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FIG.
1: The Tracks Overview window graphically displays MIDI content
and audio-track waveforms. Tracks can contain multiple takes of
alternative performances or duplicated data for editing (click image
for larger view).
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Mark of the Unicorn is
one of the oldest and most venerable music-software companies in the world.
One of its first products, Performer, was among the first comprehensive
MIDI sequencers for the Mac. Since Performer’s release, MOTU has continued
to refine and enhance its flagship software, adding digital audio capabilities
and many new features to create Digital Performer.
Version 2.7 of Digital Performer adds a multitude of features to an already
powerful application. Updates include greatly enhanced automation, a new
Drum Editor, multiple audio punches on the fly, real-time display of waveforms
during recording, audio scrubbing during trimming, graphic time stretching,
new and redesigned plug-ins, Mackie HUI and ReWire support, and an abundance
of other features.
Digital Performer
has always maintained a no-nonsense approach to sequencing and recording
that appeals to many professionals. At the heart of Digital Performer lies
the Tracks Overview window (see Fig. 1), in which you find the tracks,
MIDI assignments, default-patch assignments, and related parameters.
One very cool feature of the Tracks Overview window is the Take box, which
lets you record (and name) multiple passes within a MIDI or audio track.
This works well for quickly recording repeated takes of a part, as it doesn’t
clutter the arrangement with redundant vertical tracks. Version 2.7 automatically
creates new Takes for audio tracks while in Cycle Record, and the program
displays audio waveforms in real time as tracks record.
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FIG.
2: The Audio Graphic Editor is as comprehensive as a stand-alone
audio-editing program. You can view and edit waveforms all the way
down to the individual sample (click image for larger view).
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Like most other digital
audio sequencers, Digital Performer provides several editing windows.
The Event Editor window displays MIDI data in an editable text list; the
Graphic Editors provide visual editing of MIDI and audio data. The Audio
Graphic Editor is as feature laden as the best stand-alone digital audio
editor programs (see Fig. 2), and it can zoom all the way down
to the sample level for incredibly detailed editing.
Digital Performer’s dedicated Conductor track contains all tempo,
key-signature, and time-signature data; you can easily view and edit these
graphically or by event. The Conductor track can also be saved as a Standard
MIDI File for importing into Digidesign’s Pro Tools.
When the SMF is accompanied by an Open Media Format file and relevant
audio files, Pro Tools can create a session from a Digital Performer project
that contains sample accurate alignment of audio events, a tempo map with
bars and beats, text markers, and MIDI data. (MOTU plans to create a two-way
handshake in a version of Digital Performer that can import OMF files.)
I used this method with great success for several projects destined to
be mixed in Pro Tools.
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Reprinted with permission from 
Magazine, November, 2000
© 2000, Intertec Publishing, A Primedia Company All Rights Reserved
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