# Berlin playback problems



## Gil (Sep 11, 2021)

Hello,
I have a few small playback problems with a few Berlin instruments in StaffPad as you can see in this video:




In summary:
- Berlin English Horn legato is not to legato
- Berlin Snare drum dynamics curve seems to be exponential that makes p and mp dynamics quite inaudible.
- Berlin Tubular bells have the same dynamic curve problem than the snare drum, and I can't hear a big difference in timbre between the soft and hard mallets.

Video, Score pdf and StaffPad files are available here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wkaommvjgzjk85h/AAAzwRr2kCFAwwIbDd7u93C-a
Thanks for your help!

Best regards,
Gil.


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## MadLad (Sep 11, 2021)

I don't know if this helps you but many others including me have the same problem. That's just a flaw in the Staffpad playback.

- I'm pretty sure the english horn doesn't have true legato samples and some instruments, especially the Berlin Strings don't even really react to slurs. They use legato as they please. From my experience CineWinds and CineBrass have true legato samples.

- The Berlin percussion, as well as the harps are always inaudible with everything below mf. It helps if you add a good amount of compression in the options menu. That will even it out a bit. However, my workaround is to use the volume automation for percussion because that way I have much more control over the mix.

If something appears to not work correctly, try to find a workaround instead of waiting for a patch. That's what I always did and it saved me a lot of nerves. Fortunately, there was always a work-around so far. I try different articulations, place the slurs differently, different dynamics for each note. Most of the time you find something that makes the overall arrangement work

EDIT: Sometimes just erasing the bar and writing it again or restarting the app does the trick


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## jadi (Sep 12, 2021)

I understand what MadLad says but anyway, report it to StaffPad so they can fix it!


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## Gil (Sep 12, 2021)

Hello,
Thanks for your answers!
I'll try @MadLad suggestions, I also sent a message to StaffPad support.
Regards,
Gil.


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## Jett Hitt (Sep 12, 2021)

These problems seem to be endemic in StaffPad, and I have some doubts that they will ever be fixed because the StaffPad playback engine has more than one master. The Berlin libraries were working better a year ago than they do now. I suspect that the playback engine got tweaked to accommodate other libraries, and the Berlin series suffered noticeably.





MadLad said:


> If something appears to not work correctly, try to find a workaround instead of waiting for a patch. That's what I always did and it saved me a lot of nerves. Fortunately, there was always a work-around so far. I try different articulations, place the slurs differently, different dynamics for each note. Most of the time you find something that makes the overall arrangement work
> 
> EDIT: Sometimes just erasing the bar and writing it again or restarting the app does the trick


I think that this is very sound advice, and probably the best approach to successfully using StaffPad.


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## MadLad (Sep 12, 2021)

Gil said:


> Hello,
> Thanks for your answers!
> I'll try @MadLad suggestions, I also sent a message to StaffPad support.
> Regards,
> Gil.


Of course, sending the support a message is a good idea, too. If enough people report the same problem they will hopefully get the hint.


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## Gil (Sep 13, 2021)

Hello,
I had a quick answer from the support: the described bugs have been logged, and will be looked at after the upcoming update.


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