StaffPad vs The World's Greatest Symphonies (Sound Demo)

[@BrandonWalkerMusic]

Well done Milo. I had KZbin in the background while doing other stuff. This video came up and I was enjoying it and then checked to see what I was listening to. I would have never guessed it was StaffPad! Fantastic.

[@MiloPaulus]

And isn't that just the greatest compliment to StaffPad? 😉 That you don't even realize that you're not listening to a real orchestral performance? It still blows my mind every time I use it. Thank you Brandon for checking it out! Big fan of your work as well!

[@MusicMichelleDeGroot]

Amazing demonstration! It sounds incredible. Great job as always. I wish you a great day!

[@MiloPaulus]

Thank you Michelle!

[@antonioromopiano]

Wow! This is an incredible experiment, Milo!! It sounds amazing!! Very, very impressed! Thank you for sharing this with us. Hope you are doing well. 😊🎹

[@MiloPaulus]

Thank you. Yes it impressed me deeply as well. I'm definitely going to be writing in this way for a lot of new compositions for sure.

[@edmasters4454]

Thanks for your time working on this and sharing the results. For the most part, very impressive sound. A few places the libraries don't fully repro the instrument sound as one would expect. But it's really amazing how good the overall result -- what an amazing time to have a tool like StaffPad available. Well done!

[@MiloPaulus]

Yes, each library in StaffPad has its strengths and weaknesses, and not one is perfect. But it's a tremendously impressive and inspirational tool to use.

[@gerardochamorro8304]

Impressive your work, and impressive the capabilities of this amazing program (Staffpad). Right now, the best solution for COMPOSING orchestral music digitally, not worrying about the production process.

[@MiloPaulus]

Thank you Gerardo! I completely agree. This program is revolutionary!

[@jspianos]

I truly know you are a music lover and you put it for fun.... omg Respect you my friend that I much enjoyed this afternoon I had a long day today and you just rid of all my stresses :)

[@MiloPaulus]

Haha, yeah, I started it as practice to learn 😁 Glad you liked it!

[@JULIOAIS]

Great job. You know HOW TO LISTEN. That's why this is a perfect job

[@MiloPaulus]

Thank you kindly Julio!

[@karlaskmusic]

Fantastic demonstration of StaffPad’s capability! Great job, Milo!

[@MiloPaulus]

Thank you Karl!

[@jeffreyhartmannmusic]

A wonderful treat Milo!!!! Thanks for sharing my friend... jeff

[@MiloPaulus]

You're welcome Jeff. Glad you liked it.

[@SergioBerchenko]

Congratulations, excellent selection of works and composers. Without a doubt, Staffpad is a great tool for various uses in music.

[@MiloPaulus]

Thank you Sergio! It sure is.

[@rajorand3792]

Impressive! Thank you for sharing

[@MiloPaulus]

Right? Glad you enjoyed it.

[@lucamadeus]

Fabulous work, Milo!

[@MiloPaulus]

Thank you so much Luca! I'm glad you liked it

[@thomasdonnelly3263]

This is truly remarkable technology!! I've just finished a degree in music composition and I've been working with Sibelius and NotePerformer for several years now but WOW, this is a different league of realism and expression. Though this isn't perfect (still sounds a little computerized in some areas), there are times when it genuinely sounds almost indistinguishable from a live orchestra, the closest to the real thing I've heard yet. Especially impressed with the strings because they are usually the most difficult to sound convincing. I now need to buy this haha!!!

[@MiloPaulus]

It sure is Thomas! I'm glad you enjoyed my demonstration. I've heard some good demo's with NotePerformer as well, but none come close to StaffPad IMO. The immense usability the app has is also remarkable (I adore the handwriting recognition) It definitely isn't perfect in all places (I chose these wide variety of symphonies to demonstrate its strengths as well as weaknesses) but as a whole it gets the job done with remarkable efficiency and quality. The Berlin Strings are indeed definitely the best pack you can get in the app as far as I'm concerned. It's a spectacular sound.

[@karlosdergal]

Majestic!!!!

[@MiloPaulus]

Yes, right?

[@downpatmusic]

Amazing idea and work here inputting these scores one note/part/dynamic at a time! I suspect this was a year project. I hope you can sell this to Staff Pad to use as their demos because I'm buying Staff Pad after seeing/hearing this work you've created so perfectly. Berlin samples are doing a good job playing your parts and annotations (articulations, dynamics, etc...). Great work. Great respect.

[@MiloPaulus]

Thank you! I'm glad my video helped you! Yes it was a passion project for sure. No I didn't get payed by StaffPad to make this unfortunately hahaha

[@jrd461]

Awesome demo. In what order would recommend getting the libraries if buying them one by one.

[@MiloPaulus]

Glad you like it! I have almost every library at this point but the first ones I bought was the Berlin set (just the Strings, Woods and Brass: in that order I bought them in) and those are still the libraries I use at least 90% of the time. Definitely my recommendation.

[@thomasjnelson1]

Thanks for doing this. I really enjoyed listening.

[@MiloPaulus]

Glad you liked it Thomas!

[@Piratebreadstick]

Wonderful. Thank you.

[@MiloPaulus]

I'm glad you liked it.

[@JudgeFredd]

Great video !

[@MiloPaulus]

Thanks!

[@skipstream2]

God - that's a LOT of work you put into this - makes my hand cramp thinking about it - let alone the frustration StaffPad creates for me sometimes just putting a simple slur in or an accidental haha. Sounds great - amazing for an iPad with only $400 worth of software. A full midi mockup in a DAW with their big brother counterparts would sound even better of course - but then you're talking $2k of software and VI's. But damn - an iPad!!! It's amazing isn't it

[@MiloPaulus]

Yeah it was hahaha, but I had a lot of fun putting it together and I learned a lot of StaffPad notation and orchestration in the process! I did cheat a few times, and imported MusicXML files of the symphonies into StaffPad (that still needed quite a bit of tweaking for optimal performance) It certainly is amazing! I honestly don't think a DAW mock up with the full libraries would sound better, actually (the StaffPad programming on these libraries is insane). Some sections might sound better, but then you're talking about days and days of MIDI programming to get nearly the same result, and this is played straight from notation. So who wins in the end? I think the StaffPad user ;-)

[@TonyMcGreal]

Brilliant music 😎😎

[@MiloPaulus]

Yes it is ☺️

[@YoshikoLP]

Like11 for you Milo. Awesome as always!

[@MiloPaulus]

Thank you!

[@erikpianist6890]

What a work! I am struggling just getting about a few measures recognizing my handwriting! How many days did you get used to writing and letting staffpad recognize your notes and symbols? I am still having a hard time writing everything smoothly.

[@MiloPaulus]

Thanks. Only a few days actually, maybe a week tops. Just practice and give it time. I just adapted my handwriting to what StaffPad recognises best (look up some SP handwriting tutorials/tips-and-tricks). Because I didn't have much experience writing notation by hand before using SP, I didn't have any habits to un-learn.

[@dogacbebe]

Thanks. Great job.How can we get your works as Staffpad file? Is it possible?

[@MiloPaulus]

I made this file quite a long time ago and it’s corrupted now. i cant open it anymore. Staffpad crashes everytime

[@MunchMuch]

Great stuff.had to join you

[@MiloPaulus]

Glad you like it!

[@mohammadkhodadadi2543]

Hi I have staffpad and I bought Berlin strings and I want to buy brass and wood and percussion What do you suggest for me? Mo from Iran

[@MiloPaulus]

Hi Mo, For brass I recommend CineBrass. They're the most versatile, with the most options (mutes for instance) with a punchy sound. For woodwinds Spitfire and Berlin are fairly interchangeable. I guess go for Berlin to blend with the strings. Percussion, I would just buy the one that's cheapest when it's on sale since they're all fairly interchangeable. And since Cine has the most instruments and are most often on sale, you should go for those.

[@yifuhood]

! I didn't know this exist

[@MiloPaulus]

Glad to introduce it to you!

[@asemyousef9297]

I will definitely get my wallet out for StaffPad !!!! This is an amazing sound

[@MiloPaulus]

Isn't it just? I'm definitely doing my traditional Orchestral compositions in StaffPad from now on.

[@GrahamEnglish]

Wonderful! I'm still torn between buying Spitfire libraries because that's what I use in Logic. But these samples are quite good, too. Buy them all? ;)

[@MiloPaulus]

Isn't it just? I initially wanted to get the Spitfire ones as well since they are the most famous and established company that you can buy from within StaffPad, but upon listening to a lot of different StaffPad demo's, I came to the conclusion that the Berlin Series is the best (most of the demo's here on KZbin use them) and most consistent sounding. Buying them all (I wish I could afford that 😅) and mixing-and-matching the instruments is definitely the way to go to since no library or instrument section is perfect, and some instruments sound better from different companies. But I wanted consistency and ease-of-use, which is why I went with the full Berlin set, and just leave it at that. No hassle and mid-piece instrument switching, etc.

[@fjcmxx]

Faltan instrumentos para Staffpad: sax, fluggerhorn, euphonium, etc.

[@MiloPaulus]

Sí, tiene usted razón

[@maxalaintwo3578]

I'm putting quite a bit in the piggy bank for this app!

[@MiloPaulus]

Yep... All I want for Christmas .... is yo--StaffPad!

[@camerademuzica]

hello, what ipad did u use here?

[@MiloPaulus]

iPad Pro 2020, not the largest screen size

[@camerademuzica]

@@MiloPaulus how is performing? i've heard that there might be some freezing issues with old ipads with this app, especially when performing loads of tracks. Could you advise?

[@MiloPaulus]

I've never had any performance issues with my iPad. 2020 is hardly an "old" iPad. I know people are running it on ipad air's and mini's.

[@camerademuzica]

@@MiloPaulus thank you so much! keep up the good work :)

[@MiloPaulus]

Will do Antonie!

[@jonathankupper1793]

Really torn on whether or not to 'take the plunge' and go all in StaffPad + Libraries. I already own a DAW with several computers and high end libraries, etc. But honestly, the INSANELY labor intensive process of producing decent-sounding music with midi/samples/mixing--*after* having composed something--has increasingly made me just not want to bother. More often than not, I feel like I'd rather hold out and just record my music with live players. I honestly feel like investing in a DAW was, all told, not a very good decision at all. StaffPad, however, at first glance, would appear to put a lot of that process under the hood, so to speak, so that you don't have to deal with all that. But the big question remaining, which I'm having difficulty ascertaining as I watch and listen to all these demos, is exactly *how much* ultimate quality is one sacrificing in order to work this way (i.e. so much more musically and intuitively instead of the weird, twisted world within a world that is midi)... Some of these demos sound comparable to what you could produce on an actual DAW, but some things, to me, do not sound as good. Could this be addressed/tweaked within StaddPad...or whatever the process is by which these mockups are actually rendered into audio? With a DAW and high end libraries, if your programming is good and you go the *mindboggling* amount of work it takes to get it, you can get pretty darn close to indistinguishable from the real deal these days... So I guess my question is, whatever the process may be, is this possible in StaffPad + libraries as well? Sorry for the rambling... Just really on the fence about this one.

[@MiloPaulus]

Hi Jonathan. I totally get that struggle. It was the same thing I struggled with, before making the transition to StaffPad full time (at least for all of my "traditionally" orchestral composing). What I love most about the app is that all the hours I used to spend on fiddling with making samples sound good and other technical nonsense, are now fully dedicated to composing music. I spend 0 hours of my compositional process on technical things. If you notate and orchestrate properly, StaffPad will make it sound great straight away. The app is far from perfect (it gets substantially better with each monthly update though, which is exciting), not every instrument sounds as good as others (or as my DAW), and there are some glitches. But overall, I'd happily trade in those drawbacks for a far more streamlined, fluid and inspiring compositional process. You asked what the process is by which these mockups are rendered. And that's the fun bit. There is no process. Like I said, if you compose, notate and orchestrate your music properly, StaffPad will instantly make it sound great from playback (shitty and unbalanced orchestration will sound shitty of course. And that is something you totally can get away with in a DAW with enough audio polishing and MIDI programming). What you hear in this video, is the way it sounds right away from the app on playback. All I did is export the audio as a WAV. If you have any other specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I've been using StaffPad for months now, and my last few compositions were written in it exclusively. I'm never switching back to a DAW for this kind of composing, that's for sure.

[@jonathankupper1793]

@@MiloPaulus Wow, that is a pretty shining endorsement. You may just be inching me over the line. Part of my reticence, I suppose, is that I do not own an oversized tablet, and would probably have to invest in one (was thinking of MS Surface Pro). How much are you able to tweak what it gives you?--(fine touches, mix/pan, etc.)... Also, is StaffPad just as functional as Sibelius/Finale--(in terms of versatility/presentation etc.)--as an actual music notation/publishing program? I heard that the aforementioned programs do not import/export well with StaffPad and, generally speaking, the programs don't really 'play ball' with each other very well. It would be nice to be able to go back and forth between the two if you have a piece where you really want to make a nice and polished/shiny published-quality score.

[@MiloPaulus]

Thanks, hahaha. Yes I'm really enthusiastic about the app. - I use an iPad Pro 11 inch. It's not a big tablet at all, but since I'm writing all the way zoomed in for precision I really don't mind not having a bigger one. Having the appropriate horsepower and storage is more important for smooth playback and possibility of expanding. Look at the StaffPad site for a list of tablets with optimal compatibility before you purchase a new tablet. - You can draw in and tweak your own expression lanes, volume, and panning as detailed and precise as you want for every instrument staff. You can set your own amount of reverb, master compression and master volume for the entire project. In my experience, I've never messed with any of these settings except the reverb amount. If you notate the dynamics and hairpins properly, it will draw in the expression lane automatically for you based on the dynamics you wrote. But you can fiddle if you want. I've never bothered to mix anything I write in StaffPad either, because if you orchestrate properly the balance should be correct anyway. If you need to mix instrument parts to balance it out, it usually means you orchestrated it poorly. - StaffPad's main functionality is and always will be as a compositional tool, NOT as an engraving software like what Sibelius and Finale offer. I think you can create perfectly presentable, polished and understandable scores straight from StaffPad, but there are quite a few engraving mechanisms that the app does not have (yet). I do think as the app ages with more updates, it's only a matter of time before all of these engraving tools become available to StaffPad as well, and software like Sibelius becomes completely obsolete. I used to use Sibelius for notation but I haven't gone back to it since getting StaffPad. Once you get used to the app, the ease-of-use of it is too attractive compared to the infuriating, headache-inducing UI and user experience of Sibelius. - I've only used StaffPad/Sibelius (my previous notation software of choice) and my DAW back-and-forth a few times, but all those times each application was perfectly capable of working back-and-forth. StaffPad can export your music as Print/PDF, Audio (MP3, WAV, AAC and individual stems), MusicXML, and MIDI and my DAW and Sibelius read my files correctly every time. StaffPad can import XML and MIDI as well, which generally goes well too, granted the file it is importing is clean (tightly quantized MIDI, etc.) and uncorrupted. If you are working in Sibelius with proper looking score, StaffPad will import it looking like that. A bit long, but I hope it answers your questions hahaha. Let me know if you want to know anything else.

[@jonathankupper1793]

@@MiloPaulus Thanks, Milo. You've given me a lot to think about. Very helpful. :-)

[@MiloPaulus]

You're welcome!

[@Old-time]

You have magic. Do you ever add Staffpad played works for your music publishing for your streams. I listen to you on Apple music now Milo ;) I must ask as it sounds so real. You have stolen the golden ticket away from all the others with the best.

[@MiloPaulus]

Thank you for the kind words. I am glad you're liking my work! I will officially publish my StaffPad-played compositions once I've written enough music to fill a cohesive album. At the moment I do not have enough material yet. Roughly 2 half-finished albums.

[@maximillianmorrison9865]

Brass and string don’t articulate quite right. It’s almost there though. Needs to better match with articulation.

[@MiloPaulus]

Correct, there are some playback issues. But all libraries in StaffPad are a little bit flawed in some way. Berlin is by far the most consistent though.

[@golbzrtmontzgn7927]

Albinoni's adagio is not from Albinoni tho...

[@MiloPaulus]

Sorry