MasterWriter 3 Released

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Discussions about composing, arranging, orchestration, songwriting, theory and the art of creating music in all forms from orchestral film scores to pop/rock.
artfarm1
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by artfarm1 »

I just about bought MasterWriter years ago, and I would love to pick up an older version if possible.

But I always remember Quincy Jones great quote:

"The most memorable songs seem to be the ones that can be demo-ed with a piano being played by one hand while singing the song. The melody or rhythm has to come through. We're not writing dissertations here"

(I apologize to Quincy for not being totally accurate in my memory.... but it was words to that effect.)
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Thomas.B.
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by Thomas.B. »

artfarm1 wrote:There are some great deals on a used 'Thesaurus'in a lot of bookstores.

Don't even need to have the computer turned on!

Just sayin'....

Does one 'really need' MasterWriter? Sure, it's handy.

But I don't think everyone in Nashville owns it, for example.
...of course following the same logic you don't really need a "MacPro 4,1 2.26ghz 8-core; OSX 10.8.5; 26 gig RAM; DP8.05, MOTU Mach Five 3.2; SSD drives in computer; MOTU Traveler mkI" to make music either.
Not everyone in Nashville has it nor did Quincy Jones when he created most of his hits. An old 24 track, a Yamaha DX 7 and an analog mixer will do just fine...you don't even need to have the computer turned on. :wink:
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mikehalloran
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by mikehalloran »

artfarm1 wrote:I just about bought MasterWriter years ago, and I would love to pick up an older version if possible.
Some resellers may have MW2 available. I don't know if you can still purchase it directly. MW1 does not work on current Macs.
But I always remember Quincy Jones great quote:

"The most memorable songs seem to be the ones that can be demo-ed with a piano being played by one hand while singing the song. The melody or rhythm has to come through. We're not writing dissertations here"
I agree. I wish that I could play better one-handed.
Does one 'really need' MasterWriter? Sure, it's handy.
My opinion is that no one really needs it. For years, I worked with a rhyming dictionary and thesaurus in my briefcase and rarely consulted either but, when I was stuck, I was glad to have them. MasterWriter is just an update on the old technology for me. I am glad to have it.

It's like any other convenience. There is no Talent tab. It can't make you clever, insightful or good. If your best before MW was "buy a guitar, be a star, go far...", then the best you can hope for is that you will be using better cliches. Rhyme Genie will do the same for $24.95.
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by Thomas.B. »

mikehalloran wrote:There is no Talent tab.
Brilliantly stated. Apart from being more convenient both MasterWriter and Rhyme Genie make it a whole lot easier to look up interesting slant rhymes. A paperback rhyming dictionary will only give you perfect rhymes.

A software based thesaurus, however, is pretty much the same as a paperback thesaurus. 'The Synonym Finder' by J.I.Rodale is my favorite one but I do love Rhyme Genie's ability to show syllable matching synonyms as well. That is something that a paperback thesaurus is not able to do either.
artfarm1
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by artfarm1 »

Thomas.B. wrote:
artfarm1 wrote:There are some great deals on a used 'Thesaurus'in a lot of bookstores.

Don't even need to have the computer turned on!

Just sayin'....

Does one 'really need' MasterWriter? Sure, it's handy.

But I don't think everyone in Nashville owns it, for example.
...of course following the same logic you don't really need a "MacPro 4,1 2.26ghz 8-core; OSX 10.8.5; 26 gig RAM; DP8.05, MOTU Mach Five 3.2; SSD drives in computer; MOTU Traveler mkI" to make music either.
Not everyone in Nashville has it nor did Quincy Jones when he created most of his hits. An old 24 track, a Yamaha DX 7 and an analog mixer will do just fine...you don't even need to have the computer turned on. :wink:
Yeah, true, I'd be dead in the water without my Mac setup. Same thing as having MasterWriter... if it works, use it.

Nobody on the receiving end of our music cares what we use to create it, right? As long as the music works as intended.

(p.s. I have no desire to go back to the old 4 track cassette analog tape days and my Ensoniq or DX7! They sure had some unique sounds though... always kick myself for having traded away some of the classic stuff like a Korg M1... I would get another one of those!)
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NazRat
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by NazRat »

artfarm1 wrote:
(p.s. always kick myself for having traded away some of the classic stuff like a Korg M1... I would get another one of those!)
Sorry for the OT, but artfarm1 check out the Korg Legacy Collection if you're serious about the M1 - that and so much more.

http://www.korg.com/us/products/softwar ... ollection/

Also I've just purchased and installed Rhyme Genie along with TuneSmith thanks to this thread and think they'll do just fine. I won't be upgrading my copy of MW.
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artfarm1
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by artfarm1 »

Thanks for the reminder of the Korg Legacy package!

And, Rhyme Genie looks great. I didn't know about that either.

Thanks Motunation family!
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mikehalloran
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by mikehalloran »

Nobody on the receiving end of our music cares what we use to create it, right? As long as the music works as intended
On the rare occasions that I show up at a songwriters' open mic, I want to yell at the stage, "No one gives a damn about your creative process. Shut up and sing!"

We either get it or we don't.
Last edited by mikehalloran on Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by James Steele »

mikehalloran wrote:On the rare casinos that I show up at a songwriters' open mic, I want to yell at the stage, "No one gives a damn about your creative process. Shut up and sing!"
Had to laugh at that one. You just gotta love those wide-eyed kids believing that you can be an unknown and someone in the audience is going to want to know all about how you wrote it in the laundromat after your girlfriend broke up with you, etc. etc. The long set-up story to each tune.

I've had to judge some of these songwriting contests. It can be painful. And excuse me, but if you're in a contest and only have to perform two of YOUR OWN songs, please don't be thinking that I don't notice that you're reading your own lyrics off an iPad on that nifty mic stand mount (hat tip IK Multimedia)! Two songs. Just two... that YOU wrote... and you can't memorize your own lyrics? Sigh.
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artfarm1
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by artfarm1 »

mikehalloran wrote:
Nobody on the receiving end of our music cares what we use to create it, right? As long as the music works as intended
On the rare casinos that I show up at a songwriters' open mic, I want to yell at the stage, "No one gives a damn about your creative process. Shut up and sing!"

We either get it or we don't.
Totally!

I just want to hear if they had a new brand of coffee or yerba mate that 'fired them 'up'. Always on the lookout!
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by mikehalloran »

Apparently, they are noticing the pushback.
artfarm1 wrote:I just about bought MasterWriter years ago, and I would love to pick up an older version if possible.

I just got this a few minutes ago:

MasterWriter 2 for Creative Writers for Windows and Macintosh $189

BONUS GIFT! Add your serial number from MasterWriter 2.0 to your purchase at MasterWriter.com and receive a subscription to MasterWriter 3.0 FREE for 2 years! ($150 value).

https://www.writersstore.com/masterwrit ... =240409245


The Writers Store is a specialty reseller to script writers and others of that ilk. They often have pretty good deals. Other than being a customer, I have no association (and bla, bla, bla...).

Anyway, I can verify that MW 2 works fine in Mavericks. There were some issues in OS 10.7-10.8 requiring multiple updates but, they did get it all sorted out.
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Thomas.B.
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by Thomas.B. »

mikehalloran wrote:Apparently, they are noticing the pushback.
I just got this a few minutes ago:

MasterWriter 2 for Creative Writers for Windows and Macintosh $189

BONUS GIFT! Add your serial number from MasterWriter 2.0 to your purchase at MasterWriter.com and receive a subscription to MasterWriter 3.0 FREE for 2 years! ($150 value).

https://www.writersstore.com/masterwrit ... =240409245
The offer should be: "BONUS GIFT! Sign up for the brand new MasterWriter 3 and get a free copy of a 5 year old MasterWriter 2!" :D

The Writers Store is probably just getting rid of the excess inventory. At least MasterWriter 2 is not being sold directly on Amazon anymore.
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by Tobor »

I got a call from MasterWriter last year asking which features I used most often, what I would like to see etc., very nice to hear from them and I appreciated their concern. They also reminded me of a couple features I never used but was glad to rediscover.

I'm quite certain I did not tell them I was eager for a subscription service.

I do remember saying that after a little snafu with updating a license on one of my computers that my biggest concern was not being able to access my work in the future.

Although to that point I had hardly used the software, subsequently I've been using MW a lot and have found it convenient not only for songs but for ideas and ramblings and notes and lists song-related. So nice to have everything in one place rather than napkin scrap and piles of legal pads.

But this latest news seems to confirm my misgivings with dumping my lyrical eggs into one basket. At some point they'll probably discontinue support for 2.0, thanks for coming, SOL.
Time to copy and paste....but to where?

Very disappointed.
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by James Steele »

FWIW, I just wrote to the MW people via the contact form on their site and let them know that I'd heard about this and was not likely to purchase it as a result. I gave them a link to this topic. Perhaps they'll comment?
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Re: MasterWriter 3 Released

Post by Thomas.B. »

Wait...

"BONUS GIFT! Add your serial number from MasterWriter 2.0...TO YOUR PURCHASE AT MasterWriter.com... and receive a subscription to MasterWriter 3.0 FREE for 2 years! ($150 value).

If I buy MasterWriter 2 from The Writers Store and I don't buy anything at MasterWriter.com (like a 1 year subscription) will I still get a free 2 year subscription? This sort of wording reminds me of the OP's remark that it was not clear from the original update notice that MasterWriter 3 is a web app in the first place.
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