Hey everybody. I am new to cubase, and I quickly found out how easy it is to swell and fade volume on a recorded event, however I’ve looked high and low and haven’t found the solution to doing the same thing on a single MIDI note. For example, I have a track I recorded that starts with a single bass note, and I think it would sound a lot more musical if it swelled as the song started instead of just jumping right into full volume. I’m sure I’d like to use this kind of function in the future as well, so it would be immensely helpful if anybody had some advice for this. Thank you guys in advance.
Hi and welcome to the forum,
You can use MIDI CC11 (Expression) or MIDI CC7 (Volume).
Hey thank you for the response. Do you happen to know any good guides for how to do this? I understand the concept but am having trouble getting to the right functions in the interface. Could it be that I am still running the trial version? I am just waiting for the trial version to run out before I purchase. But if I am missing things that I would like to use I probably wouldn’t wait.
Hi,
Cubase Trial has all functionalities.
It depends on the given tone generator (instrument), which MIDI CC does it listen for.
Hi @Pet0r,
There are a number of different way to create a Fade-In or Fade-Out.
You didn’t say in what way you achieved this on your Audio Clips, but I’m going to guess you found the fade handles on the top left and right end of the clip. If so, you’re right, you can’t do the same on a MIDI Part. If you think about MIDI as a digital form of sheet music, it might make more logical sense. The sheet music dictates what the instrument should play but does not produce any sound on its own (unless you flap the sheet around, but that’s where the analogy ends).
One way of doing it is by using MIDI CC (Continuous Controller). If you ever used a modulation wheel on a keyboard, that is one example of a controller that sends MIDI CC (MIDI CC #1, to be exact). Sustain Pedal, as used on a piano, is another example as is Volume. Volume has MIDI CC #7 by default.
In the MIDI Key Editor, you can a create new Controller Lane for MIDI CC #7 (Volume) if you wish and draw in a curve using one of the drawing tools (Pen, Line, etc). Refer to the manual if you’re unsure how to do this.
One thing to keep in mind going the MIDI CC route is that MIDI, as a standard, was conceived in the mid 80s and the market of MIDI equipped instruments have changed and expanded quite a bit since. Not all instrument manufacturers will map every applicable MIDI CC to a function on the instrument and the same is true for software instruments. You simply have to look in the documentation for the instrument in question to find out what MIDI capabilities are supported. Luckily, they’re usually at the end of the user manual in an appendix.
Another route is to use Automation. This is a way of recording or drawing changes to a VST parameter. A VST parameter can be anything from a volume fader in the Mix Console to a knob in a VST Instrument.
While MIDI CCs are restricted to a 7-bit integer (0-127), VST parameters are expressed in floating point numbers when applicable. This gives Automation a much finer resolution and as such, is often the preferred way of recording (or drawing in) a parameter change.
There’s some good information about Automation in the Cubase manual and I’m guessing a lot of videos on YouTube that shows how it’s done. The easiest way of getting your feet wet with automation, is to simply enable Automation Write mode and wiggle the knob/fader/button you wish to control. Look for a red button with a ‘W’ on it. An Automation Track for that parameter should automatically appear just underneath the track it belongs to.
A third option could be to render the MIDI driven instrument into audio. This option will create a new audio file on a new audio track that you can then perform your Fade-In as you are already used to.
Thanks to both of you who responded. This is my first run attempting to make a change to a MIDI event after the recording. I appreciate the help very much.
If your one midi note, that you want to use the swell on, is the only note during that time span you can use any of the aforementioned techniques. If you’re having several notes at the same time and you only want to modify one of them, please let us know. That requires a different approach.
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