Note Performer

[Bill Stokes]

For any Sibelius users (version 6 and later) there is a plugin called Note Performer.

Is anybody using this?

I just got the free trial. Cost is $129 USD. It came out in 2013. (!)

Attaching screen movie of an 8-bar string orchestra thing I wrote last night.

My hesitation about buying this is distrust of Sibelius and its parent company Avid.
Sibelius 7 has been pretty unstable for me over the past 3 or 4 years, through changing and upgrading computers, updating OS and other audio software. And I refuse to "upgrade" to a newer version of Sibelius for the privilege of paying rent to them every year.
I love MuseScore and their open-source vibe. -but...
The sound of this thing is kind of a game changer, for the work I'm doing right now.

[DougC]

Nice piece of music Bill. It seems that nowadays we can be our own composers and arrangers. It seems also to be the case that we have to be our own financial consultants too. I will not have any notation software that goes online and 'blackmails' me into spending money on another feature.

[Beanzy]

Our Sibelius comes with a whole library of sounds as part of the package. Not sure what that software is addingto the mix. Even better you can export the music XML files to any sound generating software you prefer so you can work across as many platforms as take your fancy. I often export to Notion as their mandolin sound is pretty good.

[Bill Stokes]

The plugin is from a 3rd party developer in Sweden. Evidently betting all his chips on Sibelius staying in business.

When I listen to the Sibelius Chamber sounds, mixed as good as I can get it with their onboard mixer, it's pretty blah.
Changing to the plugin configuration is amazing.

XML export/import has been pretty glitchy for me. Especially with percussion parts. Exporting midi files into Logic can work though.

[DiegoUrena]

Love NotePerformer! Recently wrote this piece using Sibelius 8 and NotePerformer. As also used Altiverb and Izotope to master it.

https://youtu.be/_G-4xQaTh3s

[Bill Stokes]

Dude! That sounds awesome. You totally got the John Williams template going on.
Are you a composition student? A composer? Those are some pricey mastering tools, btw. Beyond my scope...
I see you're new here. Now you have to learn mandolin!

[DiegoUrena]

Wow thanks bro. No I'm not a student or a professional composer. I just love writing music. When I'm not working I like to sit and write musical tunes. I have studied John Williams compositions just for my own pleasure. This piece my first piece I've written using full orchestra. Anyways glad you enjoyed it!

I would love to try and play mandolin! Maybe I'll give that a shot sometime!

[Classicalcomp]

Honestly, Notion music may have the best library in the business for playback. They have Mac, pc, and even iPad, though the iPad doesn’t sound nearly as good as the full desktop versions do. It’s not cheap, but there are competitive upgrades and the expansion sounds are really outstanding. I did the first 8 bars to American symphony from the score vs. the recording and let me tell you, it was hard to tell the difference. The only thing was the horn didn’t blast like it did on the recording “but” an adjustment to the dynamic marking fixed that.

[DiegoUrena]

Honestly, Notion music may have the best library in the business for playback. They have Mac, pc, and even iPad, though the iPad doesn’t sound nearly as good as the full desktop versions do. It’s not cheap, but there are competitive upgrades and the expansion sounds are really outstanding. I did the first 8 bars to American symphony from the score vs. the recording and let me tell you, it was hard to tell the difference. The only thing was the horn didn’t blast like it did on the recording “but” an adjustment to the dynamic marking fixed that.

I've used notion to write and I couldn't get it to sound quite the way I wanted it to sound. Could you post a sample of the comparison? Is really like to take a listen!