TIMECODE RECORDING AND PLAYBACK IN
CUBASE VST 3.553 (WIN95) USING ASIO

Fig. 1 - 16-channel audio recording, recorded from ADAT locked to computer.

This application note describes how we recorded 16 channels in Cubase VST, synchronized to two ADATs via the Studi/o Sync Backplate, and using our ASIO driver. Timecode recording is when you have the computer following the ADAT tape so that it records and plays back in perfect synchronization (lock step) with the tape.
 

EQUIPMENT USED

Hardware	Software
Pentium-II 300MHz  ASUS P2L97 AGP motherboard  Matrox Millenium II AGP Powerdesk graphics card 384MB RAM  Adaptec AHA-2940U/AHA-2940UW PCI SCSI controller  4.5GB Seagate Cheetah 4LP SCSI hard drive STUDI/O STUDI/O Sync Backplate 2xADAT XT  MOTU Pocket Express (not used for this)	Windows 95 B Cubase VST 3.553  Sonorus 1.35 drivers  Virtual Memory On (or Off) Graphics Acceleration Full (or OFF) Matrox settings: PCI bus mastering ON, generate automatic retries OFF

With this setup we were able to record 16 channels from the two ADAT XT's into the computer locked to timecode.  Then, we listened back to the recorded tracks, and the ADATs at the same time to make sure they were sync'd, and they were, over the whole 6 minute song!

By clicking on 'System' in the Audio pulldown menu, you get to the Audio System Setup Window.  Here you must set the number of channels you want to use in your song.  This can be more or less than the number of inputs/outputs you have, and you can always increase it later.

We selected 'Global Disable' for the Monitoring type: it's the most CPU-efficient mode, though you may want to sacrifice some CPU cycles in order to get monitoring through Cubase's VST engine (otherwise, you could employ our onboard mixer for monitoring functionality, or use your mixing board if you have one).

If you're having some problems with recording, you may want to tweak the 'Memory per Channel' and 'Disk Block Buffer Size' settings.  Remember, the settings you see are the ones that worked best for us;  every computer is different, so they may have to be changed.  In general, the more memory you give to each, the more 'forgiving' Cubase is of system inefficiencies.

You can also see what your current ASIO latency value is here.  We've gotten it down to 45mS and still successfully recorded 16 channels, and we're working on improving that!  Check the ASIO.txt which comes with your driver release for information on how to change your latency.

In the 'Options' pulldown menu is Synchronization.  For any timecode based recording, the synchronization settings must be correct for everything to run smoothly.  For Timecode Base use 'MIDI Timecode' from the 'STUDI/O #1 Sync In' Input, with a framerate of 30 frames per second.  The offset is used to set the start time of the song (corresponding to the start time of the song on the ADAT).  Notice the extra 1 hour in the Song Start as opposed to the Time Display -- this is due to the Sync Backplate starting timecode at 1 hour, like most synchronizers, to avoid negative timecodes when you roll the ADAT tape back past zero to the data area.  Also, we increase the Lock Time to at least 15 frames -- this gives us a stable lockup with the XT's.  Old ADAT users may want to go 30 or more.

If you have an ADAT Computer Interface (e.g. Steinberg's or J.L.Cooper's), you can set the timecode base to MMC - Midi Machine Control - so that Cubase will automatically control the ADAT transports.  This would require the Output to be sent to your Interface; ours is hooked up to 'PKX: A' on our MOTU Pocket Express.  Then, when you activate 'Sync' on the transport (Figure 10), the ADATs will find the offset point on their own, so you'll have fully automated recording and playback.

The VST Inputs are found in the 'Audio' pulldown menu.  Be sure to turn your inputs 'on' by clicking on the green boxes so the turn a nice bright green like you see here.  Since each input is in stereo, each input represents two channels to record, so turning on all 8 will give you sixteen channels of audio.  Each pair you activate uses more CPU power, though, so only activate the ones you want to use; and when mixing down, turn them all off to get the most 'horsepower' for your Plug-Ins.  You can also re-label the inputs to your convenience by clicking on the right-hand labels.

Once your inputs have been activated, you need to assign them to tracks, and this is done in the VST Mixer window.  This window can be reached by selecting 'Monitor' in the 'Audio' pulldown menu.  Above each channel is the button to assign the channels.  To do this, you must hold down 'Control' and then click with the mouse to get the pulldown window as shown above.  If you don't have 16 channels to choose from, double check the Audio System Setup window and the Inputs window to make sure everything is configured properly.  Of course if you don't want all sixteen enabled, you'll only see the enabled ones in the pulldown menu.

Fig. 6 - VST Mixer Window.

You also use the VST Mixer window to steer the tracks to the the output busses (once the busses are activated).  This is useful because each bus can be turned on and off (in the VST Master window, shown below in Figure 7).  You can have all the drums on Bus 2 and all the vocals on Bus 3, mute the drums and mix the vocals, making sure the voices are all balanced properly.  Or cut the vocals and play the drums in mono to see if they're flamming.  You can use the busses to set the master levels of each component of the song.  Basically, you can group your sounds together in any way you like.

The VST Master Window, also in the Audio pulldown menu, allows you to determine how many buses are active.  Including the Master bus, there are a total of 9 available busses with one STUDI/O.  Adding more cards adds more busses.  While the Master bus is automatically active, the other eight can be turned on by clicking on the 'Active' button above the bus so that it turns green.  In our example, Buses 2, 3 and 4 have been activated.  Inactive busses will not show up in the pulldown list in the Monitor window.

Next you have to tell Cubase that you intend to record more than one channel at a time, so in the 'Options' pulldown menu, highlight 'Multirecord' and click on 'Active.'  As long as the check mark is there, you're ready to record.  Also, 'Merge' is the proper setting to record audio.

Once that's done, the arrangement window will have an additional column labeled 'R.'  You can see this in Figure 1.  Clicking on the 'R' column activates that track for recording.  The first track you set to record will bring this menu up, and here you tell Cubase where your audio files will be stored (Fig. 9).

Finally, here's the way the transport should look.  Remember that Cubase has a bug whereby it messes up recording audio starting at Bar 1 (should be fixed in the next release), so you have to start recording at Bar 2 or later. By setting the left locator to '2' (by doubleclicking on the Left Locator box and typing '2') and activating the Punch In button to its left, Cubase will start recording at Bar 2.  We used 'Replace' as our record mode;  it seems to work better than 'Overdub' for us.  You can also set the song tempo by doubleclicking on it and typing it in.  Finally, make sure the Sync button is activated ('lit') as above.  That way, Cubase won't start recording until it gets to the offset point in the timecode.  Roll your ADATs back to a point just before the offset point, hit record in Cubase, press play on your ADATs and you'll be recording 16 tracks of audio!

  For more info and ideas about Cubase VST check out these Cubase user sites:
 
  

http://steinberg-us.com/support/user/ http://www.studio201.com/cwu/home.html

Questions? Comments? Email us at techsup@sonorus.com.

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