Advice for Best Orchestra for Finale

Discuss playback problems, including VST, Garritan, MIDI, etc.

Moderators: Peter Thomsen, miker

dhfoster67
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2017 1:30 pm
Finale Version: Finale 26
Operating System: Mac

Post by dhfoster67 » Mon May 25, 2020 1:23 am

Could anyone recommend what they think is the best orchestra for Finale? Something that integrates well with the program without too much hassle. I'm looking to spend no more than about $1000. Thanks so much.


ttw
Posts: 171
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2009 2:29 am
Finale Version: 27.4
Operating System: Windows

Post by ttw » Mon May 25, 2020 3:26 am

I use the Garritan GPO5, JABB3, GWI, and sometimes COMB2. Together these were much less than your budget so that's a reasonable start. The Garritan VSTs are owned by Make Music so they fit in easily (the other reason I got them.) There are other collections that I'm less familiar with: the organ stuff, harps, and a collection of instrumental ensembles, and some more pianos. I have listened to these and find the one's I have sufficient for my hobby usage.

There are some much more expensive samples, East West or Vienna (maybe these are the same) are more expensive but are supposed to be good. Also there is a popular program "Noteperformer 3" but I'm not familiar with its workings.

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Michel R E
Posts: 702
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2016 9:16 pm
Finale Version: Finale 2012, 25, 26
Operating System: Windows

Post by Michel R E » Mon May 25, 2020 3:49 am

NotePerformer 3 is FAR below your max dollar amount, but quality-wise is, in my opinion, superior to GPO.
User of Finale since version 3.0 on Windows.
Now using a mix of Finale 2012, Finale 25, and 26.1
GPO, Garritan Solo Stradivari violin, Gofriller Solo Cello.
XSamples Chamber Ensemble.
Absolute convert to NotePerformer3.

Nick Mazuk
Posts: 181
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2018 12:29 am
Finale Version: Finale 26
Operating System: Mac

Post by Nick Mazuk » Mon May 25, 2020 7:27 pm

I second Noteperformer.

Not only are the sounds far better than most other sounds you can buy, but it dutifully also interprets the music as players do — automatically. It also accounts for stylistic variations. It will play a Mozart-like piece very different than it will play a Hollywood blockbuster-like piece. Even minor variations like tone color, lengths of notes, and phrasing are all done automatically for you. I've never had to edit playback manually when using Noteperformer.

Also, Noteperformer is way under your budget at just $129. And the low price does not mean low quality. Plus, if you're unsure, it has a free 30-day trial. So you can test it out for yourself with very little time and absolutely no money. And historically, all updates have been free.

The ONLY two downsides I've experienced are:
1. Playback is delayed by 1 second (not during note entry, though). This is very easy to get used to, though.
2. Technically, the "sound files" have a lower bitrate than more expensive sound libraries. But that's because most of the sounds are generated and not simply sampled. That's what allows it to do accurate phrasing. One pro from this is you don't need gigabytes of RAM or a good computer to run Noteperformer. It runs with very little overhead.

https://www.noteperformer.com/

P.S. Not affiliated with Noteperformer. Just a happy customer myself!
Nick

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Michel R E
Posts: 702
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2016 9:16 pm
Finale Version: Finale 2012, 25, 26
Operating System: Windows

Post by Michel R E » Mon May 25, 2020 8:21 pm

here's a short orchestral excerpt using NP3, for orchestra.
this is the printed score playing back directly from Finale 26.

https://youtu.be/-coG37wWb7A
User of Finale since version 3.0 on Windows.
Now using a mix of Finale 2012, Finale 25, and 26.1
GPO, Garritan Solo Stradivari violin, Gofriller Solo Cello.
XSamples Chamber Ensemble.
Absolute convert to NotePerformer3.

ttw
Posts: 171
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2009 2:29 am
Finale Version: 27.4
Operating System: Windows

Post by ttw » Fri May 29, 2020 4:01 am

Seems like I have a bit of work to do to get NP3 to work. I tried it on the contest piece in one of the composer forums (I don't remember which is singular and which is plural). Just doing what's on NP3's site (put NP3 at the top, reset HP to standard, defaults, reassign sounds) doesn't yield much reasonable.

I have a score for clarinet, piano, plucked bass, bongos and congas; the clarinet is OK; the piano sounds tinny (no auto pedalling), the bass is thumpy; the congas sound like a very loud tom; and the congas sound like tympani. I'll try adding all the pedalling by hand and see if resetting the venue (convolution reverb) to something deader helps the percussion (in the original I used "Dome Ballroom" for everything. I'll try rearranging the bass stuff too (more reverb, maybe bass#1 instead of bass#2).

I'll also try starting from nothing and building a combo out of NP stuff to start with. Anyway, it wasn't as good as I had hoped.

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Michel R E
Posts: 702
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2016 9:16 pm
Finale Version: Finale 2012, 25, 26
Operating System: Windows

Post by Michel R E » Fri May 29, 2020 4:06 am

make sure that HP is set to play NP3.
the keyswitches and how it handles slurs etc... are different from GPO.

but in my opinion (and the creators of NP3 might disagree) NotePerformer is attuned to the playback of orchestral music rather than jazz and popular music.

I prefer using GPO sounds for chamber music, or XSample Chamber Ensemble.
User of Finale since version 3.0 on Windows.
Now using a mix of Finale 2012, Finale 25, and 26.1
GPO, Garritan Solo Stradivari violin, Gofriller Solo Cello.
XSamples Chamber Ensemble.
Absolute convert to NotePerformer3.

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