The Digital Performer Tips Sheet

Discussion of Digital Performer use, optimization, tips and techniques on MacOS.

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This forum is for most discussion related to the use and optimization of Digital Performer [MacOS] and plug-ins as well as tips and techniques. It is NOT for troubleshooting technical issues, complaints, feature requests, or "Comparative DAW 101."
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wvandyck
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The Evolution of DP6: A loose timeline.

Post by wvandyck »

The Evolution of DP: A Loose Timeline. (Through DP 6).

New link added 8/14/12
Same content for now. But I've been thinking about reformatting the pages in a charcoal theme.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cnhyb6a7bhklz ... 8.pdf?dl=0


The file size of this compressed PDF is 21 MB.

I can make the uncompressed version, a whopping 610 MB :shock: available in a bit.

Many thanks to Shooshie for providing much of the new content, and to Mike Beckman for patiently helping work me through some file conversion issues as well as customizing a couple of Acrobat export presets which balanced optimal image quality with a reasonable file size.
Last edited by wvandyck on Sun Jul 26, 2015 8:15 pm, edited 8 times in total.
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Tonio
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Re: The Digital Performer Tips Sheet

Post by Tonio »

Thanks for that flashG!!

T
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Shooshie
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Re: The Digital Performer Tips Sheet

Post by Shooshie »

Continuous Controller Numbers
First of all, here's a very informative page on MIDI Continuous Controllers:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/MIDI_controllers.htm


But for those of you who just want a quick reference, heres a chart with color coded columns. I can't do a table in this forum. Maybe others can, but I can't. So deal with the colors if you can:

Hex Decimal -- Controller Name
Data Range
00 0 -- Bank Select (coarse) 0..127
01 1 -- Modulation Wheel (coarse) 0..127
02 2 -- Breath Control (coarse) 0..127
03 3 -- Continuous controller #3 0..127
04 4 -- Foot Controller (coarse) 0..127
05 5 -- Portamento Time (coarse) 0..127
06 6 -- Data Entry Slider (coarse) 0..127
07 7 -- Main Volume (coarse) 0..127
08 8 -- Stereo Balance (coarse) 0..127
09 9 -- Continuous controller #9 0..127
0A 10 -- Pan (coarse) 0=left 64=center 127=right
0B 11 -- Expression (sub-Volume) (coarse) 0..127
0C 12 -- Effect Control 1 (coarse) 0..127
0D 13 -- Effect Control 2 (coarse) 0..127
0E 14 -- Continuous controller #14 0..127
0F 15 -- Continuous controller #15 0..127
10 16 -- General Purpose Slider 1 0..127
11 17 -- General Purpose Slider 2 0..127[/size]
12 18 -- General Purpose Slider 3 0..127
13 19 -- General Purpose Slider 4 0..127
14 20 -- Continuous controller #20 0..127
15 21 -- Continuous controller #21 0..127
16 22 -- Continuous controller #22 0..127
17 23 -- Continuous controller #23 0..127
18 24 -- Continuous controller #24 0..127
19 25 -- Continuous controller #25 0..127
1A 26 -- Continuous controller #26 0..127
1B 27 -- Continuous controller #27 0..127
1C 28 -- Continuous controller #28 0..127
1D 29 -- Continuous controller #29 0..127
1E 30 -- Continuous controller #30 0..127
1F 31 -- Continuous controller #31 0..127
20 32 -- Bank Select (fine) 0..127 usually ignored
21 33 -- Modulation Wheel (fine) 0..127
22 34 -- Breath Control (fine) 0..127
23 35 -- Continuous controller #3 (fine) 0..127
24 36 -- Foot Controller (fine) 0..127
25 37 -- Portamento Time (fine) 0..127
26 38 -- Data Entry Slider (fine) 0..127
27 39 -- Main Volume (fine) 0..127 usually ignored
28 40 -- Stereo Balance (fine) 0..127
29 41 -- Continuous controller #9 (fine) 0..127
2A 42 -- Pan (fine) 0..127 usually ignored
2B 43 -- Expression (sub-Volume) (fine) 0..127 usually ignored
2C 44 -- Effect Control 1 (fine) 0..127
2D 45 -- Effect Control 2 (fine) 0..127
2E 46 -- Continuous controller #14 (fine) 0..127
2F 47 -- Continuous controller #15 (fine) 0..127
30 48 -- Continuous controller #16 0..127
31 49 -- Continuous controller #17 0..127
32 50 -- Continuous controller #18 0..127
33 51 -- Continuous controller #19 0..127
34 52 -- Continuous controller #20 (fine) 0..127
35 53 -- Continuous controller #21 (fine) 0..127
36 54 -- Continuous controller #22 (fine) 0..127
37 55 -- Continuous controller #23 (fine) 0..127
38 56 -- Continuous controller #24 (fine) 0..127
39 57 -- Continuous controller #25 (fine) 0..127
3A 58 -- Continuous controller #26 (fine) 0..127
3B 59 -- Continuous controller #27 (fine) 0..127
3C 60 -- Continuous controller #28 (fine) 0..127
3D 61 -- Continuous controller #29 (fine) 0..127
3E 62 -- Continuous controller #30 (fine) 0..127
3F 63 -- Continuous controller #31 (fine) 0..127
40 64 -- Hold pedal (Sustain) on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
41 65 -- Portamento on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
42 66 -- Sustenuto Pedal on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
43 67 -- Soft Pedal on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
44 68 -- Legato Pedal on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
45 69 -- Hold Pedal 2 on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
46 70 -- Sound Variation 0..127
47 71 -- Sound Timbre 0..127
48 72 -- Sound Release Time 0..127
49 73 -- Sound Attack Time 0..127
4A 74 -- Sound Brighness 0..127
4B 75 -- Sound Control 6 0..127
4C 76 -- Sound Control 7 0..127
4D 77 -- Sound Control 8 0..127
4E 78 -- Sound Control 9 0..127
4F 79 -- Sound Control 10 0..127
50 80 -- General Purpose Button 0..63=off--64..127=on
51 81 -- General Purpose Button 0..63=off--64..127=on
52 82 -- General Purpose Button 0..63=off--64..127=on
53 83 -- General Purpose Button 0..63=off--64..127=on
54 84 -- Undefined on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
55 85 -- Undefined on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
56 86 -- Undefined on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
57 87 -- Undefined on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
58 88 -- Undefined on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
59 89 -- Undefined on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
5A 90 -- Undefined on/off 0..63=off--64..127=on
5B 91 -- Effects Level 0..127
5C 92 -- Tremulo Level 0..127
5D 93 -- Chorus Level 0..127
5E 94 -- Celeste (Detune) Level 0..127
5F 95 -- Phaser Level 0..127
60 96 -- Data entry +1 ignored
61 97 -- Data entry -1 ignored
62 98 -- Non-Registered Parameter Number (coarse) 0..127
63 99 -- Non-Registered Parameter Number (fine) 0..127
64 100 -- Registered Parameter Number (coarse) 0..127
65 101 -- Registered Parameter Number (fine) 0..127
66 102 -- Undefined ?
67 103 -- Undefined ?
68 104 -- Undefined ?
69 105 -- Undefined ?
6A 106 -- Undefined ?
6B 107 -- Undefined ?
6C 108 -- Undefined ?
6D 109 -- Undefined ?
6E 110 -- Undefined ?
6F 111 -- Undefined ?
70 112 -- Undefined ?
71 113 -- Undefined ?
72 114 -- Undefined ?
73 115 -- Undefined ?
74 116 -- Undefined ?
75 117 -- Undefined ?
76 118 -- Undefined ?
77 119 -- Undefined ?
78 120 -- All Sound Off ignored
79 121 -- All Controllers Off ignored
7A 122 -- Local Keyboard On/Off 0..63=off--64..127=on
7B 123 -- All Notes Off ignored
7C 124 -- Omni Mode Off ignored
7D 125 -- Omni Mode On ignored
7E 126 -- Monophonic Mode On **
7F 127 -- Polyphonic Mode On (mono=off) ignored


Also, just for the record:
83 131 -- Aftertouch (Mono-Pressure in DP)
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daniel.sneed
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Re: The Digital Performer Tips Sheet

Post by daniel.sneed »

Thanks Shooshie ! I'll keep this one near my keyboards.
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frankf
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Re: The Digital Performer Tips Sheet

Post by frankf »

This is a great chart. As another tip, I keep pertinent DP version addendum's, plug-in, VIs manuals, links, and charts like this (as aliases) in a DP clipping folder I call DP Help Files where I can access them immediately from within DP. I make this clipping window part of window sets and templates as well.

Frank
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Tomas E
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Re:

Post by Tomas E »

Shooshie wrote:Creating and Editing Control and Automation Points

Image
I'm thinking of the best way to set up my Continuous Data icons. I notice you've made some changes to the defaults. And since you obviously have given this a lot of thought, I'm wondering, is there a specific reason for your choices? Or is it just because you think something like "well, I've always had a red sustain pedal so therefore it's natural for me to make it red". That could be my way of thinking. :)

I haven't figured out the use of "Switches are Continuous Data" when using a standard sustain pedal, and NOT using a MIDI-controlled lighting console (whatever that is). It's either on or off so nothing in between would be useful. :?:
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Shooshie
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Re: Re:

Post by Shooshie »

e-snobben wrote:
Shooshie wrote:Creating and Editing Control and Automation Points

Image
I'm thinking of the best way to set up my Continuous Data icons. I notice you've made some changes to the defaults. And since you obviously have given this a lot of thought, I'm wondering, is there a specific reason for your choices? Or is it just because you think something like "well, I've always had a red sustain pedal so therefore it's natural for me to make it red". That could be my way of thinking. :)

I haven't figured out the use of "Switches are Continuous Data" when using a standard sustain pedal, and NOT using a MIDI-controlled lighting console (whatever that is). It's either on or off so nothing in between would be useful. :?:
I change it from project to project, believe it or not. I mean, I don't ALWAYS change it, but I like to keep the controllers I'm using the most away from the generic icon, and I like certain controllers to stand out. If I'm using predominantly breath control, I like for it to stand out in red triangles or blue squares, or whatever seems to work for that color scheme. In another file, that might apply better to CC#11. Since CC #64 and #67 are often switches, they shade the whole area with their color, so I need for other important controllers to contrast so they don't get lost in that color, etc. There's some consistency, but I don't hesitate to change it if I'm finding that I lose that instant eye-recognition in dense controller work.

Shooshie
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Dave Bourke
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Re: The Digital Performer Tips Sheet

Post by Dave Bourke »

Hey guys, there's a built-in list of controllers in DP. You'll find it in the mini-menu of any of the editors. Just choose "Legend..." and, from the menu at the top of the window, choose "MIDI Controller Names."

Kind regards.
Dave Bourke
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Shooshie
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Re: The Digital Performer Tips Sheet

Post by Shooshie »

You're so right! I have seen the legend to event icons before, but I've never seen the entire controller list, or if I have, I've forgotten it. How long has THAT been there? Man, I learn something new about DP all the time. Here 'tis, folks:

From the mini-menu at the top of the MIDI Edit Window:
Image

From the Legend Window:
Image

And here's the scrolling list!

Image

Thanks for the tip, Dave!

Shooshie
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Tomas E
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Re: The Digital Performer Tips Sheet

Post by Tomas E »

So close but yet so far! :lol: Beautiful! :)
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Dwetmaster
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Re: The Digital Performer Tips Sheet

Post by Dwetmaster »

Category: Setup:
•••••• Changing PlugIns Set on startup instead of within the app
Works on DP6
Choosing which plugin sets you want on startup
Hold the option key while starting DP, you'll be asked which plugin set you want to use BEFORE THE APP IS RUNNING.

If you just want to do a quick startup to see something within a file make a "No plugins" list and it will save you a long time instead of having to start the app, then go to preference, then change the plug in set, then reload the MAS engine to rescan...

That's in the manual @ page 808...
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billf
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Re: The Digital Performer Tips Sheet

Post by billf »

Category: Using Logic/Garageband VI's with DP


This one keeps coming up periodically on the main page, so I thought I'd make it a tip. You can use your Logic/Garageband VI's in DP. Here's the official info from the MOTU site on how to do so:

From MOTU:
How do I use my GarageBand instruments with DP?
GarageBand instruments can't be loaded directly in Digital Performer, but you can still use GarageBand along side DP as another instrument.

To route the audio out of GarageBand and back into DP, you'll need Soundflower, which is a freeware audio utility for OS X. Soundflower creates a virtual bus for routing audio between applications. Head to here to download it.

Once Soundflower is installed, follow these steps:

Open GarageBand, and go its Audio/MIDI Preferences. For Audio Output, choose "Soundflower (2 channel)".

Load the instrument of your choice in GarageBand.

In Digital Performer, go to Setup menu > Configure Audio System > Configure Hardware Driver. Select both "Soundflower (2 channel)" and your regular audio driver. Set the Host Buffer Multiplier to 2 and press OK.

Now go to Setup menu > Interapplication MIDI. Under Outputs, click the Add button (GarageBand will notify you that the number of MIDI inputs has changed -- hit OK). Double-click the output to name it (for example, "To GarageBand").

Assign your MIDI track to "To GarageBand-1". Record-enable it.

Create an aux or stereo audio track. Assign its input to "Input Stream #1 1-2", and its output to the stereo output you monitor from (such as "Analog 1-2").

You should now be able to hear your GarageBand instrument through DP. You can now add effects through DP's mixing board if you'd like.

If you'd like to record the instrument as audio in DP, create a new stereo audio track and assign its input and output the same as your aux track.
Click here for a PDF version of these instructions that includes screenshots

Direct Link: http://www.motu.com/techsupport/technot ... garageband
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Armageddon
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Film Scoring Tips

Post by Armageddon »

Okay ... I've done this quite a few times, and while I'm sure I'll skip a few things that I'll remember ten minutes after this post, or not explain myself properly, here's my two cents:

1) open a New Project in DP. Make sure that, under the "Time Formats" window, you are set to display "Frames".

2) find out what frame rate this project is. Chances are it will either be 29.97 non-drop, if it's regular video, 24, if it's film or 23.976 if it's HD (probably your most likely choice), but find out for sure from whoever is sending you the movie. I'm going by DP 6, so under your "Setup" Menu, select "Frame Rate" and pick the right frame rate. This is necessary because a) you might not have a window burn (with timecode in the image) and b) your clock time will be in sync with the movie's time. You will also need to find out what the starting timecode is for your project from these guys.

3) import the QuickTime movie. Do this by selecting "Movie" under your "Project" menu and select the QT movie on your drive. You now have a QuickTime window containing your movie in your project, which you can grab and move to another monitor, or, failing that, make as large or as small as you need in your main monitor.

4) On the upper right hand side of the the movie's window is a sideways triangle. Click it and select "Movie Start Time". Enter in that starting timcode number from Step 2.

At this point, if you're using just one QuickTime movie to score to, save this as the template for all your cues. You won't have to repeat Steps 1-4 again. You can just load up the template and save it as the project for that particular cue, and it will always open that movie, with the same parameters you just entered.

If you are receiving more that one movie, you'll have to repeat Steps 1-4 for each movie.

At this point, I'll assume that you're getting some sort of spotting list with timecode numbers for the ins-and-outs of where they want your music. They may also have temp-tracked what they sent you with stock music. If the latter is the case, your job will be a little tougher, because you'll have to use the scrub controls on DP (which will now also control the movie) to pick where each temp cue starts.

5) Now, go under "Project" window and select "Chunks" . A small sub-window entitled "Chunks" should pop open in your main DP window on your right-hand side. You'll see a small sideways triangle again, click on that and select "Set Chunk Start" Under frames, type in the exact time code number for the start of your cue, meaning exactly where the music is supposed to start in that particular cue. You can close the Chunks sub-window after that.

Now, rewind back to Measure 1. The Transport Control's measure readout should read 1/00/00, your typical beginning, but your Frames readout should be the time code number you just typed into your Chunks Start, and the video should also be on that frame. You're now ready to score to your Quick Time movie.

This is optional, but I would then advise selecting "Markers" from the "Project" window. A "Markers" sub-window will open on your left-hand side of the main DP window. You can then scroll through the video and, anywhere you want to have the music change, there's a cue, a need for a sudden shock chord, whatever, you just pause the video, click on the sideways triangle in your Markers sub-window and select "Add Marker". It will put a marker in the Marker window with that time code listed next to it, and create what I like to call a "little yellow shield" at that point in your Tracks window. You can retitle the Marker anything you want, but make sure the "Lock" is selected in that marker listing. From that point on, no matter what you do, tempo-wise, that marker will stay in place with the video.

Anyway, that's how I normally do it. Hopefully, at least some of it made sense and helps you out!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
PS: ... and then I just re-read your original post and realized you're on DP 5. Sorry! The basic ideas remain the same in DP 5, you might just have to root around a little bit more to find the windows I was referring to. It's been a while since I scored a feature in 5, and I removed 5 from my machine a while ago, so I can't really refer to it for exactly how you find the above-mentioned windows, but they're not hard to find and do exactly the same thing in both versions. At any rate, I'm sure the way I do it isn't the totally "correct" way of scoring video in DP, but it should serve as a decent jumping-off point. Moreover, correct or not, it does actually work.

I think the above posters have a pretty valid point; I'm sure that most of us here taught ourselves, mostly through trial and error, the ins and outs of DP, computer music creation and sound engineering, and the only way you'll really learn is to just dive in and start using the software. I don't think reading the DP manual cover to cover is necessarily the answer (you'd have an easier time reading the Bible cover to cover!), but if you get stuck on how to do something, it's pretty easy to check out the glossary, find the right subject and figure out how to import a QuickTime movie or set start times or what have you, and exploring the program through trial and error will help you get used to it. The film scoring and MIDI features in DP are pretty much the best you can get, and they're very easy to use.
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Shooshie
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Working remotely with Chunks

Post by Shooshie »

To enable remote selection of chunks from a MIDI device or wireless ASCII keyboard, one or two of several conditions must be met. You can go to the Commands Window (SHIFT-L) and search for Chunk Selection. You will find a section of commands called Chunk Selection Commands, which provide you with fields beside each existing chunk for entering an ASCII keyboard command and two MIDI fields (one for the MIDI command, and one for the source controller). The ASCII Keyboard commands will always call up that chunk. For the MIDI commands to work, the General Master must be switched on (which it is by default, usually). The General Master is located at the top of the Commands Window. Also, for the General Master to work, the Master Master must also be switched on.

Commands Window: MIDI Masters:
Image

This gives you hierarchical control of various levels of commands through your MIDI keyboard, which can all be easily switched off to avoid hitting them while playing. When these two masters are switched ON, then you can use whatever MIDI assignments you apply to each chunk.

Search further for "Chunk Select" and you will find a command which toggles "Add Chunk Selection Automatically." (see picture below)

Image

When this is invoked, creating a new chunk will automatically assign it a keyboard selection command. This used to be the default, and the first chunk would use the letter A, the second chunk B, and so on. This often led to confusion, as someone would accidentally brush their keyboard and suddenly another chunk would be play-enabled. Now, thank goodness, the default is OFF (at least I think it is), so you don't have to worry about automatic chunk selection invoking itself at undesirable moments. However, if you choose your commands carefully, like COMMAND_CONTROL_OPTION_A for your first chunk, and likewise up the alphabet (or whatever system helps you to remember your chunks), then this is a very handy feature. An Apple Wireless Keyboard can be used to enable a desired chunk at any time from as much as 30 feet away from your computer. Below is an example of one of my setups for practicing remotely, using an Apple Wireless Keyboard at the piano:
Image

But there is yet another way to select chunks. In the Chunk Window itself there is a column which just says S#. Click in that column and type a number. Hitting Enter advances to the next chunk, and you can type in numbers for a whole list of chunks very quickly. These are MIDI Song Select numbers. For any MIDI controller that can send MIDI Song Select Numbers, you can select the desired chunk this way. The following photo shows the song select numbers listed sequentially:
Image
To delete song select #s, just backspace over them, hit enter to advance to the next field, then repeat. When done, either hit Return or Escape.

Using Chunk Chaining, Chunk Cueing, the Song Window, MIDI Song Select, Custom MIDI Commands (in conjunction with the MIDI Masters), ASCII commands, or just plain mousing around, you find that DP is very powerfully designed for remote control over your song list. I've never seen it fail, so I'm assuming the original questioner was trying to figure out how it worked. I think I've explained the majority of possibilities.

Shooshie
|l| OS X 10.12.6 |l| DP 10.0 |l| 2.4 GHz 12-Core MacPro Mid-2012 |l| 40GB RAM |l| Mach5.3 |l| Waves 9.x |l| Altiverb |l| Ivory 2 New York Steinway |l| Wallander WIVI 2.30 Winds, Brass, Saxes |l| Garritan Aria |l| VSL 5.3.1 and VSL Pro 2.3.1 |l| Yamaha WX-5 MIDI Wind Controller |l| Roland FC-300 |l|
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Shooshie
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Re: The Digital Performer Tips Sheet

Post by Shooshie »

Sample Rate Conversion and Anti-Aliasing

This link, as long as it works, will take you to a page where you can A/B graphs of various audio products' Sample Rate Conversion effectivity.
Sample Rate Conversion Graphs of various audio products
In each case we see a sine wave sweep, and the blue background shows amplitude by color, where silence would be black, low amplitude dark blue, and normal listening volumes ranging from yellow to white. From blue to yellow goes through magenta, red, and orange, so one can tell where the anti-aliasing artifacts are audible.

Some Examples
DP 6 vs. Logic (Leopard)
Image

DP 6 vs. Ableton Live 7 (not high quality)
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Thus we see that DP's aliasing occurs at extremely low (inaudible) levels of less than -140 dB, while Logic dithers a constant low-level noise floor of around -135 dB to mask any aliasing effects. Ableton Live 7 in this example appears not to have any protection against aliasing. The result would be unusable. Ableton Live 7 has a High Quality mode which fares much better, but I chose this one simply as an example of the other extreme in aliasing.

Aliasing and Anti-Aliasing
For those who do not understand aliasing, it is the result of any two different sample rates, frame rates, resolution scales, or other patterns, when superimposed over each other. Thus, two screens of different sizes, superimposed, will produce moire patterns. One often sees movies where the frame rate creates an illusion of bicycle spokes, wagon wheel spokes, hubcap patterns, airplane propellors, or helicopter rotors, which appear to move slowly, or even backward, because the frame rate of the film or video captures each spoke in almost the same position as the previous spoke, or a little bit ahead or behind, thus "freezing" the motion or "moving it" very slowly. In digital audio, two different sample rates superimposed will produce all kinds of phantom sounds, or aliases of the original. The effect grows unbearable as the pitch nears the Nyquist limit -- the sample rate limit that can still define a pitch, usually considered about double the frequency of the sound. Beyond that limit the pitch becomes ambiguous, and aliasing can produce unpredictable results. Thus the need for dithering, which "blurs" the effect by introducing low-level noise. (kind of like blurring the jaggies in a digital picture, where lines that slant relative to the monitor's pixel patterns will produce "stair-stepping." The blurring fills in the stair-stepping with noise in the form of many copies of the jagged steps superimposed between the steps.) Thus Anti-Aliasing becomes essential for any situation which suffers in quality loss from the superimposition of 2 or more repeated patterns that don't match each other.

Interestingly, our eyes have a built-in anti-aliasing feature called "flicker-fusion." Flicker-fusion operates mainly toward the center of the eye, where most our our attention is focused. The perimeter of our vision does not do this, which causes instant distraction when something moves at the edge of our vision field. Evolutionarily speaking, we are able to react to predators instantly, at the periphery of our vision, whereas that kind of attention to motion would drive us crazy at the center of our vision, and we would not be able to focus on anything. To wit, CRT monitors with low refresh rates can even cause nausea from flicker-fusion reactions, as can fluorescent lighting.

Poor anti-aliasing can introduce several kinds of artifacts into digitally sampled music: aliases (electronic whistling, twittering, etc.), harmonics, comb-filtering, sub-harmonics, and probably others (this is just off the top of my head). Having established that aliasing is the achilles heel of digital recording, and anti-aliasing is absolutely necessary, it is important to know that the tools you are using are doing something about it. One shouldn't just assume that someone else has taken care of it. As can be seen above, one can get into trouble quickly that way. But how can you know? This website (linked at the top of this post) provides us with real tests and what appear to be reliable results. Check it out!

With thanks to user XYZ (that's his screen name here, not a generic reference) for pointing us to this site in This Thread.

Shooshie
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