Cubase 6 and Yamaha Workstation/ studio connections

This is really just a topic that I’d like for people to talk about because it seems to me that Cubase and Yamaha workstations should seamlessly work together. I Installed the drivers for the Yamaha mo6, the studio connections and studio manager from Yamaha. I still to this day haven’t figured out how to configure the two together so that song and pattern tracks in the Yamaha workstation display midi information in individual tracks in cubase. Also is it even possible to mixdown and export sounds from cubase that have been routed from an external tone generator such as my yamaha. Any info here would be great! By the way, I realize that there are Manuel instructions for how to set connections and configure buses and channels. I plan on getting a simple interface before I set things up. Is there any advice on when to use hardware/interface EQ vs DAW EQ? Any problems that you have encountered in the passed related to this may help out if I know ahead of time.

Apart from simply providing a MIDI IN and OUT connection between C6 and a Motif XS/XF where C6 will just see the Motif as another external synth, Yamaha offer a number of ways of integrating the two products using USB or Firewire:

  1. Using the Cubase Motif XS VSTi (or, optionally, Studio Manager and the External Motif XS editor if you’re working in the 32-bit version), you can use the Motif XS as if it’s a VSTi instrument. Editing sounds/performances/effects etc on the XS are reflected in real-time in the C6 editor. Conversely, editing in C6 causes real-time changes on the XS.

Switching the XS into song mode creates a muti-part VSTi in C6 and allows voice selection and mixing directly from from C6.

  1. You can hit the “Remote” button on the Motif and its controls will emulate a Mackie Controller in C6 whilst the sound engine remains completely accessible by MIDI.

  2. Yamaha provide VST connection and project templates for the Motif for a variety of configurations and tasks.

Even if you don’t use the USB/Firewire connectivity you can still inter-work between the two products:

  1. To transfer material created and edited on the Motif XS to work on it in C6, save the material as a song file (.XOA or .XOS) and then load it directly into C6.

  2. To transfer material from C6 to the Motif, export the material as SMF and load it into the Motif as a song. If you’re using the Motif VSTi editor the mix should already be on the Motif. (It would be better if C6 offered an export in .XOS/.XOA format but the SMF approach works even if it’s a little cumbersome).

Any of this any help?

James

All of this is right on. Although the equipment of interest here to me is the MO6 rather than the XS I believe all the same info. still applies. Do you know if in 64 bit Cubase studio the MO6 can also be set-up as a VSTi listing ? I’m interested in that certainly… :slight_smile: BTW, everything here was extremely helpful.

Actually, I don’t physically know how to make the connection I need. I know all the players though. I have a firewire audio interface with outputs to speakers and a mono input out of my mo6 to on of the unbalanced inputs on my interface (the interface is also connection to my computer obviously). I have studio manager downloaded and I have my mo6 set up as a vst in cubase. However, I don’t know how to configure the buses so that I can hear the sound come out of the mo out of my monitors. And I don’t understand the function of send and recieve bulk or anything else about the mo user window. any help would be very appreciated.

I think there might be a slight difference between the XS integration and the MO6. AFAIK there isn’t a VST editor for the MO6. Instead you need to use these “external” editors via Studio Manager (functionally almost the same but a little more set-up to do):-

http://www.yamahasynth.com/downloads/drivers_software/synthesizers/mo/editor/

(One seems to be for multi and one for voice editing).

If they work the same way that the “external” editor for the XS works (which BTW is not available in 64-bit) then this is the way I used to work with the XS and the external editor:-

  1. Download and install the editors you need from the Yamaha site above (check you also have the dependent apps loaded eg Studio Manager v2);

  2. Make the appropriate MIDI and audio connections from/to the MO6 (eg via USB);

  3. In “Devices” make sure the MIDI channels for the MO6 are not inactivated or hidden (they shouldn’t be by default);

  4. In “Eternal Instruments” set-up the MO6 and assign the audio returns as appropriate;

  5. Start Studio Manager from within C6 and, if necessary, load the MO6 editors into its workspace (it should find them by itself if they are in their default directories);

  6. Load the created MO6 external instrument in the instrument rack;

  7. Create a MIDI track and assign it to the MO6 instrument;

  8. If the editor doesn’ open on its own, click the “e” on the track or inspector and the MO6 editor should open.

  9. Check the “set-up” page in the MO6 editor to make sure it has the correct MIDI and Audio I/O assignments. Make sure the editor on set to be “on-line”.(NB Big assumption here that the MO6 editor has the same functionality/set-up page as the XS external editor.)

  10. Set monitor on for the MIDI track and play the MO6. MIDI should now route to the instrument and audio return from it. (On the XS version of the editor there is a virtual keyboard which lights up as you press the keys on the actual instrument.) If all is working as it should (and it’s similar to the XS version) edits you make on the MO6 are reflected in real-time in the on-screen editor and vice versa.

Hope this is of some help.

James

the root of my problem is in associating tracks in cubase with parts in my yamaha editor (i.e. parts in my mo6) I have the yamaha in song mode and want to record the song tracks in individual cubase tracks. My problem is channels.