Ultra Nudge

1. Open Ultra Nudge

Ultra Nudge is made by Unicorn Outfitters. Support and invoice requests: audiolabs@gmail.com.

1. Stop playback in DP and open the Sequence Editor.
2. Choose Window > Ultra Nudge. The palette opens in a sidebar.
3. Click the Sequence Editor and make a selection. Its name and bounds appear in the palette.

Move a range by one tick

1. With DP's I-beam, drag a time range in a MIDI track.
2. Open Range and choose Whole Range. Set Fine · 1 t in the shared step bar.
3. Click the readout beside the top arrows. Choose Time Range Only.
4. Click the later arrow once. Check the bounds and Activity. Click earlier to return.

2. Choose what moves

Start with notes A and B inside a time range. Select only A. Each example below moves 120 ticks later:

Choose an edge

For a range of 600-1200 and a step of 120:

An edge cannot cross the other edge or the timeline boundary.

Move ranges on several tracks

Make a range on each track, then move. Each span gets the same offset.

Set the amount

DP uses 480 ticks per quarter note. A step sets the distance. A snap target sets the landing position.

Return to an earlier state

3. Use the shared controls

Set the movement amount

Fine sets the compact arrows. Coarse sets Split & Move, rotation, Safe nudge, and saved-group moves. Fine/Coarse/Jump rows use the matching menu. Motion Keys uses these menus for f/c/j objects and fixed note sizes for digits 1-7. DP nudge uses DP's settings.

Choose the nudge target

Start

Range: 960-2880. Fine: 5 t.

Do

Open the target menu beside the compact arrows. Choose Time Range Only, then Range target > Start Edge. Click later.

Check

The range becomes 965-2880. The end and notes stay put.

Enter a name

Start

Destination is empty.

Do

Type midi2. Choose MIDI-2 with Up/Down, then Tab or Return.

Check

The field uses MIDI-2 and its track ID.

You can click a suggestion. Escape closes suggestions and keeps your text. Track number and type distinguish duplicate names. To save a new group or interval, type its new name.

Start

Soundbite rule: Name contains Guitar.

Do

Apply the rule.

Check

Guitar close matches. guitar close does not. Text rules are case-sensitive.

Read the feedback

Activity stays below the tools. A pending plan puts Apply Preview and Discard Preview there. Hover a control for instructions. Motion Keys shows Last command and Last error in its guide.

Keep a tool nearby

Right-click a tool and choose Pin or Unpin This Tool. Three pins fit below the nudge strip. Right-click a pin to remove it.

Open Motion Keys

1. Enable Motion input. Click Motion Keys.
2. Click Practice. Type a phrase and read its meaning; the project stays unchanged.
3. Leave Practice to run edits. The guide shows the next keys after every entry.

In Key Guide, choose Click Only or an unused F12-F19 entry key. DP conflicts are marked. Text fields, menus, and dialogs pause grammar input. Modified DP shortcuts remain available.

4. Range

Musical steps

The top nudge strip always uses Fine. Set its readout to Auto to follow DP's current selection, or choose Time Range Only or Events Only.

Clock steps

Click the 10 ms, 256 samples, or frame arrow. Set frame rate beside the Range frame row. Use the play-enabled sequence.

Start

Tempo: 120 BPM.

Do

Move 10 ms later.

Check

The range moves 9.6 ticks. At 60 BPM, the same 10 ms is 4.8 ticks.

Reshape the range

With a range of 600-1200 and Fine set to 10:

Shrink and Grow use Fine. Roll moves by the range length.

Center Range puts the group's center at the stopped counter. Previous/Next marker puts its center on that marker.

For a source range of 600-1200 and cycle locators at 800-1400:

Punch uses punch locators. Between markers uses the adjacent marker interval.

Use DP's nudge commands

The DP nudge controls call DP's event, range-start, and range-end commands. Set their amount and unit in DP.

5. Edit

Split & Move

1. Mark the time to move. Set Coarse.
2. Click Preview Earlier or Preview Later. Read the cuts and destination in the timeline.
3. Click Apply Preview. DP Undo restores the edit; Activity reports separate split/move steps.

The plan and its confirmation stay below the tools. If the source changes, Preview again.

Start

The destination contains audio.

Do

In Replace audio, click Preview Later.

Check

Activity reports the destination pieces and cuts. Use the Replace arrow to edit. Protected audio arrows refuse this collision.

Split and copy

Insert or remove time

Choose the ripple scope, then Preview Insert Silence or Preview Remove Time. Apply the preview after checking the affected tracks.

Scope chooses the affected tracks. Include conductor also shifts conductor events; it needs a shared range in the play-enabled sequence.

Save a recipe

1. Choose an operation and enter a recipe name. Click Save.
2. Make a range. Choose the saved name and click Preview.
3. For Split & Move, enter signed ticks before Preview: 120 moves later; -120 moves earlier.
4. Read the plan and click Apply Preview.

Recipes store Split & Move, Duplicate, Ripple Insert, or Ripple Remove. A ripple recipe keeps its scope. The limits are 32 names and 64 UTF-8 bytes per name.

Check a seam

Preview Seams reads automation at the range edges. Toggle Guard refuses edits that change it. Audition Start/End uses DP's Audition Selection at that edge, then restores the range, counter, and locators.

6. Snap

Choose a target

Off disarms the primary Ultra profile. Hold Shift to bypass it during a supported drag. DP's Info Bar shows its own grid.

Hold a marker while dragging

1. In Snap targets, click Markers.
2. In Drag guides and drops, choose Guide On, Tall, and Hold Target.
3. In DP, drag a range with the I-beam. Pause near a marker, then move a little farther.
4. Click Last Drag to read the chosen target and held state.

Row limits the guide to the active lane. Release turns holding off. Guide Off hides the line; snapping stays armed.

Use an alternate grid

Start

Primary profile: Quarter Note.

Do

Choose Alternate grid > Eighth Note. Click Toggle.

Check

The alternate eighth-note grid is active. Toggle returns to the primary profile. Alternate Off removes it.

Find waveform targets

1. Select an audio range and click Scan Audio. Read Status until the scan completes.
2. Choose Transients, Zero Crossings, or Sync Points.
3. Click Apply Snap or make a range drag. Check the resulting bounds.

Transients and sync points capture within 120 ticks; zero crossings within 5. Next Attack moves the range end to the next attack. Zero-crossing Split/Crop uses the scanned span. Shorten the range if Status reports a limit.

Other gesture controls

MIDI Aim Guide draws a line in the dedicated MIDI editor. Status reports the last gesture.

Object Snap corrects supported drops. Drop Crossfade applies the audio policy. Only one can be enabled. See chapter 14 for pending checks.

DP grid settings calls DP's commands. Read Range reports the bounds.

7. Select

Turn a range into selected objects

Make a time range. In Select from range, choose its matching rule:

Then use Selected events arrows. Continuous points match by onset.

Stop before a collision

Start

Selected events have 70 ticks clear to their right. Coarse is 120.

Do

In Safe nudge, preview later.

Check

The plan is +70. Click Apply Nudge to move by that amount.

Select a DP gesture mode

Choose Time Ranges, Events & Phrases, or All Selections, then select in DP.

Move Clip containers

Select Clips and use the DP Clips arrows. First Onset to Counter aligns the first Clip with the stopped counter. Pickup + Next also selects the following Clip.

8. Audio, Move, and Recall

Move an audio event

Select a soundbite, then click an arrow. Audio's frame row uses DP's project frame rate. Pickup aligns the chosen anchor with the stopped counter. Pickup + Next also selects the next soundbite.

Change the source slice

Select an ordinary soundbite. In Soundbite source, click a 1, 256, or 2048 sample arrow. DP Undo restores the slice. The slice must fit inside its source file.

Start

Two soundbites share a definition.

Do

Select one and click Unlink Soundbite.

Check

It has its own definition. Position and source bounds stay the same.

Fades and cuts

Preview fades from the range edges, then Apply. Crossfade uses a partial overlap with a neighbor. Range Fades and Soundbite Gaps open DP's dialogs.

Shared microphone cut finds a common quiet boundary near Start or End. Read Scan Result, then Set Shared Edge. Split there afterward.

Transfer to another track

1. Select the objects. Enter a compatible track in Destination or choose a suggestion.
2. Click Preview and read the destination check.
3. Click Copy to keep the source, or Move to remove it from the source track.

Above/Below uses the nearest compatible track. Copy Soundbite makes a linked instance at the same time.

Match tracks across sequences

1. Select the source tracks and ranges. Click Stage Tracks.
2. Switch sequences. Click Preview Match. Track names must match exactly and be unique.
3. Click Paste. Clear discards the staged source.

Ripple Paste opens time on the matched destination tracks. Use its Preview button first.

Copy into another take

Choose an existing compatible take with a clear destination. Preview, then Copy Range or Copy Ranges. Take timing Compare reports timing differences; Select Outliers selects MIDI outliers.

Save a selection

Lock Position/Bounds protects group members in supported Ultra commands. Unlock removes protection. Recall fails if saved members are stale.

Save the project before storing intervals. Records use its path and track IDs; Save As can change the available records.

9. Motion Keys

Stop DP and open Motion Keys. Type keys or click the guide. Spaces are optional. The last key of a complete phrase runs it.

Build one move

Replace r with a to move only the start. Put 3 first to move three steps:

After r m, q is refused and the phrase stays r m. Enter 1 l to finish. Delete/Backspace removes the last key. Escape clears the phrase; Escape at an empty phrase exits.

Run r m 1 l, select another range, then enter .. That range moves 30 ticks later. Store, tab, snap, preview, apply, and discard commands keep the last repeatable movement. A repeated marker move can advance to the next marker.

Nouns and verbs

The first key chooses the target. The second chooses the action. The remaining keys name its object, size, location, or direction. The guide lists the valid choices after each key. Scroll the noun list in a narrow dock.

Sizes

h = earlier. l = later. An optional count, 1-999, multiplies a sized move.

Use sizes with range, start, end, both edges, center, Clips, notes, soundbites, or events. Range contents use i x before the size. Counts apply to these sized moves. Note pitch uses s for semitone or o for octave, followed by h down or l up.

Start

Range: 960-2880.

Do

Enter d m 3 l.

Check

Both edges move outward by 120 ticks: 840-3000. Use h to move them inward.

Start

Range end: 2880.

Do

Enter 2 e m 3 h.

Check

2 × 120 ticks earlier: the end becomes 2640.

i x 5 l splits at the range edges and moves the inside pieces 480 ticks later.

Move to a location

Previous/next is measured from the moved anchor. A missing marker refuses the move.

DP selection growth uses g: a g h grows the start toward the previous event; e g l grows the end toward the next. h m l moves DP's insertion point later by its native grid. These use DP's selection commands and grid settings.

Select

Store and recall

Switch tabs

Enter w v, then the tab number:

Preview, then apply

1. Make a range and set Coarse to 120 ticks.
2. Enter i q l. Read the proposed range and destination in the timeline.
3. Enter p a e to apply, or p e e to discard. p v e checks whether the plan is still current.

A changed selection, sequence, take, or Undo position invalidates a compound preview. Starting another preview discards the compound plan. Safe Nudge has its own preview: v q l, then p a n. Fades use f q r, then p a f.

Choose snap targets

Enter g s. Digits 1-7 set the same note sizes as the movement table. g s e uses nearby event edges; u s h turns on target hold. g s 0 turns custom snapping off. g s b prepares an alternate eighth-note grid; g t a latches it.

Use a reference

1. Place the stopped playhead at the destination and enter l y p.
2. Select a range or individual events. Enter l a s to align their start with the stored position.
3. Use l a e to align the end, or l e p to clear the reference.

Phrase reference

These phrases use the native command handlers. The result line reports success or a refusal. Slip and Unlink require one ordinary soundbite. Source-slip sizes are source samples; soundbite movement uses project samples. Ripple phrases preview first. Apply with p a e.

Range

Range start

Range end

Notes

Range contents

Tracks

Soundbites

Events

Audio source

Grid

Fades

Preview

Guides

Reference

Ripple time

Insertion point

10. Select by rules

Open Select > Note Filter, or enter n v ?. Soundbite Filter uses b v ?.

Select notes with velocity below 75

Add a second rule

Enter a p 5, type C4, then Enter. The rules are now Velocity < 75 and Pitch at least C4. Press j to switch All/Any:

Field keys

Comparison keys

Type a duration as a number, such as 120.5. Autocomplete fills text; matching uses the completed spelling.

Choose where to search

Starts inside includes the range start and excludes its end. Fully contained allows an event ending at the range end.

Combine with the current selection

A and B are already selected. The rule matches B and C:

Preview and apply

Enter previews counts. Enter again applies. If the source changes, Preview again.

Limits: six rules, 96 UTF-8 bytes per value, 16 tracks, 8192 scanned events. Use a smaller scope if needed.

11. Worked examples

Example positions are in ticks, except the source frames in E.

A. Move the range start 90 ticks earlier

B. Move the softer notes

C. Split a crossing Clip and move the middle

Set Coarse to 480. Leave 1080-1320 clear.

D. Hold a marker while dragging

Use a marker at 2400 and start the range at 1200.

E. Slip a soundbite by 256 samples

Select an ordinary soundbite using source frames 48000-96000, with enough audio before it.

F. Recall tracks, time, and layout

12. Control reference

Shared step bar

The nudge target menu chooses Auto, Time Range Only, or Events Only. Its Range target submenu chooses Whole Range, Start Edge, End Edge, or Both Edges.

Rows follow the tab order. Hover a control in the app for its full instructions.

Range

Range nudge

Range nudge in real time

Range shape and position

DP nudge controls

Edit

Move and rotate

Split and copy

Audition live seams

Ripple edits

Edit recipes

Automation boundaries

Snap

Snap targets

Waveform landmarks

Drag guides and drops

DP grid settings

Select

Select by rules

Select from range

DP selection mode

Selected events

Safe nudge

DP Clips

MIDI notes

Audio

Soundbite movement

Shared microphone cut

Soundbite source

Fades and spacing

Move

Track transfer

Take transfer

Recall

Range history and memory

Track recall

Event groups

Range set and reference

13. Setup and recovery

Install or update

1. Quit DP and the standalone app. Move any old DP Grid Native.app out of Applications; saved settings are retained.
2. Copy Ultra Nudge.app to ~/Applications. Copy DP Grid Native.bundle to ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/MOTU Control Surface.
3. Restart DP. Enable Ultra Nudge in Control Surface Setup.
4. Open the project's Sequence Editor and choose Window > Ultra Nudge.

The driver checks DP's build before enabling edits. Windows verification is deferred.

Arrange the window

Drag the cell header to either sidebar. Drop in a cell's upper or lower half to place it above or below. Resize with DP's divider. Choose Window > Window Sets > Save Window Set.

Undock opens the standalone app. Inject into DP returns it to the sidebar. The dock and overlay follow DP's active theme.

If Ultra Nudge is missing from the Window menu, enable Ultra Nudge in Setup > Control Surface Setup. OSC can remain off.

Read a refusal

Uninstall: remove the Control Surface entry, quit DP, then move the app and bundle elsewhere.

14. Limits and terms

Remaining checks

Mac tests use disposable projects with OSC off. These checks remain open:

Terms