Introduction To Cubase, Part 4: Configuring Cubase; MIDI Processing & Filtering

Approaching re‑entry into the atmosphere, Simon Millward concludes his tour of the Cubase universe with a look at some of the flagship sequencing package's lesser‑known functions.

In this, the final part of this series, we continue to look at Cubase's lesser‑known features. Some of these are not concerned with the direct editing and manipulation of data, but rather the configuration and handling of the Cubase system itself.

System Preparation

To start with, there are three menu items concerned with configuring Cubase; Preferences, MIDI Setup and MIDI Filters. Some readers may be thinking that these features should have been dealt with at the very beginning of this series, but you can't effectively design custom system settings if you don't first understand the system's contents and features. The Definition files which come with Cubase contain default settings, but users will almost certainly wish to enter their own custom settings at some stage.

* PREFERENCES

Selecting 'Preferences' in the File menu opens up a dialogue box (see Figure 1 below) where the user may select, amongst other fairly minor options, a crosshair form for the cursor (a cross of vertical and horizontal lines which shows the precise mouse position on the grid), the choice of editor selected when the user double‑clicks on a part (Key, List or Score), and an Autosave function, which automatically saves the current song as 'Backup.All' at the time interval shown in the 'Minutes' box. You may find other options are available (as this depends on the version of Cubase you are using), but the function of each option is fairly self‑explanatory. The crosshair cursor is particularly useful for the precise positioning of parts in the Arrange window, while the Autosave function can be indispensable for absent‑minded users.

• MIDI SETUP

MIDI Setup is found in the Options menu (see Figure 2, right). From here, you can set up various global parameters which govern the manner in which Cubase handles MIDI. MIDI Thru is among the most important, and would, in most cases, be set to 'Active' so that incoming MIDI data is echoed to the MIDI Thru. You can also switch the Thru off for one sole MIDI Channel.

But why do we need to have the MIDI Thru activated in the first place? The answer is simply that to communicate with the MIDI units in your system, the data from your master keyboard must travel through Cubase. When the MIDI Thru is deactivated, the data stops inside Cubase, but turning on the Thru function allows the user to play any unit in the system simply by changing the MIDI channel of the currently selected track in the Arrange window. To avoid notes sounding twice and other complications when playing your master keyboard with Cubase, it is advisable to switch your keyboard to Local Off mode. This cuts the feed to the synthesis part of your master keyboard (assuming, of course, that it has one) so that it will only play back the data received from Cubase at the MIDI In.

MIDI Setup also allows the user to remap any one controller to any other. For example, a pan controller (controller 10) could be under the command of your synth's mod wheel (controller 1) by mapping modulation to pan in the Controller section of the MIDI setup window.

'Running Status' is a MIDI data compression standard in the MIDI protocol which is sent out from Cubase by default. Sometimes this causes problems with older synths, so this part of the window gives the user the opportunity to de‑activate it for any of the Output ports.

The 'Global Parameters' section contains a number of miscellaneous features which affect the handling of various details of the software. 'Mute Parts in Group' toggles on and off the ability to mute the parts in a group from the Mute columns of the tracks included in the group. 'Note Off' toggles between sending real note off messages (ticked) and note off messages as note on, but with zero velocity (unticked). 'Reset on Track Change' sends out a reset of pitch bend, modulation and channel pressure when changing tracks, while 'Reset on Part End' sends out a reset of pitch bend, modulation, sustain pedal and channel pressure when each part comes to an end, and 'Reset on Stop' sends out a reset of pitch bend, modulation and channel pressure for all tracks plus 'All Notes Off' and 'Reset All Controllers' messages when Cubase is stopped. The reset options avoid such potential problems as hanging notes and pitch bends.

Finally, 'Length Correction' attempts to ensure that there is always at least a short amount of time (measured in ticks) between a note off and note on message at the same pitch and on the same MIDI channel in order to avoid lost notes. 'Play Parameter Delay' allows the user to anticipate or delay the time (in ticks) at which the play parameters of the Inspector (see Part 3, last month) are sent out. Most often, this will be set to a negative value in order to allow the target synth time to react to such things as bank or program changes. Note that MIDI Setup comes preset to sensible settings in the Definition files supplied with Cubase.

• MIDI FILTER

MIDI Filter, also found in the Options menu (see Figure 3 below), is used to filter out unwanted MIDI data. The dialogue box allows the main types of MIDI data to be filtered from the Record and Thru paths of Cubase, and facilitates the filtering of one or more MIDI channels and up to four different types of continuous controllers for data arriving at the MIDI input. Figure 4's flow chart should clarify matters.

Filtering data during recording is particularly useful when your master keyboard (or other master instrument) is, for example, outputting unwanted aftertouch data — especially if the target rackmount synth you are playing doesn't even respond to this kind of data. System Exclusive (or SysEx) data may be equally unwanted. In fact, most users leave the filter set up to remove SysEx and aftertouch (the default filter setting, as it happens), and only allow this kind of data into the system when it is specifically desired. Equally, you could filter SysEx and aftertouch from the Thru section. Furthermore, if, say, changing the program number on your master synth causes undesirable program changes in one or more of the modules in your system, then temporarily filtering the program change in the Thru section will quickly solve the problem.

Whereas the Record and Thru filters provide for the blanket removal of all controller data from the MIDI messages, the Controller filter may be set to remove only certain types of continuous controllers. This could be useful if you wished to discard all volume data but keep all the pan information from the incoming MIDI messages. The Channel filter might be useful if you were transferring an arrangement from your synth's internal sequencer into Cubase but only required (for example) the drums, recorded on MIDI channel 10. All other channels could be filtered, and the drums alone would be transferred.

Input Transformation

MIDI Setup and MIDI Filter provide some features for the real‑time transformation of data as it arrives at the input of Cubase. 'Input Transformation', also found in the Options menu, takes things one stage further, by providing a more comprehensive range of possibilities.

The Input Transformer window (Figure 5 below) closely resembles the Logical Edit window in Easy mode, but it is designed to be used in real time [Logical Edit is outside the scope of this series, but for more information, check out Simon's 3‑part series on the subject that ran in SOS from March to May this year — Ed]. The Input Transformation window either transforms or filters incoming data according to the settings of the 'Filter' and 'Processing' sections in the upper portion of the window. 'Transform' or 'Filter' mode are found in the Functions box in the lower part of the window. 'Filter' ignores the 'Processing' part of the window, while 'Transform' takes all settings into account.

A statement in plain English describing a simple filtering action in the window might run as follows: 'If some of the data being received is equal to aftertouch, then filter it'. Translated into the window, this would just require adjustment of the 'Event Type' column to read 'Equal' and 'Aftertouch', with all other columns being set to 'Ignore' (just as the 'Value 2' and 'Channel' columns are in Figure 5). 'Filter' should be chosen in the Functions box, so that the processing section is not active. The result is the stripping of all aftertouch messages from the incoming data.

Similarly, a transformation setting might be described as follows : 'If some of the data being received is control change 1, then fix this data as control change 7 instead'. In this case, set the 'Event Type' to 'Equal' and 'Control Change' and the 'Value 1' column to 'Equal' and '1' in the Filter section. Also, set the processing section to 'Fix' and '7' in the 'Value 1' column and, of course, the mode to 'Transform' in the Functions box. The result would be to transform any modulation messages (control change 1) into volume messages (control change 7).

So, the logic of this window may be expressed as a kind of 'If, Then' statement, as found in computer languages. Take a look in the pop‑up menus of the various columns, and it becomes clear that some very sophisticated filtering and transformation actions are possible. In addition, the window offers the possibility of using four transformation setups in its memory at the same time with buttons 1 to 4 (see the bottom left‑hand corner of Figure 5). These can be activated to run in tandem if required, by ticking the buttons of as many of the four transformation setups as you wish to use together. Note that the data travels through each activated filter/transformation setup in its numbered order, so messages filtered out of setup number 1 do not reach setup number 2, and so on.

The contents of the 'Input Transformer' are saved with the song you are working on. The Definition files that come with Cubase already contain four presets which are useful for understanding the possibilities, but users may also like to consider the following:

(1) Try setting a filter to restrict the input to the note range of a chosen instrument. For the playing range of a trumpet, for example, try setting the 'Event Type' column to 'Equal' and 'Note' and the 'Value 1' column to 'Outside' and '52 [E2] to 87 [D#5]'. Set the mode to 'Filter' in the Functions box. The result would be the filtering of any notes outside the chosen range. This kind of filter is excellent for keeping within the natural note range of an instrument if a sense of realism is what your arrangement needs. It would also curb the dubious desires of the crazed soloist who insists on playing outside his natural range so that his trumpet becomes a strangled piccolo.

(2) Try setting up a transformation which changes pitch bend into pan data. Set the filter 'Event Type' column to 'Equal' and 'Pitch Bend', the Processing section 'Event Type' column to 'Fix' and 'Control Change', and the 'Value 1' column to 'Fix' and '10' (pan controller). The result transforms any pitch bend applied into pan data. This setup is excellent for the real‑time application of pan data using the synth's pitch wheel.

Of course, many more configurations are possible, and using two or more setups simultaneously, the user can design extremely complex filters and data transformations. Remember also that any efforts made here will serve you well if ever you decide to venture into Logical Edit.

Matters Modular

The contents of the Modules menu will vary according to the version of Cubase and computer platform you are using. As explained in the first part of the series, modules are self‑contained segments of the system which can be 'hooked on' when required and 'jettisoned' when not in use, in order to conserve RAM.

The 'MIDI Processor' is just such a module, and comes with most versions of the program. Like all modules, it must first be available and 'active' in the Modules menu in order to use it. Opening this menu reveals a dialogue box with four columns indicating the module 'Name', its 'Size', its 'Active' status and its 'Preload' status. Modules will already be present if they have been put in the CUBAE.DAT folder, since these are automatically added to the list when Cubase is started. A typical Atari modules list might include any combination of the General MIDI menu module, File Selector module, Arpeggiator module, Sysex Editor, Score Edit, MIDI Processor, Interactive Phrase Synthesizer (IPS) or MIDI Mixer modules. It's worth noting that the latest PC version (2.0) of Cubase Score features a very different modules list as standard, including Cuetrax and other goodies. Also, Score Edit and the IPS are not classed as modules at all, but are found instead in other parts of the program.

Whatever your version or platform, further modules may be added to the list using the 'Add' button, which brings up the customary File dialogue. Conversely, modules may be deleted from the list using the 'Remove' button. However, a module does not actually reside in memory until it has been 'activated'. This is achieved by selecting the desired module and clicking in its 'Active' column. A tick will appear, and the module will be loaded into memory from disk. The user may set modules to automatically load into memory each time the program is started, by clicking in the 'Autoload' column. This actually writes to the module file itself, so, for the success of this operation, the diskette must not be write‑protected.

Sadly, lack of space precludes a detailed look at all the available modules, but let's consider one of the most useful in detail: the MIDI Processor module.

The MIDI Processor

Selecting 'MIDI Processor' from the Modules menu opens the MIDI Processor window (see Figure 6, left). You can use this to manipulate MIDI data and produce delay, chorus and pitch‑shift effects. The window has an On/Off Status button, Input and Output selectors and six sliders. Switching the status to 'On' will, of course, activate the current effect, but the results may not be immediately apparent if the Input and Output have not been sensibly adjusted for your own system. Set the Input to that of your master keyboard (or other device), and the Output to the MIDI channel and Output port of a synth or rackmount unit in your system. Simply play your chosen sound and try experimenting with the 'Repeat' and 'Echo' sliders to produce echo and delay effects. The sliders may be directly dragged or moved coarsely by clicking above or below the slider control. The current value of each slider is displayed in the handle itself.

'Repeat' sets the required number of echoes from each incoming note event, while 'Echo' sets the delay time between each repeat, with one unit of the slider representing eight ticks, 'Quantise' moves the repeats to the nearest set value with one unit, once again representing eight ticks, 'Echo Dec' adds or subtracts a set number (eight ticks per unit) for each subsequent repeat to produce accelerated or decelerated echo effects, 'Vel Dec' adds or subtracts a set velocity value for each subsequent repeat to produce echoes of increasing or decreasing volume, and 'Note Dec' adds or subtracts from the note value of each subsequent repeat to produce arpeggio‑like effects.

In order to guide the user in the settings of the Echo and Quantise sliders note symbols have been provided. The line of each note value should be lined up to the middle point of the slider handle. As a further guide to the Echo and Quantise slider values and their corresponding note values, consider Figure 7 (left).

That's a start in understanding the functioning of the MIDI Processor, but how do we process a recorded track? This requires a little knowledge of the possibilities of MROS (MIDI Real‑time Operating System). Many Steinberg products run under MROS, which provides synchronisation and connection possibilities between different programs running on the same computer. But it also offers the possibility of sending data to different parts of the same system. If you go to the Arrange window and set the Output column of the track you wish to process to 'MROS' and then go back to the MIDI Processor and set its Input to 'MROS', the processor will then receive and process the MIDI data of the chosen track. You may also need to reset the MIDI Processor Output to send the processed data to the appropriate unit. It's all rather like an internal patching system.

We could now take things one stage further and consider what needs to be set in order to actually record the output of the MIDI Processor. In this case, set the Output to 'MROS' and then go into the MIDI Setup dialogue box, as described at the beginning of this article, and set the 'Record From' box to MROS. You are now effectively patching the output of the MIDI Processor to the Record Input of Cubase, and all data output from the MIDI Processor may be recorded on an appropriate track. Remember that once you have set the MIDI Processor status to 'On' you can leave the window and work freely in other areas of the program; the MIDI Processor will still be functioning.

The MIDI Processor may be handy for those users not possessing vast numbers of effects units, but remember that it can also produce effects difficult to achieve on conventional units. However, since the processing relies upon adding to existing MIDI note data, it could, in certain circumstances, produce undesirable hold‑ups in the data flow of the rest of the music. It all depends on the density of the other events in your arrangement. Nevertheless, it is well worth spending some time exploring the possibilities. Try the settings shown in Figure 8 (see left) as starting points for your own experiments.

The MIDI Processor is just one of the modules available but the MIDI Mixer Module, the IPS, and, of course, Score Edit are also high on the list of worth getting to know. These are whole worlds unto themselves and require some dedication to master.

Conclusion

That brings to an end the fourth and final part of our journey through the Cubase universe. I realise that not all aspects of the program have been covered, but the object of this guide was simply to provide inexperienced users with the essential tools of the trade. It is up to each individual user how creatively these tools are actually used and it must be appreciated that the tools themselves do not actually create the music — however complex it is, Cubase does not provide any substitute for musical talent. It does, however, facilitate the creation of great music when in the hands of the right programmer and when a half‑decent musician or composer is providing the musical input.

I hope readers have found this guide useful in their quest for a more complete understanding of Cubase and will be encouraged to go on to explore the more esoteric aspects of the program, such as Score Edit, Logical Edit and the MIDI Mixer Module. As final words of advice, keep reminding youself that the aim of the exercise is to create music. Let your ears be the final judge, take plenty of breaks from being glued in front of that computer screen, and, most of all, enjoy it!