Audio Files and Audio Clips

In Cubase, audio editing and processing are non-destructive.

When you edit or process audio in the Project window, the audio file on the hard disk remains untouched. Instead, your changes are saved to an audio clip that is automatically created on import or during recording, and that refers to the audio file. This allows you to undo changes or revert to the original version.

If you apply processing to a specific section of an audio clip, a new audio file that contains only this section is created. The processing is applied to the new audio file only and the audio clip is automatically adjusted, so that it refers both to the original file and to the new, processed file. During playback, the program will switch between the original file and the processed file at the correct positions. You will hear this as a single recording, with processing applied to one section only.

This allows you to undo processing at a later stage, and to apply different processing to different audio clips that refer to the same original file.

You can view and edit audio clips in the Pool.