jahrome
Diamond Member
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Yeah, this is so rough a concept at this point that it's hard to say anything very productive - especially when his argument "against" the Maschine is that "NI makes some of the most complex softsynths" - what? For now it just kind of sounds like...well, an idea with very little substance.
So I thought I might jump in here. I would have to disagree with the above since I'm the one who wrote the article/created the models. Yes, it's an idea, but I don't think it's lacking in substance. The article has a lot of pretty specific aspects in there.
And I believe the argument against NI making complex software is completely valid as a reason to why they wouldn't make a good MPC. One of the main things that made the MPC a classic was how easy it was to use. It takes a certain mindset to create a simple and effective UI like this. German engineering does not have this type of mindset. American engineering does. Compare the Tempest to a Blofeld or Monomachine (Swedish?) to see what I'm saying with this. Maschine had this vibe to it that was just too complex to ever feel like a real MPC. NI make some great soft synths, but when it comes to simplicity and elegance in UI design, they are really not good (but getting better).
Agreed though that the current Akai is not good at software design though and probably wouldn't make a good update to the MPC. They have nothing to do with the old Japanese Akai and/or Roger Linn. Roland could be a good candidate for something like this though. Their MV boxes have some pretty advanced software that they work with.
Sorry for coming off a bit rough - but my point still stands. The idea is there, but I'm not seeing the "killer app" that'd put this above and beyond what's already been accomplished - and regarding the NI thing, I think the Maschine *is* simple enough on a fundamental level to compete. There's a genuine layer of usability & great interface design that sits on the shoulder of that German engineering foundation; it can go deep if you want it to, but it doesn't take a scientist to load a kit (or roll your own) and start banging out beats. Maybe it's not completely "MPC-like", but I'm not sure it has to be. Even though Linn's design is a time-proven classic, it doesn't mean it's the only way to do things.