Need VST guidance

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AVREMI GOURARIE Posted May 28, 2019 16:11

I've been a Finale user since version 1 and till now I've been using external MIDI modules (4 of them) for my sounds. I would like to switch to VST sounds (JABB, GPO etc) and have a couple of questions.

I have thousands of scores.

1) Once I set up one file and assign all the instruments, is there a way to assign that same setup to other files, or do I have to do it manually to each file? Keep in mind that I cannot do it automatically, cos for some reason my setup is based on (stupidly) arbitrary MIDI channels and not instruments per se

2) Once that is all set up - If I change computers, and I re-install everything, will the files automatically 'fetch' the correct sounds?

Thanks in advance

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Jeffrey Turner Edited May 28, 2019 18:23

We don't have your files, there's no way we can predict how something will work from our end. Just try it yourself. Make sure your device priority is set correctly, then use "reassign playback sounds" from the midi menu. See if it does it automatically.

Have you been using a custom set of HP preferences for the midi sounds you've been using?

FWIW, I've recently switched to using Note Performer sounds and have been happy with the results. That might be another option you'd want to explore. When I switched from Garritan to Note Performer everything was handled automatically.

AVREMI GOURARIE Posted May 28, 2019 19:47

OK. For some reason I am having a mental block/freeze when it comes to using VST/Garritan/JABB etc. Willing to pay someone with expertise to come to my place and spend the day helping me out. I'm on PC. I live in Brooklyn. Thanks.

MIKE HALLORAN Posted May 29, 2019 15:32

Brooklyn is a bit of a commute from California so, as much as I'd like the gig...

Virtual Instruments/VIs are hosted in players. Aria Player is the default and is where you load up Garritan instruments. A few other libraries use Aria as well. Anyway, Finale sends the MIDI info to the player that hosts the instruments. Knowing that, the Help files make more sense. I'd start here.

https://usermanuals.finalemusic.com/FinaleWin/Content/Finale/ConfiguringInstrumentPlayback.htm?Highlight=Configuring%20instrument%20playback

AVREMI GOURARIE Posted May 29, 2019 15:58

Thanks You. Out of ignorance, I have one main question. After I've gone through the laborious of setting up the VST instruments and its working fine - If I move to a new computer, and install the same VST library, will there be a need to further set things up, or since I already set up the document to call up the sounds I want, then Finale will automatically play it correctly? Thanks for your help.

Jeffrey Turner Posted May 29, 2019 16:36

There's no way to know for sure, but if you keep your VST instruments in the same place after you switch to a new computer, they should find them. For instance, my samples are stored on a separate SSD drive which has the name "Samples". When I changed computers and hard drives, I made sure to give my new SSD drive the exact same name. So when I opened old projects, it looked for the specific path to a specific drive and it found it without problem.

AVREMI GOURARIE Posted May 29, 2019 16:38

Thanks

J ADRIAN VERKOUTEREN Posted May 29, 2019 21:28

In the Aria Player, if it helps you, you can create custom Ensembles of the instrument sets you use and then call them up in multiple files. You will still have to standardize the MIDI channels you match them to in Finale (so you may want to set up Finale first and then establish the Aria Ensemble), but at least you will not have to customize each Aria set for each piece.

Not sure that you can transport the Ensemble from one machine to another, but you would only have to set it up once on each machine if you use the same instrument set for all you pieces, or even subsets of the same master instrument list.