Any other music composing software that sounds like real instruments?

[Spatula]

I'm tired of all that midi and finale sound reproduction stuff, because when you compose a piece and even try to add the dynamics into it, the computer doesn't read it probably because of memory or RAM or whatever issues. 

Any other products out there?  I'm not rich but willing to spend say about $125-300 for a good software program that will let me compose and do a whole whack of stuff like the pedaling and the 8vas etc....

Anyone?

[Tash]

not sibelius, the instruments sound like crap and it doesn't do trills or anything agh it's so annoying sometimes!

[super_ardua]

not sibelius, the instruments sound like crap and it doesn't do trills or anything agh it's so annoying sometimes!

I think thats because of your soundcard

[Spatula]

Something that sounds closely but not perfectly like a piano or trumpet etc for each respective instrument... yeah I'm still looking out for one of those.

[DarkWind]

not sibelius, the instruments sound like crap and it doesn't do trills or anything agh it's so annoying sometimes!

It does trills, and the instruments are your sound card. Sibelius is a great program. Anyways, what you might be looking for are samples. Garritan Personal Orchestra, East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra, and Vienna Symphonic Library are all good. The way I listed them go from cheap to expensive, VSL costing in the high thousands range.

[Tash]

oh yeah it probably is my soundcard forgot about that. but it doesn't do trills i swear! maybe there's a more updated version that does...

[Bob]

Yes, it costs a few thousand dollars to get sounds that are "acceptable"  -- They sound like a video game, but you can tell which instrument is which.  You need a sequencer, keyboard, MIDI hookups, and a synthesizer.  The synthesizer is just a box that produces the sounds.  Depending on how good those sounds are and how well you know how to use a sequencer and keyboard to recreate the instrument sound you want -- that will determine how close you can come to sounding like the real thing. 

Interesting point -- I read an article about this once.  Part of being able to make a good synthesized acoustic instrument sound is the SKILL of being able to create the sound -- knowing exactly what the instrument sound does (the envelope of each note, what the instrument can and cannot do, knowing how the tone changes in each register... things like that.) and knowing how to create that with your sequencer and keyboard.  All that takes practice.  Which is to say that you can have the greatest synthesizer in the world, but if you don't practice the skill of using it, then your sounds can still suck.

[super_ardua]

Yes, it costs a few thousand dollars to get sounds that are "acceptable"  -- They sound like a video game, but you can tell which instrument is which.  You need a sequencer, keyboard, MIDI hookups, and a synthesizer.  The synthesizer is just a box that produces the sounds.  Depending on how good those sounds are and how well you know how to use a sequencer and keyboard to recreate the instrument sound you want -- that will determine how close you can come to sounding like the real thing. 

Not really,  I have a free Steinway Model C sounfont,  which is quite convincing (apart from itlacks a bit of ooomph on the bass notes)

[DarkWind]

Yes, but Pianos aren't as hard to sample as strings. Strings have an incredible variety of sounds. The strings I heard used from Isao Tomita in his version of The Planets sound %99 like the real thing.