Bob Shuster wrote:
*SO*,
what's the advice? Do I stick with Finale or do the Sibelius
crossgrade? What I have seen of the new Finale - it looks pretty much
the same as Finale 98, except with Aqua-looking buttons and a lot of
consumer-level features added that I'll never use. Sibelius on the
other hand, looks much slicker and fresher, and I've heard of
professionals using it instead of Finale, but all my experience has
been with Finale (with C-Lab's Notator sw before that! Does that date
me?!? :) )
My comments are from
the standpoint of a long time Finale user (v.2) who, today, uses both but
primarily Sibelius and prefers Sibelius for most work. I am not the only
Sibelus/Finale user on this list. Finale 2007 is definately NOT the same as Finale 98. Note entry tools have changed; simple entry is much more like Sibelius since v.2004. Playback quality has been improved and configuration simplified, and linked parts have been added (v.2007 & Sibelius 4). Many new plugins are available. Setting up a new score is much easier than in v. 98. Fonts and other settings have been improved. Those more familiar than I with current Finale will know many more changes. Finale is vastly improved from v.98.
The competetion has been good for both Finale users and Sibelius users. Both apps are very mature and capable of extremely good work.
I suggest you:
- Download demos of both programs and investigate first hand.
- Visit both Sibelius.com and
Makemusic.com
- Read my article at: http://www.rgsmithmusic.com/Why_Use_Sibelius.htm
- Consider seriously the responses you get from this list.
- Also direct your
questions to the two Sibelius lists at:
http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/helpcenter/chat/chat.pl?groupid=3&guest=1
and http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sibelius-list/ These lists (both
Finale and Sibelius) are populated by knowledgeable and helpful people.
FYI, I work mainly on a Mac (new
MacPro machine pretty much maxed
out) alongside of Logic Pro, but I do also still use a Windows XP
machine, and could definitely see myself doing my recording on the Mac
and notation on PC if necessary, but generally I will use the Mac.
That being said, cross-platform compatibility of whichever app I choose
*is* an important feature to me.
Thanks in advance for your input! - Bob Shuster
Finale is now universal binary as
will be the next version of Sibelius. Since I work on a PC, that doesn't
matter to me but it may to you. Sibelius is cross platfomr compatable. Mac
and PC files are editable on either platform and, I think, you can install
to either platform from the same disk. You can maintain a Mac installation
on one machine and a PC on another. Thanks in advance for your input! - Bob Shuster
Hope this helps
Richard Smith
www.rgsmithmusic.com
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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