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Ownership of the staffpad company

Why do I need a metronome in an app that has no performance input?
In the blog DWH writes that Staffpad was designed for subsequent audio support from day one and that that is the reason "why we give such prominence to the metronome icon."
 
I agree that that Notion became increasingly messy as they added features, but your argument seems to be: Notion did things poorly therefore StaffPad must also do things poorly.

I will admit that StaffPad's current menu layout doesn't instill a lot of confidence. It is not a very judicious use of space. The main editing menu has Layers taking up prime real estate. This is a feature that I some times use, but it should hardly be on the main menu. Also on this menu are the Reader and the Metronome. Really? WTF? Why do I need a metronome in an app that has no performance input? And the Reader? Who ever uses this? It is a cool idea, but what are the chances that you will ever be in a rehearsal with an orchestra outfitted with tablets? And yet it is on the main editing menu. Meanwhile, one of the most used features, undo/redo, is on another menu so that you are constantly having to switch to that menu. DWH doesn't use this feature, so he could care less. He uses press/swipe to undo. And this is really cool when it works, but a lot of times it doesn't. Instead of undoing what you've just done, it scrolls to the end of the score.

After seeing Martin Keary's video about the redesign of Musescore, I had hoped that his insight would be applied to the StaffPad interface, which sorely needs a new set of eyes.
I worked in MuseScore last night and it was stupid easy to get around on. I had to do some examples of Goldsmith’s themes from Legend for an upcoming podcast and i loved the camera capture option to grab those sections and copy to a Google document. Anytime I didn’t know what to do, I looked it up and found the answer in record time. Unlike Dorico which has some brutal long explanations.

I’m actually very optimistic about Musescore. If they can figure out a way to add SP playback and cross compatibility with the mobile app version this might be a killer combo.
 
But if audio transcription depends on the M1 chip, how could that have been planned from the beginning? If he means audio tracks, why would you need a metronome for that?
 
But if audio transcription depends on the M1 chip, how could that have been planned from the beginning? If he means audio tracks, why would you need a metronome for that?
audio "support" was planned from the beginning. I think the transcription thing was born later on. And from what I read it does not depend on the M1 if you do not need it to be real-time. If you do need it real-time it says more powerful devices "like the M1".
Here is the link, it's an interesting read

as concerns metronomes for audio tracks I envision this:
your cue is a mess of tempo fluctuations and odd meters to make what once was a beautiful melody fit into the latest of ca. 30 changes the director made to the scene in question, even though he only two days ago swore a terrible oath that the file finalfinal23.mov will not be changed again. You receive finalfinal24.mov and you know only a tibetan bagpipe made from dried goat udder can unify the bits and pieces and save the day. Spitfire have announced a sampled library to that effect for later that year, but you can't wait. In the twilight of a tajikian restaurant money and instrument change hands. You fire up Staffpad and find the metronome conveniently and prominently shoved into your face and it guides you through the recording session like a beacon over troubled water.
Staffpad audio support saved the day and you light a candle for either MuseGroup or David, depending on your confession.
 
I worked in MuseScore last night and it was stupid easy to get around on. I had to do some examples of Goldsmith’s themes from Legend for an upcoming podcast and i loved the camera capture option to grab those sections and copy to a Google document. Anytime I didn’t know what to do, I looked it up and found the answer in record time. Unlike Dorico which has some brutal long explanations.

I’m actually very optimistic about Musescore. If they can figure out a way to add SP playback and cross compatibility with the mobile app version this might be a killer combo.
My interaction with Musescore has been very limited. I have used Finale for so long that I can do it in my sleep, so I have little incentive to use Musescore--not yet anyway. As you know, however, I did download it and play with it. The simplicity of it was a breath of fresh air. By contrast, Dorico blew my mind. Some things were better, but mostly I found it to be horrifically complex. This is Spreadberry's vision of the future? Heaven help us.

I wonder if these people ever talk to composers? StaffPad at least has the decided advantage of DWH being a composer. As a result of this, you instantly get 80% of what you need as a composer right upfront. Most notably, you get notation with fantastic playback. I may appear to be terribly critical of StaffPad, but I adore it and use it every day. As a result of this, I intimately understand its flaws.
 
My interaction with Musescore has been very limited. I have used Finale for so long that I can do it in my sleep, so I have little incentive to use Musescore--not yet anyway. As you know, however, I did download it and play with it. The simplicity of it was a breath of fresh air. By contrast, Dorico blew my mind. Some things were better, but mostly I found it to be horrifically complex. This is Spreadberry's vision of the future? Heaven help us.

I wonder if these people ever talk to composers? StaffPad at least has the decided advantage of DWH being a composer. As a result of this, you instantly get 80% of what you need as a composer right upfront. Most notably, you get notation with fantastic playback. I may appear to be terribly critical of StaffPad, but I adore it and use it every day. As a result of this, I intimately understand its flaws.
I think with Keavy at the helm of MuseScore, it's likely to be developed into a very good composing app. Dorico is quite lovely in many ways but as Keary explains in his Tanticrul YT persona, it forces the composer to work the way IT wants you to, rather than Sibelius which gets out of your way most of the time. Keary is a composer so I think he's bringing that to the table insofar as development of MuseScore.

I like Dorico, don't get me wrong. I think it's cool and does some things waaaaay better than Sibelius. but for simple things, it's overly complex when it doesn't have to be. Dorico seems like it wants to bring in playback strengths from Cubase so it too can be everything to everyone. I still find this a fatal flaw in their ideology. This seems to have befallen all of the notation app developers...
 
I think with Keavy at the helm of MuseScore, it's likely to be developed into a very good composing app. Dorico is quite lovely in many ways but as Keary explains in his Tanticrul YT persona, it forces the composer to work the way IT wants you to, rather than Sibelius which gets out of your way most of the time. Keary is a composer so I think he's bringing that to the table insofar as development of MuseScore.

I like Dorico, don't get me wrong. I think it's cool and does some things waaaaay better than Sibelius. but for simple things, it's overly complex when it doesn't have to be. Dorico seems like it wants to bring in playback strengths from Cubase so it too can be everything to everyone. I still find this a fatal flaw in their ideology. This seems to have befallen all of the notation app developers...
According to Daniel Rey's Scoring Notes podcast, Martin Keary is no longer in that position. He has moved up the ladder and is now overseeing Audacity and Musescore--I forget the exact position--but it sounds like he is no longer the primary force behind Musescore.
 
Have we've been played here? Now suddenly I am again fearful for the future of StaffPad. This entire sale/acquisition affair has been handled so poorly. It doesn't instill much confidence in the company. Going forward my advice to would-be users will have to be, "Wait, don't buy, as this ship may yet founder." There is no way to credibly advise anyone on which iPad to buy or which libraries because we are again in the dark. Clearly, there are big changes afoot, and the only thing one could tell a would-be user is, "If you buy, only buy the most powerful iPad Pro possible, as it may be the only thing that works in the near future, and don't buy any of those libraries because they will likely soon be obsolete." Though I would always tell someone to buy the most powerful iPad possible, the necessity of an iPad Pro instantly takes a lot of people out of the game.

I get that someone at StaffPad got their feathers ruffled by your post, but people are spending a lot of money here on a trip with an unknown, changing destination. It seems like they at least deserve a road map.
I found this thread while trying to decide which third-party libraries to buy for StaffPad, and now I am wondering if I should wait to see how things pan out with MuseScore 4. I actually used to use MuseScore, but bought StaffPad for the excellent playback. If MuseScore 4 has the same playback features, I would gladly move back to using MuseScore and would consider it best of both worlds. Have we learned anything more recently that can help me make an informed choice?
 
Have we learned anything more recently that can help me make an informed choice?
I'm not sure there's anything definite yet really.

I think the musescore sound library is expected to be about 10gb and will apparently be out in some form when the beta version of musescore is released, which I would expect sometime this year. Could be delayed though.

Personally I expect it to be good but not on the level of staffpad. Although it might end up being easier to fine control with the midi track which is a future planned musescore feature. But that's just a hunch based on them not having access to the top tier sound libraries, it might turn out to blow staffpad out the water.

The great thing is it'll be free.

If I were you I'd probably wait unless you absolutely need staffpad libraries now.
 
I found this thread while trying to decide which third-party libraries to buy for StaffPad, and now I am wondering if I should wait to see how things pan out with MuseScore 4. I actually used to use MuseScore, but bought StaffPad for the excellent playback. If MuseScore 4 has the same playback features, I would gladly move back to using MuseScore and would consider it best of both worlds. Have we learned anything more recently that can help me make an informed choice?
I am of two minds: 1) I am not optimistic about StaffPad's future, despite the minor update that has been released since this discussion was held. 2) StaffPad with the Berlin libraries remains the most effective tool I have, and assuming you have an iPad capable of running them (or you have another reason to get one), StaffPad and the Berlin libraries are a no brainer for a notation based composer when on sale. You can get the whole set up for like $325 or so.

I also have low expectations for Musescore 4.0. I will be delighted if it is remarkable, but how remarkable can a free product be?
 
I am of two minds: 1) I am not optimistic about StaffPad's future, despite the minor update that has been released since this discussion was held. 2) StaffPad with the Berlin libraries remains the most effective tool I have, and assuming you have an iPad capable of running them (or you have another reason to get one), StaffPad and the Berlin libraries are a no brainer for a notation based composer when on sale. You can get the whole set up for like $325 or so.

I also have low expectations for Musescore 4.0. I will be delighted if it is remarkable, but how remarkable can a free product be?
Would you recommend getting Spitfire’s Chamber Strings? I am very happy with the full Berlin Suite on StaffPad but having chamber strings would be a bonus.
 
Would you recommend getting Spitfire’s Chamber Strings? I am very happy with the full Berlin Suite on StaffPad but having chamber strings would be a bonus.
I purchased the spitfire chamber when on sale and it was a nice complement to Berlin. They have slightly different capabilities and textures. For example portamento might only be available in upward direction in one of the libraries but both directions in the other and so on. Its not absolute necessity but unlocks some doors when you have that little bit extra
 
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