With this procedure, we can work with a recording without a click, then afterwards we create a click track and straighten the timing in CuBase Pro.
A click track is a track that makes a repetitive noise in time with the music... or in other words, makes a click noise on a set beat or beats. It's a type of digital metronome used in recording studios. If the musicians can hear it, it will keep the musicians playing in perfect steady time. We would normally play it through their headphones - so the click is not heard by the recording microphones.
The advantage of recording to click tracks is that part of the song can be shifted, swapped or manipulated seamlessly without timing issues.
But some musicians (particularly non-classical types) have difficulty with recording to a click track. Or - perhaps you are working with a live recording.
1) If you don't have a stomp track... create one. It is a manually created "click track" made by recording a stomp box. Create an audio track, then record the tapping of your foot over the beat of the recorded song.
2) Add a Tempo Track. (Right click > Add Track > Tempo)
3) Add a Signature Track. (Right click > Add Track > Signature). Set it to the correct time signature... 4/4, 3/4, 6/8
4) Select your stomp recording. Then Project > Tempo Detection > Analyse. This will tweak the Cubase Tempo track to put beats on every stomp. At this point nothing has changed with the audio - its just making datapoints. You should see something like below...
5) At this piont some Audio Engineers would then quantize the other instruments to get it perfectly in time with the Stomp. But I feel that this loses the "organic" feel of the music. So I like to use manual Audio Warping to tighten the performance where it needs it - but still leave in those organic small imperfections that make us Human.
Straightening the Timing
At this piont the tempo is not fixed. It organically moves around. If you want a steady tempo... we call this "straightening the timing" do the following..
1) Select all clips
2) Audio Menu > Advanced > Set Definition from Tempo. Then [Save to Project].
3) Delete all the tempo points - leaving one piont defined... which is the tempo you want.
Note you can also now change the tempo of the whole song. Even change the tempo inside the song.