Why I chose DP9

Short answer: I see a good opportunity to learn new methods of working.

Continuing with Sonar in the short term
We know that Sonar won't last forever and I will need to find a replacement at some stage. But I am assuming, rightly or wrongly, that I will be able to continue using Sonar for some time to come. If re-authorization eventually becomes a problem I will be forced to quickly switch to another DAW. But for now, with Sonar freshly installed on a new PC, I should  be able to continue with Sonar for a couple of years.

Time to spare (hopefully)
So I don't need to rush to move to a new DAW yet. But now is a good time to begin learning about alternative methods with new software. From now until the time when Sonar becomes inoperable (whenever that is) should hopefully be sufficient time to gain proficiency in a DAW product. Also, it will be useful to have a second DAW anyhow, especially if it has a few features that Sonar lacks.

What I was looking for
So, what do I want from a second (and eventual replacement) DAW? Many people here seem to be seeking something as close as possible to Sonar or something without too much of a learning curve. But I'm doing the opposite and going for something a bit more challenging. I imagine that if I started working with something similar to Sonar I would be disappointed or frustrated by the differences. I really don't want to be thinking about Sonar at all. I prefer to go with something that has a completely different design and requires a different approach. Learning a new approach is always a good way of gaining perspective on a subject. And I believe (and of course I may be wrong about this but I'm optimistic) that there will be plenty of time to learn my way around the software before I need to start becoming reliant on it. I therefore would not rule out something because of its learning curve.

Digital Performer
Digital Performer 9.5 seems to fit my requirements. It's a substantial and mature program that can apparently do all the audio and midi stuff that I am familiar with but deals with it an unfamiliar way, but I'm OK with that. The GUI looks attractive (although some of it is miniature). It looks as if it is well thought out and well-integrated rather than just a collection of features that have been added over the years. I find it all a bit intriguing. It's not for the fainthearted, but I'm reasonably confident that I can work with it. I'm also impressed that they don't include unnecessary extras such as sample content and integration with social networking sites. This suggests that the developers are focused on the things that matter to the serious musician.

Some of the things that stand out for me are as follows:

• The documentation is good. The manual is a joy to read, although some of the terminolgy is strange.
• DP includes an arrangement window (although it's called something different) and a nifty way of arranging the parts of a song, vertically and horizontally.
• A project can be split into separate sections/sequences and these can be viewed and worked on separately.
• Syncing audio to video is something I have not done much of so far, partly because Sonar's implementation of this feature is less than adequate. But it is one of DP's stong points, so I will be doing more of this in future.
• I was initially unimpressed by the Motunation forum, which appears to be far less busy than Cakewalk's, plus there is some apparent segregation between Mac & Windows users. But I posted a couple of questions and both times I got some helpful replies almost immediately. My initial impressions were wrong. It's a good forum after all.

Other alternatives
I have not undertaken extensive research on DAWs and their capabilities. I therefore may have possibly missed some DAW that I would have prefered over DP. If so, then it's too late.

So now it's still business as usual with Sonar for my main projects, while experimenting with DP as a sideline. Suits me fine.

They do have a cross grade special, $195.00 until Dec 31.
 


"Now a DAW does pitch and time shifts the way you wish it would." — createdigitalmusic.com

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DP9$499Add to Cart
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DP9$499Add to Cart
Upgrade from competing product (?) Special pricing ends Dec. 31, 2017 View eligible competing products  »$395 $195Add to Cart



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From competing product (?) Special pricing ends Dec. 31, 2017 View eligible competing products  »$395 $195Add to Cart
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From previous version of DP$195Add to Cart
From competing product (?) Special pricing ends Dec. 31, 2017 View eligible competing products  »

35mm

michael diemer
Must be lonely out there on Pluto...
 

Funny but cruel :)

I was just trying to be sympathetic. nobody was responding to his thread, and he put a lot effort into it.

michael diemer
...nobody was responding to his thread...

 
After I posted I went back to edit a typo and the thread disappeared. By the time it got restored it had been overtaken by several other threads. That may explain the lack of any early responses.

djwayne
Well I bought in to DP 9.5 because of the great sounding synths in it's demo project.
...those synths and bass....wow.....

 
I haven't checked out the synths yet. Reviews that I have seen all criticised DP for its lack of decent synths. Just opinions I guess.

Kev999

djwayne
Well I bought in to DP 9.5 because of the great sounding synths in it's demo project.
...those synths and bass....wow.....

 
I haven't checked out the synths yet. Reviews that I have seen all criticised DP for its lack of decent synths. Just opinions I guess.

Just give the demo a listen.

I'll be away for 10 days on hols soon and I was intending to spend some leisurely time learning DP. I was hoping to take my laptop with DP installed, but that didn't work out. As a lesser alternative I tried loading the PDF manuals onto my Kindle reader. But the text is much too small so there would be endless zooming in and out. So I tried using online format converters, but they all seem to have ignored the column structure of the documents and read across each page from left to right. Crazy! I'm still looking for something that will convert properly from PDF to AZW3. I don't care if it ignores the images as long as the text is decently formatted and legible.