Remember this? ================ >Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 10:29:04 +0100 >From: Jonathan Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: finale@shsu.edu >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >O.K. for David, Mark & Joel (+ any lurkers) here goes. > >Remember this his a list from a little way back (actually, I did post it >on the list) and so some things might have been improved since then, but >then Sibelius would never admit there were faults or problems in the >first place. You'd get a "Why do you want to do that?" > >Most of the major cons for me come from the clunky interface even in the >beautiful OSX environment and the method of pre-emptive input. The app. >always gives you the impression that it knows better than you, maybe >that's great for students and the like but it consequently lacks the >professionalism and versatility of Finale. > >BTW, this list is far from exhaustive. > >- And before I get barraged with 100's of "can-do-nows" most of these >points were comparing Sib. to Finale 2001-2 at the time they were both >on the market together and they "couldn't-do-then", I know because I was >trying! - And I am/have to upgrade to Sib. v.3 shortly - so I shall >update the list after I've seen the fixes ;-) . > >69 reasons not to buy Sibelius over Finale > >1. Brackets won't automatically hide when you 'optimise' a double (or >more) staved part. > >2. System spacing is never even. > >3. Just try to move an individual measure number.... > >4. Inability to move ties easily. > >5. Poor spacing of Multi Measure rests especially in the same system as >single measures. > >6. Larger files run slow (Mac G4 867mhz/256mb RAM) > >7. v1.4 Freezes my computer every time I open it from a start-up. Work >round is very strange: I have to restart with exts disabled, go to ATM >prefs., bin all items labelled with OTF, restart and Zap the PRAM, open >OMS and test studio.....then I can finally open Sibelius. There is no >fix for this apart from buying v2.0, which leads me to believe that v2.0 >is not and upgrade but a bug fix.....a very expensive bug fix. > >8. Impossible to recover text (in undo history) if you've hit return >from a text block edit. > >9. Very frustrating when you need to move individual systems or staves, >they all jump around and the page gradually moves higher in the screen >view until you are stuck with just the lower 4cms of your score in view. > >10. Hairpin cresc./dims. vary in opening width depending on their length. > >11. Slurs are not like engraver slurs in Finale, they collide and clash >all over, plus they are really hard to move around over system breaks, >some you can't move at all. > >12. Terrible look to rhythmic notation, for example try two >consecutive un-beamed 8th notes with a tie..... > >13. Printing is slower (spreads and spooling scores). > >14 Clunky text selection for expressions etc. > >15. Procedure for changing (hiding or deleting) measure numbers is far >too complicated. > >16. Page %'s for viewing are fixed and not always what you want for >optimum screen size, you can't just select a size as with Finale (or >make it default). > >17. Beams and Slurs look really jagged on screen. > >18. Flags don't line up with stems on screen view > >19. Accidentals in chord clusters are incorrect and often badly spaced. > >20. Placement of Articulations (accents, staccs, tenutos, etc.) is far >too rigid, there is no scope for individual placement or movement. > >21. In part extracts of Multi Wind parts you will loose the >transpositions for each instrument change. > >22. Any Finale file containing grace notes imported into Sibelius will >really mess up. The result will be parts that contain super small empty >measures where ever there was a corresponding measure in the score >containing grace notes. Also the MM rest groups start appearing all over >the pages in very strange places. The only work round is to delete each >bar in each part and then insert again. This can waste hours, yet >reading the Sibelius promo you would think it a cinch...think again. > >23. Try putting articulations over rhythmic notation.....Yuk! > >24. So you want to move an Articulation? This is what the Sibelius >manual says on page 69: >"In the unlikely event that you want to move an articulation, delete it >and create a new one as a symbol. Be aware that articulations created as >symbols have no playback effect." > >25. Score expressions (tempo markings etc.) cannot be 'nudged' and must >be dragged. > >26. Settings for part extract need to be altered each time for single or >double stave parts. > >27. If you change font details on a text expression all other instances >of that word in the score remain unchanged, so you have to change them >all individually. > >28. Flags on voice layers are too short and collide. > >29. The broken chord symbol in front of chord clusters is not taken into >spacing consideration and consequently needs to be dragged around to >stop it clashing with barlines, every time. > >30. Most articulations are not taken into spacing consideration. > >31. Tenutos collide with ties on notes and you can't move 'em. > >32. Awful looking ties on an up-stem to a down-stem note, the tie goes >through the stem. > >33. Impossible to select multiple items like text or staff expressions. > >34. Speed users will find that you are constantly grabbing the wrong >items as the application is so slow to react. > >35. Time delay on editing text and moving staves. > >36. No spacing for chord symbols. > >37. No on screen guide lines for aligning text or expressions. > >38. 1st Repeat bars come out too close to key signatures and need to be >dragged to avoid collision. > >39. Inability to drag an expression anywhere in the area under key >change signatures in double staves like a piano part. > >40. When editing a text block you dont get WYSIWYG, the last letters >are usually missing. > >41. Inability to show measure numbers over multi measure rest groups, >for example 24-28. > >42. Default note spacing 'rule' as its so pretentiously called, allows >collision of the flags on a 16th note with the barline if it is the >final note in the measure. > >43. Page breaks won't stay in place if you adjust the systems >afterwards, for instance if you alter the number of measures in each system. > >44. Cautionary accidentals before a change of transposing instrument in >multi-wind part is extremely dodgy. > >45. Alternate notation is not real, it is graphical and therefore you >get no playback and can copy only the symbol to another measure not the >music that it 'hides' as with Finale. > >46. There is no choice to fix the font size selected, so if you reduce >the note size the font size goes with it. > >47. Treble and Bass Clef changes in LH or RH Piano/Keyboard parts get >mysteriously changed upon part extract requiring a reproof. > >48. You can't move a 8va--------- extension over system breaks to the >left or right. > >49. Inability to open a selected sequence of .sib files from the finder >in the order you shift click them. They just all appear in A-Z order. >This is useless when you want to print out a set of parts in a specific >order. > >50. Sibelius began life as a University project undertaken by the Finn >brothers and thus it comes over as such; a rather amateurish >application, even the manual has a snooty 'we know better than you do' >air to it. They dont. > >51. Drum noteheads are poor. > >52. Rehearsal marks (A,B,C, etc.) are not easily moved. If you drag them >too far away from their original position the rehearsal mark jumps up or >down, so letter C becomes D or B and all the others change too. This is >listed in the manual as a feature! > >53. Inability to group sets of measures into many systems. > >54. Inability just to simply nudge measures up or down systems. > >55. Lack of spacing in secondary layers and no update of layout. > >56. Clunky actions with most dragging movements, sometimes delayed, >sometimes secondary. > >57. Freemidi doesnt work with Sibelius, even though it is included with >the CD. > >58. Menus are confusing, too long (submenus), and sometimes >inappropriate. For example: Create Text. > >59. Cheap manual, poorly indexed and not logical to follow. Some items >have no reference at all, usually the bits that dont work properly. > >60. No auto spacing when measures are moved to other systems. > >61. Sibelius doesnt believe in using handles for any element which is a >great idea until two or more elements overlap and then you cant select >anything. > >62. Restrictive copy protection especially if you need to use it on more >than one computer. > >63. Overpriced. Upgrades also expensive and it is impossible to run 2 >versions on the same computer. > >64. The Sibelius web site for user problems is monitored in such a way >that you only see the problems and solutions they want you to see. > >65. All Sibelius publications have the same look to them, there is very >little scope for customisation and to change the overall style even >though they have a 'house styles' option, which is merely a list of >various notation preferences most of which are very restricted. > >66. Claims for the slick importing of Finale files are way over the top. >The truth is that they bring in little more information than a standard >MIDI file import would do. > >67. Winged repeats are possible on the starting repeat bars but not the >ending repeat bars! > >68: It is impossible to have two brackets of the same type in different >horizontal positions, as for example when a divided string section uses >extra staves. Sibelius forces you to use their "subsidiary bracket" >(actually a desk bracket) for this purpose even in places where it is >inappropriate--and heaven help you if you need more than three layers of >bracketing. I find it very strange that an application developed in >England would enforce a bracket style that is standard only in France >and Russia. > >69. Difficulty in getting ending repeat brackets to display on multiple >systems. This is a nightmare, for starters, the height of the ending >bracket is not adjustable when it spans multiple systems. You have to >position it exactly right when you click it in, because once it's there, >it ain't moving. > >Sibelius did write some great symphonies, but sadly not with Sibelius ;-) > > > >_______________________________________________ >Finale mailing list >Finale@shsu.edu >http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > Phil Daley < AutoDesk > http://www.conknet.com/~p_daley
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