6.0

16
Setting up your system
Connecting the MIDI equipment
In this example we assume that you have a MIDI keyboard
and an external MIDI sound module. The keyboard is used
both for feeding the computer with MIDI messages for re-
cording and for playing back MIDI tracks. The sound mod-
ule is used for playback only. Using Cubase’s MIDI Thru
feature (described later) you will be able to hear the cor-
rect sound from the sound module while playing the key-
board or recording.
A typical MIDI Setup
If you want to use even more instruments for playback, sim-
ply connect MIDI Thru on the sound module to MIDI In on
the next instrument, and so on. In this hook-up, you will al
-
ways play the first keyboard when recording. But you can
still use all your devices for providing sounds on playback.
Setting MIDI Thru and Local On/Off
On the MIDI page in the Preferences dialog (located on
the File menu under Windows and on the Cubase menu
under Mac OS X), you will find a setting called “MIDI Thru
Active”. This is related to a setting in your instrument
called “Local On/Off” or “Local Control On/Off”.
• If you use a MIDI keyboard instrument, as described earlier in
this chapter, MIDI Thru should be activated and that instru-
ment should be set to Local Off (sometimes called Local Con-
trol Off – see the instrument’s operation manual for details).
The MIDI signal from the keyboard will be recorded in Cubase
and at the same time be re-routed back to the instrument so
that you hear what you are playing, without the keyboard “trig
-
gering” its own sounds.
• If you use a separate MIDI keyboard – one that does not pro-
duce any sounds itself – MIDI Thru in Cubase should also be
activated, but you don’t need to look for any Local On/Off set
-
ting in your instruments.
• The only case where MIDI Thru should be deactivated is if you
use Cubase with only one keyboard instrument and that in-
strument cannot be set to Local Off mode.
• MIDI Thru will be active only for MIDI tracks that are record en-
abled and/or have the Monitor button activated. See the chap-
ter “Recording” on page 74 for more information.
!
If you plan to use more than three sound sources, we
recommend that you either use an interface with
more than one output, or a separate MIDI Thru box
instead of the Thru jacks on each unit.
When “MIDI Thru” is active in
Cubase, MIDI data received is
immediately “echoed” back out.
When you press a key, it is sent out via MIDI to Cubase.
MIDI data coming in to
the instrument is played
by the “Synth” inside it.
When Local Control is turned on in the instrument, the keys you press
will be played by the “Synth” inside the instrument. When Local Control
is turned off, this connection is cut off.
“Synth”