Thoughts on Maschine software

[YoungJ313]

Hello all. I've been a Maschine software/hardware user since 2013. I started out with the Maschine Mikro MK2 and recently upgraded to the Maschine mk3. Before I ever tried Maschine I was using FL Studio and Reason. A buddy of mine let me borrow his Maschine and I instantly fell in love with the quick workflow that it provided. As a beat making program it definitely has room to grow, but I still love it nonetheless.

I just want to know your thoughts in general on Maschine e.g. what you like/don't like, what you wish NI would add, etc.

[Scrubbing Monkeys]

I recently came across the software. I do not have the HW. I like the layout and the fast workflow. I like the macros vs opening the vst gui. I really like tagging for those instruments that are nks compatible.

I wish it had a more freely adjustable grid. I am still a noobie so I don't know what I don't know.

[apoclypse]

I've been a Maschine users since the first version. The software alone is not worth it, it doesn't do half of what you can get in other software groove machines, if you have the hardware thought it really has a unique and easy to use workflow. I personally have moved on from Maschine, to the MPC/Force but there is absolutely nothing wrong with Maschine. It has great sounds, the sequencer while maybe not for everyone is pretty decent, and it's pretty fun to use.

[MuzikFreq]

I have the mk3 and jam. It collects dust.
The workflow in maschine is okay for ideas but for any actual work it is severely outdated. Might as well use bitwig or Ableton if the control macros are what you want. The other thing is when doing automation... You have to manually adjust it or make a ton of points making a simple sweep.

[OzoneJunkie]

I have the Maschine software because I have the hardware. I only use the DAW part when looking for Maschine kits to play. I'll then add the Maschine VST to project in Live. So effectively the Maschine DAW is only used as a preset browser. Because I personally: 1. do not like the Maschine DAW - how it works and 2. Because I don't want to have more than one DAW.

Unfortunately for me, many of the Maschine kits use the Maschine sampler or other Maschine-specific features - so I can't use a program like the one that reads Maschine kits and makes Ableton kits, since it doesn't import/translate anything other than the Maschine drumhits.

I also have the Maschine kits Sample folders mapped inside Live - so I can effectively build my own kits from the Maschine samples.

I've considered un-installing the Maschine DAW itself - and would if it weren't for the kit browsing functionality mentioned above.

[cryophonik]

I'm sorta in the same boat - user since mk1, now on a mk2 and latest software, but have considered upgrading to mk3 for the better hardware interface and drum pads. I'm just not very keen on the DAW-like creature that it has become. I bought it because I wanted it for drums and that's pretty much all I use it for. It just can't compete with a linear DAW (e.g., Logic) for my linear workflow, recording full tracks of vocals and other instruments, etc. The thing is, the improvements and new features that NI have implemented to make it into a host have convoluted my whole workflow and made it more cumbersome to just simply use it as a hardware-controlled/software-integrated drum instrument. Basically, I think I liked it best when it was mk1, but I'm probably in the minority and there's no turning back for me now (Big Sur yada yada).

If the next version of Komplete Kontrol includes my 61-key plus a 4x4 bank of Maschine's new drum pads, I would most definitely swap out my mk2 KK and get rid of the Maschine mk2 hardware.

[wirelessman]

My Maschine MK3 arrives today!!!! As a legacy user of Propellerheads and Cockos DAWs, midi keyboards, Roli keyboards, guitar and various VST effects, this will actually be my first experience of Native Instruments. Wish me luck.

As you might expect, I spent a lot of time researching this purchase. I initially favoured the Ableton Push 2! My overriding objectives were to get some more hands-on with music-making (working 'in the box' can get frustrating if you play music and I basically wanted knobs and pots for a quicker, more spontaneous access to effects while recording). However, I also wanted a hardware solution that would provide flexibility in all sorts of ways - access to sounds, functions, routing etc. So, while making beats will be fun, it wasn't at top of my list!
I'm just sitting here playing with pen and paper and working out the interconnection options I now have - it's really amazing. Because the MK3 includes an audio interface, I can basically have the MK3 as the centre of my system - driving my speakers direct, inputting mic and guitar (either direct or via my outboard effects) and even using it as a DAW controller (via 3rd party software). Alternatively I will probably stick with my analogue interface (Steinberg UR22) as the centre of the system as that allows not only the mic and guitar options above, but also includes a midi interface and drives my Rokit speakers extremely well.

Even though I am short of hands-on experience as of now, I recognise some of the comments about the Maschine 2 software - I'm not expecting this to play a central role and certainly don't expect it to replace my current favourite DAW which is Reaper. This now that Reason has got past version 10, Reaper accepts the Reason rack as a VST, giving yet another dimension. Maschine 2 is unlikely to get anywhere near the level of functionality here.

[antic604]

From my experience:
- as a DAW it's pretty terrible
- as a software layer for Maschine controller & a VST to be used in proper DAW - it's good enough

[penfever]

IMO, Maschine's real strength is as a preset browser. It isn't a great standalone DAW, as others have noted, particularly if you care about vocals or takes or recording.

It is very difficult to use as a plugin because the method of handling multiple instances is inelegant. It is also difficult to use as a hardware controller because of its "modes", which mean that it's always EITHER a HW controller OR a plugin controller but never both. This might not sound so bad, but think about how MIDI, a 1982 spec, has NONE of these issues. I can have 10 plugins and 2 DAWs, even multiple PCs and hardware, all running off the same MIDI signal, without having to reboot anything.

That said, Maschine IS a very good preset browser. It's a bit slow and doesn't support all plugins, and I really wish they had a way of exporting plugin chains designed in Maschine (for instance, to Komplete Kontrol or some ultra-lightweight Maschine Player plugin or something). Without that, Maschine's sample library, one of its coolest features, is very difficult to use OUTSIDE of Maschine.

I'm interested to try Maschine Plus once the prices leave the stratosphere.

[WasteLand]

Maschine was never meant to be a DAW. it is a groovebox, with extended features. now also with clips...

simple things, like aftertouch, and poly aftertouch (that the pads of the MK3 do support) aren't implemented.

i have Maschine MK3 + Jam, i started with a MK3, the Jam, came 2 week later or so..

so not a real long time user, about 3 years now?

like it. it is pattern based. the modulation per pattern seems strange, but works!

Maschine as a preset browser... yes it is pretty good at that... but i don't use presets, but if you do, it is certainly a +, NKS support, with mapped parameters.

i also have ableton live 11 suite + Push 2, they are compared, but less and less, i believe, or i don't notice it anymore.

i make totally different things in live 11 than in Maschine.

the hardware indeed makes it great, in a way, the integration is more tight than the Push 2...

but i like it to use for my own samples, also use plugins. the built in effects are already great. i try to use Maschine as is, but if necessary i use of course NI plugins or third party plugins.

it is great for making arrangments, from the -what is it called today- scenes. make variations. make other scenes.. groups etc. the workflow works for me. it is quite logical and fast.

so i make first scenes, then i go to 'song', and arrange...

mostly all from hardware.

it is a pity the Jam isn't sold anymore, it still a great addition; output meter, also metering for mixing, so also great for mixing.

i use the controllers only for Maschine, because for all other DAW's i have other solutions, i.e. controllers..

i repeat; it isn't a DAW, it never meant to be.

the drumkits by the way, i use dumkits, are great. the sound library is excellent.

but also for mangling your own samples, in whatever genre, for me experimental industrial, it gives you a lot.

also throat-singing, horror-meditation is possible (a WIP by the way, this will be extended, more manipulation);

https://soundcloud.com/user-873737123/c ... -flatuance

[gminorcoles]

I just bought a machine mkIII. I am kind of straddling ITB / OTB at the moment. I have an MPC 4000 which I am very comfortable with as my main sequencer. I string together 2 or three patterns (sequences) there, and then I record the midi into my DAW, which is currently Logic.

thing is, I want more sounds, specifically drums. I bought and collected a bunch of samples but I am having a very hard time getting the samples onto my MPC 4000, which I have never used for sound before, really, beyond a couple of stock kits that come on the old CD for it.

I am also doing more work in Logic now on each song after it gets linearized into MIDI tracks in Logic. The number one thing I am missing on a lot of tracks is drum sounds that are modern, interesting, and finished sounding.

I didn't do a tom of research on Machine, but I found one for about 300 USD. The sounds and samples that come with the software look promising, so I bought it for 60 USD.

I am not exactly sure how its all supposed to fit together. I am quite happy with the sounds my few hardware synths make. The combination of them creates kind of a sonic signature which I dont mind.

[zerocrossing]

I’ve got the MK1 hardware with the current software. I like it, but only for one thing, and that’s coming up with beats on the fly for a live improvised track. So, I use it to start building a song as I’m also filling up audio loopers. Think of it like improvised Boards Of Canada or instrumental Massive Attack. When I want to construct a full composition, I’ll just use Bitwig.

[gExpectations]

I just bought a machine mkIII. I am kind of straddling ITB / OTB at the moment. I have an MPC 4000 which I am very comfortable with as my main sequencer. I string together 2 or three patterns (sequences) there, and then I record the midi into my DAW, which is currently Logic.

thing is, I want more sounds, specifically drums. I bought and collected a bunch of samples but I am having a very hard time getting the samples onto my MPC 4000, which I have never used for sound before, really, beyond a couple of stock kits that come on the old CD for it.

I am also doing more work in Logic now on each song after it gets linearized into MIDI tracks in Logic. The number one thing I am missing on a lot of tracks is drum sounds that are modern, interesting, and finished sounding.

I didn't do a tom of research on Machine, but I found one for about 300 USD. The sounds and samples that come with the software look promising, so I bought it for 60 USD.

I am not exactly sure how its all supposed to fit together. I am quite happy with the sounds my few hardware synths make. The combination of them creates kind of a sonic signature which I dont mind.

Did you consider getting an mpc one, starting tracks on the once and bouncing to pc? You still have an MPC workflow but also an easy way to add drums (also to the mpc).

[gminorcoles]

edit - ok that previous stuff I posted was all true but beside the point so I am starting again.

the NI support people kind of remind of Steinberg support people but whatever.

I am not done downloading everything yet but one main reason I ventured in this direction was drum sounds. And the kits I am browsing through indeed expand the styles and sounds I can make, far beyond what I was working with until today.

It doesn't really fit into my music making setup yet but it was well worth it in terms of sound variety alone. But people who have a lot of plugin bundles maybe are jaded to that. I am not.

[babel2]

I mostly love Maschine but the NI development teams seem incredibly hamstrung and undernourished.
They do a decent job and I greatly appreciate the progress they have made over the last decade but the time frame development takes is ridiculous.
There are a few limitations/omissions users have been crying to have fixed for close to a decade that seem to fall on deaf ears.
Also the fact they jettisoned Jam is very sad.

I love the hands on workflow. I love the playability and creative options.
I don’t understand the complaints re it’s newer daw like features. They were far too long coming and very necessary.

Gripes:
It frustrates me very much that subtle details like truncating samples to the grid is missing (but workroundable)
The humanise midi function destroys velocity info if you use it no matter what you do ?!#*?!?
(This is possibly the single most frustrating thing for me atm)
Moving notes between pads must be done with the software instead of the controller.
Maschine gets weird quickly if you dare work in anything other than 4/4.
As for time sig changes, any attempt will leave you a bumbling mess. Even when integrated into a daw.

Ultimately the list of awesome features generally outways the drawbacks but NI’s tardiness in making progress and the way they abandoned Jam (and Kore) makes me lose faith somewhat.
They created a market leading niche that could make them infinitely more money if they showed as much commitment as many independent developers but they let its development hobble along and fester at a snails pace instead.

Then again the guys complaining above that it isn’t still the same as version 1 leaves NI in a tough situation but they really should be able to find a way forward.
That still doesn’t excuse the lack of refinement in features that are already there.

Still I keep coming back to it because it is ultimately a great and inspiring environment for me to work in.
I just prey NI will attend to the smaller details that make a platform pro rather than only ever work on flashy new development ideas.