3 WAYS to A/B REFERENCE Your Mix in CUBASE

[@sgoogz]

Just a quick heads up,if you register to plugin alliance, you can often get Metric AB for 30$ with the email deals, seasonal deals and all. 3 years later, still love it. Referencing saves years.

[@lorenz3152]

The "Control Room" tip for using it in the "cue" with a reference track (with a short cut) is GENIOUS. Thank you SO much!

[@mixdownonline]

The Control Room is definitely one of my favourite Cubase features!

[@teosiss]

You’re truly invaluable! Whenever I need to learn something about Cubase, your channel is my go-to. Clear, concise, and always on point. Big respect and gratitude for all your hard work! BIG Thank you !!!

[@mixdownonline]

Thank you so much, I appreciate that!

[@studioamirnaili]

derniere astuce c'est top merciiiii bcp

[@tonymuniz4527]

After watching this I am going with Control Room! So easy. Thanks for the tip

[@mixdownonline]

Glad it was helpful!

[@omerfaran8514]

Thank you so much and that was an opportunity to learn about the control room too

[@hangar4avs]

Thank you Chris for sharing this little (but powerful) tidbit! It helped me moreso than anyone else's explanation of this feature. A+!

[@chelefranc]

Tried it, awesome. Thank you!!!!

[@mixdownonline]

Super!

[@antoinebunel]

Merci Chris ! Love the key command, helps a ton !

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome, Antoine!

[@Yurkinz]

Thank you for a great video!

[@michaelboese239]

Wow, thank you so much Chris. That was really helpful. Great Video!!!

[@mixdownonline]

Very welcome!

[@AlistairLindsay]

Awesome tips! Thank you! 👍

[@mixdownonline]

You're so welcome!

[@aldoremy679]

Thanx Chris, very useful

[@mixdownonline]

Glad it was helpful!

[@vsolic]

I use "4th way", combination of your first and third way. A/B Metric in Cubase Control Room. From there everything routed to my phones and monitors separately (this way I can use, for example, two different Sonarworks plugins, one for headphones, and one for monitors). A/B Metric has "Loudness Match" feature which instantly helps you match your track to a reference one, so you don't get fooled by "louder sounds better". Thanks Chris, great video as always.

[@mixdownonline]

Cool setup, Vlad!

[@marcelcouture5373]

Oooh baby! Love that Control Room trick! Never thought about using a Cue for that. Will certainly modify my templates to include that Cue Send.

[@mixdownonline]

Have fun!

[@evodem]

Me too! Thanks!

[@dromer1967]

Very informative video (as usual when it's coming from you). The A/B comparision gave me the idea to use this for monitoring headphone vs speakers and using Waves NX Ocean Way vs Realphones. Unfortunately setting these up as cue mixes in the Cubase 12 control room didn't work quite as expected :) What I did was: -Setup a monitor output in the control room to be my main output. Then add Waves NX and Sonarworks (with headphones correction) plugins to this output (as this will be my main mixing channel) -Setup CUE 1 and add Realphones and Sonarworks (with headphones correction) to be an alternative mixing on headphones channel -Setup CUE 2 and add sonarworks (with speaker room correction) to be my alternative mixing with speakers channel I thought at first that this worked great, until I found out that the plugins on the monitor channel (when active) are also present in the CUE mixes. Of course, in hindsight :P, because the CUE mixes are sent to the monitor channel... Luckily I found another way which does achieve what I originally intended. I'm sure you already know this trick but I didn't and perhaps someone who reads your comments also doesn't. Instead of creating CUE outputs in the control room, I now have created 3 monitor outputs in the control room (one for headphones with waves nx, one for headphones with Realphones and one for the speakers). Each of these has its own plugins which, as opposed to using CUEs, do NOT interfere with each other. The trick to be able to do this with only a single physical output on my sound interface (MOTU M2) was to disable the Cubase control room option 'Exclusive Assignment of Monitor Channels'. With this option disabled you can now assign the same physical output to multiple monitor outputs in the control room. You just can't use them at the same time but that is not a problem in this case! I can now quickly switch between Waves NX and Realphones (or listening through speakers) by simply Activating the correct monitor output in the control room :)

[@ChrrZ]

wow, fantastic video chris, i used magic ab for many years too and i´m currently using metric ab (and very happy with it) but i will try out the control room now, because of the possibility to use it with a key command, thank you very much for this awesome tip!

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@Yurkinz]

Thanks for a video!

[@mixdownonline]

My pleasure!

[@ampmodclips]

The control room trick is so awesome ! Love Cubase more every day :)Thanks man !

[@mixdownonline]

Glad you like it!

[@vonotebook]

Toujours d'excellents conseils. Merci Chris.

[@mixdownonline]

Merci :-)

[@ToddjMitchell]

Great tip! I just set up the Cue version and very cool!

[@mixdownonline]

Glad you like it!

[@J-MLindeMusic]

Yep, switching to the control room method...thanks for the tip!^^

[@LanewoodStudios]

Great video. I like using the Listen button for reference tracks which also works nicely for multiple references. And you don’t need to setup the cues and still have all the control room advantages. I have a video about that on my own channel.

[@mixdownonline]

Cool, I'll check it out!

[@compoundaudio]

Great tips.. But do any of these reference styles auto-level match the ref to the mix?

[@MohammadSalah1979]

Amazing Explain thanks Sir 🥰

[@mixdownonline]

Of course!

[@jimphilogene9680]

Thanks so much for this info. I always used an audio track with all my mix tracks routed to a group track. Using the Cue sends in the control room is so much easier. GREAT!!!

[@mixdownonline]

Very welcome!

[@gospelmuvgospelmuv]

Awesome! Thanks, Chris for sharing. Indeed very useful. I will incorporate this method of referencing on my template. God bless you.

[@mixdownonline]

Very welcome!

[@KyriCB]

Beautiful Chris!!! Just a quick one, do you think there is a significant difference in sound between the AXR4 and the RME UFX+ if you know? Thanks so much for all your invaluable help on your channel!

[@mixdownonline]

I never tried the RME UFX+ so I could tell but those 2 audio interfaces are in the high end side of things so I dough there's a significant difference

[@KyriCB]

@@mixdownonline Thanks for that Chris, you are one of the few tubers who actually reply, (and swiftly at that) showing your professionalism!!!

[@alainpatry]

Toujours plaisant d'entendre une ref francophone!

[@mixdownonline]

Voilà :-)

[@redfordmusicofficial]

Never thought of using Track Versions for multiple Cue Reference tracks! That's awesome! I always added several Cue channels instead. Very handy tip! Thanks Chris :)

[@mixdownonline]

Glad you like it!

[@nelsonmoloi3767]

Hi Chris i will definitely like to work with or references with Cubase

[@marstudios7879]

Great tutorial Chris, There is another one Chris called Reference 2 by master the mix. I recently bought it and I will try to use it soon.

[@dhyowiify]

Thank you for this. Big help. Didn't know that can be done with Cue in Control Room.

[@mixdownonline]

A lot of cool stuff can be done with the Control Room :-) Glad I could help!

[@arminfatol]

Hi @Chris , I used to use the 2nd way you show here, but just discovered a much simpler one, available also in Cubase Elements, Artist and Pro, even in Cubase 5 - which you could use / add even when you are finishing the mix, if needed: From VST Connections, just add a new output bus, which you route to the same audio outputs of the audio interface, as the first (default) Stereo Out. This creates another Stereo Out (Stereo Out 2), in the Cubase's mixer, and all you need to do is to route ONLY you reference channel track, to that Stereo Out 2, and that's all. I think it's easier than routing ALL your other channels through a Group - ST OUT, and THEN that group to main Stereo Out. Also this way, the mix uses the main Stereo Out on which you can add final plugins, and the reference track, is using a duplicate of the stereo out with no plugins, but which leads to the same phisical output of audio interface. Cheers!

[@keithstares]

That's so much simpler cheers!

[@hangar4avs]

Although simpler, you cannot use Control Room using this method (as your Busses cannot be sent to the same outputs). NOT using CR opens up a whole other mess...at least for me.

[@ronaldboykin9755]

Chris, you left out one important step in using the control room for mixing with the reference track! Your main mix must also go through the control room via the Monitor1 output!

[@graverlarsson]

Hi Chris. I heard a podcast where an mixing engineer told that its possible with cubase to switch with one knob from Mix A to Mix B (maybe in use with different drumsamples) Can you describe that workflow please?

[@jeanrichardmusik]

Having a mix buss stéréo for your Tracks and a reference buss for the reference Track routing Is a good idea ?

[@midiot777]

Another Gem. Never thought of the Control Room for that.

[@erikkroll2154]

Thanks Chris, as always. My favorite channel.

[@mixdownonline]

Wow, thanks, Erik!

[@nasdaq1966]

Hi, I set up the control room with cues as you explained. Unfortunately there is no sound from the reference track. But my mix is playing either on "mix" aswell as on 1", can you help me? The signal will be showed from the reference track but only on the track

[@patricklacey7930]

Terrific info Chris, much thanks. On a separate issue, have you already, or could you possibly do a video on how you set the parameters on your span plugin?

[@mixdownonline]

Great suggestion! I'll add this to my list

[@SHEHZADRCA]

valuable info Thank you sir

[@mixdownonline]

Most welcome

[@AttilaHanak]

Hey Chris! Another off-topic question (as usually expected from me lol...) What is the make and model of the Mic you use to record your voice for these KZbin videos? Thx! Attila

[@mixdownonline]

Lol! I use the Delphos from Roswell Pro Audio :-)

[@AttilaHanak]

@@mixdownonline Excellent :D Thanks!

[@danb3128]

So the audio routed to Cue does not pass through the mix bus fx chain if I am assuming correctly? Thank you for this extremely useful tip Chris!

[@mixdownonline]

That is correct with the way I set it up.

[@danb3128]

@@mixdownonline Thanks Chris, great work you do!

[@Dan-kb2oz]

Can you use multiple references with the Control Room method? I really like the way that works but I like using a few songs to reference. Atm I’ve just got several audio tracks in a References Folder outputting to a separate group like you showed. Cheers

[@mixdownonline]

I use the Track Versions on my Reference channel like in the video

[@Dan-kb2oz]

@@mixdownonline Ah ok thanks

[@GroffOnTheWall]

Fantastic vid, Chris! I set it up as you described and when I toggle MIX & C1, it switches as expected; however, I have one issue. I am also using a subwoofer and when selecting C1, the ref track is *not* routed to my SUBWOOFER output channel and all the other tracks are sent to the subwoofer in either case. This is because I route my ST OUT group trk to both my MASTER & SUBWOOFER output channels w/ direct routing summing ON (similar to your TEST track from another video). Is there a better approach or a workaround so just my REF track feeds MASTER and SUBWOOFER outs when C1 is selected and ONLY the non-reference tracks are fed to SUBWOOFER & MASTER outs when MIX is selected?

[@mixdownonline]

I also have a Sub but I use an external controller to manage my monitors so this way the Monitor/Sub routing doesn't go through Cubase cause I don't think there's a way to use a Cue Mix with a Sub in Cubase

[@dkkrecords]

Control room with cue sends and run up to 4…..along with midi mapping controls from cubase 12 it’s made life so much more efficient

[@keithcordon]

Great video and another reason why I'm going to have to get my head around using the Control Room. I'm purely an amateur at all this and have recently been using the Master Match component of IK Multimedia's T-Racks 5 to help me compare my mixes to a reference track or two. I'd love to see you review this product and specifically, give your opinion of how good its 'auto-matching' is. I know that one click mixing/mastering is a pipe-dream but Master Match certainly seems to steer me in the right direction.

[@mixdownonline]

I made a video on T-Racks 5 a few years ago. Not sure if I tried Master Match though kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3nSi2x_hteJadk

[@its1amsomewhere]

where would you recommend finding master mixes to reference? A CD? A website? Itunes?

[@mixdownonline]

CD is good for sure...I also use HD Streaming like Amazon HD and I heard a lot about www.hdtracks.com/ where you can purchase music in lossless quality

[@its1amsomewhere]

@@mixdownonline thank you!

[@mgmthegrand]

The master meter only reflects the mix signal even when switching to the cue. Is there a way of maybe routing the cue to the master so that when you switch back and forth between the mix and the cue, the meter reading corresponds accordingly?

[@christianpiat9574]

Hey Chris ! Comment fais tu pour zoomer à partir de 6.38 ? j'ai des lunettes mais ce serait bien utile quelquefois d'avoir un super zoom. A+ Christian

[@es__music]

Can Fabfilter Pro Q be used an analyzer?

[@ampmodclips]

Chris Selim, would you consider making a video of stereo projection? eg how to make bass jump out of the speakers.

[@mixdownonline]

I can do that. Quick tip by the meantime. Keep the Bass in the Center and High Pass or EQ instruments that the low frequencies are masking the Bass. That could be a good start point.

[@ampmodclips]

@@mixdownonline Thanks so much Chris Your Awesome cheers!

[@sammythebull116]

5:31 min How do you setup that second master out put??😃

[@razdadon1406]

How do start my mix over without deleting vocals? I want to mix a song over is it a easy way to delete all my fix and plugins?

[@danyo1782]

What is, if you have more than one cue? Does the shortcut also switch only between the mix und cue 1? Or is it possible not to select all cues?

[@mixdownonline]

It will switch beween Mix and all the other Cues

[@stevenleonmusic]

I used to have mine setup just like yours at 11:00 but all the sudden the "Mix" and "C1" buttons don't work anymore. Now I have to keep it on "C1" and I can only swap back and forth by selecting "Mix" or "Cue" from the upper area under "Cue 1". I don't know what I changed but it's really annoying because I'm used to using the large buttons just like you did in this video. EDIT: Wow I didn't realize I had solo'd the reference track. So... if you do that, the buttons under the top "Cue 1" section will allow you to still hear the main mix if you select "Mix" for anyone interested.

[@omarlopezrincon]

Does the control room works the same in Nuendo ??? because I followed the explanation but it didn´t work, I still hear only the mix

[@Whally]

Hi, yess Metric A B from Plugin Alliance, a good one, remember it's the main AB plugin of Daniel Wyatt, you speak about this in your excellent live with him ;-)

[@mixdownonline]

Oh yeah, you're right, I wasn't sure that was the one Daniel was using. There is another plugin out there but I forgot the name

[@Whally]

@@mixdownonline Hope you'll make another live sooner or later, I love the concept, above all Q&A, this one with Daniel is excellent thx a lot

[@boogie2266]

I have used cues but as I want to keep them free for other purposes I bought Metric AB as it offers lots of options like setting up loops etc

[@mixdownonline]

Since you're using Metric A/B, try to insert it in the Control Room if you're not already doing so

[@boogie2266]

@@mixdownonline I do but I'm still working on it because right now I have the main output (monitors) and a headphone output but this way i have to put the plugin in both to use it which is taking more resources. If I generate a second monitor output for headphones I can only switch between those two and can't have them both on unless I set it like that in my soundcard mixer...so I'm still figuring out how to use it best! ;-)

[@s2diosrecords]

What if you want to reference different parts on a mix with with a certain part on a reference? How do you loop those sections in Control Room?

[@mixdownonline]

You don't loop it from the Control Room but directly from the Audio Reference Channel it self.

[@kofiassor2164]

chris how do i get songs in WAV form to use as reference tracks?

[@project1265ffo]

yes, definitely the last method is vert handy, no need for extra plugins :)

[@mixdownonline]

Glad you think so!

[@diegoalejo15]

Metric AB is my preferred method

[@atomas59]

I like using the control room, the only hic, is when you solo certains tracks, it automatically mute the reference track...The reference track should be totally independent...no?

[@mixdownonline]

Yes, you're right, but you can activate SOLO DEFEAT on the Reference track, this way it will stay ON even if another channel is in Solo. From the Mix Console, ALT+SOLO on the channel will activate Solo Defeat on this channel :-)

[@maestropatron]

Hey Chris, Mix Template Mini Course link does not work !

[@MyChris62]

Hello Chris I noticed that when I duplicate a vocal track and try to manipulate the notes using variaudio, the notes in the main vocal track also change. Can we avoid this? Thanks

[@denvinpaul]

Edit->Preferences->Editing->Audio->On Processing Shared Clips : Choose "Create New Version" from the drop down menu

[@mixdownonline]

That's because by duplicating a track, the duplicated track will share the same Audio Event Source, so you need to create a new Audio event of the same recording. Follow Denvin's tip here to create a new version of your event and you'll be ok :-)

[@MyChris62]

Thank You both Chris and Denvin I managed to change my DAW settings

[@3m63r3]

Metric AB is sometimes on sale for $30 for Plugin Alliance customers

[@mixdownonline]

That is a good deal :-)

[@DanielGuillaud]

Merci pour vos vidéos ! Comment gérer le fait que les références soient des masterings et pas des mixages ? Non pas au niveau du volume mais au niveau de la compression , et des eq . Appliquez vous un pseudo mastering sur votre master buss pour pouvoir comparer ? Encore Merci à vous .

[@mixdownonline]

C'est une bonne question. En mix, j'utilise les références pour me donner une bonne idée si je suis dans la bonne direction à plusieurs niveau. Je prends toujours en consideration que la référence est masterisé. En général, quand mes mix sont prêt pour le mastering, il reste pas grand chose à faire. J'applique pas de pseudo mastering au Mix Buss sauf pour un Limiteur que j'active durant le mix seulement et qui ne travaille pas énormément.

[@DanielGuillaud]

Chris Selim - Mixdown Online merci pour votre réponse . Je fais exactement comme vous :) cela me semble la bonne marche à suivre. Enfin pour moi bien sur , encore merci pour vos vidéos toujours utiles et pertinentes et bonjour du sud de la France !

[@jamesmulligan1077]

It's not clear why I need the reference plug-in for mastering. In another video, you said that for lower versions of Cubase we need the reference plugin for mastering. Why would I invest in a plugin to be able to master in lower versions of Cubase, when I could use that money to get the Pro version of Cubase? I don't get it.

[@sub4037]

Hi Chris, great video. I noticed on your control room you had the abby roads studio plugin, is it pre fader or post fader? maybe you could do a video on the control room insert section. Thanks- SUB403

[@mixdownonline]

The Control room inserts is form monitoring only so Post Fader from the Stereo Out of Cubase. Check out my Control room video. Let me know if you need something more on this. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2rYhGSYqbuGnbs

[@jamjestrysiek]

I am using the second way. I have three separate reference tracks set to the main stereo out, which is plugin free. I am using the separate bus for the mix itself. The trick with Cue gives u only one reference track and for me, this is the downside.

[@boogie2266]

You could create 3 different cues for your reference tracks and route them accordingly.

[@jamjestrysiek]

@@boogie2266 yeah but this way you are getting all cues used, and if you would want/need to use them for other purposes, you wouldn't have the available. Also, you would have to change the settings in the I/O section depending on your project setup. Seems like much more work. With separate reference tracks is just my unless work, I think😊

[@LanewoodStudios]

I use the Listen button for referencing multiple tracks. Have a video about that on my channel.

[@codexnecro]

I followed step by step the control room trick and I'm not getting any sound. I see the level meters moving, but I can't get any sound and I've matched all my settings with the ones in this video :/ EDIT: Never mind, didn't have an audio device selected in Monitor 1.

[@LuisMartinez-qb2eo]

👌💯🥇🎵

[@J-DUB-F1]

Great explanation here......I recently got the Metric A/B, and I'm still learning it. I've been wanting to set your way of creating 2 stereo mix busses. I've also just started using the control room feature, which has been fantastic!.....Finally I have a convenient way to check things in mono(my interface doesn't have that feature) :-)

[@mixdownonline]

Since you're using Metric A/B, make sure you insert it in the Control Room :-)

[@mingyangchen8830]

If you have more than one cue, Then the key command won't so easy to use. thank you selim

[@mixdownonline]

Yes, that's correct. On my side, I only keep one Cue active when I mix

[@fredflange1864]

The madness IS taking it's toll...

[@gastonjabaly]

12 years with cubase with control room turned off now i see a reason to turn it on lol

[@mixdownonline]

There you go! Lol!

[@boogie2266]

If anyone wants to buy Metric AB, Plugin Alliance allowed me to share some voucher codes: Code 1* ANY-2999 * This code is NOT valid for these products: AMEK EQ 200, bx_console SSL 9000 J, Dear VR Pro, ENGL Savage 120, Gig Performer 3, KNIF Knifonium, NEOLD V76U73, Shadow Hills Class A Code 2* ANY-3999 * This code is NOT valid for these products: AMEK EQ 200, bx_console SSL 9000 J, Dear VR Pro, ENGL Savage 120, Gig Performer 3, KNIF Knifonium, NEOLD V76U73, Shadow Hills Class A Code 3* ANY-4999 * This code is NOT valid for these products: AMEK EQ 200, bx_console SSL 9000 J, Dear VR Pro, ENGL Savage 120, Gig Performer 3, KNIF Knifonium, NEOLD V76U73, Shadow Hills Class A All codes valid until Sept 6, 11:59pm California Time (PST) Use All 3 Codes - in 3 Different Orders PLEASE: Only 1 Code per Order!

[@mixdownonline]

Thanks for sharing! Ended up with the Blackbox ;-)

[@boogie2266]

@@mixdownonline I'm glad that I could help, I'm going for the Shadow hills and/or the Iron maybe...unfortunately my most wanted from PA, the SSL 9000J is not included in the sale!

[@mrhugge914]

The cheapest one 😂

[@mixdownonline]

LOL

[@philippeltz4363]

Thanks for this great tip! Cheers