![]() The one category where DP consistently bests its competitors on both Mac and Windows is film scoring. (Cubase SX has some instruments, but they’re fairly basic and could use a refresh.) In fact, given that you can cheaply add the capable Operator synth to Ableton Live, and Digidesign is constantly bundling plug-ins with Pro Tools, the one Mac DAW that really falls behind now in included instruments is Steinberg’s Cubase. I don’t think anyone will be switching from another DAW just to use Proton, but for the DP loyal, it looks like great news. It’ll also mean fellow DP users can easily exchange projects that use these synths. This seems a smart approach, particularly as a starting point onto which to add your favorite standalone synths. I know I occasionally want an instrument that just does the basic job. Ironically, while I don’t see these as being as sophisticated as MOTU’s a la carte entries or the instruments in Logic Pro, many users may prefer the simplicity. Product.” There’s definitely some similarity in concept to the simplified instruments in Ableton Live and the included instruments in Logic, but when you see the implementation, there’s a real MOTU spin to them that long-time users will like. The others are totally new, unrelated to any previous I asked MOTU’s Jim Cooper if there was any relationship between these synths and MOTU’s MX4 and MachFive synths, and he responded, “The analog-emulation synths (BassLine, PolySynth and Modulo) are related to MX4. Many of these instruments have gorgeous, liquid-looking interfaces that seem a cross between the design of Apple’s Sculpture and Ultrabeat and MOTU’s own recent soft synths. Model 12: 12-part sample playback drum module Nanosampler: A simple, drag-and-drop sample player with a faux-Akai interface Modulo: 2-oscillator subtractive synth, a cousin to MOTU’s well-received MX4 ![]() PolySynth: Juno 106-inspired polyphonic pad synth (dig the faux-Roland faders) There’s nothing new here, in particular, but that might be a good thing: what DP 5 does include is a selection of bread-and-butter synths just about anyone would want:īassLine: Mono bass synth with obvious Moog influences Logic sells at a higher price, but it was tough to get that level of integration and depth by combining DP 4.x with a la carte instruments.ĭP 5 responds to that with an impressive selection of instruments. DP faced some particularly intense competition from Logic Pro’s absurdly huge selection of samplers, synths, and noisemakers. Now, true, you’ll hear the occasional person complain about bundled instruments (no, really), apparently thinking that detracts from the program, but if you’re one of those people, just ignore the thing, already. It’s my belief most people who buy a DAW want some included soft synths so they can make noise right out of the box. (Oh, yeah, I can bring the art history geekdom, too.) So, here’s the story of what’s new in DP 5, aside from the clever reference to the Charles Demuth painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the box art. The best news of all right now is, years after Mac users suffered the loss of Opcode’s Studio Vision Pro, competition on the Mac is now stiffer than ever, and music developers are responding. DP has the advantage of being measurably “better” at one particular task, producing scores for film and video, but in other categories competition is tight enough that it really comes down to implementing features in different ways. I think the reason was that, with hype over competing products, those users wanted someone to put into words why they made the choice they did. I’ve been surprised that two reviews I wrote of DP 4.5x, an individual review for Keyboard and a comparison for Macworld, earned me fanmail from existing users. There are a lot of DAW choices these days, and it’s really more about individual needs and preferences than figuring out which is “best.” Telling the story of a complex piece of software like this is really the challenge. The upgrade improves upon traditional program strengths (an easy-to-use, polished interface, and unusually strong film scoring features), while finally offering the suite of built-in instruments for which I and many others had been clamouring. Digital Performer 5 has been shipping for some time now, and we haven’t gotten a chance to look at it yet. Never let it be said that music software stands still.
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