Go to this (other) forum - very active, nice, and knowledgeable -

https://www.finaleforum.com/viewforum.php?f=5

Since your problem is with Garritan, you may find some answers on the Garritan section of this Community.

Such as here -

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038684493-Garritan-Instruments-with-macOS-10-15-Catalina

Thanks for the link to the other forum. Ironically Garritan support just got back to me - GPO4 no longer works.

That article about Catalina seems out of date, as if someone wrote it without doing a basic test. It took me 5 seconds to see it didn’t work anymore, so it’d be good if it reflected what will and won’t work, including GPO5 on Big Sur (which I’ve asked about).

I am still able to use GPO4 on my Windows 10 machine, but (IIRC) here is the catch. The Aria Player on the GPO4 DVD is out of date; so you need to use the current Aria Player. I am using Aria Player 1.959 with engine 1.967.

I’ve done all I can on Mac, aside from opening the installer, rippling stuff out and trying to figure out how to get it working. Even with the latest player it fails to install properly.

Understandably you are frustrated. I would be too.

Given that, have you...

1. Loaded the GPO4 sounds? (How? Do you have a DVD drive on your Mac?)
2. Subsequently loaded the Aria Player from the latest Finale Install package? (What version of Finale are you using? AFAIK you haven't said.)
3. Gone to the Aria Player installed from your Finale Install Package and used the Player and Engine update buttons in the lower left corner of the Setup tab to load the latest player and engine?

I’m not frustrated. I purchased GPO4 in 2011. A lot has changed since then... so, it doesn’t surprise me that it doesn’t work.

There’s a GPO4 installer available. I installed the latest Aria player (there’s a download for that too) and tried to install GPO4 afterwards. The Mac installer for GPO4 fails. No one on the planet can get it installed under Catalina.

End of story, really. I use Logic, but Aria doesn’t appear as an available instrument... I assume because it doesn’t have any sounds as a part of it.

MM Support will not answer questions about Beta OS — very few companies do.

I have no problem using GPO 5 in Catalina.

Lots of companies talk about betas. It’s not that they state, “It’s guaranteed to work.” but rather, “We will make sure it works.” or “The current version will not be supported.” Makemusic thus far seem to be of the attitude- “Uh, if it doesn’t work then we’ll let you know when the next OS is out.”

As I said to support, that’s a pretty strange approach, because it’s like they don’t have any coders to fix what might break the software. And let’s be honest, chances are Big Sur isn’t that dramatic a change that it’ll break a bit of software like this beyond what can be fixed without a massive drama. If it does, they should fix it because this is something they are currently selling (we’re not talking about an older deprecated version here).

If they don’t want to support it, simply say, “We no longer provide support for the software, but you are welcome to purchase it at your own risk.” This would help clarify things for someone like me who wouldn’t mind upgrading.

Mike, good to know GPO5 currently works in Catalina. The issue I was having was with the installer. Have you tried reinstalling in Catalina?

For all your speculating and guessing, the fact is that MM, like most companies, doesn’t talk about beta.

>that’s a pretty strange approach<

Says you. My experience is that it’s normal. They may or may not make a short announcement shortly before release. They will make an announcement shortly after — either that 26 is compatible or that it isn’t yet. Just like everyone else. Catalina was just 10 1/2 months ago so there’s recent experience.

I have GPO5, and my only complaint is that I think that for all the additional string options, the strings sounded better in GPO4.

Before laying out money for GPO5, I suggest trying the NotePerformer demo, if one has not already. For any decrease in sound quality (and I'm not crazy about the strings sounds in NP either) some professional orchestrators maintain that NP represents the balance between the various instruments more realistically than many other sound libraries (certainly more so than Garritan). While I might not use NP for final production, it is a good program for working out orchestrations, and (while not a s responsive as Daniel Spreadbury--who is?) Arne W is responsive to (reasonable) user issues.

Mike, I have a massive amount of experience in regards to what’s normal in the software world. Maybe you’re like me and we’ve simply had had different experiences. Or, maybe you don’t know what you’re talking about. Either way, pointless discussion. I’ve seen hundreds of companies approach new OS releases in much better ways.
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Thanks J Adrian for the suggestion.

>Mike, I have a massive amount of experience in regards to what’s normal in the software world.<

Actually, your posts do not demonstrate this. So, for curiosity's sake, what companies have actually announced anything about Big Sur compatibility? Sorry but official announcements only. Post links — without those, it doesn't exist. User board speculation (such as this) doesn't count. Please contain it to professional apps and not one-person shops like Reaper or Overture etc. 

The only one I've found is Yamaha (Steinberg—Dorico) which mentions it in their list of "big technology transitions ahead" and nothing more than that.

https://blog.dorico.com/2020/07/dorico-3-5-10-update-released-with-improved-figured-bass-expression-maps-and-more/

This "ghost town" sure seems to have a lot of discussions going on among the specters. :-)

Ha! Are you familiar with Ruddigore? 

Myself as that jolly spectre:

There’s nothing like a clickbait title to wake the dead ;)

So Mike, a few things. I wasn’t strictly talking about companies announcing things. I was talking about a company that says, “We’ll find out later if it works.” That, like I said before, seems like Makemusic’s approach. Even after Catalina Makemusic haven’t stated much about OS support. It seems to be a case of, “If it works it works.” There is a reason Apple release developer betas and hardware for developers, and it’s not just for the fun of it.

Secondly, you’re making some weird statements here. Since when is a ‘professional app’ defined by development by more than one person? Why are we excluding them from the magical number of apps announcing Big Sur compatibility, that will satisfy you? Why are you only listing music apps?

As I said, this is a pointless discussion. Enjoy your opinion. Props to you for actually looking for companies that have announced support for Big Sur, but I’ll stick with my own perspective.

And of course, no carriage returns for me on this ‘forum’...

"And of course, no carriage returns for me on this ‘forum’..."

You have to double-space. It looks like it's spaced in the text editor, but it's not. Also, if typing from a phone, you'll have to edit the post to get paragraphs spaced.

Thanks George!

I blush for my wild extravagances,

But be so kind

To bear in mind,

I was the victim of circumstances.

And Mike, in the image you look the very "picture" of health.