OK...I am away from my home setup so I have no MIDI keyboard right now. I want to make a recording of a previous piece with the VDL:2 sounds present (using WireTap). Everything worked fine at home with the MIDI-to-USB cable and a Yamaha synth hooked up to the laptop, but with no keyboard...I get no VDL sounds. I am on a Powerbook using Sibleius 3 with MIDI Patchbay and the VDL:2 stuff installed (this is the same computer used in the home setup BTW).

1. Is it possible to get playback like I have at home?
2. What setting changes do I need to make?

If you simply want to play back and aren't needing to enter anything, you should still be able to do this without your midi keyboard. Here's one important thing to be aware of:

When you removed your midi keyboard, you changed the MIDI setup that Sibelius normally expects in conjunction with this score. So go into your ";devices"; window, and [b]make sure[/b] that MIDI Patchbay is NOT selected as the input device. This can happen when you've removed a device, and if you have the same device selected for the default input AND output, it can result in a nasty midi loop, and totally crash your system. Instead, select a blank portion of the ";INPUT DEVICE"; field so that NOTHING is highlighted. All your other settings should reflect that of MIDI Patchbay being the output device.

Be sure that MIDI Patchbay is selected for each of your VDL2 tracks in the mixer, and that the channels are properly set. If you inadvertently hit the ";reset sounds"; button, these settings may very well have been altered.

Thanks Jim,

Still couldn't get it to work, but I eventually made the recording when I got back. In the grand scheme of things my problem may be that I'm still on OSX 10.2 (I know). The IAC Bus doesn't show up as an option and I think the OS version may be the culprit (though I do have Core Audio). An upgrade to 10.4 is in the works for later this month.

Oh yeah, the MIDI Loop of Death? I did that too.

Yes...that MIDI Loop of death is a doozie! Sorry you fell victim to it. I've done that many times and it's not fun...

Indeed Jaguar (OSX 10.2.x) does NOT have the IAC bus as an option.  That wasn't implemended in OSX until 10.3. Instead you need to use [url=http://pete.yandell.com/software/]MIDI Patchbay[/url] as your virtual midi cable. Technically, the VDL2 Kontakt Player doesn't support OSX pre-Panther (10.3.x), however it sounds like you've been able to get it working fine on your older system.

I spend most of my time working on my laptop away from a MIDI keyboard, so I'm always trying to find ways to speed up note entry via the mouse and laptop keys. It would be great to have some sort of cheat sheet to remember that notehead #26 is the sustained snare buzz, etc... (even if tapspace doesn't provide it, I'll probably make one for myself eventually...)

At some point (when I'm done writing fall music and have some free time :) ) I'll probably try to write an OSX app with a floating window that people could use to click on a button with description (";sustained buzz";) that would generate the correct MIDI note to enter in to Sibelius or whatever app... Gotta learn how to write MIDI code first though :)

Would anyone else be interested in something like this? Jim, would you get upset about it? :p

Corey - You'd have my most sincere blessing if you were to pursue this sort of venture!! The more useful tools for all of us who use VDL2, the better!

FYI....yes, it seems the VDL:2 Kontakt Player operates in 10.2.8 without a hiccup. I was nervous when I read the side of the box and saw the req's. I figured I would try it first on 10.2.8 before running out to CompUSA for an OS upgrade.


TiBook G4 1gHz w/ SuperDrive
1 GB RAM
OSX 10.2.8
Sibelius 3.1.3
VDL:2
Midi Patchbay

8 channels of VDL samples intermixed with a DLS midi horn score runs smooth.


Ryan Kime