KORG Pa3X LE Video Manual - Part 4: Song Play

Using MIDI Remote In Cubase 12

By John Walden

For every plug‑in window in Cubase 12, a dedicated Quick Control configuration panel can be opened.

Cubase 12’s new MIDI Remote features make it easier than ever to get hands‑on with your plug‑in effects and virtual instruments.

One of the most significant features introduced in all editions of Cubase 12 was the new MIDI Remote system. It’s intended to replace Cubase’s long‑standing Generic Remote system (for backwards compatibility, of course, that ‘legacy’ system remains) and makes it incredibly easy to configure almost any MIDI controller to work with Cubase. Let’s explore the possibilities.

Around & Around

A new Focus Quick Control (FQC) system provides similar functionality to the older Quick Controls (discussed way back in SOS July 2009), but Quick Controls were separate from Generic Remote — the FQCs are incorporated within the new, much slicker, MIDI Remote system. Any hardware controller which includes at least eight endless rotary controllers is a perfect candidate for assigning to this FQC system, and for the examples I’ll assume this is what we’re working with: an eight‑knob MIDI controller.

In this example, I’ve positioned the virtual encoders in two rows of four to reflect the layout of my hardware controller.

Setting up a MIDI Remote and FQC combination system involves two main stages: each plug‑in has FQC slots and these must be mapped to the parameters in that plug‑in you wish to control; and, using Cubase’s MIDI Remote editing system, you must link your hardware MIDI encoders to the FQC system. You can configure these stages in either order, but I’ll take them in the order I’ve just listed them, because the first stage quickly demonstrates why doing the second is such a no‑brainer!

As before, every plug‑in, whether a bundled or third‑party one, has eight Quick Control slots available. For many plug‑ins, these will have key parameters pre‑assigned; click on the QC button (at the top‑right of every plug‑in window) and a Quick Control panel will display the current assignments. To edit/add a new assignment, simply click on the L button (Learn, far left), select the QC slot you wish to edit, and adjust a control somewhere in the plug‑in’s UI. In this instance of the plug‑in, that control will then be linked to the selected QC slot. That’s stage one done: so simple!

Remote Working

Now to link the hardware controls to Cubase’s FQC system. This takes more effort but, once configured, your hands‑on control of the FQC system should work in all Cubase projects. The configuration is performed in the MIDI Remote tab, in the Project window’s Lower Zone. Cubase already includes scripts for some popular keyboard controllers and if Cubase recognises your device you may be able to skip much of what follows. But let’s assume no such script exists, and you have to start from scratch.

As each control is moved, a new virtual knob will be added to the MIDI Controller Surface Editor window automatically, complete with the necessary connections.

Click on the large plus (‘+’) button to add a new controller to the system, then enter a suitable name/label and specify the MIDI ports associated with the hardware device. With that done, click the Create MIDI Controller Surface button — the MIDI Controller Surface Editor panel will appear, and this lets you lay out a virtual combination of rotary knobs, faders and buttons. To add the controller’s eight rotary knobs, all you need to do is select the Knob option (from the list at the left), and move each hardware knob in turn. As each control is moved, a new virtual knob will be added to the MIDI Controller Surface Editor window automatically, complete with the necessary connections (MIDI channel, MIDI CC number, and so on), and you can then move, re‑size or delete the virtual knobs as desired. While the virtual positioning of the controls isn’t critical (you’ll be using the hardware controls not the software ones, after all), a layout that approximates that of the hardware will make it easier to keep track later.

Having linked the hardware knobs to their MIDI Remote virtual representations, we can move on to the final step: mapping the virtual knobs to controls/parameters in Cubase. In this example, we want to map them to the Focus Quick Controls, so click the Go To Mapping Assistant button at the bottom‑right of the MIDI Controller Surface Editor window and two things will happen: in the MIDI Remote window, you’ll be presented with a different view of your virtual control surface; and the MIDI Remote Mapping Assistant window will open. Any configuration you do in the latter will be reflected in the former.

The button at the top‑right of the MIDI Remote Mapping Assistant window pops open a Functions Browser panel, which provides easy access to a list of Cubase commands for linking to the virtual hardware controls. In the screenshot, within that panel, I’ve popped open the Focus Quick Controls options. Linking one of the virtual knobs to any of the available options in the Functions Browser is simple: just select the virtual knob in the central portion of the MIDI Remote Mapping Assistant window and select the target parameter in the Functions Browser. Both selections will be displayed in the Mapping Assistant window’s top panel. Click the Apply Mapping button, and the link is established — repeat as required for the other controls (in our example, just linking our eight knobs to the eight FQCs) and that’s job done.

The Mapping Assistant and Functions Browser make it easy to link your hardware controls to specific parameters.

Fine‑tuning

A couple more things are worth noting. First, a more detailed list of each configured link can be found in the Mapping Assistant window’s Mappings section. Second, at the base of the Mapping Assistant window, a Mapping Configuration panel allows you to fine‑tune the behaviour of the target parameter in response to movements of its associated physical control. There are a number of interesting possibilities, and two in particular are worth highlighting.

First, the large ‘G’ in the screenshot indicates that the currently selected mapping is Global, which means it will apply to all Cubase projects (this is the best choice for our FQC needs). The alternative setting is Project, which, as the name implies, means the mapping applies only to the current project. It’s useful to be able to specify this. Second, the Value Mod option is set by default to Jump. Other options include Pickup, Scale and Toggle, and these can be useful when configuring things like faders or old‑school pots (ie. non‑continuous rotary encoders), where the current position of the hardware control won’t necessarily reflect the position of a Cubase parameter to which it’s mapped. For the endless rotary encoder knobs in our FQC example, the Jump setting works just fine.

Exert Control

Having made all the required connections, once you’ve closed the MIDI Remote Mapping Assistant window those connections become active — you should now have hands‑on control of the eight FQC parameters in the currently active/in‑focus plug‑in. Switch to a different plug‑in, and your hardware controls should follow your selection automatically. If, at least initially, you leave the new QC panel open at the top of your plug‑in windows, you’ll have an easy reminder of which parameters your controller is tweaking.

You can specify whether the Focus Quick Controls will influence only tracks, only plug‑ins, or both.One further setting is worth noting. In the Quick Control Focus section of the MIDI Remote window’s Toolbar, the Settings cog lets you choose between three ‘focus’ options. For our example, the default Track and Plug‑in Window Focus or Plug‑in Window Focus Only settings will work. The former allows your carefully crafted FQC mappings to work with both track‑based Quick Controls as well as with any plug‑in FQCs (it will control whichever item is currently selected, or in focus), while the latter provides FQC only for plug‑ins. The second option can be really useful while you adapt your workflow to take advantage of FQCs — it prevents inadvertent tweaks to track settings when you’re trying to change a reverb or synth parameter!

There is plenty more potential to explore in the MIDI Remote system, particularly in terms of controlling the MixConsole. But, as a starting point, the Focus Quick Controls are easy to configure yet could bring tremendous benefits in every Cubase session. Getting hands‑on control of Cubase has never been easier! 

Published November 2022

KORG Pa3X LE Video Manual - Part 3: Styles

By John Walden

Retrologue’s oscillator and filter options provide plenty of scope for creating analogue‑style lead sounds.

Create retro sci‑fi soundtracks with Cubase’s Retrologue 2.

The use of songs by Metallica and Kate Bush may well have stolen the musical headlines for season 3 of Stranger Things, but the underlying synth‑based score remains hugely important to the show’s iconic retro sci‑fi ’80s vibe. In our March 2017 interview, composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein explained the influence of the likes of Jean‑Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter and Giorgio Moroder, and how the pair made use of their impressive collection of (mainly vintage) analogue synths.

For these sorts of sounds, it makes sense to start with the sine, saw or square oscillator waveforms typically used in vintage hardware synths.

If the idea of creating a similar sound in software appeals, the Retrologue 2 synth bundled with Cubase Pro and Artist (it can be bought separately too) can get you pretty close. For these sorts of sounds, it makes sense to start with the sine, saw or square oscillator waveforms typically used in vintage hardware synths, but that 2017 interview offered some other helpful pointers. These include: not being afraid to let the mix get a bit ‘murky’; using low cutoff frequencies (particularly for bass sounds) so things don’t get too ‘growly’; using EQ to keep high‑end fizz at bay; keeping filter resonance modest; using analogue‑style delay to add texture; and detuning notes to provide an unsettling or random dimension.

The score uses synth sounds in various roles, but in this workshop we’ll explore three prominent examples: arpeggiated leads, evolving pads and dark bass tones.

Repeat After Me

The first screen is a good, simple starting point for the kind of arpeggiated lead used in the Stranger Things theme tune. A pair of oscillators, both based on single saw waves, are set an octave apart for a slightly fatter sound. In the Voice panel, Mono mode is switched on and a very short Glide time provides a slight sense of pitch‑sliding between notes. In the Main section, the most important thing is a very low (not zero) Rnd Pitch setting, giving the pitch of each note a very small random offset.

Retrologue’s arpeggiator page makes those Stranger Things melodic lines easy to experiment with.

In the Filter section, note the low values of the 12dB/octave low‑pass filter’s Resonance and Cutoff. The Filter envelope is given only a modest amount of velocity response (as is the Amplifier envelope; lots of old‑school analogue synths didn’t have velocity sensitivity), and a touch of tube‑like distortion adds a little ‘warmth’.

The only entry in the modulation Matrix provides very subtle mod‑wheel control over the filter cutoff, so that you can gently open the filter for a brighter sound. In the Quick Control panel (at the top of the UI), I’ve linked the Master Volume control to my first QC slot, making it easy to add volume changes in real time or via automation. It’s not shown in the screen, but I also added a subtle touch of chorus in the Mod FX section, and then a quarter‑note ping‑pong delay with the High Frequency Damp set at its lowest value (1000Hz) for more of an ‘analogue tape’ effect. In the EQ section, you could opt for a high‑end shelving EQ here if you wanted to remove even more top end.

The next screen shows the Arpeggiator panel with a 16‑step note pattern and 16th‑note intervals. It’s similar to the pattern used in the Stranger Things theme tune — so be sure to create enough melodic or timing differences to make it original! I’ve not used any MIDI velocity variations or other controller patterns here.

Prime targets for further experimentation include the oscillator settings, using Multi waveforms (found in the Type drop‑down, these effectively turn a single oscillator into multiple oscillators, with the option to gently detune them for a fatter sound), and ring modulation. All these possibilities can help you create useful variations.

Theory Of Evolution

With the mod wheel set to modulate multiple parameters, you can give your pads plenty of sonic movement in real time.

The third screenshot shows the Retrologue configuration for a suitably analogue‑esque evolving pad, and a few differences between this and the lead sound are worth highlighting. First, I selected Poly mode in the Voice section to allow chords to be played. While I’ve again used two sawtooth waveforms, both osc 1 and osc 2 use more complex types (Cross and Multi), given their somewhat fuller/fatter basic tone. The sub oscillator has also been enabled to blend in a little extra low end. As with the lead sound, a low cutoff has been set using a 12dB/octave low‑pass filter type with no resonance applied, and a little tube‑based distortion added for extra warmth.

In the Matrix, a key difference is that the mod wheel is somewhat busier, acting as a ‘macro’ control by targeting multiple parameters, including adding a hint of detune to osc 2. The mod wheel therefore allows you to change the timbre of the sound in real time to add a sense of movement. The Arpeggiator is disabled while, in the FX section, I added a small amount (the Mix value is set at 25%) of quarter‑note ping‑pong delay. However, I’ve also added a gentle chorus in the Mod FX panel, with a slow Rate, shallow Depth (around 1), Feedback set to 10% and Mix to 50%; this adds some gentle movement and width.

If you want to get more experimental or aggressive, try introducing a square wave in osc 3 and experimenting with the Shape control, or engage the Ring Mod option in the Oscillator Mix section. Beyond that, move to the effects section and explore some of the ‘modulated’ presets for the Resonator; there are some cool starting points for creating sweeping sounds amongst these.

Heartbeat Bass

A simple combination of a square‑wave oscillator and some noise, with zero sustain, provides a bass sound that can also be used to add a rhythmic element.

If required, this pad sound can supply plenty of low end so, for my ‘bass’ sound, I decided to go for something that also offered a percussive element. The final screenshot shows the basic Retrologue configuration. This patch uses a single, square‑tooth‑based oscillator, although the type is set to Multi for a fatter sound and the Noise oscillator has been blended in for a bit of extra character. Again, a relatively low cutoff frequency has been chosen for the filter, with zero resonance and some tube distortion added. In the Amplifier panel, a fast Attack and zero Sustain setting has been used, providing a short percussive feel to the sound when played. In the Matrix section, the mod wheel is again serving as a macro control, changing the Amp Decay, Noise level and filter Cutoff.

The final element is within Retrologue 2’s FX section, where a ping‑pong delay has been set to 1/4D (dotted), along with 50% Mix and high Feedback (around 6) settings, to give multiple repeats — because these are dotted, they’ll provide a nice rhythmic contrast to the straight 16th‑note rhythm of the arpeggiated lead sound.

When it’s played at MIDI notes below C3 (note the Octave setting for osc 1), you’ll find that the sound seems to have very little pitch information, and provides more of a heartbeat‑style effect. But if played around C4 or above, the pitched element in the sound becomes much more obvious, allowing you to play a more conventional melodic bass line. As an additional option, you can add a second oscillator, based on a sine waveform and with Type set to Multi. This will fatten the bass further, as well as giving it a more obvious pitch over its full range.

One I Created Earlier

Does Retrologue supply the same degree of undeniable cool or compositional inspiration you might experience when working in a room full of classic analogue synths? Er... no! But neither does it come with the same price tag, maintenance costs, or space requirements. More important is how these Retrologue‑based patches actually sound. You can easily recreate what I’ve done, but if you just want a quick audition, check out the audio examples on the SOS website. These include a short example ‘cue’ that I created using these patches, and as with any sounds, you can feel free to massage them further with all sorts of EQ, compression and cool‑sounding effects. Retro sounds with Retrologue? Stranger things have happened... 

Published December 2022

KORG Pa3X LE Video Manual - Part 2: Sounds

Cubase 12: Sampler Track

By John Walden

It’s worth spending some time refining the loop region if you want a natural end result from a vocal sample.

Cubase’s Sampler Track is capable of making surprisingly playable backing vocals.

Not everyone can afford top‑flight vocal sample libraries, and if you all you need are some basic vowel‑style vocals parts then the Sampler Track, included in the Pro, Artist and Elements versions of Cubase 12, offers a way to roll your own. The steps involved are pretty straightforward too, so it’s easy to explore the idea, even if the parts you create will only be used as placeholders to be replaced with a singer later on.

Vowel Play

In order to create a playable vowel‑based vocal instrument, we obviously need a sample as a starting point and, to make the subsequent steps easy, two key things are worth considering when selecting or recording a suitable sample. First, ensure that you know (or can work out) the pitch of the original sample. Second, consider whether the performance you wish to create requires sustained sounds or shorter, staccato sounds (for example ‘ooooh’ and ‘oh’, respectively). If possible, pick or create a source sample that matches this style — while the Sampler Track does let you create a sustained sound from a shorter sample, for vocal samples in particular it’s not always possible to make the necessary looping sound completely seamless.

Drag & Drop

Execute the Project / Add Track / Sampler command to create a new Sampler Track. By default, this opens the (initially empty) Sampler control panel in the Project window’s Lower Zone. Then, simply drag and drop your sample into this panel. Hey presto! You now have an instrument, made of that single sample mapped across the full MIDI note range.

To get the best from it some tweaks are needed, and the first screenshot shows the settings I used for my working example; a sustained ‘dooo’ vocal sample. I’ll focus on the key settings I adjusted, but don’t let that stop you from experimenting with the other controls if you wish! I’ve also created some audio examples so you can hear what’s going on, and you can find these on the SOS website (https://sosm.ag/cubase-0123).

Within the waveform display, the first task is to adjust the sample’s start and end points, by dragging the small ‘S’ markers. If there’s a lot of unneeded material, the Toolbar’s ‘[ ]’ button can also be used to trim the sample. For smoother playback, it’s worth applying a short fade‑in/out by dragging the solid white squares associated with both S markers. Next, in the bottom‑most mini‑keyboard display, we need to check that the root note of the original sample (highlighted in blue) is set correctly to ensure the most natural‑sounding playback; you can simply drag and reposition as required.

To Loop Or Not To Loop?

If we wish notes to sustain longer than the original sample we need to configure a loop region. If you select an appropriate option from the Loop Mode drop‑down selection list (I selected Until Release in this case), the green loop (L) markers appear ready for adjustment.

Our hearing is very sensitive to what sounds ‘natural’ in the human voice; patience will usually reward you with a smoother end result.

Achieving a seamless loop using the two L markers, even with the Zero Crossing buttons active and using the crossfade options for the loop start/end points, can be a bit hit and miss. As a guide, it helps to try and get as close a match between the original waveform (shown in blue) and the waveform of the looped section (shown in green). Usefully, if you hover the mouse directly between the two L markers, a green horizontal bar appears, allowing you to reposition the loop section without changing the length of the loop. Of all the steps involved, this is the one most worth spending time on, as our hearing is very sensitive to what sounds ‘natural’ in the human voice; patience will usually reward you with a smoother end result.

A Bit Of A Stretch

In the Playback panel, I’ve enabled AudioWarp. This applies time‑stretching, so playback is the same length at different pitches. However, a quick tinkle up and down the keyboard from the sample’s root note will reveal two things. First, the sound is a little static, and, second, beyond a few semitones from the root note, even with AudioWarp engaged, the vocal quickly strays into unnatural‑sounding territory.

A few minor modulation tweaks within the Pitch, Filter and Amp panels can help add a touch of sonic movement when triggering your vocal sample.

To address the first issue, we can dip into the Pitch, Filter and Amp panels and, in each case, apply some parameter modulation to increase the sense of movement. Clicking on the ‘mod’ label for any of these panels superimposes a modulation envelope upon the waveform display. As an example, the screenshot shows some of the possibilities offered by Pitch modulation. I’ve applied a short upwards scoop into the note and a drop down as the note decays. In anticipation of playing sustained notes, I’ve also extended the pitch curve over about three seconds and added some minor pitch drift. You could make this as detailed as you might like but it makes for a slightly less robotic sound when notes are held. Note that you have to adjust the AMT slider (far left) to a non‑zero value before this pitch modulation curve will have any effect, but it does provide a very easy means of scaling the magnitude (and direction) of the modulation. Another strong modulation candidate is the filter frequency (using the envelope or Keyfollow controls in the Filter panel) as this can add pleasing tonal variation. If you have longer source samples and want to create a more gentle, pad‑like fade‑in, the Amp modulation envelope is where to start.

Make It A Multi

In terms of the second issue, we really need a feature that the Sampler Track doesn’t currently support: multisample instruments. While that would be great to see (pretty please Steinberg!), the very streamlined nature of the Sampler Track workflow does make it easy to construct a simple workaround. Imagine we want to be able to play our vocal sample instrument over a single octave note range but our current Sampler Track only really sounds natural over a range of four or five semitones around the root. What we need is multiple Sampler Tracks.

Constrain the active note ranges in each of your Sampler Track instances, and you can achieve a more natural sound over a wider note range.

For example, if we used three Sampler Tracks based on different ‘oooh’ samples originally recorded at C3, F3 and A3, and configured using the steps described so far, we could, in principle, achieve natural playback over a full octave. Then, for each track, we can constrain the active note range using the mini‑keyboard display at the base of each Sampler Track panel, ensuring that they don’t overlap.

For playback, if we then select all three tracks within the main Project window track list (so all three become highlights and record enabled), any MIDI notes you play will be sent to all three tracks, but each track will only trigger sample playback within its own limited note range. The end result is, essentially, a multisample instrument created from three Sampler Tracks and a much more natural playback of our vocal sample over a full octave range.

And on a practical front, it’s worth noting the Toolbar’s ‘lock’ button. Having carefully created your first Sampler Track with all the appropriate settings, if you then duplicate it, and active the lock button on the duplicate, you can drag and drop a new sample onto this track without it zapping your carefully crafted settings. You can then go in and manually change the settings for each sample as required.

And There’s More

With all three tracks selected, any MIDI note input will reach all three Sampler Tracks but, with the active note range of each track limited (as shown in the previous screen), each track will only respond to a limited range of MIDI pitches.Of course, having got into the swing of it, you don’t have to stop at three Sampler Tracks. How about a second set of three Sampler Tracks based on three different sampled ‘oooh’ performances — with each set of three panned to opposite sides of the stereo field? Select all six tracks and play for a nice, wide vocal pad.

Equally, you could create a second set of Sampler Tracks for a different vowel‑based vocal (I’ve done this in the audio examples with a ‘baaah’ sound). With careful use of the mini‑keyboard to create suitable mapping, you can trigger this second sound in a different part of your MIDI keyboard, allowing you to mix and match a performance with the two different vocal sounds using left and right hands.

And, if you route the output of all these Sampler Tracks to a suitable audio bus you can add some global reverb and delay, while Pro users could also try an instance of Cubase’s Cloner plug‑in to add some further depth to the vocal ensemble.

Finally, if you think you might like to reuse these new DIY vocal instruments in a future project, simply select all of the Sampler Tracks you have created, right‑click on any one of them, and choose Save Track Preset. Provided the original samples used don’t get moved or deleted, you can then load this Track Preset within a new project and your various Sampler Tracks will be fully restored and ready to play. 

Published January 2023

KORG Pa3X LE Video Manual - Part 1: Introduction and Navigation