Projects are slowed and pitched down on Mac vs Windows

This is probably an easy one, but I’m at a loss.

I have many projects that I recorded with every version of Cubase from 10 to 12 Pro on a Windows workstation. I recently installed Cubase 12 on a M1 Macbook Pro (MacOS 12.3.1).

When I open any of my Windows-recorded projects on my Mac, they’re slowed and pitched down several steps, but everything is in tune with itself. This somehow includes VST instruments with MIDI that pitch down to match any audio tracks.

The record format and the tempo settings are the same on each machine. The tempo and pitches on the Mac just don’t match real-world. When I start with a new project on the Mac, this doesn’t happen, but I’ve yet to try importing this to Windows.

One notable difference between these two machines is I have a Steinberg UR44 audio interface for the Windows machine. There’s no audio interface for the Mac.

Any ideas?

It is most likely the sample rate. If you are not using an audio interface on the Mac then you are at the mercy of the internal processor. You can try going into the MIDI/AUDIO settings and make sure the sample rate is set correctly to your project. Just type MIDI into the search on the launchpad and it will come right up.

My suggestion is to invest in a good audio interface. Even something like a Focusrite 2i2 is good enough. There are lots of good choices out there depending on your budget.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply Gary. I suspect you’re correct.

I was hoping I could work on light mixing and MIDI programming away from my workstation and didn’t think I’d need to bother with another interface since I don’t intend to record on my laptop, but it looks like I’m capped at 44.1 kHz with my laptop hardware.

If I picked up a compact DAC that allowed higher sample rates, do you know if this would cut it, or could this cause friction after saving a project on my Mac and going back to Windows since the input/output mapping would be different? In other words, is it a pain to switch a project between two workstations with different audio interfaces, one potentially without inputs?

Thanks again.

In case anyone else runs across this:

It seems like the problem here is a set of Sony Bluetooth headphones that cap out at 44.1 kHz. The MB Pro can go up to 96 kHz, and my project plays correctly when using the laptop speakers. Airpod Pros appear to go up to 48 kHz, but I’ve yet to figure out how to get the master bus to output to these in a Cubase project.

I haven’t tried them with Cubase yet, but cant you just select the Airpods as the system output in Cubase?? I’ve used my Gen3s with Ableton Live so they do work, but maybe the ASIO thing is throwing them for a loop??

Do you have digital outputs on your Mac (like SPDIF e.g.)? If not, you would need a full audio interface. (RME’s Babyface Pro is my personal laptop travel companion.)

Nothing that you can’t overcome. I recommend you save each configuration in the Audio Connection Window as presets for quick and easy recall. You’ll probably get warnings when opening the project that configured I/O are not available. No biggie, just ignore and adjust to current HW.

Good to know, thanks. The Mac only has USB-C/Thunderbolt outs, so it looks like I’ll be shopping for another audio interface if I want to move off the workstation.

Maybe you can find an interface that will work with Mac or Windows and use the same interface. Good luck. It is always an adventure in spending money.