Hello all, I'm up and running now with Kontakt 2 (thanks Jim) and I am doing some work for a group.  Loaded in a bank that I have are:

Rack combo A, Glockenspiel, Orchestral Tambourine, Thundersheet. 

I get the correct sounds by using the midi messages ~p(1,2,3,or4) but my question concerns the notehead type.  When typing for tambourine I hit the F3 key for the fingers on head.  The note on the staff produced was D4 (in rack a is a tenor drum roll).  The note is filled in, no X for a head or anything.  I also went to hit the Eb 3 key for the thumb roll and the note jumped to above the staff Ab filled in.  Is this correct?  If not, what things doI need to pay attention to, to get the correct notation on the staff?

I've seen messages on here before mentioning ";staff attributes";, but I'm not for sure exactly what and how that works.  The staff is set up for Rack Combo A.  I change Clefs when I swith to Glock, but I change back when I go to the combo. Let me know if any other information is needed to solve this problem.  Thanks for the help.

Jeremy

PS
This whole Kontakt, VDL2 stuff is freakin sweet!

[size=8pt][i]Note: edited subject from ";staff attributes"; to ";staff types";[/i][/size]

Hey man.

Are you changing staff types when you switch to different instruments? If not, then the notation won't look correct, even if it does playback correctly.

Another option if you are already changing staff types, is that you can go in and adjust the notes the way you want them to look after you're done recording the tune. I do this a lot when there is a different line or space for right hand and left hand -- like hi-hat notation.

Hope that helps!
ER

I think the term you're looking for is ";staff types"; in Sibelius. When you want to switch to a new instrument (via program change), before you do so, click the bar where you want the change to occur, and enter a ";staff type change"; via:
Create>other>staff type change>Percussion>VDL2 Orchestral tamborine (for example)

or
Create>other>staff type change>5-line pitched (for glock)

Once you've entered the staff type change, you'll see a faint little ";bracket"; sort of thing, which indicates where the staff type change occurs. For best performance, it's advisable to drag this a little to the left, so there's some buffer room between it and where you're going to enter your new instrument's notes. Once the notes are entered, you can drag it back so they're closer to each other and it'll work fine.

So in addition to the program change message (~p3), you also need to enter the 'staff type change' so the noteheads (and position on staff) will appear correctly.

This may seem a little tedious up front, but once you get used to the workflow, it's not so bad. If you find there are staff types you switch to frequently, you can always set them to a key command shortcut in Sibelius' preferences.

Also, like most other things in Sibelius, you can select a staff type change (by clicking the little bracket), then ";option"; click it (alt-click in windows) to place the same staff type in another staff, or in a different point in the score.

For easy viewing, I recommend making sure that ";Show Hidden Options"; is activated (in Sibelius ";View"; menu).

Hope this helps.

Exactly what I needed to know.  Thanks so much Jim.  When I see you guys this summer, a round on me. 

I don't know if this needs to be a new thread, but would something similar happen when I write for my marimba player and I hit the G6 key to have  suspended cymbal hit?  When I just type it in, the note is several ledger lines above the staff and Sibelius recognizes in red as an unplayable pitch.  What's the easiest way to correct that considering I'm not doing a program/instrument change?  Thanks again 

Same process. There's a VDL staff type called ";VDL2 Marimba Sus Cym"; (and also one called ";VDL2 Vibes Sus Cym"; for vibes). Change to this staff type before you enter your sus cym part, and you'll get a 3-line staff that will display these high-range sus cym parts in a more readable fashion.

Thanks so much, starting to edit and noticing that there is no VDL2 staff type for Timpani FX, or Timpani for that matter.  I knwo it might not typically matter, but the bank I have is Rack combo B, Timpani FX (for 2 drums), Bass Drum and Tam Tam.  How do I get the appropriate Timpani notation? Thanks again so much

I also forgot about the effects.  Such as thundersheet.  Sorry. 

There aren't staff types for every VDL2 instrument I'm afraid. Many of these instruments can just be written into a pitched 5 line staff, then add a text attribute so the player knows what your intentions are. Not always completely graceful, I'll admit. :)

No, it's fine.  I just didn't know and this information has made my workflo a lot easier.  Thanks again for all your help. 

[quote author=Jim Casella link=topic=1758.msg8503#msg8503 date=1180051758]
There aren't staff types for every VDL2 instrument I'm afraid. Many of these instruments can just be written into a pitched 5 line staff, then add a text attribute so the player knows what your intentions are. Not always completely graceful, I'll admit. :)
[/quote]

That and I got too darn lazy to create a staff type for EVERY instrument.  :D

Let's give three cheers to Bill for the staff types he DID create.  There's a TON of them.  My attention span couldnt have done them all. 

HIP HIP HOORAY
HIP HIP HOORAY
HIP HIP HOORAY

Some day I'll creat all of them.....maybe.

Thundersheet Bill over here...  round of applause...    (golf clap)

HIP HIP HOORAY
HIP HIP HOORAY
HIP HIP HOORAY for Bill!