I have had Cubase 5 now for 8 months and never got it fully configured. I recently upgraded to Cubase 6 and I could really use some assistance in setting everything up as nothing I seem to do works.
I have the following:
MacBook Pro running Mac SO X 10.6.6 2.8 gHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 Ram
Motif XS8 - all updated patches, firmware, updated mLAN driver, updated firewire driver etc.
M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8r USB2.0
Nothing I do here seems to work correctly or it isn’t intuitive.
First it is unclear how best to config the seamless operation of the MOtif to Cubase. mLAN, VST, Midi or via external instrument
Second it seems as though I can’t configure to have both the Fast Track Ultra 8R and the Motif operation at the same time as I am only allowed to select 1 ASIO driver at a time.
Even when I try just to set up the motif as an external vst instrument I get inconsistent results and nothing works as expected.
Use your Maudio as your interface (VST instruments) and trigger the motif via MIDI and mix the two in an analog desk and later venture out into the unknown.
First there is no program permitting more than one instance of ASIO driver.
Some of your issues lie with your hardware. I am not familiar with the operation of the Motif … but conceptually you do not want to use it as intended … as a workstation. What you want to use it as is a midi controller and a synthesizer. What ever hardware, possibly the mLan?, the Motif uses to connect its midi port or ports to Cubase must be activated … and of course physically patched … in Cubase. Go to Devices>Midi Devices and check the field to see the ports to make sure they are present. Next, once that is confirmed, you will find the ports available in the inspector panel once you add a midi track to the project. You will select the Motif midi port from you Motif if you want to use the keyboard as a midi controller … sending notes without any identified sound source. You will select your Motif from the output choice below if you want to send midi messages to trigger your Motif sounds. You will have to configure your Motif in midi devices to enable access to your banks. You maybe able to find a premade template that will properly name and address all the Motif sounds directly from the inspector window. Since you can’t use your ASIO that comes with the Motif, persumably mLan, you will have to patch your audio outputs on the Motif back through your M-Audio interface. Your problem now maybe that you are unable to send back your multi-timbral audio on discrete audio channels … depending of course on the audio output configuration of the Motif and the input configuration of the M-Audio interface.
Some setup questions may be best answered on a Motif forum, since particulars about getting hardware to work usually pertain more to the hardware than the DAW you are using them in.
I’m sorry if what I’m saying is too basic, but it’s hard to know where to start with a question such as yours.
When I posted same thread to Motifator Forum Bad_Mister came back and recommends that I set the Motif up as an external instrument via Yamaha Steinberg FW Driver 1.7.0 so that I can take full advantage of the 22 audio channels, and the multiple ports of midi. 16 Audio outputs from the XS to the mac and 3 pair of audio returns from the DAW to the motif.
Anyone have any experience in setting that up?
Want to get that set up and fully working first. Later I can explore setting up an aggregate device to see if I can get the M-Audio device to work in conjunction with the Motif but want to do one thing at a time first.
Here are some basic suggestions. Make sure your FW card/driver is one of the more recommended ones for DAWs. This was a problem for me at one time. My driver cut out and I would lose all sound. Wouldn’t come back until after a reboot.
Cubase AFAIK, can only use one ASIO driver at one time, but this is at the moment only peripheral to what you are doing.
To set up the Motif as an external instrument, you first need to set it up as a midi device. Devices → Midi Device Manager [Install Device]
I see a number of Yamaha Motif’s in there, so hopefully yours will match.
Then to set up External Instruments, go to Devices → VST Connections → External Instruments
Create a Name for it, the return ports (I believe this can be changed later), and then press the “Associate Midi Device” button.
It may take some fiddling around with it to get it to work, but it shoudn’t be too difficult. If firewire doesn’t work, you can always use a USB port to assign the keyboard. I know Cubase recognizes midi instruments well with USB, as that is what I use with my Fantom.
Don’t USB 2.0 and Firewire transmit at roughly the same data rates 480 (USB 2.0) and 400 (Firewire)?
Another thought I had is getting rid of the M-Audio Device and upgrading to a Yamaha n8 or n12? Question here is do they use the same driver Yamaha Steinberg FW Drtiver 1.7.0? If so that might be the best full function solution then no aggregagte device needs to be created.
Yamaha have made firewire devices for Steinberg that are fully integrated into the driver, as well the more expensive version has built in Reverb that is accessible via VST3, as are the Motif soundsets.
Haven’t really heard much about how (well) it works but it’s obviously an improvement on MLan as it is backed by Steinberg and so long as Yamaha keep making the units there will be driver support but under Win7 it will likely be stable for some years yet.
Thanks to some helpful advice from Bad Mister on the Motifator forum I was able to first get the Motif XS8 setup and fully functional as an etxernal instrument. I then last Friday after saving all the configs and taking screenshots of everything and saving my working configurations decided to try my hand at creating an aggregate device with the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R and the Motif XS 8.
The device shows up fine in the Mac Audio/Midi Device windows but when I entered Cubase and looked at the device after selecting it as the new VST audio device it shows up but has all of the ports miss named. Quite a mess to look at and not easy to interrprut what bus maps to which device and alot of them completely miss named. It took over an hour to determine what bus name corresponded to which device and bus. I had to rename them all accordingly as I stepped through and tested them all.
In the end I finally got it setup and fully functional and saved the working configs.
I’ve got a Motif XS8 and an N12 working via Firewire faultlessly with C6. Allows me to do the grunt work on C6, load the “project” on to the Motif and, if necessary, tweak it at the gig. When I get back I can transfer the “tweaked” file back to C6 either for further work or just to archive.
The N12 is a stunning bit of kit - I’m surprised it’s not more famous than it is.
Cool James so the Motif XS8 and the Yamaha n12 then dtspse the same ASIO driver Yamaha Steinberg FW driver 1.7.0 then and no need to create an aggregate device?
You just physically chain the FW connection from the PC to the Motif XS and then on to the N12.
The Yamaha FW driver detects both devices on the “network”. You can choose which you want to provide clock from the FW control panel.
Install the Motif VST editor and load the Motif XS and N12 extensions for Cubase. All the Motif and N12 busses (plus some templates) are then available. You’ll get another option in the File menu which allows you to load a Motif song file into Cubase. And, of course, the realtime Motif VST editor. If Cubase were able to export an XOS file, which it isn’t, then the interworking would be complete.
Seems like a solid work horse! Now I just have to save up so I can purchase the n12 until then I will use the maudio device as I have it configured now.
Thanks John, this has worked for me so far. Got the Rack XS connected as an external instrument Cubase 7 on mac 64bit. Can create tracks and select sounds. Will be connecting keyboard to get sound out of DAW. I’ll let let you know how it goes.
