I tried to connect Dorico with the Vienna Symphonic Library, esp. “Vienna Ensemble” and “Vienna Instruments Pro x64”. But I achieved only a kind of growling noise. Can you give me a tip or Is a solution in sight?
Gabelsberger
Do your VSL softwares are up to date ?
Gabelsberger and Alain,
I’m experimenting in the same area - chiefly to see if I can get mutes on brass.
I seem so far to have the two systems talking to each other; but neither sounds, nor growling.
Gabelsberger, are you using the VEP Server?
If we can get it working, I’d be happy to write a simple (if that’s possible) instruction list like this one for Sibelius as future reference for others wishing to use VSL with Dorico. Daniel has always estimated that it should be possible.
I have made a first pass at this. a zipped rtf - in accordance with the filetypes allowed by phpBB.
Rough and likely with errors… even - given its length - some unnecessary steps, I’d hope.
I believe it’s pretty accurate as far as it goes, though.
It does leave out certain configuration settings - mostly with regard to Channels and Expression Maps.
Nor does it tackle Matrices and Patches within VIP itself. That is where the real work takes place… to get as close to realism as possible in sampled sounds.
But these steps do work for me 
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I’d be very grateful if anyone using the VSL library would take a look, please, and find as many things which need editing, correcting and improving on; please let me know and I’ll work all suggestions into the document.
Perhaps it would then become a Pinned FAQ for VSL users here; subject to Daniel’s approval of course.
Thanks!
Dorico + VSL.rtfd.zip (4.37 KB)
Many thanks for sharing
I am also very interested but for the moment I am working on Logic 10.4 articulations
First, thank you, Mark, for your VSL guide. Using it I’ve got the VSL Bosendorfer and VSL Upright Bass playing back correctly.
I’m having an odd problem with the GM-mapped VSL Jazz Drums, though. If I click on the snare note in Write mode, it triggers the VIP snare mapped to D2. Clicking on the ride cymbal, triggers the correct sound at D#3. However, when I press Play, the ride plays correctly but the snare triggers A1 instead of D2.
I have no idea why it gets remapped on play. Any thoughts?
**Leigh
Leigh,
You’ve gone further than I have!
Is ‘General MIDI’ correct?
Does the VI in question ‘play’ (using the screen keyboard) in VIP as you’d expect?
Using the screen keyboard, I get the correct notes as listed in the VSL GM Mapping Table. It’s only on Dorico playback that the mapping doesn’t work.
The Dorico GM percussion map is correct and is identical to the VSL GM map.
It appears that something is wonky with the playback interpretation of the GM percussion map.
**Leigh
Leigh,
Yes. I also saw what Andi wrote on the VSL forum; that’s not relevant, is it?
It would be helpful if there were more in depth docs on this aspect of Dorico playback - at least for those of us who just love the richness of VSL 
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Right, Andi’s reply doesn’t seem to apply here. I’m only using the default Dorico expression map. I’ll be happy with having just basic drum playback without a lot of sophisticated articulations. For pieces I write that use drums, I only need a skeleton drum playback so I can hear the other instruments against the basic feel.
I absolutely agree about the richness of VSL. Once I started using it, my composing acquired a new level of subtlety.
**Leigh
Leigh; understood. Thanks.
Then it has to be something in Dorico’s own mapping, as you say, hasn’t it?
After my experience with Sibelius, I decided - along with a friend and composer who is helping me (I’m starting late in life - but am very determined) - that it would be preferable to aim to have real instrumentalists play what I wrote… whenever I could be so lucky.
So I am deliberately staying away from trying to emulate actual orchestral, ensemble and chamber sounds. After all, the music is for real musicians.
But VSL comes closest to such an environment, and is indeed very rich.
So I’d like to try and get it working for that reason - particularly with those instruments with which Halion SE is ‘weak’ (upper strings). And where the articulations are completely lacking in Halion SE… brass mutes being the biggest example I’ve come across so far.
Daniel, I know we’re in the minority here, but is there any chance of fuller docs, please? I’d be happy to help/contribute in any way I can .
Thanks!
When using Dorico with VSL, do you prefer to use Vienna Instruments or Vienna Ensemble? Is there any difference in resource load?
I usually prefer to go the straighter way, but I also understand that creating a template in Vienna Ensemble could make configuring everything easier. Or, maybe it is better to create a Dorico template, and let it open the Instruments that are needed in the staves.
Paolo
I think in general people tend to use Vienna Ensemble, particularly because you can run it in “uncoupled” mode, which means that you don’t have to wait for all of the VE Pro state to be saved/loaded when you save and reopen your project.
Daniel, thank you very much for answering. I usually tend to go for the straighter solution, to avoid having to spend most of my time configuring instead of composing. My fear is that using VE could introduce a degree of complexity that I would prefer to get rid of.
In Logic, since Logic doesn’t, or didn’t, deal very well with VE, I went for directly instantiating the Instruments in each of the Logic’s tracks. Having all the cells deactivated until a Note On message arrives, the full orchestra template is still very light. Even scores using many instruments but only a few of articulations seem quite easy on the system.
At the same time, there are reports that VE could make better use of the CPU’s cores. I’ve not seen tests, nor have first-hand experience about this, so I have still to guess, and search for accurate information.
With Dorico, I’ve still to start using VSL. So I don’t know if loading a full orchestra template (with all the cells deactivated) would be light and fast, or take time and eat memory. If loading the (still idle) template would be fast and light, and loading busy projects (with only a few articulations activated) would be reasonably fast, maybe there would be no issue in instantiating Instruments directly in Dorico.
On the contrary, if loading and reopening either idle or busy projects would be very slow, I would have to go the “uncoupled” VE route. But I would prefer this to be a last resort.
Paolo
Daniel, I discovered only now that you already answered to the same question in another thread:
Best,
Paolo