It would be nice to learn more about VST and VST3 use in Cubase 5, so I am looking for more info, maybe a book or tutorial DVD, because only a install guide is not enough. Also the introduction articles of BM is not enough, because it assumes you already know how to work with VST’s. I want to learn more about the in and outs of VST and VST3.

Does such item exist?

Jan

We try not to repeat (too much) what is already covered in the provided documentation of the program or instrument. Particularly if it is covered very well. We do, however, assume that some basic understanding of the function is there based on that documentation. When necessary we try to clear up common misconceptions and give a basic idea of how a particular item can be used.

But yes, it is assumed that the provided documentation has been read. When a Guide is written I try and sit down with what documentation is provided and look for I think will be common questions or ‘head-scratcher’ issues and those are put into the Power User documents… with a practical use of the item.

The online documentation in Cubase 5 (go to HELP > DOCUMENTATION > OPERATION MANUAL > page 170 “VST Instruments and Instrument Tracks”.

This is an excellent place to start.

BM,

Sorry I might irritated you. Its just I never had worked with VST’s seriously and I did excersize your example of the Oakland song and I only wondered how those 9 midi tracks get into that one track, but without the possibility to look into each individual track with the midi event list, or score presentation.
You also could not dissolve that track into 9 midi tracks. However, you could solo each instrument viathe XS VST editor.

Maybe that will be explained in the Cubase 5 manual. I will check that out to-night.

Anyway, have a nice weekend.

Jan

Jan, may I suggest that perhaps you are looking at too complicated an example in the beginning? Sort of like the expression ‘trying to run before one has learned to walk’? :) In any case, why not read what is in the manual, then set up a simple VSTi, create a MIDI track, and play some data into it and then set it so it plays back to the VSTi. Follow and understand the routing from MIDI IN to MIDI OUT to the VSTi, then audio out of the VSTi to a Master bus then out to your amp and speakers? Once you are completely comfortable with all that then move on to two VSTi(s)...perhaps one a synth and one set to drums and get both those tracks working together?
After that, you will feel much more comfortable with what is covered in the manual, and THEN you can move on to more complicated uses of VSTi(s), such as multiple instances or single VSTi(s) with piano on MIDI ch. 1, Bass on MIDI ch. 2 etc. Think of the instrument VSTi(s) as litle synths inside Cubase. Anyway, don’t get overwhelmed by an example like you used above. You’ll only understand the more complicated set-ups if you have mastered the simple ones. And also don’t be afraid to read about a specific VSTi in the “Plug-in Reference Guide” (.pdf file) that comes with Cubase. Many folks think of the Operation Manual, but forget about the other guides. :) Hope this helps............frank

“Sorry I might irritated you. Its just I never had worked with VST’s seriously and I did excersize your example of the Oakland song and I only wondered how those 9 midi tracks get into that one track, but without the possibility to look into each individual track with the midi event list, or score presentation.
You also could not dissolve that track into 9 midi tracks. However, you could solo each instrument viathe XS VST editor.”

No not irrated, just explaining. The Oakland Stroke demo provides all the track information - as the documentation says… you can click on the MIDI TRACKS “FOLDER” - this will open it and reveal the 9 tracks of data. You can view the event list, you can look at it on the SCORE editor… You can see how all this was done.

I mention the MIDI TRACK FOLDER in the documentation. I put them in the MIDI TRACKS “FOLDER” to make it neat, and to emphasize that the AUDIO lane (just one, initially) is the stereo audio generated by the 9 MIDI tracks. This was in the first Part of the tutorial.

The 9 MIDI tracks playback in just a stereo audio lane.

In PART TWO of the tutorial (already posted) we go to the next step and route the guitar to a pair of mLAN outputs and we process it with Cubase VST Effects.. I feel it very important to take it one step at a time. Many folks think you need to route each PART to its own audio lane, nothing could be farther from the truth. This might have been the case with computer based VSTi, but remember the Motif XS is hardware! You most likely are not going to have multiple instances of the VSTi. But you are going to use both the onboard Motif XS Effects and perhaps some external VST Effects.

Software VST Instruments are typically totally dependent on VST Effects. Significantly, the Motif XS is not.

And a key point I try to make in PART ONE of the article: You only route something to an assignable (mLAN) output, when you want to process it, in isolation from the main mix, - as in our PART TWO example, where we take the rhythm guitar track, send it to OUTPUT SELECT “m1&2;” , activate the VSTi OUTPUT (which creates a second audio lane), and then process it with a Cubase VST3 Effect: the LIMITER.

Click thumbnail to see full-size image

frankE - 14 March 2009 04:09 PM

Jan, may I suggest that perhaps you are looking at too complicated an example in the beginning? Sort of like the expression ‘trying to run before one has learned to walk’? :) In any case, why not read what is in the manual, then set up a simple VSTi, create a MIDI track, and play some data into it and then set it so it plays back to the VSTi. Follow and understand the routing from MIDI IN to MIDI OUT to the VSTi, then audio out of the VSTi to a Master bus then out to your amp and speakers? Once you are completely comfortable with all that then move on to two VSTi(s)...perhaps one a synth and one set to drums and get both those tracks working together?
After that, you will feel much more comfortable with what is covered in the manual, and THEN you can move on to more complicated uses of VSTi(s), such as multiple instances or single VSTi(s) with piano on MIDI ch. 1, Bass on MIDI ch. 2 etc. Think of the instrument VSTi(s) as litle synths inside Cubase. Anyway, don’t get overwhelmed by an example like you used above. You’ll only understand the more complicated set-ups if you have mastered the simple ones. And also don’t be afraid to read about a specific VSTi in the “Plug-in Reference Guide” (.pdf file) that comes with Cubase. Many folks think of the Operation Manual, but forget about the other guides. :) Hope this helps............frank

frankE - 14 March 2009 04:09 PM

Jan, may I suggest that perhaps you are looking at too complicated an example in the beginning? Sort of like the expression ‘trying to run before one has learned to walk’? :) In any case, why not read what is in the manual, then set up a simple VSTi, create a MIDI track, and play some data into it and then set it so it plays back to the VSTi. Follow and understand the routing from MIDI IN to MIDI OUT to the VSTi, then audio out of the VSTi to a Master bus then out to your amp and speakers? Once you are completely comfortable with all that then move on to two VSTi(s)...perhaps one a synth and one set to drums and get both those tracks working together?
After that, you will feel much more comfortable with what is covered in the manual, and THEN you can move on to more complicated uses of VSTi(s), such as multiple instances or single VSTi(s) with piano on MIDI ch. 1, Bass on MIDI ch. 2 etc. Think of the instrument VSTi(s) as litle synths inside Cubase. Anyway, don’t get overwhelmed by an example like you used above. You’ll only understand the more complicated set-ups if you have mastered the simple ones. And also don’t be afraid to read about a specific VSTi in the “Plug-in Reference Guide” (.pdf file) that comes with Cubase. Many folks think of the Operation Manual, but forget about the other guides. :) Hope this helps............frank

frankE - 14 March 2009 04:09 PM

Jan, may I suggest that perhaps you are looking at too complicated an example in the beginning? Sort of like the expression ‘trying to run before one has learned to walk’? :) In any case, why not read what is in the manual, then set up a simple VSTi, create a MIDI track, and play some data into it and then set it so it plays back to the VSTi. Follow and understand the routing from MIDI IN to MIDI OUT to the VSTi, then audio out of the VSTi to a Master bus then out to your amp and speakers? Once you are completely comfortable with all that then move on to two VSTi(s)...perhaps one a synth and one set to drums and get both those tracks working together?
After that, you will feel much more comfortable with what is covered in the manual, and THEN you can move on to more complicated uses of VSTi(s), such as multiple instances or single VSTi(s) with piano on MIDI ch. 1, Bass on MIDI ch. 2 etc. Think of the instrument VSTi(s) as litle synths inside Cubase. Anyway, don’t get overwhelmed by an example like you used above. You’ll only understand the more complicated set-ups if you have mastered the simple ones. And also don’t be afraid to read about a specific VSTi in the “Plug-in Reference Guide” (.pdf file) that comes with Cubase. Many folks think of the Operation Manual, but forget about the other guides. :) Hope this helps............frank

Re: “hi .can u tell me if in cubase 4 i can record my voice olso? thanks”

Yes I can tell you, but first you have to tell us why you copied and pasted my message to Jan into three separate posts and what this has to do with his questions? :) :)

Just kidding. Anyway, yes Cubase is a full fledged recording program and you can record audio as well as MIDI. If you would like to read more about Cubase, please visit the Steinberg web site where you can learn about the different versions and features.......frank

looool . HI franKE. sorry for the mistake. I am new here and i didn’t know how to ask someone about my issue with the voice recording on cubase, and how to post a thread, so i just put my message in u’r inbox. I thought that you got upset for that but after i have read what u said ‘’i am only kidding’’ i started filling a little better. SORRY again. i have a question. when i will start looking inside the cubase since i am a rumanian and even i know english very well, i have seen that here are a lot of terms and a terminology specific for music programming that i am not familiar with.  when ever i encounter translation problems with such terms like ‘’plugins"” etc could u explainn me within you’r limit of time what that term means? If you can’t or don’t have time wich i totally understand it’s ok .Thanks

Only to inform you that, after finding that folder, mentioning expand or collapse in the oakland example, I start understanding how its done. LOL. Its the unexpected and the obvious that fooled me.

So now I can start experimenting with this MOTIFXS VST editor, etc. etc.

Thanks, BM and frankE

Jan

Jan, you are most welcome, and while my suggestions (intentionally )didn’t address the specific issue you were discussing with Bad Mister, I hope you found them useful for the future.

Katalyn: Re. “when ever i encounter translation problems with such terms like ‘’plugins"” etc could u explainn me within you’r limit of time what that term means?”

---At this forum, there are many folks who will try to help you, me included. Some terms might better be explained in your own language though, and that most of us probably can’t do! :) Other sources of information such as Google, books, magazines and recording courses also provide ways you can obtain information, and of course there are numerous previous threads here in this forum that may cover questions you have.
I’m not sure if you were actually requesting a ‘definition’ for “plug-in” or just using it as an example, but briefly it’s a piece of software that works within a host program. It could be an instrument or even an effect, but it needs a host to function....thus the term ‘plug-in’...the software ‘plugs into’ the host sort of like a lamp plugs into a wall outlet. :) They need each other to work. For example, Cubase could be a host program, and HalionONE is a VSTi plug-in that works inside Cubase.
And while I assume you are interested in plug-ins as they relate to music, the term can also be applied to software for the web (e.g. a Flash plug-in for your browser), graphics software (e.g. an Alien Skin plug-in for Photoshop), and many other types of software. Anyway, hope that very brief explanation helps.

Finally, if you do wish to post questions, please start a new thread of your own. When unrelated questions are posted inside someone else’s thread, that is called “hijacking” and it is frowned upon. I mention that just for your information; no criticism is intended.
Welcome to the Forum.................frank