Cubase Vs. Digital Performer., Vs. Options

[The_Circle]

I am just confused which software is best for Midi,i am working with pro-tools digi002 for audio but i need a good Midi sequencer and i am stuck in between cubase and digital performer..Any hints??

[surrealka]

Two responses:
First to The Circle: the VST-AU wrapper essentially looks at all your VST plugins and then converts them to be used as Audio Units (which DP and Logic use). The first time you open DP after that, it examines them, and then you can use them like any other plugin in DP. I've not had much occasion to use VST's (the plugins that DP comes with do most of what I want), but it seems to work flawlessly.

Secondly, to sethjacquay:
When you say that anyone who considers DP easy to use must be "on crack", and then compare it to programs like Garage Band and Reason, frankly, I think it's comparing apples and oranges. GB is a consumer level program, not a professional system. Of course it's going to be easy to learn. Apple generally markets systems to both pro and consumer level users (iMovie vs Final Cut Pro, Garage Band or Soundtrack vs. Logic, etc.) Just as no one who's really serious about video editing would limit themselves to the low-end, but highly easy to use iMovie, I can't imagine anyone who's really serious about computer-based recording and MIDI would want to work with Garage Band. And Reason, though a wonderful program, is not by any means comparable to the kind of DAW software we're talking about. Reason has no audio i/o, no capability of 3rd party effects, no MIDI out, and so on. It's a totally different beast.

Ultimately, I agree that many of these issues are more about personal taste than anything else. I do find DP easier to use than Logic (by far!), but there's always going to be a learning curve. I do agree with the complaint about MIDI quantization, though it is not by any means a deal-breaker given all of the other benefits of DP.

One more thing about REX files: according to people who went to the recent NAMM convention, Motu is planning a Recycle/REX stlye editor in it's next major upgrade, which will allow for real time manipulation of audio loops in the way that Reason does with REX files. That's something I'm eagerly awaiting.