I’m running Cubase Elements 8 64 bit on a Win 7 64-bit OS. MOTU Audio Express interface. USB 2.0 connection. I am having difficulty getting a basic signal to the enabled audio track. Needless to say I’m a noob. If anyone can take a look at these screen shots and tell me what I am missing. I’ve chosen MOTU ASIO Audio as the driver. The track is enabled. I’ve chosen the Mic/Instrument Input 1 Mono. What am I missing ? Any help would be most sincerely appreciated.
What am I doing wrong here?
Let’s start here… A few things I see or don’t see.
You say you are trying to record an audio track through your moto input jack. I assume either through a mic or an instrument like a guitar.
I see a lot of assigned input busses but have you set an output buss correctly? It is tough to tell by the pics.
You could use a cubase project template but if creating your own you need to create a master stereo out track and assign the output of that audio track to it and the output of the master stereo out track to the moto output.
I see a flat lined audio signal on the track… Have you upped the gain on the moto enough to record an audible signal?
Also, you need to activate the track monitor to hear it while recording. It is the button that looks like a speaker to the right of the track record button (which I see is activated). During playback you need to deactivate the record and monitor functions.
Regards. 
Thanks for the response. So I have started a new project in Cubase so that I can reconfigure the Audio Inputs in VST Connections, just to make certain that I am doing it right. The following are the screen shots of the connections. I am having the same problem as earlier. I can hear the signal from my Guitar in the MOTU (Mark of the Unicorn) Audio Express USB Interface because I have my headphones plugged in to it. I can see there is a signal on the Mic/Instrument channel which is Line 1.
Try this…
Right click on the top task bar and click to show the track visibility controls. Once that is on the taskbar click on the track visibility agent button (looks like a house) and choose show all tracks. Hopefully now you will see the Input/Output track. Click on that I/O track (Stereo Out) and choose the edit channel setting button (looks like an “e” in the inspector). In that window make sure all the tracks in your project are set as being input to the I/O track (they already should be). If not, choose them. Close the edit channel window.
Now, when you want to hear any of your project tracks in your headphones make sure that the track record and monitor functions are not activated. Click play and… all happy (I hope).
It is also a good idea to open the MixConsole and check there to make sure there is nothing muted and if the volume settings for each channel are set correctly. Also don’t forget that you probably have a volume knob on the MOTU for your headphone output that needs to be set correctly.
If this does not help, please supply the exact model of the MOTU interface you are using and if you have speakers connected to it or to your PC.
Regards
Prock, I truly appreciate your help but it seems that I must be retarded. I don’t see the “Track Visibility Controls”.
But I can get to these control settings in the pic below. Still if that was what you were referring to it is already set to Mic/instrument 1 on the input. All I really want to make certain of is that I can record a signal. If the Input channels are showing up in the in the VST Connections and the MOTU Audio ASIO in the Device Setup pane shouldn’t the signal arrive at the track since I have the Mic/Instrument 1 as the Input for the Track? I have the guitar signal in the headphone monitor on the actual MOTU Audio Express Interface. It is connected via USB 2.0. Truly appreciate your attempt at help but I can’t seem to get the signal to come through. I clicked on the Little “e” in the track control but I just see the same INPUT and OUTPUT as it should be set on the track controls. Sincere apologies for being so dense.
Maybe a stupid question, but it seems your Cubase inputs and outputs are correct: is your interface actually using the USB-connection and not the FireWire one? Otherwise, can you check if simply Windows sees the audio coming in?
I checked that too. I’ve been over the MOTU Audio Express Manual a thousand times and the Audio Express is connected to a USB 2.0 Port on the computer and it is properly powered by the specific power supply that came with the Audio Express. I actually built this computer myself last summer and I checked the Motherboard Specs and indeed the USB port is 2.0 which is necessary of course for the MOTU Audio Express. I have the Cubase 6 book in the “Power” series of books and I’ve followed along in that as well and still can’t see what I am doing wrong. I actually went ahead and now ordered a UR12 2x2 USB Steinberg interface to see if that will work better. I think it must be something quite simple that I am missing. I truly appreciate your attempt to help. Where can I Thank You officially?
Unofficially is fine, thanks 
(but there is a thumbs up icon next to ‘quote’ in each message) Did you check if Windows has the audio coming in? If you select the MotU as Windows recording source?
Excuse my complete ignorance. Where do I choose MotU as the Windows recording source? Do you mean from within Cubase? I can see that the MotU Audio Express is indeed connected to my Computer in the Devices control panel there is an icon for it.
If we can take a step or two back… you said:
Are these the same headphones that you using for monitoring when you’re hearing nothing and are they connected to the same output as for your input monitoring? I ask as on many interfaces there is somewhere a mix dial which determines what you hear from the headphones. If this dial is full on input monitoring then you won’t hear the output.
You also say
…I can see there is a signal on the Mic/Instrument channel which is Line 1.]
Is this on Steinberg’s Mixer, if not then where can you see the input and is it proportional to the signal or just a background level?
Planarchist has some good points. What I meant with checking the input as Windows recording source, was to see if the interface does send it to Windows - and that way leave Cubase out of it for troubleshooting. Check ‘Sound’ from Windows configurations and select the ‘Recording’ tab. If you there select the MotU ASIO and send some sound into it, Windows should show (and play) that audio. If that is correct, your problem is within Cubase and its settings.
Thanks Planarchist and Arjan P for staying with me on this problem. So I opened the Windows Sound Control Panel and I see some of the MOTU Audio Express channels and I have selected the one that I am plugged into with my guitar. I can hear the Guitar through the Phone Monitor on the Audio Express ( which by the way can be set to monitor the main outs, or , the main outs and the head phones, or lastly just the headphones). Still more importantly I can hear the signal in the phones mix on the Audio Express but I do not see any signal registering in the Windows Sound Control Panel. This demonstrates my level of ignorance to say the least. But your point and question is very helpful because now I am convinced I have a more fundamental settings problem with the MOTU Audio Express. The following is a screen snip of what I am looking at in the Windows Sound Control Panel. At least this gives me a clue that my problem starts with the MOTU Audio Express. Not only am I inexperienced, I am even more inexperienced on Windows than I am with Apple OS X. Any further advice would be most appreciated, but if I continue to have problems getting a guitar signal into the Computer I will simply call up MOTU Tech Support and see if they can help me locate what I am missing. The MOTU Audio Express is a little confusing because almost every single knob has multiple contextual functions.Although I thought I had it straight in my head by now. Thank You once again Planarchist and Arjan P. Any futher advice would be most sincerely appreciated.
BTW Can the fact that I have a Creative Sound Blaster Sound Card installed in this computer be interfering with the incoming signal to the MOTU Audio Express? I am assuming that is possible as well. Although I should be able to change the settings.
No problem, the settings in the Windows Control Panel that you showed look OK to me so I don’t think that’s the issue.
I don’t think you answered my second question…
[quote=“planarchist”]You also say
…I can see there is a signal on the Mic/Instrument channel which is Line 1.]
Is this on Steinberg’s Mixer, if not then where can you see the input and is it proportional to the signal or just a background level?
An answer here would be most useful in tracking the source of your problems.
My sound setup shows different from your last photo… could be the issue.
Under the sound “recording” tab my PreSonus audio interface is set as the default device under “Line-in”.
Under the sound “playback” tab (which you don’t show) my audio interface is NOT set as the default device under “speakers”. My PC sound card is. My PreSonus shows up in that tab under “speakers” but it is not set as default.
This works perfectly for me. Meaning the only sounds I get through my good studio monitors and headphones connected to my PreSonus interface come from Cubase. All other sounds like youtube vids and typical PC sounds are sent to my cheapo PC speakers through my PCs sound card.
Regards
I notice this is about 3 years later but i’m having the exact same problem using a Phonic Celeus 100 mixer connected via USB to my laptop except I do get input signal when I look in Sound in the control panel, I can’t get Cubase to register a signal from the USB port?
I’m also having the exact same problem. How exactly did you fix it? Thanks in advance, any help would be greatly appreciated
.