Buying DP now or wait?

[foorere]

Hello.

I am thinking of buying DP as of today (version 11.31) but I am unsure if it will soon come out version 12. To wait or not?

[Michael Canavan]

Hello.

I am thinking of buying DP as of today (version 11.31) but I am unsure if it will soon come out version 12. To wait or not?

Are you upgrading or buying it for the first time? If for the first time, it's 100% logical to wait until they announce version 12 to buy 11, (maybe at Sweetwater etc?), in which case you will get 12 for free since there's going to be some sort of grace period. I do not know MOTU's policy on upgrades though.

[James Steele]

I vaguely remember MOTU has a grace period. I think it's perhaps 3 months or so? I don't quite remember and it's hard to gauge when new releases will happen since MOTU skipped NAMM ever since the pandemic. It used to be the pressure to unveil something at NAMM may have influenced this in the past, but that's probably no long a factor for MOTU.

[foorere]

I am buying for the first time.

[Michael Canavan]

It's very possible that DP12 comes out in the next 6 months, that would fit past patterns of release. So the choice depends on whether or not you will be disappointed if you buy outside the period where it would be free, mostly this is a three or one month period, can't remember what MOTU offer? if you did buy now and were outside the grace period, the upgrades later are always around $200 so it's not a devastating amount. In many ways buying an upgrade a year after it came out and it's had some updates is the smartest move.

It really depends, are you going to lose time learning and using DP if you wait? if not, then waiting isn't a bad idea, but if you are, then it's silly to wait. I would guess three to six months of waiting VS using the DAW and maybe next year getting the upgrade.

[monkey man]

In many ways buying an upgrade a year after it came out and it's had some updates is the smartest move.

I second this Michael; makes sense for mission-critical work.

[Michael Canavan]

In many ways buying an upgrade a year after it came out and it's had some updates is the smartest move.

I second this Michael; makes sense for mission-critical work.

I totally know better but I can't help being the opposite. I love the bleeding edge.

[dwilliams]

They just said their focus was on improving v11. I interpret that to mean they are struggling with some of the features they want to include in v12, mostly likely the Dolby Atmos implementation. They do offer a grace period as someone said, I think six months. Are there features in v11 you need that aren't in v10? I always update but I felt that since I don't use or miss Ableton and therefore don't care about "Clips" that the v11 upgrade was pretty weak. There are some other features some people love that I don't use such as articulation maps. It's a personal thing. Frankly, I don't find v11.31 is that much more stable than the previous releases.

[Michael Canavan]

They just said their focus was on improving v11. I interpret that to mean they are struggling with some of the features they want to include in v12, mostly likely the Dolby Atmos implementation. They do offer a grace period as someone said, I think six months. Are there features in v11 you need that aren't in v10? I always update but I felt that since I don't use or miss Ableton and therefore don't care about "Clips" that the v11 upgrade was pretty weak. There are some other features some people love that I don't use such as articulation maps. It's a personal thing. Frankly, I don't find v11.31 is that much more stable than the previous releases.

Control surface support was big to me, I have a Komplete Kontrol 88 and it's lovely with DP11. Clips aren't mature enough to use like Live, but you can use them to create complex modulations of automation parameters separate from the track it modulates, this is really useful IMO. Consolidated instrument tracks are big as well. For me personally 11 was as big of a deal as 7 which added in contextual menus among other UX improvements.

In terms of improving 11, yeah I could see then holding off on 12 until Atmos etc. was perfect, the typical cycle is every three years which is coming up. I would still bet on some time in 2024 though.

[mikehalloran]

They do offer a grace period as someone said, I think six months.

I would never recommend to others to speculate. If you need to know, then send an email asking that, if you purchase now would you be granted a courtesy upgrade to the next version. The answer will be Yes or No. That should also give you a clue as to when DP 12 might be announced.

Back when MOTU showed at NAMM, the announcement was always in January and those who purchased between then and the ship date were automatically granted that courtesy—as were those who had purchased in November–December and asked for it.

I don't know how many purchased the DP 6 upgrade and found it so unsuitable that we obtained the 7 upgrade at no cost other than I was one of them.

A new license is $499 The upgrade price from a previous version has been $195 for a long time.

If you are eligible for a Competitive Upgrade (aka crossgrade), That is $395. Here is the latest list I can find:

Qualifying Products:

Acid
AudioDesk
Audition
Bitwig
Cubase (any version)
Live
Logic (any version)
Nuendo
Pro Tools (any version except 'Free' or 'First')
Reason (Version 6 or later)
Record
SONAR
SoundForge (any version)
Soundtrack Pro
Studio One (any version except Prime)
Tracktion (any version except T7)
Vegas (any version)

If you do not have a license for any of the above, I and others can make suggestions in that regard. Let us know if you also do (or are interested in) video editing. Also, do you own any MOTU Audio or MIDI interface?

My guess is that DP 12 will not happen in 2024.

[foorere]

Very nice to read! Thanks.

[mikehalloran]

Very nice to read! Thanks.

Do you own any MOTU audio or MIDI interface?

[foorere]

If you need to know, then send an email asking that, if you purchase now would you be granted a courtesy upgrade to the next version.

I don't have a direct email to ask. There is just help for ones that own a MOTU product. I sent an query on their FB.

If you are eligible for a Competitive Upgrade (aka crossgrade), That is $395. Here is the latest list I can find:

Yes, I have both Ableton Live and Logic Pro X.

I don't have a MOTu device but I am looking at M4 right now.

[mikehalloran]

If you need to know, then send an email asking that, if you purchase now would you be granted a courtesy upgrade to the next version.

I don't have a direct email to ask. There is just help for ones that own a MOTU product. I sent an query on their FB.

If you are eligible for a Competitive Upgrade (aka crossgrade), That is $395. Here is the latest list I can find:

Yes, I have both Ableton Live and Logic Pro X.

I don't have a MOTu device but I am looking at M4 right now.

You already qualify for the $395 crossgrade, then.

[monkey man]

... and if you buy that M4 you'll be able to use DP Lite for free.

It's not anywhere near as bad as other light versions. For one thing there aren't track-count limits IIRC.