In the Interim
Since our last look at Cubase on the PC, the Mac 4.1 and Windows 3.7 versions added a significant number of new features. Version 5.0 incorporates these enhancements and adds even more. Among the most significant additions since the Windows 3.6 version are ASIO2, VST Remote Control, VST Mixer Views, and VST Instruments, plus some other small but helpful improvements. Here’s a rundown of these features.

ASIO2 brings what Steinberg calls Direct Monitoring and Positioning Protocol to the party. Direct Monitoring delivers low-latency monitoring by sending the audio signal from the monitored input directly back to a specified output on your audio hardware. This means the signal doesn’t pass through the program, so there’s virtually no latency when monitoring the audio. Positioning Protocol provides sample-accurate synchronization between Cubase VST/32 and external devices. Of course, your computer’s audio interface must have an ASIO2 driver in order to take advantage of these features.

VST Remote Control lets you control Cubase VST/32 from external MIDI devices, such as a digital mixing console. Depending on your external hardware’s exact features, you can control volume faders, pan settings, EQ parameters, and more. Cubase VST/32 provides support for the CM Automation Motor Mix, JL Cooper CS-10 and MCS-3000, Roland MCR-8 and U-8, Tascam US-428, and Yamaha 01V.

If you don’t own any of these items, you can still take advantage of VST Remote Control with the Generic Remote Device (GRD). GRD lets you assign MIDI controllers, NRPN and RPN messages, and even MIDI note numbers to control the fader, pan, and mute, and to send controls in Cubase VST/32. Any MIDI device (such as a keyboard) that sends these messages can be set up to control Cubase VST/32. Combine this with Key Commands—which let you assign MIDI messages to any of the program’s menu functions—and you have a high level of remote control. Very cool indeed.

Other improvements include VST Mixer Views, which offer an “adaptive” view of VST channels in the VST Mixer windows (that is, you can choose which channels are visible and which are hidden). In addition, you can type values for VST parameters such as level, pan, and EQ directly into their respective fields, rather than using the mouse as in previous versions. A Reset VST switch lets you reset all VST parameters to their default values, and ReWire channels can be routed to Groups. ReCycle files can be auditioned before loading, and it’s now possible to copy mixer settings from one channel to another.

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Reprinted with permission from Magazine, December, 2000
© 2000, Intertec Publishing, A Primedia Company All Rights Reserved