Can you make the instruments sound more realistic?

Post your wishes for future features in Finale here.

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chillowack
Posts: 45
Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2009 4:53 am

Post by chillowack » Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:38 pm

I love Finale, and I'm so excited that this technology now exists: it has brought composing into the realm of possibility for many of us who might not otherwise have been able to actualize our musical dreams. Thank you, Finale people!

The only thing I would like to see improved about Finale is to make the instruments sound more real: more like actual violins, horns, etc. Currently, some of them are halfway decent, while others are woeful!

Meanwhile you've got companies out there like Synful, who have somehow found a way to replicate instrument sounds with phenomenal authenticity.

So I'm thinking: if Synful can do it, why not Finale?


Warren Barnett
Posts: 365
Joined: Sun Dec 18, 2005 6:42 am

Post by Warren Barnett » Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:43 am

Synful costs $495, and all it does for you is create sounds that you must use some other method to get to create your notes. Finale gives you the finest, most-used, notation system in the world for a few hundred dollars more and it sounds pretty damn good the way that it comes. Do you want to pay $500 more for Finale? Do you want EVERYONE to HAVE to pay $500 more for Finale?

Warren

chillowack
Posts: 45
Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2009 4:53 am

Post by chillowack » Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:56 pm

Warren Barnett wrote:Synful costs $495, and all it does for you is create sounds that you must use some other method to get to create your notes. Finale gives you the finest, most-used, notation system in the world for a few hundred dollars more and it sounds pretty damn good the way that it comes. Do you want to pay $500 more for Finale? Do you want EVERYONE to HAVE to pay $500 more for Finale?

Warren
I didn't realize this was a debating forum, or that I would be obliged to defend my suggestion to a fellow user who happened to disagree with it. I thought this was the forum where we made requests (or "wishes") to the developers--but maybe you are one of the developers, I don't know.

I'm afraid I have no interest at all in "debating" this with you, Warren; nor in fielding your (rather odd) questions. I hope you won't take offense at this.

If Finale takes my request into consideration, great. If not, it's not the end of the world.

Warren Barnett
Posts: 365
Joined: Sun Dec 18, 2005 6:42 am

Post by Warren Barnett » Tue Sep 07, 2010 9:13 pm

Sorry, I wasn't debating you. I was just stating facts. My point was simply that for the Finale developers to implement what you are suggesting, would likely make the cost of Finale prohibitive to many users. Most of us are fairly happy with what we get for our buck, and if we want to improve the quality of sound, we spend the money to find a third party product to enhance it. MakeMusic repeatedly states that Finale is first and foremost a notation program. Basically we are lucky that it makes noise at all. It was just a few years ago that some Garritan GPO instruments and some Tapspace VDL instruments were included in the price of the product, and that alone improved Finale immensly. Perhaps it would be nice for MakeMusic to offer somthing, such as a FinalePlus, that offers what you are suggesting, but I imagine that the developers have their hands full now. (I think that I, personally, am keeping them busy fixing all the bugs that I found in the percussion.) Currently they seem to be phasing out Allegro, since the latest version is still Allegro 2007. Maybe, once they get everything that can be imnagined to work in the notation end of it, they will find that they need to improve the sounds that are included.

chillowack
Posts: 45
Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2009 4:53 am

Post by chillowack » Tue Sep 07, 2010 10:27 pm

Thanks for explaining, Warren. I see what you're saying, and you make some good points.

If improving the sound of the instruments would make the product prohibitively expensive, then I withdraw the suggestion--because frankly, I consider Finale too expensive as it is, and I'm very much on board with keeping costs down.

I also understand now (better than I did when I first posted this request) that Finale is not really about making it sound real, and that's cool. I will look to third party products for realism.

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