How to comp vocals in Cubase

This video shows how I comp a vocal track in Cubase 11 from multiple takes by using the comp tool.
I go into detail about preparing for comping, the various operations that can be performed with the Cubase comp tool, as well as the method I personally use to assemble a vocal track using various tools and techniques.
In addition I am showing how I finally clean up the vocal comp and keep the unedited/uncomped versions by using Cubase's track versions feature.
00:00 Intro
00:17 Overview
00:55 The cubase project
01:43 Preparing for comping
03:00 Cubase comp tool
08:30 Using track versions
09:07 Cleanup unused takes
09:49 Apply crossfades
11:04 Bounce crossfades
11:57 Outro
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Gear Used to Make This Video:
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Camera (paid link) - geni.us/fenwfH
Microphone (paid link) - geni.us/L6VJ
Activator (paid link) - geni.us/QV0btW
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Lighting (paid link) - geni.us/3FDnMM
Video editor (paid link) - geni.us/chWtEAl
Display calibration (paid link) - geni.us/TwAqR
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Other Studio Gear:
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AD/DA Converter (paid link) - geni.us/C7MzC
Analog Compressor 1 (paid link) - geni.us/zxBq7
Analog Compressor 2 (paid link) - geni.us/ioKNN
Analog EQ (paid link) - geni.us/vaYDP
Vocal Microphone (paid link) - geni.us/M8AMSJ
Speaker calibration (paid link USD) - bit.ly/3mi5kjo
Speaker calibration (paid link EUR) - bit.ly/3e5mo7y
Reverb plugin (paid link) - geni.us/V2k6h
Complete Current Gear list - kit.co/LanewoodStudios/home-s...
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#cubase11 #vocalcomping #homestudio

[@LanewoodStudios]

What additional tips do you have for comping ?

[@amusik7]

Great tip with the track versions. Thanks for that!

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@amusik7 you are welcome!

[@user-fk3em2tn6y]

This is the BEST tutorial I've seen om comping!!!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks so much!

[@mystikrebel1089]

Absolute brilliantly explained tutorial thanks for this !

[@LanewoodStudios]

You’re welcome!

[@mystikrebel1089]

@@LanewoodStudios I was stuck and confused on how to use it properly since yesterday but now that problem is finally solved .

[@thespiritualmindset3772]

What a voice! And this "comping feature" on Cubase is amazing! Thank you for sharing. 🙏

[@LanewoodStudios]

Glad the video was useful to you! And you can check out our music on Spotify: fanlink.awash.me/follow

[@alexmarkowski4893]

Very helpful. Thanks for sharing your workflow.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks and you are welcome!

[@MorisoniProductions]

Very useful tips on comping, with some neat ideas. Thank you!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Great that the ideas are useful 👍.

[@trovador1]

wonderful video, comprehensive and simple.. thanks!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thank you 🙏

[@LeeHowardBath]

One of the best tutorials I've seen, now subscribed.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Awesome, thank you!

[@elgravos]

Thanks, I feel I'm going to be watching this one quite frequently.

[@LanewoodStudios]

You are welcome. Game the video was useful to you!

[@thecaffineman]

Thank you this video was extremly helpful!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Great!

[@lloydcooke5503]

Great informative video, this was very easy to understand and a game changer. thank you so much.💯👍🏽

[@LanewoodStudios]

That’s great to hear!

[@BrownKnowsVideos]

BRO! Your videos are so great! I appreciate how you always seem to throw in the details of how you did little adjustments along the way to perfect the process. Great work and wish you much success!

[@LanewoodStudios]

I appreciate that!

[@project1265ffo]

Nice and clean :) well done

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks Filipe 🙏.

[@simonschole]

Excellent video, thank you.

[@LanewoodStudios]

And thank you for commenting 👍

[@ronniewibbley]

Thanks for this - very helpful!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Great that it was helpful 😁.

[@Steven-do2dp]

Awesome video on the comp tool which I wanted to use since a long time ago... now after watching your vid, I will for sure!! Thanks and BTW I really like your way of demonstrating/explaining things, just the perfect pace and right intonations, word count, etc. I feel I'm gonna watch many more of your Cubase and audio prod videos! A good thank you from Quebec (Canada)!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Great, and you’re welcome. Love Canada 👍.

[@ruudjansen2412]

Great tutorial!...thanks!

[@LanewoodStudios]

You are welcome!

[@musichealer13]

Thank you for your optional method with the cuts.

[@LanewoodStudios]

You are welcome!

[@callez2402]

Excellent, you deserve more viewers

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks, I appreciate the comment 😎😁

[@Eppie55]

Top video!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks/bedankt!

[@silentstormstudios]

Great video. Very helpful. One thing I discovered is that, if you use the comping tool to select the segments rather than manually making cuts, you don't need to do the cross fades after you have completed your comped vocal track. Cubase automatically joins the segments together into single parts, and does so cleanly with no artifacts at the edit points. The tips on using track versions were invaluable. Thanks so much!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks for the additional tip! I must say that I’ve gotten used to the manual cuts working from left to right and placing a cut where I feel I need to switch to another lane. But I don’t know which lane yet. I wonder at what point cubase ads the cross fades when you select with th comp tool. Because it seems to me that you still need to delete overlaps and all to clean up the lanes. I’ll give it a try and find out 😎.

[@naamkadavultv3443]

thank you sir

[@LanewoodStudios]

You are welcome!

[@skylightmusicshowree]

I haven't used track versions before for comping, I've only been using versions for creating alternative arrangement and melody ideas in MIDI. I do duplicate the comp track, but do it by creating a new track. Your method is far less cluttered, taking up far less screen space! Thanks for this 👍 😎

[@LanewoodStudios]

Exactly but it also took a while before I found this method. You live and learn 😉👍.

[@skylightmusicshowree]

@@LanewoodStudios 👍🏻😂

[@nathaliebastien9844]

Thanks for the idea of creating by duplicating a track for a ''comp'' and a ''bounced'' one, good idea!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Yes I like to use track versions for saving parts before editing quite a lot. Have a separate video about that even 😉.

[@ipmorg]

Great work and well explained

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thank you!

[@ipmorg]

@@LanewoodStudios Hi there. I just subscribed to your KZbin channel. Very informative and precise. I use Nuendo 11. Do you have a video which discusses setting up a mix ready for final mix (not mastering). I watch the video on Groups & VCA's. How would you set a session ready for final mix. best Ian

[@LanewoodStudios]

Hi@@ipmorgand thank you for subscribing! I have a whole series of videos on how I produce a new song from start to finish. See kzbin.info/aero/PLjQrdrOsAK_XYkxi8pqdRiby4mVfghCcY In Episode 11 I start mixing and setup my mix bus effects etc up until the last episode where I've mixed all tracks in the song. I suspect there is some useful info for you in those videos perhaps. Enjoy!

[@ipmorg]

@@LanewoodStudios do you use Control room. Do you have video on how you set it up or do you bypass it. Thanks Ian Morgan

[@LanewoodStudios]

Hi @@ipmorg, yes I do use control room for two purposes. For my Sonarworks reference 4 speaker calibration plugin, and to be able to record audio for these videos. I have videos on both subjects: 1. Very old video :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/jX2zhJyJj82Cqc0 2. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iau0l2xqe759g6c

[@Dr.RozMusic]

thanks~!

[@LanewoodStudios]

You are welcome!

[@nantschev]

Great video! How do you comp drums or similar instruments recorded with multiple mics

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks. Check out my video on guitar recording and editing as I also do multiple track comping in that one.

[@saschakuhn2660]

your videos should be included with the app, much better than the manual. thanks a lot

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks Sascha! Glad you liked the video 👍.

[@neilkendall5499]

Hi, I've come back to this video several times to learn this properly, as well as your video about track versions. I've now integrated these methods into my workflow and it's made it easier to edit and organise my music productions. I really like this method of comping and combining it with track versions. I have a question though - let's say I want to copy a vocal line (or maybe a guitar, bass phrase etc) from one part of the song to another, maybe a vocal line from chorus 2 into chorus 1, for example. At what point in the editing would you recommend to do this? It seems like this is possible to do before you delete the overlaps, but it's probably easier to do after you've deleted the overlaps because everything is nice and neat in one single lane. Which way round would you do it? I suppose it doesn't matter really, maybe I'm just overthinking it.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Great to hear that these ways of working are so useful for you. They are for me as well of course 😁. As for copying a phrase from one section of the song to another, it depends a bit on when I notice that I need to do that. E.g. if I already notice during comping that I don’t have a great take to choose from on chorus 3 I may just copy it from chorus 2 at that time. If I only find out later, after consolidating everything to one lane in another track version I will just copy it in that track version.

[@neilkendall5499]

@@LanewoodStudios Ah yes, that makes perfect sense. I will do it that way! Thanks for your advice.

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@neilkendall5499 👍

[@billymack4258]

Awesome info! Instead of bouncing the track I was rendering the comp takes but sometimes it would leave some of the comp parts out. Any advice you have would be great. Thanks!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Hey Billy, thanks for the comment, glad the video was useful to you. Did you put all of the comped parts on a single lane (by delete overlaps) and was everything playing ok on that single lane ? If that is the case, it seems strange that the render in place is not working.

[@billymack4258]

@@LanewoodStudios Yes, delete overlaps solved my problem. Thank you so much!!!!

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@billymack4258 great that it worked for you!!

[@billymack4258]

Track versions , I was wondering if you have say 3 different track versions 1,2,3 what ever track version your on if the other two versions track channel insert effects go into bypass to free up cpu load. especially UAD PLUGINS. THANKS!!!

[@LanewoodStudios]

I believe the inserts are not part of the track versions. The channel will just have one set of inserts that will be used for all track versions on that channel. Not in front of my daw now though 😉.

[@VickenIshkhanian]

Great video as all of your videos, I have been struggling with this one issue I believe since version 11.5 or 12, when I resize any audio in any lane immediately the overlaps are deleted automatically without warning. I couldn't find anywhere in the preferences that this is a feature and is enabled! any idea?

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks! I don't seem to get your problem though. When I resize audio on a lane it just resizes the audio on that particular lane and does not affect the audio on the other lanes. If you have the comp tool active while resizing, it does resize the audio on all lanes but that is intentional. So I don;t really understand what problem you are having.

[@VickenIshkhanian]

@@LanewoodStudios there was an option in settings to “remove overlap” by default! Found it and clicked on it, now it is disabled, I believe they reversed the action st one point between version 9.5 and 12

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@VickenIshkhanian oh great that you found it. I’ll have to look that one up.

[@angelicrealms4784]

How do you clean takes / delete un wanted audio in comp mode ? I mean before you make merge thiseit into one track

[@LanewoodStudios]

Well I guess I don’t. The track versions take care of getting a nice track with just the selected audio parts as shown in the video. I don’t do any further cleanup.

[@soulsaara]

Is this Cubase 11 elements or artist or pro?

[@LanewoodStudios]

It is Cubase 11 Pro.

[@joeferris5086]

This is super embarrassing to admit but I've been using cubase for 20 years and somehow I'm just finding out this. I always thought people just recorded each take on a different track.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Better late than never 👍. Enjoy! 😁