Hi. All the help on what must be a regular issue seems to be re Dorico 2. I have bought Dorico 3 Elements to get used to it before the big one…but I can’t associate JABB3 or Aria as a VST instrument - and I compose jazz type material. I have created the whitelist, though I have had to guess which engine, VSTAudioengine2 or VSTAudioengine3 they have to go in (I don’t know whether this is residual file detritus from previous attempts to download Dorico on a trial basis or that they are properly within the installation) … so put it in both. I have also removed the files specified in both folders. The VST instruments do not appear. However, this is all from the help/videos etc on Dorico 2, and requirements may be different for 3.
I had only been trying to access the JABB3 sound set using existing xml files before saving to a Dorico file and they didn’t work. So I created a short identity - one bass clarinet - and tried to add a VST instrument into the Play VST area…nothing. I don’t need a beep, or …, I need Garritan Jazz on Aria! Please point me in the right direction. I think I have followed to the letter what is specified. I even loaded JABB3 and Aria again, but to no avail. I am running a new iMac running OS Catalina. All software is up to date.
I realise this must be old news but I can’t find a solution.
Hi Jeff, I’m deeply sorry for your trouble, because you ran into outdated (and even partially wrong) documentation. Already someone else this week ran into that situation, so our documentation team is already notified and will rectify this asap.
So, since Dorico 2 whitelisting of VST2 plug-ins became much easier. Go to Dorico’s Preferences dialog and choose the Play tab, then scroll down to the VST Plug-ins section.
There are two buttons of interest for you. First click on ‘Edit VST2 Whitelist…’ which opens an editor window.
Line by line list all the plug-ins that you want to whitelist, just give the file name of the plug-in without the vst ending.
When done make sure you press Ctrl S to save the list.
Second, click on ‘VST2 Plug-in Paths’, a dialog opens where you can specify the search paths to the VST2 plug-ins.
This is especially important in your case, because you deleted the corresponding xml file on the harddisk (which is actually that was is wrong in the documentation.)
When you are done with it, relaunch Dorico and the specified VST2 plug-ins also shall appear in Dorico.
If you have still trouble, come back and post a diagnostics report. You create one by choosing from Dorico’s menu ‘Help > Create Diagnostics Report’, which puts silently a zip file on your desktop. Please attach that one here. Thank you and again, we apologize for the mess.
Hi Ulf. Thanks for this response. I have clicked the first button and the whitelist I created earlier appears correctly. As I’d copied and pasted the vst file names I assume it is accurate. BUT…I don’t have that second button ‘VST2 Plug-in Paths’ in that, or any other, section that I can see. I have replaced the deleted files. I’m now going to re-start to see what happens and I’ll let you know. I haven’t done a diagnostic report yet as I now imagine it’s possible that Dorico 3 Elements doesn’t have the facility that I’m after.
Hi Ulf. I think that seems to be OK now. The Aria player is now appearing and I can select the JABB3 sound set. I put the deleted files back in both Audioengine2 and Audioengine3 though I don’t understand how they are different . But, the ‘VST2 Plug-in Paths’ button is not visible. Thanks, Jeff.
I think my problem is bigger than this. I can select the JABB3 soundset and populate Aria but none of the instruments (players) use them even when explicitly changed to do so in left and right play panels. I need to read a book or some detailed help at my own rate. There doesn’t appear to be much beyond the online link but i don’t want to keep asking for support when there should be help available. I’ll open a new query if I need to.
Just one last clarification if i may: I have a 16 track jazz arrangement which requires JABB3 voices using Aria. 1) Can I work with the .xml file before saving it to .dorico? Can I work with it in terms of soundsets, links etc when Dorico 3 Elements only permits 12 tracks? I am not working on the notes, just the sounds.
I won’t send a diagnostics report until I have an insoluble problem. Thank you.
Cool, do as you think. In regards to your new question, I don’t quite understand, but maybe someone else does and can answer. Good luck on your quest with Aria.
These (an image and a short zipped Dorico file) were made in Windows, but see if they are any help configuring your program. I have not had a problem using Aria with Dorico.
Thanks Derrek. First off, I’m worried that I see some sort of ‘Multi’ as the sampler. I have a multi but it doesn’t appear as an instrument option. I think I have to spend more time with Aria set up as well as Dorico.
Ulf - My last question concerned working on an .xml file rather than a .dorico file. Another issue was that the .xml file contained 16 voices. I know Elements 3 does not permit editing in more than 12 voices but I wondered if allocating different sound sources was OK whether you start with an .xml or .dorico file. Maybe the changes couldn’t be saved, but it could be changed during a session.
I haven’t tried this, but I think that Elements and SE will allow you to play back multiple voices. I think the limit is on the instruments in the score.
The basic Aria VST sends all its outputs mixed to stereo channel 1/2.
Aria also produces a version in which you can assign each of its instrument slot outputs to different channels 1/2 to 31/32, which lets you control the output of each Aria slot with a different fader in the Dorico Mixer.
Thanks Derrek and Paul. I’m assuming 1/2 just means stereo. I don’t need anything beyond that. It is only for monitoring during composition anyway. I think I need to start at the beginning. I have read the JABB3 manual and I have read the Aria manual - neither of which is particularly helpful in linking up Dorico > (Elements) > Aria > Jabb3 or universally defining terms. I have used JABB3 with score writing programs for years without needing to touch anything, but now I need all the terminology I have since allowed to disappear. i.e. What is an instrument? An instant? A slot? A channel? A port? Terms seem to have become interchangeable since. I thought Aria running Garritan was ‘an instrument’ (i.e. a VST or AU instrument). I thought I could set up two Arias (two instruments) to cover large multi voiced ( > 16) compositions - two instances. and…why is Aria in the screen grab above referred to as 02-Aria? Why 02? If I add Aria to my set up it’s 03-Aria as HSE is 02. Where’s 01? Are these ‘slots’? These unexplained details only serve to confuse the already technically vulnerable. I’ll get there in the end I guess. Where of course it’ll all become trivially easy…I think I have to look at Endpoints. Probably.
Let’s see if I can explain some of this.
The Aria Player is a VST capable of holding 16 instrument sounds in 16 slots.
I tend to be careful using the term instrument to refer to a sound to avoid confusion with what an instrument is in Dorico.
If you have more than one instance of a VST, Dorico will number them, as you have noted. (If you delete a player and then add it back, Dorico may name the “added-back” VST as 02-Aria instead of starting at 01 out of respect for the deleted player.)
You address a VST slot with a MIDI channel. The reason I distinguish between slot and channel is that Aria can set multiple slots to receive on the same MIDI channel to create hybrid instruments.
Thanks Derrek - yes it helps. I tend to see Aria as a VSTi (that is, an ‘instrument’) from the perspective of its capability to produce musical sounds from some soundset (like JABB3). The more commonly held use of the term (instrument) I guess would be ‘player’ in Dorico. I’m also happy with that distinction. (It’s a bit like using the term ‘tone’ - interval or pitch? There’ll be others). If I stick with Elements I won’t need a second instance of Aria as the chart is limited to 12 voices. I am writing straight instrumental music, so for me, I will use a channel per musical instrument (trad. term!) going to the same slots in Aria. I’m assuming the output channels (1/2 in your diagram) are capable of carrying up to 16 discrete midi channel sounds at the same time? I noticed that when i created my single voice piece, I was able to switch quite easily between HSSE and Aria. Adding a second er…player, proved impossible though. Only 1 audio output (of the first sound) and no evidence in the Endpoint thing. But, this is really ignorance on my part so I need to read more. Thanks for your help though.
I have a question of this sort too, having migrated my copy of Dorico to a desktop computer (iMac) where it hasn’t been used before, and feeling ready to try other sounds beyond HALion Sonic SE. I have GPO4 and JABB, and my standalone ARIA Player is authorized for both of those and recognizes them (shows menus of all their sounds).
When I look at the Play window in a Dorico project, I’ve added a slot under VST Instruments, vacant thus far. The pulldown menu for it shows options including ARIA Player VST and ARIA Player VST Multi. As I gather from discussions here that the latter is preferable, I choose it, and thereafter I get the “wait” signal (the “spinning beach ball”) indefinitely – I left it going all night once with no result. So I always have to Force Quit and try to solve it.
I guess my first question is, how does “whitelisting” work in Dorico 3.5? The manual for Dorico 3 refers to a menu option that seems no longer to exist, the online Knowledge Base goes only up to Dorico 2, and the 3.5 Version History, as far as I can tell, doesn’t mention any change in this regard. But apparently I now whitelist (“allow”) plug-ins by moving them from the right column to the left in Preferences > VST Plug-Ins? Is that sufficient?
If it is, I’ve done it, but something is then not making a connection. I may need to be tutored like a beginner in this, and be told exactly what files must be in each folder. I think I’ve done this (it seems to be the same setup as on the laptop where Dorico was formerly installed, and all of this worked), but very likely I’ve missed something. All help appreciated.
Looks more like the audio engine is dying when you try to load ARIA. Please do Help > Create Diagnostics Report and post the corresponding zip file here. That contains logs and crash files and much more, which will help me giving further advice. Thanks
. But, the ‘VST2 Plug-in Paths’ button is not visible. Thanks, Jeff.
