Start making music right away using the great content that comes with Cubase.
Quick Tips
- The Media Browser is the quickest way to preview and load all your samples, loops, instruments and effects in Cubase.
- Third-party plug-ins and content that you add will show up in the Browser too, and also in the MediaBay, Sound and Loop Browser windows.
- There are usually several ways to load instruments and plug-ins, including from a channel’s Inspector panel.
Cubase comes loaded with lots of tools and content that let you start creating music right away, even if you don’t have any instruments like guitars to record. When you register Cubase and download it using the Steinberg Download Assistant you will see a number of additional downloads associated with your Cubase license and you can click on any of them to install them. They will automatically be installed and made available next time you start Cubase.
Cubase includes four main types of content — samples, loops, instruments and effects and you can of course add more of your own VST plug-ins, loops and sounds. Let’s look at each of these and where to find them and you’ll see that it’s quick and easy to get inspired to make great music.
Samples And Loops
The quickest way to find, audition and load any content in Cubase is to open the right zone in the Project window by clicking the button at the top right that shows the right zone icon. This will reveal a window with two tabs, and the Media tab contains quick links to all the content installed on your system.
By clicking on the Loops & Samples icon you will show all the collections installed on your system and associated with Cubase. Click on a collection and you see a list view of all the audio samples and loops contained within. By clicking on the Media Types box you can choose to filter the list to find only specific kinds of content, for example, audio files or MIDI loops.
If you single click an audio sample or loop you can preview it and if you drag and drop it into the Project area Cubase will automatically create a suitable track for it. A really good tip here is that if you press the number 1 key on your computer twice you can change the pointer to a time stretch tool and then dragging the right edge of an audio loop will time stretch it to fit your project. You can also right click on any audio file from the browser and choose Create Sampler Track which will call up Cubase’s integrated sampler and make that sample playable from your MIDI keyboard.
You can get a more detailed view of every sound on your system by going to the Media menu bar item and choosing MediaBay, Sound Browser or Loop Browser but for speed, the quick browser is better.
Instruments
Cubase comes with some excellent virtual instruments including HALion Sonic SE 3 for real and orchestral instruments, and Groove Agent SE 5 for drums. You can access these from the Media Browser too by clicking the VST Instruments tab which will show you a list of all the instruments you have installed. Simply drag and drop an instrument into the Project area and it will be loaded and ready to play.
You can also use the VSTi tab in the Browser to see a virtual rack of the instruments you are currently using. From here, pressing the Add Track Instrument button lets you choose from a list of all installed instruments and quickly load one. A third way to do this is to go to the Project menu bar item and choose Add Track > Instrument. All these methods achieve the same goal of loading a VST instrument.
You can combine Cubase’s MIDI loops with VST instruments to quickly generate beats and melodies, and instruments like Groove Agent also have patterns associated with their many drum kits, so you can be up and running in no time.
Effects
Just like with instruments, the Media Browser also provides a shortcut to view and load all the VST audio effects installed on your system. Cubase helpfully sorts these into categories and you can also enter a search into the search box to quickly filter the list. Clicking on any effect will reveal its presets and dragging and dropping a preset onto an audio or Instrument track in the Project will load it. Alternatively you can drag and drop the plug-in directly onto a track.
A second way to load an effect is to select a track and go to its Inspector panel, to the left of the Project window. Find the Inserts tab and click on an empty slot then either search for a plug-in by typing or use the menu sections to locate one, then double click to load it.
A third way to find effects is to click on the Edit Channel Settings button for any track and then access the inserts section from there, but this works in much the same way as doing it from the Inspector panel.
Conclusion
With the loops, instruments and effects that ship with Cubase you can be up and running, creating tracks and arrangements in no time. The simplest way to find and load them all is using the Media Browser but as you can see there are usually a couple of other ways to access them too, depending on how you like to work. So why not get started today?