NI and Maschine WTF are they up to now ?

[telecode]

usual NI paid fanboys

NI can't afford to keep their staff but can apparently afford to pay fanboys to defend them on forums

Hey. I am an NI fan boi!! I pay NI for that title.

[bungle]

usual NI paid fanboys

NI can't afford to keep their staff but can apparently afford to pay fanboys to defend them on forums

Yes it is the IK model, they pioneered that over recent years, very little support staff, but try going to a forum where their "Online soldiers" haven't been called out for their spamming, even the tiny niche communities are calling them out now, NI are definitely going that route, check out the people they pay on YouTube, it is terrible.

[bungle]

usual NI paid fanboys

NI can't afford to keep their staff but can apparently afford to pay fanboys to defend them on forums

Hey. I am an NI fan boi!! I pay NI for that title.

Yeah for the record, I own everything they make in software, and a ton of their hardware, but this last 3 years or so the support has gone down the toilet, I have posted that on their forum and it has zero views, no idea how a sampling app has no forum users that sample hahaha.

[Echoes in the Attic]

Hopefully if they do they go the Bitwig model, which they actually did try at one point about 15 years ago. Komplete Care, I bought it, you were supposed to get all updates for 2005, it ended up they had to give us a bunch of extras because they couldn't keep the schedule and nothing came out in 2005.

Yup- I also subscribed to Komplete Care...it was a bit of a fiasco I seem to remember...but a taste of things to come (Subscribe to Roland Cloud then get a years worth of 90's Rompers you have no interest in...)

Personally I am OK with the Bitwig model, works for me as like Komplete you own the software and can use it witout upgrading but you can just jump back on an upgrade when something(s) interest you and benefit from all the other stuff that came along as well.

The Cloud model is a completely different proposition- no pay, no use! If NI go that way it will probably end them as so much of what they offer is specialist and just not needed by most types of producer/composer (it just ends up as part of a bundle) and the other stuff they have is largely neglected or simply superseded by better and more updated offerings....and I say this as someone who owns Komplete 12 ultimate and a Maschine Mikro…!

Agreed with all of this. The Bitwig is great actually because it is just like buying a major upgrade, except that you have the freedom to jump in at any point when features suite you, so they come out gradually rather than holding off for a bunch all at once. And then free updates for a year. Also, there is always a sale at some point, so you buy your upgrade cheap when on sale and hold on to it until you want to use it. I bought a Bitwig update in the spring I think and my year ran out back in September but I haven't used it because I don't really care about the 3.1 update. But I'm ready to go when a new update tickles my fancy.

Roland Cloud on the other hand is garbage (License-wise, not sound-wise). I did one year which is about to end and I will not be renewing that. It's so strange too because I really believe they would do better if they sold the instruments individually and had a komplete style bundle deal, where they either put all the newer instruments into the next bundle version, or did a Bitwig style upgrade when you want for a year, with a year of free instruments that come out.

As for Maschine development, yeah NI make me pretty nervous with weird little things that change, often for the worse. I remember a few years ago, Maschine and KK were working fine with touch screens and then an update broke it for quite a long time, then magically they started working great again with touch screens. No mention in any change logs that I could see. Recently, at Maschine 2.8.5, Maschine could no longer see my automap plugins, and it would scan everything every startup. So I reverted to 2.8.4. Then at 2.9.1 it was fixed and the scan only scanned new plugins and all automap plugins were seen again. KK is still messed up with automap plugins though. It sees them on alternate scan. One time sees only the normal ones, then it sees only the automap ones. Then when you compare how other companies, even big ones like Arturia, have handled the maintenance of their older plugins - new multi-touch capable GUIS for example among other development - NI's abandoning of older plugins really shows that they've gone totally to the quick bucks. So yeah my faith in NI is not super high right now and I don't think the future is going to be super bright for them. And I say that as someone who owns a KK88S and Maschine mk3 and Komplete Ultimate 11, and I think Maschine is the best groovebox ever made in software and the best Hardware/software integration there has ever been. Between the years of Kore and Maschine NI were doing great. But yeah I think that big investment they got is where things took a turn for the worse.

[Obsolete236871]

Not to divert the discussion, but if anyone can tell me: which is the most stable / reliable version of the Maschine software to use? Doing a reinstall right now and I would rather use a slightly outdated, but stable version, than one that contains major bugs and issues.

[bungle]

Each iteration has serious issues since the release of v2, NI don't listen to bug reports much and their beta test program is a serious joke.
You need to decided which issues you can live with and grab that version.

[Jace-BeOS]

Just to have it said: I will never go with them if they go subscription.

I updated to Absynth 5 just to get a project ported to Logic X. The upgrade was on sale. That was very important.

I’ve never liked the GUI, so it could be changed 100% for all I care.

I don’t need FM8 changed in any way except larger GUI.

Reaktor is awesome and I would DESPISE it being abandoned. I can’t say I need much in it to change at the moment. I’m not a builder.

But that’s the theme for me: Mature products being kept functional on new systems is all I care about. The only thing I want most developers to do “new” is their tiny graphics in their little GUIs. It’s like most developers don’t have high-PPI displays. Or even large basic displays at “high resolution”. It’s been forever now, folks; update those bitmaps and GUIs! (Looking at you, Propellerhead; and I’m NOT going to call you “Reason Studios”, FFS!)

I’m glad NI have been at least maintaining their old products on new OS versions. That’s not abandonware. Though, it sounds like that’s all going into the toilet in coming years, thanks to the “reorganization” and investor BS...

Never grow your company beyond comfort size. It’s always a mistake.

[apoclypse]

That's why I stuck with Maschine 2.7 and will probably never upgrade anytime soon unless it breaks in macOS. I'm not interested in Sounds.com nor am I interested in the changes made to Maschine to support it.

[telecode]

usual NI paid fanboys

NI can't afford to keep their staff but can apparently afford to pay fanboys to defend them on forums

Hey. I am an NI fan boi!! I pay NI for that title.

Yeah for the record, I own everything they make in software, and a ton of their hardware, but this last 3 years or so the support has gone down the toilet, I have posted that on their forum and it has zero views, no idea how a sampling app has no forum users that sample hahaha.

really? which forum section? I am on Maschine and there are a few of us regulars that always try to reply and help. D-One and Rene are pretty good. There is also a couple on the Reatkor section that are always helpful.

[telecode]

Not to divert the discussion, but if anyone can tell me: which is the most stable / reliable version of the Maschine software to use? Doing a reinstall right now and I would rather use a slightly outdated, but stable version, than one that contains major bugs and issues.

If you can get it, I am on 2.8.x[1] . It's fine. But I somehow feel that since they integrated Sounds.com, the startup time is slower. If you can find one thats pre-sounds.com then they that . I guess pre 2.8 as they added sounds.com with 2.8.0

[1] I thought it installs and updates to latest via Native Center always.

[telecode]

That's why I stuck with Maschine 2.7 and will probably never upgrade anytime soon unless it breaks in macOS. I'm not interested in Sounds.com nor am I interested in the changes made to Maschine to support it.

The problem is they added a whole bunch of good and useful stuff in 2.8 along with the sounds.com stuff.

Check changes in 2.8.6

https://www.native-instruments.com/foru ... 9-1.80682/

[EvilDragon]

Basically they have streamlined/consolidated, whatever you want to call it their teams/departments.

E.g. instead of having 1 x team working on the UI for Machine, 1 x team working on the UI for Kontakt, 1 x team working on the UI for their other shit, they have one team working on ALL their UIs.

EEEP nope it's not like that.

[Hink]

quick note of thanx, was a little concerned how this thread started but you all turned it around...appreciated

[machinesworking]

As for Maschine development, yeah NI make me pretty nervous with weird little things that change, often for the worse. I remember a few years ago, Maschine and KK were working fine with touch screens and then an update broke it for quite a long time, then magically they started working great again with touch screens. No mention in any change logs that I could see. Recently, at Maschine 2.8.5, Maschine could no longer see my automap plugins, and it would scan everything every startup. So I reverted to 2.8.4. Then at 2.9.1 it was fixed and the scan only scanned new plugins and all automap plugins were seen again. KK is still messed up with automap plugins though. It sees them on alternate scan. One time sees only the normal ones, then it sees only the automap ones. Then when you compare how other companies, even big ones like Arturia, have handled the maintenance of their older plugins - new multi-touch capable GUIS for example among other development - NI's abandoning of older plugins really shows that they've gone totally to the quick bucks. So yeah my faith in NI is not super high right now and I don't think the future is going to be super bright for them. And I say that as someone who owns a KK88S and Maschine mk3 and Komplete Ultimate 11, and I think Maschine is the best groovebox ever made in software and the best Hardware/software integration there has ever been. Between the years of Kore and Maschine NI were doing great. But yeah I think that big investment they got is where things took a turn for the worse.

NI had the issues you mention before the investment. Not saying I think "streamlining" their company or the big investment are de facto good signs, just that only time will tell if they are.
For instance I've had issues with Maschine through various updates and it as a plug in in a DAW. Various versions have hosed Machines tenuous ability to work on the fly with MIDI Scene Change in a DAW. One update that lasted for about two years it seemed like made Maschine glitch heavily every time a meter change happened turn the downbeat into the upbeat etc. etc. just a mess. By the time I bought an MPC Live and started using it where I would Maschine they fixed it. I'm gun shy though, I'm one of those people that liked using Maschine like a hardware drum machine in my DAW, and that's not an area that NI have a good track record of keeping running correctly. Plus the dammed thing can't even change meters in stand alone, you're forced to math out the measures which isn't worth the hassle when any drum VSTi besides Maschine can do this.

I've been with them since near the beginning, Absynth 1.5 and then Komplete 2. They do some amazing stuff and I truly believe if they were to work on the basics (stability, updates) they would continue to dominate. But glitchy updates, no VST3, resizable GUI's, no updates for Absynth, FM8 and Guitar Rig for years and years... which of course makes me and others who owned Pro 53, Rig Kontrol, Kore, Spectral Delay, Kompact, Intakt, B4 etc. etc. who have seen them change their format three times, well, it makes me a bit nervous to even use Absynth in a song.

Like I said though, if they upgrade Absynth to 6 I will take that as a sign they've changed their ways and gladly through cash at them. So far Kontakt 5 still works with my sample libraries and the rest of Konplete Ultimate 10 is fine.

[telecode]

OP, theres another thread on this on NI. Maybe it's you maybe not. You got support on the topic and resolved, yes?

https://www.native-instruments.com/foru ... le.373089/