Folks,
Though it been quite some time since my last post, I did want to followup. I am very frustrated about this and I don’t have an easy way to figure out where the problem is–short of having a hardware based USB analyzer in hand. However, since my last post I have:
- Worked with Mackie’s customer service and the determine the surface looked like the problem.
- I sent it to who they recommended to fix it, he proclaimed the unit ok. (I didn’t get my unit back for months-had to write Mackie for help to get it back.)
- Got it back, still a problem.
- Bought a new motherboard and installed windows 8.1, thinking if this is OS or Hardware related, this SHOULD solve it. NO GO.
- Now trying to figure out where I can get another Mackie to test with or find someone who has Cubase that I can test it on.
I am of course running 7.5.30.
Since I am futzing around trying to save my $1200 investment (now much more due to my time and shipping costs, etc, I did want to point one thing out to Steinberg–
If you inadvertently lose connection to the Mackie, due to lost power or lost USB connectivity, you must reboot Cubase to regain connection. I have tried using the Device setup window to reconnect the control surface, but it locks up Cubase. Perhaps there is an unavoidable technical issue that creates this situation, however it is inelegant at best. The argument will be, you should never lose connectivity in a professional environment, however, a bug is a bug. 
Best, Ted Sopher