Audio Driver Problems

General notation questions, including advanced notation, formatting, etc., go here.

Moderators: Peter Thomsen, miker

nonmoriar
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2020 1:07 am
Finale Version: 26
Operating System: Windows

Post by nonmoriar » Thu Sep 03, 2020 2:08 am

Hello everyone!
I recently installed Finale on my Windows 10 PC. At the time, I had all of the normal audio drivers that come installed. I started having issues with MIDI latency and my microphone not working, and so I installed the ASIO audio driver, because I read that it helps with latency. Once I did that, Finale started falling apart. Suddenly, it wouldn't play back midi. I changed the MIDI settings, and then it would only play on my speakers and not in my headphones. I updated drivers, and then it wouldn't play MIDI at all. I restarted the program, looked up 1 million fixes, uninstalled and reinstalled drivers, uninstalled and reinstalled Finale, and nothing works. Earlier today, I had it to the point where I could hear MIDI using the WASAPI sound settings in Finale, but couldn't use my microphone. I changed absolutely 0 settings, but plugged in a USB mic, and now MIDI does not work again no matter what I do.
I'm so confused... all of my hardware and software works fine with other programs. I've researched so many fixes and nothing works. I think Finale is interacting badly with my audio drivers, but since they're all the factory default I don't know how to change those. I'm confused because it seems to be switching between working/not working even when I'm not doing anything.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


User avatar
motet
Posts: 8229
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:33 pm
Finale Version: 2014.5,2011,2005,27
Operating System: Windows

Post by motet » Thu Sep 03, 2020 3:37 am

When you say "play MIDI," are you actually trying to send MIDI from Finale to a MIDI device, or do you want to play back the SoftSynth sounds? For me, "Play through MIDI" doesn't work at all, but I can play the SoftSynth sounds through VST. This doesn't involve the external Aria player, so I'm a bit confused by it all, but that's how I got it to work.

For latency, try making the buffer size smaller in "Audio Setup." This worked for me with ASIO. It doesn't make sense to me that the buffer would have to fill before sending its contents on, but Finale audio handling is a dog's breakfast.

Some have better luck with Direct Sound than ASIO.

User avatar
motet
Posts: 8229
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:33 pm
Finale Version: 2014.5,2011,2005,27
Operating System: Windows

Post by motet » Thu Sep 03, 2020 4:05 am

In Preferences/Folders you find an entry for Configuration Files. If you navigate to that folder in Windows Explorer, you'll find a file FINMIDI.INI. If you want to start over in the audio deparment, close Finale, delete that file, and start Finale again.

User avatar
ebiggs1
Posts: 1424
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:57 am
Finale Version: Finale 27.3
Operating System: Windows

Post by ebiggs1 » Sat Sep 05, 2020 9:06 pm

I also have Win 10 and Finale 26. I find that if Finale screws up on playback it will not recover itself. I guess it won't reload the driver? So, I just close it and start it again. Finale doesn't like it when you change stuff back and forth.
If I were you do a Motet suggests and use the VST side for sounds. I would not look for any fixes from MM anytime soon.
Finale 27.4.1 - Perfect Layout Silver - Note Performer 4.4 - SmartScore Pro 64 - Windows 11
President, The Shawnee Concert Band, Composer/Arranger, retired Music Teacher.

mccoats
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Dec 03, 2021 5:40 pm
Finale Version: 26
Operating System: Windows

Post by mccoats » Fri Dec 03, 2021 5:47 pm

I am having a similar problem with the audio track hearing the microphone. I see that there are others out there with the same issue and I DONT see any solutions from Makemusic yet. I do see the microphone VU bars working when I go to Audio setup. Also I think I have come to the conclusion that the MIDI inputs don't have anything to do with the Audio inputs. Audio inputs are not using any of the MIDI functions. Its just raw analog data being input via an analog microphone or analog input source. The audio record sync feature does work when I load an existing mp3 file. Looks like there may be a device driver issue. I was going to load the ASIO driver but am now skeptical after reading these posts.

mccoats
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Dec 03, 2021 5:40 pm
Finale Version: 26
Operating System: Windows

Post by mccoats » Sat Dec 04, 2021 5:45 pm

I fixed it! There was a note in the Finale user manual about setting the quality for the sound to 44.1 MHZ vs 48 MHZ. What was throwing me was where to do it so this would work. Here is what I did. (Windows 10)

Open the sound settings panel. Select “Sound Control Panel” Choose the Realtek High Definition Audio Default device. Click on the “Advanced tab”. (easy to miss). This brings up the “Speakers/Headphones properties” DLB. This sound card driver uses the same frequency for both input and output. In the default format box select the 24 bit 44100 Hz(Studio Quality) drop down to replace the 48000Hz that is the default.

Post Reply