Trim multiple audio tracks to align beats

Apologies but I cannot seem to find the best way to do this. Nor do I know enough Cubase “terminology” to state my question properly.

I was given multiple audio files. They all start together, but not on the downbeat, and not on an integral multiple of measures. My trusty sidekicks didn’t think to have a count-in.

What I need to do is to “trim” the starting stuff from the front of ALL audio tracks, or “shift them left,” or add to them so that the actual music starts on a measure.

I’m befuddled by what seem to be countless ways to do this. I’ve current Cubase Pro 10.

Can anyone please suggest the easiest, “best practice” for accomplishing this?

Thank you very much.
Jim B.

There are several different ways to achieve the same thing. This is the way I’d do it:

Ctrl A on project window to select all tracks
R click and select scissors
Toggle J off to deselect the snap >X< icon in title bar
Position scissors JUST BEFORE any audio that you wish to keep, and click
Select unwanted portions of the tracks (click on an empty space and “lasso” (hold L mouse button/drag) and delete
With Snap still off, drag tracks until a clearly visible downbeat on one clip (ie you can see the waveform on the track ‘ribbon’) aligns with a bar number on the ruler.

I suggest also adding a fade in, by clicking the arrow on the top left hand corner of the track (once again, you can do all at once with Ctrl A) and dragging a little to the right, to draw a volume ‘ramp’. That’s the reason I suggested cutting JUST BEFORE.

Hold Alt + Ctrl