feature

digital performer

Seventh Heaven
Robin Bigwood

Digital Performer version 7.1 has been out for a while, but were still feeling the love for some of its new features...

P takes information about the MIDI gear attached to your Mac from OS Xs Audio MIDI Setup application. You can find that in Applications / Utilities, but you can also open it any time directly from DPs Setup menu, where there is actually an Audio MIDI Setup item. Audio MIDI Setups MIDI Devices tab gives a friendly, visual representation of what devices are connected (or have been connected), and you doubleclick the objects there to make any necessary settings. Then DP shows those same devices in its MIDI track output

popup menus, for example. That all seems simple, and it is, but DP (along with some other major applications, it has to be said) has been guilty of complicating the issue. Theres some history to this, and it gets pretty nerdy, so Im going to ignore that and cut to the chase, which is that if youre using a version of DP thats older than 7.1, you might find some

USB MIDI devices such as controllers or synths that DP previously wouldnt recognise are now selectable as Unconfigured Ports in v7.1.

Prior to DP7.1, you often had to create dummy devices in Audio MIDI Setup to persuade DP to communicate with those MIDI controllers or synths, which it thought were interfaces.

of your USB MIDI devices (and MIDI interface ports) that are present in Audio MIDI Setup dont show up in MIDI track output popup menus. This is particularly noticeable when you plug in a controller keyboard via USB, and you happen to have Multi Record turned on in DPs Studio menu. Because you can never select it in a MIDI track input popup menu, you can never get the keyboard to work. Theres a kludgy workaround involving creating a dummy device in Audio MIDI Setup, which makes DP think your MIDI interface has got something

News In Brief
PSPs warm front: PSP Audioware have long been a DPfriendly company, and their most recent update continues the tradition of releasing Audio Unit plugins with good DP compatibility. Vintage Warmer 2.5, the multiband dynamics processor, now comes with a useful sibling, the MicroWarmer, which promises to bring the same big sound to individual tracks, using a simpler, singleband design, and running with low latency. Interestingly, though, Vintage Warmer 2.5 and other recent PSP Audioware updates no longer offer the option of iLok authorisation only PSPs straightforward usernameandlicencecode system. Uncertainty about the smoothness of the ongoing transition to a 64bit OS X, and about the current security of the system, has apparently led to the decision. I wonder if well see any other developers going the same way? www.pspaudioware.com Buy the book? Theres no comprehending MOTUs naming scheme when it comes to new audio interface releases. First we get apparently arbitrarily numbered units, then MkIII designs that didnt have a MkII, and now the socalled MicroBook! This is a tiny (9x14x2.5cm) selfpowered 44.1/48kHz USB interface thats obviously meant as an ontheroad solution rather than a studio workhorse. However, it still has plenty going for it, including a mic preamp with 48V phantom power, a dedicated guitar input, two extra linelevel inputs, and individual stereo output pairs on balanced quarterinch jack and unbalanced minijack sockets, plus minijack stereo headphone sockets. An S/PDIF digital coaxial output mirrors the main outputs. With no controls of any kind, the whole thing is configured via MOTUs CueMix application. It seems as if the MicroBooks feature set has been well thought out, and with a recommended price of 259 it could be a solid entrylevel option that you wouldnt outgrow for a while. www.motu.com

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digital performer

new features in dp7.1

connected to it, and hence is a valid input source. DP 7.1 sees an end to this madness, thank heavens. Now, rather than incorrectly assuming that some Audio MIDI Setup devices that look like interfaces cant possibly be a controller or a synth, DP lists them as Unconfigured Ports in MIDI track popup menus. You can select them, and they work! At last theres no need to have dummy devices in Audio MIDI Setup any more, so if youre still using any its advisable to get rid of them.

Fabulous Folders
DPs Track Folders feature dates back to 2006 (you can read about it at http://www. soundonsound.com/sos/jul06/articles/ performertech_0706.htm if you need a quick reminder of the ins and outs). Track

Folders are brilliant for organising big mixes, but doing largescale, architectural sequenceediting with them has sometimes felt a touch hitandmiss. Would tracks in closed folders be included in timerange selections? What exactly was happening if you made a selection directly on the folder in the Tracks window? There used to be an Edit Tracks in Closed Folders setting in the Tracks window minimenu that was supposed to let the user choose the desired behaviour, but that was scant recompense when youd forgotten about it and the damage was already done. In DP 7.1, the situation is much improved. Now, in the Tracks window, a folder shows a little graphic overview of

DP7.1s little track folder overviews dont half make life easier. Note how closed folders pick up the colours of tracks within, but expanded folders have an overview shown in grey.

the data in the tracks it contains. When the folder is closed, the overview picks up the enclosed tracks colours, but when its open, the overview goes grey. Thats useful extra visual feedback when youre faced with a busy Tracks window. Even better, though, the overview is fully functional, so you can drag over it, and when you do this youre making a selection in all the tracks the folder contains. In line with this, the Edit Tracks in Closed Folders minimenu setting has gone. In all, its a really useful simplification.

Visible Control From Opus Locus

In the July issue of SOS, I looked in detail at the Saitara AC7 controlsurface application for iOS devices (such as the iPhone and iPad). Running on an iPad, AC7 is a serious alternative to expensive hardware options such as the Mackie Control and Euphonix MC Control. However, if it involves you buying the iPad specially, its by no means the cheapest option, nor is it necessarily the most robust, relying, as it does, on a WiFi link to the Mac and some thirdparty freeware utilities. Various hardware devices provide Mackie Control emulation at a lower price point, and do use simple, reliable USB connections. An example is the 135 Behringer BCF2000. The downside is that they lack the displays that give such useful feedback on a real Mackie Control. However, thanks to the same DP 7.1 development that allowed the AC7 iPad app to become a reality, this doesnt have to be a problem. LC Xview is a straightforward application by Opus Locus. Conceptually, it intervenes between DP and your BCF2000 (or other controller) and displays the same information that would appear directly on a Mackie Control on your Macs monitor instead. If your BCF2000 is sitting underneath your monitor, then its very much the next best thing! Setting up is really easy. Crucially, your BCF2000 or other controller must be in a valid Mackie Control emulation mode. Then you launch LC Xview. In DP (which could be running already), go to Setup menu / Control Surface Setup. What youre looking for here is essentially whats shown in the screenshot above. You add a Mackie Control driver using the + button at top right, then configure Mackie Control unit so that the Input Port

The typical settings for integrating LC Xview in DP, in the Control Surface Setup dialogue box.
popup shows your physical controller and the Output Port popup says LC Xview. Click OK, and you should be in business, with the little LC Xview window displaying track names, status, and other info. Having done this once, you shouldnt have to do it again. If you think LC Xview is nifty, you might want to check out its big brother, the $40 LC Xmu. This more complex application allows you to get in on Mackie Controlstyle action even if you just have a generic MIDI controller. And if you do have a BCF2000, or even a real Mackie Control, it improves the experience by, amongst other things, allowing remapping of buttons. Already Xview and Xmu are working pretty well with DP, but a few little issues remain, such as strange control echoes when DP is set to listen to control surfaces in the background. Opus Locus are a responsive company, though, and look to be quite open to further DPaware development now that the features are in place that provide the necessary compatibility. Definitely worth supporting!

The $20 LC Xview application displays Mackie Controllike track information for owners of control surfaces such as Behringers BCF2000. Here its window is shown beneath DPs Mixing Board.

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This article was originally published in Sound On Sound magazine, October 2010 edition.

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