Cubase Pro Doesn't Send MIDI to External Roland USB Keyboard

Cubase
1

Hi everybody. I have a perplexing MIDI problem, and I’m hoping someone can help:

Cubase Pro 9 can’t play my Roland keyboard. No sound comes from the keyboard, whether I play the keyboard itself or try to play it with a MIDI object in Cubase. In contrast, if I use Midi-Ox software and Reaper DAW software, then I can transmit MIDI to the same keyboard. So I think Cubase is at fault, or I’ve set it up incorrectly.

On the Roland keyboard, Local Control is turned OFF. The keyboard is connected directly via USB to my Windows 8.1 computer. Cubase is successfully receiving MIDI from the keyboard, but apparently, it is not sending the MIDI back to the keyboard.

I’ve attached two jpg files showing various screen shots of my MIDI settings in Cubase.

Here are three tests I’ve tried:

Test 1: I have confirmed that MIDI messages can be transmitted from the keyboard to the computer and then back to the keyboard, via Midi-Ox and the USB cable. (Specifically, using Midi-Ox, when I play the keyboard, I can hear sound coming from the studio monitors, via my Steinberg UR44 audio interface. Even if I turn off the UR44, I can still hear the keyboard sound through headphones. Also, the Midi-Ox software still displays the input and output MIDI activity.)

Test 2: I can play the Roland keyboard from within Reaper. But this works only if the UR44 audio interface is turned on. Given that the UR44 is required, I assume it’s involved somehow in transmitting the MIDI back to the keyboard via the USB cable. So the UR44 seems to be functioning correctly. On the other hand, the USB cable is plugged into the computer, not the UR44. But even so, if Reaper can transmit MIDI back to the keyboard, why can’t Cubase?

Test 3: Cubase Pro 9 can successfully transmit MIDI to my two other external synth modules, using a routing setup similar to what I’m using for the Roland keyboard. The only difference I am aware of is that the two synth modules are connected to the UR44 via legacy MIDI cables, whereas the Roland is connected to the computer via USB.

It’s hard to believe that Cubase can’t do what Reaper and Midi-Ox can do. But having now spent over 16 hours working on this, I’ve run out of ideas. Does anyone know what I’m doing wrong?

Please look at the two jpg files I’ve attached, and let me know what you think. Many thanks for any advice you can offer.


For your reference, here’s my setup:

Cubase Pro 9.0.2
Reaper version 5.29/x64
Windows 8.1, 64 bit
Roland F-140R Keyboard, which uses a Microsoft USB driver.
Audio Interface: Steinberg UR44 connected via USB
Processor: Intel Skylake i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00GHz
RAM Memory: 32 GB

Thanks.

Midi Problem Cubase 9 June 2017 A.jpg
Midi Problem Cubase 9 June 2017 A.jpg3227×5084 1.79 MB

Midi Problem Cubase 9 June 2017 B.jpg
Midi Problem Cubase 9 June 2017 B.jpg3286×5066 1.74 MB

2

Here’s an experiment which didn’t solve the problem, but it produced a different result:
I started here: Devices menu / Midi Device Manager
I clicked on the Roland Piano external keyboard in the left pane to select it.
Then in the Output dropdown box at the bottom of the dialog, I chose Roland Digital Piano, instead of UR44.

After this procedure, I could hear the Roland keyboard, but I was not able to mute it. I also got unacceptable latency – a lag between playing and hearing the keyboard.

It seems odd that I don’t get any of this trouble in Reaper. In Reaper, the keyboard plays instantly, and I can mute it too.

3

Thanks to Yamaha / Steinberg for the fantastic tech support. Here’s what worked for me:

The UR44 dspMixFx software and driver had to be uninstalled and reinstalled using the latest version. Doing this solved the problem of notes playing even when the channel or track was muted.

Also, the Cubase preferences folder had to be renamed, and then Cubase was restarted to force creation of new preferences files. Find the folder in this path:
C:\Users\Your User Name\AppData\Roaming\Steinberg\Cubase 9_64\

After that, I had to copy and paste my custom patch name scripts into this folder again:
C:\Users\Your User Name \AppData\Roaming\Steinberg\Cubase 9_64\Scripts\Patchnames\inactive\Your Instrument Folder

Also, in Cubase, this step was needed:
in Devices menu / Midi Device Manager
I clicked on the Roland Piano external keyboard in the left pane to select it.
Then in the Output dropdown box at the bottom of the dialog, I chose Roland Digital Piano, instead of UR44.
This setting pertains to the MIDI output.