
plete track including the VST instrument. (As opposed to a
MIDI track with an assigned VST instrument, for which mut-
ing the MIDI track still allows you to monitor and record the
VST instrument.)
• Instrument tracks always have one stereo output chan-
nel only. This means that VST instruments that do not pro-
vide a stereo output as their first output channel cannot be
used with instrument tracks, and must be loaded via the
VST Instruments window.
• Due to the limitation to one output channel, instrument
tracks play only the first voice of a multi-timbral VST in
-
strument. If you want to use all voices, you have to load the
instrument via the VST Instruments window and set up a
MIDI channel to play it.
Import and export options
Importing MIDI loops
You can import “MIDI loops” (file extension “*.midiloop”) in
Cubase. These files contain MIDI part information (MIDI
notes, controllers, etc.) as well as all the settings that are
saved in instrument track presets (see
“About track pre-
sets and VST presets” on page 151). This way, you can
easily reuse instrument patterns you really like in other
projects or applications, for example.
Proceed as follows:
1. Open the MediaBay window via the Media menu.
2. In the Results section, open the “Show Media Types”
dialog and select “MIDI Loops & Plug-in Presets” (see
“Filtering according to media type” on page 211).
This is not necessary, but will help you locate your MIDI loops more quickly.
3. In the Results list, select a MIDI loop and drag it to an
empty section in the Project window.
An instrument track is created and the instrument part is inserted at the
position where you dragged the file. The Inspector will reflect all settings
saved in the MIDI loop, e.
g. the VST instrument that was used, applied
insert effects, track parameters, etc.
Ö You can also drag MIDI loops onto existing instrument
or MIDI tracks. However, this will only import the part infor-
mation. This means this part will only contain the MIDI data
(notes, controllers) saved in the MIDI loop, but no inspec
-
tor settings or instrument parameters.
Exporting MIDI loops
Exporting MIDI loops is a great way of saving a MIDI part
together with its instrument and effect settings. This al-
lows you to easily reproduce patterns you created without
having to search for the correct sound, style, or effect.
Proceed as follows:
1. Select the desired instrument part.
2. Pull down the File menu, open the Export submenu,
and select “MIDI Loop…”.
A file dialog opens.
3. In the “New MIDI Loop” section, enter a name for the
MIDI loop.
• If you want to save attributes for the MIDI loop, click the
button below the “New MIDI Loop” section at the bottom
left.
The Attribute Inspector section opens, allowing you to define attributes
for your MIDI loop.
4. Click OK to close the dialog and save the MIDI loop.
MIDI Loop files are saved in the following folder:
• Windows: \Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\Steinberg\
MIDI Loops
• Mac: /Users/<user name>/Library/Application Support/
Steinberg/MIDI Loops/
This default folder cannot be changed, but you can create
subfolders within this folder to organize your MIDI loops.
Simply click the “New Folder” button in the Save MIDI
Loop dialog.
Exporting instrument tracks as MIDI file
You can also export instrument tracks as standard MIDI
files, see
“Exporting MIDI files” on page 332.
Please note the following:
• As there is no MIDI patch information in an instrument
track, this information is missing in the resulting MIDI file.
• If you activate “Export Inspector Volume/Pan”, volume
and pan information of the VST instrument will be con
-
verted and written into the MIDI file as controller data.