How to Customize Cubase Settings

Once you've installed Cubase software, you're well on your way to recording music in the comfort of your home. However, before you begin recording, it's important to customize the Cubase settings to the specifications of your computer and sound input devices. After you do some basic customization, you can begin rocking out!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cubase software
• MIDI devices
• Soundcard with ASIO drivers

Choose a Sound Driver

1. Launch Cubase and choose "Device Setup" under the Device menu.

2. Choose "VST Audio Bay" or "VST Multitrack" (depending on your version of Cubase) and locate the ASIO Driver setting.

3. Select the ASIO driver associated with your soundcard from the drop-down menu. The correct driver will have the name of your soundcard. If you don't see it, you need to confirm that your soundcard has ASIO drivers.

4. Adjust the settings of your audio hardware in the control panel. Most manufacturers provide recommended settings for audio hardware.

5. Activate the "Release ASIO Driver in Background" option found on the VST "Audio Bay" page if you plan to run multiple audio applications. Now another application can use your audio hardware for play back while Cubase is running.

Customize Inputs and Outputs

6. Select "Open Devices," then choose either "VST Inputs" or "VST Outputs" from the "Device" menu. This will show you the number of inputs/outputs you have for recording audio, which will vary depending on your soundcard. The information will display in four columns: Bus Name, Speakers, Audio Device and Device Port.

7. Select and rename buses by clicking on them. You can also view the physical input/output of each bus by clicking on the "+" button next to its name.

8. Activate your desired connections by clicking on the appropriate input/output label and then clicking on the "Power" button. The input is the information that goes from your soundcard to the Cubase program, while the output is the information from Cubase to your soundcard.

9. Customize MIDI inputs using the "Device Setup" option and selecting "All MIDI Inputs." MIDI interfaces that are part of your soundcard or already connected will show up as default ports that you can use to select your MIDI device. You can also deactivate the duplicates so you aren't recording data you don't want.

Check the Bit-Depth

10. Open up the "Project" menu and chose the "Project Setup" option.

11. View the bit-depth in the "Record Format" window.

12. Change the bit-depth to fit your recording needs. Higher bit-depth provides for higher resolution audio, but there may be some projects for which you would prefer a lower depth.

Tips & Warnings

• Leave the clock source set to "Internal Clock," unless you're using digital input for sound, in which case you should set it to "S/PDIF."