Playback breakdown help

[Oceanview]

Hello Andi,

Sorry to trouble you with this. A few days ago I bought Solo Violin 2 and Cello 2. In order to install them I had to run Windows Service Pack 1 on the computer which is operating Windows 7 64 Professional (this computer is never online). This enabled me to install the new instruments. At the same time I installed latest versions of the Soundsets / House style, VIPro. I am running Sibelius 7.3. 

Playback is now messed-up. It is the old articulations not changing, Sibelius mixer, etc problems.

Example: I created a score for the Chamber Strings. The articulations were wrong from the start and the Sibelius mixer is not showing the correct instruments. I also loaded an older score and now that won't playback either.

While I continue looking for the problem(s) I need to ask this in case it gives you a clue as to the source of part of the problem. I set up a score using the strings in the Special Edition. I loaded the Sibelius presets in VIPro and was careful to choose the right staves (the list includes Solo Violin 2 and Cello 2 so I must have the latest House Style). All the instruments appeared in VIPro with the fp cell (??) highlighted as the default. So entering a note it would sound as fp. If marked as staccato it played correctly but always defaulted back to fp - for example if a rest was entered. I thought the sustain cell should be the default.

Does this give you a clue as to what is wrong? Could this be SP1 related? Is it the Sibelius mixer? Is it the soundsets? All of the above?

Thanks for your help.

[Edit after several hours] here's an example of the problem.

I have one instance of VIPro (ver 2.4.14074) open inside Vienna Ensemble. I load this preset: Sib_ChambStr_ViolinL2+II. This is the preset with the most cells in for Sibelius. My score in Sibelius has the Violin Chamber Strings staff. If I write some notes every note is played with a muted sound. If I write 'senza sord' and ord. in bar 1 it ignores this direction and still plays muted. In the Sibelius mixer I have the channels numbered as they should, the click track is muted and not assigned to a channel though I have left a blank channel in Sibelius for it (following advice seen after a search) and activated a General MIDI soundset in Playback Devices for the click (as suggested by the search). I am not using the click, by the way. Below that in the mixer there is V for Vienna Ensemble and below that s.pl.

Double bass is also ignoring a pizzicato instruction in the first bar.

[Edit] More info: I loaded a test page I set up several years ago for the Special Edition solo violin where I made the violin change articulation every bar to check that it would. This score works, which suggests that maybe the problem does not have something to do with the SP1 update. But I did not import a new soundset; I left it as it was (VE Special Edition Plus). The new scores I mentioned above which were not working use the VE Strings soundset and the latest House Style.

[andi]

Hello Oceanview!

It can have different reasons why articulation changes don't work as supposed. My first guess in your case would be that maybe you have tried to set channels or MIDI ports manually in the Sibelius mixer. I would reset all outputs to (Auto). If the click is muted in the Sibelius mixer, you don't need a device for it in the Playback Devices menu. More possible reasons can be found in the Troubleshooting chapter of the "Optimizing Sibelius Playback" manual.

I don't think that your problem has anything to do with the Windows update.

Best regards,
Andi

[Oceanview]

Hello Andi,

@andi said:

It can have different reasons why articulation changes don't work as supposed. 

I had a feeling you would say that ... 😉

I solved the problem and I post in case it helps anyone else. On the right hand side of VIPro the preset list has quite a few Sibelius presets. But these are the old ones and I think they do not work with the VE Strings soundset (I used them with the older Chamber Strings soundset). I gave the old preset name in my post.

It took me awhile to find the relevant Sibelius presets which do work with VE Strings as they take four clicks on 'Sibelius' before they appear in the menu 'cascade'.

Now all the articulations are changing as they should. Also, I find the Sibelius mixer often needs to be prompted with auto and then it sets things up correctly. The Solo Violin 2 and Cello 2 integrate fine with the Solo Strings and I like the contrast in timbre between them and the original instruments.

I notice that the Chamber Strings do not have a second group Sibelius preset - a Violins II - is that correct?

Thanks.

[andi]

Hi Oceanview!

It's correct that there's no VI preset for Sibelius for Chamber Violins 2. You could easily make one yourself though. Simply load the VI preset for Chamber Violins and replace the patches with the Violins 2 patches.

Best,
Andi

[Oceanview]

Andi,

Thanks for that suggestion - I hadn't made the connection between the Violin 2 sounds in the other lists and the presets.

[Oceanview]

Hello Andi,

Is there a way within Sibelius to trigger VIPro's A-B switch?

Thanks.

[andi]

Hi Oceanview!

You can send keyswitches or MIDI CC commands for the AB-switch as explained in the "Optimizing Sibelius Playback" manual, page 21.
http://www.vsl.co.at/en/MyDownloads/Notation_Related

Best regards,
Andi

[Oceanview]

Thanks for that Andi.

I am having serious problems with getting articulations to work with Solo Violin 2 and Solo Cello 2. I try this simple exercise with the new instruments:

1. create a blank page in Sibelius,

2. import the House Style 'Vienna Symphonic Library'. I understand this automatically installs the house style with the latest soundset.

3. choose the staves (instruments) marked Solo Violin 2 and Solo Cello 2

4. apply these with the soundset VE Strings.

5. load both instruments into a single Vienna Ensemble from the presets under Sibelius titled Strings 3.4 / Solo Strings 2 / Sib_Solo_Violin_2 and Sib_Solo_Cello_2. These play within VIPro by using the mouse on the virtual keyboard.

6. The Sibelius mixer is unallocated in this instance - it has not done this automatically - so I use Shift+auto and the two channels are then correct. The click is muted but shows nll in the mixer. 

I then write a few notes and find that pizz or pizz. does not create a correct change. Other simple articulations like staccato are not working either for these two new instruments.

I have looked at the trouble-shooting page of the pdf and nothing there seems to apply to this instance.

Sorry but I am running out of options to try and have spent hours building different combinations to try and get these two new instruments to work.

Thanks for your help.

[andi]

Hi Oceanview!

I can't reproduce such a behaviour. Everything's working fine here. If you want to, you can send your score and playback configuration to support@vsl.co.at and I'll take a look at your files.

Best regards,
Andi

[Oceanview]

Hello Andi,

Your suggestion concerning updating Sibelius solved the problem of the two new solo instruments not playing correctly. I remembered why I had not installed that upgrade - it seemed to give no great advantage but it did require registering with Avid and getting a new identification number - so I left it.

Thanks for your help and happy new year.

Oceanview

[andi]

I see. Thanks for the feedback.

Best,
Andi