Klarinet Archive - Posting 000232.txt from 2005/05

From: Mark Charette <charette@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] .... more about Finale vs. Sibelius [was: drum roll]
Date: Fri, 13 May 2005 19:23:05 -0400

Ormondtoby Montoya wrote:

> The most appropriate description that I can devise for making
>
>comparisons is how a CD recorded by a major ensemble or orchestra
>sounds. Certainly Microsoft's WavSynth (I forget the exact name)
>sounds completely different than a recorded CD. Does the standard
>Finale package for PC use only Microsoft WavSynth? Or does it offer a
>premium 'sound engine' to replace WavSynth --- something similar to
>Kontakt?
>
You keep missing the point somehow, Kontact & Sibelius are two different
things. Finale bundles some other products in their delivery, but (at
least when I bought mine) didn't bundle in any synthesis software - they
bundled SmartMusic and some optical recognition software instead.
Sibelius takes a different tact.

Kontact is a piece of software, not a piece of "machinery". It happened
to be better than whatever you happened to have lying around.

My Finale uses a piece of software that isn't bundled with your Sibelius
and isn't bundled with Finale - in fact, in most cases, I find bundled
software to be less than stellar. YMMV. I wouldn't trade what I have for
what you have most probably - I've been playing and tweaking what I have
for too long. I wouldn't need to install Kontact if I bought Sibelius.
In fact, I most probably wouldn't. At this point in time my main
computer is more or less reliable.

Whatever comes with an PC OS is close to "throwaway" software (Macs do
have some pretty good stuff included, though); most serious listeners
(and that includes game players) upgrade their software.

People _really_ serious about the sound don't use their computers _at
all_ for sound while they're using them for something else, or at least
don't have great expectations of quality if they do. They buy a separate
piece of hardware/software and do it right, or work on the MIDI file
separate from the notation.

You should go down to your local Guitar Center and wander around a bit ...

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