NI Maschine, worth the fun factor or gets boring quick?

I really considered getting maschine but the more I thought about it the more I realize I really just want a MPD. I love Kong and do not care a lot about the hands on workflow of Maschine and the samples that come with it are probably dope but that is really all I want from it. I have tons of drum sounds already and I have a decent sample chopping workflow. I get a lot done in Live too. I know people say that Maschine eats Kong alive but if its working for me why switch it up?
Check out MaschineR: Retouch Control MaschineR
 
I've seen it lots of times it looks cool but I amnot sure that Maschine is what I want. I don't care about it being a near hardware drum machine. I am happy with the sampling capabilities in Live and would really only benefit from the abundance of presets and having drum pads which I could do for less than what they are asking for at NI. Maschine isn't bad I just think I have what it offers covered. Then again I jump back and forth on the issue constantly and I bet in 2 weeks I will be wanting Maschine again lol.
 
maschine = good sounds, not a great workflow

I had an mpc2500 for years then got rid of it, now I have a maschine, and even though the the maschine does the job, I now find myself wishing I still had my mpc, workflow was lightning fast boom boom boom, maschine it's like you have to go back n forth between the software and hardware sometimes, and if you want to use just the hardware I feel like there's too many button presses just to do certain things.

Maschine has a decent workflow but chopping takes longer, and arranging takes longer. Mpc is way quicker but you have to collect sounds for it.

Since they lowered the Maschine's price it might be worth fun factor for you, but I would say get the mpc ren or studio if you are looking for something like a sampler/groovebox

I'm not a big fan of software but you might find fruity loops or reason worth the fun factor, but I don't see fun in clicking around, dragging dropping and all that.

The fun factor for me was an mpc and just get your self some good samples/sounds

I never had a problem with the fantom x, then the fantom g for sounds but they got all kinds of keyboards available.

But addressing your original question... I got the maschine, took a few weeks to learn the ins and outs, then a couple months of making beats and I knew everything but the workflow still didnt match an mpc, I got bored about a month later and now I wish I had a 2500 with the JJOS again, or maybe the new mpc REN but still not sure cus its based on software also. I dont think any software is worth the fun factor unless your computer is f*ckin amazingly fast, I hate waiting that one second extra for something to load, maschines are quick but they are like that, might slow down for a sec, might take a second for a sound to load, all depends on the computer, I liked the mpc2500 because it loaded as fast I could turn the dial, unless of course I was loading big files but once they were loaded everything was quicker then the maschine was. I also use a new macbook pro with 4gb ram and very fast i7 processor but still I wasnt satisfied with the maschines workflow and I only make hip hop beats, I can imagine if your trying to make a detailed composition with a lot of change ups maschine would probably give you a headache, oh and you can only have 8 groups which are like tracks, theres ways around it using the sounds but thats more waste of time.

You cant go wrong with a fantom or an mpc, then again some like fruity loops and reason, it all depends on you, your ear, and your creativity but this is my opinion
 
Im not really even considering an MPC, don't get me wrong they are awesome. But the problem is that used you still have to pay a premium for them so they are always pretty pricy. On the other hand, that is always a good reason to pick one up. If you don't like it or want to get rid of it, you have a pretty good chance of not loosing your ass and that's saying something in the world of electronics.

How is the workaround on an MV8800? Anyone know? I have the opportunity to get one locally with the vid card and monitor for less than $600? They look like they would do the trick but I was looking at the way you work with one and it seems overly complicated at first look. Will the Maschine be better than the MV?
The Roland MV8800 is a complete self contained work station, the machine is a midi controller/ software so it depends what your trying to do. Those MV's will take you a lot longer to get the workflow down compared to the the maschine, but with that aside they can both get the job done.
 
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I agree, the mv can get the job done but the workflow is slower and it's also a little harder to learn, plus the maschine and mpc are both better
 
maschine = good sounds, not a great workflow
Nonsense. The best thing about Maschine is the workflow. Sounds like you're just not used to a software-based environment. I came from years of hardware based setups including MPCs and they are completely outdated compared to Maschine. The workflow on Maschine is so much faster than MPCs could ever dream of. Look at how fast you can duplicate pads on Maschine and all the ways you can quickly chop samples non-destructively. And you don't have to wait around to track out to a computer every single time, not to mention the slow ass loading times of MPCs.
 
I agree Noborders, I found that the Maschine is way diff to use than the MPC, but, its hard to believe at this point and time that I was doing all of that extra work trying to go from sub menu to sub menu while doing the same (kind of) operations as you can on the Maschine. The Maschine is the evolution of the sampler groovebox that will take you to the next level after you fully understand it. Although,The machine has a very steep learning curve (if your coming from and MPC or other equipment) so if you stick with it you will put it all together in no time. It is just amazing to see how fast the work flow is vs all other samplers's/grooveboxes and sequencers. You think to yourself, holy crap, why wasnt it like this from the begining instead of making it a confusing slow proscess that didnt make sense from an organic music making standpoint.
As I have said before on other threads, it is just beautiful how you can do so much with the unit and how quickly it is to use as a vst, plug in, controller, sampler and as a banging instrument. It's pure awesomeness to have two ways to track (and see) your work ie. chopping samples etc. either on the Maschine or your software on your puter screen. I cant tell you enough times, that the diff (with the workflow) is enough that the learning curve is what discourages most people coming from an MPC, after all the MPC was the standard by witch all of the workflow was derived from, including the terminology.

Stick with it though, it's well worth it and you will wonder how you ever got along without it!!
 
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How is the workaround on an MV880? Anyone know? I have the opportunity to get one locally with the vid card and monitor for less than $600? They look like they would do the trick but I was looking at the way you work with one and it seems overly complicated at first look. Will the Maschine be better than the MV?

Honestly, man, they are pretty much the same. Both the Maschine and the MV8800 are Harware/software based tools that are great for sample based music. I've heard some wonderful stuff done on the MV, I know that RZA used to (maybe still does) use the MV for his productions.

They both have very similar features and a similar workflow. The main differences between the two are the online user communities. From experience, I know Maschine has a huge user community, full of forums, tutorials, experts, etc... Maschine's software is being constantly upgraded and it comes with thousands of drum sounds. That's definitely a plus for me.

Not being a Roland user, I cant comment about how much useful info there is on the web about the MV, but there seems to be a lot less information out there about the MV than the Maschine. But, in the end, both boxes are capable of making AMAZING music.

Whichever one you choose, just make sure you are able to commit YEARS to mastering that tool, because the real beauty in making beats comes once you master your tool. Good luck.
 
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I love my Maschine. As a musician, I use it as a plug-in to Ableton, and it's great. There are some limitations because it's a plug in that runs seperate, but you can overcome them, and it's fun to use and really powerful. I'll link to a track I recorded with it. I have to say though, that I find Maschine most powerful as a VIDEO controller. That's right...VIDEO. I VJ for dj's and I've set it up to run Modul8, and it's AMAZING. I have the first version, and different coloured pages of pads would help, but I'm happy with the Mk1. The pads are GREAT clip triggers, and the pages of knobs affect LOTS of parameters. I'd say that the strongest thing I've found (compared to other controllers) is how great the MIDI Controller Editor is. It allows you to use the Maschine with so many other programs, and it's really intuitive. I also have an Akai APC40, and even though it has all the knobs and buttons the Maschine has, I can't use it because it's so bloody hard to program. Maschine is so simple. I've worked in television for years, and never had this much fun mixing video. I love my Maschine, and it's tons of fun. I wish I could link clips and photos, but the forum won't let me.
 
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The MV8k died years ago. Does Roland even support it anymore? They released the 8800 and nobody cared. Nothing is killing the Mpc except for maybe Maschine.
 
The MV8k died years ago. Does Roland even support it anymore? They released the 8800 and nobody cared. Nothing is killing the Mpc except for maybe Maschine.

That's a good question. They might though. I was surprised to see them come and go so quick.
 
Hi Radiofreebc,

Do you have a link to a site that can explain how Maschine Mk1 can be mapped for Modul8 (I know how to map to Modul8 but do I save a Modul8 template?), or Do you have the .ncm file you can share?
 
The Maschine pretty much is the new standard for any serious producer. A hobbyist can still get away with using an MPC. But any professional level musician has a Maschine these days. It only makes sense.
 
The Maschine pretty much is the new standard for any serious producer. A hobbyist can still get away with using an MPC. But any professional level musician has a Maschine these days. It only makes sense.

Don't start that "standard" crap because it is not. Nice tool, great to have (I own one) but majority of the ever so large music world doesn't have it nor is it a necessity. LoL
 
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I have the latest version of maschine, yes it's very versatile and fun to use, I agree it's a nice tool and performs quite well, but I wouldn't use it on it's own as a DAW, it's mainly my sequencer/ sampler, I rely heavily on Ableton (like others) as my personal choice DAW. Would I recommend it to others? Yes, I think so, free software upgrades are a bonus and the hardware functionality is pretty cool as a controller with other software.
 
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