Finally taking the plunge on NI

[SoundGoddess]

I got a used Maschine MK1 a few month back and was pretty impressed by it. But I didn't really take the time to fully invest into learning it.

I recently found out that NI dropped the price on Maschine Studio down to $799, which is like $300 - $400 less than it used to retail at.

So now I am getting ready to take the plunge and buy a Studio and Jam at the same time. Basically because there are two big promos going on right now, one is ZZounds offering 12 mos interest-free payment plan (coincidentally I just paid off my last purchase from them this month, so I have the budget for it) and NI offering 7 free expansion packs which is pretty sweet.

They also both come with Komplete Select, which seems like a really good value to me. I am thinking of giving my MK1 and a copy of KS and the expansion packs to my good friend and collaborator so we can have software parity for working together, since he lives a couple hours away atm (he is moving back to my area sometime next year).

I also would not be surprised if next month NI did another one of their Komplete 50% off upgrade paths. They already sent me a voucher for $100 towards Komplete, which I was tempted to use to buy a copy of Select. But if they offer half off crossgrade from Select to the full version as they have been known to do in the past, that is a bit more enticing for me.

Also, I have the Arturia V-Collection 4 upgrade, and NI is offering the upgrade to V5 for $99 bucks (too bad I can't use my $100 e-voucher for that, lol). But apparently Arturia now has full integration into the entire Maschine experience.

I have aspirations to actually start making music on a freelance basis and possibly selling "beats" as the Maschine aficionados tend to refer to their loop libraries as. I mostly want to focus on creating music for indie video games, possibly working with some YouTubers or Twitch streamers for some projects. (I'm currently working on some projects doing video editing freelancing in AfterFX for an aspiring YouTuber).

It might seem a bit impulsive/hypomanic to put my feet in the fire, but I really think that once I get into the zone with the workflow of this stuff I will actually be in a position to be productive enough to eek out a living doing music and other creative stuff. I honestly don't think I can go wrong with this investment, and I am hoping that it will fuel my friend to put more time into our music collaborations. We have done a lot of business ventures together but have just now started really getting on the same page musically, so I am quite excited about the potentials there.

I guess my only thought is, how much of a time investment would I need to really master this Maschine workflow? Also, my DAW is Bitwig, and it is my understanding that NI basically set up the Jam to do a similar kind of workflow in Bitwig that Ableton users enjoy with Push.

I would say that the most important lesson I've learned in seriously pursuing my musical interests is that the workflow is everything, you have to get out of your own head and put yourself into an alpha state, and that is where the magic happens. I honestly feel hard-pressed to come up with many workflow solutions that I perceive as this tightly-integrated. Only the Push+Ableton really comes to mind.

If you have any thoughts or advice for me, I'd appreciate your feedback.

[rod_zero]

First, I have come to realize that when it comes to music related stuff you have to try the stuff to know if you really like the workflow, sound and become productive with it.

Second, I think Maschine is brilliant nevertheless I just couldn't integrate it in my workflow, it creates an additional layer of complexity than I got another with. I prefer Push because it works directly with the DAW.

[foosnark]

I use Maschine standalone, not as a plugin in a DAW. So I don't have that problem.

[bungle]

Right now push is the better option, NI are making updates to Maschine again but they have so far concentrated on nothing the userbase asked for (they admit this themselves) and are very very slow with the updates (something they pretend is not the case but it is) promised features for Jam still havent arrived and that is nothing compared to the stuff us long time users have waited for.

[Kalamata Kid]

Check if your voucher can be used as an upgrade
or if it has other limitations.

My $25 NI voucher could not be used to upgrade
from Repkika to Replika XT.

[foosnark]

Another NI thread, another predictably negative post from Bungle. Also the gravity still works and water is still wet.

[keyman_sam]

As cool as Maschine is in Standalone it is nearly useless to me in DAW mode. The workflow just isn't there. However I hear they've addressed a major nitpick I had (groups lost config) in the latest update so I'd wait for more user feedback before taking the plunge.

[Steve Bolivar]

I guess my only thought is, how much of a time investment would I need to really master this Maschine workflow?

If I'm remembering right the "getting started" manual is a little over 200 pages and the reference manual is closer to 1000. Since you're already familiar with beat making that will speed things up but still a week or two to work thru the getting started tutorials thoroughly. If you use it daily for an hour or two after that you should be fluent in Machine within a month.

Good luck.

[SoundGoddess]

I wasn't able to do the split-pay for some reason so I ended up only ordering the Jam, I guess I can try to buy a used Studio on eBay in a few weeks after I get paid. I'm sure the Jam alone will keep me busy til then. Just today someone auctioned off a Studio for $380. So that is a lot less than new at retail.