Hi, all -

Just updated to 2.5.5, and everything seems to be working as it was before, yet I don't see any of the new instruments.  I read a post describing that there would be a new template coming, but that the 6.0b template should work fine in the mean time.  I'm definitely good with regular functionality so far, but seemingly without any of the fun new stuff in 2.5.5.  Am I missing something?  Should I have waited for the new template to upgrade?

I did a successful fresh install according to the 2.5.5 instructions, and I have checked in Kontakt (4) to make sure that the version in the player is, indeed 2.5.5.  Thanks for any advice you can offer, and I hope I didn't miss something silly.

- Bobby Fish

Mac OS 10.7.4
Sibelius 6.2
Kontakt 4
VDL 2.5.5

Are you not seeing the new instruments within Kontakt? That's where you'll find them.

If you're talking about not seeing instrument staff types for these in your older Sibelius template, that would be correct. That's a feature of the templates, not VDL. [url=http://www.thewritescore.com/news/sibelius-template-updates.html]The Write Score[/url] is currently selling an updated Sibelius template that supports all the new instruments in the 2.5.5 VDL library.

Hi, Jim -

I hope you're well, and thanks for your response.  I do see them in Kontakt.  I guess I misunderstood... when I read that the 6.0b template would ";work"; with the update, I thought that meant that the update had been somehow mapped to the 6.0b template so that the new instruments could be seen in the instrument window of Sibelius through 6.0b.

I have not assigned instruments in Sibelius scores other than within the instrument window... do I understand correctly that purchasing a VDL update that contains additional instruments and/or updated keymaps will always require an additional purchase of a template for full functionality? 

- Bobby

Ah, I see. I'm not sure what was said in the post saying the template will ";work"; with the update. That probably meant that the Sibelius files will still function just fine. In those Sibelius template files, instruments/staff types for every patch in the VDL library are created manually (you can do this yourself if you want) as well as the accompanying sound sets (the xml file) (also you can do this yourself with Sibelius's Sound Set Editor program). So there'd be no way for an older Sibelius file to suddenly show VDL patches that didn't exist at the time the template files were created. The VDL library is completely independent from Sibelius or any features included with those template products.

So if you're using an older template, and want to be able to see the new VDL 2.5.5 instruments directly within Sibelius, you'd have two choices:

1) Update your template to one that supports these instrument
2) Add them yourself using Sibelius's built-in features.

Keep in mind that not everyone who uses VDL is a Sibelius or Finale user. So when we're enhancing and updating the VDL library, it has nothing to do with notation programs. Updates are specific to the library itself. We don't churn out library updates very often, so hopefully you'll find that when we do the new features are worthwhile once you've implemented them into your workflow.

Hope this helps clarify!

Yes, that clears things up.

This may be a good opportunity for me to finally play around with ";creating"; the instruments via the sound set editor in order to access those new sounds.  I don't feel like I need the whole new template yet���at least not until I go up to Sibelius 7.0 or later.

Thanks so much for the help.