Steinberg Cubasis 3

 By John Walden

While the Cubasis UI remains familiar, there's a whole raft of improvements in version 3.

For those who want an iOS workflow that closely follows established desktop conventions, Steinberg's Cubasis is probably the most popular DAW/sequencer app currently available. Naturally, the feature set is scaled down from Steinberg's flagship Cubase Pro, but Cubasis has always struck an excellent balance between a well-chosen set of core features, a slick UI that works well on the iPad's relatively compact touchscreen, and a price that makes it accessible to almost anyone with a serious mobile music-making habit.

The latest update, to Cubasis 3, is a significant one. Indeed, it's so significant that Steinberg are presenting this as a new app rather than a free upgrade for current Cubasis users; Cubasis 2 will remain available via the App Store at a reduced price. Some may grumble at this — and it would be helpful all round if the App Store made a system for 'upgrades' more straightforward for developers — but it's worth noting that any in-app purchases made in Cubasis 2 can be activated in Cubasis 3 at no additional cost. As Steinberg have already provided Cubasis users with over 30 free updates since it first went on sale, I think they should be cut considerable slack. After all, it's important for all users that the Cubasis project remains financially viable.

The new UI is more easily customisable. For example, you can set the Mixer view to one of three diferent zoom presets.So, what's new in Cubasis 3? Well, lots actually — it has pretty much been rewritten from scratch. This has enabled Steinberg to take full advantage of more recent developments in iOS and in Apple's hardware, and of particular note is that it also means we now have universal app status; for the first time, Cubasis can run on your iPhone as well as your iPad. (iOS13.0 or later is required, so you'll need a device that supports that — an iPhone 6S, or iPad fifth-generation or later, for example).

As you'd expect, Cubasis 3 on an iPhone demands more scrolling, good finger dexterity and decent eyesight, but having undertaken a quick tour on my (now aging) iPhone 6S I'm left impressed at just how well Steinberg have translated the workflow to the smaller screen. While working is undoubtedly faster on a larger iPad screen (the new version ran very smoothly on my first-generation iPad Pro), having the option to carry Cubasis 3 around in my pocket is very welcome!

Group tracks are a major new feature, and allow easy configuration of the tracks within a Group.While Cubasis 3 will seem very familiar to users of previous versions, Steinberg have made a huge number of refinements to improve both the workflow and visual experience. For instance, editing of audio, MIDI and automation has been improved substantially, while the bundled effects and instruments have been visual revamped.

Perhaps even more useful (particularly given the iPhone support) are the new UI scaling options. You can zoom in/out on various views, as before, but you now also get some UI presets that allow you to change the display quickly. This includes the Mixer, for which a combination of full-screen mode and three channel-zoom levels make for much easier operation.

To me at least, Cubasis has always represented the best balance between features and usability in any iOS DAW/sequencer...

Of the other highlights, top of my personal list is the addition of Group tracks. If you're familiar with Cubase, you'll know this is Steinberg's take on creating subgroup buses — so you can route several tracks (for example, a set of individual drum tracks) to a Group track. You can then control the overall volume of the Group or apply Group-level effects before the audio flows to your master output.

Creating a new Group track is easy, and standard (audio or MIDI) tracks can be added to and removed from Groups with ease. Group tracks make all sorts of mixing tasks much easier, including the ability to focus your broad-brush mix–level automation down to a few instrument groups. It's a simple but powerful addition.

It's now even easier to move projects you start in Cubasis to the more powerful Cubase DAW software on a Mac/Windows computer.There are all sorts of other useful refinements and additions, all of which either improve the workflow or offer new possibilities. For example, getting into the technical nitty gritty, the MIDI editing resolution has been increased to 960 pulses per quarter note. If you're particular about the precision of your MIDI sequencing, this is a very useful step forward. Also, tracks can now have up to eight insert and eight send effects, and these can be re-ordered easily, and their position set pre- or post-fader. Events can now be colour-coded vertically — and in the absence of something like Cubase's Marker track this provides an easy way to identify the different musical sections in a project. Automation is now supported within Micrologue ARP (if you have the Micrologue in-app purchase) and AU MIDI effects. Oh, and Cubasis now includes a proper History List for undo/redo operations, making it easier to navigate individual steps in your project editing timeline.

Another personal highlight is the improvements to the MediaBay, where you manage your various projects, audio files, MIDI loops and so forth, and can find options for mixdown and exporting your projects. There are many improvements, but the option to use AirDrop to transfer your Cubasis project to your desktop machine, and then have Cubase open the project, is super-cool. If you've used only Steinberg virtual instruments and effects in the Cubasis project, their Cubase equivalents will automatically appear in the desktop version of the project too; it all worked very smoothly for me.

If you purchased Cubasis 2 recently at full price, you may feel a little aggrieved at the lack of an upgrade route to Cubasis 3. But if you've been making music with Cubasis for a while, Steinberg have added more than enough to the Cubasis experience to make v3 a very tempting proposition at this price. To me at least, Cubasis has always represented the best balance between features and usability in any iOS DAW/sequencer, and in Cubasis 3, Steinberg have raised a high bar even higher.

information

$49.99.

www.steinberg.net

Published March 2020

KRONOS LS artists first impressions

Cubase Padshop 2: Grain Oscillator

By John Walden

Padshop 2's Granular Oscillator, with layer A set to its initial state and a sample dragged and dropped. Ready to commence pad creation!

Cubase 10.5's Padshop 2 granular synth can create wonderfully engaging pads from any sample.

Cubase's Padshop has always seemed to me to be something of a hidden gem, but with the Cubase Artist/Pro v10.5 update this granular synth was treated to a significant overhaul. Where once we had only a 'lite' version of Padshop, we now get the full version of Padshop 2 (which is available as a paid product for users of other DAWs). Padshop 2 still includes its predecessor's dual-layer (A and B) engine, the Grain Oscillator, flexible filter, modulation options and effects, and all this is contained in a refreshed, yet still familiar GUI. However, it also boasts an expanded preset and bundled sample collection, drag-and-drop support for your own samples in Cubase, improved sound modulation, additional filter options, an integrated arpeggiator/phrase player (which will be familiar if you use Retrologue) and a new Spectral Oscillator.

The original grain oscillator and the new spectral oscillator make Padshop 2 an intriguing option for sound creation, but they might be unfamiliar concepts to many taking their first steps in DIY sound creation. I hope to take a detailed look at the Spectral Oscillator in a future column, but this month and next I'll do my best to nudge you along the learning curve for the Grain Oscillator, by looking at the creation of pad/soundscape-style patches.

Padshop 2's new Spectral Oscillator provides some very different sound-creation options, which I'll explore in a column in the near-future.

Grain Brain Drain

If granular synthesis is an alien concept, Simon Price's article in SOS December 2005 (https://sosm.ag/dec05-granular-synthesis) is an excellent overview. In essence, grain-based audio processing involves dividing your audio sample into tiny sections (each a fraction of a second) called 'grains'. It's rather like beat-slicing but done on a micro-scale: if the individual grains are played back in sequence at the original speed and pitch, you simply hear the original sample, but grains can also be played back individually, sequenced in original order, sequenced out of original order, looped, re-pitched, filtered and reversed; multiple grains can be played simultaneously, different grains can be used on the left and right sides of the stereo image and, well, you get the idea.

There are all sorts of options and combinations, which mean that granular synthesis makes it possible to create entirely new sounds in which the original sound source is unrecognisable. Its potential for original sound design is huge — and you need nothing more than Padshop's Grain Oscillator to get started.

Clean Drop

To begin our introductory tour of pad creation using Padshop's Grain Oscillator, start by: (1) ensuring only layer A is active (turn off layer B via its power button, located bottom-right); (2) selecting the Grain Oscillator in layer A (the button located top-left of the oscillator panel lets you toggle between the grain and spectral oscillators); and (3) ensuring that layer A is reset to its initial state (use the drop-down menu towards the right side of the Plugin Functions section, which is the topmost tool strip).

Having 'blanked' layer A, rather than choosing one of the preset samples, you can use one of v2's most significant new features: you can drag and drop one of your own samples (mono or stereo) into the Grain Oscillator. This can be done from various locations, including the Project window, but for the example illustrated here I dragged a sample of a sustained guitar chord from my OS's file browser. If original sounds are what you want, starting with your own unique sound source is obviously a good plan, but almost any sound can provide something useful.

No Pain, All Grain

The Grain Oscillator's control set is split into three main sections: the waveform display, with its series of numerical/rotary knob controls; the 'position settings' (on the left); and the 'level settings' (on the right). In the waveform display, you can set the range of the waveform to be used for the grain-based playback by dragging the start and end markers. You can also set the starting position for grain playback by dragging the waveform playback head or by adjusting the Position (Pos) knob to the left of the waveform display.

Tweaks to the number of grains, their relative starting position and the playback speed produce timbral changes, but not always a very musical result.

If you now play a few MIDI notes into Padshop the odds are that you'll hear a very static sound, albeit one that's pitch-mapped across the keyboard. So while the sound will change in timbre as you move the playhead position, you'll need to twiddle a few more knobs to create something more pad-like.

A decent first step is to tweak the Speed knob. When you play and hold a MIDI note, this setting controls the speed and direction in which the playback head moves through the grains from the starting position. At 0 percent (the default value on initialising the settings), the playback position is static (the same grain is played repeatedly), hence our currently rather bland sound. But you can set the Speed between -200 and +200 percent. At +100 percent, the playback speed sequences the grains at their original tempo, and you hear something approximating the original sample. Well, sort of, depending on the MIDI note you play and the Shape setting (which creates different crossfade styles to smooth the transition between grains), amongst other things.

Negative Speed values move the playhead backwards through the original sample, and they can produce some interesting, often unsettling, effects. In this case, I opted for a Speed of +6 percent and the 'Welch' Shape setting, but what's 'best' will almost always depend on the nature of the original sample and what sort of result you want; there are no magic numbers to share!

Granular synthesis makes it possible to create entirely new sounds, in which the original sound source is unrecognisable.

It Takes Two (Or More)

Next, try: (a) increasing the number of grains being played at any one time; and (b) ensuring that each grain uses a subtly (or perhaps not so subtly) different playback start position. The Number setting can be adjusted to a maximum of eight, but even values of two or three (used in my example) will have a noticeable impact on the sound. To the left of the waveform section, adjust the Position Spread control (I opted for 10 percent) so that each grain starts from a different point around the playback head. These adjustments should add greater complexity/richness to the sound.

To add further sonic variation, you can also adjust the Random Position and Position Channel Offset controls. The former injects some randomness to the start position of each grain, while the latter applies start position differences between the left and right channels, to enhance the stereo width. In the example, I dialled in 10 percent for both. (By the way, it's also worth noting that Padshop always creates left and right channels, even from mono samples.)

My Grain Oscillator configuration is complete: it's the core of a pad sound — but the filter, modulation and effects options can help to make this patch sound much less 'static'.

More Than Noise?

By this stage, the sound can easily be one in which it's impossible to identify the original sample — but it may be as much 'noise' as 'musical', and in most cases, you can shift the balance towards the latter by experimenting with the Duration setting. This adjusts the length (duration) of each individual grain, and it influences the timbre of the sound and the pitched elements. With lower values (shorter grains), pitch is dominated by the frequency at which the grains repeat, while at larger values (longer grains; I've used 50), pitch elements from the underlying sample tend to dominate.

You may also need to experiment with the Duration Key Follow setting. This interacts with the Duration setting, with shorter Duration values generally requiring higher Key Follow values (and visa-versa) so that pitch is mapped in a conventional fashion across the MIDI note range. As a guide, start at 100 percent (which worked fine in my example) and then switch to 0 percent. See which feels most natural, and adjust to taste from there.

Rich Pitch

Provided you're using more than one grain, perhaps the last initial setting to tweak before digging into the modulation options should be the Pitch Interval. If this is set anywhere other than zero, grains are randomly played either at their original pitch or at the specified pitch interval. Certain values (eg. a fifth) produce more obviously musical results, but the -12 semitone setting I used here is always a good bet; it adds a little low-end depth and richness to almost any sound.

See You Later, Modulator!

With sufficient tweaking of the Grain Oscillator controls that I've described above — and, as always, a little luck — you'll hopefully now have created a pad-like sound of your own. But while it could well be usable, chances are that you'll feel it could be made somewhat more interesting and engaging!

That's where Padshop 2's filter, effects and modulation options come in, and is where we'll resume our look at Padshop 2 next time. In the meantime, I've created an audio example below that demonstrates the various stages of my pad's development, from original sample through to my final Grain Oscillator tweaks. I've included an example of how this sound can then be enhanced with the filter, effects and modulation options, so you can get an idea of where we're headed next. 

Published March 2020

Dean Forrest and Adjua from “Back Beat Sound System” create with KORG

Cubase: Padshop 2's Modulation Matrix

By John Walden

You can target a number of the Grain Oscillator's parameters for modulation in Padshop Pro 2.

If you want to inject some motion and mystery into your pad sounds, why not fire up Padshop 2 and enter the matrix?

In last month's introduction to Cubase 10.5's Padshop 2 synth (https://sosm.ag/cubase-0320) I explained how to turn your own audio samples into basic pad sounds with only a few of the synth's Grain Oscillator controls. Those sounds were usable enough, but also a little 'static' for some tastes, and Padshop 2 has plenty of options for injecting more interest and movement into the sound — and this time, I'll explain some ways to do this using its modulation section.

If you're new to rolling your own synth sounds, modulation can seem a rather mysterious thing. At heart, it's actually a really simple concept: you use one control or parameter (the 'modulation source') to change one or more other parameter (the 'destination') over time — the mystery probably stems from the sheer number of options modulation can open up! So where do you start? Well, thankfully, Padshop's modulation system (enhanced in v2) is easy to use, and is centred on two fairly conventional approaches: a 'modulation matrix', and a streamlined MIDI Learn/parameter assignment system.

I'll discuss some examples below, and you'll find accompanying audio examples on the SOS website (https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/cubase-padshop2-workshop-0420-audio).

 cubasepadshop2workshop0420.zip

Target Practice

First, decide which synth parameters you want to modulate. As with any synth, most filter and effects parameters offer plenty of potential, but for those with last month's introduction to the Grain Oscillator fresh in the mind, we'll start with some candidates in the oscillator section. Click on the Matrix tab to access the modulation matrix, where you can link up to 16 different modulation sources with parameter destinations (the 16 slots are arranged in four banks of four).

A drop-down menu in any of the matrix's Destination slots allows you to select your modulation target. While not all of the Grain Oscillator's controls are assignable (I'll come back to this), Grain Position is a great choice: as outlined last month, the Grain Position defines the starting point in the waveform for grain playback, so modulating this will give your pad sound some timbral variation over time.

A further drop-down menu in the corresponding Source slot allows you to select the modulation source. There are plenty of possibilities, but for this example I've selected one of the four LFOs, configured to follow a sine waveform over four bars. I've also set the Depth value in the matrix to 10, for a fairly modest amount of modulation. With the modulation configured this way, when playing and holding a note over four bars (or longer), you should notice a slow and steady change in the pad's sonic character.

For more hands-on control, instead of the LFO, try selecting the Mod Wheel as the modulation source. If you're a good keyboardist, note velocity or aftertouch will also work well, as they allow elements of your playing dynamics to change the timbre of the sound. For more timbral change, the other two Grain Oscillator parameters to try modulating are Speed and Duration. In both cases, start with small, positive Depth values — otherwise things can soon get weird. That said, if 'weird' is what you want, target the Formant control; even with low Depth values, it can produce some wonderfully unsettling tonal/pitch variations.

Outside the Grain oscillator itself, parameters in the filter section make good modulation targets if you want to add movement to your pads.

Of course, with 16 modulation slots, you're not limited to targeting only one or two of the Grain Oscillator's parameters. Other classic candidates are the filter's cutoff, resonance and distortion settings. It's perhaps worth noting that the filter section has its own dedicated ADSR envelope, which can be used to modulate the filter's response, and this includes a Velocity setting which allows the envelope's behaviour to be modulated by note velocity. But you can also configure the filter cutoff, resonance and distortion as destinations for any of the other modulation sources in the matrix. Again, using a slow-moving LFO to gently sweep any of these parameters and making them react to note velocity can be great ways to induce further timbral variation.

You can create a step-based pattern (with a maximum of 32 steps) which can be used to modulate any of the matrix's destination parameters.

Step On It

Padshop 2 offers many modulation source options, but a personal favourite that I keep coming back to is the Step Modulator, which is accessed via the Step tab. Here you can create a step-based pattern (with a maximum of 32 steps) which can be used to modulate any of the matrix's destination parameters. Usefully, Step Modulator pattern presets can be saved and recalled.

The Step Modulator provides a very flexible modulation source.

With this, you can achieve all sorts of outcomes, from modest tonal changes (using a smooth set of step pattern values and a low Depth value) to strong pulse-like effects (using a step pattern of alternate high/low values and a high Depth value), whether targeting grain position, filter cutoff or volume. For pulse-like effects, you can control how obvious the pulse or rhythmic pattern becomes by adjusting the Depth control to taste. And, if you specify the mod wheel as the Modifier in the appropriate modulation matrix slot, you can then vary the degree to which the Depth parameter is applied — and therefore control the intensity of this pulsing effect in real time.

Rocking The Mod

No menus required: initial links between sources and destinations can be established via drag and drop.The examples above provide some fairly safe places to commence your voyage into pad design. But Padshop's modulation system allows almost endless combinations, as well as some different ways to set things up that can make more complex creations easier to achieve. First, note that Padshop 2 allows some modulation options to be configured via drag and drop. Beside some of the controls that can act as a modulation source you'll find a small 'four arrowhead' icon. If you click (and hold) this, and then drag away, the parameters that can be targeted as modulation destinations will become highlighted. Simply drag to the desired destination and a modulation link will be established; the link will be added automatically to an empty slot in the modulation matrix, where you can fine-tune it. This is a great way to, for instance, link the mod wheel to a parameter or two.

Second, I want to revisit that point about not all grain oscillator parameters being available as modulation destinations in the matrix. Why that is, I don't know, but Padshop 2 does include a conventional MIDI Learn system that provides a workaround — while you can't, for example, target the grain oscillator's Spread, Offset or Grain Number controls using an LFO or the Step Modulator, you can link them to the mod wheel or another MIDI continuous controller if you want to change them in real time.

Grain Oscillator parameters can be modulated via MIDI even if they're not present in the modulation matrix. MIDI Learn is supported, as is mod wheel control.

Right-clicking on any control opens a pop-up menu to configure this. For instance, targeting all three parameters I mentioned above with the mod wheel can provide some cool tonal variations for your pad sounds. Incidentally, while none of the parameters in Padshop's Effects page are available in the modulation matrix, they can all (including the controls within the four-band EQ) be modulated via this MIDI Learn approach.

Double Trouble

I'll leave you with two thoughts. First, recall that in the examples I've used here I've used only one of Padshop's layers. You can, of course, make perfectly usable pads with a single layer, but there's twice the fun to be had (and twice the complexity of the sound that can be created) by blending sounds from two layers. Second, despite its name, Padshop can be used for sounds other than pads. Hopefully, that's a topic I can return to soon, while also exploring another pair of Padshop 2 features — the Spectral Oscillator and the arpeggiator/phrase player. 

Published April 2020

Announcing KORG Gadget for Mac 1.5 | for iOS 3.5

Cubase MultiTap Delay Tricks

By John Walden

A little bit of creative MultiTap Delay can turn even the most basic of drum patterns into something groovy.

Looking for creative inspiration? Tap into Cubase's new MultiTap Delay...

Steinberg have seriously improved Cubase's stock plug-in collection in recent years, and among the new options for Pro and Artist users in v10.5 is the modestly named MultiTap Delay. It offers emulations of both modern and vintage delays, up to eight taps (repeats), and very flexible configuration and modulation options. I'll provide a very brief overview of the key features before illustrating some options via a specific example: spicing up a drum part to generate new rhythmic ideas.

MultiTap Delay's GUI is split into three sections. The central portion, with larger knobs and graphic display, is where you configure the number of taps, their relative timing, level and pan, feedback, and other settings that fine-tune the balance between the original and processed signals. Above this, in the Character Panel, you choose between four styles of delay (Digital Modern, Digital Vintage, Tape and Crazy) or pop open the full panel for more detailed adjustments to 'colour' the broad sonic character of the repeats. The options range from pristine, through lo-fi vintage/tape effects, to special effects territory. The bottom strip contains three more pop-open panels (Loop, Tap and Post) which focus on additional effects that can be applied to your delay line. Each provides a six-slot effects chain and there are 14 different effect types available. The three panels differ in terms of where their processing occurs in the signal path, with effects placeable in the effects loop, on individual taps or at the plug-in's main output. The effects include various modulation choices, filtering, pitch-shifting, panning, reverb and, as if eight taps with feedback weren't enough, an additional delay.

Fun With A Drum

For all the potential trickery, this is also a really good, all-purpose, delay plug-in — but its more creative aspects make it stand out from the crowd. So let me take you through a fun exercise with a drum sound.

Our starting point is a simple four-bar Groove Agent acoustic tom pattern, with an instance of MultiTap Delay inserted on the GA Instrument Track. You could use the delay as a send effect, but for the automation options described below the Insert route is easier to configure, so I've done that here and set the delay plug-in's Mix control to 40 percent. I chose the Tape Character preset and tweaked the settings from there (more Saturation and picking the half-sample-rate setting), and added a touch of Overdrive in the Loop Effects panel for extra crunch. This combination means that, as well as adding rhythmic interest, MultiTap Delay will vary the sonic texture with each repeat.

While I've only used a touch of overdrive in my example, MultiTap Delay's effects options provide plenty of interesting possibilities.

In the main panel, I've configured three taps with slightly decreasing volumes, and adjusted the Feedback to taste (30 percent) so the pattern of repeats is fed back to the delay line but (in this case) at a relatively low level. You can manually edit the position, level and pan of each tap or, via the Tap Rhythm button, position the taps by playing the rhythm that you require. Tap positions can be snapped to a grid resolution or moved without a grid. You also have Quantize and Randomise options (the latter is fun for a 'lucky dip' approach!). However, the key thing to understand is that the Delay setting determines the length of the tap grid. In this example, I've engaged the Sync option and set Delay to 1/1, so the tap grid represents one bar of time. A Decay setting of 2/1 makes the tap grid two bars in length, gives half a bar, and so on. Once you've grasped this, the logic behind laying out a pattern of taps becomes clear. (Without Sync engaged, Delay is set in milliseconds, but the same principle applies.)

Finally, I've engaged the clever Ducker controls — the repeats are ducked (in this case, their volume is lowered by 50 percent) whenever there's a signal at the input to the plug-in. This can be used to duck both the feedback and the delay line, and ensures that your original sound doesn't get masked by the repeats.

For all the potential trickery, this is also a really good, all-purpose, delay plug-in — but its more creative aspects make it stand out from the crowd.

Tap Tweaker

As the audio examples at the end of this article show, we now have something more rhythmically interesting than our original drum pattern. Depending on the musical context this might be all you require, but if you're looking for more complexity, or to add variations during the performance, we can do plenty more.

As you adjust the Taps control, your additional taps do not have to appear sequentially along the grid timeline.

Effects aside, the two simplest tactics are (a) to add more taps and (b) to adjust the Feedback level. As it's super-easy to assign both the Taps and Feedback controls to the Track Quick Control system (right-click on the control to access the pop-up menu), automating both is a great way to change the intensity of the delay processing on the fly. Adjusting the Feedback level is straightforward, but for the Taps control you'll need to pre-configure each additional tap (position, level, pan, etc). It's worth noting that while you're allowed up to eight taps, and each is assigned a number, their position along the grid's timeline doesn't have to be numerically sequential — tap 7 can be positioned before tap 3, for example — so, as you automate the Taps control, you can add repeats with shorter or longer delays, as you prefer.

Double Delay

Again, if you check out the audio examples, you should hear that our very basic drum pattern has been transformed into something much more interesting, and it's possible to vary the intensity of the 'performance' with some simple automation moves. But you don't have to stop there. Why not add a second instance of MultiTap Delay, so you have a second set of eight taps to exploit in your quest for rhythmic variation?

MultiTap Delay's parameters can easily be automated via the Track Quick Control system.

At this point, whether you use Insert (as here) or Send effects makes more of a difference. With Inserts, the repeats created by the first instance of MultiTap Delay become the inputs to the second instance and are then subject to processing; things can get quite busy very quickly! However, if you use two Send-based instances of MultiTap Delay, they're independent of each other; both are fed directly by your source track. On the flip side, real-time automation of your two MultiTap Delay instances is much easier when both are used as Inserts on the same track; you can use one set of Track Quick Controls to change the settings for both plug-ins. Real-time control is trickier to do with two independent Send effects.

Anyway, as a starting point for this 'double delay' effect (heard in the final audio example), I've configured two instances of MultiTap Delay as Inserts on my Groove Agent track, using the same simple drum part. To make this easy to replicate, on the first instance I selected the Alt Beat Counterpart preset, while on the second I used Snare Trap Groover. I then set the Feedback, Taps and Mix controls for both instances as Track Quick Controls. The Feedback and Taps controls can be used as before (although lower settings, especially of the Feedback controls, are best unless you want things to get really trippy). However, the two Mix controls are well worth playing with, as they allow you to blend the two delay lines or, by turning either Mix control to zero, effectively remove the delay processing of one plug-in or the other.

I've only really scratched the surface of what's possible with MultiTap Delay and, bar a little overdrive, not even started on the creative options provided by the various effect panels. Perhaps I'll explore that side of things in more depth another time! 

Published May 2020

Creativity Unleashed | KORG Gadget Plug-in Collection supports NKS

Podcast Dialogue Editing In Cubase

By John Walden

The Channel Strip's audio-sweetening tools are as good for dialogue as they are for music.

Reduce the time you spend on podcasting post-production, with these Cubase voice-editing tips.

Some podcasters are happy simply to record their dialogue in a single take, top and tail it with their standard channel intro and outro, and publish, warts and all. But most — while still usually recording an episode in a single take — will perform in a way that allows obvious gaffes, over-long pauses, ums and errs, to be edited out later. Knowing that mistakes can be edited can mean a more relaxed attitude when recording and, for example, allow you to take a deep breath and start again if you fluff your lines. But equally, anticipation of an extended period of detailed editing could deter you from creating a podcast in the first place! So it's important to strike the right balance.

Thankfully, a little once-only work to organise things in Cubase can streamline many repetitive editing tasks — and have you transforming your raw takes into polished 'performances' in no time.

Podcasting Presets

Let's consider a typical situation where the dialogue has been recorded as a single take to a Cubase audio track. Everything you need to do to lick this performance into shape falls into two broad categories: you'll no doubt want to 'sweeten' and 'clean' the audio a touch, using EQ and compression; and you'll need to edit the recording to create a better-paced, more polished-sounding performance.

There are plenty of suitable third-party compressor and EQ plug‑ins, but in the vast majority of cases the Cubase Channel Strip has more than enough firepower. If you record your content using a consistent equipment/location setup, it's worth spending time up front figuring out some EQ, de-essing and compression settings, and creating a Track Preset based on them, for rapid repeat use. The Channel Strip's DeEsser can help tame any sibilance, and I also tend to use the low-cut filter in the Pre section to reduce the impact of any plosive sounds that crept past my pop shield. A combination of a fairly high frequency (perhaps 150Hz) and a steepish filter slope (24dB per octave) will generally take care of the worst offenders without robbing the voice of too much body. You can, of course, adjust the cutoff frequency to taste, or perhaps combine a steep high-pass filter cut with a gentle low-shelving boost that restores any lost body. (And if this isn't cutting the mustard, consider addressing the problem while recording before you look for more post-prod solutions!). Finally, if you've recorded different takes with different mics, Cubase Pro users might consider using the bundled Voxengo Curve EQ's 'match EQ' facility to make the takes more consistent before further processing is applied.

Note that while Cubase's plug‑in suite is great for music production, spoken-word can require more attention to extraneous noises and Cubase doesn't include a dedicated noise-reduction plug‑in. Again, try to address this in your recording environment, but if Cubase's EQ and (multiband) gate, compressor and expander options aren't up to the job, you'll probably want to explore third-party de-noisers (eg. iZotope RX, the freeware Cockos ReaFIR or, indeed, Steinberg's own Wavelab).

If you create this macro and assign a key command to it, each edit requires nothing more than you making a range selection and pressing a key.

Speedy Macros

With some time-saving Channel Strip settings in the bag, it's time to move on to the detailed audio editing. In general, this involves two kinds of task: removing unwanted sections of audio to tighten up the overall flow of the dialogue (including 'ums' and 'errs'); and reducing the level of breaths and other such natural noises (removing them completely often sounds unnatural and thus just as distracting to listeners as when they're too loud!). Both tasks can involve lots of tedious, repetitive, manual editing — but Cubase's powerful system of key commands and macros can turn 'tedious and repetitive' into 'speedy and efficient'!

We've looked at the Cubase Macro system many times (see SOS August 2018: https://sosm.ag/cubase-0818) but the uninitiated need to know that a macro is simply a sequence of key commands, and that the Key Commands dialogue box (accessed via the File menu) is where you view, create and edit macros; just open the dialogue and click the Show Macros button.

Macros can be created and edited in the lower pane of the Key Commands window, and you can assign a macro its own key command in the Macro section of the upper pane. The command sequence for the Cut Time And Fade macro is shown in the lower pane.

Steinberg have made some useful additions to this panel since I last covered it (there are additional buttons on the left) so creating and editing a macro is now much easier. As before, though, once you've created a new empty macro and named it, you simply select key commands in the upper panel and 'add' them to the macro. Key commands can be moved up/down or removed from the macro. And, once you've created your macro, if you go to the Macros section of the key command list, you can also assign a dedicated key command to run the macro. You can also run macros within macros in this way... so a lot is possible.

Cut It Out

If you prefer your podcasts free of ums, errs and outright 'bad' takes where you had to repeat a section, the most time-consuming editing task will be cutting out all these vocal fails. You need not only to audition your performance, but to zoom in and select the offending sections, cut the unwanted audio, and move what remains to the right of the cut section so it neatly fills the gap you just created, butting up nicely against audio to the left of the cut section, apply suitable crossfades, and then repeat the process multiple times until all your cuts are made.

A little once-only work to organise things in Cubase can streamline many repetitive editing tasks — and have you transforming your raw takes into polished 'performances' in no time.

If this sounds like a recipe for RSI, fear not, as Cubase can prevent the pain! Switch to the Range Select tool and you can highlight the section of audio you wish to remove. Then, execute the Edit>Range>Cut Time command (the default shortcut is Cmd-Shift-X on the Mac, Ctrl-Shift-X on Windows), which will instantly delete the selected audio and move all audio to the right of the cut on the current track accordingly. Select, key command, done, repeat.

If 'auto fades' is switched on (via the Project menu's Auto Fades settings dialogue), every time you cut audio in this fashion a fade-out/fade-in will be applied on playback, reducing the possibilities of any click and pops at your edit points. Note that auto-fades aren't actually visible on the clips themselves, though. If, like me, you prefer to see any fades but don't want to have to insert them all manually, the Cut Time And Fade macro shown in the screenshot can do the Cut Time process and add the required short fades to the events either side of the cut.

This macro includes a number of steps. The first three commands set the left and right locators around your selection, move the cursor to the left locator, and execute the Cut Time command. The remainder of the commands move the cursor either side of the edit point, select each audio event that lies under the cursor in turn, and then apply suitable short fades. Finally, the last command ensures that the Range selection tool is still selected, so that, after the macro has run, you can move swiftly to your next edit point.

If you create this macro and assign a key command to it, each edit requires nothing more than you making a range selection and pressing a key. This is perhaps the most common type of audio edit any podcaster will make and, via this macro, the process is about as efficient as it can get — it's a massive time-saver!

A breath noise that has been processed via the Breath And Fade macro. The breath itself has been reduced in volume and a fade-in/out applied to the audio event containing the breath. Fades have also been added to the audio events on either side of the selection.

Breathe Easy

The Breath And Fade macro comprises a long series of key commands, but the whole sequence can be executed with a single key.Breath noises can often be distracting. But as I said above, deleting them can sound unnatural, and simply reducing their volume so they're less prominent can often lead to a better result. The same can go for some other mouth noises.

Again, a macro can be created so each edit can be executed with only a simple range selection operation and a keystroke. I included a macro for reducing the level of breath noises in the SOS August 2018 column I linked to above, but I've expanded on that process in the Breath And Fade macro shown here. Many commands used are similar to the Cut Time And Fade macro, but adding the fades requires more steps, simply because three audio events are involved rather than two.

Fades aside, the key part of the process splits the audio range you've selected containing the breath into a separate audio event. It then applies six instances of the Decrement Event Volume command, each instance adjusting the event volume handle by about 1dB. You can, of course, change the number of instances for less or greater volume reduction to suit your needs. 

Published June 2020