Installing my old Yamaha TG500 with MIDI Device Manager was breeze.
Setting it up as an External Instrument in VST Connections was also easy.
But routing the audio was puzzling.
In VST Connections, I set the Audio Device/Device Port return bus for the actual connections to my interface. I hear sound.
But when time to record the audio out, that connection is not available as an IN on the audio track.
So I create a new stereo input in the VST Con. Inputs tab which then feeds the audio track.
Is something off here?
At this point, I’m just going with the Inputs connections which works great.
When using as an external instrument it eliminates the purpose of having to “print” audio. You also have to render in real time because of this.
That said, you have 2 options. Set it up as a basic midi device (Non External Instrument)
or
Render to track.
Actually, there is a 3rd option and that is to setup an Audio Bus and record it. Ondo has a video out there where he will do a better job explaining than I can… I’ll see if I have it saved on my YTC.
My ext device appears as an option when selecting a VSTi for a track. But it seems odd that the return bus set up in the VST connections Ext Instrument tab is not published for rendering when attempting to route to an audio track.
No big deal.
My work around was to set up inputs in the Input tab which do appear in the audio track. This way I can monitor through the audio track, then render when needed.
I want to add something: It would be exremely helpful to have a record button on the vsti-tracks. This would eliminate the Need to “render” or record via re-routing when needed. Especially with external instruments that would make sense. Why?
Well, usually you use your external Instrument for more than one voice (maybe even with different sounds) even though it does not necesserily have multiple Audio Outputs. So the Option to wait with Rendering until the end of the recording session is no longer there, you HAVE TO print the Audio in order to proceed working.
Further the record Option on vsti-channels would eliminate the Need for “freezing”.
A Feature request IMHO (btw. would be great for ALL audio-channel-types!).
Swear to god I go to sleep mumbling this in my head nightly… Trust me, it’s been requested many, many, many times… Including here… Fingers crossed for CB8.
Not complicated at all… We are half way there with macros already… BIP with the simple option to do it in real time covers external instruments as well as VSTi’s…All in one function.
But I still prefer a consistent concept: “Record”. that would do everything. “Freeze” would be superflous then and “edit frozen parts” would come along with it quite naturally.
Setting up multi-timbral/multi-output routing only validates the approach of using audio tracks for both monitoring and recording. This means creating mono and stereo Inputs rather then using the External Instruments tab of VST Connections.
At this time, I’ll actually only record a single voice or performance from the TG500 as needed. Although I can find sounds in HALion that are very similar, it’s pretty cool to be able to record sounds from the hardware if needed.
Bounce in place is tops on my Cubase wish list
The record button feature would also be very cool, especially if the end result is that the audio track is automatically positioned under the source Instrument Track.
Kewl…
Thank you. 
Trust me, it’s been requested many, many, many times… 
