Anyone Used MasterWriter

[mazz]

Quote:Coupla quick notes:-- I think ASCAP members get a nice discount too, just BTW. -- Also, I inquired with MasterWriter whether Songuard is available separately, and it is not.-- There is a *different* service out there called SongGuard (two "g"s) that is *not* affiliated with MasterWriter. I contacted MasterWriter about them, asking, "Hey, is this you guys?" and they were unpleasantly surprised. Yikes!In case anybody needs a more general creative organizational tool: I started using Curio a few years ago (http://www.zengobi.com/). It's for any type of project organization, I think particularly geared toward creative professionals (designers, etc.). But I've used it to track notes on tech setups for different bands (its "sticky lines" are awesome for documenting cabling between pieces of hardware), and for collecting ideas, receipts, stage plots, photos, etc. for music-for-theater projects, and so on. More recently I've created a Curio-based template that roughly follows the method Pat Pattison puts forth in "Writing Better Lyrics." Main idea, object writes, thesaurus search, rhyme worksheet, etc.While Curio doesn't have a built-in thesaurus, it has a nifty Internet search tool called Sleuth that searches multiple reference sites on the term you enter. It includes standard ones like Thesaurus.com but also any that you customize it to use -- in my case sound-effects libraries. Put in "house" and you can get stock photos of houses, rhymes and definitions of "house," sound effects related to "house", etc.Curio looks great, thanks for the tip!!Mazz

[jchitty]

Quote:I hate to be the wet blanket but I was less than impressed. I feel that for what it does it is way over priced and the support I got from them left a very bad taste in my mouth. My advice would be to buy a rhyming dictionary and put the rest into your submission fund. When I tried to submit a song to Songuard it did'nt work because they said their program needed a patch to work with QuickTime. They said they would contact me when the patch was ready, that was 18 months ago and not one word. When I wrote them after 1year they responded that they were still working on it. Your milage may vary.......I'm with you on this one, Koul. But only because I don't like newfangled things. I am terribly disorganized, but I don't think I could function that well if everything was wrapped up into a neat package. My dining room table is littered with sheets of paper, scattered bits of lyrics on grocery bags, gem clips everywhere, a 35 year old thesaurus with a tattered cover, a big bulky yellow tape recorder and one new concession....that rhyming dictionary that you speak of. There is something about a table laden with so much clutter that says, 'get over here and write, dammit.' I don't think I'd get that motivated with Masterwriter.

[clonsberry]

I really like MasterWriter. It has helped me organize quite a bit and has guided me when I hit some writing walls. Just giving me some ideas and options to work. The only thing that has been kind of a nightmare for me is the lack of FAQs or documentation... and licensing. For example.. I work off 3 different computers. With the demo of MasterWriter, I could share a database. GREAT! With their licensing/protection scheme, you can't do that. Didn't know that until I had to ask them for help. So.. can I backup my songs and re-import them to the other computer? It's tedious but I could work that solution. Well.. not exactly. The backed up database includes the licensing info. Now.. the licensing info appears to run off things like MAC address (for you techies out there).. some generated machine code and a slice of black magic. So.. while it works well to protect the program, it's a pain to deal with.So.. at this point, I've contacted support several times and they've graciously helped me. And everytime I find out something else I can't do to share these songs. Okay.. not to be daunted.. I've determined there's no practical way to use multiple machines and share data. So I've resorted to building a webpage where I can copy and paste from one MasterWriter copy to another. Ooof.. It's a kludge but it sorta works for me.Upgraded my OS to Leopard on the laptop. But before I did, I made a backup of the MW database AND... just to be on the safe side.. copied the whole directory to a backup. Yup.. had to contact them again cause it broke the registration and I couldn't get it back. Well, while they were professional and polite, you don't have to be a psychic to hear the strain when someone emails back that.. "I've given you two more registrations but we're going to have to start charging you for licenses". Charging me for licenses? It's somewhat easy to tell from the logs that I'm trying to use these on the same original computers.. so it's not like I'm selling registrations down on the corner. Didn't this program cost me a couple hundred bucks? Was there someplace I could go read what I couldn't do with the program.. particularly in regard to sharing the database? Is it my protection scheme that's causing the problem? Huh.So.. now I have to wait to make any more OS upgrades or changes. MW is working on the next version which, I'm told, will allow you to self-unregister a computer. That will solve part of my problem. At that time, I'll make some decisions. For what it does in a stand-alone.. one computer.. never to be upgraded environment.. I like the program. I'd like to stay with it. But I will look around before I buy the new version.

[edteja]

Lyricist does a nice job as a rhyming dictionary and thesaurus (for less money) but has none of the organizational features of MW. But do try the demo. I found it wasn't for me, especially at the price. I have lyricist but use it less and less, because I like my rhyming dictionary better. There is also another time stamping service Copyrightedsongs.comI've used it, but it is unclear how much protection it gives you (I am NOT and never will be a lawyer). It does a date stamp plus a digital encoded fingerprint of your song.

[hummingbird]

Like most software, I've heard pros and cons.I have a physical rhyming dictionary & thesaurus, but I also have these bookmarked:http://www.rhymezone.com/http://educati ... esaurus/As far as lyrics go, I work on them in an email to myself & send them to myself & print them off; and I save them also to a file with that song's name on my project hard drive. I haven't got as far as organizing them alphabetically with paper (I have a lyric drawer, though), but the lyrics are easy to find if they are filed as a musical project. Then when I create a chord progression, I input that into the word file; or I set it up in Band in a Box so I have a lead sheet. All this stuff will be stored in the same place, under the song name... and music added to the same folder as well. And it will all be backed up as well.In terms of copyright - I know the Library of Congress is betatesting online registration, I'll go for that when it's set-up - $35 for the first song and $1 thereafter. I can budget $45/$50 a month for each month's work.just the way I do things.

[sgs4u]

Thank you Chris!!! A very real evaluation, for Mac users yet!!!!I was leaning towards it, but I don't actually need more problems organizing stuff. I need LESS problems. There was a guy that posted and Excel worksheet on here a couple of months ago. I thought that could easily be streamlined into my needs. Quote:I really like MasterWriter. It has helped me organize quite a bit and has guided me when I hit some writing walls. Just giving me some ideas and options to work. The only thing that has been kind of a nightmare for me is the lack of FAQs or documentation... and licensing. For example.. I work off 3 different computers. With the demo of MasterWriter, I could share a database. GREAT! With their licensing/protection scheme, you can't do that. Didn't know that until I had to ask them for help. So.. can I backup my songs and re-import them to the other computer? It's tedious but I could work that solution. Well.. not exactly. The backed up database includes the licensing info. Now.. the licensing info appears to run off things like MAC address (for you techies out there).. some generated machine code and a slice of black magic. So.. while it works well to protect the program, it's a pain to deal with.So.. at this point, I've contacted support several times and they've graciously helped me. And everytime I find out something else I can't do to share these songs. Okay.. not to be daunted.. I've determined there's no practical way to use multiple machines and share data. So I've resorted to building a webpage where I can copy and paste from one MasterWriter copy to another. Ooof.. It's a kludge but it sorta works for me.Upgraded my OS to Leopard on the laptop. But before I did, I made a backup of the MW database AND... just to be on the safe side.. copied the whole directory to a backup. Yup.. had to contact them again cause it broke the registration and I couldn't get it back. Well, while they were professional and polite, you don't have to be a psychic to hear the strain when someone emails back that.. "I've given you two more registrations but we're going to have to start charging you for licenses". Charging me for licenses? It's somewhat easy to tell from the logs that I'm trying to use these on the same original computers.. so it's not like I'm selling registrations down on the corner. Didn't this program cost me a couple hundred bucks? Was there someplace I could go read what I couldn't do with the program.. particularly in regard to sharing the database? Is it my protection scheme that's causing the problem? Huh.So.. now I have to wait to make any more OS upgrades or changes. MW is working on the next version which, I'm told, will allow you to self-unregister a computer. That will solve part of my problem. At that time, I'll make some decisions. For what it does in a stand-alone.. one computer.. never to be upgraded environment.. I like the program. I'd like to stay with it. But I will look around before I buy the new version.

[bmete]

Hi,here's the spreadsheet that Steve mentioned, http://www.reddproductions.net/reynovia ... .xlsEasily motified and tailored to your needs..Bob

[sgs4u]

thx Bob!

[ibanez468]

I think it's a good writing tool for those that aren't used to doing alot lyrical stuff, like myself. I've gone to it numerous times when I got hung up on a phrase or a rhyme, and found something interesting enough to tweak, so it could fit the needs of a verse. It's probably overpriced, no doubt, (like everything else) but I've found it to be helpful when writing. It's a decent tool though. I didn't find it to be a pain. It was fairly easy to use, I thought, and everything is organized within the program. There are a few things lacking in the word processor, but I managed to get around those limitations by opening up Word and working between the 2 when necessary.ibanez468

[clonsberry]

Don't get me wrong. I like the product. It's really a great tool. If I was in a one computer, stand alone environment, I probably wouldn't have the problems I have. Or.. as I said.. if there was a little more documentation or a FAQ.(On the other hand, there's nothing like sitting down with a notebook and a pencil now and then.)