Thanks, this is very helpful. It's hard to tell what's missing just from the list of patch names, e.g., "Viola Section" is included with Finale, but "Viola Section (10 players)" is only in the full GPO. Also, no Violin II section in either?
I do mostly full orchestra stuff, and my quick-and-dirty setup is Finale with an external MIDI box (Emu Virtuoso 2000). For quality demos, I've got Sonar, Gigastudio, and high quality sample libraries, but of course that's a lot more work. If GPO can do something reasonable out of the box, I'd be interested in investing in it. And BTW, what is GPO Advanced? Couldn't find anything on the Garritan website about it. Also, it looks like HP data can be edited in Finale 2006. Does this mean it is stored as MIDI data in the file? Thanks again. -Lee > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf > Of Tyler Turner > Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 2:17 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Finale] 2006/GPO > > > > > --- 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 > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
