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Digital Performer is a Digital Audio Workstation/Sequencersoftware package published by Mark of the Unicorn (MOTU) of Cambridge, Massachusetts for the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows platforms.
Ancestry[edit]
In 1984, Mark of the Unicorn released Professional Composer, one of the first application programs for the Apple Macintosh. The program used the Macintosh's high-resolution graphics and printing to allow the user to print professional quality music scores.
In 1985, the company released a music sequencer named Performer, also based on the Macintosh platform, for arranging and performing with synthesizers and other devices which recognized the then-newly developed MIDI standard. Sending a series of numerical values, such a sequencer could direct many instruments, commanding which notes to play, at what loudness, and for how long to sustain them. There are many deep features in the MIDI protocol; MOTU developed extended capabilities in Digital Performer for handling these controllers and other actions (including remote operation of the software itself) through user-customizable graphical consoles, allowing the operator direct access to deeper features of instruments, stage lighting and various types of machines, all via MIDI interfaces and custom graphic buttons and sliders.
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)[edit]
In 1990, MOTU added the ability to synchronise audio (digital audio) to Performer and released it as 'Digital Performer,' months after Opcode added this capability to Vision. Digital Performer was originally designed as a front-end to Digidesign's Audiomedia hard disk recording system, which later became Pro Tools. Digital Performer's specific appeal was its MIDI environment, which was fitted into the same transport system as the audio environment. This enabled users to record their MIDI instruments and mix the results with other live audio recorded in the studio (or vice versa). Personal computers of this time were too slow to handle high quality recording via their own CPU, so the addition of Digital signal processingco-processor cards was necessary to create a functioning audio recording studio. As the Mac's CPU became powerful enough to record the digitized audio directly to hard disk, the DSP cards were gradually rendered unnecessary. Foreseeing this, MOTU created its own Motu Audio System (MAS) which helped Digital Performer to tap the Macintosh's native power to record music directly to its own hard drive without the need for external co-processing and dedicated drives. By 2000, Digital Performer allowed users to record, mix, and master audio for commercial releases.
Version history[edit]
Version 3 of Digital Performer was the last to run on Mac OS 9, the Classic Macintosh operating system. After a complete rewrite, MOTU released Digital Performer 4.0 in May 2003, which ran exclusively on Mac OS X.
Beginning with version 4.5, MOTU introduced a number of important new features to Digital Performer. The two most important of these are built in pitch correction capability, and the professional Masterworks EQ plugin. Beginning with version 5.0, MOTU also introduced a set of virtual instruments. The software was updated to version 5.13 on 19 November 2007 to provide compatibility with Mac OS X v10.5. and available in Universal Binary.
Version 7.2 was introduced in 2010. Digital Performer remains one of the popular audio workstations on the Macintosh. Faster Apple CPUs continue to increase its capacity and performance. Chief among its competition on the Macintosh platform are Pro Tools and Apple's Logic.[3][citation needed]
In October 2012, MOTU released Digital Performer 8 for OSX. Digital Performer 8 is available on Windows as well.[1]
Version 9 of Digital Performer was released in June 2015 for Mac OS X and Windows. This version contains workflow enhancements, some new effect plugins, including emulations of the 1176 Peak Limiter and Craig Anderton's MultiFuzz. MOTU also included a 64-bit version of its software synth (synthesizer) MX4 which used to be sold as a stand-alone product.[2]
AudioDesk[edit]
AudioDesk is a more basic version of MOTU's Digital Performer for mac only. It is a multi-track recording, editing, and mixing application, with both offline file-based processing and realtime effects. Much of the graphical user interface (GUI) and its operation are similar to Digital Performer, although it lacks some of Digital Performer's features. Most notably, it does not include MIDI sequencing capabilities, and thus does not include some of Digital Performer's MIDI-specific editing windows. Also, AudioDesk is only available as a bundled application with MOTU audio interfaces; this also means that AudioDesk requires a MOTU audio interface to be used as its soundcard.
AudioDesk version 1 was first released in 1998, as bundled software with the MOTU 2408 PCI-based audio interface. Version 1 is compatible with the Classic Mac OS. Version 2 for Mac OS X was released in 2003, with numerous updates (many of which corresponded to updates from Digital Performer 3 for the Classic Mac OS to Digital Performer 4 for Mac OS X).
Awards and recognition[edit]
Notable users[edit]
Some notable users include:
![]() See also[edit]References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Digital_Performer&oldid=928259040'
I've read such a mixed bag on converting one's whole library of giga sounds to kontakt, ranging from 'great except for just a few libraries' to 'not really worth it except for very simple instruments.' What is the current thinking on this? Is there a single thread somewhere that lists the problem conversions? (Sonic implants I've heard)I'm less worried about subtle changes of timbre or velocity response (I already went through that in the old days coming from roland and akai to giga) and I plan to make adjustments to subtleties. I'm more concerned with crashing patches or missing keyswitches, etc. I've been trying to convert my GigaStudio libraries to Kontakt pretty much since Tascam discontinued the product.
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I've had mixed results.On the plus side Chicken Systems Translator (which is the basis for the built in translation) has worked brilliantly for most of my stuff, including all my SampleTekk libs (although he subsequently released free translations), the Presonus Orchestral Library, and I think all of the little freebies that were available.On the minus side, Scarbee's basses were a complete failure, as was Garritan's Orchestral Strings. And since they were the ones I really wanted to move I find that quite frustrating.I'll be watching this thread waiting for the secret answer. I've tried it on libraries by Project SAM, Sonic Implants/Sonivox, Scarbee, VSL, Westgate and many others. I have had almost 0% success. The only times I have gotten a Giga library to lond is when it was a very small, cheap, 16-bit Giga 2 library which is basically playing a wav file per key. Anything more complex than that doesn't work.
I honestly don't know why they say it will load Giga libraries because it doesn't. I have tried Translator and I have tried the built-in system (which is also Translator.). JohnG-I've been a Performer user since the mid '80s (!) but haven't really gotten into mach5 too much. However, your post led me to take a second look. I just went to their website and saw:'Special attention has been paid to compatibility with GigaSampler libraries, especially keyswitching and 'dimensions'. Open your GigaSampler, EXS24, or Kontakt instruments in MachFive 2 directly and preset characteristics such as key switch, release, and trigger-speed sample switching are faithfully preserved and ready to go.' Thanks, John.
Please keep us informed of your adventures with this. I might just go that way instead. Just tried a 3-velocity-layer MW x-fade violin patch from Sonic Implants strings - this is now a rather old library, at least six years old, but it seems to load fine in MachFive2 and it sounds good.cc11 works and affects volume but not tone. Cc1 does have an effect but it's not smooth; more like an 'on / off' for perhaps a sordino sound, or just a less aggressive bowing. All three velocity layers clearly work as they should. The transitions are somewhat abrupt but that's understandable with only three layers.honestly I can't even remember when the last time was that I used a library this ancient so I can't remember for sure whether the mod wheel and pedal are providing the original, 'designed' effect this is supposed to have. I can say though that it is functional and the tone is about what I remember.I don't have Scarbee bass or garriton orchestral strings, and I am not even sure whether the latest Sonic Implants (now Sonivox) strings are the same as what I'm playing.
Very likely not, given all the time that's passed. Tried a keyswitch violin patch from another very old string library. Keyswitches are working correctly and are in the same places (same keys) as on the Giga.tried a 5-layer 'bluesmaster' lead from the old Quantum Leap Guitar and bass - works fine.MachFive2 may not translate everything perfectly, but I can report 'so far so good.' Maybe there are other MOTU-oriented forums where there is more thorough experimentation going on, but this makes me glad that I bought the thing, if nothing else just in case my Giga PC finally gives up the ghost, but in the mean time I'm thinking I'll just pull what I use of the older libraries into the Mac.
One thing I forgot to mention - the first time you load some of the patches it appears that you have to re-save them. However - and I am speculating out of paranoia - possibly they re-save in some kind of format that makes them different, or even hard / impossible to re-access in Giga?
I have no evidence of this, so it's conjecture only.But, conjecture or not, I decided to copy the files first to a new location so that the originals are preserved as-is.I'm pretty excited about this as a backup plan, or even to take the venerable Giga off-line. Thanks for the great info, John.My big concern is the 'MW Xfade' issue that you mentioned earlier. The good, expressive orchestral sounds ALL use that option to create crescendos and add timbre change over time. If those are turning into ON/OFF switches (like velocity layers), then those fantastic patches won't be usable.There's probably a quick fix.maybe just a macro that can be applied to patches like this, and hopefully can be re-saved into a permanent state.
(Even if the curve is slightly different than the one we're used to, it's still not a dealbreaker.)Anyone tried adding these MW Xfades to patches that lost them when opened in machfive? I would caution against concluding from a single example that the MW conversion doesn't work at all. Honestly I can't even remember what effect on this library the MW originally had because I haven't touched it in so long, so what I am hearing may be what it did in the first place.Maybe you (or anyone) could PM me with one or more specific examples of patches for testing? I think a few tests makes sense.
Maybe someone else with MachFive2 could weigh in as well?Naturally if it doesn't work, there is an issue, but I would be skeptical that MOTU would make such a blanket claim that hasn't got a pretty strong basis.
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