Setting up Cubase LE 8 with Carbon 49 controller

Hi everyone -

I’m new round here so please forgive any clunkiness on my part.

We’re trying to set up a new Samson Carbon 49 keyboard/USB controller in Cubase LE 8 (64 bit, if that’s relevant) under Windows 10 on a new HP laptop, with zero success.

I’ve searched far and wide for resources and guidance, but - after many hours - we are still going round in circles. We have read the Samson manual many times, searched their support site and the web, but found nothing that helps us. For sure it’s down to ignorance on our part, but any guidance or pointers whatsoever that anyone could give us would be massively appreciated.

Thanks everyone!

Alastair

Any idea where things go wrong?
Generally, connecting a new controller isn’t very complicated.

Does Cubase register any incoming midi in the transport bar when you hit a key on the keyboard?

Hi there -

No - Cubase doesn’t register any incoming midi like you say. If I unplug the Carbon 49 and plug it back in, Windows recognises it and lists a Carbon 49 amongst the devices.

Thank you picking this up.

Ok. If you go to device setup in Cubase and click the midi port tab, is there any entry listed that looks like it’s the samson controller?
Can you show a screenshot of that window maybe?

Hello again -

Well, guess what? For reasons that had nothing to do with music, we had to power down, disconnect and move everything, and when I joined it all back up to take the screenshot for you - lo and behold the Samson/Carbon 49 did register in the transport bar, and miraculously we eventually got Cubase to assign new midi tracks to it and configure midi instruments to it via the media bay.

I’d have sworn I’d switched everything off and started again a dozen times if you’d asked me - but obviously not.

Breakthough. Thank you for steering us to it.

All of this is down to my inexperience with Cubase - is there a tutorial/book(!)/resource that you would recommend to help us avoid all the pitfalls, get productive more quickly, and avoid wasting other people’s time?

That’s convenient :slight_smile:
Did you by any chance connect the controller by USB AFTER firing up Cubase earlier? Because some controllers are never detected if they’re not connected when Cubase starts.

Anyway, I’m glad it’s working. As for tutorials, I have no experience with ‘complete’ resources other than the Cubase manual, which is great but not exactly compelling to read from cover to cover :p.
Steinberg have their own tips n tricks videos on youtube which show many different techniques and uses for various functions, which are great. However, if you’re really new to DAW’s in general these videos are probably a bit more advanced, you’ll want to figure out your basic workflow first.
There are also some basic videos though:
recording audio: How to Record Audio in Cubase | Getting Started with Cubase Pro 8 - YouTube
recording midi: How to Record Basic MIDI in Cubase | Getting Started with Cubase Pro 8 - YouTube
etc…
Plenty other sources do Cubase videos too, what I usually do is search for videos on a specific topic. There are places that do complete Cubase tutorials, but these are usually paid for and I have very little experience with them. I’ve watched some point blank videos in the past which are excellent, but it looks like they stopped doing them so they may only be available for slightly older Cubase versions. I suggest you search through these forums, there are some other people who asked the same question and there are some people who can offer better advice than me :wink:
In any case, keep in mind most tutorials will be on Cubase pro versions, so some features they mention will not be available in your LE version.

I hope that helps. I applaud your attitude of figuring stuff out yourself, that’ll get you places :slight_smile:. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you get stuck though, the collective experience of this userbase can be very vaulable!

Thank you for a very thoughtful reply. Your guidance, advice and encouragement is very much appreciated I can tell you - we could well have thrown in the towel without it.