MOTU has announced the availability of an update to its Digital Performer DAW, bringing new features, general bug fixes and improvements.

Digital Performer 11.2 includes ARA2 support, a new Audio to MIDI Conversion command to help you turn audio pitch/drum loops into MIDI notes, Auto Triplet Grid mode for automatic triplet subdivision based on your zoom level, and more.

ARA2 is a plug-in protocol extension developed by Celemony™ that allows Melodyne™ (and other plug-ins that support ARA2) to access and analyze audio data in sound files ahead of time, prior to playback being engaged. This enables a level of detailed sound manipulation far beyond other real-time plug-in APIs, especially for musical characteristics such as pitch, tempo and rhythm. Apply cutting-edge audio processing to individual soundbites or entire tracks with the very latest ARA plug-in technology.

Now included with Digital Performer 11, Melodyne 5 Essential™ delivers unrivaled, state-of-the-art pitch editing and beat editing to your tracks using industry-recognized, Grammy-Award-winning algorithms. Use Melodyne’s processing to sculpt your vocals and other tracks directly within the context of your production. And you can upgrade at any time to unlock even more advanced editing and control.

The new Copy Audio to MIDI feature lets you convert pitched audio, percussive audio or drum loops to MIDI notes. From there you can double the original audio with MIDI instruments or transform the MIDI with DP’s powerful MIDI editing. Several algorithms are provided for monophonic, polyphonic and percussive audio material.

Priced $499 USD, Digital Performer 11.2 for Windows and macOS is a free update for Digital Performer 11 users. To download and activate Melodyne Essential, log in to your motu.com account, go to your DP11 registration, click the Melodyne tab and follow the instructions for installing and activating your copy.

More information: MOTU