Well this weekend I'm still not connected fully; not sure what I'm missing or not doing. I couldn't get the routing to work when I had the Mackie controller hooked up, so I simply ditched it and now have the following configuration:
Audio interface/Mixer: M-Audio NRV10
MIDI interface: M-Audio Midisport 4x4
Sequencer: C4
Synths: Yamaha AN1x & Access Virus A
Here's all I've been able to do so far...and I think I'm "almost there"...but still encountering some weirdness:
1. Installed the NRV10 on to my Mac. In the Audio/MIDI devices section of the System Preferences, I have the NRV10 as my audio input/output device set to the main "multichannel" configuration.
2. Connected the AN1x and the Virus to the 4x4 according to the quick card instructions (AN1x OUT to the 4x4 IN / 4x4 OUT to the AN1x IN : Virus OUT to the 4x4 IN / 4x4 OUT to the Virus IN).
3. In Cubase I created a 2-stereo bus template so I have two Input busses coming from the two stereo channels on the NRV10 (5/6 for the AN1x and 7/8 for the Virus) into Cubase. I've followed the C4 manual's instructions on connecting external gear and both synths show up in the VST connections panel as well as in the VST instruments rack as external VST's.
I know I need to set up the MIDI control chain...but not sure how to do it. I'm assuming that C4 needs to be the MIDI master and time source, but I'm not sure how to do this. I'm about to start going through the synth manuals to set them up to be slaves to Cubase...but again, this is all new to me and while I think I understand the connections/routings...I must be doing something wrong yet.
I have 2 audio tracks and 2 midi tracks open in Cubase to control and record from the synths. And while the routing is correct on the mixer, I'm not sure if they're correct in general.
The one puzzle I'm not sure about, too, is latency. When I start playing the AN1x (which I have set as the midi input for both synths) I get instant playback from the AN1x. When I solo the Virus track, however, and start playing the AN1x...I've documented the lag to be 56 seconds from the time I press a key and actually get sound back from the Virus. Any suggestions as to what I'm missing or doing incorrectly?
I haven't even tried recording yet since this lag is wigging me out a bit.
If anyone has any advice...I'm all ears. I'm still reading through the manuals...but as of this post, I'm still kind of stuck.
If anyone is in Philly and would be willing to swing by at some point during the week or next weekend, that would be more than appreciated!
Now I need to see if I can return the Mackie...