it's breakfast time.

but what i determined this morning is that the signal out of the machine is currently both stable and correct. there is a small issue with the high mids - this is not the same as the fading. but, curiously, it seems to correct itself when i reseat the headphone plug in the connector. that reduces this remaining minor issue to either:

a) the cord (resistance, somehow).
b) the plug (bad connection).
c) the headphone jack in the amp.

after breakfast, what i'll need to do is test it directly out of the mixer. if i'm getting similar issues, it's either the cord or the plug and i'll have to test with further plugs and/or just buy a whole set of things - a new cord, a new plug and a new brace. if i'm not, it's the jack in the amp, and while i probably can't fix that i can at least finish mixing what i'm doing through direct connection to the mixer.

i suspect it's the plug, from previous testing.

there's still a chance it could break again when i open cubase, but at least i'll have a bit more of a control if that does happen, and know it's software.