I don’t think she had identified as a woman in the beginning. I don’t think she had identified as anything (not nonbinary, just very private.)
I think this is key to PEARL. I can see her early stuff being straight out of the MM. But on this album the production work is heads and shoulders above the early stuff. I expect a lot was done still on the MM but with so much processing what’s used is less clear.
I think amateurs and hobbyists need to keep in mind the experience and time (and money) that goes in to the stuff theyre trying to emulate. Not that it should discourage them; just not to kill themselves going for it (a pep talk I’ve given myself so many times )
She’s wonderful.
EDIT: to answer OP, I don’t know the DN, but if you really want that sound, then go for the source: MM. From my impression the DN can’t go so far off-piste as the DN. But since it’s 2018 and I was looking for a wild FM digital pitch thing I would think there are better avenues. But I could also be wrong. The MM seems to still hold its own.