I can’t hear my midi files in Cubase LE5. The sequence has loaded nicely but no playback sound, only a tick tock. I have an Audigy 4 soundcard.
Thats the sound of time ticking away…
As a beginner I’ve found a number of annoying problems like this. I’ve been able to fix them but still run into problems sometimes.
Look at the MIDI track, and look at what is selected for MIDI “output routing.” If it says “not connected” try to change it to Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth or whatever synthesizer is built into your operating system.
If that works, you know MIDI is working. If you are trying to send the MIDI to a keyboard or other MIDI instrument, make sure it is connected. Make sure you have a device driver installed. Set the Output routing to the device driver for that instrument. Make sure the instrument is configured to receive the MIDI.
I’ve also found that if MIDI is working with an instument, and then I disconnect and reconnect the instrument, the MIDI connection doesn’t work. If that is the case, I save and close Cubase, and then restart it, reopen the project, and it works.
Also check the MIDI “channel.” I’ve found the first track was 1 and worked, but when I created a 2nd MIDI track, the system put it in channel 2. I had to switch it back to Channel 1 to get it to play.
If you are still having problems, you may have to muck around in Devices | Device Setup and maybe Devices | VST Connections.
Hope this helps.
-Tom
Create a VST instrument track in your project.
Assign the output of the VST Instrument track to Halion (the VST that comes free with LE5)
Then drag the midi events on to the Instrument track. If your VST audio system is set correctly, you’ll hear the output from Halion.
Our alternatively, you can route the output of the midi track to GS Wavetable as Tom suggested. My experience is that the GS wavetable is plagued with poor latency (ie a long time between the note in the midi file and when you actually hear it).
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Thanks very kindly for your reply. Since my last post on the forum I’ve been reading the cubase manuals and it states that my sound card will need to be asio compatible to work well with cubase. I bought the soundcard a few years ago but remember specially requesting that it was asio compatible (audigy 4) The midi files play back OK with anvil but they have the typical cheesy midi sound.
I wish to modify old midi files into high quality guitar backing tracks using cubase. Good quality bass and drums backing tracks. I read somewhere that this can be done. Can I do this with the zoom r24 sampler ? What extra gear would I need ? Midi sound module ? I’m not really into midi at all, I’m a guitarist.
Try using the Halion Player vsti thats ships with cubase as Celtsound suggested, the sounds are less cheesy 
Cubase can quite well produce good audio playbacks from midi files.
The only problem is that LE5s HalionOne version has only included 25 or so sounds that means that it is not compatible with the general midi standard.
If you have third-party VSTi such as Kontakt 4 or else you change the sounds manually which is a bit of work but worthwhile.
If you own a bigger version of Cubase (Elements, Essential, Artist, Studio or the full version) Halion One or (since the release of C 6) HALionSonic SE are able to play general midi files correctly.
The HALionOne version of LE 5 unfortunately can not.
All playback modes are inactive in my Cubase midi editor setup. Audigy synth A and synth B are inactive. If le5’s halion one is not compatible with general midi files then that’s obviously the problem. Regular WAV files playback fine. There’s a link to VSTi plugins via cubase ?
In LE you need to use Instrument Tracks, not MIDI for VSTI’s. MS Wavetable and the Audigy synths are not for use in Cubase. You can use them, but the latency is over 50ms. They are for Windows and the Audigy’s use only, to play back MIDI files.
Ahoy mister celtsound - after two hours of hammering away at an existing midi drum track I stumbled on your response and I just gotta say thanks
I’d gotten close - I had created a separate track for the vst but never figured out how to link - that I could drag and drop was almost anti-climactic …
But thanks - I needed that 