Oh. Never mind. Too easy. I got it.
Thanks! Didnāt thought of this before, but it solved my problem! The banjo transposition was off and it was simple enough to copy the correct setting from guitar. The issue with this is that it doesnāt seem to affect the files created before this tweak so one might have to go back and create new files/layouts/etc to fix those older sessionsā¦
Will this functionality be available in Dorico 4? Failing that, Iād like to request that additional recorders are added to the recorder instrument set. Specifically, GreatBass, Contrabass and Subcontrabass. Probably garklein should be added for completeness. I tried hacking the xml and found three files - one for instruments, one for instrument families and one with different languages. But this caused playback to fail on reloading so had to abandon my edits. The instrument sounds are available but I have no access to them.
Iād also like to be able to edit the allowed ranges - some of the Dorico ones for recorder are more conservative than my playing.
No, Iām afraid there will be no interface for editing instrument types in Dorico 4, though it is certainly something that we want to work on soon.
aval7384
I have instrumentnames-en.xml edited to include great bass and contrabass recorders. It loads without problems. They default to a piano sound, which can be changed in Noteperformer.
It would not be difficult to add the others and edit the ranges.
Edit: also instruments.xml, instrumentFamiliesDefinitions.xml and woodwind family.xml
Iāve just tried to create some new instruments, by editing the following files:
instruments.xml
instrumentFamiliesDefinitions.xml
instrumentnames_en.xml
It seems to work fine. Iāve no problems in editing a few xml files, so this would be as comfortable to me as having a dedicated user interface. (Or even better, since I hate having to hop between thousands of dialog boxes).
Is it really safe? Or will I end up with scrambled and unreadable files?
If it really works, it will be the solution to my need to use multiple libraries for the same category of instruments (say, both Orchestral Strings and Dimension Strings with a VSL setup).
Paolo
Uhm, not so easy. I see that the āinstruments.xmlā file only includes a single definition for an instrument. For example, there is a single definition for āViolinā, with not difference between a single instrument and a section.
Does it make a difference? All considered, Iām already assigning a Solo Violin sound to the āViolinā solo instruments, and a Violin Ensemble sound to the āViolinā section.
In the same way, Iāll assign a Dimension Violin sound to the āDimension Violinā section, and the playback template will recall that one.
Paolo
Oh, still something to ask: what is an āaliasā? For example, the Fiddle is an alias of the Violin. It is notated this way:
instrument.strings.violin.alias.fiddle
I suspect I should to the same with any variant of a violin. For example, I should probably have the main sound of violin under the main definition of āViolinā. Dimension Violins should go under something like:
instrument.strings.violin.alias.dimension-violin
Alternative violins should be something like:
instrument.strings.violin.alias.alternative-violin
Or should they be a totally different instrument, even if always linked to the main violin and probably appearing in the same part in the final score?
Paolo
Iām not exactly sure about how section instruments work with this, but if you havenāt already, see how Daniel set up the various conga drums in the file he posted in this thread. This worked great for me to add a few percussion instruments!
Thank you Fred. I had already checked those files for building a Gongs setup. But it seems a different type of setup than a melodic instrument (with individual and ensemble versions).
Another question arising, however: Daniel uses something like āvery.lowā in his definitions. Iāve used a form like āvery-lowā or āmedium-smallā. I wonder if this makes any difference.
Paolo
The exact syntax of those IDs doesnāt really matter, as they donāt carry any semantic meaning. We have a convention that we follow, but nothing bad will happen if you follow your own convention ā or rather I should say that nothing specifically bad will happen as a result of you providing your own IDs. Obviously we do not recommend and nor do we provide support for users who create their own instrument definitions by tinkering with the files provided as part of the default software distribution.
Alias instruments provide a means for us to show, say, āContrbassā and āDouble bassā in the instrument picker. In the XML files that are supplied with Dorico these are written out in full each time, so they are effectively independent, but in the database tool we use to manage this data, an alias simply references an existing instrumentās data, so that we donāt have to change it in multiple places.
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Thank you very much, Daniel, this is very clear. I take the risk, because this possibility is a real game changer for me. It seems to work perfectly fine.
Paolo
Iāve finally been able to complete a set of basic custom instruments, so that I can easily manage layered instruments and ensembles.
Not particularly difficult, but keeping track of all the things in the three xml files is a bit a headache generator. A dedicated editor in Dorico will be really welcome.
Paolo
Re: Custom instruments - I am learning composition unfamiliar with cello fingering so what I have done is copy and paste the music Iām writing into a bass guitar part, turning on the TAB and adjusting the strings to match. While the cello isnāt a fretted instrument, it would be helpful to be able to pretend it was to use the TAB feature to check for impossible passages. Thanks for considering this.
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I fail to see how this would help. Youād probably be better off studying a cello primer. In general the only āimpossiblesā are double stops that require large stretches of the left hand (but in general Iād avoid writing chords for cello).
My own go to reference for (advanced) cello technique is Popperās Hohe Schule des Violoncello-Spiels, Op.73 (Popper, David) - IMSLP. And for beginners his 15 Leichte EtĆ¼den in der ersten Lage, Op.76a (Popper, David) - IMSLP
I would like to join in and ask for adding a āCastanet (high)ā and āCastanet (low)ā option, since some orchestra libraries offer more than one (e.g. BBCSO Pro). Having 3 options available seems to be quite common when looking at the setup of other instruments.
Not sure if this could be implemented easily in one of the upcoming updates - but it certainly would be great! 
Thank you!
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Dear Daniel,
I need to create a bouzouki instrument with it specific range an tuning to create appropriate TAB charts.
I can live with the 12-string acoustic guitar sound as a basis.
If I edit this accordingly, does it overwrite that instrument by default or can I create a new instrument in addition, as preferred?
Donāt worry, changes you make to an instrument in one project do not affect the default list of instruments. (To alter the list youād have to manually edit the instruments and instrumentFamiliesDefinitions xml files in the application package ā not recommended.)
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Thanks Mark, Iāve gone ahead and edited the instrument with confidence now!