Hi I am new to the forums and the VDL program, and cannot seem to find where it tells me how to set up Finale 2005 to work with VDL2.  I am using an eMac 1.2 GHz G4,  768 MB RAM.

I understand that Finale works as the conductor and VDL2 is the orchestra (DRUMLINE!). 

I understand that I need to have a working MIDI set up in Finale, mine works GREAT!  I can use my MIDI keyboard to input and also to hear playback.  MIDI set up is in good condition.

I have VDL2 set up so that I can play my MIDI Keyboard and hear the sounds from VDL2, no problem.

My problem has to do with getting Finale 2005 to playback the sounds from VDL2.  I obviously just don't understand how to get the connection for VDL2 to work.  I tried using Audio MIDI set up to use the Core MIDI IAC Bus to play back.  It doesn't work.

Can someone please set me straight on my next step?!?  What is the process I have to go through to make Finale playback VDL2?  I know I am close, I just need some expert help.

BTW, I read something on the forums about a virtual MIDI Cable...what is this?  Do I need it?  Also, I have my internal playback set to OFF and MIDI thru set to SMART.

Thanks,

Jim

Jim - it sounds like you're close. It's the ";virtual midi cable"; thing that sounds like you haven't embraced yet. Basically ";virtual midi cable"; is just a term to describe the  driver that allows Finale to speak to VDL2. This needs to be set as the OUTPUT device in Finale (in MIDI Setup window), and also needs to be set as the INPUT device in VDL2 (in the MIDI Setup window).

Depending on people's computers (Mac/windows) the ";virtual MIDI cable"; can be different things. Since you're a mac guy, it's easiest to use the Apple IAC driver. If you've activated it in Audio MIDI Setup (on your Mac at: Applications>Utilities>Audio MIDI Setup) it should say ";device is online";, and you'll see the IAC Port 1 show up in your MIDI programs.

So in Finale, set your INPUT to be your keyboard (sounds like you already have that working). Set the OUTPUT to be IAC Driver Bus 1.

In VDL2, set your INPUT to be IAC Driver Bus 1. Everything else should be set to ";OFF"; here.

One other thing (if you haven't already done so). In Finale, be sure you are working within the Finale Template that you can download from the tapspace site. By doing so, you can set each staff to use the desired notation style (percussion map) to correspond with the instruments you've loaded into VDL2. You can make these settings with Finale's staff attributes tool.

Hope this helps.

Hey Jim,

Thanks so much for your reply.�� David Ratliff explained it to me on the phone as he walked me through your post and it worked PERFECTLY!!�� My first project (marimba piece), that I have been working on all day sounds great!�� I can't wait to get into my next project, this time with more VDL2 instruments.�� I am very excited about learning more.

This is a great forum, thanks for your support.

Jim Corcoran

P.S. Thanks for fixing my post subject.

Jim,

Glad I could help.

Dave Ratliff

You're great Dave!

Jim