MOTIF XF VST - NO SOUND OUTPUT FROM VST?

At the top of the Motif XF VST window, the title includes: "(no audio)".

Those two statements indicate a problem there is no SOUND because your AUDIO is not setup

We need some basic information. Your setup can become undone when you change things, but the system is designed for you to do so (change things) when you get it like you like it you should actually STORE your setup, then you do not have to reconfigure it from scratch every time you alter something. It also can happen when experimenting or simply your computer has lost communication with one of the buses, either AUDIO or MIDI.

We suggest first rebooting your computer. A fresh start is always the best place to start. (Do not uninstall anything, you say you had it working, so it is not a fatal injury, you simply need to REFRESH your system).

Unfortunately, you give us no clue of your setup USB, FW, Mac, PC, and there are specific steps you want to take to trouble shoot. Are you using the Motif XF as your audio interface or are you using an external audio interface? WH' wdhat operating system are you running? - since both PC and MAC have recently made major updates to their operating systems (and have caused more chaos among many of the audio and MIDI supporting items) your problem COULD be related to nothing that you have done other than changing the basic OS you are running. YES that undoubtedly affects everything you run, and particularly your MIDI and AUDIO gear (not just your Motif XF VST stuff, but the fundamental audio and MIDI functions).

We'd be happy to help you troubleshoot it, just please provide us with some details about your system. Versions are critical.

Sorry, I've been busy for a few days... I had my PC and XF powered off for most of the time. Upon booting them up again, I uninstalled and reinstalled the XF Standalone/VST Editor and the XF Extensions Plugin. Unfortunately, I still get the same problem. This is becoming incredibly confusing as this problem just seems to have come out of nowhere. As per your request, I've dumped as much relevant information below as I can. Anything not explicitly mentioned remains at a default setting.

Here's some basic version information:
....Cubase 8 Pro 8.0.30 Build 536 (64-bit)
....MOTIF XF Firmware Version 1.50.4
....MOTIF XF Kernel Version 2.6.10_mvl401-1.1.1.motif_xsmc.98
....MOTIF XF Contents Version 1.50.4
....Yamaha MOTIF XF Editor Standalone/VST V1.6.4 for Windows
....Yamaha MOTIF XF Extension V1.1.1 for Windows
....Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
....Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver V1.8.3

Here's some relevant information from my Cubase device setup:
....- MIDI
........- MIDI Port Setup
............Windows MIDI - In - Steinberg UR22-1 - Visible - Active - In "All MIDI"
............Windows MIDI - In - Yamaha MOTIF XF8-1 - Visible - Active - In "All MIDI"
............Windows MIDI - In - Yamaha MOTIF XF8-2 - Visible - Active - Not in "All MIDI"
............Windows MIDI - In - Yamaha MOTIF XF8-3 - Visible - Active - In "All MIDI"
............Windows MIDI - Out - Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth - Invisible - Inactive
............Windows MIDI - Out - Steinberg UR22-1 - Visible - Inactive
............Windows MIDI - Out - Yamaha MOTIF XF8-1 - Visible - Active
............Windows MIDI - Out - Yamaha MOTIF XF8-2 - Visible - Active
............Windows MIDI - Out - Yamaha MOTIF XF8-3 - Visible - Inactive
....- VST Audio System
........ASIO driver: Yamaha Steinberg USB ASIO
........Not releasing driver when application is in Background
........Multi-processing activated
........ASIO-guard activated
........ASIO-guard level: Normal
........Audio priority: Normal
........Steinberg Audio Power Scheme not activated
........Disk preload: 2 seconds
........Adjusting for record latency
........Record shift: 0 samples
........- Yamaha Steinberg USB ASIO
............Clock source: Internal
............Not externally clocked
............No direct monitoring feature
............In - UR22 Input 1 - Invisible - Inactive
............In - UR22 Input 2 - Invisible - Inactive
............Out - UR22 Output 1/L - Visible - Active
............Out - UR22 Output 2/R - Visible - Active
............- Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver Control Panel
................Device: Steinberg UR22
................Buffer size: 128 samples
................Sample rate: 44.1kHz

Here's the configuration inside the VST Connections window:
....- Inputs
........- Stereo In - Stereo speakers - No audio device connected
............Left - Nothing connected in the device port
............Right - Nothing connected in the device port
....- Outputs
........- Stereo Out - Stereo speakers - Yamaha Steinberg USB ASIO as audio device - Click on
............Left - UR22 Output 1/L in the device port
............Right - UR22 Output 2/R in the device port

Here's what is currently in the Project window:
....- MIDI Track 1
........Record-enable switched on
........Monitor switched on
........"Unmuted"
........"Unsoloed"
........Volume: 127
........Pan: off
........Track delay: 0.00ms
........Input routing: Yamaha MOTIF XF8-1
........Output routing: 01. MOTIF XF VST - Midi In
........MIDI transmit/thru channel: 1
........Input transformer: none
........Automation read disabled
........Automation write disabled

Some settings from the Motif XF VST itself:
....ONLINE
....In song mode
....- Setup
........- Data Port
............Port 1 MIDI Out - Yamaha MOTIF XF8-1
............Port 4 MIDI In - Yamaha MOTIF XF8-4 - Port 4 MIDI Out - Yamaha MOTIF XF8-4
............Device Number 1
........- Auto Sync Setting
............Global ON - MOTIF XF > PC
............Current ON - MOTIF XF > PC
............Voice ON - MOTIF XF > PC
............Auto Start ON
....- Hardware Utility
........- MIDI Channel
............Basic Receive Ch: 1
............Basic Transmit Ch: 1
........- MIDI Sync
............MIDI sync: MIDI
............Clock Out: Off
........- MIDI Switch
............Bank Select: ON
............Program Change: ON
............Local Control: OFF
........- MIDI Other
............Controller Reset: Reset
....- VSTi Setup
........- Audio Return Ports
............1 - L: Not Assigned - R: Not Assigned - MOTIF XF 1
............Etc... - L: Not Assigned - R: Not Assigned - MOTIF XF Etc...

And lastly, some Cubase preferences:
(see attachments)

When looking through all these settings, I notice a few things that do seem a bit odd. But I'm not sure. However, the major problem is still that I can't select anything from the dropdowns in the editor's VSTi setup. On the XF itself of course, I'm still using quick setup 3. Hope this is useful.

Sorry, I've been busy for a few days... I had my PC and XF powered off for most of the time. Upon booting them up again, I uninstalled and reinstalled the XF Standalone/VST Editor and the XF Extensions Plugin. Unfortunately, I still get the same problem.

That is because there was and is no known issues with installation, and the problem is clearly not an issue of installation. This only adds to your frustration. An error in installation will be specific and have a warning message that will indicate this.

Here is your (NO AUDIO problem):

....- VSTi Setup
........- Audio Return Ports
............1 - L: Not Assigned - R: Not Assigned - MOTIF XF 1

Please set up your AUDIO by going to the Motif XF VST Editor > FILE > VSTi SETUP > On the top item select your audio interface as the LEFT and RIGHT Return - the Steinberg USB AUDIO Driver. You need to setup the Motif XF VST to RETURN audio through your UR22. So you must tell the computer HERE, that the Motif XF VST is returning audio to the DAW via the jacks of the UR22. We assume you have the Left and Right OUTPUT of the Motif XF connected to the Left/Right inputs of your Steinberg UR22.

This is where you tell it to connect. When you do, the "NO AUDIO" warning will disappear and you will be able to hear and route audio through Cubase.

To quote myself: "However, the major problem is still that I can't select anything from the dropdowns in the editor's VSTi setup."

Believe me, I know this is the problem. If I click the dropdown box, the only option I get is "Not Assigned". It would lead one to believe that their interface wasn't even connected somehow. But it is, as evidenced by the device setup. I checked all my cabling and went through a lot of settings. When I couldn't solve the problem by myself, this was the moment I decided to make a post. If reinstalling the VST doesn't do anything, I could try resetting Cubase somehow. It seems like there's some sort of internal error going on here.

An extra note: I remember also that my entire OS performed some pretty big security updates before the glitches. There's always the possibility that it's Windows 7's fault.

Believe me, I know this is the problem. If I click the dropdown box, the only option I get is "Not Assigned".

OK, we understand. It is always frustrating when the option does not even appear. This is an indication that the software cannot select the necessary resource. This is a call to REFRESH (not reinstall, well not yet). REFRESH will allow the software to rescan the available hardware.

You specifically mention that the Steinberg UR22 is recognized in certain places in the Cubase environment, it is missing in the very important DAW (audio) RETURN setup window within the VST EDITOR.

Let's concentrate our focus here.
First since you are at that far end of Windows past OS (Windows7) you want to remain vigilant about staying on top of updates - especially while Windows 7 is still mentioned specifically as supported on the requirements list. (Once they stop mentioning it, you are on your own basically, it doesn't mean it will no longer work, just that the ability to troubleshoot it becomes problematic). The current UR22 driver is YAMAHA STEINBERG USB AUDIO Driver is at version 1.9.6 for Windows. Also you need to download and update the YAMAHA USB-MIDI Driver to version 3.1.4 for Windows - this is the MIDI Driver for the Motif XF. You don't mention this but perhaps you've not updated this one in a while.

If you did some "big security update" for Windows, there might just have been an update for some of your drivers (at least it is a good time to check the versions of your audio/Midi drivers, n'est pas?)

Once you update the drivers, use the following check method:
Go to CONTROL PANEL in Windows
Find the "Yamaha Steinberg USB driver" (red) icon
While connected to the UR22 via USB, click on it, see if you get connection information.
This is your audio interface.

On the CONTROL PANEL in Windows
Find the "Yamaha USB-MIDI Driver" icon (blue)
While connected to the Motif XF via USB, click on it, see if you get the information window
This is how the Motif XF communicates via MIDI with your computer.
The XF's audio is manually connected from the analog L/R to the audio interface (UR22) and it is those ports you need to select on the VSTi SETUP > DAW RETURN screen.

You need both drivers. The YAMAHA STEINBERG DRIVER is for the UR22
The YAMAHA USB-MIDI DRIVER is for the Motif XF. Make sure your XF is set to MIDI IN/OUT = USB

You must use USB-MIDI (or FW) to the XF in order to use the EDITOR VST... Which requires a multi-port connection. The Motif XF does not use the same driver as the UR22. The XF will be using the Yamaha USB-MIDI driver 3.1.4

Let us know.

Thanks for the information regarding the drivers. Didn't realize that a new USB-MIDI driver update was released. I usually just rely on Windows' "Update Driver..." option to search the web for available driver updates. But I guess it can't find version 1.9.6. Apparently my UR22 driver was up to date though.

So anyway, I updated the USB-MIDI driver (downloads.yamaha) and opened both drivers' control panels from the Windows control panel. Both of them appear just as they usually would. The USB-MIDI control panel with it's routing-of-ports, and the UR22 control panel with it's sample rates and latency details.

Then I reopened Cubase 8 Pro, selected an empty template, and did the usual thing to set up the XF VST; load the VST from the rack, synchronize XF, etc... Sadly, when I go into the VSTi Setup I still get the same lack of options. Just "Not Assigned" as usual. Even though the XF is online, the UR22 is on and connected, and Cubase's MIDI routing is correct.

A refresh sure sounds convenient! 🙂 Any ideas other than a reinstall of Cubase?

Thanks for the information regarding the drivers. Didn't realize that a new USB-MIDI driver update was released. I usually just rely on Windows' "Update Driver..." option to search the web for available driver updates. But I guess it can't find version 1.9.6.

Windows does not keep track of drivers for you, you do. Trust Yamaha and Steinberg for things concerning your Music: MIDI and Audio: Yamaha Steinberg USB Audio driver 1.9.6

I couldn't quite get my screenshots to upload before, but maybe it's because of their file-type. I'll try .JPG. The first shows the lack of option. The second shows the UR22 actually being detected somewhat selectively by the VST.

The "UR22-1" shown in your second screenshot above is the MIDI port on the UR22, and indicates that your problem is audio related, not MIDI related. Please recognize the difference between MIDI and Audio. The VST EDITOR makes MIDI Port connections under FILE > SETUP.
It makes its audio Port connection under FILE > VSTi SETUP.
Did you find the driver YSUSB 1.9.6?

Go to DEVICES > DEVICE SETUP > VST AUDIO SYSTEM > ensure you have selected the Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver for use within Cubase as your ASIO Driver. Cubase will also indicate whether it sees (active or not) the UR22's audio port connection on this screen.

Finally, check the cables connecting the main Left/Right outputs of the XF to the inputs of the UR22

Yes I downloaded the YSUSB 1.9.6 driver from Steinberg under the downloads section for the UR22.

The driver is selected for use in the VST Audio System submenu of the Device Setup.

I switched around my audio cables to check if a cable was broken. It's pretty unlikely that more than 1 would break at the same time but I tested a few combinations anyway. Unfortunately, it's the same problem.

Just wondering if gain settings on the L&R outputs would affect anything?

Would you believe it? The problem apparently was that the UR22's L and R outputs weren't marked as "visible". Lol. As soon as I checked those boxes, they appear in the VSTi Setup... I'm pretty certain I didn't uncheck these boxes.

What remarkably strange behavior though. After I've selected the UR22 L and R outputs within the VSTi Setup window in the VST, then go back to the device setup in Cubase, they are unchecked again! So I guess the VST has been unticking this for me behind my back or something... Of course, it leaves one confused when the L and R suddenly become inactive. The option is mysteriously gone from the VSTi Setup. Only for one to find out that the L and R were set to invisible the last time they selected it.

I'm glad the issue was easily resolved, but embarrassed that the answer was right in front of my face especially after iterating through the config by hand.

Anyway, thanks for your patience Bad Mister.