Adding external instrument

So so sorry if this has been covered previously, I have scoured for a while and couldn’t find anything.

I have just upgraded from 5 to 7.5 on mac and can’t seem to get my external instruments to activate over midi.

I set up the ex inst in connections and choose it from the vst instrument list, but, there is no activity on the instrument? I know its all connected properly because it works on 5 and within Logic x, just not on cubase? I can get audio by pressing the demo button but no midi?

I have a m-audio firewire device that is chosen as the midi device but nothing, I’m currently going through the manual but wondered if there was any known issues regarding this?

Try doing it in a new project. Make sure that you have the right midi out channels set. Also I’m not sure but in the midi preferences you might have to tick midi thru.

Try right clicking on one of the external instruments in the connections window.
Should be an option to “connect or re-connect” there.

Thanks for the input.

It seems that if I open a new project and then open the vst instruments, add my external inst and then create a midi track I can get it to work. But, this seems a little hit and miss and sometimes it just drops out and loses midi all together.
This is quite frustrating and not as robust as it was in 5. I don’t like having that niggling doubt that my sound module may just not work when I am in full flow. I also don’t like being forced to use VST’s

My main issue is that we can’t save the external instruments setups in the connections window.
If you load or start another project that uses those inputs for something else, the externals have to be re-connected every damn time. Lame.