I’m reaching out to other Dorico users, experts, gurus, etc for help deciding which way to go with Dorico.
As a classical guitar composer, my music notation needs are fairly straightforward and well served by Dorico 3.5. Version 4 (and beyond) has some appeal in terms of hoped for refinements to the user interface experience.
I’m uncertain if there is an easy upgrade path from Dorico Pro 3.5 (purchased in 2020) to the latest version. The idea is academic as I’m currently stuck with an old-school (2011) Apple iMac system. This prevented me from applying the upgrade to 4 when it was first offered as it cannot support Mac OS X beyond High Sierra.
I’m considering upgrading to a newer, though second-hand Mac system as far as my budget will allow.
I already have a 6th generation iPad Pro which was a significant purchase. I have installed the Dorico App and am thinking of subscribing on a monthly basis, to begin with, in order to find out if it would be a viable alternative to Dorico Pro.
I’m uncertain if I’ll be happy working in the iPad context but with an external keyboard, LCD and mouse, it seems like it could be a good option.
I understand the app offers a similar experience as Dorico Elements which implies it lacks some features available in the Pro version currently available to me in version 3.5.
The Steinberg chart comparing Dorico version features shows that the iPad version lacks the ability to Edit vertical spacing (presumably of staves?) - something I am constantly having to do in version 3.5 - and the addition of Ossia staves. I use those occasionally but can probably manage without.
The more I look at it, the more it seems the iPad version might not be best for me. However, I’m interested in hearing what others have experienced and/or recommend.
I very rarely find there’s a need to adjust vertical spacing – as long as your Ideal Gap settings in Layout Options are set to appropriate values.
There’s an excellent Discover Dorico video about page layout that is well worth watching.
“Ideal” gaps are better thought of as “Minimum” gaps – they are the values that Dorico applies before stretching the staves out the fit the page.
I still think a Mac is preferable over an iPad – for lots of things, not just Dorico. I’d recommend trying to get a tricked-out 2018 Mac Mini – or even an M1 Mini, if budget will allow. (Though a decent display may then be the larger part of the purchase.)
I wouldn’t get an Intel Mac with an internal hard drive – which most of them have – as it will be approaching end of life.
13 years is a pretty good innings for your iMac; but to everything there is a season…
What you say is true regarding the vertical spacing or minimum gaps settings. I have made some good progress with those sorts of adjustments. Issues I’ve encountered leading to manual adjustment are now a bit far in the past to recall. I will see how I go in future and refer to the video you mentioned.
I left HDDs behind some years ago, managing to squeeze a few more years out of the 2011 iMac by installing an SSD. Definitely the way to go.
As a matter of fact I have my eye on a 2018 Mac Mini (32GB Ram and 512GB SSD) which is priced at about NZ$400 less than an entry level M1 Mac Mini here in New Zealand. I recently purchased a Samsung 4K monitor anticipating such a move. So around $1000 in total for hardware then there’s the software upgrade to factor in.
The iPad has an M2 processor which seems helpful in terms of future-proofing. There’s a file system which makes it more like a Mac. The down-side is it cannot run Time Machine backups. The iPad also can’t play audio from multiple applications which, now that I think about it, is probably more of a problem than the TimeMachine issue.
Thanks. Ideally I’d prefer the i7 but the Mac Mini I mentioned has a 3.0 GHz 6C Intel Core i5 processor. I was wrong - the storage is 256GB not 512 - but for $650 is not so bad.
For a 2018 i7, 32GB, 512 GB mini, I’m looking at $1019. On the other hand I can get a 2020 Mac Mini with M1 processor -8 cores, 8GB Ram and 512 storage for $900. I’m uncertain which is better.
I used to have the i5, and it’s very competent. You can always add more storage, and it’s relatively easy to shift things like Photos, Music and other libraries over to another disk.
As you’re not creating large orchestral scores nor using high-end instrument libraries, 8Gb is probably OK; though I would generally advise getting 16Gb if you can.
Sequoia OS, coming out this autumn, will still support the 2018 Mini; though how many more OSes you’ll get after that is anyone’s guess.
The M1 itself is four years old, though I’d hope that Apple will be able to provide longer support, now that the whole innards are ‘in-house’.
Whatever Mac you get now, I’d start putting some money away towards the next one!
That’s a very good point! It’s one reason I have been considering a short-term, lower cost solution to tide me over until I feel ready to invest in something better.
That said, I’ve just spotted some M1 minis with 16 GB ram albeit with less storage than I require but all under the NZ$1000 mark. The prices are all over the place with sellers wanting similar or higher prices for the 2018 systems. I don’t get it unless there are reasons people still want Intel processors.
As for M2, I will definitely have to think about that! Did I hear there was an M3 to be released not far off?
There is (click Buy, then select the Update option), but do be aware that the eLicenser system (that Dorico 3.5 is on) will not be supported after March next year, and so users are encouraged to look at updating to the latest version if possible. At the very least, make sure your 3.5 licence is registered to your MySteinberg account.
Yes, Engrave mode on the iPad is only available when you are subscribed, and that’s where the note spacing & staff spacing override tools live. However –
Ideally, and as Ben said, adjusting your settings in Layout Options should in most cases remove the need for excessive overrides.
Here are the tutorial videos Ben recommended, and which are indeed very good:
It sounds like very good reason to upgrade Dorico asap. I have much to consider!
I wasn’t aware of the eLicenser support running out next year. I also have Cubase Elements 10.5 on my Mac also linked to the eLicenser but have no current plans or reasons to upgrade.
Just yesterday I updated my Steinberg account so that it now has recognised the two products active on my eLicenser.
Thanks too for the YouTube references. I have some catching up to do!
Just my little advice on the Mac issue, get the latest you can afford. I bought a basic M2 Mac Mini with 24GB of RAM and it smokes the old 6 core Intel 3.4 with 64 GB ram I had before. I can run Studio One Pro 6, Mixbus Pro 10 and Dorico 5 at the same time, switching between them at will (there are reasons!) and still have horsepower left. Having said that there are some questions being raised about the M3 and memory allocation for music apps - but it doesn’t sound like that’ll be in your budget so… good luck!
Edit: and as to monitors - I bought 2 Panasonic 24" HDMI @ 150€ each, perfect for my needs. And good enough for me to do the graphics for albums, posters etc.
What questions? After googling, I just wasted 8 minutes of my life on a YouTube video titled “You should not buy the M3 for Music”, which basically amounted to: “the M2 Pro CPUs are already far more powerful than you need”. Other than that, I couldn’t find anything.
The M3s have more efficiency cores, but that’s actually a good thing.
I love the MacMini M2Pro running Dorico and Cubase. (The old 2015 MacBook Pro also runs them very well!)
Zero complaints about anything. Everything ‘just works’.
Just 16 gig RAM in both machines, but I’m not doing 1000 track templates or anything like that at all. I can play back anything I throw at it using NotePerformer or Halion sounds. (haven’t had time to get around to exploring the VSL Synchronized SE setups yet, but will have a need for that in the near future)
FWIW, @nzguitarist, my M1 Max Studio (released 2022) is still plugging along quite nicely for me. I got it with 64GB, thinking at the time that my work might take me much more into the DAW/multiple-sample-library world. Probably overkill. 1TB drive, so the libraries I do have fit very easily. I think that would be a wise move if it works for your budget. (With everything on there (though my music(-listening) library is offloaded to an external SSD), it’s about half-full.)
I assume, being a 2021 chip (late 2020 for the original M1), that the M1 will continue to be supported for some time yet. And with newer models with M3 or M4 soon to emerge, you might be able to pick up a slightly older Mini or even a Studio as a good value for cost.
Thanks for sharing your experience and details of your mac setup. It sounds like I can’t go far wrong with a 2018 Mac Mini or later, even on a low budget. Much depends on what is available here in New Zealand. I don’t think there are quite as many options available as in other countries.
Thanks Jesper. I was about to mention the same. IIRC it’s the first complete redesign of the Mac Mini since 2010. Due out in October 2024, though it might take longer to reach my country.
That’s reassuring. Time is certainly a valuable commodity not to be wasted. Hopefully the M4 isn’t so advanced that a clean sweep of software upgrades is needed!
