VDL issue with pedal marking Vibraphone

Dorico
1

Having an odd issue with VDL Vibraphone and the pedal marking.

I created an example:

Pedal issue.dorico (1.6 MB)

In this project are 2 instruments, VDL Vibraphone (Vibes) and a Piano. I am using the Etude Elements provided with Dorico. In VDL, I am using the Vibe Med (Ped) VST.

I have written the same part on both instruments for the first 5 measures:

Screenshot 2026-05-14 at 11.14.10
Screenshot 2026-05-14 at 11.14.101620Ă—480 42.1 KB

The Vibe part DOES NOT play the pedal appropriately. The piano, however, does. When I move the pedal marking on the vibe part to the 8th note before (bar 7 and 8), the pedal IS played correctly. However, the placement in bar 7 is incorrect for the performance instruction to press the sustain pedal.

I think this is a bug? I don’t remember this behavior before.

Robby

2

Does this respond to cc64 for pedal?

3

Yes, CC64 is the pedal trigger.

I also just tried to move the pedal by the rhythmic grid (changed to 16th note), and it is jumping in odd increments.

I added a whole note several bars down, and tried adding the pedal marking to a 16th note before the whole note. And Dorico will not allow me to attach the pedal marking slightly before the note (which makes sense why it won’t).

Robby

4

You should be able to add the pedal wherever you want it.
Show the caret (shift-N) move to the grid position, then add the pedal (shift-p ped), enter, space space space… to give it a duration. esc to finish

5

You’re correct!!! I need to press spacebar to extend it. I failed to do that before. So that aspect woks. Sorry for the misunderstanding in my previous post, I’ll edit.

Still not sure why it triggers correctly in the correct position on 1 instrument, but not the other.

Robby

6

I’d guess it’s a feature of VDL, but since I don’t use it I can’t comment further.

7

Just tried adding the pedal marking to the 4th 16th note of beat 2 in bar 1 (in between the 8th note and the tied half note). Still did not trigger the pedal. Seems like it needs to be the 8th note before.

The big issue, is I don’t remember this behaving this way. Unless I am remembering something that never was.

Robby

8

Hopefully someone else with VDL can chip in to help.

9

I seem to remember that Dorico treated instruments named Piano differently from others, inc. Vibraphone. Since I switched to VSL’s Studio Percussion some years ago, I don’t think I have a note of how I dealt with this. I do have an xp map, it seems

VD Vibraphone 4 oct.zip (1.6 KB)

Hazard warning is 1. that I haven’t used it in years; and 2. you’ll need to create playing techniques for motor on/off

10

Update: the issue was, I think, that I was trying to use cc64, and I didn’t need to because Dorico knows what Ped means.

11

I appreciate you giving this to me. I don’t have time to do look at in depth in the next few hours, but I’ll get to it very soon, and try to report back.

Robby

12

I gave your XP map a try, and it still doesn’t work. It doesn’t seem to trigger on the note where Ped is assigned.

I don’t remember this being an issue in the past. Unless I am misremembering things.

Robby

13

I think I found the issue:

Under the Library Menu, Playback Options, Pedal Lines

It was set to “After note onset”. When changed to “Before note onset” the pedal marking works as one would expect.

The confusing part is will the piano play back wrong now with this selected?

Robby