To make it easier whenever the time may come, I've decided to add a sticky here for any suggestions for future updates/development of Virtual Drumline.

Currently on the wishlist:

[b][i]Instruments[/i][/b]
Coming soon...

[b][i]Features[/i][/b]
Coming Soon...

Duga Chuga, Duga Chuga, Duga duga duga CHOCK!

Drum speak is where it's at.

[quote author=Warren Barnett link=topic=3133.msg17822#msg17822 date=1257067179]
There are, after all, 128 keys on the MIDI keyboard.
[/quote]

I want to see this keyboard of which you speak :)

[quote author=Bryan Harmsen link=topic=3133.msg17824#msg17824 date=1257115740]
[quote author=Warren Barnett link=topic=3133.msg17822#msg17822 date=1257067179]
There are, after all, 128 keys on the MIDI keyboard.
[/quote]

I want to see this keyboard of which you speak :)
[/quote]

Yeah, what's a few extra keys, give or take 40:)

I saw one ONCE. Really, I did. It was about 8 feet long.

Warren

Being played by Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster? ;-)

I'd like to see a TapSpacefullVDLinstrument.txt written to drop into Finale's AU folder, much akin to the Garritan text files written for GPO Garritan Personal Orchestra and JABB Jazz and Big Band.

There's already a ";lite"; VDL text file bundled with a normal Finale installation, so I think much of the work has been done.

This file would allow a Finale user to use the Setup Wizard to create Score/Part instrumentations and staves for any kind of ensemble, including hybrids of Aria, Kontakt, GPO, JABB, and VDL Audio Units, already having all the VDL settings, sounds, and maps ready to go.

[quote author=jazzer*austin link=topic=3133.msg18074#msg18074 date=1259727026]
I'd like to see a TapSpacefullVDLinstrument.txt written to drop into Finale's AU folder, much akin to the Garritan text files written for GPO Garritan Personal Orchestra and JABB Jazz and Big Band.

There's already a ";lite"; VDL text file bundled with a normal Finale installation, so I think much of the work has been done.

This file would allow a Finale user to use the Setup Wizard to create Score/Part instrumentations and staves for any kind of ensemble, including hybrids of Aria, Kontakt, GPO, JABB, and VDL Audio Units, already having all the VDL settings, sounds, and maps ready to go.
[/quote]

This is definitely something we want to provide. Unfortunately, the way Finale treats unpitched percussion staves is to automatically assign them all to midi channel 10. So while it's possible we can build this automation currently, much of it would have to be manually tweaked by the user anyway (in Kontakt Player and in the Instruments List window), which seems to defeat the purpose of an otherwise convenient setup process.

This methodology is pretty old fashioned, seemingly geared more toward a ";general midi"; percussion mindset. If you'd like to see this changed in future versions of Finale, I'd encourage you to submit a feature request to the folks at MakeMusic. It seems like a rather limiting way to treat percussion instruments, which can often require more flexibility than standard/pitched instruments.

create like a rudiment list, Were u can just click the rudiment(and grids of the rudiment) and it is written out, because rudiments like flam 5's sound choppy and dont actually sound like a flam 5 when you write it out.

[quote author=j.haynes link=topic=3133.msg18252#msg18252 date=1261815371]
create like a rudiment list, Were u can just click the rudiment(and grids of the rudiment) and it is written out, because rudiments like flam 5's sound choppy and dont actually sound like a flam 5 when you write it out.
[/quote]

That wouldn't be something you could practically create in Virtual Drumline.  You can make them sound pretty realistic if you're a little more proficient in the notation software you're using.  Read these posts:

https://www.tapspace.com/forums/index.php?topic=1940.0
https://www.tapspace.com/forums/index.php?topic=1748.0

I found those by doing a search for flam fives.  Also, could you make sure you start typing with correct spelling and grammar?

Bryan-
Although rudiments might not make sense, I had thought about something through the Sibelius Ideas feature. It would be very helpful for instruments that have standard patterns that are quite difficult to get sounding right (conga tumbao, bongo martillo, basic drumset grooves, clave, Djembe grooves, etc...) I think it would be a valuable addition. Hope you all had a great Christmas!

Matt,
Good call! That'd be cool for that to find it's way into the next template.

Good ideas guys. I've often thought a ";rubber stamp"; feature would be nice for things that are commonly written, but take a little longer to get sounding right when manually inputting. Rudiments, common triplet/flam/roll patterns, common drumset grooves, common latin percussion patterns, etc., could be really useful as a shortcut. Or at least as a starting point for some. Something to chew on for future updates for sure.

I used the concert snare samples for the first time last week, and was surprised at the sound quality of the drum (not the sample). It sounds like a cheap mylar head on a middle school snare drum, with loose, bent snares. In this particular piece I was looking for a tighter, crisper concert snare sound, but obviously no two concert snares sound alike. It would be nice to have a few different drum types to play with (piccolo snare, standard snare, deep snare, etc.) with different snare materials (cable, gut, wire, etc.). There aren't that many concert snare drum sound triggers, so maybe this could be done with modwheel settings.

[quote author=Joe link=topic=3133.msg18276#msg18276 date=1262117933]
I used the concert snare samples for the first time last week, and was surprised at the sound quality of the drum (not the sample). It sounds like a cheap mylar head on a middle school snare drum, with loose, bent snares. In this particular piece I was looking for a tighter, crisper concert snare sound, but obviously no two concert snares sound alike. It would be nice to have a few different drum types to play with (piccolo snare, standard snare, deep snare, etc.) with different snare materials (cable, gut, wire, etc.). There aren't that many concert snare drum sound triggers, so maybe this could be done with modwheel settings.
[/quote]

Sounds like a metal drum instead of a wooden one, but I'd say it's more like you're standard issue college snare, not a middle school one. I kinda like the sound.

However, I'm also all for a greater variety of snare sounds for a future update :)

[quote author=Jim Casella link=topic=3133.msg18099#msg18099 date=1259989348]
[quote author=jazzer*austin link=topic=3133.msg18074#msg18074 date=1259727026]
I'd like to see a TapSpacefullVDLinstrument.txt written to drop into Finale's AU folder, much akin to the Garritan text files written for GPO Garritan Personal Orchestra and JABB Jazz and Big Band.

There's already a ";lite"; VDL text file bundled with a normal Finale installation, so I think much of the work has been done.

This file would allow a Finale user to use the Setup Wizard to create Score/Part instrumentations and staves for any kind of ensemble, including hybrids of Aria, Kontakt, GPO, JABB, and VDL Audio Units, already having all the VDL settings, sounds, and maps ready to go.
[/quote]

This is definitely something we want to provide. Unfortunately, the way Finale treats unpitched percussion staves is to automatically assign them all to midi channel 10. So while it's possible we can build this automation currently, much of it would have to be manually tweaked by the user anyway (in Kontakt Player and in the Instruments List window), which seems to defeat the purpose of an otherwise convenient setup process.

This methodology is pretty old fashioned, seemingly geared more toward a ";general midi"; percussion mindset. If you'd like to see this changed in future versions of Finale, I'd encourage you to submit a feature request to the folks at MakeMusic. It seems like a rather limiting way to treat percussion instruments, which can often require more flexibility than standard/pitched instruments.
[/quote]

Hi Jim,

I am not sure if you still have the Finale Smart Wizard files I was working on, posted on Tapspace.com. Unfortunately I lost the files during a HD crash early last year. If my memory serves, the txt files for F2007 & F2008 would accomplish exactly what jazzer*austin is asking for with little to no tweaking.

I full agree that the finale implementation of unpitched percussion is very archaic and the channel 10 limitation you mention is why I stopped any further development. This said, based on my testing back in early 2008, full functionality is there for all pitched instruments. So it may still be of benefit to some.

If you do still have these files, I would love to get a copy again. Could you send me the link if you have them via PM?

Derek