Finale Forum

I have a mac that can't upgrade past osx 12.6, so it seems I cannot buy finale V27 which is osx 14 or later. Where does one buy V26 then? I see it is for sale on amazon for example. Are third party vendors legitimate, i.e. will it be regular ol' finale with a working key to use it?

Thanks in advance!

Assuming that I correctly understand your description of your MacOs, the MakeMusic website specifies that Finale 27 is compatible with MacOx 12.6 (Monterey). It is my configuration, by the way.

Amazon, maybe Sweetwater. They should be legit, and returnable if not.

I'd be leery of eBay.

5notechord wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 08, 2023 1:43 pm

I have a mac that can't upgrade past osx 12.6, so it seems I cannot buy finale V27 which is osx 14 or later.

You are confusing OS 10.14 (Mojave) with OS 14 (which is not released yet!!).

MakeMusic's system requirements state that Finale 27.3 will run on Mojave (10.14), Catalina (10.15), Big Sur (11), Monterey (12) and Ventura (13).

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/ ... quirements

BuonTempi wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 09, 2023 10:31 am

You are confusing OS 10.14 (Mojave) with OS 14 (which is not released yet!!).

My mistake, I meant that I am running on Sierra, 10.12.6 and I can't upgrade to a newer OSX because my computer is too old. System requirements state that V27 only works with 10.14 and newer.

miker wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 08, 2023 2:58 pm

Amazon, maybe Sweetwater. They should be legit, and returnable if not.

I'd be leery of eBay.

thanks! It is really strange that you can't buy old versions officially from the site. I guess it makes some sort of marketing sense, but if I buy it from a third party vendor, who is making the money? Anyways I will try amazon.

Finale 26 is compatible with your system. It will be hard to find. Ask MakeMusic and explain your limitation.

5notechord wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 09, 2023 1:56 pm

miker wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 08, 2023 2:58 pm

Amazon, maybe Sweetwater. They should be legit, and returnable if not.

I'd be leery of eBay.

thanks! It is really strange that you can't buy old versions officially from the site. I guess it makes some sort of marketing sense, but if I buy it from a third party vendor, who is making the money? Anyways I will try amazon.

Once a new version is released, they don't sell older versions on the site. It's always been this way, and I've never understood why.

miker wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 09, 2023 2:48 pm

Once a new version is released, they don't sell older versions on the site. It's always been this way, and I've never understood why.

It's hard to justify selling something that you're not 'supporting', in terms of meaningful bug fixes and compatibility updates. And updating two version of Finale is twice as much work, even if they are ostensibly the same codebase.

It's better/easier for MM to have as many users on one version (the latest) as possible, in terms of support. (Your team has to know which versions work on which systems; which features they have/don't have; which bugs they have/don't have, etc.)

The recent 'fire sale' prices may be about getting the current userbase up-to-date, as much as trying to attract new meat.

michelp wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 09, 2023 1:57 pm

Finale 26 is compatible with your system. It will be hard to find. Ask MakeMusic and explain your limitation.

Thanks I will try this. I SHOULD get a new computer but the only thing I use my computer for is scores, and my mid 2010 macbook pro is chugging along just fine, so I want to milk it for all it's worth. I actually just looked up the improvements of finale V26, and granted the tremolo and articulation fixes seem like game changers (though I am good at work-arounds, adjusting and mass-pasting for example), I don't see what else is actually worth the upgrade.

5notechord wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 09, 2023 1:53 pm

My mistake, I meant that I am running on Sierra, 10.12.6 and I can't upgrade to a newer OSX because my computer is too old. System requirements state that V27 only works with 10.14 and newer.

It is possible to install newer OS versions than supported, using third-party fixes.
https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/

However, a 2-core 2010 MBP is likely to struggle.

5notechord wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 10, 2023 12:09 pm

I actually just looked up the improvements of finale V26, and granted the tremolo and articulation fixes seem like game changers (though I am good at work-arounds, adjusting and mass-pasting for example), I don't see what else is actually worth the upgrade.

I'd agree that the slur/artic and tremolo features in v26 are the first significant productivity improvements in nearly a decade; and are welcome. v27 does have improvements to Linked Parts, which should have been implemented much closer to 2006 than to today.

While there can be satisfaction in coming up with a workaround and sequence of manual adjustments to make something appear as it ought to by default, Finale users really need to raise their expectations of what the software should do for them, before they lift a finger!

BuonTempi wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 11, 2023 8:51 am

5notechord wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 09, 2023 1:53 pm

My mistake, I meant that I am running on Sierra, 10.12.6 and I can't upgrade to a newer OSX because my computer is too old. System requirements state that V27 only works with 10.14 and newer.

It is possible to install newer OS versions than supported, using third-party fixes.
https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/

However, a 2-core 2010 MBP is likely to struggle.

5notechord wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 10, 2023 12:09 pm

I actually just looked up the improvements of finale V26, and granted the tremolo and articulation fixes seem like game changers (though I am good at work-arounds, adjusting and mass-pasting for example), I don't see what else is actually worth the upgrade.

I'd agree that the slur/artic and tremolo features in v26 are the first significant productivity improvements in nearly a decade; and are welcome. v27 does have improvements to Linked Parts, which should have been implemented much closer to 2006 than to today.

While there can be satisfaction in coming up with a workaround and sequence of manual adjustments to make something appear as it ought to by default, Finale users really need to raise their expectations of what the software should do for them, before they lift a finger!

Thanks! And yes but how does one convince finale to change? I see so many complaints (which I often share) on this forum but everyone here still uses the program.

5notechord wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 31, 2023 2:26 pm

...
Thanks! And yes but how does one convince finale to change? I see so many complaints (which I often share) on this forum but everyone here still uses the program.

The oft quoted advantage of Finale is that you can do almost anything you will ever need to do with it - assuming you don't go slightly nuts first figuring it out.
Finale has been told by users for years about bugs but you know how well that has worked.
This forum has die-hard Finale users on it but the past-Finale users who have moved onto other products now possibly participate in those forums rather than here.
I'd say that many of the users participating in this forum have been using Finale for many years and the at their age, tackling another learning curve when they can use the devil-they-know to do the job doesn't offer much payback.
I don't know how the Finale user-base numbers are doing but given they've offered some much better pricing now, I'd say they may be concerned about attracting/keeping users.

I think Sibelius has more users than Finale, which has more than Dorico. Dorico is gradually taking users from both. I've made my peace with Finale and probably won't change unless forced to. I'd rather write music than learn a new program.