Gary wrote:

I recently purchased Cubase Artist 8 and the UR44 interface to integrate with my MOXF8 and MacBook Pro using the latest Yosemite operating system. I keep reading where the sounds of the MOXF8 can be transported into Cubase via USB. I can see a midi signal in Cubase but can't actually monitor the sounds via my UR44 connected to my Event powered monitors. Do I need to use the right and left audio outs on the MOXF and route directly into my UR44 for monitoring or can this all be accomplished via USB. I have two separate drivers I need to use. The YSMOXF8 driver is available but so is the UR44 driver. ANY help on how to route this mess would be so appreciated so I can actually use this setup!

Thanks in advance,

Gary

Welcome to Yamaha Synth!

Well, first, you have two audio interfaces. The MOXF can act as its own audio and Midi interface, and the Steinberg UR44, of course is an additional Audio interface, it too, can act alone as audio and Midi interface. In a typical setup you would use a single audio device as the main interface. Most software DAWs (like Cubase) allow you select just one particular device (driver) as your audio interface.

The job of the audio interface is to be the routing device. It will be responsible for receiving audio inputs from your various instruments/microphones, etc (sources), and route them into the computer. It will also take audio in from the computer and route that audio to your monitor speakers. And directing sources 'direct' to the speakers for latency-free monitoring purposes.

You can see, with your two monitor speakers, only one of these 2 audio interface devices can route audio from the computer to those speakers (we'll call this the primary audio device). We can help you straighten out your setup ... But we need to know a few things to help us understand how you wish to work.

OPTIONS
If you connect both devices to your computer, you can have a maximum of ten audio inputs to Cubase. Dual Stereo (4CH) from the MOXF and six channels from the UR44. We are not certain about what you have in mind in terms of recording, how many instruments you intend to connect simultaneously, what you anticipate in terms of monitoring requirements, etc.

You can easily connect and use the MOXF as your audio and MIDI interface.
You can easily connect and use the UR44 as audio and MIDI interface.
You can configure your Mac to allow both devices to route audio to the computer (called an Aggregate Audio Device)

MOXF
The advantage of using and recording using the MOXF as its own audio and MIDI interface via USB is ease of setup, and the following workflow: The MOXF has dual stereo USB audio buses to the computer: USB 1/2 and USB 3/4. The A/D Input on the back panel allows you to additionally plug in a single mono or stereo device and route that through the MOXF Insertion Effects and then on USB 1/2 to the computer. The internal synth Parts of the MOXF are, by default, assigned to USB 3/4. Internal Parts can be freely assigned to either 1/2 or 3/4. With this arrangement you can record vocals separately from your playing; you can record synth Parts as a stereo with the option to isolate a Part (when you wish to further process it in Cubase) by assigning it to USB 1/2.

UR44
The advantage of using the UR44 as your audio interface include its ability to supply +48volt phantom power for condenser microphones. And, of course, the additional inputs for more external sources. The UR features (4) of Yamaha's stellar D-Pre microphone preamp (class A). Sample rates up to 192kHz.

Both units feature an array of hardware Effects. The advantage of hardware Effects is you apply and monitor them in a latency-free direct routing manner.

We mentioned that you can create an Aggregate Audio Device... What this means, rather than just pickin one or the other device as your audio interface, Macintosh allows you configure multiple devices as audio interfaces... So when it comes to selecting the ASIO DRIVER, instead having to specify either the MOXF or the UR44, you select this Aggregate Audio Device which will include all of the simultaneous inputs you need.

The MOXF and the UR44 use the same ASIO DRIVER, but you still need to inform the computer which is the primary audio device (the one you've decided to connect to your monitor speakers.

This may sound like too many options but, it is just these:
Use either the MOXF alone, use the UR44 alone, you can manually switch the connections to your monitor speakers as necessary. In a case where you are working alone and overdubbing part by part, you can easily have a workflow where you record you music tracks with the MOXF. Then when it's time to overdub vocals or acoustic instruments you switch to the UR44. This is a viable way, for some to work. Reconfiguring your system (once you fully understand the routing) is just a part of the workflow.

If you'd rather setup to use both, then you'll need to setup the Aggregate Audio Device. It is really not more or less complicated, we just need to know from you how you envision working. (No need to setup the Aggregate device if you are not really going to use it). You may have thought you needed an external audio interface to connect the MOXF, you don't.... But if I read correctly ..your speakers are connected to the UR44 which means you need to select it as the primary ASIO AUDIO DRIVER in Cubase. This means it becomes the main routing device and all audio sources (instruments, mics, etc.) connect to it. And routing decisions are made using the UR44. It determines what you can monitor.

It becomes like the "mixer" - in that, all audio sources connect to it via its inputs and are sent to the speakers and/or to the computer.

Do I need to use the right and left audio outs on the MOXF and route directly into my UR44 for monitoring or can this all be accomplished via USB

You are not hearing your MOXF because you have not connected the analog audio outputs of the MOXF to your selected audio interface: the UR44. Without the Aggregate Device setup all signal you wish to monitor is selected via the UR44... This means anything not connected to the UR44 is not routed to your speakers

If you select the MOXF as the primary audio interface in Cubase, then you need to connect the MOXF to your monitor speakers. And if you use the UR44, its stereo analog outputs would need to connect to the AD Input on the back panel of the MOXF.

And yes it can be accomplished via USB by creating the Aggregate Audio Device and activating the ports you wish to use from both into a single 'new' composite audio device. You could select the 4 ports of the MOXF and the 6 ports of the UR44 to construct your Aggregate Audio Device. And then you would select it in Cubase
DEVICES > DEVICE SETUP... > VST AUDIO SYSTEM > ASIO DRIVER = Aggregate Device

In such a situation you can now record audio to Cubase digitally from either of your two audio interfaces. But still for "monitoring" purposes only one of them connects to your speakers (primary device)... And the other one's analog output must connect to the primary device for monitoring purposes.

APPLICATIONS > AUDIO MIDI SETUP > Audio Setup > click on the "Setup" gear icon and select Create Aggregate Device.