when i leave song mode and go to voice mode, sound comes back. then, i go back to song mode, I reload the editor and it works. but the next time i load the same cubase project theres no sound and i have to do it all over again.

A clear sign that you are not setup properly.
When setup correctly, switching from Song mode to Voice mode, either on the hardware (Motif XF) or the software (Editor) will cause the other to switch. When properly setup changing the selected Track of your DAW will automatically select the Part in the Editor and vice versa, selecting a Part on the Editor will automatically select the appropriate Cubase Track.

Review your setup. No sound, likely has to do with your audio connection from the Motif XF Main L/R Outputs to your Speakers system or the lack of the proper Monitor settings.

Thanks Bad Mister.
The VST editor and the motif do seem to be in sync. If I change modes on one, It changes on the other. However, auto sync does not happen automatically. I have to push the start button. I don't know if that is the way it supposed to be, so Im mentioning it.

To clarify my original post a little, the audio drops out of the motif whenever I select another track. For example if I select and audio track and then move back to the motif track, the sound disappears. I even tried this with headphones plugged directly into the motif, and with a local control on and off. The same result. I can only get the sound back by restarting auto sync.

I've checked all the parameters I know. It's beyond my scope of understanding how moving to another track and then back could disconnect anything.

Thanks,
David

It's beyond my scope of understanding how moving to another track and then back could disconnect anything.

The Motif XF VST communicates via MIDI. It is literally placed between the Cubase MIDI Track and the Motif XF Tone Generator.
When working with MIDI Recording in a DAW, you set Local Control = Off

Local Control is switch that literally allows the messages generated by pressing keys and moving controllers on your Motif XF to reach the internal Tone Generator. When switched OFF, those messages are only Output via MIDI… this is how there is NO SOUND.

In order to hear sound, you must RECEIVE those MIDI messages in the DAW (Cubase) and echo them back Out to the Motif XF VST’s MIDI IN… which then Outputs them to the Motif XF hardware (Tone Generator) which generates SOUND.

If you select an Audio Track in Cubase, you will no longer hear sound… Local Control is Off, your Motif XF is only generating MIDI messages, and the poor Audio Track does not understand the MIDI messages.

Remember in order to hear your Motif XF while setup to record MIDI, you must *select* a MIDI TRACK that is set to RECEIVE MIDI messages from the Motif XF on Port 1 and set to Output MIDI messages back toward the “Motif XF VST—MidiIn” on a specific MIDI Channel.

You can switch Local Control = On when you want to communicate with an Audio Track. If you wish to record Audio to a Cubase audio track you will need to use an Audio Interface; either the Motif XF’s optional FW16E (FireWire Expansion board) or an external Audio Interface to which you connect the analog outputs of the XF.

You can switch Local Control On/Off in the Motif XF itself or in the lower left corner of the Motif XF VST Editor’s main screen.

Thank you Bad Mister.
I read your explanation but sometimes it takes a day or two before it sinks in.
I understand why I would lose motif audio when I move from the VST editor track to an audio track. What I don't get it is why the motif audio would be lost when I move back to the VST editor track. If you already answered that question, my apologies. Like I said, it sometimes takes a day or two.

This is what I did figure out:
I spoke to steinberg support. They had me reset my roaming app data. That fixed the problem. However, that caused problems with another midi device that I am using. That device has a file with specific generic remote settings. When I restored its settings then the motif problem came back. My conclusion is that the cubase midi settings required for these two devices are somehow incompatible. Do you think that's correct?

Fortunately I found a workaround which is that the other device can use keyboard commands instead of Midi to control the things that it controls.

Thanks again
David