So this is my first post in the forum and through my research through here I have not been able to get a definitive answer from reading other posts.  My setup I’m wanting to use is Motif connected to my PC via USB.  Motif audio output connected to USB audio interface. Goal is to program a drum midi track in Cubase and have the Motif generating the sounds, then play a bass or any other instrument on the Motif and have Cubase record it’s midi track.  Then after I’m happy with the tracks go back and record each tracks audio individually and export to audio mixdown after final touches have been made to the audio.  Please help!!!  Please don’t tell me to get a mlan adapter for my Motif I am well aware it is awesome.  I cannnot afford one at this time.  Also as another question to this Cubase will only send midi to the Motif, to hear the recorded audio in Cubase it would be through the computers monitor speakers, not the Motif’s monitor speakers right?

Also on another note...for this luckily I have a “borrowed” computer I can run Cubase on temporiarly but would like it to run properly on my own computer. The computer I want to run Cubase on is a Dell Inspiron E1505 with 1.8 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB RAM (cannont go any higher), 120GB Hard Drive, 1 TB network Hard Drive, 1394 IEEE Firewire port, and CD/DVD read/write drive, running Windows Vista Ultimate.  When I had Cubase on there before it was really glitchy.  The play back and record would stutter even when the Motif was not connected.  I feel pretty confident that my Inspiron has enough hardware technology to run Cubase AI 4 seemlessly, however I have all this latency problem.  How can I fix that?

Buy this for your audio: Steinberg CI2. It comes bundled with Cubase AI5.

Use the Motif USB connection for MIDI.

How does that solve what I’m asking?

Also based on my system do I meet the recommended or exceed the system requirements for Cubase AI 5?

Ok so I solved the first portion of my post on my own.  Can anyone tell me about what they think could be going on with my Inspiron not being able to run Cubase AI 4 properly?  Is it the hardware or is it the Vista OS that’s causing it to lag?

What version of Cubase AI4 where you running?

It always comes down to the details with computers and computer related problems. You have to have the latest updates for your particular operating system or all bets are (all to often) OFF.

Motif audio output connected to USB audio interface.

Also you make no mention of which USB AUDIO interface (?) nor the USB-AUDIO driver you are using. These are the MOST critical components. I think the suggestion about the Steinberg CI2 was in reference to a rock solid USB-AUDIO interface with a low latency driver. And since you don’t mention what you have - it was a very good suggestion…

In general, the drivers that come on a computer are not recommended for recording and playback of audio with Cubase. You need a decent external USB-AUDIO interface and a decent low latency driver. The computer is probably fine (although none of them are specifically built to do music) it is the drivers and the software you add that makes them capable of doing this.