Dorico not ready for prime time?

Dorico
#1

I’ve been using Sibelius for a few years and Notion prior to that. (Ok and Music Construction for the Amiga!).

I became interested in Dorico, as it touted as being the next generation of notation software with some great new features. I tried downloading the trial version last year, but I couldn’t get it to install. (I download and install software all the time and don’t have any issues)

At any rate I got an email about Dorico this week and gave it another look mainly at the reviews. All the reviews I read state that while Dorico has some great features it was essentially rushed out and some basic features don’t work (i.e. repeats). Also many reports of constant crashes.

Sounds like I should wait for awhile for the dust to settle… Be nice if they extend the crossgrade option at least until they have a working product!

Walt

#2

I don’t think it’s an accurate characterisation of the experience of our thousands of users that Dorico crashes constantly at all. Dorico was also certainly not rushed out: we have been working on it for more than four years. In an ideal world the software would have more features already, and we are certainly working on adding features as quickly as we can, but we are not going to go any more quickly than it is possible to go. It is more important that features are added to a high quality and level of completeness than that we add half-baked features that are not fit for purpose.

If you would like some assistance in getting the trial version installed and running, I or one of my colleagues would be very happy to assist you. You simply need to provide a few more details about your computer, what the specific nature of the problem you encountered was, and what steps you have taken already to try to resolve them, and I’m sure we can get the problem resolved.

#3

I would recommend you make sure the functions that you use in a notation software are already working. Why if you realize he’s developing, as they claim.
I bought but numerous functions that I use still are not available. And there are many. It may be that those are available with version 1 meet you. But make sure. In the forum you can see everything still is not available.
Many articulacoes do not play yet, do not have chord symbols, there is the possibility to do an arrange listening to a playback or in rewire and not playing an audio.

#4

Daniel,

Thank you for responding. I appreciate the offer to help. As I’ve stated, I’ve installed more software on my computers (presently five of them betweem me and my wife (PC/iMac) than you can shake a stick at and don’t usually run into any problems that I can’t solve.

This happened last fall and I can’t remember exactly what the issue was, but I think when I clicked on the install file nothing would happen.

My music room computer is a dedicated ADK Pro i7, 6 core, 4.3 GHz, with 64 GB of RAM, 600GB SSD for the Operating Symtem and 12 TB of storage. Displays are 27" Dells and one 46 large screen HD TV for the center screen.

I just signed up to this forum and will be checking back on a regular basis for status along with following Dorico reviews. I have something that works for now, but don’t want to get into Dorico if many features have not been implemented. Dorico does look promising though!

Best of luck with your new baby!

Walt

#5

For me, Dorico works very well, for some of my projects. I have experienced a couple of crashes, but not since the latest update. It all depends on what you want to do. I would still use Sibelius to do any work that needed chord symbols, drum notations, endings, etc. But for many purposes Dorico already is far above the competition. I also find the user interface intuitive and logical.

#6

I did a trial, though not a full 30 days of use (life got in the way).

As it is now, I find Dorico a lot nicer to use than Musescore, but not significantly enough to convince me to buy. Yet.

But I’m impressed by the responsiveness of this forum, and the close communication Daniel and others are having with the users. This is the right way to develop software, and I’ve total confidence that a few releases down the line it’ll be a sensible purchase to make.

#7

I suggest you try running the installer again, and if it doesn’t work, provide us with some specific information about what happens (or doesn’t happen), and any error messages etc. that appear, and then we’ll be able to help.

#8

I’ve found Dorico completely stable on my MacBook, in fact remarkably so for new software. There are missing features, but these have been acknowledged and are planned for the future. I decided to buy in the end for the sheer pleasure of using the software, and I think it’s got a pretty solid future.

#9

I purchased Dorico knowing fully well that it is still in it’s infancy state. Why?:

  1. I think it would be cheaper to purchase NOW and wait…I mean what’s the difference? If it will take 4 years to mature, it’s going to take 4 years…but I got it cheaper;
  2. I knew Steinberg is still developing it and (as being an insider for Microsoft Windows 10), Loving programming myself, I like being part of this Steinberg developing team (even if it’s just suggesting ideas)…what do you say Ulf? Had your coffee yet?;
  3. I LOVE testing music software.; and
  4. I TRUST Daniel and his team…POINT!

And then, one gets to know the development team, and it’s like a little family…even if a little bloody nose is appropriate! :slight_smile:

Come on guys, trust me, developing software like Dorico is pretty on par with developing an operating system. These guys need our understanding and support as well…even if we pay for their hard work.