MOTU

The lack of equipment never stifles the creative and resourceful musician. If you’re a guitarist who uses a Mac, you can stretch your computer’s function as a DAW with MOTU Digital Performer 7.  

We were super excited when we got to the Anaheim Convention Center and started seeing posters for a new, MPC-style beat-production unit from Mark Of The Unicorn that they were calling the MOTU BPM. It had all the familiar pads, faders and knobs, plus a huge, full-color LCD display showing a waveform being edited, and we wondered why there hadn't been more hullabaloo leading up to its unveiling.

Oh, by the way, it's a plugin.  

After the failure of the TV Series of the same name, starring Aaron Stanford, Matthew Bomer (who built strong bones enduring ridicule throughout junior high) and Logan Marshall-Green, the Traveler gets reinvented as something new. MOTU releases Traveler-mk3, a new, high-end interface for portable recording.  

I've never yet sensed the connection between Mark Of The Unicorn and its significance in Gone in 60 Seconds where Eleanor is referred to as Raines' unicorn -- the one car he just can't seem to cleanly boost. The Unicorn leaves only its Mark again with the MOTU UltraLite-mk3.  

For about two weeks, we thought the HVAC system in the Gearwire offices was busted, but it turns out it's just hot because Summer NAMM 2008 is here! Covered: Moog Guitar and other, non-Moog-Guitar products.  

MOTU releases the 896mk3 Firewire interface, a 28 input, 32 output beast with built in effects. In addition to its quality preamps, it adds reverb, parametric EQ and compression to your arsenal without leaning one way or the other (or skimping any features) between analog and digital recording options.  

Firewater frontman Tod A. is by no means a gear enthusiast. He appreciates gear that does its job and isn't too much of a pain in the ass to lug around the globe.  

Jaimie Branch is a Trumpeter and Recording Engineer in Chicago, and guess what: she's down with the kids from Black Lion Audio. It's a small, windy city after all.  

The MOTU 828mk3 is loaded with so many features that it'll make your head spin. It's an interface and a mixer and it's about one mark away from learning how to microwave frozen burritos to maximize workflow.  

Because I don't lead a very interesting life, one of the most exciting things I can think of is the release a new version of DAW software. While Cubase, Logic, Nuendo, Ableton Live, et al released new versions earlier in 2007, I thought that it was all downhill from there. MOTU's Digital Performer 6 gave me a new reason to smile again.  

MOTU, dbx and Behringer are some of the names you'll find at Gunpoint Recording Studios in Chicago. Owner Bob Popp has worked in live sound and recording for years, and he knows what to take from each discipline to enhance the other, as well as what to leave behind.  

Mark Of The Unicorn have given a serious working over to their MachFive unified-envornment sample/loop/effects/synthesis tool. Dubbed MachFive 2.0, the monster-sized application is available as a standalone or in VST,...  

Since the boss tells me I should avoid delving into giggling, sophmoric locker room humor, I'll just say that there is a certain type of person out there that we'll call "DAW-curious".

Never run your hands lovingly...  

Mark Of The Unicorn have announced the release of the 5.12 upgrade for Digital Performer. Free to all registered DP5 users, the upgrade now allows the mixing of audio files of differing bit depths (16 and 24 bit) as well...  

If there is one thing the Gearwire Crosstalk panel enjoys more than gear, it's beer. Also, as we all know, 31 is a very important milestone in the life of a show. So we decided to take our stuff out'da'studio and into...  

Jon Ragel is the main brain behind Portland's Boy Eats Drum Machine. Ragel is hard at work on the new BEDM album, capturing drum sounds in a variety of rooms from his home studio to big auditoriums to give the album just...  

PreSonus announced on Friday that their FaderPort product now will control MOTU's Digital Performer 5.0 DAW. Transport and automation are now controllable into DP using the FaderPort according to the manufacturer.

The...  

Gearwire reported earlier this week on MOTU's cutting-edge release of Windows Vista drivers for all affected products. The article stated, "MOTU is leading the charge in supporting Vista by announcing a public beta release...  

Windows Vista is due to ship worldwide end of January 2007, and you can bet that every audio hardware vendor on the planet will be scrambling to support the new Microsoft OS. Let the confusion and noise that comes with the...  

MOTU gives Gearwire viewers an up-close, in-depth demo of Symphonic Instrument, a virtual synthesizer featuring 8 GB of realistic symphonic sounds. Symphonic Instrument works as a standalone or as a plugin, and is compatible...  

MOTU demos the first upgrade of its Symphonic Instrument 8GB sample library/player. Symphonic Instrument 1.1.1 is a free upgrade for those who already own a registered copy. As Magic Dave explains (although he never explains...  

Here's a revelation for world music composers: MOTU's Ethno Instrument virtual instrument, as explained by MOTU guru Magic Dave, puts a wide range of realistic ethnic instruments and even human voices at your fingertips....  

It's okay, MOTU. You don't have to try so hard to impress us. I mean, Digital Performer 5.0 would have made us drool just fine, even without all that fancy side-by-side video/audio editing power, including punch, streamer,...