--- Lee Actor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Can anyone who is currently using GPO with Finale > 2005 tell me how useful > from a practical standpoint the subset of GPO that > is shipping with Finale > 2006 is compared to the full version? In other > words, how much do you > depend on the patches not included with the partial > version for decent > results? > > Also, does getting good results from GPO depend in > some degree on using > Human Playback? I tried it when it first came out > and decided I could get > better results doing my own "humanizing", without > the performance hit (or > maybe I've just spent too much time with Finale's > MIDI tool over the years). > TIA. > > Lee Actor > Composer-in-Residence and Assistant Conductor, Palo > Alto Philharmonic > http://www.leeactor.com > The set it comes with is a good set. It's not good enough to not make me consider purchasing the full set, but I'm currently getting by without it. You might find the answer to your question depends on the style of music and type of ensemble you compose for. The included instruments cover the orchestra pretty well, with some exceptions in the percussion (like chimes). I think the woodwinds as a whole are a strong point, even compared to some other more expensive libraries. The brass can sound good in some contexts, but because you don't get the f or ff overlays, bright movie-like or fanfare sound is not easy to get - something that's better with the full GPO. Sections strings are solid, but I'm not sure about how well the solo strings can stand on their own or in small ensembles (string quartets, etc.). I'm willing to bet your impression will depend a lot on what you're used to working with. But if you don't yet own GPO, my advice is this: get Finale 2006 first and see how far it takes you. I'm actually quite pleased with the results I'm getting, but my standards may be less than yours. If you'd care to hear a large ensemble piece I've run through Finale using only Finale GPO and HP (no extra MIDI data), e-mail me privately and I'll send you an mp3. My own plan is to stick with the Finale GPO and then purchase the upgrade to GPO Advanced (skipping the normal GPO) when it arrives. It appears that it will fill in the majority of the holes in the current full product, both in terms of style and instruments. I had always been leaning towards the East West QLSO libraries, but HP in 2006 has convinced me to stick with Garritan. It just means less work for me. It will not meet your needs all the time - I'm sure of that. But I will be surprised if it doesn't give you a strong starting point. Remember that you have the Apply HP feature to add the HP data to the score, and you can use the MIDI Tool from there to tweak. But the fact that HP can automatically apply the correct data for slurs, instrument techniques (like pizz, trem, etc.), automatically alternate hand strokes for percussion instruments, add expression to long notes so they don't just "sit" there, interpret hairpins in a very decent manner (complete with altering both the volume AND the timbre) - this means that you are VERY likely to be in a better starting position than where you were before. I'm discovering that scores which have a lot of markings for HP to interpret can sound better than a lot of the scores I hear on the GPO demo page - and that's using the Finale GPO set that comes with Finale. Do you HAVE to use HP? Nope. It's all MIDI data that Finale has access to. I just strongly suggest experimenting with it to see where it will save you time. I hope this helps. Tyler ____________________________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
