NI MASCHINE - constantly upgrading. (Ver. 1.6)

modulator wrote:

Askia Shaheed wrote:I don't think I will ship it back to exchange it for at least a month. I've been waiting to long to get it because of my location.

The pads are a different story. I am impressed by the quality and responsiveness of the pads. As of right now, I would say that are at least equal to and perhaps even better than MPC pads.

that neeeds to be proven! the pads of maschine ar like the korg esx stuff, theyre really soft, what i prefere also,

but IN LONG TERM.... the esx pads failed..../ broke. it depends on the hardware construction...

if it s only a cheap carbon sensor....after heavy use... good bye. so we ll see what is going on in about 1 year......

That is why I wrote "as of right now..."

I've been using MPCs since 1997...owned all models with the exception of the MPC 60 and 500. Maschine's pads are really responsive..no matter where you hit the pad. That is why I feel they are equally or better than MPC pads. But the rest of Maschine's contruction is like any other cheap controller on the market.

FMajor wrote:

konc3pt wrote:i prefer mpc pads, they feel more organic

LMAO....OMG that is the funniest shit ever.....sorry Bro but LMAO

Maschine was interesting. My only regret is not having more time to work with it.

MPC pads don't even come close to the responsiveness and sensitivity of Maschine's pads. The only thing that comes close is padKontrol. I like the way the MPC pads feel to the touch and the pressure-sensitivity is pretty cool. It actually makes you play different because of how they respond. And it's kinda nostalgic to me because I loved how the pads on my 2k felt so soft. But the pads on MPCs are also very limited in versatility compared to other pad controllers in that it's only good for percussive and one shot triggering. Try playing melodies with sustained notes/chords with MPC pads. It takes a lot of effort to have the notes not get cut out even when you don't want them to (even with extra sensitivity setting with JJ OS). You don't have this problem at all with padKontrol or Maschine's pads. I've had many of them and this is how I rate the sensitivity/responsiveness of the pads:
Maschine > padKontrol > Triggerfinger > MPC/MPD

i like pads that u can trigger with just one finger. like the sp series or the su700.

2000xl pads......u can trigger with one finger, but there's a higher chance of the double trigger.

LvngDead wrote:.
2000xl pads......u can trigger with one finger, but there's a higher chance of the double trigger.

Truth..you have to bang the hell out of the XL pads and use two fingers without question. They feel good, but responsiveness is just as important as feel.

Major I PM'd you about somethin.

Let me say that there is nothing wrong with MPC pads (minus the MPC 1000 original design). I never had an MPC that I had to bang on them hard to get a response. If Akai never improved them any further, that would be fine with me. In fact, the MPC 1000 pads feel software than Maschine's pads. But the Maschine pads feel, I assume that the sensors are equal to or larger than the pads...again I am just going by feel and hitting the corners of the pads. This isn't the case with an MPC.

Also, you can play melody's and chords with an MPC. What you refer to is called aftertouch which Maschine has....as does the MPC 5000. My press harder or softer on the MPC 5000's pads, it will change the tone of the sample. The MPC 1000 does the same..just not as well as Maschine.


I love how quick Maschine users around here (all but one or two) will boast about what it does well, but completely ignore what areas it lacks in..and there are many:
1. Pads are great, but the rest of the product feels like a $100 control surface
2. LCDs. They are smaller in length and width than the MPC 1000s LCD. NI should have just designed a larger LCD and made it adjustable. Maschine's GUI is uninspiring..even more so than an MPC.

out of all the 1x1 pads on the market, I'd have to say the Axioms are my favorite.

I think the same pads might be on the trigger finger, but the axioms feel a bit softer than trigger finger's.

Askia Shaheed wrote:1. Pads are great, but the rest of the product feels like a $100 control surface

Pfft. I don't think so. I don't know of any $100 controller with a metal plate on the top surface. It's so obvious you're looking for things that you can say bad things about it. Maschine's controller is well-built and feels sturdy and durable. I've had no issues with it.

Askia Shaheed wrote:2. LCDs. They are smaller in length and width than the MPC 1000s LCD. NI should have just designed a larger LCD and made it adjustable. Maschine's GUI is uninspiring..even more so than an MPC.

You're seriously going to compare the dimensions of MPC's single LCD with the dimension of one of Maschine's two displays (not that there's much difference), completely failing to mention how the two displays work together? And I don't know what there is to be inspiring about MPC's GUI (especially the cluttered mess of JJ OS) but I much prefer Maschine's GUI.

this sh!t is so stupid

emptysea wrote:

Askia Shaheed wrote:1. Pads are great, but the rest of the product feels like a $100 control surface

Pfft. I don't think so. I don't know of any $100 controller with a metal plate on the top surface. It's so obvious you're looking for things that you can say bad things about it. Maschine's controller is well-built and feels sturdy and durable. I've had no issues with it.

Askia Shaheed wrote:2. LCDs. They are smaller in length and width than the MPC 1000s LCD. NI should have just designed a larger LCD and made it adjustable. Maschine's GUI is uninspiring..even more so than an MPC.

You're seriously going to compare the dimensions of MPC's single LCD with the dimension of one of Maschine's two displays (not that there's much difference), completely failing to mention how the two displays work together? And I don't know what there is to be inspiring about MPC's GUI (especially the cluttered mess of JJ OS) but I much prefer Maschine's GUI.

I had to take another look and get a second opinion....the top part of Maschine is a thin sheet of metal glued (or taped) to the bottom piece of the unit which is all plastic. The glue is not strong and will wear in time...mine is brand new and can already see the glue loosing its bonding strength. I stand corrected. Its cheaper than I initially thought. I cant get too mad at NI since Akai released the MPC 1000 with cheap pads.

I can compare the LCD with that of an MPC. The two LCDs are smaller than an MPC and shows very little information...practically none when you compare it with any MPC with the exception of the MPC 500. If you read what I wrote, you can see that I believe both the MPC and Maschine's GUI is uninspiring...Maschine is just worse. NI should really redesign the LCD. You "MUST" use the computer monitor when using it. The LCDs are very little help when being used alone.

I have an MPC and Maschine sitting side by side so I can make an accurate assessment...I don't feel a need to mislead anyone.

Askia Shaheed wrote:I can compare the LCD with that of an MPC. The two LCDs are smaller than an MPC and shows very little information...practically none when you compare it with any MPC with the exception of the MPC 500. If you read what I wrote, you can see that I believe both the MPC and Maschine's GUI is uninspiring...Maschine is just worse. NI should really redesign the LCD. You "MUST" use the computer monitor when using it. The LCDs are very little help when being used alone.

You're always very detailed. What do you want to see on the LCDs?

I am seriously considering buying one of these but can someone answer these two questions for me?

1. I have seen comparisons from people on this thread between the Pads on Maschine and a Korg padKontrol having a similar feel.
I purchased a Korg microKontrol once thinking it would be great for the pads (but they were really bad, too plastic very cheap)
Are the Pads on the Maschine like the pads on the MicroKontrol? anyone used both or can anyone advise?

2. How accurate is the transient detection for slicing samples? would it be as accurate as the transient detection in logic 9's warp mode?

Thanks all

Look forward to your answers

Lotuz wrote:

Askia Shaheed wrote:I can compare the LCD with that of an MPC. The two LCDs are smaller than an MPC and shows very little information...practically none when you compare it with any MPC with the exception of the MPC 500. If you read what I wrote, you can see that I believe both the MPC and Maschine's GUI is uninspiring...Maschine is just worse. NI should really redesign the LCD. You "MUST" use the computer monitor when using it. The LCDs are very little help when being used alone.

You're always very detailed. What do you want to see on the LCDs?

Its too late in development for something like that. Roland is way ahead of the competition when it comes to GUI of their products. Maschine just like MPCs have a GUI based off of products created in the 80s.

I would want Maschine to be easily operated from using the LCDs without looking at the monitor...or be easily operated from using a monitor without looking at the LCDs. Right now, you pretty much need both and the mouse. Really....the hardware needs to mirror the software to the greatest extent possible (see MV-8000 w/ external VGA monitor).

I can go on for days...Maschine has a bunch of little quirks. Such as there is a Browse button. Also, by holding down Navigate button, button 5 turns into Browser button. This is so silly. When the browse button is pressed (turned on), it should display the browser in the software and do the same in the hardware. When it is turned off, it should hide the browser on the hardware and software. There doesn't need to be two buttons for this.