Cubase 5 VST Instruments
Operation Manual by Ludvig Carlson, Anders Nordmark, Roger Wiklander
Quality Control: K. Albrecht, [Link], H. Bischoff, S. Pfeifer, C. Schomburg
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not rep-
resent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies AG. The software
described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied
to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this
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© Steinberg Media Technologies AG, 2002.
All rights reserved.
Introduction
This document contains descriptions for the VST Instruments which
can be found in the Cubase 5 Instruments subfolder of your VST plug-
ins if you chose to install any of these during the Cubase SX installa-
tion.
• JX16 - a software synthesizer.
See page 4.
• CS40 - a software synthesizer.
See page 17.
• Neon - a software synthesizer.
See page 20.
• VB-1 – a virtual bass instrument built on realtime physical modelling
principles.
See page 22.
• LM-9 - a drum machine.
See page 24.
CUBASE SX
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JX16 Synthesizer
The JX16 is a dual oscillator software synthesizer with the following
main features:
• The JX16 is polyphonic with up to 16 voices.
The polyphony setting for each patch is user programmable.
• Low CPU load and high quality sound (low aliasing distortion).
• Multimode Filter.
Lowpass, Bandpass and Hipass filter modes are available.
• Oscillator Lock function enables the creation of pulse and square
waveforms with classic PWM (Pulse Width Modulation).
See page 11.
• Built-in stereo chorus effect.
• The JX16 receives MIDI in Omni mode (on all MIDI channels).
You don’t need to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to the JX16.
• The JX16 responds to MIDI Controller messages.
These are listed on page 13.
❐ All parameters can be automated as described in the Getting into the
Details chapter “VST Instruments”.
CUBASE SX
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JX16 Parameters
Osc 1+2 Section
This section contains parameters affecting both oscillators.
Parameter Values Description
Octave -2/+2 Tunes the oscillators in octave steps.
Fine Tune -100/+100 Cent Tunes the oscillators in cent (100th of
a semitone) steps.
Vibrato 0-100 Governs how much the LFO should
modulate the pitch of the oscillators
(vibrato). The Vibrato parameter is
also controllable via MIDI by using the
Mod Wheel.
Noise 0-100 This parameter produces white noise
mixed with the oscillators. By using
the “OSC lock” parameter you can
“cancel out” the oscillators and use
pure noise as the sound source. This
is described on page 11.
OSC lock 0-95/Free This is described separately on page
11.
CUBASE SX
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The Oscillator 2 Section
This section contains parameters that affect oscillator 2 only.
Parameter Values Description
OSC Mix 0-100 Controls the level of oscillator 2. 100
produces equal level to oscillator 1,
which has a fixed output level.
Coarse -24/+24 Tuning of Oscillator 2, in semitone
Semitones steps.
Fine Tune -50/+50 Cent Fine tuning of Oscillator 2, in cent
(=100th of a semitone) steps.
Vibrato -100/100 This lets you apply vibrato on the sec-
ond oscillator only. This can be useful
for creating PWM effects - see page
11 for a further description. Both pos-
itive and negative values can be set.
CUBASE SX
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The Glide/Chorus Section
This section contains Glide parameters, and also the Polyphony and
Chorus parameters.
Parameter Values Description
Mode Off/Held/On If set to “On”, the pitch will glide up or
down between notes played. If set to
“Held”, Glide will only be applied
when you press a key while another
key is held down.
Rate 0-100 Controls the time it takes for the pitch
to glide from one note to the next
when using Glide. If Bend (see be-
low) is used, this parameter controls
the time it takes for the pitch bend to
“land” at the correct pitch.
Bend -36/+36 Applies an initial pitch bend to the
Semitones notes played. Negative values causes
the pitch to slide up to the pitch of the
note played, and vice versa.
Polyphony 1 to 16 This sets the polyphony, i.e. the num-
ber of voices a patch can use.
Chorus OFF/I/II/III/IV This adds a stereo chorus effect. The
values set different modulation rates
and depths for the effect.
CUBASE SX
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The LFO Section
This section contains the LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) parame-
ters. LFOs are used to modulate parameters like pitch (vibrato) or the
filter cutoff.
Parameter Values Description
LFO Wave Sine/Square/Saw+/ This sets the LFO waveform for mod-
Saw-/ ulating parameters:
Random Sine waves have a smooth waveform,
suitable for normal vibrato.
Square waves produce cycles that
abruptly change between two values.
Saw+ produces a ramp up cycle.
Saw- produces a ramp down cycle.
Random produces random stepped
modulation.
LFO Sync On/Off If this is activated, the LFO rate will be
synced to the sequencer tempo in
various beat divisions that can be set
with the LFO Rate parameter.
CUBASE SX
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LFO Rate 0.018-54.598 Hz Governs the modulation rate of the
LFO.
LFO Rate 8 to 1/8 If the “LFO Sync” parameter is acti-
(tempo sync on) Beats vated, the LFO rate will be synced to
1 Beat=1/4 note the sequencer tempo, according to
the different beat divisions that can be
specified here.
LFO Velocity 0-100 This allows you to control the LFO
Rate parameter with velocity, i.e. by
how hard or soft you strike a note on
the keyboard. The harder you play the
faster the LFO rate.
The VCF Section
This section contains the filter parameters:
Parameter Values Description
VCF Mode LP/HP/BP/Off Sets the filter mode to either lowpass (LP), highpass
(HP), bandpass (BP) or off. The filter modes are de-
scribed on page 13.
CUBASE SX
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VCF Freq 0-100 Controls the filter frequency or “cutoff”. If a lowpass
(Cutoff) filter is used, it could be said to control the opening
and closing of the filter, producing the classic
“sweeping” synthesizer sound. How this parameter
operates is governed by the filter mode (see page
13).
Resonance 0-100 The Resonance control for the filter. Raise this for a
more pronounced filter sweep effect. If set to 100,
the filter will self-oscillate and produce a pitch. See
the “VCF Key” parameter below for a description of
how this can be used.
VCF Env -100/+100 Controls how much the filter cutoff should be af-
fected by the VCF Envelope parameters. Negative
values will invert the filter envelope settings.
VCF Vel -100/+100 Determines how the filter cutoff will be affected by
velocity, i.e. how hard or soft you strike a key. Posi-
tive values will increase the cutoff frequency the
harder you strike a key. Negative values will invert
this relationship.
VCF Att/Dec 0-100 The Filter Envelope Attack, Decay, Sustain and Re-
/Sus/Rel lease parameters. Use these parameters to deter-
mine how the filter cutoff should open and close
with time, when a note is played.
VCF LFO 0-100 This controls how much the filter cutoff is modulated
by the LFO (low frequency oscillator).
VCF Key 0-100 If this parameter is set to values over 0, the filter cut-
off frequency will increase the further up on the key-
board you play. If set to 100, it will track the notes on
the keyboard, enabling you to “play” the filter as an
extra sound source, as the filter self-oscillates and
produces a pitch when the resonance is set to 100.
VCF Touch -100/+100 This sets the amount the VCF cutoff parameter
should be affected by Aftertouch. If positive values
are set, the filter cutoff is raised the harder you
press. Negative values invert this relationship.
LFO Touch -100/+100 This sets the amount the VCF LFO parameter
should be affected by Aftertouch. If positive values
are set, the modulation increases the harder you
press. Negative values invert this relationship.
CUBASE SX
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The VCA Section
This section contains the VCA Envelope parameters:
Parameter Values Description
VCA Att/Dec/Sus/ 0-100 The VCA Attack, Decay, Sustain and
Rel Release parameters. Use these pa-
rameters to determine how the vol-
ume should change with time, when a
note is played.
VCA Velocity On/Off This determines whether the VCA En-
velope should be affected by velocity,
i.e. by how hard or soft you strike a
note on the keyboard.
About the “Oscillator Lock” parameter
JX16 features two oscillators per voice, with fixed sawtooth wave-
forms. You can, however, generate square waves and PWM (pulse
width modulation) with the JX16, by combining the two oscillators us-
ing the “OSC lock” and Oscillator 2 “Vibrato” parameters. The follow-
ing applies:
• "OSC lock" allows the phase of Oscillator 2 to be fixed relative to
OSC 1, producing pulse waves when Oscillator 2 has the same pitch
and level as OSC 1.
• If the oscillators are tuned to the same pitch and level, an “OSC lock”
setting of 50% produces a square wave with higher and lower set-
tings producing progressively narrower pulse waveforms.
With an “OSC lock” setting of 0% the two oscillators cancel out completely, which is
useful if you only want to use the noise generator as a sound source.
CUBASE SX
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• By applying the Oscillator 2 “Vibrato” parameter when OSC lock is
set to around 50%, classic PWM is produced.
You can also detune Oscillator 2 for even richer modulation effects.
• In “Free” mode the oscillator phase is allowed to drift, producing a
random timbre change.
By experimenting with these parameters, many different timbres and
modulation effects can be produced.
CUBASE SX
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About the Filter Modes
The JX16 features a multimode filter. The various filter modes are se-
lected with the VCF Mode parameter, and are as follows:
• Lowpass (LP)
Lowpass filters lets low frequencies pass and cuts out the high frequencies. This is the
most commonly used filter type in analog synthesizers.
• Bandpass (BP)
A bandpass filter cuts frequencies above and below the cutoff frequency, allowing a
specific range of frequencies to pass while attenuating all others.
• Highpass (HP)
A highpass filter is the opposite of a lowpass filter, cutting out the lower frequencies
and letting the high frequencies pass.
MIDI Controller Messages
The JX16 responds to the following MIDI Controller Messages:
Controller Parameter/Value
Pitch Bend +/- 2 Semitones
CC1 (Mod Wheel) Vibrato
Aftertouch Can control filter cutoff and filter cutoff modulation (by the
VCF LFO).
CC2 Increase filter cutoff
CC3 Decrease filter cutoff
CC7 Volume
CC16 Increase filter resonance
Program Change # 1-64
CUBASE SX
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LM-7
Volume and Tune faders This sets the global velocity sensitivity
(for each drum sound). for LM-7.
This adjusts the Pan
(the position in the
stereo image) for the
individual drums. The
setting is applied to
the currently se-
lected drum, indi-
cated by a lit yellow
LED over the Pad
button.
Master Volume
Pad (one for each drum sound). Press to audition the drum sound
assigned to the Pad, or to select a sound for adjusting pan.
The LM-7 is a 24-bit drum machine. It has the following properties:
• LM-7 is polyphonic with up to 12 voices.
• LM-7 receives MIDI in Omni mode (on all MIDI channels).
You don’t need to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to LM-7.
• LM-7 responds to MIDI Notes with velocity governing volume.
CUBASE SX
– 14
LM-7 Parameters:
Parameter Description
Velocity This sets the global velocity sensitivity for LM-7. The higher the
value, the more sensitive LM-7 will be to incoming velocity data.
If set to “1”, the sounds will play back with a fixed velocity value.
Volume sliders The volume sliders are used to adjust the volume for each indi-
vidual drum sound.
Tune sliders The tune sliders are used to tune each individual drum sound,
up or down 1 octave.
Pad The Pads are used for two things: To audition the individual
drum sounds and to select a sound for adjusting pan.
Panorama This is used to position an individual sound in the stereo image.
The setting applies to the currently selected sound, indicated
by a lit yellow LED over the Pad button.
Drum sounds
LM-7 comes with three sets of drum sounds; “Compressor”, “909”
and “Percussion”. Compressor features samples of an acoustic drum
kit, 909 features classic analog drum machine sounds and Percussion
not surprisingly features various percussion sounds. The table below
shows how the drum sounds are assigned to note values on your MIDI
keyboard. The mapping is GM compatible:
Drum sound Note value Comment
Bd C1
Rim C#1 Compressor only.
Snare D1
Clap D#1 909 only.
Hi-Hat F#1
O-Hi-Hat A#1
Tom 1 A1
Tom 2 B2
Tom 3 D2
CUBASE SX
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Drum sound Note value Comment
Crash C#2
Ride D#2 Compressor only.
Tambourine F#2 Percussion only.
Cowbell G#2 Percussion only.
Hi Bongo C3 Percussion only.
Lo Bongo C3# Percussion only.
Conga Mute D3 Percussion only.
Conga Open D#3 Percussion only.
Conga Lo E3 Percussion only.
Timbale Lo G3 Percussion only.
Timbale Hi G#3 Percussion only.
Cabasa A3 Percussion only.
Switching the sets
Use the Program button to switch between the three supplied drum
sets, just like you switch between effect programs.
CUBASE SX
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CS40
The CS40 is a straightforward software synthesizer with the following
main features:
• The CS40 is polyphonic with up to 6 voices.
• The CS40 receives MIDI in Omni mode (on all MIDI channels).
You don’t need to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to the CS40.
• The CS40 responds to the following MIDI messages:
MIDI Note On/Off (velocity governs volume).
Volume.
Pan.
Pitch Bend (± 2 semitones).
Modulation (vibrato).
CUBASE SX
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CS40 Parameters:
Parameter Description
Oscillator 1 Range Selects an octave range for oscillator 1; 32, 16, 8 or
4 feet.
Oscillator 1 Waveform The basic waveform for oscillator 1; Triangle, Saw-
tooth, Square or Pulse.
Oscillator 1 Tune Detunes Oscillator 1 ± 7 semitones.
Oscillator 2 Range Same as Oscillator 1.
Oscillator 2 Waveform Same as Oscillator 1.
Oscillator 2 Tune Same as Oscillator 1.
Oscillator Blend Adjusts the relative volume mix between oscillator 1
and 2.
LFO Speed Governs the speed of the LFO. If LFO Sync is acti-
vated, this parameter sets the LFO speed in various
beat increments to the sequencer tempo.
LFO Sync If activated, the LFO speed will be synced to the set
sequencer tempo.
LFO Amount This governs the amount of LFO modulation applied
to the destination parameters.
LFO Destination This sets the destination parameter(s) for the LFO.
Options are as follows:
Off - No modulation
VCF - modulation of the VCF cutoff frequency.
VCA - amplitude modulation (tremolo).
Both - modulation of both the VCF and VCA.
Vibrato Speed Governs the speed of the Vibrato LFO. The Vibrato
amount is controlled by the Mod Wheel.
VCF Cutoff The Cutoff Frequency for the filter, governing the
amount of high frequencies in the sound.
VCF Resonance The Resonance control for the filter. Raise this for a
more hollow, pronounced filter effect.
Filter Mod ADSR This controls how much the VCF cutoff is affected by
the VCF Envelope. Negative values invert the Enve-
lope settings.
CUBASE SX
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Parameter Description
VCF Attack, Decay, The Filter Envelope. Use these parameters to deter-
Sustain, Release mine how the filter should open and close with time,
when a note is played.
VCA Attack, Decay, The Amplitude Envelope. Use these parameters to
Sustain, Release determine how the amplitude (volume) should
change with time, when a note is played.
MonoMode When activated the CS40 will be monophonic.
Volume Governs the overall volume.
CUBASE SX
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The Neon
The Neon is a simple software synthesizer. It has the following proper-
ties:
• The Neon is polyphonic with up to 16 voices.
However, since each added voice consumes CPU power, the maximum polyphony
may be limited by the speed of your computer.
• The Neon receives MIDI in Omni mode (on all MIDI channels).
You don’t need to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to the Neon.
• The Neon responds to the following MIDI messages:
MIDI Note On/Off (velocity governs volume).
Volume.
Pan (remember to pan the two Instrument channels hard Left/Right if you want to use
MIDI Pan messages).
Pitch Bend (± 2 semitones).
Modulation (vibrato).
CUBASE SX
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Neon Parameters:
Parameter Description
Range Selects an octave range for the oscillators, 16, 8 or 4
feet.
Waveform The basic waveform for the oscillators, Triangle, Saw-
tooth or Square.
LFO Speed Governs the speed of the vibrato. The vibrato depth is
controlled via MIDI Modulation messages (for example,
using the Mod Wheel on your MIDI controller).
Osc 2 Detune Allows you to detune the “second oscillator” ± 7 semi-
tones. By setting this to a value close to “twelve o’clock”,
you will get fine detuning, for a warmer, fatter sound.
VCF Cutoff The Cutoff Frequency for the filter, governing the amount
of high frequencies in the sound. On the Neon, the Cutoff
control also serves as a Depth control for the Filter Enve-
lope (VCF Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release), so that the
lower the setting of the Cutoff parameter, the more will
the filter be affected by the Filter Envelope.
VCF Resonance The Resonance control for the filter. Raise this for a more
hollow, pronounced filter effect.
VCF Attack, Decay, The Filter Envelope. Use these parameters to determine
Sustain, Release how the filter should open and close with time, when a
note is played.
VCA Attack, Decay, The Amplitude Envelope. Use these parameters to deter-
Sustain, Release mine how the amplitude (volume) should change with
time, when a note is played.
CUBASE SX
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VB-1
The VB-1 is a virtual bass instrument built on realtime physical model-
ling principles. This has the following properties:
• VB-1 is polyphonic with up to 4 voices.
• VB-1 receives MIDI In Omni mode (on all MIDI channels).
You don’t need to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to the VB-1.
• VB-1 responds to the following MIDI messages:
MIDI Note On/Off (velocity governs volume).
Volume.
Pan (remember to pan the two Instrument channels hard Left/Right, if you want to use
MIDI Pan messages).
CUBASE SX
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VB-1 Parameters:
Parameter Description
Volume This regulates the VB-1 volume.
Damper This switch controls the length of time the string vibrates after being
plucked.
Pick-up By dragging the “mic” left or right you can change the tone. Posi-
position tioning it towards the bridge position produces a hollow sound that
emphasizes the upper harmonics of the plucked string. When
placed towards the neck position, the tone is fuller and warmer.
Pick position This determines where along the length of the string the initial pluck
is made. This controls the “roundness” of the tone, just like on a real
guitar.
Wave Morph This knob selects the basic waveform that is used to drive the
plucked string model. This parameter can drastically change the
sound character. The control smoothly morphs through the waves.
It is possible to create sounds that have no relation to a bass guitar
with this control.
CUBASE SX
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LM-9
The LM-9 is a simple drum machine. It has the following properties:
• LM-9 is polyphonic with up to 9 voices.
• LM-9 receives MIDI in Omni mode (on all MIDI channels).
You don’t need to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to LM-9.
• LM-9 responds to the following MIDI messages:
MIDI Note On/Off (velocity governs volume).
Furthermore, all parameters can be automated as described in the Getting
into the Details chapter “VST Instruments”.
LM-9 Parameters:
Parameter Description
Velocity This sets the global velocity sensitivity for LM-9. The higher the
value, the more sensitive LM-9 will be to incoming velocity data. If
set to “0”, the sounds will play back with a fixed velocity value.
Volume sliders The volume sliders are used to adjust the volume for each individual
drum sound.
Pad The Pads are used for two things: To audition the individual drum
sounds and to select a sound for adjusting pan.
Panorama This is used to position an individual sound in the stereo image. The
setting applies to the currently selected sound, indicated by a lit yel-
low LED over the Pad button.
Drum sounds
LM-9 comes with two sets of drum sounds: “Acoustic” and “Beat
Box”. Acoustic features samples of an acoustic drum kit and Beat Box
features classic analog drum machine sounds. The table below shows
how the drum sounds are assigned to note values on your MIDI key-
board. The mapping is GM compatible:
Drum sound Note value
Bass C1
CUBASE SX
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Drum sound Note value
Snare D1
Hi-Hat F#1
O-Hi-Hat A#1
Tom 1 D2
Tom 2 B1
Tom 3 A1
Crash C#2
Ride D#2
Switching the sets
Use the Program button to switch between the two supplied drum
sets, just like you switch between effect programs.
CUBASE SX
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