NAMM 2008: Mark Of The Unicorn Spotlight

NAMM 2008: Mark Of The Unicorn Spotlight

23 January, 2008 | 10.55AM

• Section: Music News Topics: Technology
• Written by: francispreve

MOTU launched two new products at this year’s NAMM show, and Beatportal delivers the specifics.

Because they wanted to keep the products hush-hush until show time, even the MOTU website won’t have the specifics until after NAMM.

We managed to snag a private audition of these tools.

Here’s the scoop.

Digital Performer 6

Digital Performer 6 (DP6) is the first major upgrade to MOTU’s flagship DAW in over a year.

First off, the program’s look and feel has been significantly enhanced, while retaining enough familiarity that longtime users won’t feel lost or alienated.

In addition to Pro Tools HD compatibility improvements and the new ability to organize and save entire plug-in configurations, DP6 now includes the ability to pre-render virtual instruments.

This is kind of like freezing a track, but instead it’s totally transparent to the end user.

The bottom line is that this feature frees up tremendous amounts of CPU.

On the effects front, DP6 introduces two extremely high-quality processing tools.

ProVerb is a convolution reverb that is extremely CPU efficient, allowing users to use multiple instances without dragging your system to its knees.

Unlike other convolution reverbs, it can also be edited in real-time, allowing you to alter the reverb decay and so forth without stopping the music.

Even more amazingly, you can drag and drop any standard audio file right onto the ProVerb window and instantly create an impulse response from it.

The results are utterly otherworldly.

Another ProVerb feature, automatic ducking, reduces the volume of the reverb signal when an input signal is present, reducing muddiness and enhancing clarity.

The new Masterworks Leveler compressor/limiter is based on the legendary Teletronix LA-2A.

I heard it with my own ears and it is absolutely stunning.

Frankly, I think it sounds even better than the vaunted Waves Ultramaximizer, as it can sound quite subtle and transparent with certain settings – or completely squash a mix without sucking the life out of it.

Here are some technical details:

64-bit modeling of the T4 photo-coupler.
10 microsecond attack.
Four different models of the opto circuits and imperceptible high-frequency distortion.

If you’ve ever mastered one of your own tracks, those specs should make you shiver with anticipation.

Speaking of mastering, another unique feature is the ability to directly burn CDs — complete with track markers — from within DP6.

This can easily be used to take a single DJ set two-track mix, add track indexes, a touch of the Masterworks Leveler and then burn — all without leaving the program.

Truly amazing stuff.

Electric Keys

In addition to DP6, MOTU revealed a new virtual instrument called Electric Keys.

For $295 US, you get fifty lovingly sampled and very rare keyboards, including essential Rhodes, Wurlitzer and Clavinets, as well as really exotic items like the RMI Keyboard Computer, Yamaha CP-80, ARP Solina, Crumar Performer, Roland VP-330 strings/choir, Mellotron, Moog Taurus pedals and several others I’d never even heard of, like the Weltmeister Claviset.

The whole package weighs in at 40 gigabytes, since the samples are all 24-bit/96 kHz quality.

If you’re a fan of unusual electric or analog textures, you’ll be sorely tempted.

• (0) Comments
• (1004) Views