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Can anyone offer me a basic explanation of, or point me in the direction of some guide that would explain to a novice, how one would use the S/PDIF input on an audio interface like the Scarlett 6i6? I'm looking into picking up something to play around with recording some instruments in my house (guitar, bass, digital piano with MIDI out, maybe drums at some point), and I understand how I would use the XLR and 1/4" inputs on the 6i6 to run mics or direct input from instruments into the interface. But I feel like there's something basic I'm not understanding about how the S/PDIF runs into the Scarlett. Is that for digital instruments that have S/PDIF out (and so not of use if you want to input, say, a guitar or drums)? Do you make use of that feature by having some other device that receives an analog input and outputs digital into the Scarlett? I'm not sure I really foresee a lot of cases where I would need 6 inputs going at once, so maybe this isn't a big deal, but if I mainly expect that I'll want to be running mics to record things, or be using XLR or MIDI into an interface, maybe I don't need an audio interfact with digital in, and it would be better to look at something more mic inputs, like the Behringer U-Phoria UMC404HD? When I look at the front and back of that, I at least can tell what all the inputs would be used for. What if anything should I understand about the benefits and uses of having S/PDIF input on a digital audio interface?
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Apr 3, 2019 02:00
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Thank you both -- that makes a lot of sense. My digital piano does MIDI out, so S/PDIF doesn't help me there. If I'm just going to be doing XLR mics, MIDI, or direct input from instruments, anyone have any advice on whether the Behringer UMC404HD is a better option than the Scarlett 6i6 given that the Behringer is about $100 less, has two more preamps, and doesn't include the S/PDIF input that I don't end up needing on the Scarlett?
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Apr 3, 2019 04:06
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Laserjet 4P posted:The way you're phrasing this triggers me to re-emphasize; MIDI is not audio. MIDI is to audio as sheet music is to a CD: it tells you what to play, but not what it's supposed to sound like, while the CD will tell you what it sounds like, but not how to play it. If you already know this, ignore all the rest of my post. If you don't, read on, and I'll just dump this here for reference (lol as if anyone's going to read all of this thread) Thanks for that -- it was almost all news to me, and very informative. My digital piano is Yamaha CVP-705, and I've only ever done recording from it into MIDI or WAV files onboard the thing, which I've then moved to a PC with a USB stick (i.e., never running into into any external device). But recently I was recording some guitar stuff with a Tascam DR-40X recorder my dad has, which we used to mic two guitar amps. It was the kind of thing I'd like to expand on (with an interface with more inputs), recording from the piano at the same time as I have a few other things mic'd as well. I've never really done anything with MIDI on the computer or otherwise, and I suppose I was assuming the MIDI out on the piano would be another way to run input from the piano into an audio interface. But the CVP also has two 1/4" outputs (which, so far as I understand it, let me do L and R, and one of them can also be stereo). It sounds like if I want to get the output from the piano into a digital audio interface exactly as I'm hearing it from on the piano, and recording, say, the piano and two guitar amps all at the same time, I'd be better off running an analog signal out of the piano using the 1/4" outs, and just doing line-in into an interface. Does that sound right?
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Apr 8, 2019 01:04
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Is there anything inadvisable (or that one should watch out for) in buying a used audio interface? I'm thinking here in particular about the fact that a used interface that won't come with any software. Specifically, I'm looking at maybe picking up a used Steinberg UR44, and it wouldn't come with the pack-in software. But if I'm planning to use Reaper instead of Cubase, then it seems to me that doesn't matter. And I'm imagining that otherwise on the software front, any drivers I would need for the interface would be available on the Steinberg website. So assuming the hardware itself is in fine, working order, is there any significant downside to getting it used rather than new?
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May 7, 2019 00:30
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Spanish Manlove posted:it may smell like pee? My robot fart music will cover that up, so no worries I guess.
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May 7, 2019 03:01
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Thanks. Checking the manufacturer website reveals current drivers up through Windows 10, last updated in March of this year, so that sounds okay in so far as that goes.
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May 7, 2019 16:50
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Does anyone have any thoughts or advice on the relative merits of the Steinberg UR44 vs the Behringer UMC404HD? I want something with 4 preamps, and plan to be recording guitar, bass, a digital piano, and maybe drums down the line, plus whatever weird percussion stuff my kids want to play in front of a mic. I had been looking at a used UR44 that was available for $140, and I'm not planning to use Cubase, so wasn't really concerned about it lacking the software a new one would come with. But having looked further on the Steinberg site and forums, it sounds like it might be a pain to deal with a second hand UR44 in terms of some of the other software it would ship with (like the FX Suite) and with registering it with Steinberg. And so now I'm wondering if spending more or less the same amount on a new UMC404HD is a better idea. Both seem reasonably well reviewed, and at least some of what I read online suggests that in this $150-300 price range there isn't going to be a massive difference in quality between audio interfaces. Unless maybe there's something I'm missing about the UR44 that makes it so much better than the Behringer that it's worth considering paying twice the price for a new one. Anyone with experience using both have thoughts on whether one is a much better option than the other?
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May 16, 2019 16:07
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Does anyone use Cubase, and if so, have any recommendations for some good online resources to read/watch in order to get started? I've got the copy of Cubase AI that came with my Steinberg UR44 installed, and everything seems fine with the hardware, and the software seems to be installed right, but I have a feeling I'm making some dumb mistakes with some basic stuff trying to get started. The hub that launches when you start Cubase has instructional videos that Steinberg has put up, but right off the bat the very first one seems to show me a different menu layout than the version of Cubase I have, and so I'm not sure how helpful these will be. If anyone has a handy quickstart guide that they've used successfully, I'd appreciate any recommendations.
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May 28, 2019 01:48
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Thanks for that post -- it was all very helpful. I had fumbled through the first couple parts in order to record a guitar track, and it worked much better once I figured out that I had to click the monitor button in order to hear myself. I'll play around with the MIDI part tonight. I'll also endeavor to start reading the massive PDF I downloaded from the Steinberg site. There don't really seem to be any books on Cubase -- maybe I'm thinking of that having just seen some Logic Pro and Ableton books at the local library (or maybe that wouldn't be useful anyway, and I should just track down videos and online resources). I'm not sure there's anything particular that's confusing me now, so much as the variety of controls and options just seems overwhelming. I suppose one gets used to that in time. I did see the ongoing sale for Cubase, and sprang for another $25 to upgrade AI to Elements, as it seems to provide some extra options that sounded worth $25. Although it was confusing as hell to figure out that there was nothing new to download because Elements is the same executable -- it's just that the new license gives me access to more stuff than when I had only AI. I'm half tempted to upgrade to Artist now while it's half price, but it seems a little premature having just gotten the thing and what if it turns out I end up liking Reaper or something else much more. Is this sale like a once in lifetime thing for the Anniversary of Cubase, or do they do this periodically? What limitations did you run into with the more basic versions of Cubase that led you to upgrade to Artist? Edit: I have the trial of Reaper sitting on my computer and will try that this weekend. I suppose there must be some kind of (presumably temporary) trial version of Ableton as well, right? McCoy Pauley fucked around with this message at 22:06 on May 30, 2019 |
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May 30, 2019 22:00
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Thanks, that's good info. So this USB e-licenser thing, I basically just purchase a registration key from Steinberg and then have the key stored in the e-licenser. And then I can install the appropriate version of Cubase on any computer, and when I launch it, the program will detect my key on the e-licenser and then I'm good to go? That sounds like it would be pretty convenient, as I have two machines I'd probably be using this on in my house eventually (and it sounds like it would make it easy to replace a computer and use Cubase on the new machine without transferring licenses in the software).
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May 31, 2019 12:13
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I'm current using the free 30 day trial of Ableton, which I'm enjoying so far, but I think the most likely result is that I would buy Live Intro after this (rather than going immediately to a much more expensive version). But since I understand (I think) that the free version is the same as Suite, are there any particular features in the trial that I should try out during these 30 days in order to see what I would be missing by not buying Standard or Suite?
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Jul 12, 2019 00:21
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Can anyone recommend a good video or write-up that explains how to use Ableton's Simpler -- in particular how to slice up a sample and then play the various slices from the sample? I think I have a very rudimentary understanding of how to slice up a sample, either automatically or manually, but I'm not sure I totally understand how I know which of the various slices are going to play when I hit a particular note (e.g., if I'm drawing notes in the MIDI roll and want specific pieces of the sample to play)? So I drag a WAV into Simpler, and then pick slicing playback mode, and I get something like this:  Are the "notes" for the slices just the notes starting at C1, and then each slice going from left to right is a half-step up (C#1, D1, D#1, etc.) And so here, for example, if I get 9 slices I have 9 notes I can draw in the piano roll if I'm making a MIDI clip (but anything drawn on the roll outside of those 9 notes doesn't make any sound)? In writing that out, I'm not even sure I understand the thing well enough to phrase my question correctly, so maybe something very basic is in order, if anyone has a good suggestion. Thanks.
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Aug 14, 2019 01:29
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I'm thinking of getting a pair of small condenser mics for recording my acoustic guitar -- something so I can set them up in an X-Y pattern. I'm currently look at the Rode M5 pair, which seems well reviewed in the price range I'm looking at. Anyone have any hands on experience with these, specifically for recording acoustic guitar? Or similarly priced alternatives to consider? What about using these mics (or similar ones) for other purposes, like recording the amp for an electric guitar or bass guitar? Would using a single one of these to record near the cone of an amp work, or is that not a good use for these specific kind of microphones?
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Sep 22, 2019 18:26
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d0grent posted:I need a new audio interface. I have a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20, and while it's a nice piece of hardware, the drivers for it loving suck and it crashes all the time, requiring me to turn the hardware off and back on. Wouldn't be a huge deal, but if I am recording something or streaming this can create big problems. I've been very happy with my Steinberg UR44, and the drivers have been solid and everything works well for me (in Windows 10). I haven't used either of these larger interfaces by them, but Steinberg makes the UR824 for $800 and just released the brand new UR816C for $630, which might be worth looking into if the quality of the UR44 is anything to go by. I assume these are both roughly similar in terms of I/O as the 18i20.
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Nov 11, 2019 01:10
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Crossposting-ish from the Audio Interface thread, in case anybody has tackled this issue recently: I'm currently using a Windows PC I built back in early 2012 to do recording and messing around in Cubase and Ableton (using a Steinberg UR44), and it's getting a bit long in the tooth in various ways, so I'm looking to upgrade. I should note that both programs seems to run fine for me on my desktop -- it's the specs are relatively old at this point and I need something with more RAM and SSD space. I want to get a laptop in order to easily be able to set up in a few different rooms in my house where I want to record -- at least, the prospect of moving a desktop machine (monitor/KBM) up to my living room to record by the piano, and then back to the basement to record guitars is not really appealing. So I'm relatively decided on the laptop form factor. I was getting close to pulling the trigger on a Thinkpad P53/73, where for about $1400, I can get something with a core 6 i7, 16GB of RAM (expandable easily to 32), and space for 3 SSDs. But having spent the last two days going down rabbit holes of people talking about "DPC latency" issues and other unsolvable technical problems with Windows laptops, I'm wondering if I'm better off biting the bullet and getting a sem-recent Macbook Pro instead. I'm not strongly opposed to an Apple machine, but it just sticks my craw a little that I'm looking at $1700+ for something with 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and no expandability. But I don't want to go for a more powerful Thinkpad and find out that it doesn't play nicely with Cubase and Ableton, which is my main purpose for getting it. Anyone currently using a Thinkpad (ideally of the P5X line), and having a good experience? Anyone dealt with this choice and opted for the MBP because of Windows software issues? TL;DR -- Is a Thinkpad P53/73 a bad idea for music production, such that I should instead consider a more expensive/less highly spec'd Macbook Pro?
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Nov 24, 2019 20:23
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Waffle Grid posted:I'm hoping some of you lovely goons can point me in the right direction for a good MIDI (drum) pad controller for beginners - preferably for under ~$200 CAD. My partner is interested in getting one (just for fun, nothing professional) and I've been trying to do some research but am still unsure what to get. While we're mostly looking for something that can do drumming and provide different kinds of drum sets, other instrument functionality is cool as well. I really want to get something that's fairly functional on its own, with minimal set-up, and doesn't require a ton of complex software to learn or subscription payments. I found what looked like decently rated pad controllers in my price range (like Launchpads), but then reviews made it sound like in order to actually use it and get different sounds you would need to make ongoing payments for software/sound libraries? Does everything from Ableton require a subscription to their software? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the hardware you list above (although I do have a Launchpad X), but on the Ableton issue, you don't need to subscribe to anything just to mess around with drums in Ableton. You get a copy of Ableton Live Lite with a Launchpad ( and probably some of that other hardware -- it seems like a pretty common add-in with a wide range of music hardware). Lite is free to own and use forever -- no subscription. You can also purchase or upgrade to other versions of Live (you can buy any of Intro, Standard, and Suite, and you can upgrade Lite to Standard and Suite at a discount). All of those are one-time purchases, not subscriptions. There are sound packs you can pay for (and free ones as well) -- and I dunno, maybe there are packs one subscribes to? -- but you definitely don't need to pay a subscription fee to use Ableton Live. I'll say this from the perspective of having only the Launchpad and not a 4x4 drum controller, but consider that if you just want to do finger drumming the bigger pads on a 4x4 grid might be a little easier for that specific purpose than the smaller pads on the 8x8 Launchpad grid. The Launchpad does a lot of other stuff, too, and integrates wonderfully with Ableton, but I'd just keep in mind the size difference of the pads.
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Dec 8, 2019 01:01
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Has anyone encountered DPC Latency issues on a windows PC while doing recording? I recently got a new ThinkPad P73 to replace a very old Windows Desktop,and I'm testing it out while I'm still in the return window to see if it will work for me. I'm mostly recording guitar, bass, and digital piano into Cubase or Ableton using a Steinberg UR44, rarely more than 4 tracks are once, and not usually with crazy effects chains. I kind of want the laptop form factor so I can easily set the thing up near where those instruments are in my house. Prior to getting it I was reading a lot about DPC Latency issues, and the first thing I did when I got the laptop was run Latency Mon, which showed some bad spikes on a few drivers from time to time. But I've been recording with the thing a lot over the last week and I can't say I'm detecting any issues. At least, nothing sounds wrong to me in the recording. So I'm wondering if this means DPC latency isn't going to be an issue given my setup (maybe the UR44 and its drivers?), Or maybe it really isn't an issue despite what LatencyMon said. Or maybe I'm just not listening for latency in the right way. If anyone has experience with this, are there any tests within a DAW I should be running to basically stress test for latency issues in an actual recording scenario? My primary concern is only discovering some weird latency problem after the return window, after it's too late to return the laptop and just build a desktop machine.
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Dec 14, 2019 15:13
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Thank you both. I think I've made myself nuts on this reading too deeply into computer building threads on Gearslutz, and the bad numbers I saw our of LatencyMon were making me not trust my ears. I mean, it's not like I'm running a studio here, I'm recording myself on guitar/bass/keyboard, and maybe at most two other people, and the new ThinkPad I got has, for a laptop, a pretty beefy processor and 16GB of RAM (soon to be 32). And I'm using a UR44 for everything, which seems to have pretty good drivers. So maybe this will just be something where my use case won't encounter latency problems.
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Dec 14, 2019 22:28
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Mister Speaker posted:Weird issue. I just purchased Cubase and finally got my eLicenser USB dongle in the mail. Does this thing absolutely have to be plugged directly into a computer's USB port? I tried it on a ten-port TrippLite hub (which is bus-powered currently and also hosts an iLok for ProTools) and my computer just shut down. I'd like to avoid using the ports on the front of my Mac if possible, but if I have to I will. This weekend I was using my dongle on a small USB-C hub plugged into my ThinkPad P73, and Cubase worked fine -- it was no different than when I've used Cubase on the same computer with the dongle plugged directly into one of the three USB 3.0 ports. I don't recall exactly what hub I'm using -- I think it's the cheap Aukey 4-port model that Wirecutter recommends if you just want a few extra ports.
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Jan 24, 2020 00:51
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d0grent posted:Idk where else to ask this: I have a UR44 (not the C), and I have to admit I haven't tried to use it with Discord, but running the dspMixFX app that came in my downloads from Steinberg seemed like a good way to control the interface when outside of Cubase or whatever DAW. Have you tried that app?
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Feb 14, 2020 03:40
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Luegene Cards posted:I could super use a recommendation on a DAW and music software in general. I've played electric guitar for a long time and I decided I actually want to make things with it. Here's what I have, electronic gear wise: From my relatively limited experience with this over the last year or so, I would recommend you check out the free trial of some different DAWs to see what works for you. I currently use Ableton and Cubase, and I know Ableton lets you download a 30-day trial of the full version of Ableton so you can test it out. And keys to Ableton Live Lite, which is still enough to play around in before you spring for a more costly version are relatively easy to come by. I bought a cheap, used MIDI controller from Guitar Center and emailed a picture of it to Ableton and they sent me a key for Lite, which had been a pack-in with the controller when new. So you may be able to get Live Lite just from owning the Scarlett. I believe Cubase also offers a trial version, although I never tried that -- I have a copy of Cubase that came with my audio interface. Based on my relatively limited experience, where I'm mostly recording guitar and bass into my interface, I would recommend checking out Cubase. The basic version of it comes with a lot of effects you can apply to your guitar/bass signal (I may be missing options in Ableton, but so far it seems to me Cubase has more and better guitar effects) And while I feel like I'm still just barely scratching the surface of both DAWs in how I use them, I have so far found Cubase easier and more intuitive to use (than Ableton) for recording guitar parts -- once I figured out how to handle connecting to my interface, the actual recording of audio, applying effects, mixing, etc. felt good to use and Cubase did what I needed it to do. There are certainly other options worth checking out that can be tried for no cost, which I bet others can speak to (like Reaper). But based on my experience to date I'd recommend you track down trials of both Ableton and Cubase (and maybe you can get a free copy of Live Lite from owning your Scarlett), and given your stated interest, I would definitely consider spending some time with Cubase.
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Feb 20, 2020 20:45
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Wowporn posted:What would people recommend as babby's first beat making app? I wanna try making some drum beats but am pretty inept at using music making software. Not looking to make anything complicated literally just like a 5 piece drum kit that I can sequence would be great. I tried looking at iPad apps but it was hard to tell what was more intuitive for a beginner without just being a dumb 'hit button makes full bar of default trance beat' stuff Do you want to just mess around in a free webapp to start? The Drumbit web app lets you mess around with various kits, and some effects, and you can sequence and export to midi and WAV if you later want to work with it in something else.
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Mar 28, 2020 19:58
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Ableton has made a bunch of stuff free or discounted in light of current goings on, including extending the Ableton 10 trial to 90 days, taking 30% off all versions of Live, and offering some packs and Max for Live devices for free, as well as their ebook. They're collecting all of that on this web page.
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Apr 8, 2020 15:37
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CaptainViolence posted:. . . grab a noise reduction plugin of some sort—i like the waves ns-1 best, i think, because it's simple and sounds good as long as you don't crank the slider all the way up . . . I was looking into Waves, and then just now on my Twitter timeline saw a post from Izotope pop up with RX Elements on sale for $29 (which I guess is $100 off). Anyone have any experience comparing the two, or any recommendation for one over the other? I'm thinking some kind of noise reduction plug-in would be useful to take care of some hum when recording with some of my guitars and pedals that are a little noisy sometimes. Just messing around for my own personal amusement, so I don't need something massively complex, or designed specifically for isolating vocals or something like that. But the sale price makes RX Elements look pretty attractive.
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Aug 3, 2020 22:19
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CaptainViolence posted:i think as long as you remember to treat them as noise reduction plugins instead of noise removing plugins, you'll be golden with whichever process sounds more appealing to you (either the super simple or ridiculously involved). Thanks for the details -- that's really informative. Now to engage in the age old struggle between knowing in my heart that I'm probably better off with something simpler that will just work and I'll regularly use, and my head wanting something as complex and fiddly as possible.
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Aug 4, 2020 02:25
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Along the same lines, anyone have any recommendations for modestly-ish priced microphones for recording acoustic guitar in an XY configuration? I periodically get the inkling to try this, and have looked at the Rode M5 or sE7 matched pair sets, although then I always end up down a rabbit hole of "well, if you're going to spend $200 on a pair might as well go higher and look at the NT5 or sE8" and then it just escalates from there and I set the idea aside. Anyone used the M5, sE7, or similarly priced SDC pairs to record acoustic instruments?
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May 14, 2021 21:58
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The Demilich posted:Looking for a recommendation on an audio interface. The only interface I've ever had is the UR44, so I can't make any direct comparisons to the Scarlett or Motu, but mine has been rock solid (and my dad has the UR44c, which so far as I can tell is pretty much the same except for the USC-C option). The physical device is very solid feeling, the controls are easy to use, the Yamaha drivers are great (I'm using it on Windows 10, primarily in Cubase, but also sometimes with Ableton, and it's fine in both situations). Again with caveat that I'm not comparing it against other interfaces I've personally used, my UR44 has always handled whatever I've thrown at it -- guitar, bass, mics, digital piano, synths -- without giving me any issues. I'm assuming the UR22 is basically the same hardware with less inputs, and if that's right, based on my experience with the UR44 I'd say it's a solid option.
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May 18, 2021 17:32
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Malaria posted:I have had nothing but trouble trying to use a DAW on windows 10. Sorry -- latency issues suck to deal with in Windows 10. I don't have that particular interface, so I'm not sure I have any specific advice, but have you tried running something like LatencyMon on the computer, to see what results you get? I'm not sure it's foolproof, but sometimes it gives back useful results that might suggest settings or drivers to fiddle with. Have you tried the ASIO4ALL drivers? I'm mostly using a Steinberg interface with the Yamaha drivers that comes with (which seem great) but sometimes when I'm not using the interface with Ableton, I get better results from ASIO4ALL. Could be worth a shot.
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May 20, 2021 04:23
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pieuvre armement posted:What's a good midi keyboard with midi that doesn't cost a lot How many keys do you want, and do you want full-sized or mini keys, and do you care about whether it integrates well with any particular DAW or if it has built-in features like an arpeggiator and/or sequencer, and how much is a lot? Without any of that, how about the Arturia Keystep, which is $149 new for the 32 key version and $199 new for the 37 key version, and which has minikeys that feel pretty good, and generally solid construction, and MIDI DIN, and nice arp and sequencer functionality. I have the 32-key one, which is perfectly good except for having mini-USB, which is a pain. the 37-key version has a USB-B jack, which is much better. If you don't mind something smaller, there's the Novation Launchkey MK3 which has a mini version (25 keys) for $109 and some interesting looking Ableton integration and pads and encoders. But I believe MIDI-out there is with one of those TRS to MIDI adapters, though -- the non-mini MK3s have a regular DIN out.
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May 23, 2021 02:12
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pieuvre armement posted:I want basically an alesis q49 from before they took out the midi whats the current version of that. I rather not have all the extra buttons and stuff honestly I have an old, beat VI49 which has MIDI out, which was like $120 or so used at Guitar Center when I picked it up. New ones seem to be about $230 (which is the same price as the Alesis q88, which looks like it still has the MIDI out). Looks like the Alesis V models don't have MIDI DIN at all. M-Audio makes a Keystation in the 61-key range for I think around $200 that as DIN out, but I think anything smaller in that line doesn't have the MIDI out. So, maybe the Q88?
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May 23, 2021 03:14
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Agreed with Agreed. Also, if you're interested in Ableton, and presumably don't have it, codes for Live Lite are available all over the place -- they come packaged with so much music gear, people often have codes to spare. Splice was giving away copies for a long time -- that promotion might have ended. There were (and maybe still are) some iOS apps that were pretty cheap and get you a Live Lite license. There's lots of legit ways to try out Ableton.
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Jun 26, 2021 02:47
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Too Many Birds posted:legit not trying to backpeddle here, but didn't know if there was a market like how there is for discounted windows/office/adobe keys. Do you have any interest in a Live Lite key? I probably have a few floating around from various Novation gear.
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Jun 26, 2021 05:19
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I'm thinking about getting a small mixer to be able to easily have a few instruments hooked up to a looper pedal to mess around with looping, so that I could have, say, a guitar, bass, mic, digital piano, and Digitone all running into the inputs of the looper at the same time, rather than plugging and unplugging things as needed. Anyone have any thoughts on something small and basic -- like 6-10 channels -- that would work for this use case and not sound terrible? Like maybe the Yamaha MG line, or Berhinger Xenyx, or something similar? I don't particularly need it to be an audio interface, as I have that -- this would be for fooling around with a looper when I'm not using my whole computer/DAW/interface set up.
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Jun 26, 2021 19:15
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Thank you both. I sort of inherently trust Yamaha more than Mackie or Beringer, but I guess on this I should just start reading some reviews because all three seem to have roughly equivalent offerings in the slightly above/slightly below $100 range, particularly if it's worth taking a shot at an Amazon Warehouse listing.
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Jun 26, 2021 20:48
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This is kind of a long shot, but has anyone dealt with using Cubase and a Steinberg audio interface on a Macbook Pro, and in particular any issues with getting Cubase to talk to the interface? I feel like there's something simple I'm missing, but I'm hitting a brick wall. I use a UR44 on a windows machine, with the Steinberg drivers, and it's reliable and easy to use. Once I got used to some of the quirks in Cubase about setting up projects and how to configure my tracks, it's been pretty easy to use. My dad recently got a UR44C to use on his MacBook Pro, intending to use it with the copy of Cubase LE that comes with the interface. I'm visiting and trying to get it set up for him, and I dunno if it's a Cubase thing or a Mac thing but I can't get the drat DAW to record audio, or even reflect that audio is coming through the interface. I have the interface powered through the AC adapter, and a guitar DI'd into input 1, and I have both headphones and monitors set up through the headphone jack and Main Outs respectively. I can hear the guitar through both, so I feel confident the interface itself works. I can check on the Mac for audio devices and I see the UR44C listed there, and I can set it to handle input and output. I can run dspMix, and I can monitor the guitar and apply reverb and distortion, so I feel confident the interface is communicating with the Mac in some way. I can boot up Cubase and it will let me set up, say, a multi track recording project, and I don't get any error that there's no audio device, so I think Cubase somehow knows the interface is there. In Studio Setup I can see that the Steinberg UR44C drivers are selected and input 1 is active. But I don't see any other indication on Cubase that it hears the guitar. No signal shows up in the mix console, even though I have input 1 selected for input and Main Mix selected for output. When I press record, I don't record any sound. Toggling record enable or monitoring doesn't change anything. When I apply effects through the channel strip nothing happens -- I'm still left monitoring a clean signal through the interface. For all intents and purposes, It feels like Cubase simply has no idea that the interface is there or that sound is going into it. What the hell is going on? I don't even know what to Google at this point, because the help videos I'm getting are all about how to plug instruments into the interface, and not about what to do if Cubase seems unable to talk to the interface. Is this some weird Mac thing I'm missing? The ways I've done it before have all been on Windows machines. Is this some wrinkle of Cubase that I'm unaware of? Any advice or links to videos or tutorials would be appreciated, I'm kind of at my wits end and I feel bad as I talked up on the virtues of the Steinberg interface and Cubase to my dad, showing him it on my windows laptop, but at this point he probably wishes he had bought a Tascam 12 or something.
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Aug 15, 2021 03:42
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Flipperwaldt posted:Am not familiar with any part of that setup, but I watched this video and it seems that after Studio > Studio setup, he's faffing around in Studio > Audio connections a bit. Maybe that gets auto filled with the onboard audio or something? Plus then it appears some of those settings are saved per project instead of globally? Idk, but something to look at. Thanks. That video seems useful -- I'll try that out I guess part of what's throwing me is I just instinctively assumed getting audio devices working on a Mac would be easier than doing it on a PC, and so far the MacBook Pro is giving me much more trouble than my windows laptop ever did.
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Aug 16, 2021 03:56
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nitsuga posted:Might be worth trying things out in GarageBand too. I never could figure out Cubase, but my Steinberg UR22 has been just fine with GarageBand. It’d help eliminate any rare but possible hardware issues if nothing else. Thanks. Also a good idea. I'll have my dad install GarageBand (which he must have uninstalled at some point) and try that. Just feel bad since I have many times extolled the virtues of working in Cubase and now he probably wishes he'd just stuck to tape.
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Aug 16, 2021 23:45
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NuclearPotato posted:Ok, given it like a week of thought, and I'm settling on a M1 MacBook Air. Might have gotten a little too pricey on it though (not like that's anything new for Apple :v ), so here are the specs I'm looking at if any of y'all want to give me a sanity check: That really looks like a powerhouse. I don't have that laptop, but just knowing the king's ransom that Apple charges for SSD capacity, I would recommend spending a little time looking into how it would work if, say, you got just 1TB internal from apple and used the savings to buy a big external SSD. You'd lose out on the true simplicity of having everything in the laptop form factor, but if you didn't mind having a small external attached, I would imagine that an external SSD would run fast enough to be perfectly fine for saving projects, samples, sound libraries, etc. And I bet you could get a lot more than 1 TB worth of external for the savings from going from 2tb to 1tb internally. Anyway, not based on my personal experience with that machine, but could be worth looking into further.
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Sep 9, 2021 21:19
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Cubase installation question (maybe very specifically for NonzeroCircle, unless anyone else is using that particular DAW). I've built a new Windows PC and am doing a clean install of Artist 10.5. Installing and updating Cubase always ends up being a little more confusing and annoying than I anticipate, so I just want to make sure I'm thinking about this the right way, and it's been a long time since I did a clean install of anything Cubase-related on a new computer. All I need to do is use the Steinberg Download Assistant to download Cubase Artist 10.5.20 Full (all 21.56GB of it) and install it on my new machine, and then combined with dongle, I should be good to go with Cubase -- I shouldn't need to install anything else to get access to Halion, GrooveAgent, etc., nor should I need to mess about with the eLicense controller, since I'm using the dongle. Does that sound right?
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Sep 21, 2021 18:46
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NonzeroCircle posted:I built a new PC earlier in the year and that's what I did, didn't have any issues with Cubase, just go through the assistant as you seem to have done and you should be good to go, as long as you're happy having everything on your main drive or wherever you told it to install. Great -- thank you. Worked all fine, except Cubase got weird about letting me put it on another SSD in the PC, so I just let it install on the boot NVME. And it runs fine and detected my dongle fine. Would that the installation was as easy as Ableton, but at this point I've given up wishing that Cubase would do that kind of UI and administrative stuff as smoothly as Ableton. Now time to get the UR44 hooked up and start loading up effects on tracks and seeing how the new PC handles things.
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Sep 21, 2021 21:20
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