Hook up your audio and MIDI ins and outs with no fuss. This quick guide to getting up and running in Cubase shows you how.
Quick Tips
Here’s a quick grab bag of the three main things you need to know.
- Install the drivers for your USB audio interface, make sure it’s selected in Cubase’s Studio Setup menu and its inputs and outputs are selected in the Audio Connections menu.
- Grab the drivers and any editor software for your MIDI keyboard or controller and plug it in over USB. Make sure your MIDI track is set to receive data on the correct MIDI channel. Load up a VST instrument to play sounds.
- For external hardware make sure Cubase is set to send MIDI out on channel 1. Connect your interface’s MIDI out DIN port to the MIDI in on the synth or drum machine, and make sure its audio connections are live so you can hear it.
Although you can just use a mouse to program MIDI in Cubase you will be far more creative if you connect a MIDI keyboard or other controller so that you can play software instruments more freely. And though Cubase will work through your computer speakers, you will need to connect an audio interface to get high quality sound in and out and to connect things like speakers and microphones for playback and recording. The good news is that both of these things are easy to do and require only a few steps. In this guide we are going to show you what you need to get everything connected.
How To Connect Your Audio Interface
Your audio interface is the box that plugs into your computer and carries sound in and out. For getting sound in, the interface will accept microphone and instrument connections in XLR or TRS formats, usually both, and sometimes also RCA inputs, also known as phono inputs. For sound out, they generally use TRS and sometimes XLR ports that you use to connect your loudspeakers via cables.
The connection between your audio interface and your computer will almost always be USB format, either the newer USB-C or the slightly older USB-A format. Small to medium sized interfaces like Steinberg’s UR22C and UR44C are able to draw enough power over USB to work without an external power adater, although they have the option of using one. Larger interfaces do require an external power source.
If you are using a Windows PC you will need to download the driver software for your specific interface from the manufacturer’s website so the computer can work with it properly. Mac users will find an interface may well work right out of the box, but all users should install the relevant drivers since they often include special tools for making settings or extra features that you will want to have. Steinberg’s dspMixFx software is a good example of this.
With the software installed, in Cubase’s Studio Setup menu you will then be able to select your interface by name so that Cubase knows to use it for getting sound in and out. In the Audio Connections menu you can choose how to route audio channels in and out. Cubase will remember this setting unless you change it or physically disconnect the interface.
How To Connect Your MIDI Keyboard Or Controller
MIDI keyboards and controllers send MIDI data rather than sound so their power requirements are somewhat lower and as such all but the largest keyboards will usually power over USB. As with audio interfaces, Mac users will probably find their keyboards work without a driver and Windows users will need to download one. Again, the software for your keyboard will probably include extra tools like editors, so it’s well worth everyone getting the software.
With your drivers installed and your keyboard plugged in to your computer, Cubase will almost certainly recognise it right away and you will be able to play notes. To generate sound you will need to load up a VST software instrument like HALion Sonic SE and load an instrument patch into it. This should work right away, but if not you can check in the Studio Setup menu’s MIDI section that the keyboard is being recognised and that its channels are active.
You can also check by going to the software instrument’s Inspector panel that MIDI is being sent and received on the correct channel. There are 16 MIDI channels and the default is channel 1 so ideally your keyboard should be sending on channel 1 and the instrument track set to receive on channel 1. If you have problems you can try setting the track to use “any” MIDI channel. The procedure for connecting other MIDI controllers like drum pads is essentially the same as for keyboards.
How To Connect Other MIDI Hardware
There is plenty of hardware out there that is triggered by MIDI and uses the older but still popular DIN plug format. This includes synthesizers, drum machines, workstations and others. To trigger these devices from Cubase you just need to connect the MIDI output port on your keyboard or audio / MIDI interface to the synth’s MIDI input. Making sure the MIDI port is correctly selected in Cubase, create a MIDI track or an Instrument track and assign its MIDI output to the hardware MIDI output on channel 1. MIDI that you play or record on the track will now be sent out of Cubase to trigger the hardware synth. Of course your hardware instruments will need to be connected to Cubase’s audio inputs or to loudspeakers so you can hear them.