Motu releases DP control app for Digital Performer

Posted by Will in Chatter

Today Motu the makers of Digital Performer (among other things) released a control App for Digital Performer. It works with iPhones, iPod Touch, and iPads. It uses the Open Sound Control Protocol (similar to TOUCH OSC) to control DP over a wireless network. Here’s some of the features of the app as listed on the DP control page:

• Real two-way communication — everything that you update in DP updates in DP Control, and vice versa.
• Editable time counter with selectable format (including real-time, SMPTE time, samples, and marker names).
• Main transport control and many other transport-related Control Panel functions (click, countoff, memory-cycle, etc.)
• Page-controlled, scrollable mixer with animated, recordable pan knobs and volume sliders, plus level meters and peak indicators.
• Solo, Mute, Record-enable, Play automation, Record automation and automation mode settings for each track.
• Track list for your DP project, complete with collapsible nested track folders and dynamically linked track organization that matches your currently open DP project on your Mac.
• Infinite undo, with a view that shows you the names of the next and previous tasks in your DP document undo history.
• Marker creation and naming.
• New Take, Previous Take, and Next Take functions that operate on all of the record-enabled tracks at once (essential for tracking drums).
• Take selection, by name, for individual tracks. Also New Take, Delete Take, and Rename Take for the current take on any individual track.
• Save function for saving changes made to the DP document.

The best feature though is that the app is completely free!  You’ve obviously got to have a copy of DP 7.2 and a mac, but all this functionality in a free app that can run on your iDevice, is pretty awesome.  We discussed the direction of music app development for iDevices previously (here and here) and one point we’ve discussed quite a bit is how software manufactures will soon be developing control apps for their software that re-translates the UI (User Interface) of the program into a more friendly format for an iDevice.  The ability to mix and control your software using what you’re already carrying and a device that you can make calls on, browse the internet, read books, AND control your software makes it a better choice then just a normal controller.

So.. I think this is just another sign of what’s to come, first Seinberg’s Cubase iC control app Cubase iC app for iPhone and now DP’s control app and before we now it the app store will be full of apps from Ableton and Digidesign, etc all giving us the ability to control our software from our pocket!

Check it out!

On the web

In the app store DP Control app Free

Have you used the DP control app?  If so what do you think of it?  Let us know in the comment section below!

Will Doggett is a certified Ableton Live Instructor, musician, worship leader and educator based out of FL. He currently works in the Worship Ministry at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale and teaches Ableton Live and Ensemble courses at Ocean's Edge School of Worship . You can reach him by Email and find him on Twitter @willdoggett. He's currently available for consultation and training for churches and musicians interesting in learning to integrate Live into their setups. Want more info? Shoot him an Email!

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