MOTU has officially released version 12 of its Digital Performer digital audio workstation, introducing Dolby Atmos mixing capabilities and artificial intelligence-driven stem separation to the professional music products market. According to a report by Monthly Mixing, this update adds significant new features for audio engineers and producers working in immersive environments. The software now supports mixing in a three-dimensional sound field, allowing users to place sound sources, effects, and dialogue freely within a spatial audio environment. Finished mixes can be monitored on surround speaker systems up to 9.1.6 channels or listened to binaurally over regular headphones for accurate translation.
The newly added stem separation feature splits a single mix into individual instrument tracks such as drums, bass, vocals, guitar, and string and brass ensembles. Users can then use the separated tracks for remixes, mashups, and other creative work. It can also be used to mute a specific track and practice playing along with the remaining tracks. A new Arrangement Strip has been added below the timeline in the Tracks Overview and Sequence Editor tabs. It displays each section as a color-coded bar, letting users rearrange a song’s structure simply by dragging.
Digital Performer 12 requires macOS 12.7 or Windows 11 24H2 and carries a street price of $499, with upgrades available for $195 for existing owners. MusicXML import and export are also newly supported, strengthening interoperability with third-party notation software such as Dorico, Sibelius, and MuseScore. A number of other workflow improvements were also included, such as tag-based search, preferences window search, and track presets. These enhancements aim to streamline production workflows for modern audio professionals.
For more information, visit mixing.co.kr.
