Having installed Cubase, you are probably anxious to start recording
and making music right away. There are just a few more things to set
up and then you will be ready to roll.
Getting MIDI in and out of Cubase
Cubase started out as a MIDI sequencer and it’s a good idea,
even if you’re not entirely sure what MIDI can do for you at the
moment, to get your
MIDI connections setup correctly. To get MIDI In and Out of your computer
you are going to need at least one of the following devices:
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This is the cheapest way to get MIDI in and out of your PC and you can pick one up in a music store, computer store, or indeed right here on SteinbergUsers.com. |
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These plug into an open USB port or
USB hub and convert the MIDI to USB. These interfaces can be as
simple as a 1-In/1-Out device, or can comprise multiple In/Out
device for large MIDI systems. These interfaces will also come
with software drivers the must be installed in order to talk to
your computer/Cubase |
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Many modern keyboards (such as the Yamaha
S90 and Motif ES) have a built-in USB interface that can be used
for sending MIDI to and from your computer. Like the MIDI to USB
interface these will also have software drivers that must be installed
to communicate with your Computer/Cubase. |
The Setup
1. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for installing your
chosen MIDI interface (and software drivers if applicable).
2. Once the interface has been installed, launch Cubase.
3. Go to the Devices menu and choose Device Setup.
4. Select All MIDI Inputs under the MIDI folder.
All MIDI inputs
If you are using a USB MIDI device (either
built-in or external) you will see it listed in the Device column (in
the example shown we are using mLAN, which is a FireWire networking protocol
sponsored by Yamaha). If you are using a "Joystick" adapter
you will only see your soundcard's MIDI ports (normally listed as MPU-401).
The All MIDI Inputs page in the Device Setup dialog allows you to specify
which inputs should be included when you select All MIDI Inputs for a
MIDI track. This can be especially useful if your system provides several
instances of the same physical MIDI input - by deactivating the duplicates
you make sure only the desired MIDI data is recorded.
When you record MIDI in Cubase SX/SL, you can specify which MIDI input
each recording MIDI track should use. However, you can also select the “All
MIDI Inputs” option, which causes any MIDI data from any MIDI input
to be recorded
5. Choose default MIDI ports.
Default MIDI Ports
The Default MIDI Ports page in the Device Setup dialog allows you to select which MIDI ports should be selected by default when you create a new MIDI track.
In other words, newly created tracks will always use the input and output specified on this page. However, you can change this setting later for each individual track in the Project window.
6. Choose DirectMusic
DirectMusic
Under Windows, the MIDI ports are listed
in the Device Setup dialog on the DirectMusic page and/or the Windows
MIDI page (depending on your system). By clicking in the “Show” column
for a MIDI input or output you can specify whether or not it should be
listed on the MIDI pop-up menus in the program.
Under Mac OS X, you can hide or show MIDI ports on the MIDI System page
in the Device Setup dialog.
Hiding a MIDI port from view does not turn it off if it’s
already selected for a track or a MIDI device.
Once you have setup the MIDI section for your MIDI device, you are now
ready to record/playback MIDI from Cubase. |
