GPO5 for Windows test please

benwiggy · February 22, 2025, 10:08pm

Can I ask a favour from anyone on Windows who is interested in using Garritan stuff ?

Make sure you’re using the latest version of ARIA Player: 1.959.
Download an install the Sforzando VST here:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/sforzando/WIN_sforzando_v1.978.exe

Sforzando will ‘update’ the ARIA Engine to 1.978. That engine also runs on Apple Silicon. I’ve “downgraded” to that version number.

Hopefully, that means that you should be able to open this Dorico project file, with the ARIA saved state still intact. (E.g. pressing Play should work.)

Mozart – Eine kleine Nachtmusik.dorico (1.7 MB)

If this works, then I can create a “final” GPO5 Playback Template that will work on both Windows and Mac.

JAMES_GILBERT · February 22, 2025, 10:38pm

I get an error when loading saying it is referencing a playback template that’s not on my system. Once loaded, it does playback with the appropriate instruments although for my ears the first violin part sounds softer than the other parts. I’ve only gone through the first movement. If I run into any issues I’ll let you know.

Brian_Roland · February 22, 2025, 10:41pm

I am on Windows 11…

Bunch of Screen Shots showing System and Software info

Grabbed your score above and launched it…

But…
It loads, the score, ARIA instances, and seems to be working…each instrument/stave gets its own ARIA instance.

I’ve changed nothing about the setup/mix, and have done a render to mp3…came up with this on the first flow…

benwiggy · February 22, 2025, 10:45pm

Excellent!!

The warning about the template doesn’t matter. This means I can create a PT that will work on both platforms (as long as you’ve downloaded the sforzando plug-in with the latest ARIA engine.)

Here’s some posts on the SFZ forum by David V of Plogue:

So, essentially, the 1.978 engine is actually “more up-to-date” than the Mac’s 2.0xx builds, which were just poorly numbered by MM.

Brian_Roland · February 22, 2025, 10:52pm

I haven’t gone in and looked at what you’ve done here, but to my ears it’s a very nice template knowing many of the strengths and weaknesses of this library over the years.

I’ll look deeper into it at some point
I do notice you’ve used the newer Orchestral Strings stuff from GPO5, and that’s not easy to get sounding right with a interpretive playback engine like Dorico. Good job!

The huge plus is that it seems I can now exchange scores with Mac/Garritan users and we should start out hearing pretty close to the same thing

Janus · February 23, 2025, 12:34am

@benwiggy Thank you. It worked here (without any warning…). Even better, it updated the ARIA Multi as well.

benwiggy · February 23, 2025, 8:52am

I’m going to try adding the GPO Tremolo patch to slot 2, and switching to it as required, as it’s a glaring omission in the GOS patches.

Can you describe what you mean? The ARIA app, and the VST plug-ins all use the ARIA Engine, so if that’s updated, you’ll see that everywhere; but I’m not sure you’ll get any increased function?

Janus · February 23, 2025, 1:36pm

Yes, I know I’m pretty ignorant of these things. (No one ever takes the time to explain what an “engine” is versus “a plug-in” versus “an App” etc…)

My innocent delight was simply that I could re-route your test through the ARIA Multi and it all still works (eliminating the need for 4 ARIA instances, whilst still being able to route the outputs separately to the Dorico mixer).

I’m very grateful for your work on GPO5.

benwiggy · February 23, 2025, 2:02pm

A plug-in is a program than can only run inside another. So a VST needs Dorico to host it. Most VSTs also come with “standalone” apps, which are just the VST wrapped in a minimal application.
In ARIA, this is taken one step further, so the devs made a separate “engine”, which does all the work. The Standalone app, and all the different kinds of plug-in (VST, Apple AU, Avid AAX, CLAP, etc) all just call on the engine, while they deal with the interface and connections.

It’s therefore possible for your VSTs to have a different version number from the engine.

I think I’m right that on Windows, the Multi-output VST2 is only VST2; but I wait to be corrected.

The Mac version does have a multi-output VST3, though the Reverb is still all pushed through channel 1…! (Tested by muting the instrument on channel 1 in Dorico, and you still see the VU go up and down in the mixer.)

Using 4 instances of ARIA uses I think more CPU than 1 multi ARIA with 4 instruments, but no significant difference in memory. (Or is it the other way round… )

If you create an Endpoint with 16 instruments in one VST, then that whole setup gets loaded, even if you just have one Player in Dorico. (E.g. if you fill a multi-VST with 16 Brass instruments, and then create a new Dorico project with just one trumpet staff, then all 16 patches will get loaded.)

Personally, I think it’s a bit more efficient, if perhaps not as tidy, to have one instrument per VST. However, ARIA/Garritan is sufficiently lightweight for the difference not to matter.

Brian_Roland · February 23, 2025, 5:52pm

If the reverbs are disabled, I don’t think there is much if any difference in cpu/memory to have a full instance per stave. It gets more noticeable if many instances are all doing their own unique reverb threads.

Separate instances with reverbs disabled, in my opinion, are good because on Windows VST3 we don’t get multiple audio outputs.

This way we can get more control over external FX for each stave. Main reverb can be shared on Dorico’s aux sends…and it does ship with very good ones.