Cubase SX issues

[topaz]

SF

look for the doc about ignoreportfilter.

[Sascha Franck]

to open a vsti track just click the (little piano icon) or to bring up the whole channel setting click the e button.

The piano icon brings up the VSTis UI and the "e" button is bringing up the MIDI mixer settings (including the MIDI plugins and so on) rather than the appropriate audio channel the plugin is running into - which is what I'd prefer to see 95% of the time.

[waveriderarts]

the [emulated] ports are still there, but who cares...

no man! you then have to use the non-emulated ones, the fix is for making them available also with the emulated ports.

[Sascha Franck]

Emulated drivers? What type of shite soundcards are the uni using that you need to use emulated drivers instead of the ASIO ones? Even cheapo cards have faster drivers than anything within Windoze. If the uni can afford to buy 15 copies of Cubase and the PCs to go with them, then they ought to be able to afford functional cards, surely - I feel it's a case of poor equipment, not poor s/w myself.

I was talking about the emulated MIDI drivers.
We're using Edirol PCR A 30's and they perform totally great with everything else.

However, the ignorereportfilter thing did the trick.
One shouldn't be forced to do such things in the first place though. At least not for MIDI.

[topaz]

yeh it doesn't work like that.

in that case im sure you use the automation track to bring up the audio settings.

(Sasch you can always pop into #musicdsp to ask me any questions)

cheers
topaz

The piano icon brings up the VSTis UI and the "e" button is bringing up the MIDI mixer settings (including the MIDI plugins and so on) rather than the appropriate audio channel the plugin is running into - which is what I'd prefer to see 95% of the time.

[Sascha Franck]

The "e" button on the MIDI track will always bring up the MIDI channel settings.

Yes...

The "e" button on the VST instrument channel track (next to the automation track in the VST instruments folder) will always bring up the instrument channel settings.

Hm... am I being thick here? Which "VST insrument channel track" are you talking about?
In my currently opened project I have exactly one track, a MIDI track that is, running into Absynth.
When I click the "e" button in the inspector (no matter in which modus I'm running it), the MIDI channel settings will pop up (just as you said).
Then, another track called "VST Instruments" is created, serving for automation purposes (at least that's what I understood so far). There's nothing next to it and clicking on any Absynth on the expanded automation folder doesn't reveal any further "e" buttons.

The VSTi channel track can be "dragged" next to the MIDI track so the "e" button on the channel track can be used to navigate to the instrument channel settings window.

As said, I really don't know which "VSTi channel track" you are talking about.

OHHHHHHHHHHHH - almost pressed "Submit" but now I found it!!!

Hell, this is really a massive oversight! Should be added straight *somewhere* on the MIDI track (in case a VSTi is used, in all other cases it could be greyed out or just not exist).

Thanks again, this will make my life easier for now (even if it's quite some workaround)!

[Sascha Franck]

no man! you then have to use the non-emulated ones, the fix is for making them available also with the emulated ports.

Well, I tried with both the "real" and emulated ports and things all of a sudden seem to be fine at least on one machine. Maybe the time stamp thing has got to do something with it as well.
I should actually try things with one of the "fixes" only...
Hmpf, work! But then, at least it's allready getting better, for whatever reason. Gonna find out!

[DevonB]

So at least my major issue has been sorted for now.
the [emulated] ports are still there, but who cares...

See? Like I said, a little patience.

Go under Devices off the top menu and each of the MIDI sections. You'll see the Emulated Ports listed. Simply change Yes to No for Display. It's in columns, you'll see what I mean when you look.

Devon

[Sascha Franck]

Go under Devices off the top menu and each of the MIDI sections. You'll see the Emulated Ports listed. Simply change Yes to No for Display. It's in columns, you'll see what I mean when you look.

Did that. Also changed the default ports to non-emulated ones.
Weird thing is, I'd expect the deactivated emulated ports not to show up in a MIDI track's input menu anymore. But then, I couldn't care less as long as the non-emulated default ones will be there by default indeed (which they are).

However, at least this very serious issue seems to be solved, thanks a bunch to you all!

Now I can finally start to clone this very machine (another day of work cloning it onto 12 further PCs, sigh...).

[PugFace]

Join the Cubase Problem club.

The time stamping problem through windows ACPI interface is the source of Cubase SX's problems i believe. I am really interested to see if a new to purchase controller will work better than my current set up which uses a sound card taking the midi messages.

I really find that Cubase is super sounding and stable but this is basic stuff for work station software to work out. I use the auto quantisize to ensure at least some accuracy but occasionally a note will quantisize in the wrong direction but the edit screens will quickly sort the error out. I have got used to the timing issues and love most things.

There is one more little bug in 2.2. The play track selection for a VSTi track will switch off when the e-button at the VSTi audio mixer selects the instrument. Grrrrrrrr!!

[auxbuss]

OHHHHHHHHHHHH - almost pressed "Submit" but now I found it!!!

Hell, this is really a massive oversight! Should be added straight *somewhere* on the MIDI track (in case a VSTi is used, in all other cases it could be greyed out or just not exist).

Hi Sascha,

Strange to see you here talking Cubase

I agree that not being able to open the VSTi GUI from the Track Lists is uber-dumb, but those Steinberg boys just l-u-r-v their "philosophy"-thang. After all, that's why there's no Mono/Stereo toggle - the absence of which (actually they removed it) defies reason.

However, you can open the VSTi GUI from the MIDI Track's Inspector panel by clicking the little icon left of the channel number. The same icon appears in the Channel Settings - I prefer to use this rather than the Inspector, as it happens. It should, of course, be available for assignment in Track control Settings.

[Sascha Franck]

Hi Sascha,

Strange to see you here talking Cubase

Now, imagine how strange it feels for ME!!!

After all, that's why there's no Mono/Stereo toggle - the absence of which (actually they removed it) defies reason.

Uh-oh...

However, you can open the VSTi GUI from the MIDI Track's Inspector panel [...]

See, I wasn't talking about the VSTi GUI but about the actual audio mixer. Very often I may just want to quickly add some, say, delay to a VSTi track.
In Logic I have my "channel strip" on the left (comparable to some parts of the inspector), displaying all my sends. So I would just drag one send up and there we go. Select track -> appropriate mixer channel shows up and that's about it - somewhat comparable to what SX does with audio tracks. but why in the world isn't that possible with VSTi tracks as well? At least there should be an option to open the audio mixer rather than the MIDI mixer channel!

Hm, guess I will have to get used to it for now, but seriously, I will plague the Steinberg dudes to death in case they don't (optionally) change at least some of those handling issues (I could easily name quite a few more) in the future.

[Rick1114]

I bought a mouse with 4 assignable buttons (besides L+R click) to help make some functions easier. Coming from Tracktion, I had to adjust to the extra work involved. I assigned mouse buttons to the metronome , mixer, undo & that VST window. I usually bring up the mixer with a mouse click and find the VST's audio channel.

Some things I really miss in Tracktion, but Cubase WILL do just about everything you throw at it and is very stable for me. I really wish it had a "open 1st output only" option for VST's among some other things to make using VST's easier.

[auxbuss]

See, I wasn't talking about the VSTi GUI but about the actual audio mixer.

Sorry, I misread - in too much of a hurry today.

Very often I may just want to quickly add some, say, delay to a VSTi track. In Logic I have my "channel strip" on the left (comparable to some parts of the inspector), displaying all my sends. So I would just drag one send up and there we go. Select track -> appropriate mixer channel shows up and that's about it - somewhat comparable to what SX does with audio tracks. but why in the world isn't that possible with VSTi tracks as well? At least there should be an option to open the audio mixer rather than the MIDI mixer channel!

In SX1 (and Nuendo before that - I moved from Logic to Nuendo, so these bases were covered, it's just that Steinberg removed a lot of good stuff), anyway, in SX1 you could do this by creating a one channel track mixer and place it, in effect, where the Inspector is now. This is/was far more useful than the Inspector, imo, and covers your problem with VSTis.

You can do this anymore, since the input and output channels can't be removed from the mixer display.

There were even better ways of doing this in Nuendo 1 before they killed Window Layouts (screensets, but better). Apparently they did this because the Cubase VST kids couldn't cope with the additional functionality.

Anyway, because SX's interface has been so severely crippled of late, I now tun with the Channels Settings permanently open below the Event Display. This gives me immediate access to everything when selecting a track.

If the Channel Settings could be moved outside the main window - like the Transport - then I'd be very happy. I'd be happier still if Steinberg put the original Window Layouts back, so that I could switch layouts in a useful way - as I still do in Nuendo 1.

Hm, guess I will have to get used to it for now, but seriously, I will plague the Steinberg dudes to death in case they don't (optionally) change at least some of those handling issues (I could easily name quite a few more) in the future.

I, and a number of others, have bombarded Steinberg about this since SX1 was released and the writing was on the wall. Frankly, things got worse in SX2, and I see no sign of things getting better. I already mentioned the removal of the mono/stereo toggle, then there's the removal of direct access to the master effects, and the snap to zero crossing button being made a preference rather than a button. The list goes on - these are not things that someone who routinely makes music would remove. I still use Nuendo 1 mostly, since it is far quicker for most things, until it comes to mixing, when PDC is too good to miss. Crazy, but true.

[MacQ]

But why in the world isn't that possible with VSTi tracks as well? At least there should be an option to open the audio mixer rather than the MIDI mixer channel!

Well, it makes perfect sense, actually. Logic's VSTi implementation was half-assed, and for the longest time didn't support multi-output VSTi's. Cubase's implementation *IS* the correct method. Consequently, when you want to edit the VSTi channel, Cubase has no way of knowing WHICH VSTi channel of a multi-out VSTi you want to edit.

I don't know if the VSTi spec supports the reporting to the host of WHICH MIDI channel has its audio routed to WHICH output channel on the VSTi, but it probably should.

Logic's sub-standard VSTi support actually made it MORE handy for a lot of people (including yourself), but I'm used to the hotkeys for bringing up the mixer, and I embed my MIDI channels in the VSTi automation channels anyway, so I'm used to it. It's not a work-around when you've ALWAYS done something that way, at least for me. I still hope they sort SOMETHING out, though ... I've often wished for the same functionality.

Good luck,

(stu.macQ)