OK, I'm not sure if this is a Finale problem or a Kompakt problem so I'll post it on both forums.

I recently got Virtual Drumline and Sibelius 3. I have to get some music written quickly so I'm still working on Finale 2003.

Ever since I've installed VD, I can hear the notes played back while I'm entering the notes and also hear them through Kompakt itself, but when I do playback, I can't hear anything. I've been using Kompakt for a while with its preset sounds with no problems, but since I've installed VD, nothing.

My other problem is that I enter the first note of a measure and the notehead appears normal, but any note after that is a square regardless of what I'm trying to enter.

Any ideas on what to check?

For the Kompakt users, what settings do you have under Setup? Maybe that's where I screwed something up.

Your midi output device issue may have something to do with the fact that Kompakt is open (technically, it's a MIDI device). Check your MIDI OUT settings in Kompakt, and turn them all to 'off'.

You shouldn't have to uninstall your programs. In fact, un-installing/re-installing Kompakt may give you some hassles in the authorization/registration process, so I'd avoid that if I were you.

With the noteheads - I'll contact you directly and discuss the template. This isn't a usual problem, so we'll get you all handled.

Bill - I'm a little stumped on the nothead thing. You might want to open the percussion map and verify that the noteheads are correct by selecting the Staff Attributes tool, then double-clicking a staff, clicking the "select" button by "notation style", then clicking "edit" for the highlighted percussion map. Anything that's "mapped" in the VD template should have a name in the "name" column, so they should be easy to spot. You might also want to check that the "notehead font" element (also in the staff attributes window) is set to "Maestro Percussion". If these aren't set properly, I'm not sure how they became altered. They should be set correctly in the template that you downloaded. Perhaps you don't have all the Finale fonts installed? Just throwing out ideas...

For the playback issue, my hunch is that you may need to open the "instrument definition" window for each instrument and tweak just a couple settings. Since you're using Kompakt, the "PATCH" field should be set to: PROGRAM CHANGE. Also check to make sure that the MIDI THRU window is set to "smart".

Let us know if this helps.

[quote="Jim Casella"]Bill - I'm a little stumped on the nothead thing. You might want to open the percussion map and verify that the noteheads are correct by selecting the Staff Attributes tool, then double-clicking a staff, clicking the "select" button by "notation style", then clicking "edit" for the highlighted percussion map. Anything that's "mapped" in the VD template should have a name in the "name" column, so they should be easy to spot. You might also want to check that the "notehead font" element (also in the staff attributes window) is set to "Maestro Percussion". If these aren't set properly, I'm not sure how they became altered. They should be set correctly in the template that you downloaded. Perhaps you don't have all the Finale fonts installed? Just throwing out ideas...

For the playback issue, my hunch is that you may need to open the "instrument definition" window for each instrument and tweak just a couple settings. Since you're using Kompakt, the "PATCH" field should be set to: PROGRAM CHANGE. Also check to make sure that the MIDI THRU window is set to "smart".

Let us know if this helps.[/quote]

I checked out the mapping. All the noteheads are correct. I have the right font set and it still isn't working. I also just noticed that not matter what staff I'm on, I only hear the snare. Kompakt is not set on Omni, I have that set right.

Think it would help if I uninstalled everything and tried again? I really don't want to do that, but if I have to, I have to.

No matter what staff I choose, it tells me that my MIDI output device is in use and to wait till it's free. Not sure how that's possible because I have no other MIDI devices running.

If you check the MIDI Thru selection, under the MIDI menu, you would probably want that on "Smart" so that it calls up the right channel for whatever staff you're dealing with, or last dealt with. This might explain some of what's going on with only hearing the snare voice.