Muse Sounds playback is ahead of time on all score projects.
I frequently use Muse Sounds with my projects on musescore 4 and I've begun having playback issues with the string and brass libraries when the instruments are playing without articulation. The sounds will play a few miliseconds ahead of their notated time on the score and will be out of sync with the rest of the instruments that are not relying on the Muse Sounds library. I tried to find an option to reinstall the library on Muse Hub with no luck. Would appreciate help resolving this issue.
Comments
Please post a score. And explain what you mean by "without articulation".
Reinstall won't do anything.
In reply to Please post a score. And… by bobjp
By articulation I meant the default legato samples that play when you input notes for instruments using the MuseSounds library. As of right now, I've only detected this issue with the strings and brass libraries which I rely on heavily for most of my projects. I've attached a score and the playback issue persists on all projects with Muse Sounds libraries installed, but it's especially noticeable on brass & strings.
In reply to By articulation I meant the… by celeconto111
Here's some things to think about.
This is a huge score. Even so, I don't hear any problems on my system. Does yours meet the specs needed to run MU4?
In order for you to investigate further, I would turn off reverb on all channels so that you can better hear what is going on.
Also, pan your score. As it is, all instruments are panned center so that they are sounding on top of each other. Might cause problems with playback.
These are recorded sound. So they won't mix the same as real players.
Don't forget to have proper dynamic markings throughout. If you have a p, then a cresc. hairpin to another p, MU4 doesn't know what to do with that. It might cause problems with playback.
BTW, you may see (instrument name) 1, and (instrument name) 2 in the list. That refers to playing style and not the desk. 1 is a more expressive style than 2.
In reply to Here's some things to think… by bobjp
My scores are usually not that large. Even with projects that maybe only 9 staves max I'm encountering the same issue with the regular legato samples of the Muse Sounds libraries. The issue affects playback on ALL scores I have with MS4 Libraries loaded. I would send a smaller file but I would have to email it to you individually.
Update: I transferred my files over from my Macbook Pro 2022 to a Windows Desktop and this issue with the Muse Sounds libraries is no longer present. I already tried uninstalling MuseScore 4 on my macbook, reinstalling the Muse Sounds libraries, and factory resetting MuseScore 4 since upon reinstall it kept my data and cache. Nothing has worked so far in removing the issue.
This could be related to either one of the three problems reported here on Github : https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/19232, https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/20019 and https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/20021 (most likely the two last ones if your problem occured very recently).
Thanks for flagging, I'm having similar issues that have suddenly appeared in 4.1.
In other 'variations' of this 'unevenness' of playback, I have brass playing straight quavers as dotted rhythms (as if struggling to catch up) or, at the other extreme, playing a crotchet too fast (passing it as if a quaver).
All seems a bit 'broken' at the moment. Hope the great team manages to mend these, we are lucky to have MS4 otherwise.
Update: I’ve opened the same scores on my windows desktop and this issue isn’t present there. I have a macbook pro 2023 with 16 GB RAM and the playback has not been an issue until a day ago. I factory reset my mac and I’m STILL encountering this issue with playback, even upon creation of new scores, any input consisting of quarter notes or longer gets pushed about an eighth note ahead of their intended execution when no articulations such as accents or staccatos are applied. I’ve noticed this especially with the Strings and Brass libraries with the Trumpet, Trumpets, Violin 1 & 2 Solo and Section samples that come with Muse Sounds. These are essential parts of the library for me and major dysfunctions of this sort are a dealbreaker for me to continue using and advocating for MuseScore’s software in its entirety if it remains unfixed.
In reply to Update: I’ve opened the same… by celeconto111
I don't know if MAC has this setting or not. In MuseScore, go to Edit>Preferences>I/O. If there is a Buffer Size setting, change it to 4096. This type of thing is often more a system problem rather than a software problem. An OS reset and software reinstall can't do it. There are several audio device settings in Windows that can help if needed. Mac is different. Not better or worse, just different. I have Windows machines where I had to change several settings and some machines not at all. I'm not defending MuseScore. Goodness knows that there are many things I don't like about it. But there are ways to make things better.
In reply to I don't know if MAC has this… by bobjp
Changing the buffer size doesn't resolve the problem. What is happening here could probably be considered the opposite of latency, except I know it's an issue with the coding of the sampled instruments on my system.
I've been using MuseScore 4 since June 2023, with Muse Sounds library installed, and it worked beautifully for me, no rhythmic issues with playback whatsoever until about 2 days ago. The default soundfont that comes with MuseScore (MS Basic) plays fine, rhythmically speaking. Everything I write plays on time and on tempo, and is rhythmically accurate.
My problem lies within my copy of the Muse Sounds library, as many of the sampled instruments are playing ahead of the tempo on quarter notes (or longer notes) in their default legato mode (without staccato, accent, or pizz. articulations). The standard legato samples are being triggered early while the other samples of said instruments are playing normally. I noticed this bug mostly on the Trumpet, Horn in F, Violin 1, Violin 2, Violins 1, Violins 2, Violas, Cellos, and Contrabasses sampled instruments.
This bug presents itself as an obvious hindrance in current writing of scores with the Muse Sounds library, as now many of the instruments play ahead of time and are also rhythmically inaccurate if the phrases written contain eighth or sixteenth notes mixed with quarter or half notes (as those seem to play on time while quarter notes or longer will rush ahead of time). I've reached out to customer support to explain my issue and I'm currently awaiting a response. I'm hoping the development team can help me resolve this issue because I used my MacBook regularly to write out my ideas and it would be massively inconvenient to rely on their library to do so now.
I have tried attaching an MP3 but apparently the forum won't allow any audio attachments.
In reply to Changing the buffer size… by celeconto111
I loaded your score into three different systems,
System 1 does not have a powerful enough CPU. has SSD and 8gb ram. The trumpet part played incorrectly. Much like your recording.
System 2 has a better CPU ( still below MS4 specs), SSD, 8gb ram. Same results as your recording. Trumpet not correct.
System 3, 10 core i7 CPU, 16gb ram, SSD. Trumpet part plays properly as written. This system matches the preferred specs.
What are your system specs?
In reply to I loaded your score into… by bobjp
MacBook Pro 2022
Apple M2 Chip
16GB RAM
1TB SSD
macOS Ventura before factory reset
macOS Sonoma after factory reset
In reply to MacBook Pro 2022 Apple M2… by celeconto111
You would think that your computer would be fine. And yet I know of people with more powerful Windows systems that have problems. But to show you that it can be a combination of specs and settings, I ran one more experiment.
On one of my older computers that didn't play your file correctly, I hooked up my Focusrite interface. I set the bit rate (not buffer size) to 41kHz. Which is the lowest setting for that device. Trumpet still did not play properly. Then I set it up to 48kHz and the trumpet played perfectly. There are other playback problems with other scores because this system is underpowered. But your trumpet problem was gone.
And finally, I disconnected the Focusrite and set the default audio device to 48kHz and the trumpet played correctly. Other problems still show up, so it's probably not worth it to me to leave it there. But it doesn't seem to me to be a problem with my copy of the sounds. Or yours, either.