MOTU’s DP doesn’t get a lot of hype — it just quietly remains a favorite for everything from scoring to post-production. DP12 has deep Dolby Atmos support, an Arrangement Strip, and lots of other welcome additions to this Mac and Windows DAW.
DP isn’t so expensive, either. Full freight is $495. A crossgrade (which you probably already qualify for) is $395. Upgrades run $195. And alongside Logic, Cubase, and Pro Tools, (plus Cakewalk, I suppose) it remains one of the most mature DAWs on the market.
In this release:
- Dolby Atmos support
- AI-powered Stem Separation
- Arrangement Strip
- Dedicated MIDI controller menu
- Track Presets
- Music XML Import
- Tags/Enhanced Searching
- Command Keysets
- Fade/Crossfade presets
- Enhanced AAF/OMF Support
- Modernized Surround Formats
- Support for High Frame Rates (HFR)
One of the places DP is strong is in scoring, a reputation it’s held for decades. So MOTU aren’t asking you to switch scoring tools — you can ust import and export via Music XML. And they’re not asking you to try to move the industry on other standards, either; they just support the stuff the industry needs, from AAF/OMF to Dolby Atmos. That included Atmos implementation looks especially great, if you aren’t totally sold on some of the competitors’ workflow (or Apple’s own wonky Spatial Audio, though I’ll talk more about that soon, as yes, I do still run Logic).
It’s not so much that DP does something other DAWs don’t do as DP does implement things in some thoughtful ways, very often in ways I wish some of their competitors would emulate. So, looking at this release:
Funny enough, even mentioning AI stem separation now freaks people out, judging by comments. That’s probably the least interesting feature to me personally, just because a) everything does it now, b) just send me the original stems, please. But suffice to say, it is there, and the models are local; there’s no upload. There is also otherwise no “AI” in the DAW. Honestly, I’m surprised marketing teams aren’t calling this “automatic” or “intelligent” stem separation and avoiding AI altogether, as it understandably now makes many of us break out in hives. Onto the more interesting stuff:
Doby Atmos support mixes, renders, and exports in Dolby Atmos formats, including Apple Music and Tidal. Now, Dolby themselves have been pretty aggressive about getting their tech everywhere, but let me refer you to even just this pop-up menu for how serious the 3D Panner is in DP12.
There’s support for up to 128 channels (that’s channels, not objects). Then you can export straight to Dolby Atmos ADM, without the need for any additional tool.
You’ve got the panner:
And then you’ve also got the renderer:
I remember being impressed by DP’s Markers back in the 90s, and incredibly, there still isn’t a DAW implementation that handles them quite as elegantly. Now, you finally get an Arrangement strip along the top of the DAW to match. Ground breaking? No, not especially. Thoughtfully implemented, with beautiful implementation with their Markers system? Absolutely, and there’s where it’s ahead.
Then there’s just how nicely DP does stuff. The track presets have this nice visual interface and browser, and you can drag and drop them from the Content Browser.
Keysets now speed up common tasks, and are a huge boon to those aforementioned scoring and tracking applications. These work alongside key bindings, rather than replacing them, which makes them easier to apply to particular tasks. And MOTU has gracefully given us command keysets for Pro Tools, Cubase, Nuendo, Logic, and Live. As someone juggling Cubase, Live, and Logic, that’s a relief.
Plus, speaking of little things, I love this MIDI controller popup. So whereas every other DAW I can think of makes me menu-dive into a settings window to swap MIDI controllers, you can just select different connected inputs in a pop-up on the Control Panel that’s visible as you work. You can filter MIDI data from the gadgets you don’t want to actively use. And you can quickly swap inputs, without having to select each individual track input.
There’s other stuff in here, too, like batch-renaming multiple tracks or soundbites, new custom presets for fades and crossfades (nice!), a giant resizable Large Counter window, enhanced drag-and-drop, and just a ton, a ton of user interface and usability improvements. There’s also a nice set of MIDI Arpeggios you can select in a window. (Okay, having just written about Ardour’s new MIDI Arpeggiate function, there’s another tip of Features I Hope Get Copied.)
MOTU has everything new on their site:
https://motu.com/en-us/products/software/dp
Digital Performer is available from Sweetwater and Thomann, as well; Thomann even has a discount. (Both show DP11 as I write this, but I expect that’ll be updated shortly.)
If you buy something from a CDM link, we may earn a commission.
I have just one request, MOTU. I’m still waiting on Reason Studios to bring back Propellerheads. But you can bring back the unicorn. (MOTU = Mark of the Unicorn, for those of you not in the know.) As for not spelling out the word “Digital” any more, CDM feels you.
