Introduction
This is the Operation Manual for Steinberg’s VST Live. Here you will find detailed information about all the features and functions in the program.
Documentation Structure 🔗
In our documentation, we divide information into three different types of topics, according to their content.
User Interface 🔗
Topics that describe the functionality of user interface items and list the options and settings of dialogs, panels, or other items.
Basic Concepts 🔗
Topics that describe concepts and explain the functionality of a specific software feature.
Procedures 🔗
Topics that provide step-by-step instructions for how to perform a specific task. These topics often provide an example for why you might want to follow the steps and a brief summary of the result, including consequences to be aware of.
Because of this division of information, our documentation structure functions as a reference you can consult for specific information or instructions as required, rather than a guide you must read from start to finish.
Descriptive topics do not describe how to perform a task, and procedural topics do not explain what something is. To find general information about items or concepts, we recommend searching for them by name, such as “events”. To find instructions for performing Particular actions, we recommend including a relevant verb in your search, such as “recording”.
Links at the bottom of topics guide you to further relevant content. You can also check the sidebar for nearby, related topics in the documentation structure.
Conventions 🔗
In our documentation, we use typographical and markup elements to structure information.
Instructional Markers 🔗
Markers regarding procedures and additional information about them are as follows:
Requires you to complete an action or to fulfil a condition before starting a procedure.
Lists the steps that you must take to achieve a specific result.
Shows the result of the procedure.
Informs you about actions or tasks that you can perform after completing the procedure.
Meta Comments 🔗
Commentary types on the documentation, itself, are as below:
Informs you about issues that might affect the system, the connected hardware, or that might bring a risk of data loss.
Informs you about issues that you should consider.
Adds further information or useful suggestions.
Indicates a jumping off for further consideration.
Provides you with an example.
Markup 🔗
Bold text indicates the name of a menu, option, function, dialogx, window, etc.
To open the Stacks screen, click the Stacks icon at the top of the screen
If bold text is separated by a greater-than symbol, this indicates a sequence of different menus to open.
Select Song > New Song.
Proper Nouns 🔗
Features, Functions, Widgets and Concepts native to VST Live are capitalized and rendered in boldface. This includes common terms that are recontextualized for specific functionality in VST Live.
Layers and Stacks are both elements of Parts.
Terms 🔗
Some terms in the realm digital audio have multiple or similar meanings, both within the context of general usage, and commercial standards.
Zones 🔗
The term “Zones” refers to:
- User Interface Zones: Areas of the Project Window dedicated to a specific functionality.
- MIDI Layer Zones:Areas of a MIDI demarked by note and velocity range.
Group 🔗
Refers to a “group of channels”, as in Cubase’s mixer nomenclature.
Notes 🔗
Refers to musical notes and VST Live’s Notes module (for writing Song comments).
Beat 🔗
Refers to rhythmic elements in a Song measure and VST Live’s Beats module (for step-sequencing).
Key Commands 🔗
Many of the default key commands, also known as keyboard shortcuts, use modifier keys, some of which are different depending on the operating system.
When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are indicated with the Windows Modifier Key first, followed by the macOS Modifier Key.
Control/Command-Z means: press Ctrl on Windows® and Command on macOS®, then press Z.