Renaming a Device in MIDI Device Manager also renames the External Instrument Bus Name!

Cubase
1

I have the same external instrument hardware but in several different configurations. In the External Instrument tab, it looks like this:

Triton 1 x Stereo
Triton 1 x Stereo + 4 Mono
Triton 4 x Mono Only
etc.

My logic is that all of them should be linked to the same MIDI hardware: KORG Triton.

The problem is that they all got renamed to the device name I selected in MIDI Device Manager.

Is this expected behavior in Cubase Pro 14, or in Cubase in general?

Please let me know.

2

No idea. Can you rename the Instruments afterwards?

3

Yes, I can rename the External Instruments Bus Name again, but as soon as I click on the ā€˜MIDI Deviceā€™ row, it gets renamed again. Itā€™s so frustrating.

4

From Cubase 14 Manual:

ā€œSaving External Instrument and Effect Configurations as Favorites
You can save external instruments and external effects as favorites. Favorites allow you to save
different configurations for the same device, for example, a multi-effect board or an effect that
provides both a mono and a stereo mode.ā€

There is no mention of the issue in the manual, though. It just confirms that my setup is valid, or at least should be valid according to the above text.

5

Maybe the logic in Cubase Pro is that for every separate External Instrument Bus Name, there must also be a separate MIDI Device created in the MIDI Device Manager.

In other words:

  • Triton 1 x Stereo = MIDI Device No. 1

  • Triton 1 x Stereo + 4 Mono = MIDI Device No. 2

  • Triton 4 x Mono Only = MIDI Device No. 3

If so, it wipes out the advantage of External Instruments, as it is too cumbersome to set up. Maybe Iā€™m missing something in the equation here?

6

Yes, ok. Maybe the problem exists. But then why donā€™t you just not click onto the device column again?

Assign the MIDI device, then name the instrument, then save it as a favorite - done.

7

So, every time I need to update or add something in MIDI Device Manager, I hear the Alfred Hitchcockā€™s Psycho theme. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

I highly doubt that Iā€™ll remember NOT to go there.

As soon as I open MIDI Device Manager or just click on the MIDI Device row under the External Instrument, itā€™s back to step oneā€¦

Do you think I should open a support ticket at Steinberg for this?

8

I did some tests and can confirm that every External Instrument Bus needs to have and link to a SEPARATE MIDI Device created in MIDI Device Manager.

In other words, it should look like this:

Triton 1 x Stereo = MIDI Device No. 1
Triton 1 x Stereo + 4 Mono = MIDI Device No. 2
Triton 4 x Mono Only = MIDI Device No. 3

But hey, I can live with that. At least I havenā€™t voted for *******! Now that would definitely kill me!

9

But canā€™t you set up a single Triton instrument with all those Stereo and Mono outputs mapped, and then activate the outputs you want for a particular project when instantiating the instrument? I have an Alesis QSR which has both analog and ADAT outputs. The External Instrument has all the outs routed to different ports in my soundcard. I then use them or not depending of my needs.

10

You canā€™t change Mono to Stereo and vice versa once youā€™ve already mapped an External Instrument.

Sometimes I need the Triton to have 6 MONO outputs because I simultaneously record or audio render 6 instruments, one on each output.

So, I need to have different External Instrument Bus configurations, as stated above.

11

To be fair, I just want to add that this seems to be the ā€œdeveloperā€-expected behavior of Cubase by design.

Now, the fact that it doesnā€™t align with my desired workflow is another storyā€¦

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