Wish list For DP 5.1 (or DP5?)

Martini Hill · Post by **Martini Hill** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 5:51 am

A simple live performance songlist like "Cakewalk's" "Virtual Jukebox". I know many working/performing musicians who would have made the leap to DP if it had this feature!!!!!

Timeline · Post by **Timeline** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:03 am

SCROLLING NOTE TRACKS

I think a very cool work flow assistant feature like adding notes to be read above or below a waveform display track of choice that could be adjusted large or small and easy to read would be great over or below a waveform while scrolling in record.

This way you would add a "Notes track" and shift the notes track to any position as regular tracks shift now.

For example you could say VERSE - CHORUS or key changes etc. so as it scrolls a musician could better perceive the changes in overdub. Even Lyric for writers would be cool as a use.

I would like to have it made available as several lines deep, 2-3, if required, and font sizing compatible with Apples font quick keys.

No one has a feature like it and it would be welcomed for ease of overdubbing and graphic display

Shooshie · Post by **Shooshie** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:17 am

Martini Hill wrote:A simple live performance songlist like "Cakewalk's" "Virtual Jukebox". I know many working/performing musicians who would have made the leap to DP if it had this feature!!!!!

What's wrong with the Chunks Window and Chunk Chaining, aside from the ridiculous names? If I'm understanding that Virtual Jukebox is merely a playlist that cues up sequences and plays them one after another, or cues them up and waits for you to push play, then that's more than covered by Chunk Chaining.

Not only will it play either continuously or cue the next sequence and wait for you to push play, it also enables you to set the endpoint of a sequence; you don't necessarily have to play the entire sequence. Plus, with Consolidated Windows, it will also display the currently playing sequence.

DP is the choice for many professionals such as myself who have to use a MIDI sequencer in addition to conducting live musicians. I've performed from coast to coast with DP in some of the finest halls in the country, and it never has failed in concert. Quite a few of the major touring concert productions are powered by or accompanied by DP, including some of the most famous, like Madonna, to some of the finest, like Pat Metheny/Lyle Mayes.

Shooshie

Martini Hill · Post by **Martini Hill** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:27 am

Thanx Shooshie! I am aware of Chunk Chaining but it does confuse me to a certain point. Wrapping my mind around DP for MIDI has been a challange since I have been a Cakewalk user for 15 years. Using Cakewalk while performing has become second nature and it is very readable/simple on stage. There is very little key clicking while performing. If I can customize the "Chunk Chaining" feature to my liking I will be very happy. Still I would like to hear how other guys/girls are implementing DP/Chunk Cahining/Window layouts etc for live performance.

Shooshie · Post by **Shooshie** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:17 am

Martini Hill wrote:Thanx Shooshie! I am aware of Chunk Chaining but it does confuse me to a certain point. Wrapping my mind around DP for MIDI has been a challange since I have been a Cakewalk user for 15 years. Using Cakewalk while performing has become second nature and it is very readable/simple on stage. There is very little key clicking while performing. If I can customize the "Chunk Chaining" feature to my liking I will be very happy. Still I would like to hear how other guys/girls are implementing DP/Chunk Cahining/Window layouts etc for live performance.

Simple: drag your sequences into the order you want them in the list. Optionally, you can set the endpoints of sequences exactly at the moment you want them to stop and switch to the next sequence. Press the appropriate chaining button to either keep playing, or play and stop/wait for play signal.

If you want to use the Mac keyboard to trigger sequences, you may want to get a wireless Apple Bluetooth keyboard. They have a range up to 30 feet. If you want to trigger it using a MIDI command, you can set that up in the COMMANDS window (under the Setup menu). Add the MIDI event you wish to use, next to the "Transport Commands-->Play" line. Then you have complete remote-control.

There's not a lot to it. That's the EASIEST part of live performance.

Shooshie

dougieb · Post by **dougieb** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 8:07 pm

I've been working on the Logic barge for the last week, so here are some niceties from there...

1. Loop Browser ala Logic. This is a HUGE time saver. Native Instruments' KORE might negate the need for this, but still.
2. Make all of the seperate VI's part of DP. Synphonic, MX4, Mach-Five - all of them. Logic has a full compliment of VI's and I know that MOTU is adding some in DP5, but they shoud put these premium ones in as well. it would definitely lure more people over that are deciding between Logic and DP.
3. Garageband file import.
4. Ability to play different file types without first converting.
5. Logic's drum machine (Ultrabeat?) has a cool little pattern editor thing. It would be cool to see some sort of implementation of this in the drum editor.
6. Since its going to be coded in Intel anyway, a PC version. I'm willing to bet anything this is going to happen anyway.
7. Better communication from the company. MOTU is about the most diconnected company from its users that I've ever seen. "Keep em' in the dark" seems to be the motto there.
8. Macintel compatibility should have been THE priority. 3Q? They are crazy!

dougieb · Post by **dougieb** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 8:16 pm

AND... almost forgot...

The ability to use other machines as "nodes" to do processing...

mwalthius · Post by **mwalthius** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 8:53 pm

My wishes are simple...

- Vertical zoom in the track window

- An option in the track window to paint the blocks of MIDI and audio data with the track color completely, as opposed to just a highlight

- Ability to change MIDI input choice on a track while the song is playing

- Option to automatically create a new corresponding MIDI track when adding a new instrument track

- Ability to customize more colors, such as green bars on the mixer faders, the dreary gray backgrounds, and font/button colors

- Probably not a DP issue, but would be great if size of virtual instruments could be adjusted to compensate for screen real estate (or lack thereof)

- Did I mention vertical zoom in the track window?

Jeff Isaacs · Post by **Jeff Isaacs** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 2:34 pm

-

Vertical zoom in the track window

Do you know you can grab the bottom of the name section of a track ( you get a little hand) and close it by clicking and dragging vertically zooming the entire track?

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 4:05 pm

Jeff Isaacs wrote:-
Vertical zoom in the track window
Do you know you can grab the bottom of the name section of a track ( you get a little hand) and close it by clicking and dragging vertically zooming the entire track?

Is that so? Well, I'll be...

mwalthius · Post by **mwalthius** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 5:40 pm

Jeff Isaacs wrote:-
Vertical zoom in the track window
Do you know you can grab the bottom of the name section of a track ( you get a little hand) and close it by clicking and dragging vertically zooming the entire track?

I must be misunderstanding you, because in the track view, I don't get a "little hand" when perusing the track names, nor do I have the ability to drag and vertically zoom anything. Could you be more specific?

In any case, by "vertical zoom in the track window," I mean that I would like to be able to increase the vertical size of all of the tracks in the window. At 1440x900, the tracks are very teeny on my screen, and a bother to work with (even with my bifocals).

I use DP almost exclusively for MIDI sequencing, and I don't like the sequence editor. I like to work in the track window.

Lastly, I've tried lowering the screen resolution, but everything gets a bit fuzzy on my 17" widescreen iMac, for reasons someone who knows more about monitors and display adapters than me can explain.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:11 pm

mwalthius wrote:
Jeff Isaacs wrote:-
Vertical zoom in the track window
Do you know you can grab the bottom of the name section of a track ( you get a little hand) and close it by clicking and dragging vertically zooming the entire track?
I must be misunderstanding you, because in the track view, I don't get a "little hand" when perusing the track names, nor do I have the ability to drag and vertically zoom anything. Could you be more specific?

In any case, by "vertical zoom in the track window," I mean that I would like to be able to increase the vertical size of all of the tracks in the window. At 1440x900, the tracks are very teeny on my screen, and a bother to work with (even with my bifocals).

I use DP almost exclusively for MIDI sequencing, and I don't like the sequence editor. I like to work in the track window.

Lastly, I've tried lowering the screen resolution, but everything gets a bit fuzzy on my 17" widescreen iMac, for reasons someone who knows more about monitors and display adapters than me can explain.

I didn't want to say anything too soon, but I'd love to know more about this mysterious vertical zoom feature in the tracks window. So many people have been asking for it, including me, but I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer and thought I'd just overlooked something important. I've tried using Option and Control keys alone and together with the mouse. Almost, but no cigar.

Jeff?

mwalthius-- the Sequence Editor was something I avoided for years until I started doing audio mixing-- meaning, until I had a computer with enough stealth to handle audio mixing 100% on board. The Tracks Window is a MIDI person's home base, indeed. Seems that the Sequence Editor and Tracks Window were inversely named... (?). When "tracking" audio, I use the Sequence Editor. When "sequencing" MIDI, I use the Tracks Window. Life is full of perculiar ironies.

As for zooming, I used Shooshie's suggestion of going to System Preferences > Universal Access to set manual zoom features. It really saves on eye strain at crucial moments. I've got a 23" Cinema Display (and wear glasses, too!), which sits on top of my mixing desk about 3.5 feet away at the closest. I'd need The Hubble to find my way around otherwise. If you haven't done so already, give the Universal Access Zoom feature a try. It's very easy on the eyes.

Rolastro · Post by **Rolastro** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:18 pm

C O N T E X T U A L M E N U S

I would love to be able to make any changes to a track or audio file by simply right clicking on it, where a contextual menu is displayed & would allow quantization or copy, or whatever else can be done with the selected area.

Outside of this, I can't understand why it's necessary to jump through hoops in order to add a VI. Why not give us the ability to in the tracks overview window to position the cursor on the left side, right click, and display the options: add track, add instrument, whatever - . For me at least it would improve my creative process to have these short cuts.

Rob

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 4:40 am

Jeff Isaacs wrote:-
Vertical zoom in the track window
Do you know you can grab the bottom of the name section of a track ( you get a little hand) and close it by clicking and dragging vertically zooming the entire track?

I think I understand now.

This is a feature of the SEQUENCE editor and not the TRACKS window. The user request was for a similar function in the Tracks Window.

As long as I'm here, I've got a more general hardware question:

Why does the 2408 have 3 eight-channel digital inputs if one can only use two of them at a time?

The 8 analog I/O's are fine for some things, but 24 ADAT channels seem to be quite a reasonable number. Right now, if you want to route 2 hardware synths plus an external HD recorder into DP, you need two interfaces. In my case, it's two 2408s with dormant ADAT ports on each.

1) Make this unit actually route 24 channels of digital audio simultaneously
2) Rename it to 1608 to more accurately reflect what it will and won't do.

Jeff Isaacs · Post by **Jeff Isaacs** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:22 pm

Why does the 2408 have 3 eight-channel digital inputs if one can only use two of them at a time?

Frodo
We use three at once for twenty four at once into DP4.6. Each group comes from a DA-88. start by configuring the PCI-424 for all three banks to be TDIF. (This defaults the outputs to be TDIF 1-2.) Then the audio bundles refect all three as well. We record with all three DA-88s on and in record-ready mode straight through to the computer without ever loading tape. The high maintenance of the heads is no longer an issue as we are using them strictly as IO for the computer

We were set up to do DA-88 recording years ago, and this was the primary reason we chose MOTU over Pro Tools. We didn't have to use proprietary equipment over what we already had. I've never been sorry. That was DP 2.4!

Jeff Isaacs

MOTUnation.com

Wish list For DP 5.1 (or DP5?)

A simple live performance songlist application

Re: A simple live performance songlist application