Cubase is not capable to allow an even and simple hihat pattern

Cubase
1

For the past 2.5 hours, I’ve been struggling to get even the simplest of starting loops with a straight, even hi-hat, without any success.I want 16 beats on a hi-hat that sound identical. For starters, it seems impossible to set all beats to the same value without fiddling with each one individually. But then they still sound different, and I have no idea why. Same key on the keyboard, closed hi-hat.Then quantization doesn’t work either, no matter what values I use. For example, if I use eighth notes, it shifts all the beats backward, which is wrong.The first beat should land exactly on the “one.” But no matter what I do, there’s always a jump in the loop after the loop ends, and it sounds uneven. In addition, Cubase 13 also moves the start and end markers slightly each time.Then setting these markers is a constant annoyance; it only accepts whole bars instead of jumping to where I click. Maybe you can change this somewhere, but it’s not good design if you have to Google every little thing. After 40 years of Cubase, they still haven’t figured out how to make it intuitive.Then there’s also something wrong with the bars themselves; you get 6 bars for 16 beats instead of 4 or 8.

So, folks, how can I finally get this start, which should actually be simple and intuitive, to work with this program? Sixteen even beats on the hi-hat, sounding identical, i.e., the same volume, starting on the “one,” and looping without any hiccups or stutters? In such a way that I can multiply this loop and it runs smoothly. Ideally on an integer beat value, such as 2 (there should be space at the front for an initial break), and not on 2.2 or 2.35 or similar nonsense. Cubase seems to be doing its own thing here. I also asked an AI, which told me something about a velocity editor to bring the volumes to one value in one go, but I couldn’t find the editor in question. Unfortunately, Cubase is extremely confusing, and the online help is useless, because you want to work, not spend two hours researching the manual.

By the way, my post hasn’t been answered in the german section for weeks now. It’s a shame.

2

I would help users if you express more briefly what specifically you have tried, what you expect and what the result is.

2 Likes
3

That’s very, very simple.

I want to have a Hi Hat, exactly 16 events, which are perfectly quantized, evenly on a 16 parts grid. Sounds easy, right?

But Cubase is obviously not capable to achieve even this basic task.

First, it messes up my two bars loop, whenever i try to quantize those 16 beats. It changes the beginning, AND the end of the loop a tiny bit, so that the loop sounds broken. Because a small fraction of either side is being removed. Besides of that, the quantizsation is bad, no matter, how i try it. 1/4, or 1/8, or 1/16, Cubase keeps shifting the beats, which should be almost perfect, in a very dumb way to the wrongs posistions. Here is, how it graphically looks:

Beat at the Beginning:

X____X_____X____X_____X____X_____X____X_____X____X_____X____X_____

As you see, it’s almost evenly quantized (the way i have played it on my keyboard.

This is, how it is supposed to look like, if Cubase would do its job

X_____X_____X_____X_____X_____X_____X_____X_____X_____X_____X_____

But this is, what the program gives me, even with different quantisazions

X_____X__X_____X_____X__X_____X_____X__X_____X_____X__X_____X_____X__X_____

Furthermore, i couldn’t find a way, to make alle events using the same loudness, i have to edit them by hand, one by one. And yet the loop sounds inconsistent, even though the samples/events should be identical.

The result is a stumbling, messed up loop. I can’t believe, that a software, that has maybe 40 years under its belt, isn’t capable of offering a simple and intuitive way to create such a basic task. Like on an old school hardware drum machine with sixteen buttons.

4

You might have quantize turned on with perhaps a swing or something.

We all create loops all the time. You might just be misunderstanding something.

I’d browse some youtube videos to help you out.

1 Like
5

Yeah….sounds like you have an unwanted quantise setting enabled or something.

And as for all hits being same velocity….. Many drum instruments/kits, especially acoustic kits will have what’s called round robin samples to make them sound more human and less robotic so it intentionally doesn’t sound the same every hit. Try some electronic kits if you want it to sound like a drum machine.

To open editor simply double click the midi event in project window

1 Like
6

Of course it can. You’re missing something basic in your settings. Show a full screenshot of your MIDI editor.

There are many different ways to do it.

  • Open the MIDI Drum Editor and draw in 16th notes with the drumstick.

  • Create a MIDI track with Pattern Editor and draw in 16th notes.

  • Create a MIDI track and use MIDI Insert Beat Designer to place 16th notes.

  • Use MIDI Editor and (with snap-type set to Grid) draw in 16th notes by double-clicking where you want them.

7

What DAW do you usually use?

1 Like
8

Cubase just sucks, sorry!

For example, i now have an absolutely minimalist approach for my loop. Just one single bar, four beats/hihat events. But when i try to quantize it to some even values, and no matter what values i use, some of those four hihat events just disappear inside the loop.

Seriously, what is this? Isn’t Cubase capable to put those events to the closest quantize value, without removing the sounds? No, they are not outside that one bar loop, yet some events vanish for no apparent reason.

How are we supposed to manege even more complex patterns, if this program already fails to provide the most basic functions? At this point, this should nt be any rocket science. What the hell is wrong with modern days Cubase?

9

Check out the upper image. Four events that can be heard alright. So far so good. As you see, quantization is set to 1/16 which should be fine.

But once i hit Q, i get the lower image, three events are just gone. Why? See what happens, if i set it to 1/128, something else goes wrong.

And “thanks” for not letting me paste a couple of screenshots here, just on, so i can’t even show you what is going wrong without any hassle.

image
image839×853 42.1 KB

11

image
image1065×1898 178 KB

image
image450×1191 45.4 KB

12

If you are doing this in the Project view, which is what it looks like, you should switch to doing it in the Key Editor, or drum editor.

If You glue together all the midi parts you created in the Project view, and then do your editing in the Key or Drum editor, you will see that all works as it should. Once you do that, you will be able to understand better what’s going on, and be able to formulate questions better for people to help you.

13

Now i have made some progress. It seems like one setting had the wrong default (i guess. It was seconds instead of bars, so now the loop borders won’t be moved around anymore.)

I have quite some more questions, but will open a few new threads for this, for clarity. I’ll come back to this thread, if more related questions come up. Thanks guys!