AI has a few suggestions - not guaranteed to be 100% accurate. If you query directly it may provide a list of alternatives.
"Short answer: yes, there are better options than Tunefish 4 for realistic instrument playback in Crescendo, but whether they work depends on what you want Crescendo to do. NCH says Crescendo’s playback is basically piano by default, and the only built-in alternative is MIDI device playback; for VSTi instruments, it supports loading DLL instrument plugins.
Better plugin options
If your goal is more realistic orchestral or acoustic instrument sounds, Tunefish 4 is a synth, so it is usually not the best fit for things like string bass or bass clarinet. NCH’s own free VSTi page lists Tunefish as one option, but it’s just a “tiny virtual analog synthesizer,” not a sampled instrument library.
A better direction is usually:
- A general-purpose sampler or orchestral plugin that can load sampled instruments.
- A sample library focused on woodwinds or low strings.
- A MIDI sound module / soundfont player if you want simple playback from notation software. Crescendo’s documentation specifically points you toward MIDI device playback rather than built-in instrument modeling.
String Bass and Bass Clarinet
Yes, there are sound files/libraries available for both, but they are not built into Crescendo itself. For bass clarinet, sample libraries and sample packs exist, including searchable bass clarinet samples on Splice and a dedicated bass clarinet library from 8dio.
For string bass, sample-based bass content is also widely available, though not as a Crescendo-specific built-in instrument set. Search results show bass-focused sound libraries, but I did not find evidence that NCH provides native string bass or bass clarinet sound files inside Crescendo.
Practical recommendation
If you want the simplest improvement:
- Keep Crescendo.
- Use a different VSTi that is made for sampled instruments rather than synthesis.
- Load a bass clarinet or double-bass sample library if the plugin supports it. Crescendo supports VSTi plugins, so this is the right path if you want better realism."