Mute Button: Inconsistent Behavior? (Not Muting "MIDI Instruments")

Dear Community

When using “MIDI Instruments” instead (or alongside) of “VST Instruments” in Dorico, to send out an instrument’s MIDI to an external program/sampler/synth, the Mute Button in Play Mode seems not to work. When I mute a track backed by a “MIDI Instrument”, the MIDI gets sent out nonetheless, causing the instrument to play, which of course is not expected when I mute the instrument in Dorico’s Play Mode.

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This causes an inconsistency between muting instruments that are backed by VST Instruments within Dorico, and instruments that are backed by MIDI Instruments (in order to be played by an external program or even external sampler/synth etc.)

Is this intended behavior, or am I doing something wrong? I suspect the Mute Button mutes the audio channel within Dorico for any “VST Instruments” hosted in Dorico, but misses to mute the MIDI output when an instrument is backed by a “MIDI Instrument”?

I’m aware that I could mute in the external program. But that 1) degrades the workflow (I would like to stay in Dorico), and 2) creates the above-mentioned inconsistency in behavior between “VST Instruments” and “MIDI Instruments”.

Do you experience the same behavior?

With best wishes

Yes, this is the expected behaviour at the moment. The mute/solo buttons in the track headers in Play mode only mute audio outputs. The MIDI faders in the Mixer, for example, don’t have mute/solo buttons as a way of demonstrating this. However, we should probably not be showing the mute/solo buttons in the track header for instruments that are routed to MIDI devices, since as things stand Dorico can’t mute them in the same way.

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Hi Daniel

Thank you for your feedback on this, very much appreciated!

Could you shed some light why it is not possible in Dorico to mute instruments that utilize a “MIDI Instrument” endpoint? (i.e. they keep sending MIDI data out, even if the mute button is pressed)

I would like to make the argument to even add the functionality to mute instruments that use “MIDI Instrument” as endpoint, i.e. that it would be similarly useful, like muting other instruments that use “VST Instruments” as endpoints.

I.e. keep the mute button, and not send MIDI data out when it is enabled :slight_smile:

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What do you (and others in the forum) think? Wouldn’t that make a lot of sense? (Or is there other reasoning behind the current behavior that I’m not seeing?)

With kind regards

In future we may well be able to change the way the software works to make it possible to mute a MIDI instrument, but it’s not possible at the moment, and it would be better if the track headers in Play mode didn’t make it appear that it is.

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Thanks again, yes that would make sense, 1) to either remove the mute button (which I think would be unfortunate :slight_smile: ), or 2) (I think this would be the more ideal solution) to stop sending out MIDI data when the instrument is muted.

Is there a reason the decision was made to send out MIDI data all the time (and not be able to mute such instruments)? Is there a particular use case behind it I don’t understand? (that might very well be the case) :slight_smile:

All the best

I seem to have the opposite problem with the MIXER.
I have successfully loaded a piano patch via midi from PianoTeq into channel 1. The other channels are still using 02 Halion Sonic SE by default. By tapping the “m” I am able to mute JUST the PianoTeq patch; the other patches do not mute, even though all the "m"s are highlighted. I can only “mute” the Halion patches by pulling down the faders in the midi view of the mixer.
In likewise opposite manner, the faders only work for the PianoTeq track in INSTRUMENT view. In MIDI view, the faders only work for the Halion instruments.
Why?
In the first screenshot, audio levels show only on the metronome and piano (midi) tracks, but actually the channels that are supposedly muted are also playing back audio.
The second screenshot just shows that I have the PianoTeq loaded into the piano track.


Hi.
What you’re describing is certainly very unusual for me, I don’t know how you got to that state… Is it possible you’ve set up HSSE as a MIDI device and not an instrument?
Dorico is designed to be used like this : when you create a file, your default playback template will be used, and if you don’t touch anything in the play mode’s instruments, the automatic processes provided with the playback template will apply.
I have the feeling you’re fighting that behavior, trying out different approaches. You are, if course, allowed to do that, but I would certainly encourage you to first master the “normal” way before :wink:
Can you post a picture of your play mode window with VST rack opened (and not that VST routing showing PianoTeq)?



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