Musicreader Pdf App Reviews

An attractive feature set, but TOO BUGGY TO RISK USING ON STAGE. Lots of crashes. Lots of freezes. Lots of stuff that just doesn't work except once or twice. Works OK with footswitch (and has half-page turns in landscape mode, which ForScore lacks) but half the time it doesn't work. The halfpage/fullpage interface is a confusing mess. I'm giving up on this app until they produce a version that is better tested (and has a better interface)

I am a professional church musician, music teacher, and community theater musician. I started using MusicReader on the PC when I outgrew my MusicPadPro. I love that I have my entire music collection (over 8,000 titles) digitized and searchable by title, composer, arranger, etc. I am so spoiled by the hands free page turning I don't ever want to go back to reading paper music. When I got an iPad for Christmas I couldn't wait to install the MusicReader app and start using it on my new iPad. The developer responsible for both the PC and iOS versions of MusicReader is constantly working to improve both applications and works hard to incorporate user suggestions. Initially I had difficulty syncing my library from my PC to the iPad due to the size of my library. Within a day of contacting the developer, he personally helped me troubleshoot the problem. A week and two beta releases later, I am now enjoying everything I loved about MusicReader on the PC on my new iPad. You just can't beat support like that.

Constantly crashes. Hangs frequently on start up. Not user friendly. Annotation is very poor. All in all a piece of junk and a waste of $5!

Crashes, Crashes, Crashes. MR 3 clunky but worked. 4.05 original crashed occasionally (Not to helpful for a musician, kinda like your guitar crashes occasionally.) Update will not open. Too much time wasted. Already tried MR support. They are working on it. Was the update the product? Why release an app if it doesn't work? Don't buy this app until someone writes it works reliably or even works at all.

Please update! When I flip 3 pages, it crashes. I wanted to use it at a gig, and couldn't. It kept crashing when I got to page 4.

Very buggy and not ready at all for prime time. Library management is impossible. The sample music cannot be deleted and music I attempted to load did not appear in the library list. Lots of potential here for a great simple PDF music reader but it's not quite there yet.

As a classroom music teacher of a K-5 Elementary School, this app had been very handy when teaching my students about reading a choral octavo. Projecting the images from my iPad to the Apple TV, I had used MusicReader's Annotation features to mark up the music for all the children to see. For whatever reason, the app seems to crash a LOT and will not reopen until I delete and reload it from my iPad. This is problematic because of my very limited time constraints, and I must immediately abandon the lesson at hand before losing the attention of my 9-10 year-olds. Adding insult to injury our IT dept. has blocked all access to the Apple Store so reloading is only possible outside of school. On the weekends, I'm a performer and this app WAS great for viewing my lead sheets, and turning pages quickly and effectively. I esp. loved the half-page feature for those lead sheets which are done in a very tiny font. However, I'd experienced the crashing issue again, and this was even worse, because I'd be in the middle of a gig, which is no time to be re-loading an app. Worse yet, if I CAN reload the app, I've lost all the music I'd loaded into it. A lot of good that does with a restaurant full of onlookers wondering what happened to their live entertainment. I would consider upgrading to the pro- version if I knew for sure it wouldn't crash so badly. I wouldn't care if it crashed as long I could reopen and have all my materials intact; it's a whole other thing when it crashes and is completely useless thereafter. Fix that and it would be a great - no - a super app!

Have used this app for over 2 years now for one reason, it has a full page index. I play in piano bars on ships, need a lot of songs quick and this is the ONLY reason I use it. Many other things about it I find frustrating, say I want to organize all my 90's song in a list just to able to see and choose quick, good luck, want to make a page larger, has to be done on laptop. So on and so forth, the day ForScore makes a full page index, I'm there. Index in ForScore too hard to see on stage, but better over all than this.

Seems that I have to "sync" Dropbox-stored PDFs to this app using an app on a PC or MAC. Totally unnecessary; have your developers spend the two hours it takes to integrate Dropbox directly into an iOS app.

Just wasted my money. This app won't even load. Just quits and returns to home screen. Save your money and buy something else. NOTE: Received very speedy customer service. Deleted the app and reinstalled, loaded some PDF files. Seems to be working. But I am concerned about showing up to a gig with this and finding Music Reader has failed again. ANOTHER NOTE: Crash, crash, crash. That's what this program is good at. This must be the worst iPad app out there. Do not waste your time. Do not waste your money.

I had been using this app for over two years, and was using the PC program version on a tablet laptop before that. In all that time, the iPad app suffered from a series of frustrating glitches, some serious. It took a long time to load, had problems with the directory and playlist, sometimes was unresponsive and often jumped out of the app. I patiently but frustratingly hung with it through several versions that would fix one problem while introducing another! Two weeks ago I started using forScore and am so happy to finally be using a solid, well implimented program! Don't buy MusicReader!

Very 80's looking app. Not pretty to look at and doesn't really flow. Choppy menu transitions. There's no 2nd chance at a first impression. Wish there was a free version to audition this app before losing my dollar. I can't recommend this app.

I have been using the Mac and PC Version of this program for a few months now. I just started using this with my new iPad and while I have had a couple of issues with getting my foot pedal to work with it correctly these problems were fixed and FAST! I love the sync feature it works fantastic for keeping all of my libraries updated. The annotations work great on Practice night and I have not had a problem one when using this program on stage on sunday mornings. This program just keeps getting better! This is the sheet music viewing program that I will keep on my iPad.

I have been using Music Reader4, and although it has a steep learning curve, once you figure it out, I love it! Support is ok, and it does what I need it to do.

Do not buy this app if you are using it with an AirTurn BT105. I know my BT105 works, so it's not my hardware. I just wanted a means to control my PDFs on my iPad with a pedal, since I lead worship with a guitar. I figured to put the pedal in my pedal board and I'm good to go with MusicReader. Nope. Even though the AirTurn recommends it, it is a horrible program even without the pedal. I tried syncing it for about 3 hours and no results. My friend did the same with the same story. For one second it seemed like it finally sync'd but it may have been a coincidence that I pressed the pedal at the same time my thumb hit the screen. Don't waste your time and money. If you're not going to use a pedal, you can get free apps like Adobe Reader that work really well. Major fail on a large scale.

I've learned how to cope with its quirks and crashes. Biggest fails was having multiple apps open at the same time. So I stopped. I bought a Droid tablet to communicate with my digital mixer and to provide any web access. I found the easiest way to get a PDF to my iPad is to email it and to open and send it to Music Reader4. I'd love some new bug fixes and gui updates. Once I understood I can't make the air turn and the keyboard work, again, I learned to shut the Bluetooth of before I search. I will keep using but also keep looking in case they never update it.

This app needs a way to scroll through many pages, have a 'jump to page' navigation and a FASTER response to page turns.

I purchased this app with the high dollar windows program to go with it. In the three years I have lost all 2000 songs of music about ten times while at church leaving me unable to play that day. It takes hours to upload back to the program because it will only allow you to sync about 20 to 50 at a time depending on size of the song. Just don't waste the expense they charge for this program. Better ones out there not freezing and dropping all your music without notice. Just tired of it and refuse to spend my time reloading it again. I quit this program and buying a five dollar one that many of my friends use with no problem. Stop updating and causing more problems. Can only add one song at a a time through PDF. What a joke!!!!

The library is very confusing... But the main interface seems to be good. I would like it if I could make the top bar go away so I don't always have to see it. I think with a couple tweaks, this could be the best music reader out there

What's the point?

Have over 1200 songs stored on my iPad. The beauty of this software is you can read in landscape mode which I like because the larger staff. The Bluetooth page foot control and mic stand mount is all you need for those gigs. Takes some learning to set up the sheets in half page mode. The support is awesome, but keep in consideration they are in the Netherlands time zone. Usually get a reply back early morning. Keep up the good work!

If I were reviewing Music Reader based on how much I like the idea, it would get ten stars. But this review is about whether you want to join in. For now, until there is a better UI, cohesive instructions, and a some bug extermination, I have to give only one star. It's unstable and frustrating but so potentially powerful that I keep hanging in. Customer support is enthusiastic, but no more clear than the instructions - if you can even find the instructions. Before you plunk down the fifty bucks for the program you will need on your computer, log on to musicreader.net and find the knowledge base. Yup. That's it over there with the disjointed subjects, links that go nowhere, and screen shots of nothing helpful. That's all there is. If you're okay with that, then go for it. At least you'll get a PDF converter. The other thing you'll get Is a powerful annotation system that actually writes to the PDF, not just to an overlay that stays in the program. 30 years of hobby guitar playing has taught me that my fingerings are my greatest musical treasure. I will appreciate being able to keep the notes and fingerings I will create over time. With seven or ten big boxes of sheet music right here in my hand (insert googly eyed adoration for my iPad), that's important, especially if I migrate to a smoother program. Navigating the menus isn't intuitive, as many reviewers have alluded to. Navigation within your beautiful score is worse. There is a half page view which is helpful for viewing on the limited screen of iPad, but page turning is jumpy. MR lacks the ability to scroll up or down your score in the half page view. Who cares? Anybody practicing the tricky part, that's who, because you know the tricky part is going to be right there at the split. Creating and using playlists must be a skill way above my pay grade. One time I thought I had it, but no, It was just a frozen drop down to something to do with playlists. I accidentally made one once, so I have reason to believe it could happen again - even to me. I'd like to report that the one playlist was a whole lot of fun, but no. There is no such thing as scrubbing thru the pages. If you're in a playlist and go beyond the last page of the list, paging back doesn't work - you are simply out of your list. On my PC (XP), using the file convert has been a nightmare. Upon importing a doc, the first page or two is frequently put at the end. Nope, it doesn't sort itself out upon saving, and no, careful naming of the pages is no help. To reorder the pages, the missing ones must be dragged one at a time up the column. It moves at glacial speed and is prone to dropping the page somewhere along the way. Not good when you're looking at dense Bach. Nope, no scrolling thru to find it. Click, back, repeat. Sigh. Now I add extra copies of a bold image to the beginning of each folder. You will find your own workarounds, but find them quick. If it happens once it will happen most times. Syncing is a powerful feature of MR, but beware! First, you will need lots of time. You will have to answer for every change, deletion, or addition. Don't get distracted unless you have a very current backup file somewhere on your computer. I lost a boatload. I've never lost a file in 15 years of syncing Palm, so I was caught unprepared. On the plus side, some complaints to support regarding features or menu confusions have brought fairly quick changes to the program. Another plus: this isn't just an iPad app. If MR can get their stuff together, this powerful program could follow music reading users through a lifetime of playing. It is compatible with any touchscreen computer or tablet, and the other guys aren't. My plea to the creators: go to the nearest university, grab some overworked music majors who are end computer users, and write the frigging manual from a user's perspective. Steal the + icon and it's use from any billion of apps, and simplify the UI. Just go ask the kids, it will be much better. Since I suspect we will be a long time waiting for improvements, I will put my energy into begging Deep Dish Gigbook to add annotation functions or to convince For Score and/or Gigbook to add syncing features.

I had the Music Reader for over a year on my iPad. Just recently it would not load. Deleted the app and went back to App Store. Had to buy the $0.99 version, and it will not load either. I'm stuck.

I bought the app and tried to sync it with MusicReader 4.0 but the process only partially works. It won't complete the sync. You have to reboot the iPad to complete. The menu structure is also very confusing.

I've been using this app for a couple of years mainly in live performances. Overall the app works fairly well. The only time the app has crashed on me is when using the annotation tools which are not that good so I choose not to use them. I would to point out to the developers that the library icon and gig list icons are very small compared to the others on the task bar. This doesn't make sense because these two selection areas are used the most. When trying to select a song or select to change the gig list, you have to be very precise to touch the small icon(s) on the screen of the iPad. Precisely touching the screen while in a live performance can be difficult. It's to easy to accidentally touch the wrong area. I would like see the physical size of the two selection buttons / icons for the library and gig list be made larger. There seems to be plenty of space on the task bar and enlarging them would certainly make the app easier to use.

This app is awesome. I lead worship at our church and have printed out and had to deal with clumsy hard copy pages for a number of years. This app has made page turning hassle free and allows me to import all of the song sheets that I have in PDF format (over 600). It also allows me to create PDF files from native PC applications that are PDF optimized for the Music Reader program with their included printer driver. Excellent!

I can't really give this a true rating since it does nothing but crash as soon as you open it

Nowhere in the description does it say you need to have the desktop application in order to add music to your library. Don't waste your money.

I was trying to find a cheaper alternative to on song. And this is not it. Hard to use and all around terrible

I've used this app for 2-3 years now along with the desktop App. It's not the prettiest, there are some frustrations, but I've used it for live performances just fine with a USB footswitch. I take snapshots of music on my iPad using Genius Scan, send them directly into Music Reader, and add them to a playlist. I've only lost a playlist once, still not sure exactly what happened. I sync using USB cable to the Mac, no issues. I've done some annotating which is not the most intuitive, but it's never caused me a crash. I find it more stable on the newer iOS, and will probably continue to use it when I get my iPad Pro early next year.

Downloaded the latest update today. Crashes when I try and name a file transfered by email attachment. Loads but crashes a lot when trying just about any function. Hope that upcoming updates can resolve because it looks good. Would really like to see a 2 page view for the iPad.

Crashed constantly, couldn't load the one PDF file I bought the app for I want my dollar back

Firs time ever using this music reader program and so far I really enjoy it . It's going to take some time getting use to it but that's okay I just hope this program will work .I have a lot of music on mine so far it's great that I bought a airturn so I wants have to turn. My own pages so far so good I can't really complain since this app Was 99 cent I will rate 3 stars for being okay since I am new but have been playing music for 12 years finding these things out now makes it all the better Thanks

MusicReader is possibly the worst app I have ever purchased. The layout is unintuitive. The connection to DropBox forces you to choose an entire folder as opposed to a single file. Repeated attempts to get a whole page to turn instead of half pages have been futile. I am unable to open a file that someone has emailed me, because the main directory doesn't seem to know that the app exists. Need I go on? Horrible. The only reason I was excited about this app was the fact that I could open .fh files. I'll stick with ForScore on my iPad and the mastodon MusicPad Pro combo thank you. Ugh!

I have used this app on my pc before I got an iPad it was part of why I wanted to get an iPad. It always worked great if I ran into something i didn't understand the developer always helped me. He was great. After I used the iPad for a couple months I got rid of my PC and went to a mac. And again no trouble sync from mac to iPad or scanning using mac. I love this app

Do not buy this APP! Please read the following: * Unable to sync files! * Cannot sync iPad to Mac * App keeps crashing * Will not read scanned music files on my MAC * Continues to ask for license even after purchase This is highway robbery. I hope Apple removes this app from iTunes. If i could i would give this POS a negative star!!!!!!!!!!

There are not enough hours in the day (week) to figure out how this works. I give up