Electric Guitar Clean sound is not the same between MS4 and MS3

• Dec 24, 2023 - 02:55

I have been using the MS3 Electric Guitar (clean) for a long time and really like it. Recently got a new Windows PC (Win11) that supports MS4. I tried out the Muse Sounds (clean LP and clean SC) but they're a bit "boomy" compared to what I've been listening to on MS3.

So in MS4 I tried switching to Sound Fonts > MS Basic > Guitar > Clean Guitar ... which seems to be the closest thing to its MS3 counterpart - Electric Guitar (clean) - but differences are inevitable:

1) The MS4 Clean Guitar sound is scratchier, somewhat distressed than it's MS3 counterpart. Has a buzz to it.
2) In MS4 Clean Guitar there's an odd low-frequency background noise during playback of the tone. In comparison, this is a decrease in quality if you ask me. You can hear it in the OGG file attached below. Even changing to Jazz Guitar I can hear the hum.
3) In MS4 Clean Guitar when not in playback mode, while pressing the note to "audition" the sound, the duration is much shorter than in MS3. However upon inspecting a recorded audio file, it is about the same length, but the amplitude suddenly drops half-way through. Also, the audition volume is much higher than the regular playback volume - which was consistent between both in MS3.

I recorded OGG files for comparison, and I manually force "note audition" to play at 2 sec. and 6 sec. Followed by regular playback of the score starting at 12 sec. Note I did turn off Reverb in MS4 for the recording and Playback setup is set to Musescore Basic. Also made sure that Windows Audio enhancements and Spatial sound were turned OFF. Even tried all the MS4 buffer size options.

While software projects always move towards "more realistic" sounds, I do appreciate the purity of the MS3 Electric Guitar (clean) sound, although it does seem a bit artificial. I find it both clean and smooth! It would be great to have these MS4 Clean Guitar concerns addressed.

Thank you

OS: Windows 10 Version 2009 or later, Arch.: x86_64, MuseScore version (64-bit): 4.2.0-233521124, revision: eb8d33c ==> Dell OptiPlex 5000 with Realtek(R) Audio

Diagnostic file available upon request of course.

P.S. in hindsight, I should have posted this to the Playback forum. Can someone move it there?

Attachment Size
Test_Sounds_MS3.png 14.81 KB
Test_Sounds_MS3.mscz 4.81 KB
ms3-electric-clean-open-strings-2-and-1.ogg 996.59 KB
Test_Sounds_MS4.png 9.78 KB
Test_Sounds_MS4.mscz 15.48 KB
ms4-electric-clean-open-strings-2-and-1.ogg 148.7 KB
Compare Audition Notes.png 55.61 KB
MS4_mixer.png 21.98 KB

Comments

• Dec 24, 2023 - 16:07

Thanks for the feedback. Being a Guitarist, I was amazed at the promotional video for MS4's expanded support for all the things MS3 could not do very well with guitar (slides, trill, harmonics, palm mute, etc.) and I can only assume that some re-tooling of the approach to MS4's "guitar sound-engine" had to happen. However I can only suppose the re-tooling had an impact on the overall sound of ALL guitar sounds, and that the crystal-pure sound of the Electric Guitar (clean) found in MS3 (and played back on MS3) will not be achieved again. It's a trade off. Life happens.

I'll give your file-copy approach a try, but until I hear how it sounds I'm doubtful the MS4 "guitar sound-engine" will be able to keep it crystal-pure AND still support slides, trill, harmonics, palm mute, etc. I'll let you know how it goes.

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