MOTU has announced it is now shipping version 9 of Digital Performer, a major upgrade to its flagship audio workstation software.
Version 9 now includes MOTU’s powerful MX4™ MultiSynth, plus five new plug-ins, automation lanes and spectrogram display in the Sequence Editor, Retina display support, MusicXML notation export and other new features.
“DP9 is a fantastic upgrade because it gives DP users a powerful synth, five exciting new plug-ins, and top user-requested workflow enhancements,” said Jim Cooper, MOTU Director of Marketing.
Changes in Digital Performer 9
- MX4™ MultiSynth — Now included with DP, MX4 is a powerful 64-bit virtual instrument plug-in featuring a hybrid engine that combines several forms of synthesis, including subtractive, wavetable, frequency modulation (FM), amplitude modulation (AM) and analog emulation. Included is a new EDM-inspired soundbank with 120 new presets programmed by synth guru Erik Norlander.
- Five new plug-ins — New version 9 plug-ins include the meticulously crafted MasterWorks™ FET-76™ emulation of the classic 1176 limiting amplifier (revisions D/E), MultiFuzz™ model of Craig Anderton’s seminal QuadraFuzz™ distortion kit from the 70’s, MicroG™ and MicroB™ polyphonic octave generators for guitar and bass, and the mind-blowing MegaSynth™ subtractive synth processor, which lets users turn their guitar into a synthesizer. MegaSynth combines polyphonic octave generation with flexible signal routing, envelopes, LFOS, a pattern generator and macros.
- DP9 productivity enhancements
- Automation lanes in the Sequence Editor — Display audio and MIDI automation data (volume, pan, plug-in settings, etc.) in separate lanes below each track for easier viewing and editing. Show and hide as many lanes as you wish.
- Spectrogram display in the Sequence Editor — View the spectral content of each audio track, side by side with their waveforms, directly in the Sequence Editor timeline with a colorful, informative visual representation of the frequency content of your audio material.
- Retina display support — View DP’s carefully crafted UI themes like Carbon Fiber, Producer and the all-new DP9 theme in stunning detail on the exceptionally high image resolution of your Mac’s Retina display.
- MusicXML export — Export your DP QuickScribe notation scores as a MusicXML file, which can then be imported into popular music notation applications like Finale™ and Sibelius™. QuickScribe’s renowned notation transcription, along with dynamics and many other musical symbols, are preserved during the file transfer.
- Create Tracks command — Add many tracks to your project in one step, even different types of tracks (MIDI, audio, aux, master faders, etc.) all at once.
- Floating plug-in windows — Keep plug-in windows in front of all other DP windows. Set the floating preference globally or choose to float on a per-window basis.
- MIDI Learn for audio plug-ins — Map knobs, faders and switches on your MIDI controller to audio plug-in parameters. Use Digital Performer’s powerful Custom Consoles feature to access advanced programming for the connection.
- Mute MIDI Notes — Use the Mute Tool to temporarily silence both audio regions and MIDI notes, including multiple selected notes.
- Project Notes — Save text notes in your DP project, rather than a separate text document. Log production info, keep a To Do list, build up liner notes.
- More searching — Find Markers, Chunks and plug-in preferences faster with newly added search fields.
Digital Performer 9 for Windows and Mac is now shipping, priced at a street price of $499 USD. A competitive upgrade or AudioDesk upgrade is $395 USD, and an upgrade from a previous version is $195 USD. Registered users can upgrade directly from the MOTU web site.
More information: MOTU / Digital Performer
