Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Monday, December 30, 2024
Cubase: MIDI Logical Editor
By John Walden
The Extract Kick Drum (C1) to New Track preset.
When it comes to MIDI editing, Cubase’s MIDI Logical Editor can do magic!
If I had to identify options for a ‘most underutilised features in Cubase’ list, prime candidates would be the Project Logical Editor (found only in the Pro version) and the MIDI Logical Editor (found in the Pro and Artist versions). Both are incredibly powerful editing tools but, because they use Boolean logic (commands can be chained together to make ‘true or false’ decisions, which determine the eventual editing outcome), they can also seem somewhat intimidating. It’d be a great shame if you let that put you off, though, because both are incredibly useful and have the potential to streamline lots of repetitive editing tasks. Fortunately, Steinberg include some excellent presets for them in Cubase, and unpicking an example or two provides a fairly gentle entry into these powerful tools. In this column, I’ll do just that for the MIDI Logical Editor, which is, as its name suggests, a tool for doing things to your MIDI data.
Double Your Kick
Let’s start with a preset that’s easy to understand, yet turns a very common MIDI editing task into something close to a single click: Extract Kick Drum (C1) to New Track. Layering multiple sounds is common practice with MIDI‑based drums so, for this example, let’s assume we have created a MIDI clip that triggers our main drum virtual instrument (VI), and we want to double the kick performance with a second VI.
The first screen shows the content of the preset (the preset system is accessed at the very top of the UI). The upper panel (Event Target Filters) lets you specify criteria to define what MIDI events are selected for editing. In this case, there are two criteria used. The first simply states that the Filter Target ‘type’ is ‘equal’ to a MIDI ‘note’, meaning that all MIDI notes (and nothing else) are potential targets for selection. However, the second line refines that selection by specifying that the note’s pitch must be equal to C1 (that’s the default MIDI note used for the kick drum, though you can change this if desired). The entry in the Bool column (on the right of the UI) is worth paying attention to. In this case, it is set to ‘And’ (as opposed to ‘Or’). This means that the MIDI Logical Editor will only select items that meet both the first and second criteria. For this preset, that means it will only select MIDI notes whose pitch is equal to C1.
In this preset, the GUI’s lower panel (Event Transform Actions) is empty. I’ll cover this section below but for now note that, with no entries here, the selected MIDI data (notes with a pitch of C1) will not be altered in any way. However, at the very bottom of the GUI, Extract To Track has been specified — so when we hit the Apply button, all the selected C1 notes will be copied from our main drum MIDI clip into a new MIDI clip and placed on a new track. Hey presto! We can now assign this track to an additional kick drum sound, to layer perfectly with our original.
While this is an editing task that you could perform manually, that requires a number of steps. Using the MIDI Logical Editor preset is faster — and faster still if you assign this preset to a key command (the Key Commands window has sections covering both the MIDI and Project Logical Editors). For presets you use regularly, the task then becomes a single click, whether for one selected MIDI clip or several.
Add A Bass Note To Chords
Now we’re familiar with the MIDI Logical Editor concepts, our second example preset, Add Sub Bass To Chords, can be explained fairly easily. With a suitable MIDI clip selected, the Filter Target criteria in the preset will search through the clip to find notes. If it finds a time position where at least two notes are playing (a simple definition for a chord), it will select the lowest note in each chord.
The Add Sub Bass to Chords preset.
The Transform Action panel is also used here, and has two entries. The first subtracts 12 from Value 1 (in this context, Value 1 is note pitch), while the second subtracts 20 from Value 2 (note velocity). Also notice that the specified action is ‘Insert’. So, when we click Apply, this preset selects the lowest note in every chord in the clip, lowers its pitch by an octave, reduces its velocity value by 20, and then ‘inserts’ those transformed versions of the notes into the clip, leaving the original notes intact. So your clip now contains a lower (octave down) bass note for all the identified chords. Ta‑da! A simple way to beef up any MIDI part containing chords.
Incidentally, the most common of these (sometimes rather cryptic!) labels (Value 1, Value 2, etc) are explained within the Operation Manual PDF, should you need a reference.
The 10% to Downbeat 4_4 preset (at the top), with the MIDI before (middle) and after (at the bottom) the preset has been applied.
Beat Accenting
Our final preset example demonstrates something a little more sophisticated: the ‘note accenting’ preset, called +10% to Downbeat 4_4. As in the previous examples, the Target Filter is looking for MIDI notes and, for the notes selected, Value 2 (note velocity) is transformed by multiplying it by 1.1. However, it’s the additional Target Filter criteria that make this interesting. These all consider the position of the note within the bar, and each defines a position range around the main four beats of the bar (this is done using PPQ values; Pulses Per Quarter note, which is MIDI’s unit of timing).
Notice that the Bool term used for these Position filters is ‘Or’. This means that, to be selected for editing, the MIDI item must both be a note ‘And’ (the Bool term used in the first criteria) an event which sits within the first Position timing range, ‘Or’ in the second position timing range, ‘Or’ the third... and so on. Notice also that the last Position criteria is there to catch notes at the very end of the bar; that is, notes played ‘early’ at the start of the next bar.
The screenshot shows what this preset does to the MIDI velocity data for a simple MIDI clip created using the Arpache SX MIDI plug‑in. In the original pattern, every note has the same velocity but, after the preset has been applied (actually, I applied it five times to make the changes more obvious), notes falling on or very close to the beats are emphasised, giving the performance a stronger rhythmic character. You could easily apply this preset to any MIDI clip (for example, MIDI drums), and similar presets are available that emphasise different beat combinations. You can drag within the position displays if you want to adjust the range specified in these criteria. If you like this one, then do check out the Crescendo In Cycle range preset — that’s also brilliant.
Want to create some semi‑random changes to your MIDI parts? The Event Counter parameter provides one possibility when added to a suitable preset.
Homework
For your MIDI Logical Editor homework, I’ll leave you to ponder one final screenshot that shows one of my own DIY presets. As the preset title suggests, for the selected MIDI clip(s), the first Filter Target criteria is looking for MIDI notes. However, in the second criteria, for the Last Event type (the MIDI notes), only Every Other Event will be selected and, in fact, by then using the Event Counter (Parameter 1) set to 7 (Parameter 2), only every seventh note within the sequence ends up selected.
We could then apply a number of different Transformation Actions to process the selected note but, in this case, I’ve simply chosen to Delete them. Having deleted every seventh note in the original MIDI clip, if we apply the preset a second time, the selected (and then deleted) notes fall in different places. Repeated applications to something like the steady arpeggio pattern shown earlier will break up the regularity of the notes in an almost random fashion, so can create useful variety. You can increase this sense of randomness by creating a second preset that uses a different value (Parameter 2) for the Event Counter. If you create key commands for each preset, they’re then easy to execute on the fly — and, if you don’t like the results, just execute Undo until you get back where you started. Of course, if doesn’t just have to be Delete; you could apply Transform Actions to change the pitch, velocity or even the position (which can be an interesting way to add variations to the timing/feel) of the selected notes.
The Power Of Logic
This short introduction won’t make anyone a MIDI Logical Editor ninja overnight, but it does shows how gentle exploration and editing some of the supplied presets can take you towards understanding what’s going on under the hood. Hopefully, it also shows you that the MIDI Logical Editor needn’t seem so intimidating — and reveals some of the potential of this powerful Cubase feature!
Saturday, December 28, 2024
Friday, December 27, 2024
Exploring The Project Logical Editor
By John Walden
Toggling the bypass status for insert plug‑ins on multiple tracks: a great shortcut for A/B comparison.
Embrace the power of Cubase’s Project Logical Editor, and you can become a workflow ninja!
In last month’s workshop I demonstrated just how powerful the MIDI Logical Editor, found in both the Pro and Artist versions of Cubase, can be for manipulating MIDI data, but as I mentioned in that column Pro users also have something called the Project Logical Editor. This is a similar logic‑driven tool that allows you to simplify complex tasks, but in this case rather than work with MIDI data, it’s used to streamline project‑level tasks. As with the MIDI Logical Editor, if you’re not used to working with Boolean logic, the Project Logical Editor can feel intimidating at first, but exploring just a few example presets will soon get over that initial speed bump.
Better In Or Out?
We’ll start our introductory tour with a preset that’s conceptually easy to understand yet does a super‑useful job. ‘Toggle Inserts Bypass of Selected Tracks’ is found in the Mixing category of the Factory presets and does as the name suggests: action this preset and all the insert plug‑ins on the currently selected tracks will have their bypass status switched, with active plug‑ins put into bypass and bypassed plug‑ins made active. The first screen shows how this is achieved.
As with the MIDI Logical Editor last month, the options in the Event Target Filters panel dictate what objects are to be selected. The Event Transform Actions panel then specifies what changes are to be made to those selected objects. In the upper panel, the ‘Container Type’ is selected if it is ‘Equal’ to ‘Track’ and if its ‘Property Is Set’ to ‘Selected’. This means that only tracks that you’ve selected within the Project or MixConsole windows are going to be changed by any of the commands specified in the lower panel. In that lower panel, a single entry applies a ‘Track Operation’ to the ‘Inserts Bypass’ parameter: it ‘Toggles’ the status of the bypass setting. This preset can be a really useful function for A/B comparisons. For example, you can select all your subgroup bus tracks and quickly bypass their insert plug‑ins to check whether all those mix processing moves are helping as intended, or hindering. Another scenario is use it on one or more tracks to toggle between two instances of an EQ or compressor (or both) that are configured with different settings, to see which you prefer.
And since you can configure a key command to execute any Project Logical Editor preset, once you’ve selected the tracks you wish to work with, a single click lets you toggle the bypass status of all the insert plug‑ins. There are other (equally useful) presets within this Mixing category that provide similar ‘bypass’ options for the sends and EQ panels within the MixConsole — I’ll leave you to explore their potential!
It’s easy to clear out unwanted automation data for only the selected tracks in a specific song section.
Automation Reclamation
Have you ever got deep into a mix and decided that within one section of the song, the mix just isn’t quite right? Stripping out the automation data (for example, volume, pan, EQ, and any send and insert effects) in a single project section can be a time‑consuming process. Thankfully, there’s a Project Logical Editor preset for that: ‘Delete All Automation Data for Selected Audio, Instrument and MIDI Tracks inside Cycle’.
The name may be a bit of a mouthful, but this preset does what it says on the tin. Once you’ve placed the left and right locators around the appropriate section of the project timeline, simply select which tracks you wish to remove the automation data from, then execute the preset. As shown in the screenshot, four entries in the Event Target Filters panel do the heavy lifting. The first two selection criteria identify that ‘Media Type’ that is ‘Equal’ to ‘Automation’ data and that it is ‘Contained’ within an ‘Event’ (ie. an audio or MIDI clip). However, the selection process also considers the third and fourth criteria: the automation data must have a ‘Position’ ‘Inside Cycle’ (between the left and right locators) and the ‘Parent Object Is Selected’ (the ‘Parent’ property is the Track upon which the event sits), so only tracks you have already selected will be acted upon by the preset.
For the automation data that fulfils these combined selection criteria, no transformations are specified in the lower panel. But at the base of the UI, the ‘Delete’ action is specified. When we hit the Apply button, any selected automation data is therefore deleted and replaced by a straight automation line joining the nearest automation points before and after the left and right locators. As a means of cleaning up an unwanted mess of automation data within selected tracks in a portion of a project, it’s a pretty speedy solution.
This preset is a great candidate for DIY modifications. For example, if you select the last of the current criteria, you can use the Insert button to refine the selection further. And if you enter ‘Name’ as the Filter Target, ‘Contains’ as the condition, and ‘Volume’ as Parameter 1, then only volume automation data will be selected. When this revised version of the preset is applied, volume automation is reset but other automation data is left intact — very useful if you just want to rethink the track levels within a song section. Of course, you could also apply the preset across your entire project by simply placing the left/right locators appropriately...
Ready to tidy up your unwanted muted parts?
Refuted When Muted
As I work through a busy project, I’ll often end up with lots of audio and MIDI clips that I muted as I ‘trimmed the fat’ while mixing. Once I’m happy that these elements are surplus to requirements, the ‘Delete All Muted Parts And Events’ preset (in the Parts And Events category) provides a speedy way to declutter. The screenshot shows the selection criteria used to find all the muted elements in your project (as with the previous example, no transformations are applied in the lower panel; the selected items are just deleted when you hit Apply). The key thing to note is how the selection criteria find only ‘Container Types’ that are ‘Equal’ to MIDI ‘Parts’ or (in the Bool column) audio ‘Events’ or ‘Audio ‘Parts’. The final entry then ensures only those Events/Parts that are currently muted actually get selected. Usefully, there’s also a Delete Muted Tracks preset (in the Tracks category) if your project requires a different ‘tidy up’ strategy.
It’s easy to add the date (or other details) to selected track names with the Project Logical Editor.
Make A Date
The final screenshot shows the ‘Add a Date to selected MIDI + Audio Track Names’ preset (from the Naming category). Given our earlier examples, the approach used in the four Event Target Filters panel should feel familiar. The four entries combine to identify all ‘Container Types’ that are ‘Tracks’, and that have the ‘Property’ of being ‘Selected’ and the ‘Media Type’ is ‘MIDI’ or ‘Audio’.
All tracks that meet these criteria (essentially all MIDI or Audio tracks that you have selected within the Project or MixConsole window) are then subjected to the entry in the Event Transform Actions panel. The Action Target is the track’s ‘Name’, and the Operation is set to ‘Append’ (that is, add something to the existing name). In this case, Parameter 2 is set to ‘Std. Names’ (if you click on this, a drop‑down menu of options appears) and Parameter 1 is ‘Date’. When you hit the Apply button, every selected audio and MIDI track has the current date added to its existing name.
For projects you’ll be working on over an extended period of time, adding the date to specific tracks can be a really helpful reminder of how the project has evolved. Which vocal take was the original? What’s the most recent version of the saxophone solo? And, if you work with collaborators and want to keep track of who added what to a project, you can simply adapt this preset by clicking on the ‘Date’ entry in the Parameter 1 column and type your own text such as your name or initials. Run both this modified version and the original ‘Date’ version, and every track you select can get your name/date added to its name, making it easy to see who has done what (and when) as the project moves between the various collaborators.
Surface Scratching
The above examples are very much the tip of the Project Logical Editor iceberg, but they should show you the potential for automating some pretty complex tasks. I hope they’ll encourage you to explore the various preset categories to find titles that might be useful to improve your own Cubase workflow. And remember, many of these presets can be candidates for the kinds of simple DIY customisation demonstrated above — even if you don’t feel ready to roll your own presets from scratch.
Combining the MIDI Logical Editor and Project Logical Editor with the use of key commands and the Cubase Macro features (both topics we have covered here in the past but are probably worth revisiting soon) can be absolutely transformative to your Cubase workflow — and bring Cubase ninja status within reach!
Thursday, December 26, 2024
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Steinberg unveil Cubase 13
The latest version of Steinberg’s popular music production-focused DAW has arrived,
bringing with it a whole host of new features and enhancements. Cubase 13 delivers a
refreshed MixConsole design, expands the capabilities of the Key and Drum Editors and
adds some new plug-ins, as well as reintroducing the Vocoder.
Cubase has long been praised for its MIDI editing capabilities, and the latest version continues to expand and improve the DAW's powerful toolset. A new range tool in the Key Editor and Drum Editor windows makes quick work of applying changes to multiple notes or MIDI messages, and both editors also benefit from a new Visibility tab, which makes it possible to quickly switch between editing multiple parts, whilst a Track view provides a timeline display of the parts from within the editor window.
The Project window has also gained a new Channel tab, which provides channel strip-style access to all of a selected part’s mixer parameters — including routing, inserts and sends — without needing to switch windows.
The update brings with it a number of new plug-ins, including VocalChain, a comprehensive vocal processor packed with filter, EQ, dynamics and effects modules dedicated to crafting professional-sounding vocals. VoxComp then provides a compressor specifically designed for vocal tracks, whilst Black Valve promises the warmth and character associated with vintage valve compressors, and a pair of EQ-P1A and EQ-M5 plug-ins offer Pultec-style EQ options. The release also marks the return of Vocoder, which comes loaded with 24 filter bands capable of adding some interesting textures to instruments or creating robotic vocal sounds.
There’s a vast collection of other improvements and enhancements, too, including a new Spectral Warp mode for the Sampler Track, new video editing and export capabilities, new chord pads that offer musical starting points, a compact Iconica Sketch instrument that provides composers with an all-in-one orchestral scoring tool and much more.
We’ve been putting the latest version to the test here at SOS, with a full review planned for the upcoming December issue.
Compatibility
Cubase 13 is supported on PCs running Windows 10 or 11, and Macs running macOS 12 or 13.
Pricing & Availability
Cubase 13 is available now, with pricing as follows:
There are also a range of upgrade options available for existing Cubase users.
https://www.steinberg.net/cubase/
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Monday, December 23, 2024
Steinberg Cubase Pro 13
Cubase 13 may be light on headline features, but its raft of small improvements makes it a worthwhile upgrade.
In a world where version numbers have become largely meaningless, serving more as an expression of marketing than engineering, it’s perhaps unsurprising Steinberg are continuing to follow what might be regarded as the Spinal Tap approach to enumeration. And why not. If Cubase 12 was one better than Cubase 11, then Cubase 13 will be... well, one better again.
To Put One Brick Upon Another
The first thing seasoned users will notice about Cubase 13 is the vast number of user interface modifications, both in terms of appearance and functionality. And if you’re a Windows user, you’re probably in for a eureka moment when opening the new version for the first time, since Steinberg have finally ditched the cumbersome, seemingly orphaned window that hosted the application’s menu bar. This is a very welcome change, since the same window made tasks like minimising, maximising and restoring windows needlessly difficult. Instead, each Cubase window now implements a relevant instance of the menu bar, making life easier especially when working with multiple displays.
Over the course of 20 years of updates, windows haven’t always been modernised at the same rate. This has sometimes led to an inconsistent user experience, especially for those new to the application, so it’s good to see Steinberg have made a serious effort with Cubase 13 to ensure the application looks and feels both more congruent and contemporary. Upon opening your first Project, you’ll notice a not‑insignificant change to the general appearance of the familiar Project window. The Track List immediately stands out, thanks to a better use of contrast, with Track Controls now being displayed in white rather than black. And although the MIDI Channel Control is now much more readable than before, it now requires at least three units in Steinberg’s sizing scheme, which seems rather greedy.
Highway To The Channel Zone
Switching our attention to the Project window’s Left Zone, the design of the Inspector has once again been refined, with a crisper appearance requiring fewer vertical pixels; but there are also some crucial usability improvements. For instance, where Inspector Sections previously opened and closed exclusively, such that clicking a different Section’s header would close all other Sections without the use of a modifier, they now simply toggle between open and closed states independently.
Should you wish to revert to the older, established behaviour (and I can’t really imagine you would), you can simply right‑click a Section’s header and select Expand Sections Exclusively from the pop‑up menu. Perhaps regrettably, though, the modifier keys have been rendered impotent, having no effect with either the new default behaviour or the older method.
Previously, you could also toggle the inclusion of different Inspector Sections from the same pop‑up just mentioned, in addition to accessing a Setup window with the ability to configure presets. However, this slightly awkward combination of controls has now been consolidated into the new ‘Set up Sections’ dialogue, which is the other option available from the Section header’s pop‑up menu.
Joining the existing Left Zone is a second Left Zone known as the Channel Zone, which finally makes it possible to access a conventional channel‑strip‑like view for the selected track in the Project window. It was already possible to configure the Inspector to show different Sections pertaining to channel‑related controls such as inserts, sends, or indeed a fader, but such an approach could be disrupted when selecting different track types or accidentally closing the necessary Inspector Sections. Therefore, being able to display a streamlined channel strip for any track with an audio output independently of the Inspector is one of those small but useful additions.
The MixConsole window has been overhauled in Cubase 13 and no longer features the Racks section, opting for a more streamlined experience.
The appearance of the channel strip used in the Channel Zone reflects the updated design of the Mix Console window, where the Racks section is no more. This is frankly a relief, since it means the different components of a channel strip — routing, inserts, sends, and so on — are now sensibly revealed through independent toggles in the appropriate ‘Set up Window Layout’ dialogue.
The only aspect of the Channel Zone I found a little incongruous, which is why I referred to it as a second Left Zone, is that the button used to show and hide the new Channel Zone in the Project window’s toolbar has the same icon as the button used to show and hide the Left Zone containing the Inspector. I can’t help thinking there should be a better way to pictorially distinguish these two Zones.
In what seems like a flashback to the early days of Nuendo and Cubase, it’s now possible for audio, group and effect channels to be switched between mono and stereo configurations by clicking the Channel Configuration button on the corresponding track. This is undoubtedly handy, although one can’t help but imagine how being able to switch between other configurations might also be rather convenient, despite the can of worms that would inevitably be opened in practice.
Editing In Multiple Parts
Cubase’s Key Editor is arguably the most comprehensive piano‑roll‑style MIDI editor available in any modern music production application, and this window has been further enhanced in version 13, particularly for situations where you want to edit multiple MIDI parts simultaneously.
In prior versions of Cubase, several parts could be edited at once by selecting the desired parts in the Project window and opening the Key Editor, either in the Lower Zone of the Project window or in its own window. And, assuming the Editor Content Follows Event Selection option was enabled in the Editors page of the Preferences window (which it is by default), the parts displayed in the Key Editor would reflect the currently selected parts in the Project window.
By setting the Part Editing mode (from the Key Editor’s toolbar), you could specify whether the events for all displayed parts were available for editing simultaneously, or whether editing was focused only on the Active Part. In the latter case, the Active Part could be changed by simply clicking on an Event contained within a different part, or by selecting the desired part from the Activate Part for Editing pop‑up menu. Cubase 13 maintains this behaviour and improves it.
Clicking the Part Editing Mode control now reveals a dialogue with brief descriptions of the options provided: All Parts and Active Part, as before, plus a new All Parts on Active Track mode. And, to make selecting the Active Part more convenient, the Part Edit Mode control now opens a panel containing a clearly organised tree view. This displays the available parts grouped by the tracks on which they’re located, sorted by start time, making it easy to navigate a large number of tracks selected in the Project window. And, if that wasn’t enough, the panel also features a search field at the top, much like the Track List’s search facility.
Perhaps the cherry on the icing on the cake regarding these new part‑related options is a new mode for using the Solo Editor control. Previously, enabling Solo Editor would result in only the parts displayed in the Key Editor being played back, which is still the default option. However, a new Solo Editor Mode pop‑up panel offers a second option specifying Solo Editor should ‘follow’ Part Editing Mode, meaning that only the parts chosen for editing will be played back. Therefore, if only the Active Part is being edited, only that part will play back when Solo Editor is enabled.
Complementing these improvements is the new Visibility Zone, which is displayed to the left of the Inspector (and again, Steinberg need to rethink the logic of having two identical buttons in the toolbar that toggle the visibility of different user interface elements). As with the Project window’s Visibility tab, the Editor’s Visibility Zone enables you to toggle which tracks are visible in the editor without having to switch back and forth between the Project window’s Event Display selection. If you’ve ever worked with Pro Tools’ MIDI Editor window, you’ll know what to expect.
As you might suppose from working with the Project window, the visibility of tracks (whose parts are then displayed) can be toggled by clicking to the left of a track’s name to tick and untick its current state. This works in a non‑exclusive manner, although you can focus on a specific track — and thus hiding all others — by double‑clicking that track’s name in the list. And this works great in conjunction with the new Part Editing mode that enables All Parts on Active Track for editing. The Active Track has its name underlined, and you can select which track is the Active Track by simply clicking its name in the list.
Had Bach been alive today, he would undoubtedly have appreciated Cubase 13’s Key Editor, which now features a Track Visibility List and a new Track Display area, enabling parts to be manipulated directly in the Key Editor window without switching back to the Project window.
Given that the configuration of the Key Editor’s Visibility Zone has the potential to conflict with the aforementioned Editor Content Follows Event Selection preference, such interference can be prevented by enabling the Keep Editor Contents button, represented by a pin in the top left of the Zone’s mini toolbar. This toolbar also contains visibility‑related functions similar to those found at the top of the Project window’s Track List, such as setting Track Visibility Agents and an all‑important Find Tracks search field, vital for Projects with large track counts.
The Visibility Zone is accessible in the Key or Drum Editor, either when they’re displayed in their own windows or in the Project window’s Lower Zone. Although, to be honest, this Zone is rather more convenient in the former scenario, since, when using the Key Editor in the Lower Zone, you must use the appropriate tabs to select Visibility at the top of the Left Zone and Editor at the bottom to see the appropriate Track List. And what’s pleasant about using the Visibility Zone in a dedicated Editor window is that it can be displayed in addition to the Inspector, as opposed to having to switch between two different tabs in the Left Zone like you do in the Project window.
Tracks On Display
Being able to better manage which tracks are accessible for editing without leaving the Key Editor is extremely convenient, and Steinberg have taken this concept to its logical conclusion with the new Track Display feature. Available in either the Key or Drum Editor windows, Track Display essentially provides a mini version of the Project window’s Event Display, displaying parts for the visible tracks alongside the Note Display.
Enabling Track Display is surprisingly obtuse, since you have to click the small Track Display Settings button in the Visibility Zone’s mini toolbar and then activate Show Tracks in the pop‑up panel. Why Steinberg chose not to simply add a button to the Key Editor’s toolbar (and a second control to open the panel to access additional configuration options) is a bit of a mystery, although fortunately the Show Tracks toggle is assignable as a key command.
Parts can be manipulated in the Track Display in the same way as they would be in the Project window’s Event Display. For example, parts can be resized or even repeated with the familiar handles, moved or copied on the timeline across different tracks, muted and unmuted, and it’s even possible to show lanes by toggling a track’s Show Lanes control. The Active Part can be chosen by simply clicking the desired part, which also designates the Active Track. Alternatively, as you might anticipate, you can select the Active Track by clicking the corresponding track.
The Track Display is an intriguing feature, and perhaps its only quirk concerns vertical sizing. You can adjust track heights as you can on the Project window’s Track List — and there’s even a handy option to enlarge the selected track — but you can’t adjust the height of all tracks simultaneously by dragging the divider between the Track and Note Displays. Instead, you have to ensure the Track Display has focus (indicated by a solid vertical line on the left side of the Track Display’s area, as opposed to a dotted line), and then use the vertical zoom key commands.
This effectively turns vertical sizing into an awkward, two‑step process, since you have to balance vertical zooming and resizing the height of the Track Display separately. And it can’t be beyond the wit of man to be able to scale the visible tracks with the height of the Track Display, perhaps with a modifier key or an option in the Track Display Settings panel or both.
Range Selection, Revisited
A particularly welcome addition to Cubase 13 is that the Range Selection tool is now available within the Key and Drum editors, where Events from the Note Display and Controller Lanes can be selected in much the same way as events and parts across different tracks in the Project window. Using the Key Editor (since I’ve yet to meet anyone who uses the Drum Editor), if you make a selection with the Range Selection tool in the Note Display, the notes within that selection can be moved or copied as you would expect. And, as with a selection that contains portions of objects in the Project window’s Event Display, a split operation will be automatically performed in the Key Editor if a selection overlaps Note Events.
The Range Selection tool is now available in the Key Editor, and can be used to make non‑continuous selections across the Note Display and Controller Lanes, as shown here.
Unlike selecting across multiple tracks in the Project Editor, the Range Selection tool treats the Note Display and controller lanes exclusively by default. This means that if you make a selection in the Note Display, clicking in a controller lane will start a new selection. However, it’s possible to extend the selection either consecutively or non‑consecutively across multiple Controller Lanes and the Note Display by using the Shift or Control/Command modifier keys respectively. And this makes moving and copying multiple sections of controller lane data significantly easier than was previously possible, which is nice.
In bringing the Range Selection tool to the Key and Drum Editors, Steinberg have also made some improvements to this tool that also apply to its use in the Project window. For example, when objects fall completely within the selected range, switching to the Object Selection tool will automatically select such objects. This is tremendously handy, since it enables you to easily jump in and out of a range selection to make quick edits to the appropriate objects, such as transposing notes or muting and unmuting objects.
Classics Reborn (Again)
The world is not short of software recreations of the Pultec EQP‑1A and MEQ‑5, but perhaps Steinberg felt left out, because Cubase 13 includes its own EQ‑P1A and EQ‑M5 plug‑ins. Their DSP wizards have done a great job and these are useful, contemporary examples that sound and feel as you would expect. However, their real value becomes apparent in the context of the new VocalChain plug‑in, a modular effect that brings a veritable ensemble of algorithms under one processing roof for modern vocal production. VocalChain comprises 16 modules grouped into three sections — Clean, Character, and Send — including effects for compression, EQ, de‑essing, filtering, and so on. The left of the interface lists the modules in order of processing, and they can be toggled on and off, auditioned in solo, or even rearranged within the corresponding group.
Other new algorithms presented by VocalChain that are also available as independent
plug‑ins include Black Valve and VoxComp. The former is an unapologetically
analogue‑sounding processor, combining a tube preamp stage with a classic
compressor/limiter; the wet/dry mix control is a welcome touch, allowing you to
blend in the amount of vulgarity to taste. For subtler dynamics, VoxComp is ideal
for situations where you want to compress a vocal track simply and tenderly with an
air of mansuetude.
Cubase 13 includes the new modular VocalChain plug‑in for vocal processing, which includes Pultec EQ emulations also accessible as separate plug‑ins, like the new EQ‑P1A.
Cubase 13 also sees the return of a vocoder, a type of plug‑in last seen back in Cubase SX 3. The aptly named Vocoder offers between two and 24 bands, recreating the classic sound of a vintage vocoder. And, last but not least, the TestGenerator plug‑in has been updated and now usefully includes enable/disable buttons for each speaker channel (handy when testing surround and spatial configurations), in addition to using geometric oscillators for improved signal generation.
Superstition?
Cubase 13 is one of those interesting releases where there isn’t a singular, headline‑grabbing new feature. Rather it’s perhaps an example of what Steinberg do best: a carefully curated collection of significant workflow enhancements, user interface polishes, and under‑the‑bonnet refinements.
As I was writing this review, I noticed how many comparisons I was making to earlier versions of Cubase to provide context for the decisions Steinberg have taken with Cubase 13. And I think this reflects how sophisticated Cubase has become over the years, making the huge amount of effort that’s been deployed in improving the clarity and consistency of the application’s user interface even more satisfying.
Having used Cubase 13 for some time now, I find my temperament becoming rather prickly when confronted with the mere sight of Cubase 12, a sentiment that might be considered as a form of praise. And I don’t think I’ll be alone. Cubase 13 has something for every musician and audio engineer, ensuring a better experience for everyone who uses Steinberg’s Advanced Music Production System.