User manual

33
VST Connections
External instruments/effects (Cubase only)
Setting up external effects
To set up an external effect in the VST Connections window, proceed as follows:
1. Open the External FX tab and click the “Add External FX” button.
A dialog opens.
2. Enter a name for the external effect and specify the send and return configurations.
Depending on the type of effect, you can specify mono, stereo or surround
configurations.
• You also need a MIDI device that corresponds with the external effect. You can
then click the “Associate MIDI Device” button to connect the two.
You can use the MIDI Device Manager to create a new MIDI device for the effect.
Note that delay compensation will only be applied for the effect when you use MIDI
devices. For information about the MIDI Device Manager and user device panels
see the chapter
“Using MIDI devices” on page 460.
3. Click OK.
This adds a new external FX bus.
4. Click in the Device Port column for the “left” and “right” ports of the Send Bus and
select the outputs on your audio hardware that you want to use.
5. Click in the Device Port column for the “left” and “right” ports of the Return Bus
and select the inputs on your audio hardware that you want to use.
6. If you like, make additional settings for the bus.
These are found in the columns to the right. Note that you can adjust these while
actually using the external effect – which may be easier as you can hear the result.
The following options are available:
Setting Description
Delay If your hardware effect device has an inherent delay (latency), enter
this value here, as it allows Cubase to compensate for that delay
during playback. You can also let the delay value be determined by
the program: Right-click the Delay column for the effect and select
“Check User Delay”. Note that you do not have to take the latency of
the audio hardware into account – this is handled automatically by
the program.
Send Gain Allows you to adjust the level of the signal being sent to the external
effect.
Return Gain Allows you to adjust the level of the signal coming in from the external
effect.
Note however that excessive output levels from an external effect
device may cause clipping in the audio hardware. The Return Gain
setting cannot be used to compensate for this – you have to lower
the output level on the effect device instead.