Leave a Review StaffPad
Handwriting recognition unusable/not yet ready for serious use
This app will be great someday, but unfortunately the handwriting recognition simply does not work as advertised yet. It had trouble recognizing dotted-eighth sixteenth rhythms, and also would not recognize eighth notes with downward stems (stems going up were recognized fine).
The app is beautifully designed, very easy to use, and super intuitive. Setting up a complex score with multiple instruments was a breeze.
I’ve used many notation apps on my iPad, and while this is the best-designed of them by far, functionally it is the least usable - so much so that it is not possible to complete a project.
Once the bugs get worked out, I will edit my review/rating and use this app regularly.Show lessMSBandDirector
Great concept but doesn’t work
Stay away until they fix it. Great concept, but the app just didn’t work. I have decent manuscript handwriting, and the app doesn’t recognize anything. I have to re-do measures multiple times before it finally recognizes a note. If found having to do 1 note ata time, then touching outside the measure to see if it’s recognized. The video demo has to be staged, because the app doesn’t not recognize noteheads or bars. It just doesn’t. Just keep your money. For $90, I need an app that works. This has been a waste of money.Show lessAharbison
Could work, but...
Unfortunately I am experiencing many of the same problems of everyone else. The app is quite buggy, it has about a 50/50 chance of recognizing what I’m doing and it is extremely hard to go back and change something without deleting what I’ve already done. This is essentially a $100 beta test, which I am very disappointed about. That being said, I do have faith that most of these problems will be ironed out in the next couple of weeks. StaffPad staff (pun intended), I really do hope that these problems will be fixed in the near future. I will say, when it works, it works really well. I am excited to see what this app could become in the near future.Show lesstherealWolfGang147
Tons of promise, not yet realized
This application is perfectly conceived.
The user interface is the most intuitive I have ever seen in a score editor. Seriously exquisite. The app also makes the perfect trade-offs for the iPad. It has the exact right feature set for scribbling ideas, but I would take my ideas to a different application for bigger engraving projects. And that’s ok.
But there are concerns...
The app hinges on handwritten recognition, the only input method for notes. And the hand writing recognition is about 50/50 for me. Sometimes I am baffled at how some of my messiest handwriting is recognized and my cleanest attempts are rejected. This has got to improve for StaffPad to be viable. If it worked as anticipated, this program would be a dream.
This is not to mention some of my other concerns. StaffPad is missing some iPadOS features that should be standard for a professional app. No keyboard shortcuts, split screen multitasking, or integration with the Files app.
Hopefully it will get better with time. This is a reminder that the App Store needs free trials.Show lessMynameisted
Thanks for the iPad version!
I've been using the Windows version of StaffPad on my Surface for a long time and love it! This iPad version works just as well. It's great for me to have both versions.
StaffPad is such a refreshingly intuitive way to write music. It's so smooth and natural. Thanks for a unique and valuable tool for composers!Show lessp*s*h
$100 Beta test
This app is not ready for prime time... I expected much better quality at this price.
Issues:
- I get an “error number 4” about once a minute while drawing with the Pencil
- If recognition fails to recognize some of the writing, the left over bits just remain in the bar - piling up over time. There doesn’t seem to be any way to remove them (not even undo), making it quite frustrating to try to re-try
- Using the Pencil to delete notes does not work - I’ve watched the videos, and used many different levels of pressure... the only way I’ve been able to delete is to lasso select - which btw does not seem to allow selecting only some notes in a chord.
- The toolbar is maddening, there are a couple variations on the toolbar, and it’s difficult to tell which one you’re in, and how to switch between them. Sometimes the buttons get overlapped on the top-left corner making them inscrutable
- There don’t really seem to be any editing features — for example a way to change the length of a note after being drawn
With all these issues it’s very hard for me to understand how this is better than some of the cheaper, more conventional notation apps on iPad.
I hope these issues get addressed and enough features get added to justify this price. I’ll happily reconsider my review after future updates.Show lessbrian tunning
Thank you for porting StaffPad to iPad!!!
Longtime user from the initial release on Windows, and I can already report that StaffPad has grown and matured into its best form yet on iPad.
While I'm only on Day 2 using this version, I'm extremely impressed and already I find it more precise in its handwriting recognition, and the palm rejection is perfect. StaffPad is a beautifully designed toolset and environment.
I think I can safely leave paper behind--! :)Show lessGoofaman
