Problems with the Harware Setup and CB7.5

There is a problem with the Hardware Setup and Cubase 7.5. Before looking at the specifics:

  1. I have set up the Control Room with two monitor systems (Main/Analog outputs 1 & 2 & Secondary/Digital SPDIF) and two Cue sends (outputs 3 & 4).
  2. If I recall correctly, what is called Cue was called Studio (outputs) in pre-7 versions of Cubase. The fact that all descriptions and screengrabs in the MR816 manual are from pre-7 Cubase (v4.5.1 continuously referred to), makes it bit tricky to find thing that has to do with the MixConsole.
  3. The main output selection options change whether I select the Main/Analog or Secondary/Digital in the Control Room. Analog gives “01 + 02 (CR)” and Digital give “15 + 16 (CR)”. 15 & 16 being the SPDIF outputs

Here we go:

The Headphones Tab


I only get a single choice of outputs “01 + 02 (CR)” or “15 + 16 (CR)”. How do I route Cue 1 (Studio 1) and Cue 2 (Studio 2) to the MR816’s headphone output, as depicted to manual.

The Reverb Routing Tab


Once again I only get the main output as an option. The Cue (studio) send outputs are, once again, absent. This is a serious issue since sending the REV-X output to the Cue (studio) sends is it’s main purpose.

The Master Levels Tab


Yet again (it’s getting kinds familiar) I only get the main output as an option. No Cue (studio) sends or Phones outputs. Actually I haven’t any “Phones” channel in my Studio setup, but adding one makes no difference.

Why can’t I access the Cue (studio) sends or Phones outputs in the MR816X Hardware Setup? Not being allowed to route the REV-X to the Cue (studio) send outputs is a very serious issue. Is the MR816X Hardware Setup incompatible with Cubase 7/7.5?

Any chance of getting help with this, or does Steinberg not care about those of us stupid enough to buy their products?

Your verbal description of how you have set up your control room in VST connections is a bit difficult to understand. Perhaps screen captures of your VST connections control room tab would be a better place to start, but rather than go about initiating an exchange of possibly further confusing information, might I suggest an 18-video tutorial series available on Youtube called “Demystifying The Control Room In Cubase?” The author is using an MR816 on a mac, using Cubase 6.5. The setup in later versions of Cubase using the MixConsole looks a little different, but the functionality is the same. I wish I had spotted this series before my many hours of reading the manual and head scratching trying to understand the terminology, but, alas, I only found it recently when trying to help a friend. My only caveat is that after all the work I did to develop an understanding of it, I have it working the way I want, and was able to get it working quickly when setting up a new machine recently. And again moving to Cubase 8, where some of the commands have been moved around.

The video, “Cubase 8 Quick Start Videos Chapter 11 Other workflows,” also available on YouTube, shows a control room setup in Cubase 8 using an MR816x.

Good luck.

What could be easier to understand than that?

rtorstrick. Neither of your videos mentions the MR816X Hardware Setup at all. I’m not interested in whether or not it works in CB6.5. I’m working in CB7.5 (soon CBP8) and am interested in why the Cue mixes (Studio sends) aren’t recognized in CB7.5. Please see the included screengrabs.

Sorry you are having trouble. I’m only trying to help. I’m not sure I can, but I’m willing to give it another try.

Actually, as I mentioned, a capture of your VST Connections/Studio screen, plus a capture of your MR816 Hardware Setup/Settings screen would probably be easier for me to understand. I find your verbal description obscure and incomplete.

The choices you are seeing in the MR816 Hardware Setup Window are generated directly from the setup you specified in the VST Connections/Studio window. Though it’s possible there’s a bug in the system, I’m betting the software is diligently reporting exactly the parameters you have set up.

Now it appears to work, when I made the Cue sends stereo. This is a waste of outputs, and something that Steinberg really needs to look into. Mind you, this was one of the first things I tried and it didn’t work the first time around.

Now there is another problem though. It’s a bit of a hit and miss affair whether the “MR816 Hardware Setup” option shows up in the “Devices” menu at all. The most I’ve had to relauch Cubase to get it to show up, is 5 times!

Clearly there are some compatibility issues here, that need to be looked into.