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The last Mac version was 5.0.7 (5.0.6m on the Get Info screen) and works pretty well. There are some download sites where it can be found if you are good with a Google search.
It works as well over Mojave as any version of Encore ever. I have not tried it with a MIDI controller, however, and have no idea if that can still be made to work.
No news on a launch date.
There are no current plans to port to iPadOS.
Fender/PreSonus has recently Notion for iPad. It’s now free with in-app purchases. It works well and supports MusicXML 3.0 as well as the Apple pencil. I’ve been using it since first released about ten years ago.
Really—you were considering Score Writer? Encore has more features than that. But yes, since the Windows version of Encore still works (bugs and all), waiting for Encore 6 or Overture 6 and deciding then is the prudent thing to do. You can upgrade to one or cross grade to the other.
I’m in somewhat the same boat on the Mac side. I have both E-5 and O-5. Overture 5 does work in the current MacOS (and looks better) but it takes me longer to do anything than Encore 5 over Mojave. If Encore 6 is like E-5 but working over 64 bit, that’s what I really want. I’ll likely upgrade Overture as well but I have a ton of Encore files that I must revisit now and then.
I’m holding off on my new Mac till then since these will not let me boot from a Mojave external drive and my iMac Pro will.
The Overture 5 Manual is found under the Help Menu. You can download is as a pdf or print if you want.
The last build of Encore 5 5.0.7 (5.0.6m in the About window) for Mac is quite stable and works fine over MacOS 10.14 Mojave — much better than over the two MacOS that preceded it. Being 32 bit, it cannot run over any later OS. If Encore 6 works as well, I’ll be happy.
Finale up to 9 could import Encore 2 & 3 files but I don’t know anyone who made it work with later versions.
One of Encore’s big problems is that the current versions cannot open older Encore files. 5.0.7 for the Mac cannot open anything older than 5.0.4. Fortunately, I converted all my older files with every update.
Unfortunately, Overture 5 cannot open Encore files. This will change when Encore 6 (and, presumably Overture 6) are released.
For now, you can scan pdf printouts, MIDi Export/Import (no lyrics, text or expressions) or MusicXML Export (1.1 Windows; 1.3 Mac) and Import to Overture with some text, no lyrics or expressions. Since Overture 5 supports MusicXML 3.0, it is assumed that Encore 6 will support that, too.
I pretty much agree with the following exceptions:
Printed slurs and ties need to look good. On screen, they do; when printed, they are horrible.
Symbols need to be resizable, especially the Coda.
MusicXML import/export needs upgrading to version 3.0.
Hmmmm… Times New Roman is not a Mac System font. Mac users get it by installing Microsoft or Adobe apps. In any case, I am able to set my Template Text font in 5.0.7 for Mac. Let’s hope that we can all do this in Encore 6.
A reality check is due here.
The last paid upgrade upgrade to Encore (version 5) was 2007 under the previous ownership(s). Passport Designs/GVOX/Passport Designs under the leadership of Richard Hotchkiss is out of business and gone, gone, gone.
“We believe that (bla, bla, bla…)”
It was another company with no affiliation to the current one that let Encore go to hell.Passport Music is less than a year old and now owns the IP for Encore. It is now helmed by Don Williams who wrote Encore 1 a long time ago. Encore 6 will be Passport Music’s first release.
How many of us have a financial stake in the current product? None of us do. We have old licenses for a product that has been abandoned by the companies that sold it to us.
The only thing we have from Passport Music is a promise that there will be a new version that we can buy so we can open our old files and create new ones. It is late and we all know that but not one of us has paid for this new version from this new company. I want it as much as anyone else does.
There is no justification for your outrage unless you cross paths with Richard Hotchkiss, then I’ll be glad to hold your coat.
Have you looked at Overture 5? It has the functionality of Encore + MasterTracks Pro.
What it does not have is the ability to open Encore files — yet. Don says that a future update will.
I would download the demo and see if it does what you need. If it does, there’s an upgrade path from Encore.
Per Don in another thread:
“At some point we plan on implementing VST support, but probably not in the initial release.”
I recommend checking out Don’s other notation app, Overture 5, and downloading a trial version.
The Mac version 5.0.7 let me set my default fonts in templates. This came in very handy with MacOS 10.13.0 when Encore could not access the Mac’s core System Fonts and I needed to get work done. Turned out that was an Apple bug and MacOS 10.13.01 fixed the problem.
Tablature in Encore is more flexible than you think. Begin page 176 in the manual to see all your options including the re-positioning of notes on frets and strings.
That said, it’s not as easy or intuitive as the Tab in Finale — not by a long shot. For years, I used Encore for my church and studio work while all of my guitar and Tab was done in Finale.
