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Star Wars - Main Title, playback with today's new NPPE version. What are the perspectives?

H

Henrik B. Jensen

Hobbyist
I'm writing this in the Sample Talk-forum section because I'm curious to hear people's opinion on the quality of today's new version of Noteperformer's Playback Engine.

And remember: This is automatic playback of notes you've entered in Dorico or Sibelius etc.

SW Main Title - Spitfire Symphony Orchestra:
View attachment SW SSO - NPPE v.4.4.mp3

SW Main Title - Cinematic Studio Series:
View attachment SW CS Series - NPPE v.4.4.mp3

Imagine how long it would take to write a mockup sounding like this - entering notes, drawing CC-curves, balancing/mixing.

What do you think?

What is the perspective for composers?
Click to read more...
 
Henrik B. Jensen said:
I'm writing this in the Sample Talk-forum section because I'm curious to hear people's opinion on the quality of today's new version of Noteperformer's Playback Engine.

And remember: This is automatic playback of notes you've entered in Dorico or Sibelius etc.

SW Main Title - Spitfire Symphony Orchestra:
View attachment SW SSO - NPPE v.4.4.mp3

SW Main Title - Cinematic Studio Series:
View attachment SW CS Series - NPPE v.4.4.mp3

Imagine how long it would take to write a mockup sounding like this - entering notes, drawing CC-curves, balancing/mixing.

What do you think?

What is the perspective for composers?
Click to expand...
The Star Wars "stress test" is a though one. Some music sound fantastic with NPPE (lyrical stuff seem to work great) for the amount of work put in (as in zero mockup time) but with some material it isn't always able to keep up with a handcrafted mockup.
 
I love to use the original Noteperformer with the typical Noteperformer sounds as a quick and decent feedback for what I wrote. I even use it as a reference to get an even better sound for when I do the mock-up later but this new NPPE to me feels like a step in the wrong direction. I've always seen Noteperformer as a very good stand-in for composing before you whip out the real samples and craft everything in detail.

Your examples however feel like someone finished the mock-up about 80% and then just stopped. When I listen to this I want to dive in the midi data to fine-tune because it would constantly bug me that it sounds slightly off the whole time. However, Dorico only let's you modify the stuff you wrote so far and other notation softwares are even worse in that regard. I'll keep sticking to the original Noteperformer sounds and do the mock-up in a DAW later.

I just wished they had improved the original sounds instead of developing this gimmicky new playback engine that also costs extra money. Other products are prove that you can do so much great stuff with sample modeling and then they just stopped going there.
 
MadLad said:
I love to use the original Noteperformer with the typical Noteperformer sounds as a quick and decent feedback for what I wrote. I even use it as a reference to get an even better sound for when I do the mock-up later but this new NPPE to me feels like a step in the wrong direction. I've always seen Noteperformer as a very good stand-in for composing before you whip out the real samples and craft everything in detail.

Your examples however feel like someone finished the mock-up about 80% and then just stopped. When I listen to this I want to dive in the midi data to fine-tune because it would constantly bug me that it sounds slightly off the whole time. However, Dorico only let's you modify the stuff you wrote so far and other notation softwares are even worse in that regard. I'll keep sticking to the original Noteperformer sounds and do the mock-up in a DAW later.

I just wished they had improved the original sounds instead of developing this gimmicky new playback engine that also costs extra money. Other products are prove that you can do so much great stuff with sample modeling and then they just stopped going there.
Click to expand...
But didn't Arne say there was a ceiling that he had reached insofar as where modelling tech could take NP? I'm sure I read that somewhere.....
 
dcoscina said:
But didn't Arne say there was a ceiling that he had reached insofar as where modelling tech could take NP? I'm sure I read that somewhere.....
Click to expand...
I read that, too but if you look at SWAM for example, there generally seems to be a lot of potential. I'd gladly pay more for an upgrade if it went that way.
 
Henrik B. Jensen said:
I'm writing this in the Sample Talk-forum section because I'm curious to hear people's opinion on the quality of today's new version of Noteperformer's Playback Engine.

And remember: This is automatic playback of notes you've entered in Dorico or Sibelius etc.

SW Main Title - Spitfire Symphony Orchestra:
View attachment SW SSO - NPPE v.4.4.mp3

SW Main Title - Cinematic Studio Series:
View attachment SW CS Series - NPPE v.4.4.mp3

Imagine how long it would take to write a mockup sounding like this - entering notes, drawing CC-curves, balancing/mixing.

What do you think?

What is the perspective for composers?
Click to expand...
Henrik, would you be willing to share your Dorico file? I have a mixed NPPE template I'd like to try it out on. Thanks!
 
Henrik B. Jensen said:
I'm writing this in the Sample Talk-forum section because I'm curious to hear people's opinion on the quality of today's new version of Noteperformer's Playback Engine.

And remember: This is automatic playback of notes you've entered in Dorico or Sibelius etc.

SW Main Title - Spitfire Symphony Orchestra:
View attachment SW SSO - NPPE v.4.4.mp3

SW Main Title - Cinematic Studio Series:
View attachment SW CS Series - NPPE v.4.4.mp3

Imagine how long it would take to write a mockup sounding like this - entering notes, drawing CC-curves, balancing/mixing.

What do you think?

What is the perspective for composers?
Click to expand...
These YouTube demos were what talked me OUT of investing into Dorico Elements and the Note Performer ecosystem. 😕

The results weren’t much different from what I’d get exporting notation from Notion directly into Studio One.
 
NPPE sounds different, but not better, to me than default NP playback. Strings are better. But I find the “balance” most convincing with NP default sounds, and that’s one of the most useful aspects of NP.

NPPE playback does sound, to me, like a quick, rough mockup. The kind you’d do to
show a director or stakeholder the general intent, to get a green light on going in that creative direction. If you’re writing music with complex harmony or polyphony, I think NP is the fastest way to get the composing done. And you’ll have a “passable” mock-up at the end of it.

Crafting a mockup that passes as a real recording or final product is a different kettle of fish, and NP’s never been in that category, with or without NPPE.

That having been said, sometimes for personal stuff I happily just leave it at the NP output, and stick that on the archive discs:



 
NPPE is likely to improve in the coming years, don't you think?

That's how it seems to me at least.

The default Noteperformer engine also took years of development.
 
Henrik B. Jensen said:
NPPE is likely to improve in the coming years, don't you think?

That's how it seems to me at least.

The default Noteperformer engine also took years of development.
Click to expand...
I think so. And imagine if a company would collaborate with Wallander to optimize not only the player (looking at you, OT), but the samples themselves, to have them sound as good as possible with the engine.
 
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