Does Cubasis VST 4.0 support alternate tunings

[KatherineHollyday]

I've created some alternate tunings using scala microtuning software (see http://www.huygens-fokker.org/scala), and I'd like to use them with Cubasis VST 4.0 (which I got with my Audigy 2 ZS Platinum sound card). I'm a relative newbie to using all this, though I've had the software/soundcard for a few years. I've been poking around trying to figure out if this software supports using alternate tunings, and how to set it up to do it.

The scala software primarily uses .scl files to export the tuning information, but it will apparently 'dump' the information into other (MIDI?) formats--most of which I don't really understand. The various file formats it dumps to are listed here: http://www.huygens-fokker.org/scala/#features. I don't see Cubasis VST software listed there, or even Cubase for that matter. I'm wondering if the Cubasis VST 4.0 software will 'accept' other formats that the Scala software can export to, and then if there is such a thing, how do I get the software to 'take' the alternate tunings... I'd rather not have to hack anything to get this to work. Is there a proper way to do this? Or perhaps there is another way to create the tuning data file that will work with Cubasis VST 4.0...that's not too difficult...

Anyone else out there know anything about this sort of thing?

Also, I've been thinking about purchasing Cubase 5 when I get the money, but I'm wondering if Cubase will accept alternate tunings, specifically from Scala, and/or otherwise, and how. I've never seen anything on the internet that even indicates that it works with scala. I'm not a programmer, and I'm trying to wrap my brain around all this, and figure it out myself...my brain's about to explode. I was wondering if using Cubase 5 would make things easier, if there was some 'standardized' or 'automated' way to do this. I know what I want to do, the trick is in figuring out how.

If I can figure out how to do this in Cubasis VST 4.0, that would be preferable for now, since I don't have the money to upgrade, and would really like to get my project started and be able to upgrade later to use on future projects.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Katherine
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I'm using Cubasis VST 4.0 on a Windows XP (Media Center Edition) PC.

Would like to eventually upgrade to Cubase 5.

[weswilliams]

Probably the best way to do this would be the 'MIDI dump' from Scala, which produces a midi file (.mid) that you then import into Cubasis.

If you were to upgrade to Cubasis V5 (probably less then $15/£10 on ebay), you could use the free Tobybear Helios VST instrument, which can use the .scl files directly. However, you would be limited to producing the kind of sounds that this synth produces, and if you are aiming for a fully orchestrated piece, you'd have to go back to the midi dump and import method.

Edited to add:
It seems that SX and SL versions of Cubase 1 to 3 contain a microtuner MIDI plugin, that can be used to apply other tunings. You'll have to check about SE versions. It comes with a set of presets for many tunings, and new presets can be added.
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WinXP Pro, AMD 3.2GHz Athlon+,
Evolution MK 261 Kbd, M-Audio Revolution 5.1, GadgetLabs 824, Mackie Spike.
Cubasis Audio since 1998, then Cubasis 5 Jan 2007.
Cubase 5 Score Feb 2007. Cubase 5 VST32 Jan 2008.
Cubase SL2 Jan 2010,Cubase 4 June 2010
Yamaha CX5, Octave Cat.