MOTU DP8 Audio Workstation Software with MIDI Sequencing (Competitive Upgrade)

The MOTU DP8 Audio Workstation Software with MIDI Sequencing (Competitive Upgrade) is a significant upgrade from the previous version and provides features that ease workflow while delivering a deep set of tools. On a technical front, the application provides 64-bit support while still allowing for 32-bit operation where 32-bit plug-ins are still required. Punch Guard confidence recording means never having to worry about losing the head or tail of an otherwise perfect take, with the feature always capturing extra time before and after punch points. Seventeen new effects plug-ins are included, everything from modeled guitar tones to mastering processors, adding to a total of over eighty effects. A new video playback engine allows for full screen viewing of 720p or 1080p HD clips within the program or on a secondary computer monitor, or on an HDMI or SDI video monitor via the company's video interfaces. An in-line control panel can be customized and embedded in the consolidated window, or popped out and placed anywhere on the screen. A plug-in chooser offers comprehensive plug-in management in any preferred manner, regardless of format. ReWire and VST plug-in support is provided and the entire user interface can be modified to taste using the fifteen additional themes along with those already available. All these features compliment an already very capable DAW with its extensive MIDI implementation, scoring capabilities and a refined audio recording and mixing engine. For users of competing DAW products, MOTU offers this competitive upgrade for the following products: ACID, AudioDesk, Audition, Cakewalk, Cubase, Live, Logic, Nuendo, Pro Tools, Reason, SONAR, SoundForge, Soundtrack, Studio One, Tracktion, Vegas and Vision. Complete desktop studio production Digital Performer represents a complete studio production experience on your computer desktop. Record, edit, mix, process and master polished recordings. Combine external hardware - synths, controllers, mics, instruments, compressors - with virtual instruments, loops, audio tracks and MIDI tracks, all together in a seamless, intuitive production environment. Work musically with features like the Drum Editor and QuickScribe notation, then switch gears for creative production techniques with inspiring plug-ins like DP8's new Subkick, Chorus Ensemble and guitar FX plug-ins. Import loops, launch virtual instruments and 3rd-party plug-ins: Digital Performer is the consummate host. Then polish your recording with Digital Performer's extensive editing, mixing, processing and mastering tools. No matter how you approach your music and audio production, DP's highly customizable user interface empowers your personal workflow. MIDI, audio and virtual instruments Digital Performer excels at bringing together the worlds of MIDI sequencing, multitrack audio recording, virtual instruments and loops and sound libraries. Work with all forms side by side, with dedicated editors for each, but also common editing, mixing and processing features that work in the same familiar fashion. Consolidated Window Digital Performer's Consolidated Window streamlines your workspace. Quickly access major features such as the Sequence Editor, Mixing Board and Waveform Editor with tabs across the top of the window. Split the window vertically to view critical information side by side. Add side bars for commonly used lists and info panes. Create and save multiple custom layouts. Factory presets are provided for tracking, editing, mixing and other stages of your workflow. Custom waveform colors Audio waveforms are the most graphically significant element of your workspace and Digital Performer lets you dial in the exact amount of color saturation and lightness you prefer, independently for both the waveform and its background. You can also choose to show or hide a solid color bar across the top of each waveform clip. Custom level meters What color are your level meters? This may sound like a personal question, but the truth is, level meter color can often be the subject of strong debate. In DP8, you can choose any color you want to perfectly match your favorite theme. You can even design a two- or three-color gradient. Control Panel The Control Panel provides essential information in compact strip across the top of your computer screen. Float it independently, or pop it into the Consolidated Window. Configure it however you want with extensive preferences. Digital Performer gives you complete control over this critical component of your creative experience. Extensive customization In addition to the highly configurable Consolidated Window, DP8's dozens of themes and the other customization features already mentioned, Digital Performer provides extensive preferences for configuring your workspace and how it responds to you. After all, a creative workspace is a very personal thing. And the time get to spend there is precious, so you deserve every opportunity to maximize your experience. Multiple sequences Digital Performer is still the only audio workstation application that allows you to create multiple sequences in a single project. Regardless of what you create with DP, you'll undoubtedly end up producing multiple versions of it. Why not have them all in the same project file, at your fingertips, using the same effects processing and virtual instrument resources? Need to use Digital Performer for live performance? Create a single file with all your songs in it, organized into 45-minute song sets or however you like. Digital Performer is the preferred workstation software for live touring, due in large part to this essential feature. Digital Performer's ability to assist you in creating and managing multiple sequences is unparalleled. Track folders and groups Put folders within folders for as many levels as you need. Assign a unique color to the tracks in each folder to further enhance your project organization. Track folders show an overview of their contents in the Tracks Window. Track folders can be fully edited when either collapsed or expanded and they even have their own track controls (play-enable, lock, solo exempt, etc.), just like individual tracks. Track folders appear throughout Digital Performer in all windows that show multiple tracks, including all track show/hide selectors. Option-click and command-click shortcuts help you quickly collapse and expand multiple folders, or even all folders. Precision and resolution If had to choose one phrase to describe Digital Performer's no-compromise approach to digital music and audio production, it would have to be: sample-accurate. The shocking truth is that some audio applications don't maintain phase coherence during editing: as soon as you make an edit, the resulting audio clip is now shifted a few samples from its original position relative to other tracks. The results are insidiously disastrous. Never in Digital Performer. DP has been engineered with the utmost devotion to sonic integrity. Regardless of whether you work at 192 kHz with 32-bit floating point audio files, or plain old 44.1 kHz 16-bit audio, Digital Performer is faithful and true down to sample, for every edit, every fader move. POLAR Inspired by the classic Echoplex tape delay effect, POLAR stands for "Performance Oriented Loop Audio Recording". POLAR allows you to continuously loop-record vocal comps, beat-boxing, guitar, or pretty much anything, overdubbing each pass to build up vocal stacks or layered audio loops of any length with any number of layers. Many options are provided to facilitate real-time interaction with the computer, allowing you to record ideas quickly and spontaneously. POLAR provides a seductive form of interactive loop-recording that produces results you might never have imagined. Be prepared to lose track of hours as you explore interactive layers upon layers. For truly amazing looped effects, try changing the length of the record loop between passes. Now try loops of odd lengths repeating against each other. (3 bars against 7, anyone?) The results can be mind-blowing. When you're done, hit Export to blow the entire POLAR session into your Digital Performer project for further editing, processing and mixing. Step Record Step Record lets you enter MIDI material one note at a time. Sure, you can always draw notes graphically with the pencil tool, but sometimes it's more fun - and musically productive - to actually play a phrase or part, even if it's only note by note. Often the results are much more interesting than graphically entered material. Create insanely fast passages that would be impossible for a human to play. Takes and comping When you're tracking, recording multiple takes is essential: it frees you up and allows you, or the artist, to get in the moment, be oneself and perform the ultimate lick or phrase. Digital Performer lets you record into an unlimited number of takes and then quickly combine them into the perfect composite or "comp" take. Quickly expand the track list to display all takes, just like separate tracks, but specially linked for quick one-click comping. Then collapse them when you're done to conserve screen space. You can always go back to tweak them again later. DP's takes and comping features let you do in minutes what used to take hours. Comprehensive MIDI and audio editors Digital Performer's edit windows are so well-equipped with features, they could stand as separate applications on their own. Each window is loaded with features dedicated to each form of data, with the Sequence Editor serving as the grand master that displays all tracks and data together, side by side.