Cubase Tutorial: Part 1 - What is Cubase?
Welcome to Part 1 of my tutorial on how to use Cubase 5 for your songwriting, recording, and audio editing needs! In each part I'll be going through different functions for Cubase, walking you through each step. These tutorials are designed for the absolute beginner rather than a music veteran. Keep in mind that I am no expert and this is just my personal insight on the software, if you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me at [email protected], though I might not always be able to answer your questions. :)
*This section is simply a brief introduction on Cubase itself, in the next section, I will talk about how to actually use it for creating songs.
So you've installed Cubase and want to make songs.
Let's first go through what Cubase is though. Its a DAW, which stands for Digital Audio Workstation. DAW's such as Protools, Ableton, FL studio, and Cubase are typically used in studio settings for recording, editing, and mixing songs, for creating songs entirely from scratch using VST plug-ins, or any combination of these. In this section, I'll be going over how to use HALion One, which is the VST plugin that comes with Cubase. I'll go over recording with Cubase in a future section.
What is a VST Plugin?
VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology, and is either a computer generated effect or instrument (VSTi). These are used in correspondence with DAW's to produce the sound of various instruments without actually having to record.
What is the difference between a DAW and a VST?
You can think of the DAW as a canvas, and the VSTs (or audio samples, recordings, etc. whatever you work with) as the brushes. A DAW is simply the methods through organizing these. You can't use one without the other, of course.
What is the difference between VSTi's and real instruments?
Real instruments are generally regarded as being more expressive, with more capabilities than their computer generated counterparts. Nowadays, though, some VST's have become incredibly realistic sounding and are able to mimic the subtleties created by the instruments. An example of songs created by VST's can be found here: http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/kontakt-4/?content=936
Do I need any additional hardware to run Cubase?
Besides a computer that meets all the system requirements, you should be fine. Some composers prefer to use a keyboard as a MIDI input instead of manually inputting notes, but its completely optional, and something I'll cover in a later part. A detailed list of system requirements for all versions can be found here: http://www.steinbergusers.com/cubase/cubase_feat_req.php
In the next part, I'll go over how to use the VSTs in Cubase to make songs.