MPC Vs. Maschine mini Review

^ fully agree, just love writing tunes using MPC1k and then engineering them using Logic (in addition to using it as a sound module as well). Haven't yet tried Maschine out tho so can't comment on that.

the cross fade though not a selectable option in maschine seems to get done automatically as any selected sound on a pad can immediately be played on an attached midi keyboard hence why maschine is quicker to use then an mpc1k

jpeg wrote:the cross fade though not a selectable option in maschine seems to get done automatically as any selected sound on a pad can immediately be played on an attached midi keyboard hence why maschine is quicker to use then an mpc1k

that's pretty cool but i guarantee there's no crossfade looping happening.

crossfade looping doesnt have anything to do with a midi keyboard. its a digital audio technique for creating seamless loops.

Wish I woulda seen this thread before. I have both as well. Got my Maschine about a month ago and making some really dope shit on it. It is a very powerful instrument and really holds it's own against the MPC. It's just little stupid shit it's missing that makes it not quite there yet, as compared to the Nukai MPC's. Like you can't stop a long ass sample from playing unless you set up another sample on a different pad to mute the one with the long as sample playing. On the MPC you just press stop 3 times. When slicing, the MPC let's you choose slices in increments of 1, which is nice when you don't have an even amount of bars in a loop. The Maschine only lets you choose 4, 8, 16, or 32. But it has other modes like a manual tempo adjustment that can get around that and allows you to set 1 increment slices. Just wish it was more straight forward. Also, when slicing a sample into a LOT of pieces, it isn't as quick to get around the slice octaves like how on the MPC you can jump quickly from bank to bank. However, having a keyboard alleviates this issue if you have one connected. The MPC chop shop chops a sample into individual samples making it easy to adjust different parameters of each sound. Machines chop shop is non-destructive, which basically creates different slice points in the sample and assigns each point to a pad. While it is easy to adjust parameters of each slice, there aren't many parameters that can be adjusted per individual slice. It's basically only gain, tune and pan. There's no filter, attack or decay, etc. You can chop destructively into individual samples, but for me it's not as efficient. MPC has audio inputs to easily record from any source. Maschine can only record samples through a separate audio interface. Automation sucks on the Maschine, but the MPC doesn't really have any at all, so... MPC can use a blank pad to mute another pad. On Maschine it's like the older MPC's where you actually have to put a sample on a pad in order for it to be able to mute another pad.

Now where the Maschine shines is actually in a few different places over the MPC. First, chopping, for me, is so much quicker and smoother on Maschine. The knobs are really smooth and quick, or slow if you hold shift. Next is the ability to audition and load samples to any pad without stopping the sequencer. And since sounds don't get loaded into ram like an MPC, you aren't stuck with a bunch of unused sounds as you browse and load sounds. Also, samples can be set to autochromatic at the click of a button. It's instant and will be laid across the pads or keyboard. Real sweet! Then, there's the sequencer. You don't have to make a track for each sample/pad. Each pad is automatically recorded onto it's own lane which makes editing patterns and tracking to your DAW a lot more efficient. Editing note parameters and timing is so much quicker. You can load up to 3 VST effects to each sample; Waves bundles, Sonnox, etc and most of the plugin parameters are operational from the Maschine knobs. You can load VST instruments directly into your beat. There is a swing knob for each sound and a master swing knob for the entire track so you can quickly find the right swing on the fly without stopping the track and without having to try different settings til you get the right one. You can easily duplicate, double, copy/paste a section of, or move a pattern or sequence without stopping playback. You can do an offline bounce of each individual sound of the entire beat in song mode and drop the whole beat into your DAW and mix. Or you can track up to 16 separate sounds at a time to your DAW for live tracking through Rewire (even though Reason let's you do like 64 simultaneous channels). Or you can drag and drop your patterns'/sequences' midi data and samples directly into your DAW and arrange your song mode there.

So each one has it's advantages. There's no need to diss one or the other. And I've been using MPC's since 99! Most significant thing about the Maschine is that since it's software, anything can be added or improved. I think the MPC is kinda limited on how much extra functionality can be programmed into it out side of what JJ has done. But a dope beatmaker can make hot shit on anything, so it's all just preference in the end! Hating on gear for the sake of hating is lame (unless it's beat thang)!

^^great post thanks

the ability to audition and load samples to any pad without stopping the sequencer.

i can audition while playing back my sequences just fine using reaper together with my 2500. they are synced via mtc, so i can preview my loops and oneshots within reaper. it´ll also time stretch my loops to fit the actual tempo (of course that´s optional).

**** wrote:

the ability to audition and load samples to any pad without stopping the sequencer.

i can audition while playing back my sequences just fine using reaper together with my 2500. they are synced via mtc, so i can preview my loops and oneshots within reaper. it´ll also time stretch my loops to fit the actual tempo (of course that´s optional).

You're saying you can audition sounds stored on your MPC from within Reaper while the MPC is still playing? How can you do that when the MPC has to be stopped just to mount it's USB?

couple things I wanted to add is that MPC got non-destructive chopping now as well...workaround to being able to preview sounds on mpc while sequence is playing would be using midi with another sampler...software or hardware

DJ Hellfire wrote:

**** wrote:

the ability to audition and load samples to any pad without stopping the sequencer.

i can audition while playing back my sequences just fine using reaper together with my 2500. they are synced via mtc, so i can preview my loops and oneshots within reaper. it´ll also time stretch my loops to fit the actual tempo (of course that´s optional).

You're saying you can audition sounds stored on your MPC from within Reaper while the MPC is still playing? How can you do that when the MPC has to be stopped just to mount it's USB?

no, i have my whole sample library on my computer. sorry for the confusion.

DJ Hellfire wrote:Wish I woulda seen this thread before. I have both as well.

Which MPC do you have?

I purchased Maschine last year, used it for a few months and then sold it. It was still on OS 1.5. I just recently picked up another one to see if I like it better the second time around now that it has added some of the functions I felt it was missing.

You mentioned how Maschine can play a sequence and audition different sounds without stopping the sequencer. How is that different than an MPC?

^ he means without loading the samples to ram. ie streaming off hard disk or storage medium. a big plus for some, not so much for me unless you have control over playback rate of the auditioning sample...what are the odds that it's going to be exactly in the key of your song anyway (applies to breaks/drum oneshots too)? i've never found it hard to mentally "sample" my beat and just play it back in my head as i'm auditioning samples

Nym wrote:^ he means without loading the samples to ram. ie streaming off hard disk or storage medium. a big plus for some, not so much for me unless you have control over playback rate of the auditioning sample...what are the odds that it's going to be exactly in the key of your song anyway (applies to breaks/drum oneshots too)? i've never found it hard to mentally "sample" my beat and just play it back in my head as i'm auditioning samples

But Maschine doesn't stream off hard disk. You have to press the load button to load samples into RAM. You can just load the samples quicker than any MPC as the browser is part of the main screen where an MPC, you have to go into Disk/Load Mode. The additional advantage Maschine has it uses the memory of your PC/Mac which you have multiple gigabytes of memory where with the latest MPC odels, the max you get is 128 or 192 MBs.

Also, Maschine can't read your personal files directly from your hard drive. You have to tag your files and import them into the Maschine library in order for Maschine to see and use them. Browsing files directly from disk is a top feature request at the NI Forums.

* After re-reading his post again, he may have only meant that you can load files without stopping Maschine's sequencer and try out new sounds on the fly...where an MPC you have to load the sounds first as MPCs don't load and play sequences at the same time.....and then can audition different sounds while the sequencer plays.

i never understood why nobody makes sample browsers like fruity loops had for the past decade...

Askia Shaheed wrote:

DJ Hellfire wrote:Wish I woulda seen this thread before. I have both as well.

Which MPC do you have?

I purchased Maschine last year, used it for a few months and then sold it. It was still on OS 1.5. I just recently picked up another one to see if I like it better the second time around now that it has added some of the functions I felt it was missing.

You mentioned how Maschine can play a sequence and audition different sounds without stopping the sequencer. How is that different than an MPC?

I have an XL, 2500, and just sold my 1000. On the MPC, if you want to load or audition samples from your hard drive or CF or zip disk, you have to stop the sequencer and go into the load screen and play the samples. Then if you want to see if it sounds good, you have to load it, go back into the sequence screen, see how it sounds in the sequence, and if you don't like it, do that whole process again. Sometimes by the time you find the right sound, you could have a bunch of useless samples loaded into the ram. With Maschine, I can load a sample directly to a pad while the sequence is still playing. If I don't like that sound, I just simply press the next button to load the next sound to the pad, which completely removes the last sound from memory without having to switch screens.

But yeah, the 1.7 is WAY better than what I read the 1.5 offered.

Nym wrote:^ he means without loading the samples to ram. ie streaming off hard disk or storage medium. a big plus for some, not so much for me unless you have control over playback rate of the auditioning sample...what are the odds that it's going to be exactly in the key of your song anyway (applies to breaks/drum oneshots too)? i've never found it hard to mentally "sample" my beat and just play it back in my head as i'm auditioning samples

Yes you can tune the sample while auditioning it with the sequence playing. Two ways. First is from the controller. On the controller you load the sample to the pad, but to tune it you just press a single button (browse button to exit the sample browser) to go to the parameters screen and tune the sample. This method only requires one screen change and takes about a millisecond. If you don't like the sample, press the browse button again to continue browsing samples from where you left off. The second way is to leave the controller in the browse screen, but adjust the tune from the computer with your mouse. This way you play the sample with your left hand on the controller, never switching screens, and adjust the tune on the computer via the mouse with your right hand. So it's pretty efficient.

Askia Shaheed wrote:

Nym wrote:^ he means without loading the samples to ram. ie streaming off hard disk or storage medium. a big plus for some, not so much for me unless you have control over playback rate of the auditioning sample...what are the odds that it's going to be exactly in the key of your song anyway (applies to breaks/drum oneshots too)? i've never found it hard to mentally "sample" my beat and just play it back in my head as i'm auditioning samples

1. But Maschine doesn't stream off hard disk. You have to press the load button to load samples into RAM.

2. Also, Maschine can't read your personal files directly from your hard drive. You have to tag your files and import them into the Maschine library in order for Maschine to see and use them. Browsing files directly from disk is a top feature request at the NI Forums.

3. * After re-reading his post again, he may have only meant that you can load files without stopping Maschine's sequencer and try out new sounds on the fly...where an MPC you have to load the sounds first as MPCs don't load and play sequences at the same time.....and then can audition different sounds while the sequencer plays.

1. True, but the load time is so instant that it doesn't make a difference, at least with drums anyway. You press next and the sample is there instantly.

2. This is false. 1.7 has Disk mode which reads any local or shared harddrive or flash drive on your network. I have my networked audio harddrive on my studio computer, where I keep all my samples, favorited in Maschines browser. So I just select that harddrive in the Maschine browser and I can audition/load/chop any Wave file without having to tag it. And you don't have to favorite drives to browse them either. The only drawback is that you can't browse non-tag files from the controller, which means you can't browse any storage media directly from the controller, unless it's audio files are tagged into Maschines library.. You have to do it on the computer with the mouse.

3. Exactly!

The other cool thing about Maschine is that it reads REX files and MPC programs. So all the shit I chopped in Recycle, and all the MPC programs I have backed up on my computer can be thrown right into Maschine without having to rechop or remake programs!