maschine vs. mpd32

[monstrz]

so i'm looking into buying my first drum pad/sampler controller and i can't decide whether or not it's worth going for a maschine over an mpd32. i know that they aren't really the same thing since maschine is a hardware/software bundle and all. i would be using maschine pretty much solely as a controller for ableton, and keeping that in mind, would it still be a better choice than an mpd32?
cheers!

[Ben_Binary]

I was also looking at Maswchine v Padkontrol & drum racks in ableton...

The workflow in maschine looks like the good part.

So

1. Maschine sample browsing >>> Abletons Chain selector to scroll through samples in racks

BUT ableton might not handle loading lots of samples > doesnt appear to handle this load on the cpu well
despite quadcore & 8gb Ram. And I dont know how to remove unused samples from these ableton kits easily
so sets get really sluggish quickly.



2. Maschine has easily accessible functions on (shift) pads like quantize 50% or undo redo.
Maybe map keyboard strokes to ableton functions ? need Bomes or sumfin...

Looks like Maschine has what functionality Ableton promises but does not support.
>>> like the APC40 templates that Hanz makes or S4Racen.
Ableton could respond to Maschine in a very comprehensive way but they appear to have overlooked that
part of their business model or maybe they are pushing Max4Live to their and our detriment?

Examples of a devices usage is important ... like good presets on a synth/vst.

[Rationalizer]

i would be using maschine pretty much solely as a controller for ableton, and keeping that in mind, would it still be a better choice than an mpd32?
cheers!

I don't understand why you want to do that. But if that really is the case, then I think you should definitely go for the MPD. To use Maschine only for controlling Live devices is like using Virus Ti only as an audio interface.

[Slightlydelic]

I was also looking at Maswchine v Padkontrol & drum racks in ableton...

The workflow in maschine looks like the good part.

So

1. Maschine sample browsing >>> Abletons Chain selector to scroll through samples in racks

BUT ableton might not handle loading lots of samples > doesnt appear to handle this load on the cpu well
despite quadcore & 8gb Ram. And I dont know how to remove unused samples from these ableton kits easily
so sets get really sluggish quickly.



2. Maschine has easily accessible functions on (shift) pads like quantize 50% or undo redo.
Maybe map keyboard strokes to ableton functions ? need Bomes or sumfin...

Looks like Maschine has what functionality Ableton promises but does not support.
>>> like the APC40 templates that Hanz makes or S4Racen.
Ableton could respond to Maschine in a very comprehensive way but they appear to have overlooked that
part of their business model or maybe they are pushing Max4Live to their and our detriment?

Examples of a devices usage is important ... like good presets on a synth/vst.

are you using simpler or sampler? ive realy struggled with memory issues when using simplers. sampler makes all the difference

[Ben_Binary]

Thanks for the advice but yeah sampler.

I ? Sampler

I bet/hope that sampler is one of the things that gets new features in L9
and makes me wanna upgrade when L8 makes me swear I wont LOL

[squelcht]

There is simply no comparison. Read the Maschine love threads - Watch the videos - See the charm. Maschine totally dick slaps MPD's & (IMO) MPC's in the face. AKAI knows whats up - Soon they'll release some super large clunky hardware/software hybrid Maschine ripoff & the only thing that will be left in their bank accounts will be fail. True story this - Just wait.

[Spectrumdisco]

Get Maschine, I have just brought one and it has transformed how I make music and I have not even got into what it will do when I DJ

[djlimbs]

Maschine all the way if budget ain't a thing. even solely as an Ableton Controller in my opinion. (i use it 90% of the time just for Ableton and still feel i'm getting my money's worth)

the pad/knob + LED pages alone make it much more powerful and customizable than the MPD32. plus I found a way to turn the top 8 buttons into a 1x8 rectangle a la launchpad/apc (with the ability to move the rectangle, so it's all assignable via control surface programming, not manual midi mapping.) you might be able to do this with an MPD, but u're still more limited with the number of button banks, and there's no visual feedback like what u can get on Maschine. So one page of buttons launches clips, a shift + the same button stops them (Bome's is needed for this), another page arms them, another can solo/mute if i wanted, and there are still more pages available to customize (send CCs in step increments...) one page of knobs is volume for the 8 rectangled tracks, another for macros, etc.

you can get deep with customization for almost all of Maschine's pads/buttons + Controller Editor. Throw in Bome's and it gets nuts.

the sample library is killer. the Maschine software is a joy to use too (tho Sampler still one ups its ability to layer and do complex LFO/modulation effects to samples). the Maschine 1.6 update will include VST support (and I'm hoping for layering/previewing improvements).

if Ableton drops a Drum Racks/Sampler specific midi controller with similar LED feedback and a way to control clips, then i'd look into replacing Maschine with it. but that seems way too niche to be released.

[monstrz]

thank you all for such quick feedback! i can afford maschine, so that's what i'll go for.

[keppy]

Yeah, man. I'd say it's a good investment. Even if you are only using it to control ableton for a while. That's what i did, just used it to sequence drum racks, and synths. Now i am finally starting to take advantage of what is really unique about it. So there will always be room to grow into it. It does so much that you can always add it's features into your workflow.

[Inofaith]

So what about somebody who doesn't want to make hiphop/beats and doesn't like pre-sets or huge sample libraries but rather conceptualising a song and sounds first and then making (sound designing/arranging) that.
I get the impression Maschine is about browsing pre-set libraries very quickly and intuitively, this true?

I've been checking out the NI Maschine website to see why this product should be so awesome.
But I notice all the producers on the testimonials are hip-hop guys with an MPC background...

Convince me otherwise.

[o0o]

you will get a different impression if you look at the maschine videos
that are about using maschine and not about rap music artist. there are
over 20 of them and they are concise. Look in the tutorial section of the
ni site instead of the featured artist section.

[aizo]

Ima tell you a funny story about how Maschine has ruined making drums for me.

It's so goddamn simple to make drums with Maschine that it makes me sad. I knock it out in no time and then I'm like.....well damn. That cool as work flow is over. The shit is just like boom and it's over. It's almost too affective!

Das a my story.

[squelcht]

^