Recording - June 2013 - 38

&
MOTU Digital Performer 8
The iconic Mac DAW continues to grow and evolve

...where we bring you follow-up articles
with application hints and upgrade news
about gear already reviewed in Recording

all the Extra files containing various loops and beats from
MOTU and third parties, Tutorial files, and Demo project
files onto my hard drive.

By Jim Combs

Each time I sit down to review the latest
version of MOTU Digital Performer (DP), I
have the opportunity to talk about the new
additions, and to show how everything
else has evolved, especially those triedand-true features I use everyday. As you
know, DP is MOTU’s flagship Digital
Audio Workstation software with all the
MIDI and audio capture, editing, and
mastering capability required for producing professional sound work.
My studio has been pretty busy recently
with tracking sessions for a couple of bands
I perform with, as well as finishing up my
new solo CD. I don’t know about you, but I
use DP so much, I quickly forget in which version a particular feature
Like earlier versions, DP 8 includes two manuals (in PDF
appeared. And so it has been nice to also get a chance to look back at and print form, hurrah!): a 132-page “Getting Started” manmy previous DP reviews to regain a bit of perspective on how far DP has ual covering installation and setup chores plus some basic
progressed over time, and where DP 8 sits on the evolutionary ladder. instruction on how a DAW works, and a 992-page “User
Guide” with the depth and detail on all the features and
The bittersweet of updates and upgrades
functions of DP 8. DP 8 is authorized via a keycode found
The world of the modern Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is made on a back page of the user guide, allowing the program to
complicated by any updates to computer operating systems, DAW soft- boot up and survey of all the plug-ins on system. DP 8 found
ware, and plug-ins. Any change to any of these items carries with it the and assessed all my plug-ins and approved them for use.
potential for improved workflow and improved quality of your recordShould DP 8 run in 32-bit or 64-bit mode? The default
ings. Just as often, the opposite happens—you may have to learn a when installed is 64. That allows the system to access largwhole new way of doing something familiar, or the changes may make er amounts of RAM, especially helpful when accessing
obsolete a part of the system you have come to rely upon. The former large sample libraries greater than a couple of GB and
is annoying, and the latter can be expensive.
any 64-bit compliant applications or plug-ins that use
I will cut to the chase and say that the new DP 8 has done much to them. When I first installed DP 8, I needed to master one
improve how I work, and it has improved the quality of my studio’s out- tune from my new album, so I grabbed my mastering temput. It has also, nicely, let me know that my overall system is starting to plate and opened it up. Wow, that was so fast! The speed
get long in the tooth, and I should prepare to invest in changes to take difference in 64-bit operation was immediately apparent.
advantage of the improvements DP 8 now offers, specifically related to I’ll dive into that in more detail shortly.
its ability to operate in 64-bit mode.
While we’re here, I will mention that the Control Panel
DP 8 wants to see OSX 10.6.8 or better, so I have squeaked by on has been redesigned to optimize screen real estate and
this requirement for the time being. I run DP on an Apple Mac Pro more easily access the myriad of controls, displays, and
quad-core tower with 8 GB of RAM and 6 TB of hard disc space. I windows. There are 15 new user interface Themes in DP,
have stayed at Mac OS X version 10.6.8 on this machine, as this OS beyond the 12 that were offered in DP 7. The now 27
has been rock-solid stable for my audio applications; it runs my older Themes give you the ability to customize the look of your
plug-ins, and I do not want to change unless it is absolutely necessary. system or match the look and feel to better fit your studio
My Mac Pro primarily uses a MOTU 2408 Mk 3 interface for the or live environment. I use the lighter shades in my sunny
audio, and a MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV for MIDI. I use an assortment studio, and there are some nice darker Themes that would
of softsynths, romplers (sample players), and effects inside the box to work great on stage or if you like working in the dark. I
complement what is included in DP.
also like the Hardware theme that, duh, gives the UI that
DP 8 has been announced for Windows machines. I will not discuss look of stainless steel or brushed aluminum! And another
any of the Windows features or capabilities here. [MOTU informs us nice UI update: The plug-in preferences now make it easithat DP8 for Windows will ship as this issue goes to press. We plan a er to organize, manage, and quickly search for plug-ins in
special article on DP 8 for Windows in a future issue; our Gary Eskow multiple formats.
will bring you all the details.—Ed.]
Back to that mastering task at hand. 64-bit presents one of
those new opportunities I spoke about earlier to improve how
Up and flying—32 bits or 64?
my Mac uses memory and to speed up the system responAs usual, installation of the update was quick and easy. It took about siveness. For the moment, I have to take advantage of this
5 minutes to copy all the files on the disc to my hard drive once I new technology in specific instances. For better or worse, my
popped the installation disc into my Mac Pro’s DVD drive. I then copied older UAD and Waves plug-ins are not 64-bit compliant, so
38

RECORDING June 2013



Recording - June 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - June 2013

Recording - June 2013
Fade In
Contents
Talkback
Fast Forward
SXSW 2013—From Guerilla To Gorilla
Finding Fault
Reviewed & Revisited: Ableton Live 9 and Push
Universal Audio Teletronix LA-2A Classic Leveler Collection for UAD-2
Apogee Quartet
Reviewed & Revisited: Steinberg Cubase 7
Mock-Up Magic
Reviewed & Revisited: MOTU Digital Performer 8
Ingram Engineering MPA685
Reviewed & Revisited: PreSonus Studio One 2.5
Reviewed & Revisited: Cakewalk SONAR X2
Readers’ Tapes
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 18: Headphones—Part 1
Recording’s Showcase of Sounds
For Your Bookshelf
Advertiser Index
Fade Out
Recording - June 2013 - Intro
Recording - June 2013 - Recording - June 2013
Recording - June 2013 - Cover2
Recording - June 2013 - 1
Recording - June 2013 - 2
Recording - June 2013 - 3
Recording - June 2013 - Fade In
Recording - June 2013 - 5
Recording - June 2013 - Contents
Recording - June 2013 - 7
Recording - June 2013 - Talkback
Recording - June 2013 - 9
Recording - June 2013 - Fast Forward
Recording - June 2013 - 11
Recording - June 2013 - 12
Recording - June 2013 - 13
Recording - June 2013 - SXSW 2013—From Guerilla To Gorilla
Recording - June 2013 - 15
Recording - June 2013 - Finding Fault
Recording - June 2013 - 17
Recording - June 2013 - 18
Recording - June 2013 - 19
Recording - June 2013 - Reviewed & Revisited: Ableton Live 9 and Push
Recording - June 2013 - 21
Recording - June 2013 - 22
Recording - June 2013 - 23
Recording - June 2013 - Universal Audio Teletronix LA-2A Classic Leveler Collection for UAD-2
Recording - June 2013 - 25
Recording - June 2013 - 26
Recording - June 2013 - 27
Recording - June 2013 - Apogee Quartet
Recording - June 2013 - 29
Recording - June 2013 - Reviewed & Revisited: Steinberg Cubase 7
Recording - June 2013 - 31
Recording - June 2013 - 32
Recording - June 2013 - 33
Recording - June 2013 - Mock-Up Magic
Recording - June 2013 - 35
Recording - June 2013 - 36
Recording - June 2013 - 37
Recording - June 2013 - Reviewed & Revisited: MOTU Digital Performer 8
Recording - June 2013 - 39
Recording - June 2013 - 40
Recording - June 2013 - 41
Recording - June 2013 - Ingram Engineering MPA685
Recording - June 2013 - 43
Recording - June 2013 - Reviewed & Revisited: PreSonus Studio One 2.5
Recording - June 2013 - 45
Recording - June 2013 - Reviewed & Revisited: Cakewalk SONAR X2
Recording - June 2013 - 47
Recording - June 2013 - 48
Recording - June 2013 - 49
Recording - June 2013 - Readers’ Tapes
Recording - June 2013 - 51
Recording - June 2013 - 52
Recording - June 2013 - 53
Recording - June 2013 - 54
Recording - June 2013 - 55
Recording - June 2013 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 18: Headphones—Part 1
Recording - June 2013 - 57
Recording - June 2013 - Recording’s Showcase of Sounds
Recording - June 2013 - 59
Recording - June 2013 - 60
Recording - June 2013 - 61
Recording - June 2013 - 62
Recording - June 2013 - 63
Recording - June 2013 - For Your Bookshelf
Recording - June 2013 - Advertiser Index
Recording - June 2013 - 66
Recording - June 2013 - 67
Recording - June 2013 - 68
Recording - June 2013 - 69
Recording - June 2013 - 70
Recording - June 2013 - 71
Recording - June 2013 - Fade Out
Recording - June 2013 - Cover3
Recording - June 2013 - Cover4
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