Hey Peter, I don't know Cubase at all and have never used it, BUT, did you happen to read post 6 from Gerk in this thread. He found and resolved his problem in a PT setting that allowed the user to " always fill the channel strip when banking" and it makes me wonder if there might be one or more similar banking settings in Cubase. That also parallels cmaffia's suggestion that it could be in the DAW. Prior to learning this about PT, I was quite sure Gerk's issue was with the DM, but I was wrong — it was in the DAW. (I think that it's also important to note that this is the first time in my life that I've ever been wrong — strange feeling, actually — never happened before — my girlfriend's protestations notwithstanding...)