I am losing far too much time to re-routing and re-setting up templates that have already been established, because every time I change interface, audio routing in Cubase breaks.
I would like to know, please, if there is a fix on the horizon and when it can be expected.
My setup:
- M2 Macbook, latest OS
- Cubase 15, latest updates etc.
- Motu 16a (when connected at desk/studio workspace, which is 8 stereo inputs from various devices). I use this as part of an aggregate device (called All In/Out), but whether I use aggregate device or Motu 16a itself, or any other interface, the problems are the same. In short - an audio interface.
- Control Room set up for monitors
- Four stereo External Effects units.
- I work in 48khz/24bit
- When travelling/mobile/in another room, I use the macbook headphones output
My workflow/use case: I switch between a Macbook with interface and Macbook-only (i.e. build-in audio). But the way Cubase breaks connections when switching between interfaces makes this almost impossible.
The problems: below are some of the issues.
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Macbook Built-In Audio: Firstly, I could say that life would be better if the below window just didn’t exist!
This Video shows typical behaviour when switching from Motu 16a to Built-In Audio.
00:00 Shows Motu 16a set up in Control Room working as normal
00:08 Switch to Built-In Audio
00:20 Shows that outputs by default don’t route anywhere
00:28 I have to go back in to Studio Setup > Built-in Audio > Control Panel, to the above window, and manually select the Speakers output (automatically configure devices seems to do…nothing?)
(Note that headphone output is nowhere to be found because there are currently no headphones connected.)
01:00 I plug in headphones, but because I had the above window already open, they don’t show up, so I close it and open it again, and the connection shows up.
01:10 I can only choose speakers or headphone output, not both. That’s not really a problem for me, but seems like a surprising limitation.
01:20 Finally headphones are routed.
On top of the above, there has been a separate issue where sometimes built-in audio headphone output does not work, and the only way I’ve found around it is to create an aggregate device using only external headphones output, and for some reason that works. Again, it seems like a separate issue.
The main important issue: routing to built-in audio and using built-in headphone output should be far more automatic.
Why doesn’t selecting the Built-in Audio automatically select the built-in speakers? Why isn’t switching to headphones automatic swap-over, why does it involve menu diving? Switching back and forth between headphones/speakers is essentially unfeasible.
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External Effects: This video shows the typical behaviour.
00:00 Shows typical Motu 16a connections. Once set up, everything works fine.
00:26 I disconnect and use built in audio, the connections show as not connected, which can be expected.
00:54 I reconnect to the Motu 16a, the connections are still broken, and I have to re-route everything one by one. Every. Single. Time.
There is no preset for External Effects. I have my External Effects saved as “Favorites”, but these create separate issues. While Favorites seems to retain ins/out, in order to reload a favorite I have to delete the existing FX track, which means that FX insert it disappears from any tracks it might’ve been used on.
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Templates: Even when using a saved template, these connections will break if I’ve switched interface since last using that template. It seems to me that audio connections are not saved with the template in a reliable way.
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Ins/Outs: these are only marginally better thanks to presets, but still, if I reconnect to the Motu 16a, Cubase will automatically assign seemingly “random” ins and outs to any connections.
Elsewhere, ins and outs cannot be re-ordered in the Audio Connections window. If I have 12 inputs and for some reason delete and re-create Input 1, it will go to the bottom of the list after 12, and cannot be re-ordered. Just messy. The only way to properly order inputs is to recreate them all in the exact order.
I am sure there are other things, but this is what I have to deal with every single time I even think about using Cubase disconnected from my interface.
What ends up happening is either I make less music, or I use other software. In my experience, Ableton Live and Logic Pro are both significantly better at handling these interface changes. The effect that this has on my relationship to Cubase and my relationship to music in general is difficult to understate. It absolutely crushes my workflow and sense of productivity.
I’d appreciate a clear response on the following:
- Are improvements to audio-device switching and routing restoration planned for Cubase 16?
- Will Cubase be able to restore existing input/output and External FX connections when the same interface is reconnected?
- Are improvements to template reliability and External FX configuration management planned?
- If these changes aren’t coming in Cubase 16, is there any indication of when they might be addressed?
What is needed is a global audio configuration preset.