Focusrite Saffire Pro 26 Windows XP Cubase Wavelab HELP!

[Keysandslots]

I'm at the limit of what I can figure out on my own and could use some advice.

My keyboards are running into a 24 channel analog board, which runs into the Saffire Pro 26 (channels 5/6), and the Saffire is hooked to the new Windows XP computer (I have a friend at Microsoft) via firewire. The Saffire also goes to an amp (outputs 7/8) via analog audio and into a pair of small Tannoy nearfields. Not too complicated, until I start throwing software at it. There is no audio running into the computer or out of the computer, just firewire from the Saffire.

I managed to get most of the stuff working 'though. I can get Cubase (SX) to record MIDI and I can get it to record the audio that is generated when it plays back the MIDI stream to the keyboards, using VST inputs 5/6 and VST outputs 1/2.

What I can't do is record an audio track that is a mixdown of multiple audio tracks. Cubase will not "hear" audio (wave file I suppose) that is generated by the computer. I can hear it through the monitors 'though. If the audio comes from outside the box, no problem, but from inside, nothing. This also shows up when I try to master, Wavelab does not hear any of the audio coming out of Cubase, but if I play some analog audio from outside of the computer (play the keyboards), the audio shows up just fine.

It's as if there's a virtual patchcord missing somewhere between the computer output and the computer input. My understanding was that this would happen inside the Pro 26 but maybe I need to run analog audio from the computer to the mixer, or patchcords from the Saffire outputs to the Saffire inputs.

Does anyone have a setup similar to this that is working?

Thanks

Randy

[Keysandslots]

I think I figured it out. What I had done at first (when I was trying to solve this) was to run the outputs from the Saffire back into a pair of mixer channels, but, as I figured, that resulted in feedback (mixer running into Saffire, Saffire running into mixer). What I eventually did (and I'm not sure why this didn't cause feedback) was to run a pair of cables from the outputs of the Saffire (outs 7 and 8) into a pair of inputs on the Saffire (7 and 8 again I think). That seems to have worked.

Setting optimum signal levels is a bit of a challenge with this thing but at least I can now see and hear everything. Just a few more hardware things to fix (broken USB port on the Yamaha S90 and something odd about the MIDI patchbay to Nord G2X hookup) and then I think I'm ready to go.

Randy