Sib 7 Sounds Solo Strings?

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Eriias
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2018 7:02 pm
Sibelius Version: 6.2
Operating System: Windows

Post by Eriias » Tue Oct 16, 2018 8:22 pm

Hello,

I just downloaded the trial version of Sibelius Ultimate to see if it would fix a lot of issues I've been having and have run into something very odd. The mixer seems to have changed (it now has a lot of nested menus to pick from) and I can't seem to find just solo string samples?

I found that I could set the whole track to play with the solo>legato sound which did exactly what I wanted, but I then realized that it was actually playing it from the Sibelius 6 sound patch (I had been using the 6/7 combo configuration). So I switched to just 7 and it started playing them as ensemble parts, which is incorrect for what I want here.

As shown in the attached image file, there are all these options for articulations but no legato for the normal/solo version. I'm confused and probably missing something. I used to not even get these options out of the mixer; you just picked "Cello 1" or "Cello 2" and there were other options there like the pizz 2 or staccato 2 but it wasns't all nested like this some I'm wondering if this is some setting that I've changed or just an update in this trial version.

Anyway, long story short, how can I get playback of solo strings that is by default legato? I can do that for string ensembles but I'm not seeing it for solo instruments.

Thank you for your time and assistance.
Attachments
mixer.png
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Last edited by Eriias on Wed Oct 17, 2018 2:53 am, edited 1 time in total.


MikeLyons
Posts: 1631
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2016 7:20 pm
Sibelius Version: Ult. 2024.3.1/7.5
Operating System: Windows

Post by MikeLyons » Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:45 pm

Your image does not appear to have attached.
Sib 6.2, 7.5 and 2023.6, Windows 11, 32GB RAM, 16TB 7200RPM Storage, 2TB SSD, Note Performer 3.3.2, EWQLSO, EWQLSC, Harmony Assistant and some others. mike@mike-lyons.co.uk

Eriias
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2018 7:02 pm
Sibelius Version: 6.2
Operating System: Windows

Post by Eriias » Wed Oct 17, 2018 2:57 am

There we go. It was apparently too big, so I had to scale it down several times.

So, this view might seem super normal to some users. What I'm used to seeing is, under each string instrument, there'll then be various sound patches (Cello 1, Cello 1 pizz etc. Cello 2, Cello 2 pizz etc., Cello Solo v6) etc. and the ones that are from Sibelius 6 Sound Essentials are marked with that v6 by the name. This altered format doesn't seem to have that which is very confusing.

I tried just activating only Sibelius 7 sounds which obviously removed the v6 options that were mislabeled, but the problem is I do need the Sibelius 6 sounds as well (I use that for the drum set, I can't stand the one in s7).

I've had this happen before, where the layout in the mixer will change to something like this, but I can't recall what caused it or what made things go back to the way I was accustomed. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.


But anyway in the end what I"m looking for is not to fix the layout, but rather I need to get a solo string patch that will play default legato. There is such a thing under "Ensemble" in each category but I can't locate one that does that for a solo string instrument. Am I missing something?

Eriias
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2018 7:02 pm
Sibelius Version: 6.2
Operating System: Windows

Post by Eriias » Wed Oct 17, 2018 3:13 am

Update:

So I've gotten the "normal" solo strings, but they seem to /only/ play "normal" in that they do not slur at all. It sounds very much like things I used to write back on Noteflight where articulations did not matter in the slightest. Sibelius was never the best at it, but do the Sibelius 7 sounds not come with ones that will at least /try/ to interpret your articulations etc. during playback? These sound sets sound nice but they're not performing half of the music...

bobp
Posts: 1182
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:53 am

Post by bobp » Wed Oct 17, 2018 3:32 pm

A few things occur to me here.

There is some anecdotal evidence that the trial versions of Sibelius aren't quite the same as the paid version.

When I have combined version 7 and 6 sounds, my choices for articulations have always been limited to some extent. I thinks it's because v6 sounds aren't able to to many of the things that v7 sounds can. In which case the player has to make compromises.

Don't forget that you can adjust the over all length of notes in the "Performance" tab. And normal as well as legato attack and release of string sounds in the mixer. Also, use the "Dictionary" to adjust length of slurred notes. I adjust these almost every time.

There are several different drum kits. With each one, you can use mike volume to enhance the sound. It's not unusual to have two scores for a single piece. One for playback and one to print for real players. I often will use three lines for a drum kit in the playback score. One line for the kick, one for snare and toms, and one for cymbal work. That way I can control various aspect of each. Hi hat volume is way too low, for example.

There many more hidden adjustments that can make a big difference. Don't forget that Sibelius is primarily for notation, not playback.

Perhaps Mike can speak more to the value of upgrading to v8 than I can.
Bob Porter
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop

Eriias
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2018 7:02 pm
Sibelius Version: 6.2
Operating System: Windows

Post by Eriias » Wed Oct 17, 2018 5:22 pm

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your reply! I did the trial version because I was strapped for time (long story short(er), applying for grad school and was told that SIbelius playback was fine so long as I was using the latest version. I have 8.4 but it has some bugs in playback that other forum users had told me were fixed in updates I don't have access to for licensing reasons. So as a Hail Mary I just downloaded the free trial and it worked well enough. From everything I've gathered in interacting with this school, the playback is only a reference and they're plenty knowledgeable enough to recognize what's really supposed to be happening from the score.)

I'll definitely look into these to see if I can make any worthwhile improvements in what little time I have left. It'll definitely be helpful for future projects regardless.

And yeah, I've gotten used to having essentially 2 scores, though I prefer to have it all in the same file and just have the playback tracks all hidden and the notation tracks muted. That way if I make changes to actual content, I don't have to worry about if both versions are up to date, I just visually compare them right there.

Then the one drawback is, during editing, having to be vigilant against errant playback tracks randomly appearing partway through the score because I forgot to hide something. :P

And yeah, when I'm less under the gun I think I'll definitely try out the s7 drum sets and do what you said and just split them into different staves for playback (the notation will be largely slashes anyhow). I have to ship this particular project off tomorrow, but I have a few weeks more to work on my last application and for that one I'm gonna work on finishing a different piece and really make sure the playback is up to snuff.


.....I'm still just really confused by this layout for the mixer, though. Is this how it looks to everyone nowadays? I'm used to getting a huge list of options rather than this nested thing....

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