My list of things that worked to get playback for MS4 on Windows.

• Dec 20, 2022 - 17:00

Aren't we all just having a blast with MS4. Just kidding. If you are having trouble just getting it to play, try the following.

Read the minimum specs required to make MS4 play correctly. They make a difference. Only one of my computers has those specs, and MS4 works fine on it. The others I’ve been able to get acceptable playback by doing some or all of the following. Bear in mind that the only spec my other computers lacked was the 4 core CPU.

Turn up the buffer in Preferences I/O. And make sure your best Audio Device is chosen. Not System Default if you have a choice.

Right click on the speaker icon in the taskbar. Select "Sounds". In the popup select "Playback". Make sure the audio device you are using in MuseScore is checked in this window. Click next to the icon and select the "Properties" button. In the new popup, select "Advanced". Here you can uncheck "exclusive Mode" and also take the bit rate down a notch.

As a last resort, I have to use my audio interface on one of my computers. Mine is a Focusrite Scarlett.


Comments

In reply to by zacharykndavi1

Remember this for Windows. This would be the taskbar on the desktop. There is a speaker icon normally used to adjust the volume. On one of my systems it is found by clicking on the UP arrow in the same area. Once you find it, right click on it. Sounds is one of the options.

In reply to by zacharykndavi1

Yes, anytime you make any change to the output device, including bit rate or switching the device for another, the software will crash. This is normal.
That image looks like the headset is mono. Also FM quality is as low as you can go, I believe.

As an experiment, try using your computer's built in speakers. As the instructions state, don't set the I/O setting to default. But rather the actual name of your built in device (like Realtek, or Conexant)

In reply to by bobjp

HI, sadly the software is still very laggy when I turn on realtek, though only for larger orchestral scores it seems. I takes around 3 or four seconds just to click a notehead and it stutters a lot.

I can just continue using Musescore 3 for orchestral works for now.

                thank you, bobjp for your help I do hope this will be fixed in the future.

In reply to by zacharykndavi1

Not sure why my comment formatted like that.

Also I wonder if simply changing the soundfonts in MuseScore4 to maybe some that were downloaded in Musescore3 would effect anything? Is there a way I can transfer or copy soundfonts over if so?

It's disappointing really because Musesounds is still pretty good Imo.

In reply to by zacharykndavi1

As I understand it MuseSounds is incompatible with everything but MS4.
I have $25 audio interface that helps take the load of the built in hardware. I also have Focusrite interface that works even better.
The sad fact is that an 8 core CPU, 16 GB of ram, and an SSD are what is recommended. Most folks won't want to spend anything to get MS4 to run. Each of us must decide. Though it seems to me that my $100 Focusrite is a whole lot cheaper that a new computer.

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