• What are the most useful operations I can assign to key commands in Cubase SX?
• How do I set up key commands to perform tasks in Cubase SX?

What are the most useful operations I can assign to key commands in Cubase SX?

Key commands can cut your session time in half. Obviously, key commands for Stop, Play, Fast Forward and Rewind are the first to come to mind. Use the 10-key portion of your keyboard for these functions. Cubase SX comes from the factory with preset assignments for these commands: Enter is Play, Plus is Fast Forward, Minus is Rewind, Multiply is Record, Divide is Cycle Record on/off, 1 is Go to Left Locator, 2 is Go to Right Locator, Zero is Stop and the 3 - 9 keys represent Go to Markers 3 - 9.

These are extremely helpful right out of the box as you can manipulate the transport easily with the 10-key immediately. Setting up commands for highly repetitive tasks is a huge time-saving step in getting the program customized for speed.

Since you'll want to be auditioning and editing loops of audio between the Left and Right Locators (in fact you'll probably be using the locators more than anything else), a key command that instantly snaps the locators to the beginning and end of an audio event comes in super handy. If you highlight an audio event in the session window by clicking on it once and then hit the P key, the locators should snap to the beginning and end of the event. If it doesn't you'll have to set this in Key Commands Dialog box.

Every action in Cubase SX can be controlled by a key command, and you'll see folders full of different types of actions with their corresponding key commands.

Another very useful key command is for Split Loop. This means you're telling Cubase SX to cut the audio event into a segment that runs the length of the current Left and Right Locator settings. You'll be doing this all the time. Let's say you're listening to your acoustic guitar track for the best performance of one or two bars to paste across the verse. When you find a great section, you could highlight a two-bar drum loop on the drum track and use the P command to set the Left and Right Locators to that exact segment. Click once on your acoustic guitar track and use the key command for Split Loop (whichever key you decide to assign to this action) and you now have a perfect loop of acoustic guitar to paste across your verse section.

Using Alt + click (Option + click on Mac) on this new segment, you can now simply drag copies of your two-bar segment across the track until you've got a perfect complete acoustic guitar track for your verses across the entire song. The ability to quickly select and cut loops from ranges using the Left and Right Locators with key commands will allow you to work fast in Cubase SX.

Additionally, learning how to control the transport for Play, Stop, Reset to Left Locator and Record are the other key commands you'll use the most. Of course there are many other useful key commands, but mastering the ones mentioned above will save you the most time right off the bat.

How do I set up key commands to perform tasks in Cubase SX?

Key commands can drastically improve the speed of your recording and mixing chores because you can perform a variety of complex functions with a single keystroke. When you change key commands in SX, the changes don't just alter the current session--changes in key commands will be reflected in all sessions from that point on. However, there is a Restore Defaults option if you decide to revert to the stock settings.

You can also save key commands as presets, which don't travel as program wide preferences. If you decide you'd like to add any of these preset key commands to a session, you can add them by opening the Key Commands dialog box in the File menu and selecting the commands from the Presets pop-up menu.

When you first enter the Key Command dialog box, you'll see there are file folders for various types of command-driven tasks. For instance, you can set a key command to make the loop handles snap to a highlighted file. You can also create transport commands to snap the cursor to various markers throughout the song.

The Macros feature allows you to combine complex commands and functions to process files in batches. You could create a keystroke that would remove offsets, normalize and apply EQ to all files on a track. The possibilities are endless, and many seasoned Cubase users claim key commands cuts their work time in half.