By Davin
Thu Jan 13, 2022 3:12 pm
Hi all,
First time poster in the forum. I’m hoping you can answer a few questions I have about the MPC One, Live Mk2 and Force.
A bit of background and context:
I got back into music production 2 years ago with renewed focus and discipline and have invested quite a bit of time into learning aspects of music theory; electronic music production/sound engineering; workflow; as well as my chosen production environment, which, after doing some research I decided on Maschine 2.0 and Maschine Mk3. My criteria at the time were immediacy, tactile workflow/integration, and a high-quality sounds library and VST/plugins ecosystem. Maschine ticked all the boxes and has come good in many respects, so I’m a pretty happy NI customer that thinks both the hardware and software are mostly well designed (more on that below). I will say that the software took a bit of time as I was more familiar with Ableton, but like anything, investing time, creating templates, learning shortcuts, etc. all paid dividends.
Here’s my problem…
Fast forward two years and I find myself repeatedly frustrated with the limitations of the Arrange View. It was an oversight on my part not looking into/missing criticism pointed at the Arrange View in Maschine 2.0, because there's a lot of frustration out there. But it still baffles me that NI got so much right up to the point where you want to polish and finish a production. Specifically, adding automation and pattern variations is cumbersome and overly-complicated. I think the Clips feature is an improvement for adding pattern variations, transitions, etc. but it doesn’t address the poor automation capabilities. For these reasons I researched and tested quite a few workarounds, e.g., (i) exporting stems into Ableton; (ii) using Maschine as a VST and routing into Ableton; (iii) recording section changes in Maschine via Live; and (iv) creating unique patterns in Maschine to allow automation across Scenes. They all can do the job, and exporting stems was the least worst option for me and is still how I work. That said, it’s still a faff that disrupts flow. Creating Unique patterns in Maschine should be the fix/workaround but the UI&X (e.g., % vs. actual parameter value change coupled with the automation lane in the piano roll) and issues I’ve experienced when automating across scenes (parameter value snaps to the original value rather than the last automation value) has made it extremely frustrating to work and finish songs in Maschine 2.0 this way. Admittedly, some of this frustration comes from my own expectations around wanting an all-in-one platform.
Some of you might have picked up on the repeated references to Ableton and will ask, “why don’t you just get a Push 2 and use Live?” Valid point and something I have and still do consider. The first reason is I have invested time and money into NI and Maschine (I recognize that’s classic Sunk Cost thinking). Second, I’m reluctant to jump from product to product, DAW to DAW because of the learning curve and lost time creating. Third, I want to resist GAS and product-hopping in favour of focusing on finishing productions, using equipment I’ve invested time to learn. Related to all of this, I find myself wanting a standalone box as the computer is a constant distraction for me.
From my research, the MPC One, Live Mk2, or Force all seem to have better arrangement options. I literally only discovered what the Force is capable of 3 days ago and I’m absolutely blown away.
Below are some questions I have - mostly arranging - about the MPC software and the One, Live Mk2, and Force, but feel free to let me know what your experience has been like with the MPC’s/Force and their software, especially if you’re a former or current Maschine user.
How flexible is Song mode in the One and Live Mk2? Recording track mutes is great, but can other track and/or master automation be recorded, e.g. while listening to all the sequences through?
Is it easy to program pattern variation/overdub sequences?
Are patterns/clips and sequences independent or linked, similar to Maschine?
What are the Akai time stretching/looping algorithms like (for relatively short percussion, drone, pad loops)?
Is it possible to save custom FX presets, project templates?
In Force, can you create song sections jump/navigate to these using the controller?
In Force, do the encoders automap to whichever synth, plugin, etc. is shown on the screen?
With respect to sampling, does the sampler offer much internal modulation and FX?
Anything else you can share about your experience?
Thanks in advance.
First time poster in the forum. I’m hoping you can answer a few questions I have about the MPC One, Live Mk2 and Force.
A bit of background and context:
I got back into music production 2 years ago with renewed focus and discipline and have invested quite a bit of time into learning aspects of music theory; electronic music production/sound engineering; workflow; as well as my chosen production environment, which, after doing some research I decided on Maschine 2.0 and Maschine Mk3. My criteria at the time were immediacy, tactile workflow/integration, and a high-quality sounds library and VST/plugins ecosystem. Maschine ticked all the boxes and has come good in many respects, so I’m a pretty happy NI customer that thinks both the hardware and software are mostly well designed (more on that below). I will say that the software took a bit of time as I was more familiar with Ableton, but like anything, investing time, creating templates, learning shortcuts, etc. all paid dividends.
Here’s my problem…
Fast forward two years and I find myself repeatedly frustrated with the limitations of the Arrange View. It was an oversight on my part not looking into/missing criticism pointed at the Arrange View in Maschine 2.0, because there's a lot of frustration out there. But it still baffles me that NI got so much right up to the point where you want to polish and finish a production. Specifically, adding automation and pattern variations is cumbersome and overly-complicated. I think the Clips feature is an improvement for adding pattern variations, transitions, etc. but it doesn’t address the poor automation capabilities. For these reasons I researched and tested quite a few workarounds, e.g., (i) exporting stems into Ableton; (ii) using Maschine as a VST and routing into Ableton; (iii) recording section changes in Maschine via Live; and (iv) creating unique patterns in Maschine to allow automation across Scenes. They all can do the job, and exporting stems was the least worst option for me and is still how I work. That said, it’s still a faff that disrupts flow. Creating Unique patterns in Maschine should be the fix/workaround but the UI&X (e.g., % vs. actual parameter value change coupled with the automation lane in the piano roll) and issues I’ve experienced when automating across scenes (parameter value snaps to the original value rather than the last automation value) has made it extremely frustrating to work and finish songs in Maschine 2.0 this way. Admittedly, some of this frustration comes from my own expectations around wanting an all-in-one platform.
Some of you might have picked up on the repeated references to Ableton and will ask, “why don’t you just get a Push 2 and use Live?” Valid point and something I have and still do consider. The first reason is I have invested time and money into NI and Maschine (I recognize that’s classic Sunk Cost thinking). Second, I’m reluctant to jump from product to product, DAW to DAW because of the learning curve and lost time creating. Third, I want to resist GAS and product-hopping in favour of focusing on finishing productions, using equipment I’ve invested time to learn. Related to all of this, I find myself wanting a standalone box as the computer is a constant distraction for me.
From my research, the MPC One, Live Mk2, or Force all seem to have better arrangement options. I literally only discovered what the Force is capable of 3 days ago and I’m absolutely blown away.
Below are some questions I have - mostly arranging - about the MPC software and the One, Live Mk2, and Force, but feel free to let me know what your experience has been like with the MPC’s/Force and their software, especially if you’re a former or current Maschine user.
How flexible is Song mode in the One and Live Mk2? Recording track mutes is great, but can other track and/or master automation be recorded, e.g. while listening to all the sequences through?
Is it easy to program pattern variation/overdub sequences?
Are patterns/clips and sequences independent or linked, similar to Maschine?
What are the Akai time stretching/looping algorithms like (for relatively short percussion, drone, pad loops)?
Is it possible to save custom FX presets, project templates?
In Force, can you create song sections jump/navigate to these using the controller?
In Force, do the encoders automap to whichever synth, plugin, etc. is shown on the screen?
With respect to sampling, does the sampler offer much internal modulation and FX?
Anything else you can share about your experience?
Thanks in advance.