Keyswitching not working with VSL Solo Strings 1

Hi,

I am able to load VSL Solo Strings (an older library) and it will play. However, when I tried to create a custom expression map for it using key-switching, no program changes occurred in the VSL Ensemble 6 player.

I then tried creating a separate staff in Dorico to manually trigger the key switches by sending to the same VST instrument, port, and channel, however, still no program changes occurred.

When I open VSL’s VST instrument, I can play all of the key switches and notes with both my mouse and my MIDI controller.

I am rather confused as to what is causing this issue because the VST seems to work fine when using just the MIDI controller.

I would appreciative for any help!

Thank you!

Could it perhaps be an octave number mismatch? Check that the octave number you’re using in your expression map: Dorico uses middle C (MIDI note 60) = C4 by default, but other manufacturers often use e.g. middle C = C3.

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Thank you! I tried using a different octave and that seems to have made a difference. So, basically, use the octave below the one shown on my VST?

It looks like I am able to use a 2-key combination in a second staff to set a key-switch. But, the key-switch only seems to play on the first note and then it switches to some other patch. I even tried creating a note for note key-switch, but the same things happens.

It is a bit difficult to troubleshoot which notes are making the key-switches work when the same key-switch note is not working consistently.


The notes that I circled in the VSL’s VST seem to be the combination to trigger the pizzicato that I circled.

I’m not an expert on using VSL instruments with Dorico (far from it!), but chances are you have a misconfiguration in your expression map related to these keyswitches.

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The Y dimension in the Matrix is controlled by CC1, not a keyswitch. You could edit the instrument to use a keyswitch.

There are Template and expression maps available to the VSL VI series for a company called Symphonic Riot.

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Thank you! I thought that the Y axis was controlled by either a CC# OR one of the relevant keyswitches - missing the CC# send in the expression map would certainly be a problem.

I will definitely take a look at those.presets!. But I also think that I am going to need to learn how to program expression maps for this instrument as well in order to use it most effectively and to notate my scores the way I would like.

Thanks! This really helps me!

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Thank you so much for helping me to troubleshoot this! :smile:

I decided to purchase the Articulate Presets from Symphonic-Riot that work with VSL Solo Strings. I followed the installation instructions for both the general setup and for the Dorico setup. I was able to add the Articulation Presets in Dorico 3.5, and set them up for the endpoint for Vienna Ensemble (the VST that came with VSL’s Solo Strings). The articulations show up in the articulation dialog in Dorico - and they look pretty cool!

I looked for the preset in Vienna Ensemble when I loaded it via Dorico, but under presets, I still only had the two factory presets listed. I tried manually loading Vienna Instruments to see if there would be any difference, and all I saw were the factory presets. I double-checked the VSL directory manager, and that the folder was the same folder that I copied the Symphonic-Riot Ariticulate-Presets to.

I am assuming that you would not have recommended Symphonic-Riot’s Articulate-Presets unless you have had personal experience working with them. Is there something else that I need to do that I have somehow missed? I am fairly certain that I need to load their presets into VE - it doesn’t make sense that I would need to copy them to the VSL Directory Manager’s Custom Folder, otherwise.

I appreciate your help with recommending these presets, and any help that you can suggest for getting them to work!

Thank you!

In Dorico, you should apply the Articulate Template (in Play mode). That should load the instruments. It’s setup to use individual instances of VI Pro. You’d have to modify the setup to use through VEP.

This is how the VIP looks for me. Be sure to look at Presets, not Matrix.
image

Thanks! Apparently, the only VST available to me was VE because when I purchased Solo Strings, it came with the e-licenser, and the PRO version of VI was apparently not available to me at that time. I was able to transfer the licenses to my iLok, and gain access to VI Pro as a result. I had to re-download the sample libraries. I finished the installation this morning. I was then able to get VI Pro to load up via Dorico playback. Unfortunately, I am still unable to see the Articulation Presets in VI Pro. I have double checked the custom folder, and the preset files appear to be installed correctly.

I am a bit baffled, but at least I am clear as to the nature of the problem now: somehow, the presets are not visible to the VI Pro player.

Thanks to the recommendation, I have been experimenting with Articulate Presets for VSL Solo Strings!

Now that I am working with the presets, I have some questions.

  1. Prior to upgrading to Vienna Instruments Pro, there was Vienna Ensemble - which was great because I could load all of the instruments that I needed into a single VST and access them via their respective MIDI channels. With ViPro, I don’t see a way that I can have more than one instrument loaded - am I wrong about this?

  2. Although I have 16GB of RAM, loading solo cello along with a handful of other VST instruments from another library, ends up using half of my RAM. I don’t mind the RAM usage so much, but it takes forever to save my work in Dorico now, and forever to load it. Is there a way to streamline which Articulate presets I want to load so that I can use more instances of VIPro and not bog down either Dorico or my computer?

Thanks!

PS - I am really enjoying the sound library now that it is easier to access the articulations!

  1. VI Pro works with VE like you describe. Maybe there’s an incompatibility with the versions you have of each. I’d start there.

  2. Check out the Optimize feature at the top left of VI Pro, which unloads unused samples. That will help, but I don’t know about the interaction with saving in Dorico.