MakeMusic Forum

The original version of this page can be found at : http://forum.makemusic.com/default.aspx?f=6&m=488924

Posted By : tisimst - 11/25/2016 9:43 AM

Just thought I'd mention that, as of today, seven of my music fonts are now compatible with Finale 2014 (or newer):

MTF-Arnold
MTF-Beethoven
MTF-Cadence
MTF-Gutenberg1939
MTF-Haydn
MTF-Ross
MTF-Scorlatti

These can be downloaded from www.musictypefoundry.com. I've got some great Black Friday deals going on, in case anyone is interested. Happy engraving!

Posted By : Dr. Wiggy - 11/25/2016 12:01 PM

1. Didn't someone just make free versions of these for Finale recently?

2. It looks like you only make TTF fonts. No OTF?

3. How many glyphs do these fonts contain? A similar number to Maestro, or significantly increased symbols?

Finale v.25.1, 2012 MacMini; 2012 MacBook Pro (10.11.6 / 10.12.1)
Edirol FA-66; Roland A-49, HP Laserjet 5200 DTN
Ancient Groove Music www.ancientgroove.co.uk

Posted By : tisimst - 11/25/2016 3:29 PM

Those are great questions, Dr. Wiggy!

1. Yes, by Jan, but they're based on older versions of my fonts. I do not support those versions anymore, nor will they ever be updated, so you are on your own if you want to use them.

2. I found that TTF worked better, but I'm open to discussing making an OTF

3. Right now the glyph set covers almost all of the same ones as the main Maestro font. Notable omissions are the shape-note note heads. Each font comes with its own LIB file that has specific, necessary style settings (like a different Grand staff brace based on the originals, which I tried to match as close as I could using the brace designer in Finale. The fonts don't match Maestro's style very well, so they aren't exactly drop-in replacements. They do require some style changes to work optimally. I still need to iron out a few wrinkles (since I'm kind of new to the way Finale thinks about and uses fonts and other settings via LIB files, but I'll be addressing those over the next week and making updates available. Updates are always free.

Please don't hesitate to ask more questions. A variety of font samples can be found on the individual product pages.

Posted By : jange - 11/25/2016 5:48 PM

Dr. Wiggy, here is a report I published today that looks at Abraham's new MTF fonts in more detail from a Finale perspective.
I compared the MTF-Beethoven-FIN font with the free BetvnFIN font from my Elbsound Music Font Package.
The report includes images and PDFs of all symbols and some musical examples:
/elbsound.studio/beethoven-music-font-test.php

What I did not analyze though, and what would be very interesting to know, is how (some) glyphs changed from the original free version to the new MTF version. I didn't notice any changes at first glance, so it's probably only very subtle adjustments.

Jan
Elbsound.studio

Posted By : tisimst - 11/26/2016 12:49 AM

jange said...
Dr. Wiggy, here is a report I published today that looks at Abraham's new MTF fonts in more detail from a Finale perspective.
I compared the MTF-Beethoven-FIN font with the free BetvnFIN font from my Elbsound Music Font Package.
The report includes images and PDFs of all symbols and some musical examples:
/elbsound.studio/beethoven-music-font-test.php

What I did not analyze though, and what would be very interesting to know, is how (some) glyphs changed from the original free version to the new MTF version. I didn't notice any changes at first glance, so it's probably only very subtle adjustments.

Jan
Elbsound.studio

I have really appreciated what you have done, Jan. The comparison is great and has brought some details to my attention that I hadn't noticed before that I'm already in the process of fixing. So, thank you, again (I'll probably say that about a hundred more times

As I've studied your recent work with my older free fonts, one thing that I must impress upon everyone is that all the MTF fonts have been meticulously hand-tuned for optimal use in Finale. Some glyphs are completely different from those found in, for example, the LilyPond fonts because 1) LilyPond doesn't have the equivalent glyph at all, or 2) I just needed to change them to work really well within Finale in conjunction with the corresponding document options LIB file. Like Jan, I have also made use of some software scripting to take the drudgery out of remapping the glyphs to locations that Finale expects, but once that is done, I go through each glyph to double-check/tune/align/adjust everything to make sure they work out of the box.

Now, as nice as Jan's automatically generated fonts are being "Maestro-compatible" (and you really have done a great job with this, Jan), my fonts are designed to be a complete font replacement. Maestro's related engraving settings, while perfect for Maestro, just don't fit the style or metrics of my fonts, including MTF-Beethoven which Jan compared so thoroughly. I certainly don't claim that the fonts & library files are perfect. They're not. There's always room for improvement. I definitely have some document settings that need tweaking/adjusting/fixing to make using them that much easier and better right out of the box. However, the fonts are already in a highly usable state. I'm still getting the hang of how the Library files work, but I can assure my current users and potential users that things are only going to improve and get that much better. I hope you'll give me the chance.

And, as always, I welcome any and all feedback because I know I can learn so much from such expert users as those found here on the forums. If there are certain glyphs (e.g., the shape-note noteheads) that are critical to your work, please let me know so I can add them. I am more than happy to do that. I just have to prioritize what little time I have available to work on them. Updates are always free and I'm always available and accessible if something needs urgent attention.

Want to give my fonts a test-drive? Right now is the perfect time to get one and give it a go. I've got some crazy good Black Friday deals going on right now that are on a first-come-first-serve basis. The normal price of my fonts are $39, but people have been able to get one of their choice for up to 90% off! Jan was able to get MTF-Beethoven for 80% off (i.e., for $8.12)! Thanks for your support, Jan! I really tried to create some affordable options, but they will only last another day and I would love the real-world user feedback. Thanks!

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