On Aug 2, 2005, at 9:40 AM, Darcy James Argue wrote: On 02 Aug 2005, at 7:56 AM, Lon Price wrote:
I just installed FinMac '06 tonight, and everything went without a hitch. I ran the preinstall app that MM provided, and ran the GPO update after installing Finale. Everything works. Since I have the full version of GPO, I really can see no need for FinGPO, but it's all really a moot point anyway, since my dual 800 G4 with <only> 1 Gig of RAM practicallly chokes on only two GPO instruments, flute and piano, for example. I know that the Steinway sample is a big hog, but I tried the lite version and still my computer was pushed to its very limits--both in RAM and processing power.
Try dialing back the polyphony on the piano. The default is 64-note polyphony, but try setting it to 32- or 24-note polyphony. (In Kontakt player, the polyphony is the box with the pair of flagged eighth notes, just to the left of the MIDI box -- for piano, it will say 0/64. Click and hold on the "64" and drag down to adjust this number.)
I tried this using AU for playback, and didn't see any perceivable difference, but RAM usage was down to around 400 MB. This is with GPO solo flute and Steinway lite. CPU was at a reasonable range (60-70 %).
This afternoon I recorded a piece for flute and piano (Pavane by Fauré) using the GPO Studio in FinMac '05, using Quicktime Pro to make the recording.
If you have the most recent version of GPO Studio, you don't need any additional application to make the recording. There is a "record" menu with a "Record to file" option.
Well, I guess that might be a good reason for using GPO studio over AU, since AU recording isn't supported yet.
Tonight I recorded the same piece, using the same method
Using GPO Studio? No, no, no. The whole point of Finale 2006 is the AU playback. Use that instead. It's *much* better than GPO Studio.
in FinMac '06 and my RAM usage went to 830 MB, and my processors were again very near 100% the entire way. It seems to me that this method (using GPO Studio, rather than AU) is the only way I can use my own sound modules in combination with GPO
That's true, but if you are trying to evaluate the improvements in Finale 2006, you have to actually evaluate the improvements! Your piece for flute and piano is not using any of your external sound modules, only GPO instruments -- so use AU! It's a huge improvement over GPO Studio.
Yeah, but I'm anticipating my future need for GPO in combination with my own sound modules. I'm evaluating this stuff for my own use, after all. I tried using the full GPO and AU playback (RAM was again creeping toward 800 MB and CPU was in the 70s to 80s, not as bad as GPO Studio).
See, much better!
Fine, if GPO is all I use for playback. So far, I don't see that happening here, because I have other sounds that I like better. On the Garriton website it says that a computer with a gig of RAM should be able to load an entire orchestra, but I can't even come close to that on my machine.
How are you getting these RAM reports? I'm using a freeware applet called MemoryCell from Rogue Amoeba:
I'm using MenuMeters. It puts RAM (used-unused) and CPU (percent for each processor) numbers in the menu bar.
I'm not seeing anything like the memory usage you're getting.
Finale 2006 by itself, with no documents open, uses 20.1 MB.
Using the SetupWizard and GPO Finale edition, creating a new empty document for flute and piano, after loading the AU instruments, Finale is using 214 MB -- about a fourth of what you reported.
But what I reported was using GPO Studio. I have FinMac '06 open now, with my flute piece and the GPO samples loaded. Activity Monitor says that Fin is using 258 MB, a little more than you're getting. So I get it. Using AU for playback is a lot more efficient, except that you're then locked into using only GPO for playback, and that doesn't sit well with me. Hey, I just got an offer from NI to get the KONTAKT 2 upgrade for half price ($289.50). They say that I can import my own samples into it, including my Giga versions of Dan Dean solo brass and woodwinds. I also have the Giga version of Garritan Strings (lite). But I wouldn't need to spend the money for this if Finale supported other AU plugins, because I also have MOTU's Mach-5, which will play all of these libraries. I think it's a big mistake on MM's part to have this exclusive relationship with NI.
I can definitely load an entire orchestra (winds 3333 4331, percussion, harp, strings), *plus* piano and solo violin, on my Mac, and I only have 1 GB RAM. Of course, I have to use the same channel for instruments that share a single staff (like Flutes 1 & 2) to save memory, and I certainly can't be running any other apps at the same time, but the orchestra *does* load.
I haven't tried loading an entire orchestra using AU yet, since I have no need for an ensemble that size at the moment, and work comes before play in this household. ;-)
Lon
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