I guess it comes down to how good you are with Finale. Do you know how to get output out of the program that you like? Every version has become better I think. Things like tuplets, spacing, etc etc. Do you want to really learn Sibelius? It has it's fair share of issues as well. Could Sibelius open all those old finale files correctly? I still come across stuff I did in college in the 90s that Finale 2005 opens fine. I've never tried them with Sibelius yet. I'm scared.
I'd stick to what you know. Finale. Get a beefy machine. A mac ;-). iMac G5, or dual G5. Lots of Ram (at least a gig), and OS X 10.4 when it comes out.
On Apr 26, 2005, at 11:39 AM, ER @ HOME wrote:
Hello,
I'm soliciting advice and input regarding making the "BIG" Switch from
FinMAC 2002/'03 to Sibelius 3.1 (OS X). I'm an expert user of Finale (up and
running since the infamous US$1000.00 version 1.0) and am able to work
very quickly and efficiently in FinMAC 2002/Mac OS 9.2.2.
I use my system primarily for composing/arranging and music preparation for projects to be performed/recorded by acoustic ensembles. e.g.:
-Large Jazz Ensemble -Wind ensemble/Concert Band -Orchestra -Various smaller media.
Also, I like to be able to create "mock-ups" of the projects when needed.
In the next month or so, I need to purchase a major system upgrade for my studio and home this summer (yeah...I know...it's a rough problem to have... :). With all of the buzz in the Finale Digest and elsewhere about how much slower the carbonized OS X incarnations of Finale run than the pre-OS X versions, I refuse to lay out major cash for the privilege of working SLOWER...not to mention the new slew of post OS X Finale bugs I've been hearing about.
On the other hand, I've heard generally very good things about Sibelius 3.1/OS X in terms of speed and user friendliness.
I will be purchasing some combination of a new laptop and desktops for myself and my family. All new Mac systems are OS X dependent. Thus, I assume my two possible upgrade paths are:
1.) Make the move to OS X and switch to Sib 3.1 OS X for my projects. This will allow us to take advantage of the latest advances in Mac processor speed and OS features. If I want to have the option of returning to Finale in the future, I suppose I can hope at some point MakeMusic will get Finale's act together and release a version that works smoothly and quickly within OS X.
2.) Consider switching to the "Dark Side" (i.e. Windows...just kidding, I don't intend to start a religious OS war here :), then I can consider both Sib and Finale. I believe the current versions of Finale ("04, "05") run much more robustly in Windows XP than Mac OS X?
FYI, I'm not interested in purchasing older refurbished Mac systems that will run OS 9.2.2
So...(assuming you've hung in there this long), whay say ye? Any constructive advice or input would be most appreciated.
Thanks in advance, Eric
ERIC RICHARDS Composer / Arranger Trombone / MIDI ++++++++++++++++ 310 W 21st Ave Fremont NE 68025-2525
http://net.mlc.edu/music/
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