Say goodbye to static mixes – Cubase Pro 14’s Modulators unlock creative motion. Design evolving textures, dynamic effects, and expressive performances in seconds. This September, enjoy up to 40% off all full versions, updates, upgrades, and crossgrades. Find out more here.
Everybody has their favourite DAW, and once you’ve found the love of your life and give it your all, it’s easy to overlook what others may offer. One such example is the Modulation functionality in Ableton Live, which allows you to create envelopes to control parameters separately from conventional automation.
This is taken to a new level when you explore Max For Live, where you find an LFO, Envelope Follower, and other tools for generating complex modulation shapes to control mixer and plug-in parameters. However, here we’re not going to examine Live, because one of the new features in Cubase Pro 14 covers exactly this territory – and they are all conveniently bundled under the name ‘Modulators’.
To clarify, this operates separately but alongside conventional automation, MIDI CC, or other data, and enables a wide range of Cubase and plug-in parameters to be controlled by an LFO, Envelope Follower, Shaper, Macro Knob, Step Modulator, or ModScripter (or all at once).
This encompasses nearly everything related to Audio, Instrument, Sampler, or Drum Machine tracks, including parameters of a VST instrument or audio effect, channel settings, and the full range of MixConsole controls.
Modulators can even control the parameters of other modulators! In this Tutorial we will explore a few features in the context of a full track.
First Steps – LFO Audio Panning
Like many other functions in Cubase, there are several ways to achieve the same result, but the quickest way to access the Modulators is through the main Project window’s Lower Zone.
You can open the Lower Zone by clicking its icon on the Toolbar or pressing (CTRL+ALT+E / CMD+Opt+E).
Once there, and with a relevant track selected, head to the Modulators tab.
Click on the LFO icon and you’ll immediately see a moving waveform that’s tempo-synced to the project tempo. Setting the Note value to 1 means it will complete a full cycle every bar.
Now that we have a modulation source, we need to route it to a destination.
Click on the large ‘+’ icon to select any destination parameter related to that channel from the drop-down menu. Alternatively, the Learn mode (which appears by default) makes it even easier: simply selecting and moving a control (knob, button, slider, etc.) will automatically establish the connection.
In this case, let’s choose the Pan slider in the Channel Mixer of a percussion track for instant tempo-synced auto-pan.
Increasing the modulation depth will intensify the effect for a wider pan range.
LFO Audio Panning: Before
LFO Audio Panning: After
Side-chain Style Pumping with Shaper
There are many third-party side-chain style ‘pumper/ducker’ plug-ins, but this can easily be accomplished in Cubase Pro 14 using the Modulator’s Shaper module.
Here we’ve added it to a simple chord track and drawn in a basic curve sweep repeating every 1/4 note (matching our 4/4 kick beat).
Although the main channel volume fader could be chosen as the destination, this complicates level adjustments. Instead, we have used Steinberg’s own Volume plug-in.
Its Master Gain is set as a destination in Shaper.
We use negative depth values and Polarity to set to Unipolar here to ensure the volume ‘ducks’ downwards only. Adjust the Modulation Depth to taste.
Pumping with Shaper: Before
Pumping with Shaper: After
Envelope Controlled Delay
Modulators aren’t just for cyclical, time-based control; the Envelope Follower module produces control data from the level and shape of incoming audio.
Here, we’re going to use the Envelope Follower to control the amount of feedback in a delay plug-in applied as an insert effect on this MIDI-based rhythmic synth part.
We’ve added Envelope Follower and selected the Feedback parameter of the Valhalla Delay plugin on this channel as the destination.
Attack and Release times have been adjusted to provide a fast to medium-fast response, and Gain is set to allow the full range of modulation. You can see the result in the waveform display.
After some tweaking of the Feedback level and (negative Modulation Depth), the delay feedback will increase in quieter sections and decrease when louder and busier. This can be made even more effective by adding the delay’s Mix level as a second modulation target.
We’ve done the same for Valhalla Vintage Verb Mix level, so that there is less reverb on the more heavily delayed sections (between notes).
Envelope Controlled Delay Dry Before
Envelope Controlled Delay Wet Before
Envelope Controlled Delay Wet After
Modulation Madness
So far, we’ve only really scratched the surface of what the Modulators in Cubase can do. There are many other features to explore, including MIDI triggering, side-chain routing, and programming your own custom modulator using ModScripter (if you dare).
We’ll end, however, by adding another Modulator to our synth part. This time, it’s the turn of the Step Modulator, which we can combine with the Envelope Follower by adding it to another of the eight available slots per track.
Tweak the step values, and direct the output to Retrologue’s Filter Cutoff. We can also dial in a bit of Filter Resonance variation here.
Now we’re on a roll, you could add another Modulator to nudge the Octave up and down.
We can then bring all these elements and ideas together in the track.
Final: No modulation
Final: With modulation
So, there you have it. One of the new features in Cubase Pro 14 that provides an effective way to add interest and movement, from simple to complex.
Discover Cubase Pro 14 on the official website. This September, enjoy up to 40% off all full versions, updates, upgrades, and crossgrades. Find out more here.