Use cubase to tweak a sound signal that is ultimately recorded in other software?

Hello folks

I’ve used Cubase exclusively for music production up to now, but I need to get set up for vocal work now - specifically audio-description.
I’ve done audio-description VO recording for over 15 years - always in a professional studio. Coronavirus has changed all that and I’m trying to set up at home.
The audio description software is a very specific application. It runs the media program file, displays the text I’m to voice, and allows that recording. There are no further ‘audio production’ options.
This was fine in a properly treated sound booth, but in my home set up the recording environment is not quite that good - so I would like to be able to tweak the audio to make it sound a bit better - and mitigate any audible problems with my room.
It it possible to use Cubase as an intermediary. Record to the Audio-Description software but have the signal travel there through Cubase? So I can use Cubase’s excellent capabilities to sculpt the sound before it even gets to the AD software?
There might be a really obvious answer or it may simply not be possible - I’ve never had to use Cubase for anything other than VI music production before so I’m ignorant!

Thanks

Jamie

Hi,

Yes, you can send the Audio signal thru Cubase by using Monitor enabled track.

Thanks Martin

I think I’m being really dim here!

I tried to find out about ‘record enabled tracks’ in the context I’m talking about but couldn’t really find anything useful.
How exactly do I set up things for what I want to do? Which bit of the manual should I be exploring?
I mean, don’t I have to somehow route the Cubase stereo output to the external software or something?

Thanks

Hi,

To be honest, I’m not sure I understand your use case 100%. But if you want to send an Audio signal thru a track (so you can apply Inserts on it for example), add an Audio track, set the Input and Output and enable Monitor (the orange speaker). Then the signal is routed thru Cubase and thru the track to the output.

Is this what you are looking for?

Ah, maybe I’m thinking this is more complicated than it actually is!

For my audio description (AD) work I use a piece of software called Stellar. It displays the script for me to read and records my voice takes. That piece of software must be the end of the chain. It records the project (original program media, AD script and voice recordings) as a very particular file type that I then send over to the broadcaster.
The software includes no audio-tweaking features other then simple level adjustment. So I’d like to have my audio going through Cubase before it gets to Stellar. I would have Cubase minimised, quietly applying it’s magic, as I use Stellar as usual.
From what you’re saying maybe I do not have to worry about routing from Cubase to Stellar. Maybe just having Cubase open and with some nice inserts - and monitor enabled - will be enough?

I tried having Cubase open with some nice inserts to tweak the sound. Then, for the sake of testing, I added a very obvious and silly reverb.
Then I minimised Cubase and opened Stellar and recorded a take. While recording I could hear the silly reverb, but then when I played back the recording in Stellar there was no reverb. None of the Cubase processing. The recording was a direct signal from the mic, completely bypassing Cubase.
What can I do?
The recording has to be done in Stellar. But Stellar has no audio tweaking capabilities. Is there any way Cubase can help with this conundrum?

Hi,

I think I start to understand it…

The Reverb was audible, because you were monitoring thru Cubase, but it was independent from the other software. If you would like to route the Cubase output to the other software, you would need some loopback feature. You could try to find some virtual audio cable and use this.

But myself, I wouldn’t go this way. I would record it dry to the other software and then process it in Cubase afterwords.

Yes that was my first thought, but the audio-description for a movie might have 300+ descriptions; so that would be 300 individual wavs that I’d have to process.
And, I’m not sure but Stellar might attach metadata to the wavs that might be messed up by processing through Cubase to export new wavs.
Gah, it’s annoying!

How might the virtual-cable/loopback technique work?

Hi,

First set your hardware input as input 1 of the virtual cable (you will need to use it as an Audio Device in Cubase). Then set the virtual cable as output in Cubase. In the virtual cable software route this to its input 2. Set the virtual cable input 2 as an input of your other software.