If I create an empty project with just a Strings instrument (from the Sketch family) and apply one of the factory playback templates (e.g. Iconica Sketch, HSO etc), what I get is a cello sound, even though HSO does include some string ensemble patches. I think (though I’m not sure how to check whether I am right) that this is because Dorico regards the Strings instrument as belonging to instrument type “cello”. If so, that would seem odd. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the concept of sketch instruments. Are they intended only for notation, not playback? If I want to actually hear a string ensemble, do I need to customize the playback template with my own expression map?
The strings sketch instrument has cello as its parent instrument, but it is not itself a cello. The reason that it ends up with a cello sound is because at present we don’t define a more specific sound in the default playback templates. This is certainly something we can do, though!