As I stated in a seperate topic, I intend to buy Kontakt 2 in the near future. One of the main reasons is so I can do program changes. (i want to write ";person specific"; pit parts this year).  Is there a string somewhere on the forum that explains how to do this using sibelius 4 (or 3), VDL2 & K2?  If not I think it would be a great topic in the tutorials section of the forum.  So if there is anybody out there that has the time to do this I know that I would definetly appreciate it, as I thinks others might also.

As always, if i'm just too stupid to figure out that it is already here somewhere, just point me in the right direction!!!

have a great day,

Chris

Hey Chris,

Program changes are easy using Sibelius 3 or 4.  Basically, in K2, click on load/save and open a new instrument bank.  In that bank you will see several empty squares that are numbered.  Using the browse panel on the left, click and drag the instruments you want into each bank.

For example, I want to write for marimba/xylo/concert bass.  1st I'd click and drag each of those instruments into their own bank so they are ordered 001-003.  Make sure you set the channel to the proper channel.

In Sibelius, go to the first part that will be a bank.  All of the changes will be ~p1, ~p2, ... on up to as many banks as you have.  Do the change slightly before you want the change to actually take place.  Don't forget to change the staff type as well.

Thanks a lot Bill--I might request your knowledge again in a few weeks when I actually have K2!

talk to ya soon,

Chris

No worries Chris, it's what I'm here for.

I am also having trouble getting used to Kontakt 2.�� I just recently got it and loaded everything onto my computer, but I am n ot hearing the correct sounds.�� My score for my winter show has:

glk/xylo (2 plaeys...4 lines)
vibe (3 players...on aux part over one of them)
3 marimba with aux lines above them
Timp
Xylosynth (loaded synth/percussion sounds for it)
Synth
Aux
bass

I loaded 7 instrument banks and then loaded the samples into some of the 128 slots...then for the bass i just loaded that instrument.�� When I watch the Kontakt VST window as the score plays back i notice that all th e banks channels are changing at the same time to the same channel.�� Does that make sense to anyone?�� When I was using multiple instances of VD2 in Bidule it was working better in Cubase than it is now.�� I am sure I have it set up incorrectly.�� If someone could help that would be greatly appreciated.

Here are some screen shots of what I have set up:�� http://www.scott-hirsch.com/kontakt2.html

Thanks for your help!!

iMac G5 1.8Ghz
2GB RAM
Sibelius 4
Kontakt 2
Cubase SE
Bidule

Scott - nice job with the screenshots. I haven't fully digested, but it really helps in order to be able to assess exactly what it is you're looking to do. If I'm reading you right, I think you may just want to set things up a little differently so the each STAFF is sending midi out to a unique midi channel. For example:

Glock player: Channel 1 --> K2 BANK contains any instruments that player would need (on channel 1)
Xylo Staff: Channel 2 --> a seperate K2 BANK on channel 2
Marimba 1: Channel 3 --> K2 bank on channel 3
Marimba 2: Channel 4 -- K2 bank on channel 4
etc...

I think you have multiple staves (sometime needing different instruments) accessing commno midi channels simultaneously. In any K2 instrument bank, you can only have one instrument loaded at a time. When that player needs to swap to a new instrument (i.e. vibe player needs to switch to tambourine), that's when you'd send a program change from Sibelius. (techinque text: ~p2 stands for ";program 2";). Also, be sure to have the proper ";program"; field filled in in the Sibelius mixer for your default instrument - do this for each track/staff in Sibelius.

Hope that all makes sense...chime back in if not. Good luck!

Yeah...hmmm�� just not understanding I guess.�� Here are some updated screen shots of what I have.�� I loaded new instrument banks for each player but noticed that when I was changing my Sibelius mixer (when I was ";testing"; after changing the ";program"; number) every channels (every instrument bank) would also change .

http://www.scott-hirsch.com/kontakt2.html

Thanks again for your help.�� :)

heh...there must be something I am just missing...probably right in front of my face.

The ";003"; numbers you're seeing in K2 (next to the big instrument name) is the PROGRAM NUMBER, not the channel number.

This is most likely defaulting to that since in the Sibelius mixer, the program field says ";2";.

[b]Quirk alert....[/b]
Program numbers in the Sibelius mixer range from 0-127
Program numbers in K2 instrument banks range from 1-128

So...for starters, set your program field (in sibelius mixer) to ";0";, and program ";001"; will preload in each K2 instrument bank.

Another quirky hint...
When you later decide to send program changes from Sibelius, the syntax is important. Using a capital ";P"; (i.e.: ~P12), will result in the aforementioned program number discrepancy (i.e. ~P12 from sibelius will call up program 13 in K2).

However, if you DON'T capitalize the ";p"; in Sibelius (i.e. ~p12), you'll actually get the same program number to appear in K2. This discrepancy has existed for many years depending on the midi manufacturer, so it's somewhat the nature of the beast.

Hope this helps.

After reading some on the NI website, it looks like there is some kind of bug where you can only use ONE instrument bank per port.�� So - by that logic - I was using too many instrument banks I guess.�� I will try loading all of my instruments needing program changes into just one instrument bank and see how that works.�� Becasue the problem was when I was playing back all the different instrument banks would change programs at the same time...and a lot.�� So this must be the fix.�� ��???

and I guess this bug will be fixed shortly?�� or maybe I have missed the latest u pdate...so I will check that also.�� :)

Hmm...definitely check to make sure you've got the latest maintenance update of K2 installed. I believe it's currently 2.0.2.007.

What you're describing should be possible, and is something I've been doing all summer. I usually have at least 10 banks loaded at any time, along with a few individual instruments loaded for battery.

Report back after you've checked your K2 version. Hopefully it's as simple as that.

AH...I have version 2.0.0.002 

Thats what version my disks were.  So I should update...maybe that will fix my issues.  Crazy stuff.  I took and just changed the channels and program #of my staves ( in sibelius' mixer) to reflect which sound of Kontakt 2's instrument bank's slots it should have as a default.  I did not put any program change messages in the score yet.  Do I have to put ~p messages at the very beginning of the score even if there are not program changes for a while - just to tell it what to do? 

[quote author=Coach link=topic=894.msg3603#msg3603 date=1133664113]
AH...I have version 2.0.0.002 

Thats what version my disks were.  So I should update...maybe that will fix my issues.  Crazy stuff.  I took and just changed the channels and program #of my staves ( in sibelius' mixer) to reflect which sound of Kontakt 2's instrument bank's slots it should have as a default.  I did not put any program change messages in the score yet.  Do I have to put ~p messages at the very beginning of the score even if there are not program changes for a while - just to tell it what to do? 
[/quote]

Updates are free at the NI site, so I hope it will help when you get up to date.

Regarding program numbers - in the Sib mixer, remember program 0 (zero) will call up program 001 (etc.) in the K2 instrument bank on that channel. If you set the mixer as such, you do not need to enter ~p message at the beginning of the score. That will be handled by the program setting in the Sib mixer.

[b]SWEET!!!![/b]  I was able to get the Kontakt stuff working.  I had some crazy problem with the installation process before.  But now since I have updated to the current versions it works beautifully.  Thanks for your help.