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Mike HalloranParticipant
Encouraging.
I’ve been spending the last few weeks helping Apple Support with the latest Sequoia update. Oh boy… Hopefully, Apple will be releasing updated Support documents soon.
Meanwhile, I’ve stumbled across a relatively easy way to import PDF files generated by Encore into Finale/Sibelius/MuseScore. There’s even a free way to do this as long as one is willing to do it one page at a time.
I’ll try to get it edited and posted this weekend.
Mike HalloranParticipantAnd since it will need to compete with the powerhouses mentioned, what on earth would make you think the new re-written Encore will be simplistic?
In my conversations with Don, I’ve tried to emphasize that competing with the powerhouses as you call them is not what most of us want. I had similar conversations with Richard, too.
Finale has been doing my heavy lifting since 1989 and will probably continue to do so—it runs great over Sequoia and I’ve made an external drive that will boot any Mac made between 2012–2025 to run 27 if that’s what I want.
I’ll check out MuseScore 5 when it’s released and may see if I can get used to Dorico, seeing as I have had a license since 2018. Never had a use for Sibelius and not about to start now.
Mike HalloranParticipantWould it mean that MuseScore is planning to become unavoidable?
I do believe that is their plan.
Doesn’t mean I am going to follow, however. As MuseScore gets closer to being a pro notation app, it will become more complicated to use than it already is.
I still believe that there’s a place for a compact, easy to use, relatively simple app like Encore — but with better looking output, MusicXML 3.0 export and some of the annoying bugs squashed, especially the copy/paste bug that deletes data in other staves when you paste (don’t know if this is Mac only or not).
- This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by Mike Halloran.
- This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by Mike Halloran.
- This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by Mike Halloran.
Mike HalloranParticipantThe current version of MuseScore 4.4 is no longer horrible (I’ve had it since the beginning). I don’t think it’s very good either -— certainly does not equal Encore’s ease of use. Its open-source model is dead and Cyprus based Muse Group has hired a small army of developers and AI engineers to build MuseScore 5 which they hope will rival Finale/Dorico/Sibelius as a professional notation app.
Muse Group began as Russian based Guitar Unlimited has Billion$ at its disposal and intends to dominate the world of music publishing where the really big money is — which is why they bought Hal Leonard, the world’s largest music publisher last December.
No reason not to try MuseScore. It’s free and will continue to be. BTW, Muse Group makes a lot of money on this free app through their subscription service where people upload scores for free, done in MuseScore only, while millions of subscribers pay $30 a year to download what they want from MuseScore.com while Hal Leonard makes sure that all the rights holders are paid. It’s a brilliant business model.
- This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by Mike Halloran.
September 20, 2024 at 1:06 pm in reply to: If you moved on from Encore, what are you now using? #3450Mike HalloranParticipantI converted to Notion 6 for Desktop by Presonus
I’ve had N6 for years. The included VIs are nice but incomplete. I’m not a fan of the workflow but I used it with one of my clients until he finally upgraded his copy of Sibelius earlier this year. Now we use MusicXML 4.0 and I do his work in Finale 27.
On the Mac, Notion 6 cannot use 64bit only VIs and so many of my libraries and instruments no longer support 32/64. Fender promised Notion 7 “coming soon” November 2021 but I’d settle for an update to 6 that adds 64 bit binary support. Heck, if LilyPond freeware could do it a month ago, surely Fender can, right?
I’ve had the Notion apps for iOS and iPadOS since the beginning when they were the same. They are updated regularly as of last week but it’s looking to me that Fender is not seeing a future in desktop notation. If I’m wrong, I’ll be glad to try Notion 7 if it ever exists but I am not holding my breath.
- This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by Mike Halloran.
Mike HalloranParticipantA long, long time ago… Finale could open MT and Encore files—I go back to those days. Otherwise, I converted my MusicTime files to Encore decades ago. Last I checked, Encore on the Mac still opens them—I think but won’t swear to it.
Being a Print Music owner, you can take advantage if the $149 crossgrade offer to Dorico. This includes a license to Finale 27 with MusicXML 4.0 and a year of tech support. 27 will open your Print Music files and save copies as .musx, the Finale format introduced in PM/Finale 2014.
September 11, 2024 at 12:40 pm in reply to: If you moved on from Encore, what are you now using? #3445Mike HalloranParticipantTired of waiting for Encore 6. Losing all patience
Lost patience is a cheap commodity around here.
Mike HalloranParticipantFor Mac, it is 5.0.7 but there are a number of builds. The correct build reads 5.0.6 m1333 in the About window.
Mike HalloranParticipantIf the model year of your Mac is 2012–2018, you can add an APFS Volume in Disk Utility and install Mojave. This is the best way to run Encore 5.0.7.
Apple has support documents on how to do this and a Mojave Installer can still be downloaded from the App Store.
Add, delete, or erase APFS volumes in Disk Utility on Mac
APFS Volumes are similar to Partitions but they share empty drive space and are much easier to create and delete.
Mike HalloranParticipantWith VST/VST2 now depreciated by Steinberg, no point in offering any version other than VST3. When, if….
Mike HalloranParticipantSongwriter was last offered in 2012, correct? A friend of mine still uses it over Windows 10. Since I have PrintMusic and Finale 2014.5, I can run them on my Mojave Mac, the same one I use for Encore 5. Although Finale 27 also runs on that MacBook, why 2014.5? The 32bit versions of Finale have the Band-in-a-Box plug-in, a huge timesaver for infomercial scores on a deadline back when those were a thing. I may have to run it again someday.
I have Dorico Pro 5, Finale 27 and a bunch of other apps. Finale does all my heavy lifting, something that Encore could never do.
Having had it since v.2 in 2018, I’ll be exploring Dorico to see if I get used to it. It tries to force you into Elain Gould’s rules as laid out in her 702 page book, Behind Bars…. By version 5, it’s fairly elegant once you get used to the workflow. You can change everything in Layout Mode.
I still want Encore 6, dammit. Nothing is as fast or easy for my church and lead sheet work. If the printed output didn’t look so bad, I would still be happy with Encore 5, frankly. Ties look good on the screen but slurs don’t and both suuuuuuuuuck!!!! when printed in a way that is absolutely unacceptable. I’m even ok with the MusicXML 1.3 output though xml 3.0 is much, much, Much better.
September 3, 2024 at 1:27 pm in reply to: If you moved on from Encore, what are you now using? #3430Mike HalloranParticipantIt depends. Encore 5 for a lot of my church work but its amateurish printout is unacceptable for publication.
I’ve been using Finale since 1988 for heavy lifting, publication and large works. I’ve had Dorico, MuseScore, Notion 6 and Overture 5 for many years. Now that Finale is EOL, time to explore Dorico Pro 5 seeing that I own a copy.
MuseScore 5 will be big but it isn’t here yet. They want it to be the de facto notation app for Hal Leonard Publishing, acquired by Muse Group 10 months ago. Whether 5 allows me to take it seriously remains to be seen. MS4 is not very good but it is no longer horrible, IMO.
Mike HalloranParticipantThere are two versions of the last build of Encore 5.
There is a demo version of Encore 5 cannot be unlocked—weird but true. The shipping version can be unlocked with your serial number but runs in demo mode otherwise. In About…
It is 5.0.6 m1333 (or something like that).Both Andre and I have copies of this correct version. It runs best on any 2012-2018 model Mac booted into Mojave. There are GUI problems in High Sierra and earlier that cannot be fixed.
Mike HalloranParticipantWhat opportunity? Desktop notation as a moneymaker hasn’t been a lucrative business opportunity for years. Finale has barely been a decimal point on Peaksware’s $45B bottom line and MakeMusic has renamed SmartMusic, its cash cow, to MakeMusic Cloud.
Users who want to continue with Finale will be able to continue doing so for years. If you need to purchase newer hardware to ensure longevity, you have a long time to do and can transition until the day that the license servers no longer remain online. Those with 27 have another year of tech support.
MuseScore and Dorico have been loud about continued development and Dorico will gain more Finale-like features—Daniel has said so. One can assume that Sibelius will continue as well.
For decades, I used Encore for my church work and Finale for heavy lifting and publication. Encore’s ease of use outweighs its amateurish look when printed. It has also been dead over a decade but I can still use it to edit my old work if needed. it runs on any Mac first made 2018 or earlier but best on those from 2012–2018 that can boot in Mojave. I have all sorts of options regarding those files but the simplest one is to just do nothing. All were saved to pdf and xml seven years ago if I change my mind.
Don’t get m wrong. I still want Encore 6 for my church and studio work. The ability to open my old work and have it look good when printed would be a boon to me. Nothing has ever been faster for creating “down and dirty” lead sheets, praise band charts and 4-part choral arrangements. To open those files in Overture 6 would be great, too.
I don’t like MuseScore or Dorico but I’ve had both since 2018 use them as needed. This will likely change as both get better until that day when I create new work in one or the other — but I’m not in a hurry and there’s no need to rush things. I see no reason why the major works that I began in Finale won’t be completed in 27 assuming that I ever get them done.
People tell me not to count out Notion — 7 is coming as has been promised since 2021. Sorry, when Fender didn’t update 6 to handle 64bit only VIs, I lost interest. Dolet 8 for Sibelius ensured that i never needed Notion again. The iPad app is very good, exports MusicXML 3 and is updated regularly but is not dependent on the desktop version at all.
I might as well cry over DMCS being incompatible with System 7.1 (I was able to hack the license to get it working in 7). Well, those files did open and Save in Opcode Overture and I was able to convert them later to pdf and xml. You figure it out and do what’s necessary.
I agree with Mick and Keith:
“You can’t always get what you want. … but if you try sometime, you get what you need. Oh yeah!”
Mike HalloranParticipantI’m in the hate MuseScore camp but it’s been good to me lately. A few publishers have found out that I know how to take MuseScore downloads and correct them in Finale.
“You should try version 4, on Mac it’s not bad at all.”
You are entitled to that opinion but I disagree. I will admit that MuseScore 4 is no longer horrible — except that horrid Edwin font that makes so much of the lyric content on their download pages unreadable. Fortunately, it is easily replaced in Finale by Minion Pro, a free Adobe font that installs with Acrobat Reader and is legible down to 6 point. Minion Pro works in Encore 5, also.
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