Hey guys,
I am on Windows Vista 64-bit and I have Sib. 7.1.2. 
My problem is I don't have a template; and would really not like to buy one...
I created a new sound set in Sibelius and activated Kontakt 4, and playback works... but when I open a new score with snare/tenors/basses, the basses comes up a 'woodblocks three' and the snares/tenors are 'auto RL.'
I saved my own configuration on Kontakt where the snares/basses/tenors are MW, and when I try to load that through Sibelius, I get tenor sounds in the snare staff, bass sounds in the tenor staffs, and no sounds in the bass staff...

Anything at all???
-Thanks!!

Unless you feel like building all of the mappings in Sibelius and the necessary code for the Sound Set (or more tediously built in the Sound Set Editor), I would recommend just popping the money for the Template. The time you'll spend troubleshooting and building your own will ultimately not be worth the same as the relatively small amount of money you'll spend on the pre-built templates from The Write Score. I can attest to the fact that building these things with any sort of quality takes hundreds upon hundreds of hours spent coding and building those mappings in Sibelius.

However, if your dead set on saving a few bucks, I would recommend you familiarize yourself with a good text editor and start getting your hands dirty, learning about Instrument mappings and such within Sibelius.

Good luck!

Yeah, you have a point-

But this product if you think about it is such a rip off because you have to buy notation software, this thing, a template, and a midi-keyboard!

-Do you need a midi keyboard if you have a template? Is it like Finale where it shows all on the staf?
-Which template should I buy?

Well, I'm sorry that you feel that way about having to invest in such great tools that you have at your disposal. To call something that will inevitably save you time (which equals money to most people) is pretty disrespectful if you ask me, considering that the guy who puts a countless amount of time and effort into creating these is also a frequent user on this forum. Your alternative is to build all of that stuff yourself from scratch.

-I know people who have worked with both Sibelius and Finale for years without the aid of a MIDI keyboard, so it is certainly possible as long as you're willing to put in the time to learn the shortcuts and such that make it easier to to.
-You should buy the Sibelius 7 template, available from www.thewritescore.com

...or you could just save a TON of money and just write music by hand.

Using Virtual Drumline doesn't mean you need to buy notation software. If you want to create notation on a computer, you'll need notation software. VDL is simply a sound library. It's sounds. Lots of them. It's not specific to notation.

Using notation software doesn't mean you need to buy a template. If you want to save yourself the time and hassle in building your own mappings, the templates are very helpful and thorough.

Using a template doesn't mean you need to buy a midi keyboard controller. If you want to input music quickly into whichever midi software you may be using, it can be a handy tool.

These are all different tools with different purposes. It sounds like you may want to use all of them. Perhaps you'll find it helpful to think of them in terms of the specific functions they serve for you rather than thinking of them as a ripoff.