Sound sets and transfer from Sib.

As a long-term Sibelius user, I have recently downloaded the 30-day trial of Dorico. Apart from finding it very complicated to understand (in comparison with the software I’m used to), I was very disappointed with the sound quality of the demo tracks, both in terms of the actual sounds and the balance between parts.
What I was wondering was, is there any way that Dorico can access the Sibelius 6 Sounds Essential, which are already on my computer?
My second question is - can I import a Sibelius file into Dorico (trial version) via xml, or is this only possible with the full version of Dorico?
I’ve heard very good things about Dorico, but am rather overwhelmed with the learning curve ahead if I do decide to jump ship!

Dear gtbham,

I do not think you can use Sibelius 6 sounds… Any third party VST3 sound will work painlessly (pianoteq 6 for instance), and for VST2 software you need to whitelist them (see FAQ in the forum)
You can of course import files from Sibelius to Dorico via XML, that is the proper way to do it actually. You might need to “clean” the file after the import — usually I create instruments fresh from the start in Dorico and copy the imported staves in the right instruments, then delete the extra instruments that come from the import. Select all, Edit > Reset appearance and Reset position and I’m ready to go ! The trial version is a full version, only time-limited.
Dorico is not that difficult to understand, I find it way more logical than the previous softwares… Once you understand the philosophy underneath the different modes, it really makes sense. These people have been working on notation softwares for years, they know what they’re doing, especially when they do not do it the way it was done before !
Use the Dorico channel videos on Youtube, they’re short and very well made, use the search engine in the PDF manual, and if you cannot find the answer and the search engine here does not help (we know it’s not THAT efficient), feel free to ask here !

The trial version has the exact same functionality of the full version, only limitation is the 30-day period.

Thanks, Marc. I’m not very technically minded, and VST3 doesn’t mean a lot to me! I’m assuming from what you say that none of the Sibelius sound sets are classed as VST3s… I looked up pianoteq 6, but it appears that this consists mainly or entirely of piano sounds. I also looked at a list of ‘free VST3s’, but I really don’t know where to start. I need some decent sounding sampled orchestral instruments, including harp and percussion if possible. Is Garritan PO classed as a VST3? I get on very well with Sibelius 6 sounds - the ones that came with Sib 7 seemed rather unwieldy on my Mac, and took too long to load. I can’t understand why the sounds provided with Dorico aren’t better - perhaps this is something they’re working on.

The sounds that come with Sibelius are Sibelius-use only; that is, they cannot be used for any other program. Garritan does work with Dorico, and it takes a little setting up (search GPO or Garritan and you’ll find the steps to getting it to work).
As someone who used Sibelius for 15 years, I agree that Dorico is different. But, once you become accustomed to how it works, it works very well indeed. I am using it now, and haven’t opened Sibelius in a couple of months, except to retrieve and print older scores.
The sounds that come with Dorico vary greatly in quality, as you have found. The strings are ok, the voices are dreadful, with everything else in between. I suspect - and this is me talking, not Steinberg - that the idea is that so many folks have their own preferred sound libraries, that they have focused first on notation, with the audio coming later. I do hope that the basic, onboard sounds are improved upon, as not all users are multiple library owners. There has been some talk of getting Noteperformer to work with Dorico, but we don’t know where that stands. So, patience is in order. If this isn’t workable for you now, check back; at some point - soon, I suspect - the audio will equal or better what one can get with the basic Sib 6 or 7 sounds.
Lastly, as Marc indicated, if you have questions, just ask - the folks here are very helpful!

++1 to see NotePerformer ported to Dorico!
I’ve abandoned Sibelius for working exclusively with Dorico, but I do miss NotePerformer.
Would be nice if Steinberg and Wallander would work together to implement a solution…

If I remember correctly, Arne Wallander is prepared to do it as soon as Steinberg/Dorico provide the necessary «hooks» to make a porting possible. The reasons it was never ported to Finale were pretty marginal… while waiting I’m sure mr. Wallander is busy improving the strings :slight_smile: