Customizing what I find in the Change Instruments dialog

[tramsey]

I am working on an orchestra score and I need to have the bass drum part on one staff, snare on another, etc. (Unlike a band score, where bass/snare often share a page, I need a discrete "Percussion 1" part that has only what that player plays) I try to use the canned instruments Finale gives me, but I often find a need to tweak which instruments show up on which lines of the staff. I am fairly quick at navigating the Change Instrument function and assigning the correct percussion map in Score Manager, but it's incredibly time-consuming. I have a certain staff name, percussion map, default instrument in garritan, etc. that I want.

Instead, I'd like to create a few custom instruments to appear in the Utilities>Change Instrument dialog. That way, I can simply select "my" snare drum instrument from the menu and everything will be ready to go. How do I go about this?

[Djard]

Have you tried the option of patching instruments in the Expression tool? For example, when I want harmonics in a guitar part, I assign a Vibraphone or bell as an expression. Saving the expression in the Miscellaneous category permits its placement anywhere in a measure. I also use the Expression tool for effects, such adding a degree of Channel Pressure to a note for a slow vibrato. I insert a hidden expression to end the effect. The tool accommodates a nice workflow.