Finale 2011

[Paukenguy]

Sorry to beat a dead horse. I know this issue has been covered MANY times. But I am still not happy with my playback with Finale 2011. Large String sections always seem soft in comparison to solo winds. (Is this a mix issue??) Dynamics especially, crescendos and diminuendos are really problematic. They always seem to jump louder and then dim. It's very odd. Is there a way to have more code written for the HP preferences?? Is somebody out there willing to write some kind of "super hp prefs"? Are any playback issues any better with Finale 2012??? I too have become very frustrated with MM customer service. I pointed out to them that grace notes in pitched percussion do not play back properly and they have yet to address this problem. (but this is really off point) I am really set on using a notation program to trigger VSL, but I am still not 100% satisfied with the results. I know it can be better.

[andi]

Hello Paukenguy!

You can get better results concerning dynamics, if you use Velocity XFade with CC11. More details can be found here:
http://community.vsl.co.at/forums/p/31466/200137.aspx#200137

Best regards,
Andi

[Paukenguy]

Andi, Even when set to the xfade, the results are still problematic. Are there not better HP pref's that could be written??

[Paukenguy]

Also why are the string sections always soft compared to solo winds at the same dynamics? This never makes sense to me......

[andi]

Hi Paukenguy!

If the string sections are too soft, you could use the Vienna Ensemble mixer. Please notice that the Human Playback Preferences file has nothing to do with dynamics and volume levels. It takes care of changing articulations according to your notation marks.

Best,
Andi

[Paukenguy]

Andi, Of course! But the reason I ask the question in the same breath is because, what ever dynamic values that come out of Finale, the strings do seem soft compared to solo winds, which does not really make sense to me. I have used the mixer and it does not really fix the problem....oh well!! Again, is there any way to have better pref's written for finale??

[andi]

If you mean "low volume" by soft, you can simply turn down the wind instruments in the Vienna Ensemble mixer. If you mean the character is too soft, you could use a higher dynamic level (f instead of mf, ...) for the strings.

I don't know a way to make better Human Playback Preferences for the Special Edition currently. To create HPP for our bigger collections, I'm still waiting for a bugfix from the Finale team. What do you want to be better? You are only writing about dynamics.

Best,
Andi