Cubase 12: suddenly cannot play audio files (but synths work)

Cubase
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HI everybody,
I am not very familiar with the forums here, so I would like to apologize in advance if having posted the same question in German language in the German section might represent some sort of violation of forum rules. In that case please let me know, so I will immediatedly delete one of these posts.

That being out of the way: I am a new Cubase 12 pro user since last year. Before that I have been working with Cakewalk Sonar for almost two decades.

So, here’s the deal: Two days ago I suddenly realized that Cubase does not play any sounds from audio tracks anymore. I see the waveforms in the audiotracks, but the meters are dead, no elevation, no signal, while the cursor is moving forward (“play”) through the audio track.
These are normal Cubase project files that used to work properly before.
Even if create a new project from scratch and import an audio file, noting happens: I prpess play, the cursor moves, but all meters are dead silent.

However: When I create a synth track inside a Cubase project and load a synth or sampler such as Sampletaqnk4, and when I play the MIDI keyboard, I can hear the synth playing, there is normal audio signal.
So, iCubase plays audio from synths but not from audio tracks.
I went through all the settings (studio --auiconenctions…) and there is the correct audio device and the corrct in and outputs selected. In the audio properties menu, the right device is selected and all settings seem to be correct.

I hvae now watched a double digit number of youtube videos that deal with all sorts of audio problems in cubase but so far, I couldn’t find a solution.
And when I close Cubase and open the same audio files (that Cubase didn’t want to play) with a different stand alone audio editor such as RX10, they play normally and sound just as expected.
So, apparently, it’s not the sound device’s fault…

I have to admit that I am extremely lost as I have tried quite a few of things to solcve the problem, have researhed the internet a bit as well and now am just sinmply stuck with this “anomaly”…

Many thanks in advance for any hint or idea…

Here are my system specs:

  • Cubase 12 Pro (12.0.70 Build 464)
  • Windows 11 pro v 22H2
  • Intel NUC 12 (Wall Street Canyon) 12-core Alder Lake Core i5 CPU (1240p), 16 GB RAM, 3 SSDs: 2TB, 512GB, 512GB, for system/programs, sample storage and cubase projects
  • Focusrite Clarett 4Pre USB
2

Welcome, @Ottonis

Could you post here two screenshots of a Cubase project window showing both an audio track and an instrument one, with their respective inspector Routing section opened, this while the project is playing ?

Additionaly, screenshots of the Studio > Audio connections > Outputs/Control Room panels could also help.

As your audio interface doesn’t seem to be the culprit, I suspect a routing issue, with maybe the Control Room involved.

3

I am also having this issue in Cubase 12 Pro. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled the software, i’ve relocated the media in the project file but still nothing coming from any of my audio tracks. The synth tracks play fine and added audio tracks work like guitar files i dropped into the project, but the audio I recorded directly into cubase is not playing.

5

Hi Cherith and welcome to the forum!

After you recorded audio in Cubase, does the Audio Event in the Project Window look like there is audio available? Do you see an audio waveform?
If you open the Audio Pool window, are you able to drag one of your recordings to a new Audio Track and if you do, does that track play as expected?

6

First of all, many thanks for looking into this issue! I apologize for not responding, but I was AFK for several weeks.
Meanwhile, I have found a solution to my problem, as I had reason to believe that I had accidentally bricked my PC/Windows by doing some registry hacks and installing “Open Shell” on top of Windows 11: I guess that some silent automatic Windows update may have devastating interaction with those registry and shell modifications, ultimately not only causing Cubase to behave strangely but also many of my other Audio software, such as Native Access, which was not able to update anymore and install new libraries. Also, all of a sudden, new VSTs could not be properly installed. The computer started behaving like it was seriously compromised by a virus - or by some fool’s messing around with registry and the shell…

Long story short:
I wiped my Windows hard-drive and made a clean install of Windows 11, and subsequently also installed my entire audio plugins/software. I also used this opportunity to upgrade to Cubase 13, which I truly adore.
As of now, everything works just fine in Cubase: it does play audio files and also plays the instruments.
So, I am all set - for now (knocking on wood).

I know, this was not the most sophisticated way to solve a problem but rather a brute force attack: kill the system and set it up from scratch.
However, I am glad that I did it that way because now, the entire system seems so much more responsive overall.
And did I mention that I immediately fell in love in Cubase 13? The new Vocal chain and compressor plugins are amazing, and then the fine people at Steinberg even added such a sweet orchestral library as a free bonus…
I am still fairly new with Cubase but cannot stop wondering how deep, musician-friendly and versatile it is for almost all types of music production.

Best

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