Well, I've dived into your software and I'm having a minor problem.  When I enter bass drum notes, I hear a click sound instead of a drum sound.  Keeping in mind that I'm new to using VDL 2.5, would anyone have a fix to this issue?  I'm running a MacBook Pro with an Intel 2.16GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, Sibelius 5 with the template update, and VDL 2.5.

As a side note: Anyone who is new to using Virtual Instruments and is running Sibelius should read the Sibelius Reference document that comes with the program.  It's a great starting place for getting your bearings with MIDI and related topics.  Having started virtually from ground zero, I feel much more comfortable with the terminology currently in use (things have changed a lot since I last delved into MIDI and synthesized sounds - samplers were for the very deep-pocketed folks).

Also, if anyone has any links to articles that discuss KontaKt player in depth or knows of any good publications dedicated to Kontakt player (the full version or the player version), please reply to this post.
My goal is to be able to produce quality audio files of battery arrangements using VDL 2.5.

I appreciate the effort that went into the compilation of these sounds.  I would like to get as much as possible out of this software.  I'm looking forward to becoming a proficient user.

Thanks! 

Have you gotten the Sibelius 5.1 update from their website yet?

http://www.sibelius.com/helpcenter/updates/sibelius5/from_5_0.html

If you have, are you using a MIDI keyboard or using your typing keyboard to input the notes?
One more thing that might have an effect on what you hear is whether or not you are in the right octave if you ARE using a MIDI keyboard.

Let us know if any of these things have any effect on what you are hearing.

Hi there. Your problem is likely one of two things. Either you may not have input the notes with the correct midi pitch (assuming you're using a midi controller for input), or the notehead is not properly assigned. Using a MIDI keyboard for entry will automatically assign the correct notehead, but if you're not using a midi keyboard, you'll need to manually change the nothead in Sibelius and ensure that it's placed on the correct staff space (or line).

In terms of documentation, I can't say enough good things about all that Hugh Smith has done with the READ ME that comes with the Sibelius 5.1/VDL Template. It's a lengthy document, however much of it is dedicated to the instrument/notehead mappings for reference. Between that, the VI section you mentioned in the Sibelius manual, and the glossary/userguide that comes with VDL 2.5, you'll have a lot of helpful info to learn from.

There's also a wealth of resources online. Check this post for more info and some great links:
https://www.tapspace.com/forums/index.php?topic=630.0

Ah yes - Justin may have nailed it - be sure to update to Sibelius 5.1. This is emphasized in the READ ME that comes with the VDL template as well. Be sure you've spent some time carefully reading that document.

Thanks Justin. Good call!

Thanks Justin and Jim!  I didn't realize that the template must be opened separately from the main Sibelius software.  Sometimes, you just can't ";see the trees for the forest";...

As I mentioned before, I appreciate all of the work that is going into the evolution and maintenance of this software.  As an ";Old-Schooler"; I must say that I was very apprehensive about using the computer to create arrangements and compositions.  I promise to hang in there and will do my best to avoid becoming a thorn in the side of the members of this forum by researching, looking for and trying things out on my own.  That being said, it's nice to know that the person responsible for the software and other knowledgeable users are willing to offer assistance.  Very cool.

Until my next question,

Sean Haleem

No problem! Glad I could help. To touch on what you said - - - ";I didn't realize that the template must be opened separately from the main Sibelius software.";

The template does not need to be opened separately. The only thing that needs to be opened separately is the ReadMe1.0.5, and even that is pretty memorable (sp?) once u get to using it quite frequently.

One more thing, this forum is here for your help! Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it or get stuck on a problem. One thing that you can do to make sure that you are doing things correctly is to read the FAQ section on the Tapspace page

https://www.tapspace.com/support/faq/

and to read the Forum posting rules.

https://www.tapspace.com/forums/index.php?topic=1410.0

Hope some of this info helps!

Good luck with the software and enjoy!

I to am having some weird playback issues with the bass manual lite and bass manual. The problem occurs when putting in notes with the midi keyboard the notes are not mapping to the right lines on the staff. Also, the order of the sounds for the regular R hits and L hits are out of order(example, drum 3 is playing instead of drum 1). In fact, the mapping problem seems to be not just with the bass sounds but with the tenors and cyms as well. I should also add that the sounds playback correct when I play them back directly on the Kontakt keyboard in the player itself. Can anyone shed some light?

I've been running VDL since it came out (VDL1) and have never seen this kind of issue. Currently I'm running the latest update of Sib 5.1, VDL 2.5 and the newest template.
My system is:
Win XP Pro
Intel core 2 duo 2.13
3 Gigs ram
Nvidia 7900 graphics 256M ram
Midiman 61 key controller

Any help would be appreciated

Ken McGrath

Hi Ken. By what you're describing, you may be using the ";Marching Bass drum"; instrument on your bassline staff, rather than choosing instruments within the VDL 2.5 Instruments section (when selecting ";instruments"; in Sibelius). The pre-built marching drumline instruments in Sibelius aren't really formatted properly for MIDI input, so when choosing instruments to add to your score, definitely be sure to go to [b]Virtual Drumline 2.5 Instruments[/b] first and select instruments from within those families. The screenshots below are from the ";Edit Instruments"; window, but you'll see the same choices from Create>Other>Instrument Change, as well as the window just called ";Instruments"; (keyboard shortcut: I)

Also, if you've correctly assigned your staff instruments from this family, you should be sure all the mixer selections are set to [b](auto)[/b] to ensure Sibelius loads the correct patches for you. Doing so will mean you'll probably barely ever need to even open up the Kontakt Player window at all unless you want to view it for some reason. Essentially all interaction would now occur through Sibelius rather than Kontakt Player. This is something that took me a while to get used to when diving into all the Sibelius 5 stuff since it's quite a bit different than how things worked before.

[img]http://img.skitch.com/20080114-gjek7j5i77i4gqcd8kmkwuy283.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.skitch.com/20080114-b1j4x9tw8ey7jaxujkx4xsttie.jpg[/img]

Hi Jim,
Thanks for the reply. I am using the correct instruments for the VDL sounds. another example of the random playback is when I use the puffies switch on the tenors, I get no drum 2 sound. Drum 2 is replaced with drum 1. The passage played back just fine untill I added the puffies. also I noticed the crash cym line doesn't play back what I enter. I'll put in crash chokes and get either nothing or open crashes. It seems like my sib 5.1 is unhappy.

Ken McGrath

Hey Ken

That sounds similar to when one of the guys that helped test the Template was using an older sound set instead of the latest one that I had sent. Please make sure you are using the latest sound set.

If that doesn't do it then let us know.

Hey Hugh,
That was it. I was talking with a buddy of mine earlier today and we figured it out. It works great now. Thanks for the input.

Ken McGrath

Sweet!

Here is a thread with a little more detail if needed:

  [url]https://www.tapspace.com/forums/index.php?topic=2257.0[/url]