Parts, events; can someone explain to me?

I’m a veteran cubase user, beta tester back in the late '90’s and early 00’s.
What is this all about? I cant find a logical, linear thinking explanation of why this exists.
I keep running into strange all out “stop working, go online and see if you can find out wtf is going on here.”
Most recently, i did two fades one in and one out on different recently
recorded audio. They both still show the fade lines i applied in the fade editor. But theres no fade??!
It’s driving me insane, parts, dissolve, events what is all this crap?
Sorry but man really? Can we not just work and get some kind of flow going without all this mess at this point?

Hi,

If you double-click on the Audio Events, the Sample Editor opens. You can do the edits, AudioWarp, VariAudio, Hitpoints, etc. If you want to glue multiple Audio Events to one object, you get an Audio Part. So it’s a collection of Audio Events.

You can see Faders on the Audio Events, not on the Audio Parts. If you want to “unpack” the Audio Part back to the Audio Events, go to Audio > Dissolve Part.

On the MIDI/Instrument side, you can see Parts in the project window. If you double-click on the MIDI Part, the Key Editor opens. In the Key Editor, you can se MIDI Events (MIDI Data). This terminus is defined by the MIDI association/MIDI Standard.

An Event is a single MIDI note or audio clip. A Part is a convenient container or box for multiple MIDI notes or lots of smaller audio clips. Because there are usually lots of them, MIDI notes are always recorded and edited inside a Part.

Audio, on the hand, can be a long continuous recording or, in some cases lots of little pieces (think individual drum hits or chopped up vocals). For this reason you can edit audio as an Event or as Part.

To create a Part from lots of little pieces of audio, select all of them and then select Events to Part from the Audio Menu. It is much easier to move multiple tiny pieces of audio around on the timeline when they are all housed inside a Part.

Hope that helps

:grin: This shows that the names are really confusing. An audio event is not an audio clip.

1 Like

Hi,

Not really. Audio Clip is another term in Cubase. An Audio Clip is available in the Pool. This is the representation of the Audio file in Cubase.

Audio Event might already be cut from the Audio Clip.

I agree that it can be a bit confusing but this naming scheme goes back decades and we are probably stuck with it.

Just think of Parts as a handy tool to make it easier to move lots of small pieces of media around on the timeline as a contiguous group.

2 Likes

Very efficient simple system.

[Audio File] exists in the AUDIO folder of your Project Folder, you have recorded these into, and/or imported them into Cubase.

The [Audio File’s] can be seen as [Audio Clip’s] in the Media Pool.

The [Audio Clip’s] being referenced in your Project Window show up as [Audio Events]

You can combine in a container/group a series of [Audio Events] that become a [Audio Part], if you wanted to un-contain/un-group them you would, Dissolve the part.

[Audio File] > [Audio Clip] > [Audio Events] > [Audio Part]

AUDIO folder > Media Pool > Project Window > Container/grouped in Project Window

Hidden > Stored > Manipulated Visually > Manipulated Visually as a combination/group.

[Audio File] is your root, the origin point, could be a 2 minute guitar solo, you recorded into Cubase. It stays hidden and protected in the AUDIO folder.

[Audio Clip] your 2 minute guitar solo within the Cubase project, that is referencing that protected [Audio File], this means as a clip it is available to be placed/used in your Project Window.

[Audio Event] a visual representation within your Project Window of you using the [Audio Clip] which references the protected [Audio Event], you can non destructively edit/manipulate and not worry you will ever lose the original root/source recording, which is protected.

If you have 2 or more [Audio Events] on a track in the Project Window, ie 5 guitar licks/solo sections, and you want them to be manipulated as 1 entity with the freedom to keep them as individual pieces, you would contain them/ group them and they become an [Audio Part].

Understanding these concepts can keep your projects clean & tidy.

Your Project Window may only be referencing 5 [Audio Clips] that reference 3 [Audio Files] but you may have in your Media Pool, 300 [Audio Clips] that reference 240 [Audio Files].

You will need to know what clips/audio are of use to you as you finalise your project.

1 Like

Thanks.
I did notice the volume box but it didn’t dawn on me at the time it was different. It was the end of a day long session :face_with_spiral_eyes:.
Your explanation helps a lot!

“I agree that it can be a bit confusing but this naming scheme goes back decades and we are probably stuck with it.”
Yeah, you know it’s funny and I know it was in my previous versions but the confusion never came up for me back then and workFLOW was great.

Electrocyde that is a concise explanation I can understand plainly.
I thank the 3 of you! This has cleared it up for me.
I knew this topic was addressed adnauseum over the years but I’ve yet to see a reply or explanation that I could grasp.
Thanks again!

Odd thing here is, despite having been a Cubase disciple for a dozen or more years, I’ve never used audio parts. I just bounce a range of ‘events’ so I can work with the combined audio file. The originals are still in the pool to call on if needed.

Different strokes for different folks I guess …

1 Like

All of this helps! Thanks.

Awesome. I made a little graphic some years ago. Maybe that can help as a cheat sheet in case it is needed in the future.

2 Likes

It does indeed help! You got to the root of it for a linear thinker, thanks.
Everything in this thread comes together for me.
But that my friend is the icing no doubt.
Thank you.