yet another newbie problem - no audio

alrotem · Oct 20, 2005, 11:20 PM

Hello experts,

I guess I'm not the first one to bring this up, and I'm almost certain I'm missing something here. The sure thing is that something is not working right, so please bear with me and enlighten me..

I'm using the following configuration:
Soundblaster Live! Platinum
Roland ED PC-180 MIDI Keyboard controller
Windows XP Pro + SP2

I'm using the following software versions:
Cubase SX 3.0.2
Sonar 4 Producer Edition
Reason version 3.0
KX drivers version 5, 10, 00, 3537

DSP settings:
I started with the default DSP settings and then worked by this manual: http://au.geocities.com/kxcubase/
As suggested, I applied the following configuration:
I disconnected the first 2 connections coming out of the "prolog" into the "xrouting", and instead directed them into the "epilog"'s inputs 14 and 15. My DSP now looks similar to the one displayed in the tutorial.

The problem:
I have a microphone connected to my souncard.
In the KX Mixer I enabled AC97 and set it to "Mic".
I hear the microphone through the speakers.
In Cakewalk Sonar I can record both MIDI (with very low latency), and audio (from the mic).
BUT, in Cubase, I cannot record from the mic (but I do get the MIDI with low latency with the KX ASIO driver).

In Cubase, on the VST Connections dialog, I added a new "Input bus" and set its Device Ports to KX IN 14 and 15 respectively. I also added a new "Output bus" and set its Device Ports to KX OUT 00 and 01 respectively.

I added a new audio track in Cubase, and set its "In" to the input bus (see above) and its "Out" to the output bus (see above) I had just added.

On the transport panel, I can see the "Audio Activity (Input)" meter flickering whenever there's an input from the mic.
The "Audio Activity (Output)" meter, however, remains dead.
When I try to record on the audio track, I get nothing..

By the way, in Sonar 4, I don't have this problem and I can record both MIDI and audio from the same mic quite easily. But, alas, I wanna use Cubase.

Any suggestions?
Sorry if my question is trivial. I tried seking the answer on the internet (including this forum) but did not find it. Since everything works in Sonar, I'm positive that this is merely a configuration issue with Cubase.

Thanks!

Alrotem.

P.S. Cubase is such a good professional piece of software. Why does it have to be so so so so difficult to set up and configure? Cakewalk is so much easier to instantly use..

kXfanatic · Oct 21, 2005, 12:13 AM

First of all, send me your Platinum by mail and I will send you back my Value. Shurely that will work fine.

If talking seriously, throw away any prologs and epilogs and build your own DSP setup using Pro-FX.

Russ · Oct 21, 2005, 12:37 AM

Read Lemury's guide in the following thread: A Newbie Guide - "How to setup Cubase SX with KX

alrotem · Oct 22, 2005, 06:45 PM

OK that's it. I've had it. Why can't a driver's manual be as simple as:
Step 1: Plug
Step 2: Run Setup
Step 3: Play

IMHO, KX Drivers are indeed very powerful (got me to a latency of 5ms) but way way way too complicated to handle (considering the fact I'm a techie more than I am a musician. I am an experienced software engineer with loads of various IT knowledge).

This whole DSP control over-complicates actions that should be trivial, or (to say the least) does not support trivial actions (e.g. using the mic with ASIO based applications to record an audio track) by its default configuration.

True, I am using a Soundblaster (Live! Platinum) soundcard, which it, by far, not cutting edge music creation hardware. I am aware of that fact, but I also know that my soundcard is capable of delivering basic music creation tasks:
With my SBLive I can record MIDI (with low latency with some drivers),
I can record audio from various sources,
I can play multi-track music,
I can load soundfonts and samples,
I can control 4.1 speakers surround sound,
I can edit music scores.
All the above is more than sufficiet for my production needs, and my soundcard supports it. I am using quite a powerful desktop PC.

My conclusions:

I have tried the original Live! drivers - they are quite crappy when it comes to Latency, but deliver ease of use on all other aspects.

I have tried loading hacked Audigy drivers - they deliver fine latency on some applications , but cannot be controlled on others (e.g. Couldn't control latency in Cubase SX 3).

I have tried KX - they deliver good latency. But why oh why do they have to be so dang complicated to operate? I swear I will never put my hands on that terrible DSP control GUI again.

NOW:
I went back to the original Live! drivers, and installed Asio4all, which gives reasonable latency (10ms - 20ms) and delivers everything else easily and in a much more friendly way.

Can anyone convince me otherwise?

Alrotem.

P.S. Yes, you have guessed correctly, I'm a Windows enthusiast. I like things plain and self explanatory. I like a good easy GUI, and I'm a great fan of buttons like "Next", "Previous", "Finish", "Apply", "Go", "Cancel", "Submit", "Yes" and "No". Keep it simple and easy to use, if you want users to use your software, even if it is top-notch-state-of-the-art professional.

Russ · Oct 23, 2005, 03:27 PM

There is a learning curve with using kX, but once you figure out how to use it, it is not difficult. The DSP window is the most powerful aspect of kX, and I do not think anyone who really uses kX would want it (the DSP window) much different then it is now . It may be more complicated to use than other drivers, but it also allows you to do things that are not possible with other drivers.

thomasabarnes · Oct 23, 2005, 05:22 PM

Hiya alrotem:

I was reading this forum for a year, before I really got the hang of using kX and finally stuck with using kX. But back when this occurred, there was not available different newbee help articles written by various kX users. There are help articles that make it easier to start working with kX, now.

Most notably is a guide written by LeMury found here:http://driverheaven.net/showthread.php?t=55649

The most influencial point for using kX I found written in that guide is the point that the kX driver and software turns your compatible sound card into a mini recording studio packed with hardware based effects, mixers, and incredible routing possibilities, and gives you awesome control of the capabilities of your sound card!

Also, the new ProFX plugins by LeMury include the ADC plugin (which makes it possible to record mono signals to different tracks using the Mic and Line In inputs simultaneously), try that with Creative software?!! New ProFX Plung Ins found here: http://driverheaven.net/showthread.php?t=70261

As you already recognized, the kX ASIO driver makes low latency a reality for us using compatible Creative Labs sound cards, and that's great for playing and recording softsynths!

As Russ mentioned, there is a learning curve for understanding and using kX successfully, creatively, and satisfactorily, but in my opinion, it's well worth the effort.

I assert: There is no better software or driver for a compatible sound card than The kX Project Audio driver and software! The decision is yours to make.

By the way, welcome to DriverHeaven!

Oct 20, 2005, 11:20 PM	#1
alrotem DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	yet another newbie problem - no audio Hello experts, I guess I'm not the first one to bring this up, and I'm almost certain I'm missing something here. The sure thing is that something is not working right, so please bear with me and enlighten me.. I'm using the following configuration: Soundblaster Live! Platinum Roland ED PC-180 MIDI Keyboard controller Windows XP Pro + SP2 I'm using the following software versions: Cubase SX 3.0.2 Sonar 4 Producer Edition Reason version 3.0 KX drivers version 5, 10, 00, 3537 DSP settings: I started with the default DSP settings and then worked by this manual: http://au.geocities.com/kxcubase/ As suggested, I applied the following configuration: I disconnected the first 2 connections coming out of the "prolog" into the "xrouting", and instead directed them into the "epilog"'s inputs 14 and 15. My DSP now looks similar to the one displayed in the tutorial. The problem: I have a microphone connected to my souncard. In the KX Mixer I enabled AC97 and set it to "Mic". I hear the microphone through the speakers. In Cakewalk Sonar I can record both MIDI (with very low latency), and audio (from the mic). BUT, in Cubase, I cannot record from the mic (but I do get the MIDI with low latency with the KX ASIO driver). In Cubase, on the VST Connections dialog, I added a new "Input bus" and set its Device Ports to KX IN 14 and 15 respectively. I also added a new "Output bus" and set its Device Ports to KX OUT 00 and 01 respectively. I added a new audio track in Cubase, and set its "In" to the input bus (see above) and its "Out" to the output bus (see above) I had just added. On the transport panel, I can see the "Audio Activity (Input)" meter flickering whenever there's an input from the mic. The "Audio Activity (Output)" meter, however, remains dead. When I try to record on the audio track, I get nothing.. By the way, in Sonar 4, I don't have this problem and I can record both MIDI and audio from the same mic quite easily. But, alas, I wanna use Cubase. Any suggestions? Sorry if my question is trivial. I tried seking the answer on the internet (including this forum) but did not find it. Since everything works in Sonar, I'm positive that this is merely a configuration issue with Cubase. Thanks! Alrotem. P.S. Cubase is such a good professional piece of software. Why does it have to be so so so so difficult to set up and configure? Cakewalk is so much easier to instantly use..

Oct 22, 2005, 06:45 PM	Thread Starter #4
alrotem DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	My grim conclusions... OK that's it. I've had it. Why can't a driver's manual be as simple as: Step 1: Plug Step 2: Run Setup Step 3: Play IMHO, KX Drivers are indeed very powerful (got me to a latency of 5ms) but way way way too complicated to handle (considering the fact I'm a techie more than I am a musician. I am an experienced software engineer with loads of various IT knowledge). This whole DSP control over-complicates actions that should be trivial, or (to say the least) does not support trivial actions (e.g. using the mic with ASIO based applications to record an audio track) by its default configuration. True, I am using a Soundblaster (Live! Platinum) soundcard, which it, by far, not cutting edge music creation hardware. I am aware of that fact, but I also know that my soundcard is capable of delivering basic music creation tasks: With my SBLive I can record MIDI (with low latency with some drivers), I can record audio from various sources, I can play multi-track music, I can load soundfonts and samples, I can control 4.1 speakers surround sound, I can edit music scores. All the above is more than sufficiet for my production needs, and my soundcard supports it. I am using quite a powerful desktop PC. My conclusions: I have tried the original Live! drivers - they are quite crappy when it comes to Latency, but deliver ease of use on all other aspects. I have tried loading hacked Audigy drivers - they deliver fine latency on some applications , but cannot be controlled on others (e.g. Couldn't control latency in Cubase SX 3). I have tried KX - they deliver good latency. But why oh why do they have to be so dang complicated to operate? I swear I will never put my hands on that terrible DSP control GUI again. NOW: I went back to the original Live! drivers, and installed Asio4all, which gives reasonable latency (10ms - 20ms) and delivers everything else easily and in a much more friendly way. Can anyone convince me otherwise? Alrotem. P.S. Yes, you have guessed correctly, I'm a Windows enthusiast. I like things plain and self explanatory. I like a good easy GUI, and I'm a great fan of buttons like "Next", "Previous", "Finish", "Apply", "Go", "Cancel", "Submit", "Yes" and "No". Keep it simple and easy to use, if you want users to use your software, even if it is top-notch-state-of-the-art professional.

Oct 23, 2005, 05:22 PM	#6
thomasabarnes Long Time ***** Friend Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: USA Posts: 1,375 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Hiya alrotem: I was reading this forum for a year, before I really got the hang of using kX and finally stuck with using kX. But back when this occurred, there was not available different newbee help articles written by various kX users. There are help articles that make it easier to start working with kX, now. Most notably is a guide written by LeMury found here:http://driverheaven.net/showthread.php?t=55649 The most influencial point for using kX I found written in that guide is the point that the kX driver and software turns your compatible sound card into a mini recording studio packed with hardware based effects, mixers, and incredible routing possibilities, and gives you awesome control of the capabilities of your sound card! Also, the new ProFX plugins by LeMury include the ADC plugin (which makes it possible to record mono signals to different tracks using the Mic and Line In inputs simultaneously), try that with Creative software?!! New ProFX Plung Ins found here: http://driverheaven.net/showthread.php?t=70261 As you already recognized, the kX ASIO driver makes low latency a reality for us using compatible Creative Labs sound cards, and that's great for playing and recording softsynths! As Russ mentioned, there is a learning curve for understanding and using kX successfully, creatively, and satisfactorily, but in my opinion, it's well worth the effort. I assert: There is no better software or driver for a compatible sound card than The kX Project Audio driver and software! The decision is yours to make. By the way, welcome to DriverHeaven! __________________ May a song always touch you in a positive way. SONAR X1D Expanded, Windows 7 Pro 64Bit, MOTU UltraLite MK3, 150 GB HDD, 250 GB HDD, 1 TB x2 HDD 7200 rpm My Music Production: Top 40, Contemporary Christian, Pop/Rock, Decent Rap, Inspirationals, and Children Songs Last edited by thomasabarnes; Oct 23, 2005 at 05:38 PM.

Oct 21, 2005, 12:13 AM	#2
kXfanatic DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 88 Rep Power: 0	First of all, send me your Platinum by mail and I will send you back my Value. Shurely that will work fine. If talking seriously, throw away any prologs and epilogs and build your own DSP setup using Pro-FX.

Oct 21, 2005, 12:37 AM	#3
Russ HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 5,563 Rep Power: 62	Read Lemury's guide in the following thread: A Newbie Guide - "How to setup Cubase SX with KX

Oct 23, 2005, 03:27 PM	#5
Russ HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 5,563 Rep Power: 62	There is a learning curve with using kX, but once you figure out how to use it, it is not difficult. The DSP window is the most powerful aspect of kX, and I do not think anyone who really uses kX would want it (the DSP window) much different then it is now . It may be more complicated to use than other drivers, but it also allows you to do things that are not possible with other drivers.