Hello,

I am Keith and I new to posting on this forum.  I recently switched from a PC to a Macbook pro.  I was a long time Finale and VDL 2.5 user and I have recently started using Sibelius. Here is my set-up:

Mac OS X Version 10.7.3
Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Sibelius 7
Kontakt 5
Virtual Drumline 2.5
Korg Microkey controller

I think that is all the information.  Anyway, I was hoping someone here could point me in the right direction for correctly configuring Virtual Drumline so I can use it in Sibelius.  As I have mention before, I used Finale and Virtual Drumline and I was ok.  After I installed virtual drumline on my Mac, I can not seem to find where the ";sound set"; is and how to get VDL to play back.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Right, good point - I have VDL, so I was speaking about wind instrument sounds as they pertain to a band score.

Joe, I've found that, as great as many of the Sib 7 sounds are (the pitched instruments - horns, strings - are great!), they are pretty lacking the marching percussion department.  Of course, if you're using Essentials or the full VDL, then you won't have a problem in said department.

[quote author=PhillipG link=topic=4294.msg22443#msg22443 date=1333404332] I did try setting up the playback configuration as you described, all in 64-bit mode (on a Mac, ";Open in 32-bit mode"; un-ticked in the file info pane), and no sounds loaded.  I assume it's because Essentials was designed to run in Kontakt 2?  Not sure.
[/quote]I would suspect this is not the reason, as I often use my Essentials sounds that came from Sibelius 5 in Sibelius 6, played via Kontakt 4. If they work in Kontakt 4, then the probably also work in Kontakt 5. I haven't checked, though, because I don't own Sibelius 7 (and if I did, I would be using the Sibelius 7 sounds anyway...).

But don't let that stop you from buying the full version of VDL! :)

Seriously, glad you were able to draw up this conclusion, Phillip. It's helpful when you can articulate it as clearly as you did, and appreciated that you took the time to spell out how the folder renaming was affecting your outcome.

Having to upgrade RAM because you can now [i]use[/i] it....that's a nice problem to have! Not too long ago, that sort of thing wasn't even an option. Hope your new workflow treats you well. Enjoy!

[quote author=PhillipG link=topic=4294.msg22443#msg22443 date=1333404332]
Conclusion?  My original problem must've all been my fault by changing the folder name.  My penchant for organization seemed to have backfired because that's the thing that seems to cause Sib 7 to have playback problems using Kontakt and the Sibelius 5 Essentials.  What a weird problem to have.
[/quote]

You can have multiple versions of Sibelius on your computer at the same time. The installers will place things in their own directories so there won't be any crossover anywhere (except for accessing libraries).

If you're getting the Sib 5 Essentials to load into the 64-bit Kontakt Player 5 inside 64-bit Sibelius 7, then I say you're good to go for now.

Hugh: Thank you very much.  When it comes time to purchase VDL, I won't worry so much. :)

Jim: Thanks for the reply.  Yes, for the time being, I would like to run the Sib 5 Essentials using Kontakt 5 in Sib 7.  I did try setting up the playback configuration as you described, all in 64-bit mode (on a Mac, ";Open in 32-bit mode"; un-ticked in the file info pane), and no sounds loaded.  I assume it's because Essentials was designed to run in Kontakt 2?  Not sure.

But, what I had forgotten to mention in my original post was that the folder containing Sibelius Sounds>Essentials (for Sib 5) was originally called Sibelius Software.  I had renamed it Sibelius 5 Software upon upgrading to 7 because I didn't want to get it confused with the new software.  Sib support told me to change the name back.  I then changed Sib 7 to open as 32-bit and everything worked. 

As a fan of the scientific method, I did the following (quitting and restarting Sibelius 7 each time, of course):

1. I set Sib 7 to open as 64-bit and Kontakt 5 to open as 32-bit.  Everything worked.
2. I set both Sib 7 and Kontakt 5 to open as 64-bit.  Everything worked.
3. I kept both Sib 7 and Kontakt 5 as 64-bit and changed the folder name back to Sibelius 5 Software.  No sounds loaded, not even the new Sibelius 7 Sounds.  It then crashed when I quit the application.
4. I changed the folder name back to Sibelius Software and kept both Sib 7 and Kontakt 5 in 64-bit mode.  Everything worked.

Conclusion?  My original problem must've all been my fault by changing the folder name.  My penchant for organization seemed to have backfired because that's the thing that seems to cause Sib 7 to have playback problems using Kontakt and the Sibelius 5 Essentials.  What a weird problem to have.


Hopefully this information is useful to someone.  And thank you both for responding.

(And Jim, yes... eventually I'll have to upgrade my RAM)

Phillip,

Sibelius 7 no longer includes a lite set of VDL sounds in its Essentials library. So if I'm understanding you correctly, you're using the Sibelius Essentials library that came with Sibelius 5 (which was originally designed to run in Kontakt Player 2). Is that correct?

Kontakt 5 is 64-bit compatible, so you should be able to launch Sibelius 7.1 in 64-bit mode, use Kontakt 5, and assuming it plays nice with the older Essentials 5 library, this should be a valid way for you to work. I'm not sure why they told you to use Sibelius in 32-bit mode unless they were assuming you'd be using the older Essentials 5 library in an older version of Kontakt Player. As I understand it, Kontakt Player 2 won't even be recognized by Sibelius 7 at all, so I presume they wouldn't be suggesting you use that.

Have you tried launching Sibelius 7.1 in 64-bit mode, activating Kontakt 5 in your playback configuration, and loading your Essentials sound into it? This is essentially the same workflow you'd use if wanting to run the full version of VDL within your project in 64-bit mode. Doing so will give you a lot more headroom memory-wise. With that in mind, keep an eye on your RAM usage via your Mac's ";Activity Monitor"; application. It's possible with all the extra headroom, 4GB RAM may start to seem like not enough if you're loading large scores with tons of instruments.

Hi Phillip

VDL works quite nicely in 64-bit when using Kontakt Player 4 or 5 for the playback device. I think you can jump into the full version of VDL with confidence.

On a related note, I have been considering purchasing VDL 2.5, but need to know if it will run if I open Sib 7 in 64-bit mode.  I'm using a Macbook Pro 2.53 Ghz Intel Core i5 with 4 Gb RAM.

I just upgraded to Sib 7 (7.1.2) from 5 and have been trying to use the VDL sounds from the Essentials set via Kontakt Player 5.  In order to use the Essentials sounds, I was told by Sibelius to open Sib 7 in 32-bit mode.  Now that I have, the Essentials sounds, including all the VDL stuff, seems to work in conjunction with the new Sib 7 sounds.  Except in I'm in 32-bit.

I took a look and apparently my Kontakt Player was, and still is, opening in 64-bit mode, so it seems the issue is the Essentials library.  I'd like to use the full version of VDL and take advantage of 64-bit mode but don't want to take the plunge if I have to use the full VDL in 32-bit mode - I'm told 32-bit will not handle large scores and the new Sib 7 sounds very well.

Thanks a lot!  I greatly appreciate it.  I'll be in contact if I have anymore trouble.

Once you're updated to 7.1, you'll be able to assign a Virtual Drumline sound set to the activated instance of Kontakt 5. That's an important step.

The template (and accompanying sound set) from The Write Score can be hugely beneficial if you want to get right to work with a sibelius file that's pre-configured to understand every last detail found within Virtual Drumline. We highly recommend them, though the VDL sound set that comes built into Sibelius may get you going as well.

Hello,

Thanks a lot, I really appreciated it.  I don't have the latest update sibelius 7.1.  But, I did create a playback configuration with an activated instance of Kontakt 5.  Once I have the 7.1 update, then my scores will play back through kontakt 5 using VDL?  Do I need to have the sibelius templates at all that is provided through ";thewritescore";?

Hi Keith,

In Sibelius, you'd set this all up by going to the ";Playback Devices"; window. Here, you'd create a playback configuration with an activated instance of Kontakt 5. On the active instance of Kontakt 5, you'd double-click the text underneath the ";Sound Set"; column to select the Virtual Drumline sound set.

You'll also want to double-check to ensure you've updated to at least Sibelius 7.1 to ensure it properly recognizes Kontakt 5. Versions of Sibelius prior to 7.1 won't recognize it as a Kontakt style AU plugin.