They seem to work for me. Can you hear other Youtube and SoundCloud examples? Have you turned it off and on again? ;-)

MM are not generally loquacious about future plans. I asked recently, and they 'could not speak to any updates, though the Garritan product line is still one that we here at MakeMusic remain committed to."

With the lack of clarity on MacOS compatibility, silence on the blog, exclusion from Black Friday deals, meagre staff presence on this forum, and absence of simple fixes to GPO5 that could have been effortlessly provided over the last 4 years, it's not clear how their commitment manifests itself. I realise these are difficult times, however.

Vanessa,

Which Garritan libraries are you thinking about purchasing? Yes, they are getting old. I'm not optimistic about updates, but that is just my opinion.

There are many sample libraries available, in all price ranges. The one thing that Garritan libraries have going for it, is its ability to interface with Finale. But I'm not sure if all Garritan libraries interface as easily as GPO.

The one 3rd party library that does work easily with Finale is NotePerformer. Read more here. Make sure to listen to the comparisons, between Garritan & NotePerformer playback.

//www.scoringnotes.com/reviews/noteperformer-3-1/ 

And for a further comparison, here's a mockup of ET that someone did. Don't know anything about him, just found this while googling.

He used a free sample library from VSL, the BIg Bang Orchestra. It comes in a free limited version and a paid version that's more complete. This is the free version being played from a DAW. Finale is not used here. This is just an example of what you can create at home with today's technology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pqcICVJdq4&feature=emb_logo 

Firstly, that comparison is between NotePerformer and the GIFF samples, which are significantly inferior to GPO.

GPO does work out of the box with Finale, but that only provides a fraction of its capabilities, without creating your own expressions with playback settings. This capability can equally be used in other apps, like Logic, Cubase, and Dorico.

Most libraries seem to cater to producing 'Film score'-style arrangements - sweeping ensemble strings and brass, and articulated wind sections. But that's only one style of music, and other styles are not suited to samples designed for that. NotePerformer similarly is good at what it does, but there are things it doesn't do, and there's no way to configure it.

GPO provides a larger, more versatile range of instruments than many other libraries (unless you spend a grand). 

I'm having something of a renaissance, using GPO5 in Dorico. I truly think that if MM went back to their archive of the recordings, they could add a few more samples from those sessions, improve the instrument definitions, and produce a GPO6 or 5.5 for a minimal amount of effort, and which would breath new life into the library. 

Here's some excerpts of things I've done with GPO recently, with almost no fine tuning:

The obligatory Four Seasons:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gxrqhvqs6myvt20/Vivaldi%20L%27inverno.mp3?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/u7ezfccxbt0u4wr/Vivaldi%20Primavera.mp3?dl=0

Holst Planets:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/acu1oormp5z5g1c/GPO%20Mercury.mp3?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8idj9kxdtb1bm3o/Jupiter.mp3?dl=0

Enigma Variations:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qovy2bs8s3vey1q/EnigmaVar.mp3?dl=0

RVW Fantasia on Tallis:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ywo4jjccwfkb0i7/VW%20Fantasia.mp3?dl=0

Overture from Lotti's opera Teofane:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1hj9r3zf5ffkvbd/Lotti%20Teofane%20Overture.mp3?dl=0

The GIFF samples are not inferior to GPO, they are of the same quality. The GIFF samples are taken from GPO and other Garritan libraries.

Wiggy, I'm glad you're happy with GPO and that it works for you. However I like exploring other options and finding if there's something that works better for me.

GIFF certainly isn't the best selection of Garritan instruments. So I think it's wrong to dismiss "Garritan" as a whole against NP on the basis of GIFF. 

But yes, of course, one size doesn't fit all.

The good thing about NP is that you can trial it before buying - unlike many of the more expensive libraries, where you only really get to find out if it's suitable after purchase.

I've bought two choir libraries, each several hundred dollars; both of which have major failings. Soundiron's Requiem Light is terribly flat - on certain notes - as if they've used a different temperament. And the Player for EW's Symphonic Choir doesn't work with Dorico, limiting several of the features. 

I got GPO when it first came out, 2004, 2005 I don't remember exactly. But it feels to me that the Garritan products are not being actively developed and updated any longer. I was very optimistic when the Abbey Road piano came out. It's still considered one of the finest sampled pianos available. But they didn't continue with. They should have come out with the Abbey Road "Eleanor Rigby" string quartet. It just feels to me that the Garritan products are an afterthought. IMO there should be new product coming out each year. Although I do realize that things are different right now.

I also miss being able to contact Gary Garritan if you needed to. Or Tom Hopkins, the GPO programmer. They were always easily accessible. We've lost that. I am glad that Make Music apparently corresponds with NotePerformer. And if there's a problem with NotePerformer, you can email Arne, the programmer and get an answer in a day or so.

Garritan libraries remain a great value. I wish they were updated to take advantage of the many new ideas which are used in sampling today.