Playback is uneven with short stops and skips.

Cubase
1

I have a UR44 and with it came Cubase AI. With it I use the ASIO driver supplied by Yamaha. My computer system runs on Windows 8.1, 64 bits, 1 TB SD-disk, Intel I5-3550 CPU at 3,7 GHz, 32 gigabytes of RAM and I use the 64 bit version of Cubase AI.

Everything worked fine in the beginning, and I created a composition using only MIDI tracks.

Now, half a year later, Cubase AI has developed a problem. At uneven intervals playing stops for a fraction of a second, then starts again, sometimes skipping forwards another fraction of a second.

Note that this happens even if I have nothing recorded, and that I do not use any audio tracks. The bar/beat/tick counter shown in the transport bar also stops, and this can be seen regardless of project, tracks and track types I use. It even happens if I start play with no project loaded!

Also note that everything works fine with other MIDI programs, like Cubase SE, so the UR44 is ok as is all my other MIDI devices.

I have tried different ASIO settings (but those should not have any effect on MIDI only projects, right?), and re-installing Cubase AI and Tools, but nothing helps.

Something must have happened during the last few months, but I cannot see what that could be. Some Windows update maybe?

Does anybody have a solution to this problem?

2

Finally got it.

Strange enough it was the USB cable. I cannot explain how that can be unless Cubase AI uses some more sensitive protocol than e.g. Cubase SE and Cubasis VST 5, which both works fine with the ‘faulty’ USB cable. However, since everything else failed, including full wipe out and re-installation of my system disc, I tried by replacing the USB cable, and now everything works fine. I also verified by re-inserting the faulty USB cable, and the problem came back. Maybe it has some less contact on one connector, causing signal level drops, I don’t know.

Anyway, if you ever have reason to suspect communication problems with your music lab, even a seemingly functional USB cable might be the cause. It’s a simple test to try replacing it.