Recording Virtual Instruments

In my first blog entry about virtual instruments in Cubase, I discussed the basics of setting up a virtual instrument track. In this entry I will do a quick overview of how I then record my virtual instruments onto an audio track.

Now you can definitely mix your song down directly from the virtual instrument tracks, but I feel I have more mixing options if I first bounce each individual instrument to its own audio track. I also take a kind of round-about way of doing this because I feel I have more control over the recording levels of each audio track.

First what I do is create a new stereo output channel (called Stereo Bounce Out): Devices->VST Connections->Outputs. Most of the time I have multiple instruments defined on each instrument track, with a separate MIDI track for individual instruments; mute all MIDI tracks that are associated with the same instrument track except for one.

1. Route the output on the instrument track to the "Stereo Bounce Out" output channel.
2. Create a new audio track.
3. Set the input of your new audio track to the "Stereo Bounce Out" output channel (from audio track, select Input Routing->Outputs->Stereo Bounce Out).
4. Set the beginning and end markers to the section you want to record.
5. Press the record icon on your audio track.
6. Hit the record button.

If you have multiple MIDI tracks for your instrument track, mute the MIDI channel you just recorded and un-mute the next MIDI track and repeat steps 2-6 for each MIDI track.

Once you have this set up, you can control the record/input levels with the gain knob on your bounce output channel to get the recording level you want. You can also experiment with different insert FX during recording.

Have fun,
Paul