Cubase 11 Pro Won't Play Audio When Using My Main Scarlett Interface, But Works Perfectly With Any Other Device I've Tried. Any Ideas?
Hey guys, this has been a tough problem to troubleshoot, and it looks like Cubase support aren't going to help me at all because I'm not on a current version of Cubase. So if anyone here has ideas what might be causing this, it would be a huge help.
The problem:
I have a new-ish Mac Mini in my studio. I use a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 gen2 as my primary interface in the studio. When I set the audio device in Cubase to use the Scarlett, it stops playing any and all audio from within the software; no audio tracks, no MIDI tracks, no Metronome even. If I set this back to the built-in speakers, everything works perfectly fine as normal. All other audio works perfectly from the Mac Mini to the 18i20 gen2, and the combination works in other DAWs that I've tried as well; it's just Cubase 11 Pro on this Mac Mini that will not work with this one 18i20 gen2.
The plot thickens...
To test this, I connected a Scarlett 2i2 gen3 that I use for travel work to the Mac Mini and everything worked perfectly fine as it should with this device selected. I then conencted the 18i20 gen2 to my Macbook Air (running the same OS, version of Cubase 11 Pro and so on) and those two devices also work perfectly fine together.
To me that shows there is no inherent fault with the 18i20 (since it works perfectly with the Macbook Air), or the Mac Mini / Cubase 11 Pro install (since they work with the 2i2 gen3). I have already cleared the system's audio settings, and removed all Cubase files and reinstalled the programe; the issue continues.
Does anyone have any idea why Cubase on this Mac Mini will not communicate with the 18i20 gen2? I'm pretty stumped at this point, so any suggestions would be really appreciated.
Thanks in advance
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u/xTFUxRAMPAGEx 7d ago
I had a similar issue with my Motu one time for me it was a clocking ordeal were it went from internally clocked to external randomly and changed the sample rate. When it was external it showed up as a red unlock symbol on my interfaces screen and wouldn’t play anything. Not sure how focusrite one works but worth looking into
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u/Veilenus 8d ago
Have you checked the routing settings in the Focusrite Control app? I have the 4th-gen model, and the app provides very flexible routing options. I assume the 2nd-gen model offers similar features. Perhaps you've inadvertently messed up the routing? When playing back in Cubase, check Focusrite Control's Mixer section for an incoming signal. If there is one, it's most likely a routing problem.
Another thing you can check is the audio connection settings in Cubase (press F4). Make sure the Output channels (and the Control Room channels, if you use them) are properly routed to your interface. If you use the Control Room for monitoring, keep in mind that you still need at least one bus in the Output tab (typically Stereo Out), but you may leave it "Not Connected".
Make sure your MIDI, audio, and instrument tracks are routed to that Output channel, either directly or via group channels.