So I recently built a new PC and purchased Cubase 8 simultaneously. I was working on an old PC and Cubase 6 previously. Both the old and the new are Windows 7 Home Premium; old being 32 bit, new being 64 bit. The audio interface I have been using is a MOTU UltraLite mk3-Hybrid, which worked fine on my old machine, but has been nothing but a headache on the new machine.
The process:
Turn on the PC; Power up the MOTU; open Cubase. Upon initially opening a project, the meters in Cubase will move as if audio is playing, but no sound comes out of the audio sources (monitors or headphones). If I close Cubase and reopen it OR open the device management window in Cubase, then the meter cease to move all together.
The only times I am able to get sound to come out of the MOTU are 1) the very first time I install the driver or 2) if I turn the PC off, reboot, plug in my travel interface (a Roland Quad-Capture that works perfectly with this build and Cubase 8), select the Quad-Capture upon being prompted when Cubase is loading, open a session, close the session, close Cubase, unplug the Quad-Capture, plug in the MOTU and reopen Cubase. Only THEN will the MOTU work like it used to on the old PC with Cubase 6.
I have disabled all other audio devices and the on board sound card. The drivers being used are the most current “MOTU Audio Installer” drivers on their website for Windows. I have tried some of the legacy drivers and the issues remain.
Please help me with this… I’m ready to chuck this MOTU into the pool.
When the meters in Cubase are moving but no audio coming out of the interface (as described above), the “Main Out” meters are not moving on the MOTU at all. However, the meter for input 6 is as high as it can go; but nothing is plugged into input 6.
It might be worth putting some more info about your specific setup in here so people can try and help troubleshoot.
Does it play sound if any other applications are using the soundcard besides Cubase? Have you tried different ports to the one you’re using for the soundcard?
I don’t know much about MOTU stuff, other than anyone I’ve known using them on PC has sold them due to getting bored of the eternal headache it gave them. Mac crew I know seem to have a lot more joy with them, though you had it working well previously, so it could possibly be a Cubase issue which will be fixed in the upcoming, much needed update!
Are you using USB or Firewire? What kind of motherboard do you have?
Before you open Cubase, do the formats in the Windows sound panel (Khz, bit rate), match the format of the MOTU control panel? What happens when you open the MOTU control panel while no other programs are running? Are you able to adjust the sample rate? If so, does it match up with the display on your device? Does regular audio work in Windows? i.e. Media Player.
I am using USB connections. I have tried multiple USB ports, both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. The relevant specs of the PC:
Processor- Intel Core i5-4690K @ 3.5GHz
RAM- 16GB
Motherboard- ASUS Z97-A
Video Card- MSI R9-270
Does it play sound if any other applications are using the soundcard besides Cubase?
So when I can get it to play sound through Cubase (either sometimes on the initial run after re-installing the drivers; or by doing the trick with the Roland Quad-Capture which works occasionally), then it will also play the audio from other media sources such as Windows Media Player and my internet browser.
Have you tried different ports to the one you’re using for the soundcard?
By ports, if you mean USB ports, yes I have. Same results.
Before you open Cubase, do the formats in the Windows sound panel (Khz, bit rate), match the format of the MOTU control panel? What happens when you open the MOTU control panel while no other programs are running? Are you able to adjust the sample rate? If so, does it match up with the display on your device? Does regular audio work in Windows? i.e. Media Player.
I have uninstalled Cubase 8 and all the related MOTU drivers and I am reinstalling everything at the moment. I will provide this information when everything finishes.
The MOTU control panel seems to be the source of some of the problems. If I open the control panel (either in Cubase or independently with Cubase closed) and it is one of the rare instances when the audio is working, it ceases to work and defaults back to silence. It says I am able to adjust the sample rate, and the front of the MOTU reflects this change, but then the sound disappears.
Here’s more information:
Occasionally I will get a high pitched, constant noise coming out of my speakers and headphones simultaneously until I power down the MOTU.
When the meters are moving in Cubase but no sound is coming out, the “Output 6” meter on the interface is on full blast. Also, in these same circumstances, I can open the audio devices in my control panel and “test” the main outs. The meter appears to move on the screen, but the MOTU has no reaction. When I play audio from another source other than Cubase and keep the “audio devices” window open, the main outs meter moves so long as I have it selected as the “default audio device.”
I installed Cubase 8 and the MOTU drivers onto my laptop and it works perfectly… So it’s looking like it’s something that’s going on with the interplay between Cubase, the MOTU and the new PC.
Also, I have two hard drives in the new PC; a SSD and a hard disc drive. The OS, Cubase and the MOTU drivers are on the SSD.
If I open the MOTU control panel while no other program is running and adjust the sample rate, the front of the device reflects the changes made in the control panel.
However, now that I installed the MOTU drivers again, my PC will no longer even open the “manage audio devices” panel. I turn off the MOTU, reboot and leave the MOTU off, it will open “manage audio devices” in the control panel again, like normal. I turn on the MOTU, and it will still open and display all of the MOTU outs in the “Playback” tab as grayed out but not disabled and my motherboard’s sound card is default selected as the “default.” Same goes for the “Recording” tab; the motherboard’s “Stereo Mix- Realtek High Definition Audio” is defaulted.
Also, the defaulted “properties” when right clicking “MOTU Main Out 1-2” under the playback tab are as follows: Sample Rates- 48k, Advanced tab- Default Format; Select the Sample Rate and Bit depth to be used when running in shared mode. “2 channel, 16 bit, 44100 HZ (CD Quality)”; both “Exclusive Mode” boxes are checked.
If I change the sample rate in the control panel with no other windows open, the front of the MOTU reflects this. HOWEVER, when I open Cubase and start a new projects, it defaults back to 44.1 kHz- 16 bit and the front of the MOTU reflects this as well.
I can’t give specific information as I didn’t get any details as to why, but I had serious issues with an Asus laptop and a Steinberg interface which worked perfectly everywhere else, just wondering if there aren’t Asus USB issues, but I do hope not, for your sake.
The problem has been rectified! For anyone having this similar issues:
The MOTU UltraLite mk3 Hybrid has problems with USB3. While you might already be saying “I know that, and I’m plugged into one of my USB2 ports” like I was, that was not enough in my case.
I had to disable the xHCI USB3 controller in the BIOS even though I was plugged into one of my USB2 ports. For some reason, that xHCI still messes with your USB2 ports.
