# Dorico vs. Notion with Studio One



## Alchemedia (Sep 22, 2021)

Is there any advantage in using Dorico rather than Notion with Studio One?


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## Robin (Sep 23, 2021)

Depends on what you want to do. The notation functionalities for more complex situations are superior in Dorico but if you just need basic notation things then Notion + S1 would be fine.


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## Alchemedia (Sep 23, 2021)

Thx! Do you happen to know whether VSL has expression maps for Notion as they do for Dorico?


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## gyprock (Sep 23, 2021)

Alchemedia said:


> Thx! Do you happen to know whether VSL has expression maps for Notion as they do for Dorico?


No they don’t. Benefit of Dorico is also their iPad app which currently has some piano roll features which will be in their forthcoming v4.0 release. I really liked Notion when they had a very active composer/product manager about 10 years ago. Moving forward, I don’t think that Notion will ever have the development team like Dorico.


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## ennbr (Sep 23, 2021)

gyprock said:


> Benefit of Dorico is also their iPad app


Notion has had an iPhone, iPad app for more years than I can recall. I would agree that Notion development has slowed over the last few releases

One thing that Notion does have is an inexpensive instrument library that can be purchased separately that is very extensive with passable sounds but then again there being played back on an iPhone or iPad


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## SteveC (Sep 23, 2021)

I'm currently testing Dorico and I really like it, especially in conjunction with Noteperformer. What I really don't like is the communication between Dorico and Studio One. Since I only have a demo of Notion, could someone share with me their experience of how the exchange with Studio One works? If that works well, I'll end up opting for Notion.


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## ennbr (Sep 23, 2021)

Notion works well to a point for example it does move the song data reliably between Studio One and Notion however it would be nice if the instruments and all articulations I've setup in Studio One were also used in Notion and the other way round as well.


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## SteveC (Sep 23, 2021)

ennbr said:


> Notion works well to a point for example it does move the song data reliably between Studio One and Notion however it would be nice if the instruments and all articulations I've setup in Studio One were also used in Notion and the other way round as well.


Sounds good. On the other hand, I somehow fell in love with Noteperformer and Dorico. Maybe I should get both!


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## Trensharo (Nov 16, 2021)

ennbr said:


> Notion has had an iPhone, iPad app for more years than I can recall. I would agree that Notion development has slowed over the last few releases
> 
> One thing that Notion does have is an inexpensive instrument library that can be purchased separately that is very extensive with passable sounds but then again there being played back on an iPhone or iPad


At this point, I would use MuseScore over Notion. I don't think Notion is that necessary since Studio One 5 Professional released.

MuseScore 4 is going to add VSTi and NotePerformer support, with a full Piano Roll coming a few months after its release (IIRC).

I don't like the Dorico iPad app. It feels like a desktop app shoehorned onto an iPad. Notion performs better, and has better sounds there. I like Notion for iPad. It doesn't have a PRV, though it does have Sequencer Staves, IIRC... (I may be wrong, there).

Not desktop Notion, the Rules system exists but Articulation maps are more productive. You kind of need East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra if you want plug-and-play support with Notion. If you have that, it works very well.

But it's a product focused more on playback, not engraving. It's missing features like Ossia staves and such that are in the bigger packages. But if it fits within your requirements, you will save a ton of money using it over the others.

I do like the Sibelius iPad app. I don't subscribe to apps like that, though.

I think MuseScore is going to blow up quite a bit once the VSTi support hits, though.


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## wcreed51 (Nov 17, 2021)

Trensharo said:


> You kind of need East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra if you want plug-and-play support with Notion.


There's built in support for VSL Special Edition too (VI Version).


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## muziksculp (Dec 20, 2021)

Hi, 

This is an interesting question, and topic for me as well. 

I don't currently have a notation program, my DAW is Studio One Pro 5, so Notion 6 will appear to be the right one to use for notation, but I'm still not sure. Mainly because of the close integration between them, although I don't know the extent of their integration. 

I would like to hear more from Studio One Pro 5 and Notion 6 users, and how these two application integrate, and the advantages of using Notion 6 with S1Pro 5. 

Dorico is Steinberg's app, so I'm not sure there will be any integration with S1Pro 5. 

The other big question is when is Notion 7 expected ? I could wait, no rush. Now that Fender has taken over Presonus, I wonder how much attention is given to Notion's development. 

Any feedback on these points would be interesting, and helpful. 

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## SteveC (Dec 22, 2021)

muziksculp said:


> Dorico is Steinberg's app, so I'm not sure there will be any integration with S1Pro 5.


Studio One cannot import XML files. That's why I communicate via midi between Dorico and Studio One.


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## Wedge (Dec 22, 2021)

I use Notion on my windows laptop. It's really quick to sketch things out and I really like the notation rules system once they're set up. But the rules are very tedious to make and articulation maps are better overall. Notion is clunky. They still haven't fixed horizontal scrolling with a touchpad, it's the wrong direction in the notation view but works correctly in the mixer. I've found it's good for quick input and sending over to S1 is a breeze. But it doesn't use VST3, if S1 has both VST2 and VST3 it only acknowledges the VST3, so you have to setup the instrument again or have to disable the VST3 in S1 (or append the extention with .disabled or something). So for me it's a sloppy program that could use a big update, but it still works well enough for my usage. If S1's notation capabilities improve I'll probably stop using it. It's a basic program without a lot of bells something like Dorico has, but that's reflected in their prices.


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