Rendition - How to Set Up in Cubase

This guide will walk you through the process of setting up Nightfox Audio's Rendition plug-in in Steinberg Cubase. Rendition is a powerful MIDI effect plug-in that generates chords, arpeggios, and other musical patterns that can be sent to any of your virtual instruments. This process involves creating two tracks: one for Rendition to generate the MIDI data, and a second for your chosen instrument to produce the sound.

Step 1: Add an Instrument Track for Rendition

First, you need to create an Instrument Track and load Rendition as the instrument.

1. Go to Project > Add Track > Instrument.
2. In the "Add Track" window, click on the "Instrument" field and select "Rendition" from your list of plug-ins.
3. You can leave the other settings as default for now.
4. Click Add Track.

This track will not produce any sound on its own. Instead, it will process your keyboard input and send out more complex MIDI information.

Step 2: Add a Second Instrument Track for Your Sound

Next, create another Instrument Track for the virtual instrument you want Rendition to control (e.g., a piano, synthesizer, or orchestral library).

1. Go to Project > Add Track > Instrument again.

2. Click on the "Instrument" field and choose the instrument you want to hear. For this example, let's say you've chosen "Grand Piano Suite".

3. Crucially, in the "MIDI Inputs" field, you need to select Rendition's MIDI output. It will typically be named something like "01. Rendition - MIDI Out.", as shown in the provided image.

4. Give the track a name and click Add Track.

By setting the MIDI input during creation, you are telling this new track to listen for MIDI data coming from the Rendition track, not directly from your keyboard.

Step 3: Routing MIDI After Track Creation (Alternative Method)

If you have already created your instrument track or need to change its input later, you can easily adjust the routing in the Inspector panel.

1. Select the track that has your sound-producing instrument (e.g., "Grand Piano Suite").

2. In the Inspector panel on the left, find the Routing section. (If you don't see it, you may need to right-click in the Inspector and ensure "Routing" is visible).

3. Click on the MIDI input slot, which might currently say "All MIDI Inputs" or show your keyboard controller.

4. From the dropdown menu that appears, navigate to Plug-ins and select "01. Rendition - MIDI Output".

How It Works and Final Steps

Arm the Rendition Track for Recording: Click the "Record Enable" button on the Rendition track. This ensures it receives the input from your MIDI keyboard.

Monitor Your Instrument Track: You may also need to enable monitoring on your sound-producing instrument track to hear the output as you play.

Play Your Keyboard: When you play notes on your MIDI keyboard, they will be sent to the Rendition track first. Rendition will then process these notes based on its current settings (e.g., turning a single note into a full chord).

Hear the Result: The new MIDI data generated by Rendition is then sent to your second instrument track, which produces the sound.

You can now record on the Rendition track to capture the MIDI input from your keyboard, or record on the instrument track to capture the final, processed MIDI output from Rendition.