NAMM REPORT (2nd hand): DP SIX!!!!!!!

[Kubi]

Oh another thing: Takes, once exploded (or rather, 'shown'), can be used like audio tracks, with different plug-ins, automation, bussed to different places etc. So once 'shown', various takes act pretty much like tracks inside a folder. With the added ability of comping...

And another REAL improvement: Audio settings (bit depth, SR etc.) are always visible in the control panel - no need to open the configuration window only to see it was already set properly, and then have to wait for everything to reload.

Sweet!

[mhschmieder]

What a relief that DP 6 isn't going to try to mimic Logic -- thanks to all who cleared up my confusion over that hobbyist's mock-up (and I do appreciate nhis talent in spite of not liking the resulting interface).

[mhschmieder]

Special note to Altiverb owners or people considering buying Altiverb: there is no need to worry about wasted money, because what you are really "buying" is the impulse responses and free downloads of additional IR's as they get posted at the AudioEase site. The software is basically "free".

This probably also explains why MOTU is able to read Altiverb IR format without breaking any licenses. AudioEase has a very tight and secure system for making sure that their IR's aren't bootlegged.

[Kubi]

Special note to Altiverb owners or people considering buying Altiverb: there is no need to worry about wasted money, because what you are really "buying" is the impulse responses and free downloads of additional IR's as they get posted at the AudioEase site. The software is basically "free".

This probably also explains why MOTU is able to read Altiverb IR format without breaking any licenses. AudioEase has a very tight and secure system for making sure that their IR's aren't bootlegged.

I don't believe you can load any kind of 'custom-format' IRs into ProVerb, only regular formatted IRs (.wav or similar.)

Also, while ProVerb has the main controls one would need to do most work (shorten and lengthen IR, damping, plus if I remember correctly EQ of the processed signal, etc.) it doesn't have the advanced Altiverb features: positioning in the space, multi-band damping, IR visualization, etc.

[waterstrum]

Any info about how well DP6 will work with G5 set ups?
Is it time to bite the bullet and go Intel?

[Kubi]

If you look at the list of new features, I don't think the changes are that deep under the hood. I don't expect much of a difference in performance from DP5.

No bullet-biting for me yet, I haven't felt like I'm too terribly crippled by the muscle (or lack thereof) of my G5 so far. That's still a good chip...

I'll be putting my DP6 on my 2x2G5 as soon as it comes out...

[blue]

If you look at the list of new features, I don't think the changes are that deep under the hood. I don't expect much of a difference in performance from DP5.

I wonder if the new UI signifies some major changes in the code. I would hope so, especially with no more OS support for 64 bit carbon apps. Factor in pre-rendering for VIs and I think we should expect a smoother and faster running DP.

Then again, you would think MOTU might trumpet any major gains in efficiency. Then again, that would mean owning up to any problems in earlier versions. I don't remember much ballyhoo when effects pre-rendering became available. Hmm••¦time will tell.

[Shooshie]

Well, look at it this way: they demonstrated it flawlessly at the conference. It's not going to ship until the end of March. What will they do between now and then? If I were in that situation, I'd spend the next two and a half months tightening the code. Maybe it will get more and more efficient. Maybe.

But I have to say, I'm not really suffering from lack of efficiency or speed. My quad Intel Mac Pro is plenty fast enough to handle everything that I do, and then some. I've even gotten lax about closing other apps while DP is open, whereas once upon a time I fretted over every CPU cycle and practically doled them out by hand. So, just how much more efficient does DP really NEED to be? Run it on the fastest Macs, and a lot of those problems vanish.

Not really saying that they don't need to; just that I'm no longer chanting that need as one of my priorities. I'd like to see bullet-proof code -- that's my top priority. The items on their list are all very important features, too, and I'm thrilled to have them (though I am nervous about the interface ever since someone said it was more "logic-like." Please, MOTU. Not Logic-Like. I can't stand Logic's interface. I really can't.






Shooshie

[Tim]

I had been seriously considering getting Logic until I saw the DP6 demo today. I am very excited about this.

Omnishpere looks very happening too, though not until August!

Stormdrum in a few weeks, so they said.

Oh yeah; MOTU had the new Euphonix control surface on their demo rigs. They looked very nice.

Good times!

[blue]

So, just how much more efficient does DP really NEED to be? Run it on the fastest Macs, and a lot of those problems vanish.

Efficiency is one thing, compatibility is another. Eventually MOTU will have to rewrite the code to bring it up to speed. I imagine, or at least hope, it would be streamlined in the process. In that sense, efficiency just means less baggage held over from old days, and maybe even more stability. Not to mention the fact that it would be easier to build upon. It's less about power and more about staying lean and mean.

But, when it comes to power, I can't say there is ever enough. Developers are finding more and more ways to tax our systems. Even with a new Mac you can hit the wall faster than you'd like. I wouldn't want to think my sequencer was hogging any more resources than necessary. Know what I mean?

[wurliuchi]

Oh yeah; MOTU had the new Euphonix control surface on their demo rigs. They looked very nice.

I bet. And with native support for Euphonix' EuCon, ooh boy! Credit card to the ready.

[monkey man]

I bet there will be a very happy monkey swinging through the trees somewhere down under when he reads this

Thank you for emailing me and directing me here, Mark!

1) MAJOR OVERHAUL OF UI. Apparently the UI has been overhauled significantly. A cleaner look and actually Jim said it's "lighter" in appearance... not as dark as before.

The fact that it looks lighter would be a little surprising to most of us, I'd have thought.

2) TRACKS OVERVIEW VERTICALLY SCALEABLE. At last for those of us tired of squinting at 9 pt Geneva, the Tracks Overview is scaleable.

Brilliant. I've been burnin' my brain by squinting up close to my CRT for years.
It really knocks me around, so this will surely be of immediate benefit to me, as well as to other short/far sighted Unicorns.

4) NEW INCLUDED PLUG-IN: MW LEVELER. This apparently, according to MOTU is an outright emulation of an LA-2A and will be included with DP.

Ripper. :D:D
[Monkey marks VintageWarmer off his, "Gee, I Hope I Don't Have To Buy This" list.]

5) NEW INCLUDED PLUG-IN: CONVOLUTION REVERB. I think Jim said this was called "ProVerb" and is a convolution reverb. Apparently it comes with a lot of IRs and can import them as well. Monkey man... I know this was something you've wanted.

Words fail me. My Christmases have all come at once.
Saved by the gong. Kudos to MOTU; I owe you guys a beer... heck, I'll buy you a keg one day.

6) EXPLODED TAKES VIEW. I don't know exactly how this works, but apparently DP now can explode the takes in a track and easily create comp tracks from multiple takes. Very cool.

I've requested this one for some time, especially later last year when I included dummy comp tracks in my template.

As I've not actually recorded and comped audio in DP yet(! ), I've been nervous about it; all my thought experiments weren't elegant.
The approach MOTU seems to have taken is pretty much what I'd hoped for.
Bravo MOTU, bravo!

10) ABILITY TO BOUNCE DIRECTLY TO CD. There is an option to bounce and burn directly to CD from DP without the need for Toast or 3rd party app.

Yes! I won't have to buy Toast for Intel! Yay!

I know I would have looked silly last year when I shared my vision that ultimately, I wanted to complete projects in DP sans 3rd party spending.
This move is a useful one towards that end.

I would point out that, once again, when many begin to count MOTU out, they seem to pull something amazing out. I've seen this over and over through the years. They very well may have done it again.

Let's hope so James; it would be just their style, and much to our mutual benefit.

Well, I don't know about you guys and girls, but this is the upgrade that I have been waiting for. I'm going to bypass DP5 entirely and go right to DP6.
LA-2A??? Awesome. Convolution Reverb! Awesome! Prerendering of VIs???!!!
Jeff

I concur! This is the upgrade this boy's been waiting for too.
I can feel your enthusiasm coming off the page, Jeff, and share it.
Yay!

[kassonica]

You be careful swinging through those tree's now nicky

You want to be feeling your best around march

[sdfalk]

Well well..

They took the bull by the gosh darn horns..sounds pretty exciting.
I'm in.

[monkey man]

Yep,
Cool stuff. The swipe, interleaved, 32 bit float, Brdcst wav, great stuff. BIGGie for me was.
Sizable TO,!!!
enlarge the Track overview,.. this got a round of applause when Dave showed it,. very cool !!
the mixer,.... looked a bit odd to me,.. way different, not as classy IMO,.
the word Balloons come to mind.
I was surprised there were no VI's added. The compressor did look cool LA2 emulation impossible to really tell the sound but I'm sure it will sound great.
Quarter 1 eta.
PMcC

So this is what it takes to bring you out of the woodwork, Pete?
You should have listened to us; faith in MOTU is a prerequisite for DP users, and it is surely justified.

Welcome back mate, even if it's only for a short stay.

You be careful swinging through those tree's now nicky
You want to be feeling your best around march

Good advice Mark; you're a caring soul. Thank you.

Well well..

They took the bull by the gosh darn horns..sounds pretty exciting.
I'm in.

Yay! The Falkster's in!

Glad you're excited, Stephen.
I'm off to the sit-in thread to raid the buffet before they finish packing it up.

This is great news! I predict, with MOTU's predilection for secrecy and understatement, this will be a better upgrade than we expect.

Let's hope so. I do agree with your thinking.

They also have an entire new application icon. and we're proudly blue again....

Yay! Somehow, this gives me the feeling of MOTU's returning to its roots.
'Tis a good feeling. Thank you Kubi!

It's almost like they've been working on this and DP5 was a stall tactic to give them the extra time to deliver this killer upgrade.

I concur! It seems like I've only had relative stability for a month or two in 5.

I agree; I had this feeling all along.
I often said that I felt MOTU was working on a throbbing, greatly-enhanced beastie in the background, based largely on the relatively limited number of new features we'd seen during the last 18 months (since I started harping on about it; it's now 2 years).

The relief I feel right now is great.
I know it's not healthy to place too much faith in a company's future moves, but having waited literally years for some of these features, and having stubbornly held to the conviction that they (the features) were coming and holding out on 3rd party purchases, there's a sense of quiet (OK, LOUD!) satisfaction about Banana Alley tonight.

It's been a while since I've been this excited about a DAW upgrade.

Me too. I have been HOPING (like the mm) that I wouldn't have to buy AltiVerb. I wonder if it will be 5.1 compatible?

Glad you noticed I was keen about this, Andy.
Sorry, but I very much doubt it'd be DP 5.1 compatible.
I'd say there's a 99.x% chance it won't, unfortunately.

Even if it's short on bells and whistles, it'll develop over time, so as long as it sounds good...
The unselfish move on MOTU's part not to restrict it to a proprietary format is very much appreciated too!