What advantages does the Mpc Ren offer over Maschine

I hope this doesn't turn into one of those typical vs threads because that is not at all what I am looking for but I am interested in both Maschine and the Ren. The thing about the Ren that I like is that it has all that hardware onboard plus a mixer in the software which means unless I am doing some heavy audio tasks I will be able to keep it all or at least mostly all in the Ren itself. But I hate the dongle aspect of the device. Then we have Maschine I like the price but I hate that it very much so needs a DAW to get your work done. I am not doing much sampling these days so those aspects of both products don't really cater to me but I love the feel of working on a hardware drum machine. I will likely be mainly using the Addicitve drums plug in for my drum sounds anyway so this will just be a creative app and it would be great to not have to open Live for mixing reasons. I am considering Push also but Push doesn't work with vsts which is a big turn off there. So what about the Ren makes it a better buy for you?

"iconic mpc-ness" from what i hear.

can't tell you about machine

but live 9 is coming out soon with loads of extra features and push.

addictive drums runs in the ren software but you cannot drop and any of the midi
files like you can in live.

to me live is by the most creative daw out there although i have started to
use studio one which has some very unique features and is a cross between logic,
cubase and live worth checking out.

the akai thing is really the sequencer if your not sampling then grab up cheap 1000
or 2500 with jjos (i wont suggest 2000 cause the work flow would be slower)
map it to live drum racks midi your vsts etc bang you got the akai sequencer
running into live just press record.

the ren software as a daw is in its infant stage so it would be a significant step backwards from live if you looking for a one-stop shop this ain't it.
although thats not stopped people making some greats beats.

if its still eating at you maybe the studio might be the best solution as it less of an investment and if your not sampling much then that may be the best route.

this my advice on it with my limited knowledge

KevWestBeats wrote:The thing about the Ren that I like is that it has all that hardware onboard plus a mixer in the software which means unless I am doing some heavy audio tasks I will be able to keep it all or at least mostly all in the Ren itself.

What gave you that impression? Because the Ren software has vertical faders GUI? You can keep it all in Maschine including mixing.

KevWestBeats wrote:Then we have Maschine I like the price but I hate that it very much so needs a DAW to get your work done.

Not true. A lot of Maschine users get work done by doing it all within Maschine in standalone mode. Sure, for mixing/mastering, it makes more sense to bring it into a DAW to finish it up. Same goes for Ren. Maschine is much better when it comes to options for exporting to a DAW.

Entirely personal I own both
Mpc likes:
Sample layering
Mpc seq
Step seq
Huge pad banks
Keygrp sampling
Filter selection is huge.
Qlink integration is promising and will hopefully be improved.
Incredible hardware latency.
Easy to add vst effects

Dislikes :
Too much this is the mpc way when there's a quicker easier way.
E.g non destructive chopping on the maschine inside a program's is so easy.
The mpc loves menus and button pressing. The knob resolution is often badly implemented.
Pads not as sensitive as maschine
Copy protection
Lack of Hardware waveform zooming.
Poor browser

Maschine
Likes
Super sensitive pads
Control resolution is ergonomic ally really well designed and implemented
Sample duplication across pads super fast
Super fast non destructive chop this is the most ergonomic way in any sampler in my opinion.
Hardware zoom
N I effects sound really good

Dislikes
Not quite an mpc seq
Only 16 samples per grp. That's a big dislike !
Sample layering is a total pain
Pain to use send effects

Have happily used both to create finished tracks. At the moment I love the mpc seq but would much rather edit samples on the maschine.
Either is gonna be good
G

MPC has a much better sequencer feel with the quantize on. With quantize off, both are the same.

MPC has much simpler swing setting and easy to learn what setting gives you the desired result. Maschine has much deeper swing capabilities and its real time swing. But the settings are confusing. MPC accomplishes the same thing with simpler settings. Also, maschines real time swing prevents you from being able to use multiple swing settings on a single pad pattern. The notes also don't visibly move when swing is applied like it does in the MPC.

Maschine has much better sound tagging system to find the kind of sound you want. MPC browser is set up just like finder/windows explorer so if you know where your stuff is at, it's easy to find.

Sample chopping in both of them is pretty much identical except maschine has true non destructive chop.

I have a ton of comparisons. I can go on and on if you like. Bottom line for me is as a 15 year MPC user, the Ren is so familiar and I like the quantize much better. At the end of the day, both will give you the same results if you know how to use them. It's really preference. I love both but prefer the MPC.

KevWestBeats wrote:Then we have Maschine I like the price but I hate that it very much so needs a DAW to get your work done.

depends on what you're doing..

none of these were ever loaded into a daw.. straight outta maschine

http://soundcloud.com/rwronci

i looooove maschine. just ordered a ren though, because i want the ins/outs on the controller and the more heavy duty controller too.. plus i am familiar with akai so im assuming it will be easier to use without looking at the software than the maschine is.

they both seem dope too me, and im sick of the argument about which is better (im NOT saying that this thread is like that.. just speaking in general) .. i think you can be happy with either one if you LET yourself

oh yea, also none of my beat making takes place in a DAW and the only time it hits a DAW is if im mixing it with vocals


since you're into the DAW aspect heres another thing to consider too - the maschine has the AUTOWRITE key,... basically if you hold down that key and move any knob while the beat is playing it will automate that change..

pretty **** sick if you think about it. .. as many times as you want.. fx parameters, panning, volume, filters, reverse, etc etc etc

It's a matter of taste. Chopping on the Ren is probably the best thing going on a product like this. There is not much I would change.

For one, you enter Chop Mode and your audio is immediately sliced by threshold into a max of 128 regions. Press Audition button (would like to see this on by default) and the slices are immediately mapped to 128 pads througout 8 pad banks. Or you can set it to Region and divide your sample into 128 equal regions...again all playable from the pads.

They you can quickly edit the slice start/end points as you see fit. 1.3 allows you to click on the waveform and enter or delete slices manually. From the controller you can slit regions to create new slices or combine existing ones. Turn off Link Slices and now your slice points can overlap. The Ren also allows you to apply sample editing process directly to each slice.

Do this on Maschine? You can't access 128 slices as fast as you can on the Ren. Slicing equal sized regions is fixed at 2, 4, 8, 16, 32....where the Ren simply allows you to dial in any number you want. Maschine forces you to click a button in the software to add/delete a slice...where the Ren allows you to click on the waveform to insert a slice at a specific location.

I struggle to find anything about Maschine's sampler I would want the Ren to do.

after the next 2 updates the Ren is leaving the maschine in the dust, no joke

InspectahEX wrote:after the next 2 updates the Ren is leaving the maschine in the dust, no joke

If the new features work without a lot of problems...yup.

For me I like the REN's sequencer and song mode a whole lot better, nothing feels easier and more intuitive than a MPC. I think the REN is lacking in its sound shaping tools (no modulation envelope, no adjustable sample start, need AHD envelope), I hate that when you save a project you have to resave (duplicate) your samples on your hard drive.
With Maschine I like the routing capabilities, midi/audio drag and drop, multiple vst instances, very stable. What I dislike is the song mode, the 8 groups instead of having 128 tracks, and the sequencer (sometimes I'll tap in 16th note hi hats and they will be off beat even with quantize on).
They both have their advantages/disadvantages and both will get the job done but for me the MPC's sequencer is gold.

InspectahEX wrote:after the next 2 updates the Ren is leaving the maschine in the dust, no joke

Keep dreaming man..

DJ Hellfire wrote:MPC has a much better sequencer feel with the quantize on.

"much better" is meaningless as it is entirely subjective. MPC is a much simpler sequencer when it comes to things like swing and quantize. What Hellfire really means here though is that as a long time MPC user, he feels more familiar with it. Anyway, you know you're a MPC fanboy when you'd consider the Ren to be "much better" with all of its bugs, constant crashes, and serious limitations.

es-k wrote:i am familiar with akai so im assuming it will be easier to use without looking at the software than the maschine is.

You assumed wrong. It was already obvious even before the Ren was released that it wouldn't come anywhere close to Maschine's ability to do pretty much everything from the hardware without touching the mouse or looking at the computer screen.

InspectahEX wrote:after the next 2 updates the Ren is leaving the maschine in the dust, no joke

It's only been 5 minutes since you wanted to "punch every Akai employee in the face", so don't speak too soon!

The advantage that NI have over Akai is that they've been coding software for YEARS and have a solid reputation for producing great products. On the other hand, Dan mentioned that the Ren team only consists of 4 programmers, which in reality means they haven't got a hope in hell of competing at the same level unfortunately.

NI have got the resources and man power to switch up a gear at any given time, whereas Akai are locked in a perpetual game of catchup. It's all a question of how far the team gets before they get 'moved' onto another project.

emptysea wrote:

DJ Hellfire wrote:MPC has a much better sequencer feel with the quantize on.

"much better" is meaningless as it is entirely subjective. MPC is a much simpler sequencer when it comes to things like swing and quantize. What Hellfire really means here though is that as a long time MPC user, he feels more familiar with it. Anyway, you know you're a MPC fanboy when you'd consider the Ren to be "much better" with all of its bugs, constant crashes, and serious limitations.

C'mon, don't even start this goofy shit in dudes thread! You don't need to go picking through everyone's post and disagreeing with them. Just answer the original question and STFU! Simple as that!

And the Ren is much better with the quantize on because it doesn't quantize the notes as you play them like Maschine does. The MPC only applies quantize AFTER the recorded notes loop. On Maschine, if you try to play loose with quantize on, the software tries to quantize the notes as you hit the pads and it **** your timing all up! The only way to get around this on Maschine is to turn 'quantize in record' off and manually quantize your notes after you record them, and it's even worse if you have swing applied to the pad (which is a major disadvantage of real time swing IMO)! Not a great workflow for people that sequence with the quantize turned on, like I do!

And it's funny how you take me saying one aspect of the MPC is much better as meaning the MPC is completely much better! So quick to chase a debate you can't even comprehend what you're reading! **** lame!