Is maschine studio for a beginner?

[Nuxinho]

Hello. For a whille now I'm thinking to start making hip hop beats. Because I'm totally beginner I have some questions. I was considering to buy a daw, some midi keyboard controler and headphones. I downloaded demo version of reason, but then I found out about maschine studio. And I read that is quite easy to use and software is easier than other daws. So I was thinking to start with maschine studio and later after few months to buy myself daw as well. (Money is not an issue). So my questions are, maybe some funny to you , but still... :

1. Do you think for a beginner is better to start with maschine studio or daw?
2. Do I need audio interface for headphones?
3. I read that you need sound card for maschine. Is that audio interface or something else?
4. Can i use for example Akai midi keyboard with maschine?
5. Is there any daw more appropriate to use it with maschine or are they all the same?
6. Can I make whole beat with maschine or do I need daw as well for arranging, mixing,...? Can I do all that with maschine?
7. To record vocals I probably need a daw. Wright?

Thank you

[rod_zero]

1.- A DAW, because Maschine is more limeted and when you move it can represent another learning curve.

2.- No, if you are on windows it is highly recommended to use one because of ASIO drivers, the native audio windows drivers introduce latency and have quite bad performance.

3.- Yes, audio interface= sound card.

4.- Yes you can, but it might be a little bit convoluted depending on what you wanna do.

5.- IMHO they are all the same.

6.-You can do it all inside maschine but it is more limited.

7.- You will need audio interface with mic input and a microphone.

If you are looking in to Maschine I would recommend to also take a look at Ableton Push, it is a very similar product but Ableton Live is a full DAW. Personally I like more how Push instegrates with Live. And the keyboard on push is bigger and the way it shows the sequencer (for melodies and drums) is also more intuitive than maschine.



For an interface I would recommend the Steinberg UR22 as a nice one for starting.

[cryophonik]

As a Maschine (mk2) owner, an Ableton Live/Push 2 owner, and a user of many DAWs, I pretty much agree 100% with rod_zero. If I was making hip-hop beats, I'd definitely go with Ableton/Push2 over Maschine Studio. Add a decent interface and a mic, and you'll be able to easily record and mix vocals in Ableton.