MARK OF THE UNICORN

DIGITAL PERFORMER 1.71 SEQUENCER

Computer sequencing programs have come a long way in the last 10 years. This is due to the acceptance of MIDI as a viable technology. All the while, software companies have been fighting one another with upgrades. But how far can upgrades be stretched before things get redundant? What tricks could possibly be next? The answer here is the integration of MIDI sequencing with digital audio recording.

Not long ago, the only practical way to integrate a sequencer with digital audio was through SMPTE. Specifically, a sequencing program would be locked to a multitrack recorder with time code. And yes, this worked very well. Eventually, hard disk recording systems began to appear. However. the price of RAM and hard disk space put these programs out of reach to the mass market. But within the past year or so, the rules have changed. Computer memory prices have dropped; software is better and MIDI with audio is where it is at. A recent upgrade to address this market is Digital Performer 1.71 by Mark of the Unicorn.

Features

Performer is noted for its rich graphical interface. Most of the action takes place in the tracks list" and "tracks overview" windows. These two areas comprise the main work screen 'Tracks list" provides details on each track-MIDI device, patch name, channel number, record. play, comments, etc. The 'tracks overview" provides a global view of the MIDI data in the sequence. Visually, the information in "tracks overview" appears as a series of small rectangles on a grid. The amount of data in a given area will determine the shading of the rectangles. As the sequencer plays. a vertical marker scrolls across the screen to indicate the location. Additionally, the "tracks list" and "tracks overview" can be resized to overlap one another.

Performer allows the viewing and editing of data in four different ways. Depending upon the work style, one of these windows should fit the bill. The "graphic editing" window displays two scrolling horizontal screens. The top portion is a piano roll illustrating each note and its duration. The bottom part shows corresponding controller events along with velocities and note on­off data. For the "musically" inclined, the "notation editing" window will be the most familiar. Here the actual notes are displayed on ledger lines. And like the "graphic editing" window, the "notation editor" provides a single scrolling track on top and controller data on the bottom. Similarly, the "QuickScribe" window also shows notation. However, it is viewed as it would be printed out on paper. And more than one track can be viewed at a time-like a bass and treble clef. Lastly. there is an "event list" that provides the numerical data for each event. Unfortunately, the "event list" does not provide a scroll bar like the other windows. Therefore, you cannot tell where you are during the playback.

Performer's interface can handle both linear and modular sequencing. Modularity is accomplished with the "chunks" feature. A "chunk" is either a sequence (a collection of tracks) or a song (a collection of sequences and other songs). The amount of "chunks" a user can have is limited only by the amount of memory on the computer. "Chunks" can be played back either manually or automatically in any order. The grouping of "chunks" is called a "song." Of course Performer can be used in a linear fashion with the cut and paste features, which produces similar results. Musicians working in a structured format will prefer "chunks," whereas open­ended composers will prefer the more linear approach.

The program also has standard features like tempo changes, transposition, inverse pitch, reverse time, looping and retrograde. Upon digging a bit deeper. several different types of quantization, random humanizing, and deflamming functions can be found. But there is a lot more. It is not difficult to navigate around the program, but it gets deeper as one goes. Granted, not everyone will use everything in Performer, but it is all there if necessary.

Each of the editing windows has its own pop­up or sub­menu system. And there are numerous windows to choose from. So it is not uncommon to ask, "Where did I see that command? How do I find such­and­such? What was the name of that function?" At times, this can be confusing. However, if power is desired, the learning curve will have to be tackled. In all fairness, Performer's manual is excellent (if not rather daunting at first). And it is easy to track down the info you need.

In use

What sets Digital Performer apart from the regular version of the program is the audio recording capabilities. While MIDIdata is not very taxing on a computer's CPU, digital audio is a different story. To run this program, a Macintosh with a Digidesign (or compatible) audio card and System 7 or better is needed. MOTU prefers a PowerPC with 16 MB of RAM (20 is preferable with System 7.5 or higher). Digital Performer's DSP code is PowerPC Native to maximize performance. However, it will run on a 68040­based Mac, albeit not as quickly. Also, hard disk recording eats disk space like a hungry dog. At a sample rate of 44.1 kHz at 16 bits, 10 MB is needed for every minute of stereo recording (5 MB for mono). This adds up real fast-believe me.

The process of recording audio is straightforward. Just set the configuration for digital or analog, enable the track settings, click the monitor icon for sound, check the levels and hit record. That is all. Unfortunately, the program only puts one rectangle in the "tracks overview" screen to represent the total data. I presume this will be fixed in an upgrade.

After the recording, Performer allows the user to work on the soundfile while it is processing the data in the background. This includes editing, playing or recording new material. The user can even exit the program and return later-and Performer will finish processing the data where it previously left off. However, it does take time for the DSP process to complete (for example, it took 20 minutes to process a stereo soundbite that was 1 minute and 35 seconds).

In the "audio graphic editor" screen, soundbites appear as waveforms. These can be edited with functions such as cut, copy. erase, paste, insert and loop. In addition fade­in and fade­outs or different kinds of volume curves can be drawn. Waveforms can also be dragged to different locations within the audio track. A ruler is on top of the window screen. This makes it easy to line up tracks that will be edited (like stereo tracks). However, I would prefer an option where multiple tracks could be edited in a single move.

Digital Performer also provides a "mixing board" for automation of moves. Instead of drawing the fade­out, use the mouse to pull down the screen fader while in record mode. If the moves do not turn out right, hit undo and try again. All of Performer's functions are "constructive" edits. This means that the original soundfiles are not modified-they can be returned to if need be. From the "mixing board's" pop­up menu, an "effects" section can be loaded. For MIDI tracks, the effects include velocity compression and transposition. For audio tracks, there is parametric EQ via the Digidesign hardware. The "effects menu" also provides access to any TDM plug­ins that may be present.

Best of all is the upgrade for version 1.7. The new toy here is a process called "spectral effects." This process is a combination of "PureDSP," "standard pitch shifting" and "time scaling." Digital Performer can handle two kinds of pitch shifting: "standard" and "PureDSP." "Standard" is similar to most traditional transposition methods. The question is how soon will the "chipmunks" or "darth vader" effects kick in-usually around an octave in either direction. However, "PureDSP" is a new ball game. It changes the pitch of the sound without changing its character. This is accomplished by changing the fundamental frequency and harmonics while preserving the "formants," or resonances of the sound. Think of the formants as the sound's tonal quality. For example, if the pitch and tempo are left alone and the formants are changed, gender­bending could be done. How about making a soprano into an alto or female into a male?

Does all this stuff work? You bet; but there is one caveat. "PureDSP" works best on pitched monophonic sounds. With polyphonic sounds, stick with standard pitch shifting. The other remarkable feature in this upgrade is "time scaling." This allows the user to change the length of an audio sample without affecting its pitch. In other words, someone can sing faster or slower and still maintain the proper pitch. And yes, this one works too. It must be heard to be believed.

Summary

Without question, Digital Performer 1.7 is one awesome program. Yes, MIDI sequencing has found the right partner with digital audio. It will be interesting to see what the competition comes up with to respond.