I would like to record vocals with a USB mic, and have managed to do this successfully following these instructions:
However, I would like to be able to hear my VST instruments playing in Cubase to sing in time with them.
Is this possible without using an audio interface device?
Currently I seem to be only able to record, or playback VSTs, but not both simultaneously.
If I select the Realtek audio device as the active device, then the mic doesn’t work.
But if I select the USB mic as the active device, the Realtek device stops working.
I tried using Studio One and ran into the same problem and then found this post, which indicates that the problem of not being able to record and listen simultaneously with a USB device is universal for DAWs on Windows 10.
"A usb microphone is a microphone and an audio interface in one. Some of them (e.g. the Samson Meteor) have an output for say a headphone too, but many don’t. Using a usb mic with Studio One means that you have to choose that mic as your audio interface in Studio One. That’s the first thing to check.
It also means that you may not be able to listen to anything from the computer while you are recording. That’s the drawback of using a usb mic (without output) rather than an audio interface with inputs AND outputs. So if you switched audio interfaces to be able to listen to what you recorded then you have to configure your audio I/O in Studio One back for further recording.
On a Mac there’s a way out by creating an aggregate device, where you combine several audio interfaces (e.g. the usb mic and the computer’s onboard audio) into one device. No such luck on a PC.
So, a usb microphone does work with Studio One, but it can deny you the possibility to listen to anything while you’re recording. Not a very convenient setup as you’ll keep switching between interfaces for recording and listening."
This post was from a few years ago, but it seems it might still be a problem with Cubase also.
Can anyone suggest a workaround on Windows 10?