Repeatable “Loading MixConsole” hang caused by old project with UADx Lexicon 224 instance

Cubase
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1

I’ve finally managed to isolate a long-standing (like 5 years now) “Loading MixConsole” hang problem that I’ve seen when loading older Cubase projects.

By old, I mean projects that started life in a previous version - eg. CB12, 13 or 14 and then opened in 15 Pro.

A previous forum thread suggested updating plug-in managers and iLok, which did help temporarily and prompted me to investigate further: Cubase Pro 12 – Stuck at “LOADING MIXCONSOLE” Steinberg Forums

In my case the culprit is now reproducible as UADx Lexicon 224 (the native version NOT the DSP version).

  • Cubase 15.0.30, Apple Silicon, macOS 15.8.
  • Older project hangs indefinitely at Loading MixConsole.
  • Activity Monitor shows Cubase stuck while loading uaudio_lexicon_224, through the PACE/iLok path.
  • Temporarily removing the Lexicon 224 VST3 allows the project to open normally.
  • A brand-new project containing the same Lexicon 224 opens perfectly every time.
  • Most interestingly: after a fresh Cubase launch, the old project hangs; but if I first open the small new Lexicon 224 project, then open the old project, it works every time.

So pre-initialising the plug-in changes whether the older project can load.

I’ve reported the Lexicon-specific issue to Universal Audio, but I wonder whether Cubase could also handle this situation more gracefully. At present one stuck plug-in can block the whole project indefinitely, leaving Force Quit as the only option.

It would be extremely useful if Cubase could identify the plug-in currently being loaded and perhaps offer “skip/disable this plug-in and continue loading” after a timeout.

2

Thats weird, any new project with it opens fine? That is my ‘Hall’ or ‘Chamber’ reverb bus on every project I do. It works fine here in Mac OS 27.

I cant exactly tell WHEN they check your iLok either, as I can open a project and hit play immediately, and every channel’s API Vision plugin, 1176, LA2A, etc are working fine. But when I open the plugin itself the first time, that’s when the plugin is blurry and seems to authorize itself after a few seconds.

Can you remove the plugin from the project, save it, and then re-add it without any further issue?