POLL: Maschine / MPD 18/32 / MPC 500/1000/2500

[23kon]

I've been loving playing with the TRG Sample Pads on NanoStudio on my iPad.

When I first started out making music on computer, i was making stuff inspired by the likes of DJ Shadow - all sample based stuff.

A few years back I made the decision to not use samples and create stuff from scratch - seeing as it would be "sellable" without needing to obtain copyright. Stuff I started knocking out was more dancey than triphop/hip hop.

Now though i'm fancying getting back into sampling and chopping up my old soul and funk record collection etc, i've got tons of cds of beats from back when I first started out.

I'm in a dilema about what to buy ....

Maschine
They've done a good job with all the promo videos out there that really make you want to have this product! Is it really just adding a new (and more complicated?) way of working that you would normally do in the likes of Ableton Live, stuff that could be achieved in Ableton much easier and with a Akai MPD controller for pads?
Interested in hearing what folk think.

Akai MPD 18/32
I'd consider one of these for triggering beats/samples in Ableton Live. The 24/26 aint attractive as theres strangely 6 sliders (funny number!). the 18 is very small and has original MPC pads, dont REALLY need all the knobs of the 32 as I have a Novation nocturn and also controls on TouchAble/TouchOSC to hand.
The 32 a good solid machine that could prob work on its own without other controllers needed. Sliders and knobs to-hand.

The thing about the above though is that you've got to boot up your computer then DAW to use them!

Akai MPC 500/1000/2500
So this is why i'm possibly considering getting myself an MPC. I've always wanted one.
The MPC 500 is attractive because it runs on batteries, is small and very portable and I could see it getting moved around the house room to room being used when i have spare time - even use it sitting in the garden!
The drawbacks are it only has 12 pads as opposed to the other models that have 16.

The MPC 1000 and 2500s I think are lovely machines and i would have one. Thing that puts me off is the amount of manual reading i'd have to do to get started as theres more functions to these machines.

Looking for peoples opinions. Interested to hear what folk use and why.

If you know of anything else that could be an option, i'd be interested to hear.

[aizo]

Ima say it again. Maschine is ridiculous. It is so easy it makes me mad. It's workflow is so fast that I literally get upset that the beat making part is over. It's a great tool man!

If you wanna go cheap and just use what's in Ableton I totally recommend the MPD 18. MPD18 + fat pads from MPC stuff and drumracks will never be the same for you. Before I had Maschine I used one. I would have liked to keep it but I just can't see having ANOTHER set of pads around. (I already have Maschine, an MPC 2000 and an Akai Axiom 25)

[lord toranaga]

if i had the budget, I would buy machine today.

[Cool Character]

NI is a bad company.

Horrible company.
Awful company.
Terrible company.

[AaronYeo]

NI is a bad company.

Horrible company.
Awful company.
Terrible company.

...because...?

[exper]

Maschine is probably my most used tool, even among a Machinedrum and Monomachine. It is absolutely genius in use. It is almost too easy to get you track started. Plus, it keeps getting better and better with each update. If you can stretch to it, get Maschine and Komplete 7. NI's products integrate better than other plugins, and apparently this is going to be even more so with 1.7

Not sure why the other guy said NI is a bad company. Technology moves on. Some things last, some don't. Do hardware samplers still get constant updates, or does Akai move forward? Even hardware gear has a shelflife. It is perfectly logical that products that don't sell well get nixed. It's not like NI killed Kontakt or Reaktor. Machine will be here for a very long time. In one way or another.

Some people are sour because NI just discontinued Kore. But it is a complete product, it still works for those who use it, but it really didn't sell well. I tried it but it seemed like too much complication for use within a DAW. Synth players seemed to like Kore mostly, but they are a small chunk of NI's users.

[eddiex]

if i had the loot i would buy an mpc.....since i don't, i bought an mpd 18.....its pretty f-ing simple and awesome for the price...it works pretty seamlessly with live's drum rack...the two of those together, make a pretty cheap (well, if you already own live) simple but powerful sampler.

[Cool Character]

NI is a bad company.

Horrible company.
Awful company.
Terrible company.

...because...?

...Are you really asking this?

Remember the first attempt at Kore, where they left all of their customers in the dirt?
Remember the second attempt at Kore, where they left all of their customers in the dirt?
Remember Pro 53 and B4?
Remember Kontakt and all of their amazing sample libraries, the reason for buying Kontakt, that you can't even buy anymore, because NI decided they've run their course?
Remember their crappy customer support for all of their products?
Remember their software registration?

How about this:
How can you trust a $50 purchase from such a company, let alone a $500 one?

[exper]

NI is a bad company.

Horrible company.
Awful company.
Terrible company.

...because...?

...Are you really asking this?

Remember the first attempt at Kore, where they left all of their customers in the dirt?
Remember the second attempt at Kore, where they left all of their customers in the dirt?
Remember Pro 53 and B4?
Remember Kontakt and all of their amazing sample libraries, the reason for buying Kontakt, that you can't even buy anymore, because NI decided they've run their course?
Remember their crappy customer support for all of their products?
Remember their software registration?

How about this:
How can you trust a $50 purchase from such a company, let alone a $500 one?

Well, this is just your opinion, the opposite of my opinion, which is that they've always taken care of my issues. I've used their products since Reaktor 2.3 and no one makes softsynths as interesting and as good as theirs. Again I ask, can you tell me what software companies are commited to providing endless updates for their products, even if the needs of their users change? Tell me, does Akai make a new software disk for the mpc2000 every year? NO, but the people that still use it, use it. The fact is, noone was really using B4 or Pro53 except possibly prog rock cover band players. Things change.

[Cool Character]

Well, this is just your opinion...

Let's not make it seem like it's all based on feelings and opinions to say the company is difficult to trust.
It's my opinion that the fact they dropped all these things with little to no communication to their customers makes them a bad company.

Again I ask, can you tell me what software companies are commited to providing endless updates for their products, even if the needs of their users change?

Is Urs Heckmann a company? Ableton had a rough year, but at least we can bet with some confidence it will run on our computers 5 years from now.
I dunno, man. The answer to your question is probably "most companies that plan on staying in business."

Tell me, does Akai make a new software disk for the mpc2000 every year? NO, but the people that still use it, use it.

Oh I get it, because Kore has a hardware aspect. That's why the comparison fits, right?
I think it's a stretch, bro. Even if NI's habit of abandoning their customers was limited to Kore, which it isn't.

The fact is, noone was really using B4 or Pro53 except possibly prog rock cover band players. Things change.

Gotcha. They shouldn't have known they weren't important to NI.
I hope for Maschine users' sake that the sales figures just keep rolling in.

[exper]

Look, I get it, there is always the issue of the vocal minority that ends up influencing people. But it is based on feelings and opinions. The problem is that no one gets to hear the good aspects of a product through the haze of people who instantly shout BAD BAD BAD the second you say NI. I just thought I'd chime in with the fact that I've never had a problem with NI. They always have taken my calls, stayed in communication, etc. I brought up Akai because hardware gets abandoned or improved upon in another model/design (Roland's VariOS, remember that? How about the Fizmo with glitches galore, etc.)

Where is everyone freaking out about the promised Ableton Live Sharing feature? They flat out made it a feature and then abandoned it. How about all of the people who bought into to GURU, only to find it is abandoned and replaced by new and improved Geist. They had to "crossgrade" to something that should have been GURU 2.
Sometimes, hindsight fuels change. NI was run by investors for a long time that caused them to stray too far from their comfort zone. Now they are back to being run by themselves again so things are just re-adjusting.
Kore was overly complicated and clumsy. In this day and age of controller overload, it is just one more unnecessary USB box. I'm sure pretty much everyone has more that 8 knobs to spare in their pre-existing controllers...

[esky]

I vote for a MPD 32. I tested Maschine and gave it back. I don't really understand the hype. Doesn't a pad controller, Drumracks and Live give you the same...? Is searching for samples with a tiny display and a rubber knob so much better...?

[exper]

Well, it really is to a lot of people. I've recently started buying hardware gear again after solely using laptop for years. There is a workflow that just gets lost when you are given endless options, samples and presets. I was so much more prolific when I started out using all hardware back in the '90s. Not only that but I actually enjoyed it.

To each his own, but there is a reason that MPCs, drum machines in general and Elektron machines have dominated electronic music production. Workflow, interface and fun to use. Can you look down at a MPD32 and know what samples you are triggering? Or what effects parameters are being tweaked? Not really.

[3dot...]

I ? NI...
their stuff is amazing !
I sure do hope they find a worthy solution for Kore users
although as an "outsider" consolidating Kore inside Maschine. seems like a really good move ..
it's definitely good for Maschine owners...
I do believe they're pretty hyped about it


but I voted mpc1000
reasons :
1.ultra portable
2.standalone - no need for a computer/audio interface etc.
(which really is it's strongest point)
3.versatile
4.expandable

[boogaloo]

I think you should get the one that makes more sense to the way you like to do things. For me it's Maschine but to you it may be the MPC.

As far as companies are concerned - my impression is that if NI are bad, Akai are 100x worse. How about when they first released the 1k and the new pad design caused a lots of people's pads to fail. They recognized the design fault and released an upgrade kit which everyone had to buy to get the proper MPC pads.
Also they don't care much about fixing bugs or updating the firmware - the only reason the 1000 and 2500 are so popular is the JJOS which is miles better than the Akai OS. So if you buy an MPC make sure it's one of those and not the 500 which doesn't have the option to install JJOS.

Also Maschine definitely has the best pads out of all those machines.