surround sound

[chairface]

im having problems

i have bought an internal 5.1 pci soundcard and installed the drivers how do i get this to be the output for cubase sx3 so i can try 5.1 mixing.

i have disabled the old card which was a realtek ac97 but cubase wont pick up the new internal soundcard how do i make it so i can have a 5.1 as a selectable output

i also use an alesis multimix 16 usb 2.0 which when its activated overrides output for the multimix is there a way i can set it up so i can use the alesis to input and the internal card for outputs?

i dunno if any of that makes sence but any help would be great cos i am confused

[Bigduggieface]

I hope I've understood the crux of your question.

Assuming that your 5.1 card is installed correctly and is working properly, you'll first need to assign Cubase's main output bus to your new soundcard. Do this by pressing F4 (to open the VST Connections window). Click the 'outputs' tab.

Click the 'add bus' button and choose '5.1' from the pulldown menu. This will add a new surround 5.1 output bus. You can delete the stereo bus if you wish.

Six outputs will be created in the popup window. Make sure that each output is routed to your soundcard correctly. If not, click on the output in the 'Device Port' column and re-route it. That should take care of the output of Cubase communicating with your soundcard.

Next, you'll need to assign each of your audio tracks to the newly created 5.1 bus. Let's assume you're starting a new Cubase template. Create a new audio track, and when prompted, choose '5.1' from the pulldown menu. Once your tracks have been created, hit F3 to open the mixer. Make sure that the 'Output Routing' fields at the top of each channel are set to '5.1 out' and not 'Stereo Out'.

Once you've recorded a few tracks, you'll need to position them in the 5.1 field. The easiest way is to insert the "Surround Pan" plugin on each of the tracks. You can use your mouse to position the audio anywhere in the 5.1 field. Left to right, front to back, or any combination of these.

There's a lot more to be said, but hopefully this will guide you in the right direction for the time being. Remember, while using Cubase, you can always click 'Help' then choose 'Documentation' and find the online Operation Manual which has an entire chapter devoted to surround recording and mixing.

Good luck! Let us know if you still have problems....

(Chairface- Bigduggieface>> Everywhere a face-face)

[chairface]

thank you for the reply i got cubase to recognise it but its only picking up that the soundcard only has 2 outputs

i know ive installed it properly because there is a soundtester with the driver cd which makes the sound swirl around you but cubase is only picking up 2 outputs from the card

again any help greatly appriciated

[jagcmos]

Make sure that you are using the ASIO drivers that came with the sound card. (if they did)

Select it in cubase. Devices->device setup->VST audio->Master asio driver

The default windows drivers may be only stereo.

[chairface]

i gave up for a while cos it wasnt working but im determined now cos ive finished mixing my project for stereo and i need to do it in surround now so ive got the master asio driver as the 5.1 but its only picking up the stereo out instead of the 5.1 i really have no idea what to do so if someone could help me that would be rad