Kronos Setting for Cubase (Help!)

[jeremykeys]

I'm actually having several problems right now. I can't seem to download the proper ASIO driver form the Presonus website either. I'm going to email the support team and see if they can help me. I may actually have to talk to somebody on the phone!

I'm also having difficulty just getting the system to "see" my Kronos. This could be because I don't really know what I'm doing though.

Not to worry. Eventually I'll get it and my studio will be up and running! I can still record on my Yamaha AW16G and all my other gear works and gets along. Ths new stuff though. Hmmmm!

Great. Now somebodies car alarm is going off. Oi! if it isn't one thing, it's another!

[jeremykeys]

I've been running Firefox on all of my computers for a few years now. I think my main problem is that I really don't know just what I'm doing!

[SanderXpander]

Which exact PreSonus mixer do you have again? Perhaps I can help.

And what do you mean your computer can't see your Kronos? Where are you looking? Did you install the midi driver from Korg?

[jeremykeys]

I haven't downloaded the Kronos driver yet. Hope to tonight. I'm using a Studiolive 16.4.2 mixer. It uses Firewire but when I had my computer built, I had a Firewire connection installed.

For some reason, whenever I try to download the Presonus Universal control driver, I only get part of it. Hmmm.

[QuiRobinez]

i have a feeling that there is some misunderstanding about how cubase works with drivers.
What you need is to install the following:
- an asio driver for your soundcard device (in your case: Studiolive 16.4.2 mixer)
- korg drivers

Now the next thing you need to do is:
- put a stereo cable connection from the korg kronos outs to two inputs on your studio live mixer.
- in the global section set local control to off (you are going to use your daw for that)
- press a combi you want to use (or song)

- start cubase
- select the asio driver of your soundcard in the cubase device setup menu
- select the cubase connection menu option
- select the channels you connected your kronos to in the audio in tab for the left and right channel.
- now go to the project window of cubase
- add an audio channel, press the speaker icon of that audio channel so that you will always hear the kronos.
- add a midi channel
- in the input dropdownlist on that midi channel track select: kronos keyboard
- in the output dropdownlist on that midi channel track select: kronos sound (these names were added by the korg drivers)
- in the channel selecter select channel 1 or 2 or one of the other 16 channels that you want to hear from your combi / song (you can set the channel on the kronos in the timbre channel for each timbre)
- now play a melody, if you did everything right you will hear the sound through the audio channel (you can also record it directly by arming the record button on the audio channel).
- Save this empty song as a new template called Kronos template in cubase. So you don't have to do these settings again, each time you can select this template when you want to create a new song.


Now these are the basics, the downside is that you will have latency when you are using this method if you use the kronos together with for instance a VST instrument. The kronos has a latency of your input + output latency as defined in the device setup of your asio card. you can correct that manually for the channel or in the connection window but there is a better method.

Cubase can solve this for you. Normally you won't use the audio input for this but you create an external instrument where you do the audio in routing to that external instrument. Then you load the newly created external instrument in a vst slot and in the midi channel on the project window you select the external instrument just like a vst instrument. then the channel defines wich sound you will hear from your kronos. Because you do it that way cubase knows how much latency has to be corrected to get the audio in sync with the vst instruments. So when you render your song to WAV or MP3 in realtime, the kronos sounds will be sample accurate in sync. But this is a little bit more advanced way of working with cubase, so i would suggest starting with the simple method above to get some feeling how cubase works.

[SanderXpander]

Actually the StudioLive is a digital mixer, I'm positive that you can use direct monitoring (not through Cubase) by simply raising the faders. You shouldn't use Cubase software monitoring at the same time.
EDIT: Not sure what's up with the drivers though, I can't test them since I don't have that unit, but I seem to be able to download them just fine. Does something go wrong during installation?

[QuiRobinez]

Actually the StudioLive is a digital mixer, I'm positive that you can use direct monitoring (not through Cubase) by simply raising the faders. You shouldn't use Cubase software monitoring at the same time.

i don't agree, i know that it's a digital mixer, but when using cubase i think you should prefer to have all the audio through the cubase sound engine, since all sounds needs to be combined in final result. by using the direct monitoring you won't have that functionality. And the presonus supports that by making all audio channels through firewire available in cubase. I gave an example of one stereo audio pair, but off course you could enter all audio channels for that purpose.

so as an example let's say you want to use a pad sound from the kronos which is sidechained by the bassline out of a massive vst instrument. And the end result should be rendered to a final wav, then the only way to do this properly is to route your hardware through the cubase audio channels.

Especially when you use the external instrument feature from cubase you don't even have to record the kronos sound anymore, everything is done in your final wav render in realtime. Which is quite powerfull since you only have to record the midi signals and have total control over the sound in cubase.

[SanderXpander]

In that very, very specific use case of wanting to side-chain a hardware synth with a signal from a VST synth in real time, yes, you should forego direct monitoring. In nearly all other cases it's good practice.

I'm only pointing out that direct monitoring is a very good and fail-safe way to avoid latency. The StudioLive 16:4:2 is an older digital desk and may have significant latency. The Sound On Sound review seems to imply so.

EDIT: to be clear, I wasn't saying you should never use Cubase software monitoring, I said you shouldn't use it at the same time as the direct monitoring. I brought it up because you (rightfully) mentioned latency.

[jeremykeys]

The first problem that I"m having is that for some reason whenever I try to download the Presonus ASIO driver, I only get part of it een though I am logged in and registered.

[SanderXpander]

How do you mean? The download stops before finishing? Have you tried using a different browser?

[jeremykeys]

Well now. who'd a' thunked it, eh? I've been in touch withPresonus and it turns out that I have an incompatible Firewire card. Soooooo, now I have to find time to probably take my computer back to the store where I bought it and get the card replaced.

Oh well. All in good time!

[SanderXpander]

That's a bummer. In my experience companies like to cover their asses saying a whole bunch of cards is "unsupported" - that's different from "not working". I had the same situation with my laptop firewire card and an RME FireFace 400, yet it worked perfectly after installing the latest firmware for my firewire card. Worth checking out perhaps!
Also doesn't seem to have anything to do with you only getting half of a download...?

[QuiRobinez]

Well now. who'd a' thunked it, eh? I've been in touch withPresonus and it turns out that I have an incompatible Firewire card. Soooooo, now I have to find time to probably take my computer back to the store where I bought it and get the card replaced.

Oh well. All in good time!

good that you find out the problem, almost every firewire based sound device does work with a Texas instruments based chipset, so be sure to have the firewire card replaced with a card with such a chipset.

[jeremykeys]

Presonus gave me alist of all the firewire cards that they have tested successfully with the mixer I have. I just have to get one installed. That won't be for a little while though.

[cyberjester]

As I am relatively new on Cubase I am not able to set this up as described.This is exactly what I would like to do with KRONOS and Cubase, using the KRONOS as an external instrument for MIDI recording with Cubase. Is there eventually a more precise documentation about this available somewhere on the web ? Would be glad for any tips.

Now these are the basics, the downside is that you will have latency when you are using this method if you use the kronos together with for instance a VST instrument. The kronos has a latency of your input + output latency as defined in the device setup of your asio card. you can correct that manually for the channel or in the connection window but there is a better method.

Cubase can solve this for you. Normally you won't use the audio input for this but you create an external instrument where you do the audio in routing to that external instrument. Then you load the newly created external instrument in a vst slot and in the midi channel on the project window you select the external instrument just like a vst instrument. then the channel defines wich sound you will hear from your kronos. Because you do it that way cubase knows how much latency has to be corrected to get the audio in sync with the vst instruments. So when you render your song to WAV or MP3 in realtime, the kronos sounds will be sample accurate in sync. But this is a little bit more advanced way of working with cubase, so i would suggest starting with the simple method above to get some feeling how cubase works.