Creating a VSTi - Cubase Tutorial

- [Instructor] Let's get started by adding a VSTi to our project. I want to keep the two audio track drum loops already in place on track four and five there. I'll add a track instrument VSTi to enhance or embellish those two existing loops. Loop one of track four starts at bar 11 of this 3/4 time project. A quick way to zoom in is to left click on the ruler, and then drag down. By the way, the converse applies, dragging up will zoom out. Anyway, let's listen to this loop one in isolation. I'll hit its solo button and start playback just before where it begins here at loop 11. (calm percussion) Okay, so that's loop one, and how it repeats with multiple duplicated events along the timeline. Incidentally, have you noticed that this loop one track and its events have a small padlock icon at the top right of each event? This means I have locked the events at the relevant time positions, so that I don't accidentally move them. Each track allows you to lock the associated events by activating this padlock button here. To unlock it is as simple as clicking it again to change the icon to an unlocked padlock. Consequently, I can left-click any event, and drag it to a new time position like this. I'll undo that move by going to edit on the menu, and then choosing to undo move there, and the event returns to its starting position of course. If I lock the track and its events again by clicking here once more, I can move the event, and now each time I left-click the event and drag to move it, or try to, anyway, the event snaps back to its starting point. Now I'm going to leave the track locked for the present time. Let's move over to the right zone now, and choose to add a new VSTi to our project. From the previous Cubase Pro 10 course I created for you here, you'll remember we can choose to add a VSTi by track or rack instrument. So refer back to that previous course to remind yourself of the subtle difference. Here, I'll create a rack instrument by clicking the dropdown arrow there, and choosing the particular VSTi from the revealed menu list. I have the list set to display by vendor, and therefore if I want to add a Steinberg VSTi, I simply open the folder labeled as Steinberg, and choose a type of VSTi required. Now I want a drum VSTi, so I'll open drum there. As you'll see, I have two versions of Groove Agent here. One is labeled SE. The SE version is the lite, or cut-down version that comes with Cubase. The other version is a paid, upgraded version of it, so I'll open the SE version by double clicking it, and we immediately see this message asking us if we wish to add an associated MIDI track, too. I do, so I'll hit create. And this means I can add my own MIDI files to the now-created MIDI track that is automatically linked to the VSTi. There's the track, it's labeled Groove Agent SE 01. I'll solo it. Remember, I can have as many tracks soloed as I like. I'll expand its height by left-clicking and dragging down. So that's the VSTi loaded up, and a related track created. To view the VSTi, and begin editing, click the button here on the inspector labeled edit instrument. And here is the Groove Agent SE5 user interface. I'll talk about Groove Agent in more detail at another time. For now it's enough to know we need to load a drum kit with its samples first of all. So, right-click here on the grayed out agent graphic, and then choose between load kid and load kit with patterns. If you choose load kit, no patterns are created, and you will have to manually create MIDI drum notes to trigger the kit and relate its samples loaded. Alternatively, choose to load patterns too by choosing appropriately there. From this panel, navigate to a kit of your choice. I'll choose one at random and double click it to load it and the associated patterns. And once the kit, samples and patterns are loaded, click this panel's close down cross to remove it from view. We now get the kit loaded with this animated graphic that allows us to click a drum to hear that particular drum sample getting triggered. If we want to audition the patterns loaded too, click on the pattern button there, and you'll see the pads now take on different color groups to signify different pattern types, such as intro, ending, fill, and main. Once again, we can click a pad to hear the patterns being triggered. (drum patterns) So, that's the difference between the individual instrument sounds and the patterns getting played. I'll close the user interface from view by clicking its close down cross. It's still loaded, we simply don't see the user interface at the present time. If I wish to remove the instruments entirely, head back over to the right zone and click the loaded VSTi name, and then choose no VST instrument. You'll be asked to confirm this. I will confirm by clicking discard, and the VSTi is now unloaded. However, the associated MIDI track remains, in case you wish to use it for any other MIDI file. I don't wish to keep the track, so I'll right-click it and choose remove selected tracks. Great, we're back to where we started a moment ago. The reason I've done this is so I can now show you how we can add a third party VSTi if we choose. We're not restricted to only using Steinberg VSTis, we'll do that in the next tutorial, so I'll see you in a moment.