Digital Performer

kb420 · Post by **kb420** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:19 pm

Any live users using DP?

laird · Post by **laird** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:37 pm

Yes, in another studio.... and I wish it weren't there!

I am still learning it (grrr, why don't they have Pro Tools, or Live, or Cubase, I know those.... i don't want to add a fourth DAW to my small and already overcrowded brain)

I spent 30 minutes trying to set up a Send Effect last week. I had the manual in hand. 30 minutes! Just for a dumb send effect. It took me 5 seconds to do it in Live the easy way (oh look, send/return levels... I know what those are!) and 5 minutes to learn it the hard way (oh, any audio track can be a "send" track, that's really cool!).

I also had to read the manual to learn how to draw a volume envelope. Seriously. I could select the volume track, but it took me forever to figure out how to actually draw something in that window.

Looping audio? Again, had to go to the manual: oh its THAT icon. what is that supposed to look like, anyway?

Live, ProTools, Cubase: most of what I learned I just learned by mucking about first, then read the manual later to see what I missed.

Anyhow, DP seems really powerful and all.... but damn their UI sucks major butt. In my opinion, simple stuff should be simple.

ChiDJ · Post by **ChiDJ** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:39 pm

itook4lefts · Post by **itook4lefts** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:17 pm

i used it for about 4 months before i got live. dp was just too much for me. i liked the fact that live has everything on two pages, not eight overlapping windows.

why do you ask?

rbmonosylabik · Post by **rbmonosylabik** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:53 pm

DP is now a way too expensive dither here

borg · Post by **borg** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:55 pm

i got a pretty cheap crossgrade package for DP4. I only use it for surround mixing for theatre stuff. it's great for that. Love those layered automation lane as well

No it's not an intuitive app like Live, but it is very deep, i guess... he

pabloaugustus · Post by **pabloaugustus** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:59 pm

kb420 wrote:Any live users using DP?

the only reason to own a mac IMHO!!! I learned midi sequencing on DP over 10 years ago...a great sequencer, if you want rock solid control of midi hardware DP is the bomb. I'm not sure if I could go back to a traditional DAW, but if I had to, or if I owned a mac, I would use DP.

noisetonepause · Post by **noisetonepause** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 12:25 am

I know it has a few features that can't really be found anywhere else, but it certainly isn't 'easy'. I think it's the other extreme of the DAW spectrum - Live is this completely immediate, never-stop-playing type of environment with very few things hidden below the surface. DP is millions of menus and windows and the same functions in six different places. I never got to the point where all that stuff paid off, though, I must say. I don't keep it installed any more.

Machinesworking · Post by **Machinesworking** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 2:49 am

My first DAW, switched to Logic, then Live. Now I have all three on the computer, but mainly use Live / Logic. DP is amazing in many regards, but it's not set up for pop music making.
intro verse chorus verse chorus break verse chorus end is far too hard to mess around with in DP, which is really too bad. The concept of chunks could easily be implemented as folder tracks in the sequence, but the only way to use chunks is in the Song window, which screws up mackie control and mixing in general..... DP users will know what I mean. That, and the fact that any audio recorded into DP is only recorded as SDII, I don't even think Pro Tools uses SDII anymore it's all WAV.

Sad truth is DP has the best mixer and audio editor, Logic the best linear arrangement page, and Live has Session View, plus great MIDI implementation...... except for that dammed 128 parameter limit!

Blah! I like Live the best but unlike most here I find the limitations limiting, not liberating.

cabletone · Post by **cabletone** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 3:27 am

DP user for a couple years here. DP sucks. seriously. unless you're a bald guy with a ponytail who writes jingles. live is soooo much better for most things.

regrettably i still use it for mixdown though, since its the only other DAW i know.

cabletone · Post by **cabletone** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 3:29 am

maybe i'm being a little too hard on DP. it is better than live for editing however live is just so much more intuitive for the way i work in general.

Machinesworking · Post by **Machinesworking** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 3:48 am

cabletone wrote:maybe i'm being a little too hard on DP. it is better than live for editing however live is just so much more intuitive for the way i work in general.

I think the main problem with DP is that the Chunks concept is such a great idea, and not at all implemented in a way that makes it as easy to arrange songs as Session View in Live.

Serious, if DP made efforts to implement Chunks as a composing and remixing tool akin to Lives Session View, DP would be Amazing. I have to say I can't stand the fact that Live restricts you to using the piano roll editor in a sub window with no key commands to open/close it all the way...... that and Lives lack of any color in the track itself to separate mentally the mixer etc.
The Arrangement equivalent in DP sucks to a degree though, the information is messy and hard to navigate.

ChiDJ · Post by **ChiDJ** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:35 pm

I've used DP since version 1, (performer). I also use LIVE, Logic and Pro-Tools.

I understand your frustration with Chunks MachinesWorking. I don't use chunks and I write pop songs.

DP is an incredibly deep DAW which allows complete customization to work the way you want to work. It just takes a significant time investment, but the pay-off is worth it IMHO.

It's like getting a doctorate versus a GED.

aisling · Post by **aisling** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:49 pm

ChiDJ wrote:I've used DP since version 1, (performer). I also use LIVE, Logic and Pro-Tools.

I understand your frustration with Chunks MachinesWorking. I don't use chunks and I write pop songs.

DP is an incredibly deep DAW which allows complete customization to work the way you want to work. It just takes a significant time investment, but the pay-off is worth it IMHO.

It's like getting a doctorate versus a GED.

I agree at the end of the day when it's time for serious DAW muscle, dp is the go to for me. Live is my "in the moment" app for getting ideas, groove, flow and vibe together. The 2 are a wonderful array of tools for all kinds of inspiring and creative work. If I only had to choose between on or the other, DP would probably be the stronger app.

evernaut · Post by **evernaut** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 6:58 pm

Did a lot of post-prod audio with DP last year and it really shines there...specially with OMF support built in!

It's pretty complicated for sure though...and I'm not sure that I prefer it over ProTools as a Live companion.

But there's no really bad DAW once you get used to their quirks.

Oh, apart from Nuendo

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