Before you record any takes, adjust the input gain of the instrument. Plug the instrument into your sound card or audio interface and play it at the volume you intend to record. Observe the gain meter on the Cubase interface. If the meter goes red, the signal is too high and it will distort or “clip” during recording. Prevent this by adjusting the gain dial down. Retest the instrument; only when the meter stays green are you ready to record.
When recording or programming a drum track, assign a separate channel to each drum. This means you can mix and edit each drum separately. In a live context the drum kit is played by one person, but each drum requires a different recording and mixing technique. A bass drum has a vastly different frequency spectrum than a snare drum. If you record each drum on the same channel, you can only apply one set of frequency and mixing parameters to that channel, meaning you’re forced to treat the cymbals the same way you’d treat a tom tom drum. To create a new track in Cubase, double-click the channel strip. When prompted, select the type of track you want to record. The options will be “MIDI,” “audio” or “Cubase Instrument.” MIDI applies to your MIDI controller, audio applies to guitars, microphones, synthesizers and any device that you connect via your sound card or audio interface. “Cubase Instrument” applies to the software instruments stored in the Cubase library, such as samples and drum sequencers.
It’s essential to keep all of the takes in time. A click track provides an exact tempo reference. Without a click, it is likely that you will go out of time. Cubase has a built-in click track. Select the click tempo by double-clicking on the three-digit figure in the box located bottom center of your screen. Enter a tempo and hit play. Play along with the click to get a feel for the tempo; adjust it if necessary. If you find yourself slowing down to play in time, increase the tempo and if you find yourself playing too fast, reduce it.
Using a click provides a tempo reference, but this doesn’t guarantee a perfect take. Fortunately, Cubase has a tool that can correct minor timing mistakes. Once you’ve programmed a drum beat or recorded a take on a MIDI instrument, click “Edit” from the top-left corner of the Cubase screen. Select “quantize” and when prompted pick a quantize option. The options dictate the degree to which you correct the mistake.