Jamie wrote:I understand how it works, I dislike that the MIDI track is separate from the Instrument track. I like the idea that it *can* be, for multi-timbral Kontakt for example, but it's not quick, and the fact that there are no MIDI bites (clips, regions, whatever). This makes some of my work much more difficult.
This is one of DP's strengths, in my opinion. They gave you a number of options for MIDI that are harder to get in other apps.
The one-track MIDI/Instrument/Audio is terrible for me. I just don't think that way or work that way. DP knows that a lot of us old MIDI pros like keeping our tracks separate. There's a MIDI track, which powers an instrument. (Instrument isn't a track; it's an instrument! Put it in the V-Rack and it's IDENTICAL to using rack gear in principle, only with all the advantages of having it all in the box.) Then there's the audio return, just as you would do if you were using MIDI instruments in a rack. You receive audio from an instrument. It's the natural order of things, and it makes sense. You get to keep your MIDI tracks together, and your audio tracks together. It's natural.
IMO, DP's MIDI is the most powerful, best editing, and logical to use of any DAW. Of course, it depends on what DAW you grew up with. I've been using Performer and Digital Performer for 30 years. It was natural from the very beginning, because it was based on current studio operations. It was easy to segue from studio hardware to Performer software, because that's just the way we thought.
Logic was a niche app before Apple got it. It took patience to learn, and many people who did learn it came right back to Performer/DP. I observed it several times back then, but never liked what I saw. It was a non-starter for me, and I was glad to have DP. Pro Tools didn't even HAVE MIDI. I haven't used it since they became proud of their MIDI, so I have no idea what you're coming from there.
It would be a tremendous mistake to think that you're stepping DOWN to DP. All these apps can produce hit records. In fact, DP has a menu item that says "Record Hits." (
Inside joke there, but it really does. It's just not THAT kind of hits) Also, they all have Grammies under their belts. Several of our regulars have earned Grammey awards. Given you have talent, it's all comes down to how you prefer to work. Until you try one out, you probably are not capable of saying you prefer this over that without a little prevarication, because you don't really KNOW! I stuck with Logic for about a year after buying Logic Studio, and finally decided it just wasn't worth it. Even when I learned the "best" way to do things, they still didn't compare to what I could do with DP, and believe me, I tried. I had lengthy conversations with seasoned Logic users, who finally convinced me that I was using the right methods, as good as it gets, but it still wasn't what I needed for the way I work. I had to drop it.
DP is my DAW for life now. I'm not changing for anyone, anything. It's the best of the DAWs, IMO, and anyone who doesn't see that probably doesn't expect to go very deep with this stuff.
I'd write more, and with more finesse, but I'm in a raging hurry right now. I do hope you find what you want. It doesn't have to be DP. Use what works for you. But don't say that one or two features you haven't really tried are not good enough. It's a matter of learning how to work with DP.
DP is the oldest DAW on the market today, possibly excepting some niche market apps like MAX, which may or may not be older. It has been completely revamped a few times, if not more, and it continues to play "feature wars" with its competitors, each adopting the new features of the other when it can. Over the years MOTU has learned so much about making great tools. They still have to please people who "don't get it" about the way we work in DP, so they add the occasional Logic feature to compensate. That's ok, and I support it. But I don't necessarily use them.
Ok... gotta go.
Shooshie
