On this page relevant topics from the official Terratec FAQ (issue 981228) have been integrated. They are preceded by a small Terratec logo.

Once there was a file called 'troubleshooting.pdf' for Cubase VST users on the Steinberg site. It doesn't seem to be there anymore, but thanks to Ralph Staudigl we still have it available for download. So go to the Download Page and read it first!

When I choose the "EWS64 S Synth Play" preset, the card is muted though I can see the playback in the monitors (Cubase VST 3.6)

This problem is caused by some strange settings in VST's EWS presets. The input for the driver is activated and the card is set to half duplex. Turn off the input of the driver and set the card to "full duplex". Also you shoud set the synchronization to "Sampleposition output" to improve the audio-/MIDI synchronization.

Contribution by Benjamin Zeiss 981212

As far as I know the cs4332 dx driver is the DirectSound driver for the Codec, the EWS64XL dx-drivers are the ones for the Dream chip. I have experienced that the Dream dx-driver causes more trouble in some games than the Codec driver.

Contribution by Simon Daw 981225

This is TerraTek UK's response: The difference between the CS4232 and the EWS drivers is as follows. The chips used in the manufacture of the EWS cards are from a company call Crystal Semiconductors (hence the CS...), Windows has it's own Direct X drivers for these chips and therefore recognises them as CS4232 and makes the drivers available.  We also have drivers and they too are available.  You should use ours as there are extra functions and stuff in there that are not in the Crystal drivers...

Contribution by Simon Daw

My experience shows the solution here is to make sure that "Use 16 bit only" is NOT checked in card options.

Contribution by Alberto Guazzoni

If you have a parallel scanner and printer, place the Cubase dongle on the back of the scanner. So connect everything like this:

• Computer printer port to the IN of the scanner
• Scanner OUT to the Cubase dongle
• Cubase dongle to the printer

Some updated information in advance: on 02 July 1999 Terratec released the first beta of ASIO drivers for the EWS64S/L/XL/XXL. Go to our Download Page if you want to try them.

Official statement by Terratec, May 1998.

ASIO-support for Cubase VST is still in the pipeline. But it will not help a lot in regards to speed compared with the DirectX drivers. Currently a latency of up to 139 ms can be achieved (dependent from the system performance) with our DirectSound drivers with the following settings:

• Driver latency 3-6 ms (can be set in the synthesizer property sheet with the
  drivers > v. 2.03)
• Buffer size 2048 samples (can be set in Cubase VST’s ASIO-DirectX-setup)

For a proper MIDI-timing a delay of 100 ms min. must be selected in the MIDI
part of Cubase VST 3.55(x). This can be set under Options\Synchronisation\System
Preroll. These timing problems are EWS-independent. A delay is happening anyway.

If audio has to be recorded you should select the MME driver. You will then get a latency of ca. 279 ms (not that nice but quite normal for soundcards).

Regarding latency time: Rebirth 338 (1.5) runs with the EWS with 25 ms latency, NativeInstrument’s Generator gets 15 ms (they will reduce it in the next version with DirectX support to 5-10! ms) and RubberDuck is similar to that. Also the Nemesys-team (GigaSampler) tells us similar performance quality.

Contribution by Holger Fiergolla, who also supplied the images.

For this item you better have the Win95 calculator ready :-)

Take a closer look at the 'GS Patches' tables in your 'Wavetable & Midi Manual' and you will notice PC (for 'Patch number') and a small C0 next to the columns named '1st Variation' and another C0 next to '2nd Variation' etc.
The numbers in the C0 Columns describe the bank number you use to select the specified sound using the 'Ctrl-0 bank select' method.

CakeWalk users can switch the bank select method to 'Controller 0 only'. In the 'Track View' you can use the Bank-Patch combination specified in the SoundBank documentation to select the desired sound. In List View insert the events described in the SoundBank's documentation. So far, so good.

As far as I know Cubasis uses another bank select method in the 'Arrange view'. In 'Cubasis AV -XL Edition' all you have to do is to multiply the numbers in the C0 Columns with 128 (this is the moment the Windows calculator comes in handy).

Now comes the difficult part (for me, because I only know the German Cubasis version):

• In Cubasis open the Trackinfo view ("Spurinfo") (hit the small button at the lower left corner of the Arrange window)
• Type the calculated number into the bank field
• Type the patch number into the Prog field

Example:

• assumed the bank loaded with "EWS set manager" is houselp2.94b
• houselp2.txt says: DRUM CONTROL 0  110 -->  PATCH 2
• Get that calculator:
  • bank number: 110 * 128 = 14080
  • patch number: 2 +1 = 3 (hope your calculator can manage that). Important note: Hoontech starts counting at 0, Cubase starts with 1)
  • Type in the calculated numbers at the above specified places and the next 'house track' is yours.

  If you have configured your Cubase for the EWS you can choose 'E.Grand' from the Patch menu instead of typing 3 into the prog input field.

Now the second (easy) way:

• Open the Cubase 'List editor'
• Insert a BankSelMSB event with Value1 = 0 and Value2 = 110
• Insert a ProgChange event with Value1 = 3 (see above)
• Play the two events. Done.

(Clarified by Holger Fiergolla)

The first question is discussed under choosing 'Variations'

Second question:

(A remark in advance: Don't mix up 'banks' loaded with your EWS Setmanager and the 'banks' the loaded soundbank contains! Every soundbank (*.94b) can contain one or more 'banks' containing different sounds sharing the same patch number).

More than eight? With the current Setmanager this is impossible. When the final Ed!son is ready you can create your own soundbanks, containing more than eight different soundsets.

With the current EWS software you can use 8 soundbanks at the same time, but:

• All your soundbanks should use different banks
• Sounds using the same bank/patch combination use the priority option set in the Bank Manager. The sound with the lowest slot and the highest priority wins.

Later correction made by Holger

The number of banks is not limited/set by the EWS Software (Setmanager).
Using the API to receive the maximum number of loadable banks the driver returns '8'.

The reason for this limit could be:
a) the current EWS64 drivers (V 2.x or less)
b) the current EWS64 firmware
c) a hardware limitation to 8 (I do not know the DREAM9704 specs)

Again: it's not the Setmanager that limits it to eight.

Possible solution, contributed by Vital

Some problems with ATI drivers you can fix by decreasing the 'hardware accellaration' parameter in the Display-section of the Windows Configuration.

We noticed Cubase appropriates the .mid file extension. You can easily overlook that, because if you set the EWS-Player to be the default player (during installation of the EWS software), the midi-file icons become EWS-Player icons. After installing Cubase AV however, the midi icons remain EWS-Player icons, but the files are set to be opened by Cubase.

Have a look in the menu option of Explorer where you can indicate the file types: midi files are registered under an 'EWS-name and icon', but set to be opened by Cubase. Some of the 'novice users' perhaps already wondered why doubleclicking an 'EWS-iconed' midi file resulted in Cubase to start.

So the solution is: start the Windows Explorer, menu View, Options, file types tab, select 'EWS Media Player' from the list, press the Edit button, select the action 'open', press an Edit button again and browse to the EWS-directory to select Ewsplay.exe as the application by which midi files should be opened.

[Drivers version: 2.x beta and final 2.x drivers release]

Solution

Cubase AV has been modified for drivers version 2.x (beta and final releases). So if you use 2.x drivers, you can not use the Cubase AV version that has been made for the 1.x drivers.

• Use the final 2.x drivers. They are on the 2.x CD Terratec sent you. You can also download them from Terratec.
• Use the new Cubase AV version. Download it from Terratec.

Contribution by Brent Hugh, Daniel Cunningham, Lewis Lineberger.

• Look for adevice.ini in your Cubasis directory and edit it.
• Look for the following line: mmx_support=1
• Change this line to: mmx_support=0

This problem can occur when you have no MMX processor. Also try this solution if you have a different brand than Intel (e.g. Cyrix).

Contribution by Thimo Koberling

In this case, try to raise the number of audio buffers in the ASIO Setup (not the buffer size itself, though) for the Wave Record. Something like 10 or 12 should be a good amount.

If I go to the button at the bottom of each bus and choose a device, VST just ignores me and sets them all to the same device as the master bus.

Contribution by Thimo Koberling

Should work fine with 2.x drivers. So upgrade if you still use 1.x drivers.

If you are the owner of a Matrox Millennium/Mystique video card, there could be a relation between your sync-problem and this card. See the Hardware Problems section for more details. You should also read the item ASIO-drivers, latency and Midi-timing on this page (more recent -June 1998- than the information below).

Official solution by Terratec as stated in their FAQ of 11/11/97:
(Translated from German by Computer ConText)

The problem lies in the fact that Cubasis AV uses an audio driver for synchronization. Probably you did not make any setting for the synchronization yet and that's why Cubasis AV-XL Edition runs out of sync.

Make the following settings:

• Start Cubasis AV-XL Edition
• Open menu 'Audio' and choose 'Hardware settings'
• Click 'More Choices'
• At this stage it's important which audio driver should be indicated within Cubasis AV-XL Edition.
  • In case you use an 'EWS Wave Play' driver, choose as 'Sync Reference' the option 'DMA-Block' and after that 'Detect DMA Blocksize'.
  • In case you use the 'EWS Codec Play' driver, choose in 'Sync Reference' the option 'Sample Position'.

After this, the problem should be largely solved. Synchronization through 'DMA-Block' is less precize than with the 'Sample Position'-method, but the EWS 2.0 driver version will surely support this method for 'EWS Wave Play' drivers.

Some general information about timing latency in Windows 95, perhaps important to know.

In this month's issue of the Dutch computer magazine PCM we read some information that can be interesting for you in connection with the sync problem. Here is a summary, supplemented with our own remarks.

• The sync problems (midi-timing problems in general) are due to the 'timer latency' under Windows 95. Because of the preemptive multitasking all kinds of processes can take place during playing a midi-file. They can disturb the timing accuracy. So, if you encounter timing/sync problems, have a look at your own system: are there other programs running? How fast is your processor? We still don't know the exact figures, but we suspect the EWS-software itself has a tendency to keep to processor rather busy too.
  More processor power means less chances on timing problems. But still: Windows 95 can't garantee you accuracy. Maybe Windows 98 will bring improvement.
• The most well known solution is the use of 16 bits DLL's for the timer-functions. However: this is not possible under Windows NT. That's the reason many sequencers are not suited for use under Windows NT, because it's not possible to call a 16-bit DLL under Windows NT. But there is still hope: the Multimedia timers under Windows NT are much more reliable.
• Midi sequencers always used a very precise timer function. Under DOS they used an interrupt vector. That way the timer function was directly related to the hardware. The only disadvantage under DOS was the low timing resolution (we still remember the first DOS-Cakewalk versions: stable, going like a bomb).
• Under Windows 3.1x the situation already deteriorated. However, via a tric the hardware still could be used.
• Under Windows 95 it's bad news. See the first item of this list.

Maybe this information and a closer look at your computer system can explain some timing problems you have. At least in some cases you can come to the conclusion that you don't have to look any further for a solution and that you should blame uncle Bill instead of Terratec or Cubase.

Contribution made by Morten Egelund Rasmussen:

According to Steinberg-NA, Cubase VST works fine under MME. Terratec are working on ASIO drivers (which eliminates the latency associated with MME). The ASIO drivers will provide direct support for the EWS hardware.

Contribution by Ralph Staudigl. Source: Steinberg's troubleshooting.pdf

Below are the settings given in Steinbergs troubleshooting.pdf for the use of VST together with the EWS. I tried them out and don't have sync problems anymore.

• Sync Reference.
  • DMA Block: Output.
    Note: The Codec port must be used for Sync Reference. Please make sure that this port is at the top of the list in the Output Ports box in the ASIO Multimedia Setup window. If necessary, move this port upwards by selecting it and clicking on the "Move up" button, until it is at the top of the list.
• Card Options.
  • Activated: Full Duplex, Start Input First, Open all Devices before Start
  • Deactivated: none
  • Audio Buffers: 5
  • Buffer Size: 5512

Contribution by Taiyo

Have you tried setting the system preroll (synchronisation menu) to the same figure as the latency (on my system 750). That worked for me. There are some good advices on Dan Duskin's page (http://www.instanet.com/~thedusk/) for setting up your computer for VST and the Cubase users group may offer some help too. There should be a file on your CD about using the EWS with VST.

Follow up by Philip Koestner

That seems to do the trick! I event set the preroll to 1500 so that I always hear the first bit of audio. I've tested sync for a 4 minutes song, and I didn't notice any struggles.

Contribution by Jörg Knitter

If your Cubase VST version is lower than 3.55, upgrade to version 3.55 and the problem is solved.

For general information on this problem, please read the 'Crippled Sysex Dump' topic in The Midi Port section.

When using the GS-Editor in Cubase VST 3.55, the effects don't change correctly. Neither the type of effects can't be changed, nor the effect volume of the different midi channels.

Answer from Nicklas:

You can´t change the FX-level in Cubase if the MIDI-send (In EWS FX-Panel) value is higher than 64. I don´t know why, but this is a fact!

Contribution by Jörg Piringer

In Cubase (sync-options):

• Set the sync source to 'internal'.
• Output the sync signal (midi-clock) to a virtual midi device.

In Rebirth (preferences):

• Set the sync source to the virtual-midi-record with the number you selected in Cubase (e.g.: vmidi-record #1).
• It may be necessary to push the 'sync'-button on your transport-control in Cubase.

Extra information regarding VST and Rebirth under item ASIO drivers, latency and Midi-timing.

Contribution by Michael Simon, who gives the description in more detail:

Be sure to have a Pentium 200+ installed on your mainboard. Activate at least one Virtual MIDI Channel at Device Manager / TT devices / Synth /Settings / Number of Virtual MIDI Devices: "1"

VST: Options / Synchronisation... Set 'Sync Source', 'Send Sync/MIDI Timecode' and '/MIDI Clock' to "EWS64XL V-MIDI Play #1" (the number #X must be the same as in ReBirth).

ReBirth: Edit / Preferences... / MIDI Input / Input: "EWS64XL V-MIDI Record #1". Enable "Sync to MIDI Clock". For details read the RB pdf manual.

Now if you click on "Sync" at the VST Transport Panel ReBirth will be "controlled" by VST, even find the correct position in the song if you move the position slider. Both applications should be set to the same
tempo (bpm). Works fine here. Perfect sync. Watch the Sync and MIDI LEDs indicating in ReBirth.

Name of contributor not known.

Very Important: If you use VST 3.55,  don´t use the ASIO-Direct-X driver, because you can only use it for playback in Cubase! Use the ASIO Multimedia Driver instead.

Contribution by Walter Knauer

Record the played back MIDI tracks as a new audio track (stereo, of course!). Then mute the MIDI tracks and make a mixdown (FILE->EXPORT AUDIO FILE; must be 44,1kHz stereo). If you want, add effects and/or mixing. Don´t forget to set the Panning in the mixer to left and right.

Contribution by Thomas ...

If you just want all material as one wave file just select an empty audio track and record everything, so You will get a complete mixdown. Before doing this make sure you got the "EQ/V-space send" button for MIDI enabled in the fx-panel.
If you want to record each single MIDI channel (like I always do to use the effect rack on midi-trax), just select an empty audiotrack and mute every other channel except the one you want to record (for example the bass). Now just record the channel (remember to enable 'EQ/V-space send' before). Repeat it with the other MIDI channels til you got all material as wave-files. Now you can use them as usual, with the complete effect/EQ-section of VST and mixdown everything via Audio-export. Important: Use ASIO-Multimedia-Driver because ASIO-Direct-X can´t record (what you will surely know if you recorded vocals and guitar).

In the ADEVICE.INI file in your Cubasis AV directory in the [Audio_Device] section change the line 'mmx_support=1' to 'mmx_support=0'.

After the next reboot, the Cubasis system will start without the error message.

© 1998, Computer ConText, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, except for contributions made by others.

Latest update on page: 19-04-99

© 1998, Computer ConText, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, except for contributions made by others.

Latest update on page: 19-04-99