Gibson Kills Cakewalk

[James Steele]

I am heavily proselytizing DP on the keyboard forum. It's amazing how many don't know about it, or write it off because it doesn't get much press compared to others.

A fairly well known local musician here was asking on Facebook for recommendations to replace Sonor. I recommended heavily that he check out DP, reminding him that there was a 30-day free demo. He just announced on his page that he ended up going with Cubase. I don't think he even TRIED the demo. I didn't bother asking him why not.

I do think if we want more people to adopt DP when opportunities like this come up, MOTU really needs to shore up things like support for 3rd party control surfaces whether it's the Avid/Eucon or Console 1. If I were in the hunt for a new DAW, how well that DAW is supported by hardware like that would be a big factor. Seems like a lot of those companies don't worry about DP compatibility, but I think MOTU should be concerned about this. That would be a major factor in decision making.

Back when AlphaTrack first came out, I remember asking MOTU for the ability to be able to select a track in the Mixing Board view so that AlphaTrack could be assigned to a channel by clicking the channel in the Mixing Board. I'm assuming it was a non-trivial change, because it never happened.
The fact that so many hardware manufactures don't even mention DP in their list of compatible DAWs, but we get lumped into "other" is a problem as I see it. Even the DAW that is not mentioned here... the one that starts with "R" and rhymes with "cheaper"... gets more respect these days.

[James Steele]

Oh... and let me just further add that when apps like DP Control just stop working and aren't maintained it hurts the image of the company. It makes it look like they're not committed to basic maintenance updates and they just abandon apps like this. Once they've stuck their necks out and released the app, it sends a bad message if it's not updated. If I were shopping for a new DAW and saw that, it would make me hesitate as well. Heck, if it's a money thing, release DP Control as a paid app. I'll happily pay $4.99 or $9.99 to have it work. "Abandonware" looks bad.

[bayswater]

A fairly well known local musician here was asking on Facebook for recommendations to replace Sonor. I recommended heavily that he check out DP, reminding him that there was a 30-day free demo. He just announced on his page that he ended up going with Cubase. I don't think he even TRIED the demo.

It's not a surprise that someone with a standard Windows DAW would go to another that is primarily written for Windows. At one point Cubase was written for Macs and ported to Windows, but somewhere around VST 5.0 it flip-flopped. I dumped it at SX 3 when I started getting error messages in what looked too much like Windows 3.1 dialog boxes and other screen displays that were clearly written for Windows.

On DP Control, exactly. I got Custom Keypad when DP Control stopped working reliably, and it did the job. With the 9.5.1 update, it no longer works either. I guess I could futz around with it and get it working, but life it too short, and I can't be bothered with it any more. DP Control got more stable at the same time, but it's still not good enough. I want a Control app that "just works" (and doesn't require me to surrender my iLok password to Avid).

[James Steele]

On DP Control, exactly. I got Custom Keypad when DP Control stopped working reliably, and it did the job. With the 9.5.1 update, it no longer works either. I guess I could futz around with it and get it working, but life it too short, and I can't be bothered with it any more. DP Control got more stable at the same time, but it's still not good enough. I want a Control app that "just works" (and doesn't require me to surrender my iLok password to Avid).

What's really odd is that I actually got DP Control to work again. Of course I'm staying back on iOS 10.3.1 (in hopes of a future jailbreak) on my iPhone 6s+. So the combo of DP 9.51, macOS 10.12.6 and DP Control on iOS 10.3.1 works... with the exception of saving the project. All the *important* stuff works. Which is strange, because on the MacBook I'm using for playback of backing tracks, I'm running Yosemite and DP Control crashes when I switch to the mixing board page. It seems as if anything that requires two-way communication (the Mix page sends info to the level meters) crashes.

It's frustrating because when you're using DP for backing track playback, it's very helpful during rehearsal because I can put an iPad on a stand and set repeat/rewind locations and cue playback to work on particular sections of a song easily without having to go mess with the laptop that's positioned by my drummer.

[bayswater]

What's really odd is that I actually got DP Control to work again.

Yes, same here. But sometimes it won't switch between screens, and with small glitches like that I just don't want to be using it as part of a work flow when you don't want to be worrying about stuff not working. I'm back to key commands with labels on the keys. For live performance, I would think it's a big no go.

[James Steele]

What's really odd is that I actually got DP Control to work again.

Yes, same here. But sometimes it won't switch between screens, and with small glitches like that I just don't want to be using it as part of a work flow when you don't want to be worrying about stuff not working. I'm back to key commands with labels on the keys. For live performance, I would think it's a big no go.

Yes... I wouldn't use for actual gigs... only rehearsal. For gigs, I am using an app that was discontinued but fortunately still on my iPad. It sends keystrokes wirelessly to the MacBook. I can create custom buttons (easy enough for a drummer to use... LOL) that have the names of songs, which when pressed cue a particular chunk, and then simple transport controls. I can also cue chunks and start playback via my Rocktron MIDI Raider foot controller.

[Tritonemusic]

I'm just waiting for tomorrow (Black Friday) and hope that Motu maybe will have a sale, but I honestly don't know.

SONAR is one of the products MOTU accepts for a competitive upgrade. You can get DP for $395.

https://motu.com/store_products/softwar ... grade-info

I don't know if you purchased it or not, but Sweetwater has a great deal at the moment (200 bucks off):

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DigPerf9cg

[Gravity Jim]

Everybody has that deal. The cross grade price is $199 for a limited time.

[Tritonemusic]

$195. I mentioned Sweetwater because they're sponsors of Motunation.

[Gravity Jim]

Well, you can get it faster here.

https://motu.com/store_products/software/dp

[mhschmieder]

I let people on the Keyboard forum know -- lots of Sonar users over there. Peer pressure is pushing people towards Studio One.

[waxman]

I let people on the Keyboard forum know -- lots of Sonar users over there, and peer pressure is pushing people towards Studio One (I won't go into any more detail than that, as it's a sensitive subject).

Please elaborate. What is up with Studio One?

[bogmusic]

This is sad news.

I cross-graded to Digital Performer as soon as DP8 was released and have been very happy with the transition. Part of my decision was based upon wanting to run a dual platform setup, preferring a MacBook Pro over Windows Laptops but sticking to a windows desktop.

The transition was joyful and I hope that Sonar users consider DP if Sonar doesn't find a way forward.

[mhschmieder]

There's a new company called Cherry something, that's making a modular soft synth, and is made up of former employees of Cakewalk, BIAS, and other departed companies.

I had my hopes up when I got the email, until I saw that the product is a modular synth, NOT a resurrection or replacement for Peak PRO or even SONAR, or Cakewalk's many VI's.