Do I have to open Steinberg Driver every time I turn my MacBook on and go to Cubase or is it installed just once?

There shouldn't be anything to "open" except for Cubase. Cubase should remember its settings and "pull in" the driver assuming you have the Montage USB connected and configured for USB.

Second question, even though I have Intel would it be worth it for me to try installing driver as if I had the Apple Silicon?

I don't think you should.

Thank you Jason

In the mean time, I have existing midi files up in Cubse 12 and I am trying to assign instrument Bank and Program to pick the instruments I want to use on the Montage. I don’t want to preassign on the montage. If I have the MSB, LSB and channel of the instrument I want, how to i convert the three numbers I have on the montage into bank selector field and program selector field?

I’m back with the same problem, never solved. I have downloaded the latest driver that was supposed to be the fix for Montage Connect and MacBook 12 Monterey. I still cannot connect. Everything else works fine. I have recorded to Cubase used the headphones connected to Montage to play back. What else do I need to do. When I go to preferences and Yamaha Midi driver I see nothing connected but I don’t know that this matters. Any suggestions?

Montage connect worked in a VM for me (Monterey) running VMWare Fusion. I've since cleaned out the disk space required for this huge VM.

This is where I document my VM success (Intel Macbook + Monterey + Montage Connect):
https://www.yamahasynth.com/forum/modx-connect-won-t-go-online-1#reply-115519

I know that the combination works as I don't believe that the OS is in a virtual machine would have a positive impact on compatibility. If anything I would expect more problems doing it this way vs. bare metal.

When I go to preferences and Yamaha Midi driver I see nothing connected but I don’t know that this matters.

Under Cubase's "Studio"->"Studio Setup" menu and then the "Audio System" area - you should see "ASIO Driver" set to "MONTAGE".

If you don't have USB MIDI mode turned on with Montage or start Cubase before plugging in the USB TO HOST port to your computer then you will likely see "built in audio" here instead since Montage wasn't available during Cubase's load.

Under Finder, Utilities, Audio MIDI setup, MIDI Studio (maybe it's slightly different with Monterey - I have Big Sur) you should see the "MONTAGE" driver lit up. Not greyed out. Clicking on it you should see a checkbox next to "Device is online".

I can't tell from your latest message what exactly you're seeing because the text on the screen didn't seem to be exactly communicated nor was there sufficient context to know if the reporting was your operating system showing no connection or Cubase or Connect.

Here are some screenshots. I think I have the Cubase setup correct. Everything works except Connect

Please see the following on how to setup MONTAGE CONNECT in Cubase:
https://www.yamahasynth.com/learn/montage/what-is-montage-connect

The "Yamaha USB-MIDI" driver you show in one of your screenshots isn't the Yamaha Steinberg USB driver. Only the "Steinberg" driver is used by Montage. I think you may not have the correct driver loaded (for Montage) and so far the audio is working using generic class compliant.

When you go to spotlight (Command + Space Bar) and type in "Yamaha" you should see "Yamaha Steinberg USB Control Panel". I also don't see "Montage" in your MIDI devices - there's a generic one you're showing. I think this is all a consequence of not having the proper driver installed.

Note that there's not an issue having both drivers installed (Yamaha USB-MIDI and the Steinberg USB one). I have both installed because the USB-MIDI driver is used for other gear I have that take that driver. Montage just doesn't use it - so you would need to have both installed if you have other equipment that does utilize the USB-MIDI driver. Or get rid of it if you don't have any such gear.

If you've installed the Yamaha Steinberg USB driver before but it's not "showing up" then perhaps you skipped the step where you need to give it the necessary permissions under Privacy & Security (General tab). Otherwise extensions are blocked.

Ok Jason, I think we finally got it. I was not getting the security failure every time I installed the new driver and suddenly it was there. Then I went through a bunch of restarts before I finally disconnected all USB ports (as I had been instructed to do) and restarted again. Then I plugged in the Montage (not using a usb bridge) and it showed up as a new instrument. I started Cubase, added a tract using Montage Connect and went to setup and selected the Montage.

Last question for a while, I hope. The MacBook Pro wants me to install Ventura 13.0.1. Is Cubase and Connect going to work with this? I assume not. What have you been told?

Oh and Thank you Soooooo much for your’s and everyone else’s help. I’m old, so learning new tricks is not my forte.

Glad you got this working.

Ventura - Don't do it (yet) more commentary here: https://www.yamahasynth.com/forum/macos-ventura-is-now-available-don-t-upgrade

Never install a new OS on your music laptop/PC/computer/tablet when it's first available. It takes manufacturers some time (some are better than others) to make the necessary driver and application changes required to support the new OS. I'm still on Big Sur because I didn't see why I would install Monterey given everything I need is working and Big Sur is still supported with security updates.

I've tested Monterey enough (and also heard of success stories from others) to "bless" Monterey. Now the problem is disk space since it takes a lot to store the upgrade image and have enough space for the install. You don't have to wait years like I did - but at least wait long enough to get credible indications that all of your software has been updated to work with the new OS. You probably stand to gain very little by doing the updates when you eventually do.