No audio - hardware vs VST

Cubase
1

Cubase 6 - I’m using hardware Roland 3080 and I’m using several VST’s
within Cubase. Both of these sources have worked in the past, and
have presented no problems.
HOWEVER, lately I created 2 tracks - #1: the hardware synth out (using a
Focusrite Saffire audio Interface). When I play my KB controller, I get
the level indicators flickering, indicating Cubase has communication,
and indeed I get audible sound from my Roland.
BUT, in track #2 - Using any one of several VST instruments (doesn’t matter
which… they all cause same problem) I still get level indicators flickering when
I play my KB controller, indicating Cubase is recognizing, BUT I GET
NO AUDIO… I can’t hear anything at all. And I have indeed loaded
a VST instrument from whatever VST browser I’ve decided to use
No matter what I do, I can’t hear what I see happening on the screen… HELP.

2

Go to preferences, put any pref that says “MIDI” on Default Settings, and see if that helps.

3

And you are using MIDI tracks or Instrument tracks…?
And if Instrument tracks- What VSTi…?

4

I tried setting all MIDI prefs to default. No… doesn’t work.
Thanks for that suggestion.
I’ve tried everything. I still get level-indication on the screen that
responds to my KB presses. I also get indication on the screen that
any VIRTUAL Keyboards, when clicking its keys, is responding also.
BUT STILL NO SOUND - NO AUDIBLE SOUND.

Nothing wrong with my audio hook-up. Other sounds come thru fine.
And like I said before, I do get audible sound when using my hardware
synth. The problem seems to be SOFTWARE, and more particularly
VST instruments. (ALL my vst instruments cause this same problem)

I am playing my vst inst via a MIDI track, output to the vst.

5

If you create several midi bars and you go into the midi editor. Do you get sound now?

6

I entered some notes using the MIDI editor, and
played it back - still no audible sound, but I do see
level indicators lighting up when the hairline crosses the notes.

By the way - I copied the track, and played it back on
a track connected to my hardware Roland synth, and that DOES play back
with audible sound. Go figure ??

7

Don’t know if you solved it, yet, but just in case…

I guess that you already checked all the levels settings of your tracks (be careful that any MIDI level is set to 127, and that the input gain of your VSTis tracks is set to something high enough). These don’t seem to be involved as you get an activity in the levels indicators, but still… Once done, and after looking at your reports, I would carefully check my routing settings :

  1. In the mixer, check all your VSTis routing output (for instrument tracks, directly at the top of each of them in the ‘Ccontrol routing’ field and for MIDI + VST instrument tracks, at the top of each of the latters). Are they all routed to your main output bus ?

  2. In the ‘VST connections’ window (Alt+F4 here, but maybe I changed the key command for it, don’t remember) : does your Roland is used as a VST instrument in Cubase ? In other words, have you an input bus defined for it in the ‘External instruments’ pane and control the incoming signal from it in a VST Instrument track ? I ask this because if it’s the case and as it seems to work normally, your VSTis should also work provided that they are also routed to your main out bus.

  3. Also and maybe, if thr routing settings are not involved… Check the ‘Monitor’ settings of your VSTis tracks and look again in the ‘VST’ page the configuration of your ‘Audio monitoring’ setting, as well as the ‘Enable record on the selected… track’ two settings in the Editing/Project & mixer’ one. For the former, you have 4 options here that gives you control of how Cubase use the monitoring of your tracks. I always use the ‘Tapamachine style’, as an example, with the two ‘Enble record…’ settings ticked.

Can’t think of something else, presently. And it’s indeed a strange issue that, sadly, could take a little while to solve…

EDIT : just to check… Try to set up an FX track with, say, one of the Cubase reverbs at your disposal as insert in it, and define a send from one of your VSTi tracks to it. Do you get a signal in the FX track and is it audible ?

8

At this point I’m thinking of UNinstalling Cubase and REinstalling.
Don’t know what else to do…
BUT - Please help… Would this present other issues?
like, would I have to re-install my VST?
Or- What should I look out for before doing an Uninstall/Reinstall ?