I am trying to create a multi-percussion set up in Sibelius 7 using VDL. I have put instruments, for example the manual hi-hat, into my Kontakt 5 player. I then went into Home>Instruments>Edit Instruments section in Sibelius and selected the Percussion [5 lines] instrument.  I then mapped the instruments and sounds that I wanted in my set up. However, none of the instruments are producing sound when I click on them in the mapping section or when I play the music back. I checked the audio input channel, which is correct, since the stock general midi kit that the instrument automatically loads with used the same channel that I'm plugging the instruments for this set up into. The Percussion [5 lines] is registering in the mixer as outputting sound, as the volume bar is spiking each time it hits a note. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here. If anybody could help me out, it would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

Sibelius can be a little fussy about how you use its auto-load functionality. One of the most important aspects here is that you've assigned the correct ";sound set"; to your playback device. Mapping sounds to specific notes in the mapping editor gets even trickier because they require you to use a specific ";Sound ID"; for every note, which must correspond to an exact sound ID within your selected sound set. You can read up on their Soundworld functionality in the documentation, but in the realm of unpitched percussion stuff, it can get pretty confusing without a little trial and error.

If you're trying to use multiple VDL patches within one staff of notation (thus your multipercussion set up), that's going to be pretty tough in Sibelius unless you can find a VDL Combo instrument that works for your needs. If that's not possible, the solution isn't very elegant. It would require setting up a separate staff for each VDL patch you want to use (for playback), hiding those staves, then creating a non-playback staff that displays the way you want it to look. Double the effort, and not ideal for editing or for the creative process.

If you're not already using a template from The Write Score, I'd recommend one. It may not necessarily solve your multipercussion situation, but perhaps they'll have some suggestions on how you can join multiple patches or staves into something more consolidated.

Okay. I'll try those options out. Thank you very much!