Better way to use DP Live Performance???

[JLEpperson]

I use DP8 for live performance. My band has approx 80 songs. We use chunks to play through the set. The problem is it is hard to manage that many songs. There's no way to save set list, no way to sort the chunks, and dragging the songs to the correct order is a nightmare because there is no scrolling the drag in chunks. I use to use Cakewalk live back in the day and it way perfect but thats long gone. Am I missing something or is there a better way to do this. I've looked at other programs but none seem to do much better. Would love some suggestions.
Thanks

[daniel.sneed]

Well, 80 is a number!
As you may already know, in DP, chunks can be dragged and dropped.
Why not creating a new copy of the original DP file, with the setlist in the right order?
Preparing this new file a few days before each show would be safe and easy.

[Shooshie]

I think MOTU should make the Chunks List respond to key-commands like the Tracks Overview. Ordering chunks has been one of my pet-peeves about DP since the Performer days, even back to the earliest days of the Chunks Window. Dragging them is too imprecise, and the list doesn't scroll, just as the OP said.

Why not let us bump 'em up, group them, or move to the top/bottom as we can in the Tracks Overview with just a few keyboard commands?

I'd even be up for Chunks Folders for those with lots of changing sets.

Shooshie

[James Steele]

80 is a lot. I'm only now building a project with multiple chunks for backing tracks for a rock band scenario. Probably most chunks we'd have is 15 to start with since it's an original act that probably won't do more than a single set at first.

I my situation I load chunks by assigning a MIDI note to each one, and have DP8 listen for the MIDI note on a specific channel. I have a MIDI foot controller and it's set up so that there is a bank of presets for each song (chunk) and one of those presets, when recalled sends the appropriate Note On message to DP8 on the MacBook and loads the chunk. Two other buttons are for Play/Stop and Rewind.

I like having random access to any chunk I want, actually. I don't always rigidly adhere to a set list, but I can see that sometimes you'd want to. It takes me very little time to recall the next chunk. Perhaps there's some sort of MIDI controller you could use to do that?

There's also an iPad app that you can use that will wirelessly send keystrokes to your Mac.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/keypad- ... 13794?mt=8

You can create buttons on it, label them and assign a keystroke to each button. You could use small buttons and make an alphabetized list of your songs (or move the buttons into the order of your set before a gig) and then step through your chunks simply by pressing a button on the iPad.

In fact, really that gives me a good idea since my drummer has control of playback and I've been having him use DP control, but rather than that, a simplified screen with buttons with song (chunk) names and then simple transport controls would be a much better solution for him to cue chunks and start playback when I'm talking to an audience. He won't have to go to a different page in DP Control to change chunks and then go back to the transport control.

[Dan Worley]

Yes yes yes. MOTU please update the Chunks window. I feel like I'm back in the 80s when I use it.

[JLEpperson]

So glad to hear others feel this way. Im at the point of looking for another solution, but not really sure what. I've tried Logic and looked at LIVE, but neither work with setlists like I need. Does anybody know if Cakewalk still has a Jukebox option?

[Tesionman]

I don't even use chunks.
I have multiple sequences in one project, in which each sequence is a particular song. All I do is change the sequence in between songs.

cheers

[James Steele]

I don't even use chunks.
I have multiple sequences in one project, in which each sequence is a particular song. All I do is change the sequence in between songs.

cheers

sequences = chunks. The terms are pretty much interchangeable. Unless you're saying you have one sequence and you locate to different markers on the timeline to start playback?

[daniel.sneed]

I don't even use chunks.[...]

Tesionman, sorry to say you already use chunks. The word *chunk* in DP language stands for sequence, or song, or v-rack...

[Shooshie]

So glad to hear others feel this way. Im at the point of looking for another solution, but not really sure what. I've tried Logic and looked at LIVE, but neither work with setlists like I need. Does anybody know if Cakewalk still has a Jukebox option?

I don't know if Cakewalk still has that, but I can tell you that dragging a group of chunks in the Chunks Window is an order of magnitude easier than switching DAWs. There is a reason why so many of the really big shows use DP to control them. I'm talking Pink Floyd, Madonna, Beyoncé, and others of that level, not to mention others down to the local Holiday Inn Lizard Lounge.

shoosh

[James Steele]

Funny, maybe it's just because I just do rock and shorter sets, but I've been on the path of discovery lately and I've been absolutely tickled at what I can get DP to do. DP is has been out on the road with Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters, Madonna, Mötley Crüe and many many more. For some reason it's the go-to platform for a lot of big acts.

[bayswater]

it's the go-to platform for a lot of bug acts.

Beatles? Crickets? Adam Ant?

[James Steele]

it's the go-to platform for a lot of bug acts.

Beatles? Crickets? Adam Ant?

Hahaha... I hate typos! Gonna go fix that!

[wonder]

I used DP for live performance for a long time.

I switched to Ableton Live. It's much more efficient for my needs and the flexibility and ease with programming MIDI triggers for Song Start, Switch Songs, etc etc made it an easy choice.

[David Polich]

I think MOTU should make the Chunks List respond to key-commands like the Tracks Overview.

Shooshie

Actually, this is already implemented, in a way. You can assign a Mac key to call up a chunk.
That has been around since DP 4.61, maybe even earlier than that.