HP pavillion
2.1 Ghz Pentium core duo 6400
1.6 Ghz 3 GB RAM
Windows XP media center
Sibelius 4 w/update
Kontakt 2 w/update
VDL 2

I keep getting random triggering of different Kontakt sounds during playback on SIbelius.  It's never in the same spot twice or the same instrument, but there are always little extra notes popping out.  Once I get around 16 or more tracks running simultaneously I never have playback issues as far as demand on the CPU or disk, just these random digital tourette's outbursts.  Is this a hardware or software problem?  It seems like SIbelius is throwing out random midi signals for some reason, but I can't tell for sure.  Any help would be great. 

Ian Grom

what you may want to do is to check the midi output.  MidiOx will do that for you, or you can export the midi file to a DAW app, and view the ";list view"; of the midi.  See if anything weird exists.

Then, if you don't see anything, would you consider the output to be ";stuck notes";?  Do they just sort of stay on?

My first instinct was also ";stuck notes."; Not sure though.

What is your latency set to in Kontakt 2? Also, in Sibelius, set the latency (in the Playback Devices window) to 0 (zero) for the virtual midi cable you're using.

While you're checking, let us know what all the settings are in the 'soundcard' window of K2. That may shed some light.

It's not stuck notes, as in a note properly triggered gets stuck.  It's random notes from the loaded instruments, ie a snare drum rim shot during a marimba passage, or a random F# that holds indefinitely until I mute it and unmute it in K2.  I only use three patches from my synth during playback, but they never trigger randomly, only K2 loaded sounds. 


Interface: DirectSound
Sample rate:44100
Output device: DS realtek HD audio rear output
Output latency of K2= 8 ms

If I set the latency to 0, I can't get the K2 sounds to synch up with my synth sounds.
For Sibelius latencies, I have to have my midi keyboard at 0, and maple midi ports at 70ms.

My bet is that there's something omni.  Within K2, make sure that your channels are set to only that one channel which you want going to it.  If you have some sort of ";omni"; selection, the instrument will listen for triggers from any channel, regardless of your setup in Sibelius.

For example, let's say you have the snare instrument as omni, but the marimba set properly.  You play back the marimba part, and when you play marimba notes that coincide with the root note (non-template location), you'll get a random-like sound.

My best guess is that there's a crossover in Kontakt.

Oh, and just for shiggles, make sure that Sibelius is not using channel 10 at any time, except for ticks.  Ya never know...

My guess is that since you have a generic soundcard with bad drivers (Direct Sound isn't very good for pro audio processing), it may be freaking out. If you can't afford a better quality soundcard (with ASIO drivers), you might try asio4all. You can do a search for it here on the forum and find that others in a similar predicament have had decent success.

Also try this. In K2, set your latency to 45ms. Then go to Sibelius, and set your maple midi ports latency to 0ms.

Are you using the Kontakt Player in Sibelius for your synth sounds? If so, there is another location you can adjust the latency for that device. It's at Window>Kontakt Player>Audio Setup. Try setting this to 45ms as well (the same as your K2 setting). If you aren't using this device for your synth sounds, ignore this...

Here's another random tip:
Be sure to resolve any [b]ties[/b] in Sibelius. Sometimes people use a tie marking to indicate ";let ring";, however by doing this, the originating note never really releases. This may not be what's happening to you, but it's worth knowing since it's not immediately obvious.