User manual
Mojo Horn Section - Sibelius Sound Set User Manual | 18
5.2 Manual Sound Sets
ere are several ways in which Sibelius allocates and assigns sounds depending on
the type of sound set being used. Perhaps most familiar is the automatic (loading)
method, such as is used by the Sibelius Player, whereby Sibelius loads, assigns, routes,
and manages all sounds automatically without requiring direct user input. Automatic
loading, however, is not available for all plugins and isn’t always preferable even when it
is available. For libraries that cannot be loaded automatically, or if you prefer manually
managing channels and assignments, a manual sound set must be dened.
e term manual sound set is often a source of confusion, so it’s important to under-
stand what it is before continuing. A manual sound set tells Sibelius what sounds are
available and the device and MIDI channel where those sounds can be found. Without
this information, Sibelius will allocate sounds based on SoundWorld priorities and it’s
unlikely they will correspond to the actual location of the sounds (and further, these
allocations are subject to change).
ere are two (broad) scenarios in which manual sound sets are used. e dierences
are subtle, but important, as the term manual sound set may, on the surface, seem to
contradict the second.
Scenario 1 - Without a sound set XML le
When a sound set XML le is not used, sound IDs are dened directly in the manual
sound set and assigned to a channel. e manual sound set in this sense is a true “man-
ually created sound set,” that is, an XML le does not exist with instrument denitions
so these denitions are manually created.
Scenario 2 - With a sound set XML le, but without automatic loading
In this scenario, Sibelius still must be told where the sounds are located. However,
while MIDI channels assignments are part of the Manual Sound Set dialog, the
sounds are not being dened manually as they are in the rst scenario. Instead, the
denitions are taken from the sound set XML le and applied to channels.
Essentially, the second scenario can be viewed as channel routing rather than creating
a manual sound set, despite the fact that the same term is used. When discussed in the
next section, the use of manual sound set refers exclusively to this second scenario.