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The Passport website now shows that Don Williams, the original programmer of Encore music notation software and Master Tracks Pro, has acquired the assets from GVOX and will revive Encore with a version 6.

I used Encore from the late 1980s and was a beta tester from two decades. This could be good news, as Encore was always the most user-friendly of the notation software solutions out there. It's been stuck on version 5 for well over ten years, and the shareware/pirated versions out there appear to be even worse, version 4.

Encore became a horrible buggy mess in the GVOX years. In 2013, I wrote four songs for a symphony orchestra and cannot believe the amount of my wasted time from crashes. Even now I hold my nose and fire it up once in a while to load one of the thousands of older scores I wrote using it, and then convert it to Music XML so I can get out of Encore. It may be too late for them, though; most of us abandoned Encore years ago. I use Notion by Presonus and it will take a phenomenal rewrite of Encore to coax me back.

Still, it's something to watch, here: https://passportmusic.com/


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I still have an old copy of Encore, and it fulfills my needs for head charts just fine.

I also still use Master Tracks Pro as a sequencer. I like it because it has great editing functions, and without the option of audio, it is fast, and every dialog box is one click away from the menu. There are no sub-menus and sub-sub menus.

The problem is the GVOX version is a little buggy, and the Passport Version quit working on Win10. So I'll ask him to revive MTPro right now.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Notes ♫


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Sadly "Contact Us" doesn't work yet. frown But I'll keep trying. laugh

Notes ♫


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Yes, “coming soon”.


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I assume the Tracy Collins referenced on the Passport Music Software about webpage is Tracy Collins of +++ Indiginus +++ virtual instrument fame.


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Without pointing out the obvious.......well, maybe I am seeings how I mentioned it...

Encore kinda means coming back, doesn't it? So the return is very appropriate.

The only question is..... how many encores can we expect?

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 07/18/22 11:45 AM.

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We don't know very much now, of course.

My first exposure to Encore was on the Mac, before it became available for Windows.


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Slight update: the site now says that Encore 6 will be available for Windows and Mac 64-bit, Fall 2022.


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Hey! Notes I think they heard you:

Sonic Scores plans to update Encore and Master Tracks Pro software to today’s standards while adding a few critically needed features.


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Originally Posted By: etcjoe
Hey! Notes I think they heard you:

Sonic Scores plans to update Encore and Master Tracks Pro software to today’s standards while adding a few critically needed features.


That would make me very happy.


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Originally Posted By: etcjoe
Hey! Notes I think they heard you:

Sonic Scores plans to update Encore and Master Tracks Pro software to today’s standards while adding a few critically needed features.

Do you have a source for this info? I would like to read more.


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Originally Posted By: Matt Finley
Originally Posted By: etcjoe
Hey! Notes I think they heard you:

Sonic Scores plans to update Encore and Master Tracks Pro software to today’s standards while adding a few critically needed features.

Do you have a source for this info? I would like to read more.


+++ THIS +++ webpage, second sentence from the top.


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Originally Posted By: Jim Fogle
Originally Posted By: Matt Finley
Originally Posted By: etcjoe
Hey! Notes I think they heard you:

Sonic Scores plans to update Encore and Master Tracks Pro software to today’s standards while adding a few critically needed features.

Do you have a source for this info? I would like to read more.


+++ THIS +++ webpage, second sentence from the top.
Thanks, Jim & Joe. That's the About info on the same site. I just didn't remember Sonic Scores, only GenieSoft, GVOX (which they left out entirely?) and Passport. Appreciate it.


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Originally Posted By: Matt Finley
Originally Posted By: etcjoe
Hey! Notes I think they heard you:

Sonic Scores plans to update Encore and Master Tracks Pro software to today’s standards while adding a few critically needed features.

Do you have a source for this info? I would like to read more.


It was on the web page.


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Yes, thanks. When the page first went up, there wasn’t much detail and it just mentioned Don Williams. I’m more encouraged by the announcement now.


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Three-month update: there is no update. There is a user forum you can join, but no further word on the availability of Encore 6.


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I met Don Williams, the guy who created the original and is now in the process of updating Encore and Master Tracks Pro a few weeks ago.

He lives not too far from me, and came out to listen to us after I joined the forum.

We chatted a bit and he said the people who bought Encore and MTPro messed the code up quite a bit, and it's going to take a lot of work to get them right, but he's working on it.

I told him when he gets MTPro up, I'll be his first customer. I still use MTPro for MIDI sequencing. It's extremely fast and efficient, and has great editing features.

So I'm being patient.

Notes ♫


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Thanks Bob. No question, the original Encore I used since the mid 1990s was amazing.

During the time I was a beta tester, GVOX let it deteriorate. There was even a battle between the company and a group of beta testers who developed a better version. I couldn’t live with the bugs and converted to Presonus Notion in 2020. Still, I welcome Don Williams back and can’t wait to check out Encore 6.


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I still have a pre-GVox version of Encore.

It does what I need, which is mainly "head charts". I don't even print them, but do screenshots, trim and turn them into tiff files and read them on the computer.

We have over 650 songs now, and I don't have the time to memorize that many, I would rather spend the time learning new songs, because that keeps the audience from being bored with us. So either words on a head chart on screen gets me by. Sooner or later, if I play them enough, the get semi-memorized and all it takes is a few glances at the screen to get me by.

Sometimes the ancient version Encore is a bit awkward to use, but it's but-free.

When GVox bought Encore and MTPro, I bought MTPro, and after the bugs (some of which they fixed) I decided not to upgrade Encore.

When Don releases a new Encore, I'd probably buy it because with the improvements in interfaces in the past few decades, I'm sure it'll be easier to use.


Insights and incites by Notes


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Originally Posted By: Notes Norton
We have over 650 songs now, ... So either words on a head chart on screen gets me by.

I have only around 100 songs, but we do the same because the screen allows us to index and/or search for a song, and we're not all leafing through folders or fake books. Most such apps allow playlists if one wants them.

The only time I use paper is if I'll be in sunlight as the screen struggles with that.


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