Today’s blog post is admittedly a lot like an ad, but it does answer a commonly-asked question.

Q: I own Finale 2012, which contains some great Garritan sounds. Why would I buy Garritan Personal Orchestra or one of the other additional Garritan Libraries?

A: While Finale 2012 includes sounds from many Garritan libraries including Jazz & Big Band, Concert and Marching Band and World, it borrows most heavily from Garritan Personal Orchestra 4 (GPO4). That said, Finale includes only a subset of GPO4’s “greatest hits.”

To get a sense of what GPO4 offers Finale users, take a look at the difference in the flute section alone:

Finale includes: Flute Player 1, Flute Player 2, Flute Player 3, Flute Solo, Flute Section, and Piccolo Solo.

GPO4 includes: Alto Flute Solo, Alto Flute Player 1, Alto Flute Player 2, Alto Flute Player 3, Bass Flute Solo w/vibrato, Bass Flute solo no vibrato, Bass Flute Player 1, Bass Flute Player 2, Bass Flute Player 3, Flute Solo w/vibrato, Flute solo no vibrato, Flute Solo Keyswitch (allows user to switch between vibrato, non-vibrato and flutter), Flute Solo Flutter, Flute Player 1, Flute Player 2, Flute Player 3, Piccolo Solo w/vibrato, Piccolo Solo no vibrato, Piccolo Solo Keyswitch, and Piccolo Flutter.

In short, if all you need is a couple examples of the most commonly used instruments, Finale has you covered. If you want a wider selection of instruments and performance techniques, GPO 4 (and the other full Garritan Products) are for you. Interested? Finale owners can download GPO4 for $129 today.

Additional resources:

• See a list of all the Garritan sounds in Finale
• The best list of all the sounds in GPO 4 begins on page 104 of the GPO 4 Manual
• Here’s an abbreviated GPO4 list
• Learn more about Instant Orchestra, and all the other Garritan Libraries

What do you think? Too much like an ad? Helpful? Please let me know what you’d like to see in future blog posts by clicking on “Comments” below.