In my Setup I have Tenor Viol, Tenor Viol and Bass Viol. When I then look in the Play module and click on the tilted “E”, it shows Violoncello Solo Combi, Violoncello Solo Combi and Violoncelli A Combi. I assume that there are no Viol samples to use so some part of Dorico substitutes. But the last of these three sounds like a string section rather than a solo instrument. How and where are these substitutions managed? How can I change them?
Strings are section players by default. If you want solo samples you have to create single players
Well, the Players in Setup were made by clicking on the “Add Single Player” button, not the “Add Section Player” button, but the tenor viols become Solo Celli and the bass viol becomes Section Celli.
And, aside from that, it does not answer my questions which were:
How and where are these substitutions (for instruments with no VST loaded) managed?
How can I change them?
They built into the Dorico factory playback templates. Which one is used when you create a new player is determined by your settings in Preferences>Play>Playback Template, or when you choose to apply a different Playback Template (Play>Playback Template…) - which just clears out whatever is currently set and applies the new template.
You create your own custom playback templates (There are tutorial videos on how to do this).
EDIT: There does seem to be an error with the Dorico Factory Template loading a Section Sound rather than a Solo, for a Solo Bass Viol (@dspreadbury )
You’re right that the Bass Viol does load Violoncelli (plural) in the Auto HALion template, and that would be an error.
Noteperformer loads a Solo Cello, for example.
You can just change the sample in the HALion plug-in window.
If you’re unfamiliar with customizing playback, I’d suggest you go through this series of videos all about it.
“You can just change the sample in the HALion plug-in window.”
“Just”? That’s what I am asking. How do I do that?
I have not found the videos very helpful. They tend to describe features without actual step-by-step procedures, or they apparently skip over, or assume, information even when it is not covered in earlier videos. The fourth in series, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXhnvgUUy4k&t=111s at 1:45 says “add a new slot by clicking this button and finding your VST in the list.” My list has only Steinberg->Synth->Halion Sonic. I can find nothing about how to add other VSTs to that list, which seems to be a prerequisite for everything else in the video.
Thank you