Setup is XS-Rack, PC laptop with Vista 64 bit and an M Audio Keystation Pro 88 controler.  USB from controler and XS Rack into the laptop with AI4.

Working with midi backing tracks and play live with small band.  Would like to record midi tracks to audio and keep as a spare in case of “emergencies” while playing live.  Would like to place the audio tracks as mp3’s perhaps on CD or Ipod. 

Was able to achieve this with my old XS8 with the mLan card but not now.  Granted I was using a firewire connection then and now USB.

So open a project and add an audio track.  I am certain I am missing something here in terms of output of the midi tracks and the settings for the audio track. 

Hit record and nothing.

Thanks

Re: “So open a project and add an audio track.  I am certain I am missing something here in terms of output of the midi tracks and the settings for the audio track.”
---Well, we seem to be “missing” additional information that we need to help you :) BUT it appears you are trying to send audio to Cubase via “USB”??? USB is MIDI only; you need a digital audio interface for sending audio to Cubase...as I expect you know since you previously used mLAN. Perhaps I have misunderstood though. If so, please clarify and elaborate.
AI comes with tutorials and they cover recording audio in Cubase. Have those not helped? Also MP3 export is available only upon “upgrade” of Cubase AI. (Please contact your vendor for details). So I’m not sure how you were exporting to mp3 from AI previously. Again, perhaps I have misunderstood. Anyway hope that begins to answer your questions..............frank

Think I understand.  No mLan = no audio, However if I can export a project as an mp3 with a paid versio of Cubase then I’m good.  Am I understanding this correctly?

Correct, the commercial versions of Cubase 4 or 5 allow export to mp3. Having said that though there are less expensive options if that is ALL you want to do. There are many smaller programs that will convert .wav to .mp3. However if you are interested in recording, mixing and mastering, an upgrade to Cubase could be considered. As Yamaha admits, AI is a free version meant to introduce one to a few of the features of Cubase, with the hope that one will consider upgrading/buying one of the commercial versions. It’s not meant to be a complete ‘solution’ for the recording process................frank

Thanks.  I had SL3 then AI4 came with my XS8 so I used that.  However my SL3 projects were not forward compatible so I needed to redo all of my projects.  Not sure if that was becasue of the change in Cubase (SL3 to AI4) or becasue I went from an XS8 to an XS rack.

So, if I upgrade AI4 to a current version of Cubase (reccomendations?) will my existing projects be forward compatible or can I make them so?

In general, pre Cubase 4 projects were not very compatible with C4 (Steinberg warned everyone), but in order to help out they provided a download of SX3 for folks who wanted to work with older projects. A current C5 licence also allows one to run C4 and SX3.
The best solution was, as you discovered, to either rebuild an old project in a newer version or finish an old project in an old version before moving forward. I still keep SX3 functioning in case I ever have to go back to an old project, am finishing several projects in C4 and also am gradually moving forward with C5....all under one inclusive ‘C5’ licence for Cubase. Again though, all of this information applies to commercial versions of the program. Free versions such as LE or AI do not enjoy the same privileges. Hope that answers your concerns ..........frank

“A current C5 licence also allows one to run C4 and SX3.”

So with C5 Studio I should be able to use my current library of AI4 projects and open them in C5 then save them in the new format?

Quite possibly, yes, but as with many things these days...it all depends. :) Also you are talking about going from a lite version 4 product to a new C5 Studio project. So some things will translate well in a project file and some won’t. But as long as you have used all the same plug-ins, effects etc. for C5 that you used in AI, the chances are good. It also depends on how complicated your projects are. And you still may have to make minor tweaks though, no matter what, especially if any of your audio or MIDI hardware has changed. So, while no one can say that yes, without doubt you can do that with no problem, your chances are good in most cases. Again though, AI shares the same audio engine as C4, but not all the same features as the commercial versions..............frank

Ok.  Called Steinberg and spoke to sales who told me to purchase the mp3 encoder, which I did.  Of course, exporting an audio mixdown as an AIFF would have been fine too.  When I try (saving to my desktop) I see the status bar and hear a very fast version of the track as it exports.  Then, when I open the exported file....nothing.  Also noticed that there is no “mp3” option in the dropdown of the dialog for this feature.  Attached.

Again, I know this is a free version and I am willing to upgrade to a full paid version if necessary to accomplish this.  However the guys at Steinberg sales said this was not necessary.

No, it is not “necessary” to update, but....personally, if it had been me, I would have taken the money I could have spent on the mp3 patch and put it towards an upgrade to a more complete version or purchased a simple inexpensive Windows or Mac program that can convert files from one format to several others. I would not add anything to AI. But that’s just my opinion, of course; you may not agree.
In any case, I can’t decide if there’s a question intended inside your last post or if you were just letting us know what you’d done. Either is fine, of course, but if you do have a question, we’ll try to help. Before trying to export as .mp3, make sure too that you are able and know how to export in the formats that AI itself permits. Cheerio.........frank

There was a question somewhere in there.  :)

Export audio mixdown as AIFF.  Save to Desktop.  Open with Itunes to play and it’s playing but no sound.  That’s it?  I am thiking perhaps an audio setting on my ltptop is not configured properly.  However I am getting sound from the lapttop no problem for other programs, etc.

Of course. I am not using the laptop for the soundcard for my midi tracks, I am using my XS rack.

Sounds as if somewhere along the line something is not quite right. Before anyone can even guess though, would you kindly tell us WHAT exactly you are doing and with what. Start at the beginning. What digital audio interface and ASIO driver are you using? Have you set up the right and left locators as described in the manual, and are you sending your audio tracks to the correct bus? What are your settings in the Export panel? Try exporting as a .wav file before you do anything. Is that .wav file the size it should be and can you play it with Windows Media Player? Are you converting (via dithering) 24 bit audio files to 16 bit before you export? Etc. The better the picture we have of what you are doing, the easier it will be to find your problem. Cubase does indeed export audio properly................frank

Ok.  From the top.

Setup is XS rack and M audio controller into laptop via USB.

Open project.  BTW, I looked in manual BEFORE I posted here and just could not follow along.  I’m looking at it again now.  Doesn’t seem that the steps listed were options I had avaialble in Cubase. 

Set up locator.  Export audio mizdown as AIFF.  Save to desktop and open.....no sound.

I am thinking perhaps that I haven;t properly configured the setting in Device Setup or VST connection settings.

Attaching screenshots of dialogs.  HOwever I don;t see them attached.  Ugh.

Re:"Setup is XS rack and M audio controller into laptop via USB”
Sorry, but WHAT M-Audio controller? Are you definitely recording “audio” in AI via USB and that M-Audio device???
In any case, sounds to me as if you are not exporting audio at all, only blank files, so a few questions.
a) Have you gone through the AI “Getting Started” guide and set up your system correctly?
b) Have you done the tutorials?
c) Have you tried exporting some of the audio from a tutorial file...not your own projects?
d) Again, please provide the exact name of your audio interface and tell us which ASIO driver you are using and your settings for audio and MIDI in Devices.
Right now, the error could be anywhere. We do not have nearly enough information as per my previous post. The better the info, the better the response. Cheers...........frank

I am not recording audio.  I am using midi tracks as backing for a small band.  I am using the XS rack to “sound” the midi tracks.  I use the Keystation 88 M Audio controller to play along with the backing tracks when I gig live.  THe XS rack and the M Audio controller (keyboard) are both connected to the laptop via USB.

Driver in the Cubase dialog states, “ASIO Direct X Full Duplex Driver” In my Windows contrl panel states, “IDT High Definition Audio Codec”.  Can’t seem to get that far in the tutorials. 

All I want to do is take my existing Cubase Projects and create an audio backup file for each that I can place on a cd or my Ipod to use in case of a laptop crash when playing live.

I know MIDI is not sound and only commands, and that I use the XS Rack as the soundcard when playing.  Id the issue here that I need to record the midi project as an asudio track? 

So, I have a project with 14 midi tracks....no audio tracks.

When I selcet: export: then audio mixdown through Cubase I can hear the song play at a very fast speed.  It saves a file to my desltop as an AIFF folder.  I open the file with ITunes to play it and nothing.  I have also tried the other avaialble formats (windows media) and nothing.

sage540 - 20 March 2009 07:55 PM

I am not recording audio.  I am using midi tracks as backing for a small band.

Thats your problem right there. You have no audio in Cubase.
When you mixdown from cubase it mixes whatever audio is going through the cubase mixer (F3). How can you expect to hear anything when you have no sound coming from cubase? Your recording silence.

It sounds like you are using cubase as a MIDI file player, outputing MIDI to your XS rack via USB, and you must be listening to the audio directly from the outputs of your XS? If this is the case, you need to realize that audio cant travel up the USB cable from your rack and into cubase!!

YOU NEED TO SOMEHOW RECORD THE AUDIO FROM YOUR XS INTO CUBASE! If you have no mLan, then you need an audio interface. Your laptop may be equiped with an onboard soundcard with a line level input, (though it probably wont have drivers that work well in cubase). If you dont already have one, your probably going to need to purchase an audio interface. A basic stereo interface isnt too expensive and if you want to ever do any computer recording its not optional, its essential. (You had one built in to your XS8)

So, assuming you get an audio interface, you need to connect the outputs of your XS rack into your inputs of your audio interface. Then, in your song alongside your 14 MIDI tracks, you need to create a stereo audio track in Cubase. Then you need to arm that track for record, press play. At this point cubase will be sending the MIDI down the USB cable to your XS rack. Your XS rack will be sending sound out of its outputs into your audio interface. This will be recorded by the stereo track youve made in Cubase. THEN YOU CAN EXPORT AN AUDIO MIXDOWN THAT WILL HAVE SOUND.

there are a few more steps, but Im just trying to help you understand the concepts of basic computer recording and MIDI.

hope that helps

Mike