I'm a FinWin2004 user, so I'm not sure my answer is applicable, but I'll give it a stab and hope it helps. First off, General MIDI (GM) only specifies the timbre (and rather loosely, at that), and does not specify the relative volume of the various MIDI instruments. Thus, what may balance between trumpets and trombones on a Roland/Edirol system may not sound at all balanced on a Yamaha or Emu, or, more specifically, a computer-based softsynth. Various particulars about a MIDI instrument are also not specified: attack, effects (reverb, chorus, vibrato, tremelo), note-off response, length of decay (on sounds like piano or guitar). Thus, although MIDI allows some semblance of uniformity in gross timbres, it is fairly difficult to come up with a "standard" MIDI file (SMF) that will sound somewhat the same from system to system. Most designers of SMFs have opted to design for the Roland sound card, since for a long time Roland dominated the General MIDI market. Other sound card vendors have sometimes used similar design in their cards (e.g., relative volume of instruments) so as to be more compatible with the de facto standard, Roland.
That said, I suspect that the reason Finale and QuickTime sound different with the same MIDI file is that they are using different synth engines, quite possible different softsynths. This would certainly explain the different timbres of the instruments. On the PC-based systems, there is a way to select what synth or MIDI output you want to have playback on (MIDI -> MIDI Setup -> MIDI Out). It may be possible to "point" Finale to use the same synth as QuickTime, and thus get the same sounds. Hope this helps. At 04:47 PM 11/8/2003 -0500, Andrew Stiller wrote: >I've got a file here for 2 trp and 2 trb, created in FinWin 2k? and >changed by me to FinMac 2K2. I'm trying to create a playback file, >and am having difficulties. I've assigned each staff to a separate >channel, using the appropriate General Midi timbre in each case. >Playback from the score had problems because of dropouts in pp >passages: the first note or two would be OK, but then subsequent >notes would be dramatically fainter, sometimes completely >inaudible--irregularly in different parts. I altered the dynamics and >used multiple layers to (mostly) overcome this, but when I save a >separate midi file and play it back thru the QuickTime Player, there >are all kinds of undesirable changes: the timbres are slightly >different, trumpets overbalance trombones, notes chop off short (as >if marked stacc.) or begin late (like a fluffed attack), and there >are brief passages of total dropout at all dynamic levels. > >Shouldn't a midi file sound exactly like the score playback? Why is >this happening, and what can I do about it? >_______________________________________________ >Finale mailing list >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > --------------------------------- Bruce K. H. Kau [EMAIL PROTECTED] Kane'ohe, Hawai'i, USA "Second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning ..." _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
