Help with setup! Cubase 4 + FF800

[reflexon]

Originally Posted by tasker

I just made the switch from an 002r to Cubase 4 with a Fireface 800 as my AD/DA. The FF runs into a Central Station which controls my monitoring. Everything is up and running pretty smoothly but I'm a bit confused by the RME Total Mix software, latency, monitoring, etc.

It seems like a lot of folks around here run a very similar system, and if anyone could help me out with a few things I'd greatly appreciate. Yes, I read all 600 pages of manuals but parts got a bit confusing to me. The 002r is a bit more straightforward with fewer options.

I'm running all this on a Mac OSX 10.4.8 with no outboard gear (no console). Basically just outboard pres into the FF800 line ins.

OK, Here we go:

1. What is the best way to get a headphone mix with the lowest latency? For what I do, having separate headphone mixes isn't a big deal. I could take the headphone mix out of the Central Station, but it seems like I suffer pretty big latency and the Total Mix software is supposed to offer me latency free (or there abouts) cue mixes, but I can't figure out how to set it up.

I was thinking about getting a Behringer headphone amp, so I could run RME outputs 5-8 into the headphone amp for 4 mono headphone mixes. If someone could help me I'd really be happy!

2. Should the RME clock frequency be set to anything specific? Or does this even matter if I don't have anything connected to it?

3. I'm assuming the sample rate of Cubase automatically governs the sample rate (say 48k, 24 bit) of the FF800?

4. Every time I launch Cubase it pops up a message saying "Sample rate has changed to 48000k" but the project was created with those settings. Any idea how to make it stop telling me this on start up?

5. Every time I launch Cubase, it again pops up a message wanting me to register, but I've already registered. I click "already registered" but it doesn't believe me and keeps doing this.

6. In PT, if you highlight an area of a region, and you're in SHUFFLE mode, you can hit DUPLICATE and it essentially pastes a copy of what you have highlighted directly after the selection - while sliding everything to the right of the selection over. So say you want the chorus to be twice as long, you can highlight the chorus and hit duplicate, which will make the chorus twice as long while not overwriting any of the next verse. Is there a way to do this in Cubase? Duplicate is overwriting everything following the thing I'm duplicating.

7. In PT, if I select a region and zoom in, I can use the left and right arrow keys to automatically go to the beginning or end of the region. I can't figure out how to do this in Cubase. Any help?


I know this is a lot, thanks to any/everyone who takes the time to help me out with this!

1. Enable direct monitoring in cubase. Make a fx track fro each individual headphone mix and route that channel to the output that will go to the headphone/player. Use the sends on your audio channels to send levels of the audio to the fx send.

2.Depends on what sample rate you want to record with.

3.Correct.

4.Mine does this to. Bug?

5.I also have the same experience. Doesn't bother me along with #4.

6.Easiest way to accomplish this would be with a folder track. Create one, put all the tracks into it, and make your edits on the folder level. You still have to move the rest of the song back, but its one move rather than moving all the files individually. Place the quantize in shuffle mode and the events will snap to the end of the previous.

7. I believe the shortcut is N and B when you have a region selected.

Hope this helps.

[tasker]

That's very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to reply!

[scwarren1015]

4. Hey tasker, are you deleting your preferences with Cubase? For some reason when I first installed Cubase it was trashing my preferences, so I re-installed and the annoying asking me to register stopped.

5. The sample rate on my Comp is changing to 48kHz because I have set the clock source to external because I am clocking Cubase and my 002R off a Digimax FS. I am not positive that is the cause, but I had to clock everything off the digi max to avoid any sampling errors.

6. No idea, new to Cubase also

7. You can edit and save your key commands under the File/Key Commands. I spent about a half a day changing the transport controls, ect. in Cubase to match Pro Tools and saved that preference @ PT. Just a suggestion to make the transition easier.

Good luck

[dirren]

Originally Posted by tasker

1. What is the best way to get a headphone mix with the lowest latency? For what I do, having separate headphone mixes isn't a big deal.

The front headphone out of the FF?

Originally Posted by tasker

2. Should the RME clock frequency be set to anything specific? Or does this even matter if I don't have anything connected to it?

Not really. Use "AutoSynch" if unsure. I think it has to be "master" if you want to fiddle with sample rate in DDT menu for the FF. I think the FF app actually won't let you record with different sample settings in FF vs. your audio app!

Originally Posted by tasker

3. I'm assuming the sample rate of Cubase automatically governs the sample rate (say 48k, 24 bit) of the FF800?

Download this pdf for the FF and read page 26-27. (to much text to paste here!)

Originally Posted by tasker

4. Every time I launch Cubase it pops up a message saying "Sample rate has changed to 48000k" but the project was created with those settings. Any idea how to make it stop telling me this on start up?

Do you auto launch a 44K project at startup? Or did your last project (before closing Cubase) include 44K? Then this is how it should display.

Originally Posted by tasker

5. Every time I launch Cubase, it again pops up a message wanting me to register, but I've already registered. I click "already registered" but it doesn't believe me and keeps doing this.

I got that too after force shutting the app when Kontakt 2 hung on me. Likely to be a prefs file err.

Originally Posted by tasker

6. In PT, if you highlight an area of a region, and you're in SHUFFLE mode, you can hit DUPLICATE and it essentially pastes a copy of what you have highlighted directly after the selection - while sliding everything to the right of the selection over. So say you want the chorus to be twice as long, you can highlight the chorus and hit duplicate, which will make the chorus twice as long while not overwriting any of the next verse. Is there a way to do this in Cubase? Duplicate is overwriting everything following the thing I'm duplicating.

Set to "snap to bars" and find Ctrl+K or "duplicate" from Edit menu. I dont think you have to be in shuffle mode if you are copying whole bars. The selection will copy itself directly after the previous one. Choose shuffle if copy/pasting or duplication part of a bar or similar that has to snap specifically to the next bar. You can multiselect and do this too. Or highlight then Alt+Shift+drag.

Originally Posted by tasker

7. In PT, if I select a region and zoom in, I can use the left and right arrow keys to automatically go to the beginning or end of the region. I can't figure out how to do this in Cubase. Any help?

Use Numerical pad 1 (go to beginning of region) then pad 2 (go to end of region). You can also customize the rest of the numerical pad num keys to markers.

hot tip:

Make a custom key that will in one (or two) pass do:

a) Transport - Locators to selection
and
b) Zoom to selection horizontally

Highlight the area you want to view/loop/zoom then just press the button you just made. This will put locators round the selected region and the zoom to full screen horizontally. Pretty handy.

Hope this helps!

/Matt

[DAWgEAR]

6. Edit>Range>Insert Silence followed by Duplicate.