Overture 4 Pre-Release Special Offer

[Joseph Burrell]

Overture 4 Pre-Release Special Offer:

Starting today, September 1st, Overture 4 will be available as a download only purchase. This pre-release special offer will be available for a minimum of 15 days. Depending on the response to this offer we may extend it an additional 15 days. After the pre-release and the boxed version becomes retail ready, the price may increase. This download only purchase option is for the Windows format only.

We are doing this pre-release because of the high interest in the program and the excitement around it. It is a way for new users to join the Geniesoft community at a tremendous discount and for existing users to take advantage of discounted upgrade rates. We ultimately want to make the program available in its current state to all interested in an affordable manner for a limited time.

Overture 4 is the only true fully VST capable notation program on the market today. We've spent many hours ensuring that this program is intuative, powerful, and capable. A lot of time has gone into making this program a powerful tool to use with Garritan Personal Orchestra. For instance, all score markings can be made to affect playback. Slurs can be programmed to extend note duration to 105%, automatically send CC64 data, can be made to send velocity changes, and much more.

We've also worked hard to ensure that the process for Overture SE users switching over to Version 4 is as seamless as possible. Overture 4 reads GPO Studio files and can load them into the VST rack and the GPO Studio Ports used in Overture SE automatically re-route to the VST rack in Overture 4.

Not to mention the powerful on-score midi editing, humanization options, re-map midi controllers, and so much more.

For more information about the product and what features set this program apart, please visit the Geniesoft Discussion Forum located at http://www.geniesoft.com/forum

This is a pre-release, meaning that there are still some MINOR changes to be made before the final version is ready for a boxed release. These changes mostly concern documentation and instrument definition files.

Purchases can be made online during the pre-release through the Geniesoft web store. After which emails will be sent out to purchasers containing a link to the download file and your registration codes necessary to unlock the software.

The demo can be downloaded from here:
http://geniesoft.com/

The demos limitations are:
15 day timeout
No audio file export
You cannot save changes to the default libraries
You cannot export midi or extract parts
Printing is limited to one watermarked page

The pricing structure for the pre-release is as follows:

Overture 4 Pre-Release Download Prices

New Users (a 50% or more discount): $200.00
Overture SE/Score Writer upgrades (a savings of $50 or more): $150.00
Finale/Sibelius/Encore crossgrades: $150.00
Overture 3 upgrades (a savings of $50 or more): $79.00

Note: All upgrades and crossgrades to Overture 4 will experience a delay in processing due to the need to verify eligibility of your upgrade/crossgrade. We will keep this delay to a minimum, but please be aware that it may take time to verify your upgrade/crossgrade status.

Overture SE users will need to enter their NI Player Serial Number found inside the manual.

At such a time when the boxed version is ready, upgrades to the boxed version will be made available to all early buyers. Manuals will also be offered on the site for purchase, these prices to be decided. The projected time frame for the boxed version is 2 to 3 weeks.

There may also be additional special offers and bundles available in the future. Buyers taking advantage of this pre-release will be able to take advantage of these (should they happen) at no penalty.

A similar offer will be made to the Mac user community when that version becomes available.

Support for the short term will be handled throught the Geniesoft forum as well as here.

To purchase the product, please use this link:

http://store.yahoo.com/geniesoft-store/ov4do.html

Overture SE and ScoreWriter users, please use the cross-grade purchase option.

A readme file is included in the download that contains known issues as well as some documentation for the new features.

Documentation is scarce right now, but will be revamped and released next week. There is a running FAQ and Video Tutorial thread on the Geniesoft Forum and questions pertaining to functionality will be answered ASAP on our site and the GPO Forum.

Again, be aware that this is a 'pre-release' and there are still things to iron out, like the documentation, templates for the sample libraries, and refinements to the instrument definitions.

Geniesoft Support
http://www.geniesoft.com

[dermod]

On brief acquaintance, a great programme at great price. Congratulations. With that in the bag, I have a one-stop-shop for notation with expression, so I can now start to look again at what else is indispensible but missing from my palette. I have to say the big missing link now is a decent choir programme at a decent price.

[bmtl]

Hi Joseph,

When will the Mac version available? looking for it since a long time

Regards
Bmtl

[Joseph Burrell]

I'd say the Mac version is 2 weeks to a month away. We will update everyone when it becomes available and we will also do a similar pre-release discount for it as well.

[southportJim]

I'm still checking out all the new features, but I have to say that Overture 4 is GREAT! And the customer support at the Geniesoft forum is also top-notch.

...thanks for the help JB!

;-)

[Joseph Burrell]

Its been a time helping everyone get started, but we've tried to accomodate both VST users and non-VST users. Of course, when non-VST users turn into VST users, there's some trial and error getting them started. :o

We should have a demo ready on Monday. :)

[Cerrabore]

VST is superior to the GPO Studio/Overture SE MIDI setup, isn't it?

[Joseph Burrell]

Its a lot more stable and doesn't have note dropouts which I noticed with GPO Studio and Overture SE. Especially during percussion rolls and things like that.

Its a no-brainer at this price. Hopefully tomorrow we'll a demo version up.

[falcon1]

joseph, is it possible to get realistic timpani rolls straight from Overture? Is there somekind of script for "messing" up the midi data to get the rolls right? :)

[Joseph Burrell]

There is a 'humanization' tool built in that will randomize the velocity, note start and end times, as well as tempo over a selected area (be it just a few notes, an entire track, or you can even humanize the entire score.)

[BlueMax]

Do those of us with full retail GPO have Overture 3 or "SE"?

$79 upgrade would sure be nice!! :D

[Joseph Burrell]

You have Overture SE.

[southportJim]

Do those of us with full retail GPO have Overture 3 or "SE"?

$79 upgrade would sure be nice!! :D

Believe me, the $150 upgrade is pretty nice too! Like you, I had the "limited edition" SE version that came with GPO and just did the upgrade to Overture 4.

It is VERY cool...the VST instrument rack lets me mix GPO, EWQL Silver, and EWQL Symphonic Choirs all in the same score in Overture, and the Ambience reverb clicks right into the effects chain. You can record directly to a wave file (haven't yet checked to see how the sync works). The Humanize function works quite well...the dynamics and midi control directly from the score is greatly improved...and there's a bunch more I haven't got to yet!

Only problem I have noticed so far is that I can no longer "drag" a note up and down on the staff with the mouse pointer (If I highlight it and then use the "arrow" keys it moves, though)...I'm sure this is just a "preference setting" that I haven't found yet.

Now if I can figure a way to get the Symphonic Choirs WordBuilder into the effects chain I'll be in heaven (but that works correctly thru Sonar, so it's not a deal breaker for me).

;-)

[Jerry W.]

JB! :)
I was wondering something - in Overture 4, can you adjust the sample rate on the VSTi's like you can in GPO Studio? For those of us with less than stellar hardware, that sample reduction in GPO Studio has been the difference of enjoyment vs. absolute frustration.

That is something I wish Tracktion would do. :( But it does let me freeze - which is its redeeming grace in that regard. plus it is very cpu friendly.

I know that the Mac version of Overture 4 is a ways away, but is there any chance a feature like that is do-able?

Jerry

P.S. How's Overture 4 itself on cpu demands, etc? I understand that VST hosting naturally brings a certain amount of load on the CPU, but does the app itself have any problems on lower-powered PCs? Has there been any testing on a low-powered PC? I'll be using the Mac version, but I am sure it might be comparable.

[Joseph Burrell]

Jerry,

You wouldn't believe some of the train wreck PC's this thing is running smoothly on.

Yes, the VST portion is as to be expected but performance matches or exceeds Sonar's capabilities on PC.

I can't say what CPU performance will look like on the Mac, but we'll be supporting AU and the engine is by the 'best in the biz.'

Yes, you can reduce the sample rate to buy yourself some CPU cycles if you need to, then bump it back up at render.

[Jerry W.]

I can't say what CPU performance will look like on the Mac, but we'll be supporting AU and the engine is by the 'best in the biz.'


So will mac version support only AU? or both VST AND AU? Or do most sample libs come in both varieties? I see a lot of them that have both VST and AU and all the other formats listed in their prospective advertising, but there are some libs that are not AU, (effects especially, etc) and I was just curious.

Glad to hear the AU engine is by the 'best in the biz' though I am an idiot and don't know much about that :)

Thanks for your quick reply, Man! You are the best!

Jerry

[Joseph Burrell]

I meant our hosting engine is designed by the 'best in the biz.' I think it will be dual compatible with VST and AU support on Mac. I'll have to confirm that, but I'm pretty sure that is the case.

If you aren't using VST's you can probably run this thing on a 500 Mhz P3 with 128 MB of RAM.

[geniesoft]

AU support is planned but not guaranted. Teh audio people are busy doing something else, so we'll have to see. It will eventually be in there.

[Joseph Burrell]

Wha? :o We'll have to see about that bud. :D

[BlueMax]

Not to start any kind of flame war... but how does this compare to Finale2006? You would think with native support for GPO, Fin'06 would be unbeatable!

Great to have options! :D

[robjohn]

Overture I must say blows all other notation programs out of the water in terms of integration of sequencer-like control over sound, integration with ANY VST's seamlessly (including GPO), and many other areas. While I don't work for Geniesoft (and, in fact, have until now been a fervent Sibelius supporter until Sibelius came out with V.4 and had made no improvements in sound playback), I must say that Overture 4 is a truly revolutionary product and I won't be surprised if it ends up setting the pace in the very near future for all such programs (my two cents, at any rate...)

At any rate, I would encourage people to ultimately decide for themselves - I hear a demo version will be going up very shortly from their website..
Best -
- robjohn

[gardibolt]

I did the upgrade to Overture 4 and am very happy with the results; the sequencer function to humanize all by itself allows one to produce very nice results with GPO with minimal tweaking. $150 well spent, and Joseph and Don and whatever munchkins are coding away behind the curtain are tirelessly adding to it on a daily basis, not to mention answering questions within minutes on the forum, day and night. I don't know how they are doing it, but it's an incredible level of support you won't get from Finale, that's for sure.

[Ludovic]

AU support is planned but not guaranted. Teh audio people are busy doing something else, so we'll have to see. It will eventually be in there.


I installed GPO with AU. When the MAC version will be available, do I have to reinstall GPO as VST, starting from my first disk and go through all the updates (or simply the last update)? What about the GPO registration?
Is it possible to be more precise about the intentions, plans or schedules regarding VST support versus AU support?
Thanks,
Ludovic

[beardedone]

Overture 4 is brilliant and even moreso with GPO. Best $150 I have spent this year outside of acquiring BFD. Ove 4 seems to be a lower cpu hit with two instances of Kontakt 1.53 fully loaded with GPO. The only problem I had was the fact that Ove4 only appears to allow a single stereo out meaning that I had to set up new Multis in addition to the ones I set up for Sonar 4 with separate outs for each section. Other than that it has been a breeze to use.

[Joseph Burrell]

FYI:

Just as a bonus to the wonderful people that have supported this program so far, we've added in Tap Tempo to the program.

Go download the update from:

http://geniesoft.com/patches/overture/overture4_changes.htm

We should have a demo version up tonight or early tomorrow.

[drdancm]

[QUOTE=Joseph Burrell]Overture 4 Pre-Release Special Offerto all interested in an affordable manner for a limited time.

Thanks for letting us know about this great offer. I just purchased the Download Cross upgrade (from GPO) and was able to download it right away -absolutely no delay.

I won't be able to load and try it for a day or so but I can hardly wait. What a terrific deal. After having looked at the features, and tutorial/demos on the geniesoft web site a couple of weeks ago I did not hesitate. I had been thinking of the Finale upgrade after I got a notice in the mail, but after having been disappointed by prior updates (overly cumbersome, hard to use and learn) I reasoned I would be far certain not to be disappointed with Overture 4 (since I like Overture SE that came w GPO very, very much). You can start using it just about right away and the 4.0 version promises to be even easy to use with GPO or anything else.

Dan

[Joseph Burrell]

Update:

The pre-release offer has been extended until the end of the month (Sept. 30th 2005.)

The demo version is now available for download (Windows OS only):

The demo can be downloaded from here:
http://geniesoft.com/

The demos limitations are:
15 day timeout
No audio file export
You cannot save changes to the default libraries
You cannot export midi or extract parts
Printing is limited to one watermarked page

[Joseph Burrell]

Looks like we're more popular than I thought.

The sites been hacked and is down at present. I will update everyone when its back up.

[dewdman42]

Well I just threw down for it. I must say..nice job. Can't pass up the $150 deal while it lasts. Really a fantastic program...looking forward to composing with it.

-steve

[Joseph Burrell]

Our forum is back online. We apologize for any inconvenience.

[KeithW]

I think that Overture has come closest to having what I've been wanting for years- to import a MIDI file, assign the VST instruments (GPO and soon J&BB,) and go! Even though I use both Finale 2006 and Sibelius 4, I think I'll splurge and get this program, too. Great work, Geniesoft!

KeithW
Orlando

[dewdman42]

you know I cranked it up for the first time, it recognized my GPO and KOntakt plugins, load them up WITH instrument presets. I started a new score as GPO full orch and started plucking notes down on the score and heard GPO sounds coming out of my speakers. NIIIIICCCCEEEEEEE! All setup for me...out of the box...for GPO... Seriously...so nice. Can't wait to get into more of the details..

[Joseph Burrell]

You should see me grinning from ear to ear. I love it when hard work pays off in the happiness of our customers.

Thanks guys for the support. We wondered about the direction we were taking, but it looks like it may pay off after all.

[Cerrabore]

Very satisfied with my copy. :D To me VST is definitely the greatest improvement... none of the freezes and skips of GPO Studio. Plus with the full version of Overture there's no 32-track limit... handy.

[Jerry W.]

Very satisfied with my copy. :D To me VST is definitely the greatest improvement... none of the freezes and skips of GPO Studio. Plus with the full version of Overture there's no 32-track limit... handy.
Making me a bit Jealous and envious of you PC users. :(

:) I guess I have waited this long - a bit longer for that Mac version won't be too bad.

Jerry Wickham

[wst3ae]

You should see me grinning from ear to ear. <snip>

Hi Joseph,

You picked the direction pretty well I think! My heartfelt congrats on an excellent tool!

I have been using Finale for about five years, and I don't take the investment in time or money lightly, but Overture4 really impresses me. If you had suggested I'd even consider another tool right now I'd have laughed! I don't really know why I downloaded the demo, except that I am eternally curious<G>! But I was blown away!

The workflow is so well thought out, it is almost as if you were watching over my shoulder<G>!

I am going to be watching development of Overture and Finale, I think it will be very interesting to see how each of you move from here.

For now I think they are still two different tools aimed at two different tasks, but I can see them converging on a single target. It's going to be exciting watching<G>!

Oh yeah, and I will be upgrading to Overture4 just as soon as I can!

Take care,

Bill

[LouisD]

I have installed my new copy of OVE4:) . I works like a magical dream with GPO. I am most happy with this program. It makes working with GPO so much simpler and easier, not to mention quicker. Great Program!!:cool:

Kind Regards

LouisD

[Joseph Burrell]

Well, I won't comment much on our plans for the future, but rest assured, we will continue in the direction we have chosen. We aim to be more of a composition tool for final audio output rather than an engraver-type product. That's not to say that you can't produce quality scores from the program, just look at the demo pdf's in our demo page, but that is not our primary focus as this time. We will be adding features that benefit all types of users coming into the program, even from the print aspect, but I can promise you that as we move forward our goal will be making this a working musicians program, for those that work with VI's day in and day out and need quality audio output in the end.

[Ludovic]

We aim to be more of a composition tool for final audio output rather than an engraver-type product.
Exactly what I am looking for! Waiting desesperatly for the MAC version.
Ludovic

[Jerry W.]

That's not to say that you can't produce quality scores from the program, just look at the demo pdf's in our demo page, but that is not our primary focus as this time.
Hey JB,

I have been scouring Geniesoft's website - where are those demo pdf's?

:)

Jerry

[Joseph Burrell]

In the Demo section of the Overture 4 sub-forum at our forum.

[Jerry W.]

In the Demo section of the Overture 4 sub-forum at our forum.


Yep! They there were. :) Thanks!

Jerry

[Bosco Adama]

In the Demo section of the Overture 4 sub-forum at our forum.

I must be blind...I don't see them. I see mp3s at Oveture 4 Demos 9-11-05 but no pdfs.

[Joseph Burrell]

The other posts contain PDF examples. The ones from our users.

[Jerry W.]

I must be blind...I don't see them. I see mp3s at Oveture 4 Demos 9-11-05 but no pdfs.
Here you go Bosco

http://geniesoft.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=27

Some of them contain pdfs, others the actual Overture 4 file! But all contain MP3's

Looking forward to getting my hands on this!!

:) Jerry

[Joseph Burrell]

Only fifteen days left to take advantage of this offer!

FYI, we have opened the GPO user discount up to the Group Buy buyers. You do not have to have a copy of Overture SE to get the cross-grade discount. Simply enter your Native Instruments serial number from the GPO manual or CD case to take advantage of the discount.

So download the demo and give it a whirl. We are constantly updating and improving based on customer response, so drop by our forum and tell us what you think.

[Rhap2]

[QUOTE=Joseph Burrell]Overture 4 Pre-Release Special Offer:

Starting today, September 1st, Overture 4 will be available as a download only purchase. This pre-release special offer will be available for a minimum of 15 days. Depending on the response to this offer we may extend it an additional 15 days. After the pre-release and the boxed version becomes retail ready, the price may increase. This download only purchase option is for the Windows format only.

Joseph: Two questions:

1. I will be loading the original GPO and then the recent upgrade on my PC. If I don't load Overture SE, will the Overture 4 work as a full program or must I have Overture SE loaded first, then load the upgrade?

2. When do you anticipate a user's manual for Overture 4 and what is a ballpark figure for cost?

These two questions are the only obstacles I see for not having Overture 4 on my PC right now.

Jack Cannon

[Joseph Burrell]

Jack,

We anticipate the price of the box+manual+physical CD being $40.00 plus the cost of shipping.

As to your other question, no, you don't need SE installed when you go to install version 4.

[Joseph Burrell]

Today is it, folks. The offer ends tonight at midnight.

Don't miss this opportunity to upgrade to Overture 4!

All GPO owners can still get the upgrade price to Overture 4 for $150.

Tomorrow the price of the upgrade to Overture 4 from SE goes up to $200.00 (this price will also be the new crossgrade and Scorewrite upgrade price.)

The upgrade price from any previous (full) version of Overture goes up to $99.00.

The price for new users goes up to $300.00.

[Jerry W.]

Can this mean that the Mac version is not far off?

:)

And you WILL be having a similar offer for them, i assume? I remember you saying something like that, but not sure.


Jerry

[Joseph Burrell]

Yes, when we are ready to release the Mac version, we will have the same offer on hand.