I have noticed that using Both plug ins Studio and Frequency EQ’s in Cubase Pro 10, 10.5, if you type into the frequency A1 the displayed frequency is 110 HZ, if you type A4 into the frequency the displayed frequency is 880, on both plugins, the displayed frequency is for A2 & A5 respectively, Is this fault on just my version or is it a general fault
Hi,
Here when I type A4 and then hover over the band, A4 is displayed. So I cannot confirm your issue.
Martin, your screenshot also shows 880Hz. The fundamental frequency of A4 is 440Hz. This is just an observation. I have no horse in this race.
Isn’t this simply because Yamaha - and therefore Cubase, number their keyboards differently to everyone else?
Middle C in Yambase = C3
Martin, If you type A4 into the frequency Knob, the Knob displays 880, and on the graph it shows A4, A4 isnt 880 its 440, so when your playing with A4 at 880 Hz you’re in fact on A5 frequency, or have I completely misunderstood
Really? 
Yup.
Open up Halion and you’ll see middle C shown on the keyboard as C3.
And in the midi editor, the keyboard in the left panel will show the same.
Most other manufacturers label middle C as C4 - hence the confusion.
I was trying to transcribe a melody line from my guitar over to Halion last week and wondered why I kept coming up an octave out, thanks for the heads up.
VinyLizor, the display shows A4 as being 880 Hz and it isnt,and it puts you at the 880 frequency, which is completely wrong, so dont type in the note name and number, only frequency. regardless of the keyboard on Yamaha, A4 is 440 Hz end of story, the way round that in the frequency plugin, type in the frequency you wish to work on, and disregard the note designation that Cubase decides they’ll name it
Studio EQ is exactly the same Type in A4 in the frequency, in the pop up white box that appears, it displays A4 being 880, and more importantly places the chosen Band at 880, this error has been around in Cubase for years, when will Steinberg correct this, I cant believe that they’re unaware.
Middle C is C3 in Steinberg Software, Yamaha also uses C3 as middle C. Not that this is related, Steinberg did that long before being acquired by Yamaha. Some software use C5 as middle C go figure.
Don’t expect that to ever change, most long time users would be extremely upset if it did (I would suspect) it is almost a religious thing for some. I don’t care personally, and would be fine if there was a option to freely change that, although I haven’t contemplated the consequences.
There is neither a fixed standard that middle C should be labelled as C4, as there is that A = 440.
C3 / C4 comes from interpreting the midi spec - some companies start at 0, some at 1 - it certainly isn’t based on anything from traditional classical music.
And A=440, whilst now a standard in computer based music and a reference point for many orchestras around the world, certainly isn’t adhered to everywhere, as many European orchestras still tune to a different rate.
My problem arose when trying to affect the EQ from my bass guitar playing the frequency 440Hz. which I took to be A4, so typing in A4 into the frequency Plug in, as demonstrated by the Cubase Quick tips Video’s, it placed the plugin at 880Hz, conventionally known as A5. the only way Cubase lines upto Connventional terms, is by typing in the frequency and disregarding the displayed keyboard, or knowing that the keyboard is an octave higher, eg if your playing A4 outside of Cubase ie from a guitar, type in A3 then you’ll be on the frequency that you’re trying to EQ in the plugin. I have only ever known the frequency Chart that I was taught at Uni
^ This.
As an aside, this is similar to the the issue that staff notation reading guitarists have had to deal with from time immemorial. Just about everything writen in guitar notation is an octave out compared to the pitch of the same notes on a piano. (Brass and wind players can have an even harder time!)
Back with Steinberg, It can also mildly frustrating that when I write a bass guitar part using HSSE and then re-assign it to (for instance) a Kontact instrument bass guitar, I usually have to transpose it up an octave.
Doubly frustrating is when Steinberg’s own patches for HSSE aren’t all consistent in this regard. It wouldn’t take much to “proof read” the bundled sounds so they all play in the same register.
Martin, your screenshot shows exactly the problem, it shows A4 with a frequency of 880Hz A4 has a frequency of 440 Hz and cubase cannot change that scientific fact, if a string vibrates at 440 Hz the tone you hear is A4. Cubase using C0 to start puts their A4 at what the rest of society know as A5, so by typing in the note name you are placed at the wrong frequency, if you are working all within Cubase their keyboard matches their frequency chart. their pianoroll A4 matches their frequency plugin A4, but in the real world their A4 is at the frequency of the real worlds A5 880 Hz, or thats what my Uni tutor taught us, I’m sure he has his facts right.
Hi,
Please read the comments above. There are 2 standards. Some vendors are starting at C0 (MIDI Note 0 = C0), some vendors are starting at C-1 (MIDI Note 0 = C-1). That’s it. It’s not a bug, it is specified like this.
It’s not a scientific fact, it’s a common but by no means universally adopted reference. The New York Philharmonic, for one, and many other orchestras around the world would beg to differ with your tutor. They use A=442 Hz. The Berlin Phil (along with many other European orchestras) use A=443 nowadays, after a spell at A=445. There is no standard. A=440 is just the most commonly adopted reference. There are also many different systems of temperament. Just talk to a piano tuner, or look the feature set of a professional strobe tuner. As to how registers are numbered, that is purely down to how the MIDI Standard is implemented and varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. The only pitch definition within the MIDI Standard is that note #60 is middle C, be that C3, C4, or C5. Anything else is down to the individual manufacture/software developer’s implementation of the Standard. I find it surprising that such a fundamental (excuse pun) topic was not taught as part of your course.