violin 2 problems: Sibelius 5.25, SE, VE2

[ozoufonoun_29353]

Hi,

I am experiencing problems with creating violin 1 and violin 2 that play independently of each other using Sibelius 5.25 and SE with VE2.

1. In VE, violin 1 is assigned to channel 12, violin 2: channel 13.

2. In the Sibelius mixer, violin 1 is assigned to channel 12, violin 2 to channel 13

3. In the Play configuration I have Vienna Ensemble selected

4. In the manual soundset I have all the correct assignments.  If I press test for the violin 2, it "plays" violin two in the VE.  However, when I press test in the sibelius mixer, it plays violin 1, even though channel 13 is selected and even though violin 1 is assigned to channel 12.

5. I'm very upset.

6.For the love of all that does not suck, please help me.

Thanks,

O

[andi]

Hi!

Is this a string orchestra or are these solo strings you are using?

It is important to choose the right instruments in Sibelius, when creating a score. For solo strings please use Solo Violin, Solo Violin, Solo Viola, ... You can then rename the Instruments if you want (for example Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, ...)
For ensemble strings please use the instruments Violin 1 (or I), Violin 2 (or II), Viola, ...

If the instrument does not match with the program you choose in Manual sound sets it will lead to playback problems.

Best,
Andi

[ozoufonoun_29353]

Thanks for the response Andi, but I have already done that.  The score is for ensemble strings.  In sibelius, I am using Violin I and Violin 2, and in VI I have chosen Orchestral strings.  In manual soundsets I have violin ensemble 2 selected. 

Again, if I press test for violin 2, it plays violin 2.  But, if I click on a note in my violin 2 stave in my sibelius score, it plays violin 1.

I remember having to create the violin 2 in the soundset when I was using an earlier version of the soundset.  Now I think I have upgraded, etc, and am worried that it is all messed up.  I'm not quite sure how to verify everything in terms of using the correct soundset, making sure that the soundset actually HAS a violin 2 set up in it, etc.

Thanks,

O

[andi]

Hi O!

If you open a score with a Playback Configuration created in Sibelius 5.1 with Sibelius 5.2 or 5.2.5, you have to reassign the programs in the manual sound sets. Some of the programs have changed. Don't forget to save your playback configuration afterwards.
In Sibelius 5.2.5 it is not necessary to assign ".2" programs for second instruments anymore. Please assign "Violin ensemble" to both violin sections.

Andi

[ozoufonoun_29353]

Thanks Andi!  That took care of it.  However, now for God knows what reason, none of the viola ensembles stuff is working. [:@]

Again, when I test it in the preferred sound sets dialogue, it works with the VI, but nothing from the score.  This only started after I fixed the problem with the violin 1 and violin 2 situation.

Hmm.

[ozoufonoun_29353]

Nevermind!  I seem to have figured it out.  Although, I have to say...this is far from intuitive, and when combining sound sets, etc, this stuff gets very temperamental.  Considering how important this type of thing seems to be for a VERY large user base, I hope that Sibelius makes it more user friendly in the future.

Thanks again for you help Andi!

O

[andi]

Good that it's working now. Maybe you want to share, what the problem was?

Andi

[phsupertonic]

I must be missing something in this thread, because I am having a VERY similar problem, but the above steps didn't help. I am on Sibelius 5.2.5 as well, and I am trying to get my winds playing correctly. I have a Flute set up on MIDI channel 1 in VE, as well as Flute 2, Oboe 1 & 2, and Bb Clarinet 1 & 2, one channel per instrument in that order (as well as other instruments which are disabled right now). I cannot for the LIFE of me figure out how to get Sibelius to OBEY my setting in the mixer that supposedly puts the Clarinet on channel 5. Instead, whenever I test the Clarinet 1 in Sibelius, whether in the mixer or in the score, it ALWAYS plays it through to MIDI channel 1 (flute) instead. If I switch the channels around, it generally plays the correct channel, except that 5 always goes through to 1.

This is driving me up the wall. I checked my manual sound set configuration -- everything is the way it should be. I also removed the '.2' instruments as stated above, and instead used Flute 1 for both flutes, Oboe 1 for both oboes, and Clarinet 1 for both clarinets. Once I did that, I saved it, did a once-over on everything to make sure everything is set up correctly, and NOW the Clarinet on channel 5 plays through to the flute on channel 2! Not only that, but changing the channels in the mixer causes it to output to an unpredictable channel number. It's like a bunch of criss-crossed wires.

Every now and then I overlook some dumb little setting, but this is ridiculous. What one earth is going on? Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Scott

[phsupertonic]

Ok, my mistake... I didn't remove ALL of the '.2' instruments like I thought. I changed 'Bb Clarinet 2' to just 'Clarinet', and I also changed 'Bb Clarinet' to just 'Clarinet' as well. It now seems to work well enough for now. But I still don't understand how all of this works. It seems to me that Sibelius ought to simply output to the assigned MIDI channel, plain and simple. I don't understand what is TRULY determining the MIDI channel here.

Furthermore, I'm surprised that there's no selection of 'Eb Clarinet' vs. 'Bb Clarinet' any more, just 'Clarinet'. But I guess it's a moot point really, since VE is the one that determines which clarinet is ultimately playing.

[ozoufonoun_29353]

Yeah, unfortunately, even though my previous problem has been resolved, I can't for the life of me tell you exactly what did the trick.  In general I find that there is way too little predictability with this setup.  It has some quirks that really annoy.  I'm going to go over your setup and trace my own steps.  If I come up with any helpful suggestions, you'll be the first to know.

O

[andi]

 Hi Scott!

The old ".2" sound IDs, that were necessary in Sibelius 5.1, will lead to unpredictable behaviour in Sibelius 5.2.5.
As I said before. If you open a score with a Playback Configuration created in Sibelius 5.1 with Sibelius 5.2 or 5.2.5, you have to reassign the programs in the manual sound sets. To be on the safe side, I recommend reassigning all programs.

The Sibelius Sound IDs are the same for Eb and Bb Clarinet. So it is not necessary to have two different programs in the sound set. Loading the right matrix in Vienna Ensemble will do.

Best wishes,
Andi

[ozoufonoun_29353]

Actually, now that you mention this Andi, I remember that I did have to change some sound ID's not only from the old .2's to the new version, but I also had to change the old ones which looked intentical.