tefview software

[A#Bb]

I've got the tefview software installed but I've noticed that the mandolin is not listed as a instrument of choice out of a list of over 100 instruments. any reason why it's not there? have i done something wrong? it's version 2.75.

thanks for any help.

[bennyb]

Howdy A#,
Nope, you haven't done anything wrong. It's not there. Exactly why, I couldn't tell you, but somebody would have to write the software to distinguish it from acoustic guitar, and that person apparently has other priorities. After a week or 2, I expect you won't notice that it's missing. (I'm a tefview and tabledit devotee.)

benny

[A#Bb]

Thank you very much Benny. so, why does mandolin cafe tell us about the software if they won't even put the mandolin in their instrument list!

Thanks again for your quick response!

[Mark Wilson]

It wouldn't change the sound of it, if it included mandolin. The guitar sound would sound the same imo.

The midi playback is not for the joy of listening - it's for instruction.

And for that the guitar sound (or any sound)gives you the necessary feedback you need. sorta

Fwiw I use one of the bass sounds for playback of mandolin pieces

[HonketyHank]

I have been through that whole list trying to find something that sounds more 'mandolinny' than acoustic guitar. One thing I found was that a lot of those settings sound the same to me. So, if there are 100 selectable settings, there may be fewer than 50 that are distinguishable to my ear. FWIW, I use 'acoustic guitar' or 'orchestral harp'.

[bennyb]

so, why does mandolin cafe tell us about the software

I expect it's primarily because there's a couple thousand mandolin tabs written on tabledit and viewable with tefview available for individual search or download in toto over at Mandozine.com.

Edit: Also, for those that may be interested, those tabs can all be read as notation by clicking the little "M" in the bottom right corner of the tefview screen.

benny

[Bill Snyder]

I am pretty sure that the tefview does not come with ANY midi sound profiles. I think it uses whatever midi driver is available on your computer already. If I am wrong someone will come along to correct me.

[Jess L.]

(My comments below reference TablEdit, not its sibling TefView which is made by the same software author, but I would suspect the sound is probably the same. Happy to be corrected if not.)

I have been through that whole list trying to find something that sounds more 'mandolinny' than acoustic guitar. One thing I found was that a lot of those settings sound the same to me. So, if there are 100 selectable settings, there may be fewer than 50 that are distinguishable to my ear. ...

Same here.

... I use 'acoustic guitar' or 'orchestral harp'.

I use the jazz-guitar setting (it shows up in the list as "Electric Guitar (jazz)"), it doesn't sound more mandolinny but it's easier on the ears, not as harsh/shrill as some of the other MIDI sounds.

I expect it's primarily because there's a couple thousand mandolin tabs written on tabledit and viewable with tefview available for individual search or download in toto over at Mandozine.com.

Yeah, and I think the reason there are so many files in that format, is because people like that the playback *rhythm* can be made to sound somewhat more realistic (compared to other notation/tab apps I've tried). Not sure if the free TefView player has these options but the full version of TablEdit has two settings that (to me, anyway) make for a better sound:

1. "Simulate Human playing": on Windows, click "File" menu > "Options" > "Advanced" tab > click checkbox for "Simulate Human playing".
   
   
2. Swing rhythm: on Windows, click "MIDI" menu > "MIDI Options" > change "Syncopation" from "0" (Straight Eighths) to either "1" (Jazz Eighths) or 2 (Swing Eighths).

I write tab/notation both in TablEdit and also now in MuseScore 2.x (yes MuseScore can be used to write mandolin tab now, see post #8 by StuartE and also my super-short video quick mini-tutorial), although MuseScore tab is deficient (lacks an easy way to write hammers, pulls, etc yes it can be done but you have to jump through some hoops, in MuseScore the tab seems clearly an afterthought and not fully developed yet, for instance you can only choose from 4 fonts for the tab, can't even make MuseScore tab fonts bold or use your own fonts for easier reading). Whereas TablEdit seems to be designed specifically for writing tab so it doesn't have all those frustrating quirks that MuseScore has, for instance TablEdit lets you choose any font that's installed on your computer to use for the tab numbers, so you can make the darned tab numbers easier to read by choosing any font you like. Anyway, I use both of those apps now, but for different purposes: TablEdit seems much better for playback, like for practicing learning a new tune, whereas I find MuseScore 2.x easier for printing scores and making PDF files for other people to look at (but not play back). Yeah I know, MuseScore has a swing-rhythm feature that's now even adjustable in small increments, but it just doesn't seem to produce quite the right kind of rhythm - whereas TablEdit's implementation of swing rhythm sounds better to me. FWIW, YMMV, etc.

... Also, for those that may be interested, those tabs can all be read as notation by clicking the little "M" in the bottom right corner of the tefview screen.

Aha! Thank you! I did not know that, but I just tested it, works like you said. Cool! I've been using TablEdit for like a year or something (maybe more, lost track) and I never even noticed that "M" there. I usually have both the notation *and* the tab showing at the same time in TablEdit, mostly because I didn't realize there was a quick way to change without going into the prefs panel. The one-click "M" button will make things a lot more convenient and quick. Thanks again!

[HonketyHank]

I have been through that whole list trying to find something that sounds more 'mandolinny' than acoustic guitar. One thing I found was that a lot of those settings sound the same to me. So, if there are 100 selectable settings, there may be fewer than 50 that are distinguishable to my ear. FWIW, I use 'acoustic guitar' or 'orchestral harp'.

I take some of the above back. I think the latest revision of the software includes updated midi sound samples. 'Orchestral harp' no longer sounds at all like a mandolin. I am going with the 'electric guitar (jazz)' sample currently.

[Mark Gunter]

FWIW I use nylon string guitar setting, and the double notes box checked