Korg wavestate Tutorial/Overview Part 2: Creating and Editing Wavesequences

Cubase 11 Sound Design

By John Walden

StepFilter might not be the most powerful filter plug‑in ever created, but its step‑based pattern sequencer opens up some very interesting creative possibilities.

Want to create your own signature sounds? Cubase makes sound design easy.

There’s something very satisfying about making music with sounds you’ve designed yourself, and Cubase provides plenty of options to explore on this front. It’s a big topic, and I’ll consider two different angles in successive workshops: this time, I’ll transform a live audio input source into something more ‘synthetic’; and next month I’ll look at ways you can create playable instruments from a simple, single sample. In both cases, I’ll provide audio examples to illustrate the text, and you’ll find this month’s below or at https://sosm.ag/cubase-1221 with full captions.

Before we start, check your audio buffer size (in the Studio menu, select the Studio Setup panel and, via the Audio System section, open your audio interface’s Control Panel). This needs to be set low enough that real‑time monitoring through a plug‑in chain feels responsive, but not so low as to cause clicks and pops. Second, engage the Monitor button for the audio track you’ll use for your audio input. You may need to disable direct monitoring on your audio interface too, so that you are monitoring only the audio being processed in Cubase.

Sustain

You can process any live audio input through a Cubase plug‑in chain, but let’s start with something simple: transforming some sustained DI electric guitar chords into something that sounds more like a rhythmic synth. Sonically, an unprocessed guitar DI signal can sound pretty uninspiring. One problem may be a lack of sustain, in which case a useful first processing stage might be compression. In my example, I used (or rather abused!) Cubase’s Tube Compressor. With a fast attack, slow release and high ratio, the compressor quickly reduces the initial transients in the audio input while the slow release makes the sustained portion of the sound appear louder. As our aim is something synth‑like, we can think of this compressed DI guitar as our synth’s ‘oscillator’.

StepFilter & MidiGate Rhythm

Some filtering might be a good next step and StepFilter is a good starting point. This plug‑in offers the usual cutoff and resonance options but the main attraction is its step‑based pattern control of these parameters — this makes it super‑easy to add filter movement in real‑time. As shown in the screenshot, I programmed a cutoff pattern that includes some steps with zero values, essentially closing the filter. This chops the sustained guitar chords to create a rhythmic feel and adjusting the Glide control determines the strength of that rhythmic effect.

Many synth filters and filter plug‑ins include a drive control to spice things up a bit, and while StepFilter doesn’t you can insert one of Cubase’s distortion plug‑ins somewhere in your chain. I plumped for Distortion, and inserted it before StepFilter. With suitably high Boost and intermediate Feedback settings, this can generate a nice ‘growl’, without sounding too much like a distorted guitar amp. For Pro and Artist users, Distroyer could provide similar results while offering more options.

MidiGate lets you superimpose complex rhythmic patterns upon your live audio signal.A more adventurous option for creating a rhythmic feel is to use MidiGate. Essentially, this is a noise gate that’s keyed by MIDI notes, rather than by the audio signal exceeding a threshold and it thus requires some configuration — but it’s well worth it! First, set StepFilter’s Cutoff and Resonance patterns to provide a continuous sweep (rather than rhythmic pattern) for the filter. Then insert MidiGate just before StepFilter. To trigger the gate you must create a MIDI track and route it’s MIDI note data to MidiGate’s MIDI input. You can then use the MIDI notes on this track to open and close the gate rhythmically. The notes can be from MIDI loops, recorded parts or a live input, but if you already have a MIDI drum track or bass track in your production, elements copied from these (try the hi‑hat or kick/snare) will often work particularly well, instantly locking the rhythm of your designed sound to other elements in the production.

The screenshot shows my MidiGate settings, which force the gate to open and close quickly. Note that because the three lower controls are all set to zero, the pitch of the MIDI note has no influence on the gate’s attack/release time and the note velocity doesn’t influence the volume of the sound passing through. But these controls are definitely worth experimenting with at some point.

Retrologue 2 Side-chain

Although StepFilter can be very effective, Pro and Artist users have a more powerful option still: Retrologue 2’s filter. Retrologue 2’s side‑chain input can receive audio from another track, and this could be a ‘live’ audio input if you wish. This audio is passed through Retrologue’s filter and effects sections and if you disable all of its oscillators, you’ll hear only this Retrologue‑processed audio.

There are a couple of ways to route audio from your ‘live input’ audio track to Retrologue’s side‑chain. In this case, having enabled Retrologue’s side‑chain, an Input level control appeared in Retrologue’s Oscillator Mix panel. I then routed my audio track’s output directly to Retrologue’s side‑chain using the MixConsole’s Routing panel. This means my live audio input is first processed by the audio track’s plug‑ins (for example, my instance of Tube Compressor) before being sent to Retrologue.

My audio input track has been routed (top left of the screen) directly to Retrologue’s side‑chain input, so that I can apply the synth’s filter and effects processing to the sound.

Retrologue’s filter has plenty to offer: there are over 20 filter shapes, a filter envelope and a choice of distortion types. However, as with MidiGate, for Retrologue’s audio engine to be ‘active’ it must be triggered by incoming MIDI notes — even if all the synth’s oscillators are disabled. Your Retrologue track therefore needs a MIDI clip containing some MIDI note data. The upside of this requirement is that the MIDI note data can serve several functions...

First, the timing and lengths of the notes can be used to impose a rhythmic feel upon your live audio input; a single long note will allow you to hear your audio exactly as you play it, while a series of shorter notes will impart their timing on the performance. Second, some fun can be had with the pitch and velocity of your MIDI notes, which can influence both the filter’s Key Follow control and the velocity sensitivity of the filter and amp envelopes. The audio examples include a number of different MIDI note configurations that illustrate just some of the possibilities, from letting your audio dictate the dynamics (using long MIDI notes), through syncopated staccato patterns (short MIDI notes) and to pseudo‑reversed notes (using a slow attack time in the Amplifier ADSR), but you can get very creative with this.

Retrologue 2’s side‑chain input can receive audio from another track... and if you disable all of its oscillators, you’ll hear only Retrologue‑processed audio.

If enabled, Retrologue’s Arpeggiator features provide yet more rhythmic and modulation options. In the final screenshot, the Vel(ocity) lane is being used to create a rhythmic pattern and control the volume of each step, while I’ve set the first two Controller lanes to change the filter’s Cutoff and Resonance values. The tempo of the pattern (and, therefore, the speed at which your audio is modulated) is locked to your host tempo but can be adjusted with the Tempo Scale setting.

Once your audio has been routed into Retrologue 2, you can exploit the Arp page options to inject some rhythm and movement into your sound.

More Processing

As with the sound engines built into most virtual synths, the processing options don’t stop at the filter; you can deploy a whole array of ambience, modulation and other effects to further enhance your sound. Cubase’s Stereo Delay, available in Elements, is a good starting point but the less conventional Multitap Delay (Pro and Artist) and ModMachine delay (Pro only) both offer something a little less conventional and they’re well worth experimenting with. When using Retrologue 2’s filter, the full suite of Retrologue’s effects panel is available including the suitably experimental Resonator section. I’ve included a number of examples of what’s possible in terms of ‘post‑filter’ processing in the audio examples.

Having built a processing signal‑chain for transforming your live audio input, make sure you save the configuration using either the Track or Insert rack preset systems (whichever works best for your particular configuration); when you want to try it with your didgeridoo as opposed to that DI’ed electric guitar, you’ll be ready to go in a flash.

Of course, you might also like to build a fully playable instrument or two from just a sample of that didgeridoo, and if you check back next month I’ll offer you some more ideas. 

Published December 2021

Korg wavestate Tutorial/Overview Part 1: Intro to Wave Sequencing

Cubase’s Input Transformer Explained

By John Walden

Cubase Pro’s Input Transformer; somewhat intimidating but capable of some very useful tricks.

The Input Transformer can do all sorts of useful things to incoming MIDI signals.

Most Cubase users will know of the Logical Editor, which is an amazingly powerful tool for transforming MIDI parts you’ve already recorded, but the Pro edition of Cubase also includes the Input Transformer. This is a more streamlined tool that operates in real time on incoming MIDI data and it’s capable of performing some very useful tricks. In this article, I’ll walk you through some simple examples that demonstrate the possibilities.

DIY Switch Builder

Many sample libraries have the ability to keyswitch between different sounds (for example, string section performance articulations). But for those that don’t, you can turn to the Input Transformer. The main screenshot shows an example which switches between different sounds in the first three channels of an instance of HALion Sonic SE (HSSE). By default, these sounds respond to MIDI channels 1, 2 and 3, respectively. I’ve constrained the MIDI note range to C1‑G8 for each sound, so as to free up the MIDI notes below C1 for use as DIY keyswitches. Also note the instance of the MIDI Monitor plug‑in that I’ve placed in the track’s MIDI Insert panel; this lets you see, as you experiment, exactly what MIDI data is reaching HSSE.

To access the Input Transformer click on the ‘squiggly arrow’ button in the top‑most Inspector panel, and you’ll see three options: Off, Global and Local. Global means the Input Transformer actions you create will apply to the incoming data on all the project’s MIDI and Instrument tracks. With Local, selected here, only the current track’s MIDI input will be affected. The Input Transformer window looks similar to the Logical Editor: in an upper Filter Conditions panel you specify which MIDI events you want to trigger an action; and, beneath, an Action List panel specifies what actions will be performed when those MIDI events are detected. The four Module tabs, each activated by a small ‘power’ button, allow you to configure up to four independent Input Transformer setups, all of which operate on the same input signal.

Some virtual instruments offer velocity‑based sound switching... and your DIY keyswitch can achieve the same thing for instruments that lack this feature.

Assuming your external MIDI keyboard is set to transmit on MIDI channel 1, the instrument in the HSSE’s first slot will be the default sound. In the main screenshot, though, you can see how I’ve set up Module 1 so that when you press a keyswitch the incoming notes are assigned to MIDI channel 2 — so HSSE’s second instrument plays instead. In the upper Filter Conditions panel, the Input Transformer is instructed to look for the MIDI note D0 (the Last Event is Equal to note 26/D0) and to understand that the filter condition is still being satisfied while the ‘Note is playing’ (ie. until you release the note). The lower Action List panel is configured so that when the Filter Conditions are met (ie. you’re holding down note D0) the incoming data’s MIDI channel is changed to 2. Thus, any MIDI notes that arrive while D0 is being held down are assigned to MIDI channel 2. So in this example your keyboard’s D0 becomes a non‑latching keyswitch that accesses the Synth Pizzicatos (HSSE slots), but switches back to the default Ensemble Strings patch in the first slot upon release.

The Module 2 settings are identical, except that MIDI note E0 is the keyswitch, and it reassigns notes to channel 3. You could set up Modules 3 and 4 similarly so this approach offers you the ability to switch between up to five different instruments or articulations, including the default one.

Using MIDI velocity to control the MIDI channel provides an alternative approach to DIY sound switching.

Hard Choices

Some virtual instruments also offer velocity‑based sound switching, whereby different MIDI note velocities trigger different sounds, and your DIY keyswitch can achieve the same thing for instruments that lack this feature — you just need to make some small tweaks to the Input Transformer’s Filter Conditions section, and the second screen shows what’s required. As before, the default sound is on channel 1. The second screenshot shows what’s required and, again, a single condition is specified within the Filter Conditions panel. This time, it looks to see if the incoming MIDI note velocity is larger than 64 (you can set this to whatever velocity value you prefer). If this condition is met, then the Action List commands are executed. So, when a MIDI note arrives with a velocity greater than 64, the MIDI channel is switched to channel 2 before the data is passed on to the virtual instrument.

As seen in the image, Module 2 is also active. The entries in this module are identical to Module 1, but the threshold velocity is set to 100 and the MIDI channel set to channel 3. The combined result of both modules is a three‑way, velocity‑based, switching between MIDI channels 1 (velocity 0‑64), 2 (velocity 65‑100) and 3 (velocity 101‑127). It’s very simple, but it’s effective.

Generic Controller

Of course, the Input Transformer can be used with more than just MIDI notes, velocities, or channel numbers — it can also be used to convert any MIDI data into anything else. Another simple example that demonstrates this pretty well is identifying a specific MIDI CC number and changing it to a different CC number or, if you prefer, into a different sort of continuous MIDI data entirely.

One such transformation might be to turn the Mod Wheel data (MIDI CC1) into Aftertouch data (in this case, strictly speaking, it will be Channel Pressure; the same Aftertouch value will be sent to all notes). This could be useful if you’re trying to get the most from a virtual instrument sound that responds to Aftertouch, but don’t have a keyboard that offers Aftertouch, or if its Aftertouch capability is less than smooth (as, in my experience, is sometimes the case with compact MIDI keyboards of the sort you might use when travelling). Provided that the keyboard offers some sort of CC data control — a Mod Wheel is the most likely offering, even on small keyboards — then the Input Transformer can come to the rescue.

The Input Transformer can also be used to manipulate controller‑style MIDI data in various ways.

The final screenshot, above, shows the Input Transformer settings that are required to achieve this. Hopefully you can see that the Filter Conditions panel now contains two conditions, along with an ‘And’ entry in the final ‘bool’ column. The conditions are set so that incoming MIDI is identified for transformation if it is, first, a controller message and, second, its CC number is 1 (by default, the Mod Wheel transmits as MIDI CC1). Only if both of these conditions are met will the Action List transform the CC1 data into Aftertouch data before then transmitting the event to the virtual instrument. Obviously, with some slight tweaks to the Action List panel, you could target a different parameter (for example, another CC number) with your Mod Wheel CC1 data.

Input Transformer For Dummies?

A couple of points are worth making to bring this gentle introduction to the Input Transformer to a close. First, once you’ve designed an Input Transformer configuration, it’s worth saving it as a preset (to add to those already supplied by Steinberg), so you can recall it later.

Second, try not to be put off by the rather opaque nature of some of the Input Transformer’s settings. In particular, the meaning of Value 1, Value 2 and Value 3, seen in the column pop‑up menus, can leave you scratching your head. These refer to different parameters depending on whether you’re targeting MIDI notes, CC numbers or something else. For instance, in our final example, in the second line of the Filter Conditions panel, I had to select Value 1 in the first column’s pop‑up menu. There is no ‘MIDI Controller Number’ entry in that menu, but that’s what Value 1 represents when the ‘Type is’ is set to Controller in the first line.

This sort of thing can be difficult for some people to get their head around, and is perhaps the thing that new Input Transformer or Logical Editor users find most confusing. While the Cubase Pro Operational Manual PDF has some helpful information, I keep hoping that, one day, a Logical Editor guru at Steinberg will fully document the various options! This would undoubtedly enable more users to benefit from the vast potential of the Logical Editor and Input Transformer. 

Published February 2022

Kronos Titanium Piano Sound Compilation

Exploring Cubase’s Bundled MIDI Plug-ins

 By John Walden

Screen 1: The MIDI Echo plug‑in is an alternative approach to creating delay/echo type effects with your MIDI instruments.

Cubase's stock MIDI plug‑in collection includes some unsung heroes...

New musical ideas aren’t always easy to come by and, while Cubase has all sorts of ‘muse assistance’ tools built in, its rather humble‑looking collection of MIDI plug‑ins can often be all you need to get the creative juices flowing. Both the Pro and Artist versions of Cubase (sorry Elements users!) include a suite of 18 MIDI plug‑ins, and I’ve touched upon a number of these plug‑ins individually in previous columns — for example, I used Arpache SX in SOS December 2020: www.soundonsound.com/techniques/cubase-string-theory-part-2. But as each MIDI/Instrument track has four MIDI insert slots you can use them in combination, and this month I’ll explore how you might do that to provide the creative spark for a new song or composition.

Repeat After Me

The MIDI Echo plug‑in provides a somewhat different approach to the concept of delay/echo than the more commonly used audio‑based delay effects: rather than operate on an instrument’s audio output, It repeats the MIDI notes that are fed into it. In Screen 1, I’ve inserted MIDI Echo into the first MIDI insert slot of an Instrument Track, with a Halion Sonic SE piano sound from the free (and super‑cool) LoFi Piano expansion pack loaded.

Screen 2: The MIDI Monitor plug‑in provides very useful visual feedback when processing your MIDI data.

Note that I’ve also inserted an instance of the MIDI Monitor plug‑in in the final insert slot (see Screen 2), and if you leave this one open as you experiment, you’ll see a live stream of the MIDI data being generated by the MIDI Echo plug‑in. Obviously, you need first and foremost to listen when making changes, but a visual display can be very useful if the adjustments you make aren’t delivering the results you intend.

MIDI Echo’s controls can be used to create simple delay effects, as illustrated by the screenshot settings. The Repeats setting is configured to generate four repetitions of any note played (by default, the first occurs with the actual input note itself), while the negative Velocity Offset value means that the MIDI velocity (and therefore volume) is gradually reduced for each repeat.

The Delay parameter, set here to simple quarter‑note values, determines the delay time: play a note or simple chord, and it will repeat four times, each with gradually lower volume, and with the delay time locked to the project tempo. With various options for different time bases (with dotted and triplet settings) as well as PPQ (effectively giving you a time‑based adjustment if you don’t want the delay locked to the project tempo), you can easily add to the rhythmic interest it creates. Positive Velocity Offset values are also available, so you can make the repeats get gradually louder.

So far, so simple, and although it works in a different way, the results are not so far removed from those you can achieve with an audio‑based delay plug‑in. Yet, other elements within the control set allow us to travel into somewhat different territory. For example, the Beat Align setting allows you to quantise the timing of the very first repeat, and this then plays off against the Delay setting (which controls the timing of subsequent repeats). Or take the Delay Decay setting, which can apply changes to the regularity of the delay repeats.

A Delay Decay of 100 percent means that the Delay setting applies exactly. Lower Delay Decay values gradually shorten the time between each repeat, while higher ones lengthen the delay time. This can result in the repeating notes drifting away from the project tempo — in as subtle or trippy ‘that’s weird’ way as you like!

Screen 3: Once you have MIDI Modifier working as required, add in some Pitch Offset within MIDI Echo to give your semi‑random melodies a bit of musical direction.Length lets you set an absolute length for the repeated notes, which doesn’t have to match the length of the incoming MIDI note, and you can then use the Length Decay setting to apply positive/negative changes to the lengths of the repeated notes. Negative Length Decay values can produce shorter (staccato) repeats, which sound less cluttered, while positive Length Decay times can, again, get quite trippy, and are perhaps best reserved for slower, more ambient contexts.

At this stage, the effects produced are entirely rhythmic in nature. However, MIDI Echo’s final ‘not an audio VST’ trick is to introduce a Pitch Offset, as in Screen 3. This allows you to apply a positive or negative pitch change for each repeat of the note that’s created by the plug‑in. Depending on the setting and the musical context, Pitch Offset can be used to create some really interesting, arpeggio‑like steps in pitch or, if you prefer, dissonant/creepy‑sounding semi‑melodic lines. With simple two‑note chords as the input and some deliberately unsettling rhythm settings courtesy of MIDI Echo’s other parameters, media composers could have a lot of fun using this to scare an audience of a nervous disposition! Equally, a pair of percussive or drum tracks configured with different MIDI Echo settings can generate all sorts of interesting rhythmic results.

Melody Modified

In Screen 4, I’ve added an instance of the MIDI Modifiers plug‑in immediately after MIDI Echo. As the name suggests, this plug‑in lets you make modifications to the MIDI data passing through it so it’s not unlike the Transformer and Input Transformer plug‑ins I explored last month — but you get a more user‑friendly experience in return for accepting a more limited range of modification options. These options, though, are still useful and include transposition, velocity adjustment and velocity and note length reduction/expansion.

Screen 4: The MIDI Modifier’s Random and scale‑based MIDI pitch settings provide some useful creative possibilities.For our ‘inspire me!’ creative quest, the Random and Scale/Scale Note options perhaps offer most potential. With the latter, you can set a specific root note/scale type combination and the plug‑in will scale‑correct the pitch of any incoming MIDI note data, allowing you to exert some control over the creepy/dissonant quotient. If you have used a positive/negative Pitch Offset value in MIDI Echo, this will automatically remove any ‘out of key’ notes and, on its own, can start to generate some interesting melodic phrases. I’ve illustrated this with some audio examples and text descriptions/captions that you’ll find on an accompanying web page: https://sosm.ag/cubase-0322.

The MIDI Modifiers’ Random settings provide further options. You get two slots to randomise any two of note pitch, velocity, length or position. Adding a little velocity randomness is always a good way to make things feel a little more natural. Randomising pitch, though, allied with the scale‑based correction provided by the Scale setting, means that the output from MIDI Echo can generate all sorts of interesting melodic output. A Pitch Offset of zero in MIDI Echo provides a sensible starting point until you’ve worked out what’s going on but, if you then add a positive or negative Pitch Offset into the mix you can start to give the randomly generated melodies an upward or downward pitch bias.

Combined with the rhythmic elements created using MIDI Echo, there are endless cool opportunities to explore here and, again, I’ve tried to demonstrate a few of the possibilities within the audio examples.

Pitch Offset can be used to create some really interesting, arpeggio‑like steps in pitch or, if you prefer, dissonant/creepy‑sounding semi‑melodic lines.

Keep It Real(‑Time)

There are a couple of ‘gotchas!’ to be aware of in this whole process. First, while the majority of what MIDI Echo and MIDI Modifiers do in terms of generating new MIDI notes can be heard ‘live’ (that is, as you play notes on your MIDI keyboard), the pitch randomisation settings cannot: these only work with playback from a recorded/loaded MIDI clip. Second, while you can hear the additional MIDI notes generated by MIDI Echo and MIDI Modifiers plug‑ins on playback, recording the MIDI note output isn’t straightforward — and until you do that you’ll get different ‘random’ results each time you play a sequence back. That’s cool for generating new ideas but not always ideal when trying to finish a project.

To capture the output you can route it to another MIDI track using a virtual MIDI cable (MIDI sends don’t seem to work for this). It’s possible to do this with Groove Agent SE but I’ll cover that another time. Record‑arm the destination track, record the MIDI in real time, and not only should it play back predictably every time, but you can also edit the MIDI manually. Another option is to render an extended performance sequence to audio and comp the best bits from that. Alternatively, you can use the Transformer MIDI plug‑in for both the pitch‑randomisation and scale‑correction functions performed here by MIDI Modifiers. That requires you to dig into the Logical Editor‑style instruction set, though, so I’ll save that for another day too.

Until then, feel free to audition the audio examples and then enjoy what MIDI Echo and MIDI Modifiers can offer by way of musical inspiration.

Published March 2022

Patch of the Week 53: minilogue + NTS-1 + Melody and Chords