When a surround track is routed to a surround group or output, the track’s panning controls (MixConsole) are non-functional. Double-clicking on the miniature panner reveals the Standard Panner (not the SurroundPanner, as one might expect) with all panning controls absent. It’s a blank box.
In researching this bug, I found a prior forum discussion where it was suggested that this functionality is by design. But, this appears to be incorrect. According to the Cubase 8.5 manual, page 590, “Whether the SurroundPanner V5 can be used for a specific input/output configuration, depends on whether this configuration can be mapped by the panner. The plug-in supports mapping of mono or stereo inputs to any surround configuration, as well as setups where the input and output channels have the same configuration.” So, 5.1-to-5.1 should work, right?
If, by chance, I’ve misunderstood the documentation and this is indeed by design, then I recommend that the documentation be updated to clarify that the SurroundPanner supports only mono and stereo inputs - not surround inputs - and that a third-party surround panner plugin is therefore necessary to adjust the panning of surround tracks, groups, etc.
To reproduce this bug, follow these steps:
- Launch a Cubase project with a 5.1 surround output
- Add an audio or instrument track with configuration of “5.1”
- Route the new track directly to your 5.1 output
- Open the MixConsole
- Notice the miniature panner on your new track is blank with no panning controls
- Double-click the miniature panner
- Notice the SurroundPanner doesn’t launch. The Standard Panner launches instead, and again, with no panning controls