VSTi interface not showing on Cubase LE?

[mcnach]

Hi,

I just installed Cubase LE and I'm finding that I can select and use my usual VST instruments, but their interface doesn't show. They work ok in Cubase SX2.

For instance, I use EZDrummer for my drums. Normally (in SX2) when I load EZD I get a new window with EZD's interface, that allows me to access EZD's functions, change the types of drums, balance the virtual microphones, etc.
I installed LE, and EZD gets loaded and it works, but I don't get that interface window, so I am stuck with the defaults...

Is this the way things are in LE, or am I missing something???

The reason I want to go from SX2 to LE is that I don't think I need all the bells and whistles of SX2, and my version of SX2 was... ahem... not a legit copy... I couldn't save a mixdown to wav, for instance.
But if Cubase LE is limited in that it won't show the VSTi interfaces, I can't use it :-(

I'm hoping I am overlooking something obvious.

[brandondrury]

Man, off the top of my head, I have no idea. I wish I could help you, but I'm not an expert on Cubase problems even though I use it.

I'd recommend reading the manual....as "unmacho" as that is".

Brandon

[mcnach]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

Man, off the top of my head, I have no idea. I wish I could help you, but I'm not an expert on Cubase problems even though I use it.

I'd recommend reading the manual....as "unmacho" as that is".

Brandon

ah, yes... "RTFM"
That was my very first call, actually (I guess I am in touch with my feminine side ) and checking Steinberg's site for differences between LE and teh other versions... but I didn't find what i was looking for.

That's why I'm posting in more general places. Hopefully somebody else will use Cubase LE with VSTis and would be able to tell me whether this behaviour is normal in LE, or there's something else I need to check...

[mcnach]

I solved it! :-)

Embarrasingly, it was a simple press of a button (labelled "e", next to each VST in the VSTi list window). I seemed to have had a default of "on" on Cubase SX2, and on Cubase LE it defaults to "off".
The manual wasn't very useful to discover this! I only found it by chance.

[jdaug]

just a note on LE... i got that version with my presonus interface. i liked it until i wanted to use more vst instruments and effects than its limited capabilities would allow. cubase teases you with LE. i upgraded to studio 4 after a month.

[brandondrury]

cubase teases you with LE.

Yup! That's why it's so cheap!

Brandon

[mcnach]

Originally Posted by jdaug

just a note on LE... i got that version with my presonus interface. i liked it until i wanted to use more vst instruments and effects than its limited capabilities would allow. cubase teases you with LE. i upgraded to studio 4 after a month.

I'm not heavy on VSTis etc... so far I haven't missed any of the functionality I had in SX2. Of course, that may well change in the future, but LE is really very good for the cost [1] It does things that you'd only dream of not so long ago, and paying a lot.

[1] cost? what cost? :-) I have two CDs already, one came with a soundcard, and another with a little handheld 4-track recorder. It's a great strategy by Steinberg. It worked already with you :-)

[jdaug]

right on. if LE is sufficient for you go for it. i liked it as well, just needed a little more. BTW, how do you like EZ drummer, and is it free?

[mcnach]

Originally Posted by jdaug

right on. if LE is sufficient for you go for it. i liked it as well, just needed a little more. BTW, how do you like EZ drummer, and is it free?

No, EZDrummer is not free, but it's not expensive either (I can't remember the price exactly, it was a while ago... maybe £70ish, I forget). Before I had EZDrummer I used SynthFont (free VST) to load drum soundfonts for my midi drum tracks. It could work okay... but EZDrummer is on another place entirely. It's really very good and very simple to use. It comes with a default kit (with a number of interchangeable cymbals, snares etc) all into 8 channels. You can output a stereo mix (customisable) or send each of the 8 "virtual mics" to a separate track. In addition you get a few percussion instruments and a good amount of premade patterns (midi) that you can use to build your tracks if you don't want to do it from scratch.
They have several expansion packs. I first bought their Latin Percusion pack... and it's great. Then I got the Vintage Rock kit, which is more basic than teh default but it does have a classic rock sound to it, while the default sounds more "modern"...

Anyway... I'm a fan! :-)
It makes getting good sounding drum tracks so much easier. You can even take the worst midi drum track, and I am sure EZDrummer will breathe life into it.

It can take up a bit of memory, especially if you open several at once (for instance, having a normal kit plus the latin percussions at once for full Latin Rock mayhem)... the default takes 267Mb, which is enough for most things, but you can easily have different kits at once... unless you're restricted by how many VSTis you can open at once by the software ;-)
I started running it with only 512Gb RAM, on a Pentium4 at 2.5MHz, and it worked. It wasn't the ideal situation but it never let me down. I have 2.5Gb now and I can juggle a couple of EZDrummer kits and several audiotracks without a problem. Once I am happy with the drums I tend to just make an audio rendering and unload EZD, using only audio unless I decide I want to change the drums later, in which case I just reload EZD and tweak it until I am happy.

[brandondrury]

Toontrack dfh EZdrummer Multi Layer Drum Sampler Software

Brandon