Noteperformer 4 released

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

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BuonTempi
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Post by BuonTempi » Tue May 02, 2023 10:09 am

NP4 has just been released. The big feature is the ability to control other VSTs, i.e. doing its phrasing magic and mixing, but using other sample libraries for the sounds.

https://www.noteperformer.com


Bill Reed
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Post by Bill Reed » Wed May 10, 2023 2:04 pm

Interesting that there's almost 600 posts about NP4 on the Dorico forum, and not a peep here...
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BuonTempi
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Post by BuonTempi » Thu May 11, 2023 9:39 am

Indeed. NP4 essentially levels the playing field for audio output across the three major notation programs, allowing you to use some the big Pro sample libraries effortlessly.

It's fair to say that Finale gets the largest benefit from this levelling, as Finale's MIDI Editor and other functions for controlling third-party sample libraries were barely state-of-the-art 20 years ago.

Like other plug-ins, MM will probably see this as 'the solution', absolving them of the need to develop these functions further...

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Djard
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Post by Djard » Thu May 11, 2023 4:46 pm

Maybe a lot of Finale users are not using Note Performer because it requires v27 or later. I have v26.3, so I am unable to try NP.

dtoub
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Post by dtoub » Sat May 13, 2023 9:39 am

Bill Reed wrote:
Wed May 10, 2023 2:04 pm
Interesting that there's almost 600 posts about NP4 on the Dorico forum, and not a peep here...
Agreed it’s odd but I also find that there are tons of the Dorico folks who post a lot on things like the VI forum and very very few of us Finale users. Finale is viewed (understandably, to be honest) as old, antiquated and not being as actively developed or responsive to its user base. Hence the enthusiasm of those Dorico users and also their frequent contempt for everything else (esp. Sibelius, but also Finale).

I actually posted a lot about NP4 and my disappointments with its feature list on the VI Forum, but it was largely drowned out by the cascade of posts by Dorico users. There’s nothing really in NP4 for me that wasn’t already in NP3, and that’s a shame since the cello modeling sometimes produces wrong notes, the piano is not as good as what I have used in GPO5 as well as Reason, and it really needs a more capable mixer. What I’ve been told by the developer is that they pretty much reached the limits of what they could do with AI and so turned their attention to commercial sample libraries, none of which I use or intend to purchase.

On a related matter: is GPO essentially dead? While I’ve used GPO5 for a few years now as it is certainly better than much of what comes with the built-in Garritan sounds for Finale, a lot of it pales in comparison with NP, as well as other sample libraries. No updates in a long time and frankly, NP3’s strings can do a great job of harmonics in a way that is very authentic, unlike GPO. Odd that GPO can’t seem to advance. But then, Finale still is using the same crude MIDI tool that I remember from decades ago…
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BuonTempi
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Post by BuonTempi » Sat May 13, 2023 10:07 am

dtoub wrote:
Sat May 13, 2023 9:39 am
On a related matter: is GPO essentially dead? While I’ve used GPO5 for a few years now as it is certainly better than much of what comes with the built-in Garritan sounds for Finale, a lot of it pales in comparison with NP, as well as other sample libraries. No updates in a long time and frankly, NP3’s strings can do a great job of harmonics in a way that is very authentic, unlike GPO. Odd that GPO can’t seem to advance. But then, Finale still is using the same crude MIDI tool that I remember from decades ago…
Quite probably. Last October, I pitched to MM that they either produce a new "GPO6", specifically designed to be a companion to notation software, which would fix many of the problems, errors and shortcomings of GPO5 (e.g. incomplete articulations across GOS instruments, and KSes on different keys for the same technique);
or at least, 'Remastered' versions of GPO5 ,JABB, COMB, etc. with improved sounds and tweaked/corrected SFZ files.

This assumes that they still have the archived source recordings and anyone who can work on them, of course.

As it is, the only updates they've produced since 2016 have been 'compatibility' updates (e.g. making sure the installers work; Apple Silicon; VST3, even though Finale doesn't support it...), which means more work for no money.

GPO's strings sound very weak compared to even NP's (and NP's strings are often said to be the worst part) -- they sound 'hollow' and tinny often. I suspect it's the EQ filters that are used in the SFZ files.

Parts of GPO are still very usable: the keyboards and Harps, the percussion. The woodwind is passable. But expectations for realism are now much higher than in 2016. (Or even 2012, when it comes to JABB, etc.)

I have edited several of the SFZ files, to fix errors or even create new instruments in an attempt to get more out of it.

Still haven't had a reply to my email. I might post the pitch on the Zendesk, for all the good it might do. I suspect anyone who was involved in the Garritan side of things has left the company.
Last edited by BuonTempi on Sat May 13, 2023 11:09 am, edited 2 times in total.

dtoub
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Post by dtoub » Sat May 13, 2023 10:17 am

Thanks. That’s just sad. I’ve had to edit the sfz files as well to extend ranges (strings have harmonics that reach above the “standard” range after all) and yes, I’ve found the strings in NP3 to be their weakest link along with the one piano, but even NP3’s are often better than GPO5 except with regard to glissandi (not really compatible with Finale) and a few other things.
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Finale 27.x/macOS Sonoma/GPO 5/NotePerformer/Perfect Layout/Reason 12

BuonTempi
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Post by BuonTempi » Sat May 13, 2023 11:09 am

I'm still very fond of the Garritan libraries and ARIA Player; particularly the fact that you can edit the instrument definitions. I might publish a detailed guide to correcting all the errors, creating new instruments, and other 'hacks', if I thought anyone was prepared to do the work, rather than just buy NP4.

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