Re: Maschine vs. MPC Studio
Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 9:48 pm
3dot have you ever owned an MPC?
yes (well sort of) a MPC1000 when they came out...v00d00ppl wrote:3dot have you ever owned an MPC?
yeah.. NI is better known as a software developer...humnumb wrote: There are many other differences (Maschine is very stable while Ren/Studio is apparently a bug/crash fest even after the new 1.3.1 update which only introduced more bugs) of course but I'd say that's a pretty major one.
The new MPC version 1.3 software is anything but rock solid. A quick glance at the MPC forums reveals that there is an ongoing 16 page thread called 'MPC Renaissance and MPC Studio v1.3 & 1.31 Bug Reports' that reveals countless bugs that still haven't been fixed. Here's a few recent gems from that thread:JaysonJoyce wrote:The new MPC version 1.3 software has been rock solid. It used to crash every 15 minutes because of the way plugins used memory but now each plugin is buffered separately.
es-k wrote:i know this been mentioned, but juuuust incase it isnt a priority - i've lost 3 beats in the past two days from pressing the undo button while a beat is playing or pressing control + z on keyboard
pspsounds wrote:In Program Mix when I select an effect in a bank greater than A the mixer jumps back to bank A.
krissserz wrote:Problem: Seq Edit / Effects button on hardware suddenly stopped working.
labcoats wrote:The workaround is to limit ourselves and basically dont use Next Seq unless the entire track has been written using one sequence and every single angle, potential variation you may want later (during song arrangements) is covered in that one sequence. . Even then the problem is still there. That's not a workaround. The issue has to be brought to the attention Akai.
No, they really aren't. There is a reason why there is a 9 page thread in the MPC forums called 'The mixer on the Ren sucks' where Ren users are complaining that the mixer should work like it does on Maschine:JaysonJoyce wrote:#1) The mixer features are much more powerful on the MPC.
DJ Hellfire wrote:I have complained about this several times. It's a terrible design. The problem is any time you put a plugin on an actual pad, that pad is forced to route out a submix. Akai says it's impossible to route out of the track mixer when using a pad insert. Only way to "fix" it is to remove your pad insert, turn off the insert, and reroute it to the track mixer and use track inserts instead! But now you have to deal with duplicate inserts when you copy sequences.
DJ Hellfire wrote:And it is easier to get an accurate mix in Maschine than the Ren because of the gain structure. It may be quicker to move volumes and pans around in the Ren, but getting an accurate gain is almost impossible without know where your unity is. It's possible in the Ren, but you'd have to rely on one of your 3rd party plugins to show you proper mixer metering, like a limiter, or compressor, or even an EQ. Nothing you just said changes the fact that inserting plugins on pads bypasses Ren's track metering!
Also, the headroom issue. Maschine gives you +10dB of gain headroom to push levels. Ren gives you 0! With that headroom, you can easily push up lower volume sounds instead of having to lower the volume on every other track. And Ren doesn't allow you to group and move all faders at once like actual DAW's do. Neither does Maschine, but it at least has the extra headroom to help avoid having to do this!
You can finish a complete mastered song in Maschine.JaysonJoyce wrote:You could pretty much finish a complete mastered song in the MPC
Wrong. you don't need to use it as a plugin to do that.JaysonJoyce wrote:in Maschine you need to use it as a plugin to really get a good idea of your final sound/mix.
lol Something that needs "more finishing" is the MPC software.JaysonJoyce wrote:As many have said before, Maschine needs more finishing features.
Wrong. Maschine is very different from any other NI software. It's the farthest thing from "a lot of complexity" by design. It's all about ease and simplicity of use and intuitiveness.JaysonJoyce wrote:#2) Maschine, like most NI Software, adds a lot of complexity with updates and software.
The new RGB colors on the hardware is only relevant to the MKII models. You don't have to use the color feature on the software.JaysonJoyce wrote:Things like colored cells are nice for marketing but in actual workflow, I only need the green, red & yellow colors of the MPC. For example-in the marketing NI shows different colored Kicks, Snares, etc in a loop and you can see all of them at one time on the Maschine. In the real world, musicians/producers would use 1 track for each so you have more control of the sounds and then use busses/grouping to mix the loop. I am only looking at the colors for velocity or available pads or something basic and I don't need the rainbow to do that.
Just because you haven't come across the many existing bugs doesn't mean they not there. Refer to the info provided above.JaysonJoyce wrote:I don't know what bugs one of the posters mentioned but I haven't seen one bug in 1.3
You have to realize that Akai is new to the software game. They don't exactly have a track record of providing software updates. They've been forced to release mostly bug fixes. The number of the software does not reflect the quality, useability, or stability of the software.JaysonJoyce wrote:and Akai updates the MPC software faster than NI does. At this rate they will get to 2.0 quick than NI will.
I completely agree but that's just stating the obvious.JaysonJoyce wrote:My advice is to really try and find something that matches your individual workflow.
JaysonJoyce wrote:If everyone says the software is bad like MPC Version 1 then its probably true but when everyone says 1.3 is better then its probably true as well
I will just say that I was just offering corrections backed up with supporting evidence and explanations to all the false assumptions and misinformation found in your post. It had nothing to do with making a list of things I personally don't like about Ren/Studio.JaysonJoyce wrote:I will just say that I could make a list of 50 things on maschine that personally don't like and it wouldn't take me long.
JaysonJoyce wrote:The new MPC version 1.3 software has been rock solid.
JaysonJoyce wrote:For the way I work, the MPC is at least 2 to 3x faster to get ideas down that are usable.
JaysonJoyce wrote:Things like colored cells are nice for marketing but in actual workflow, I only need the green, red & yellow colors of the MPC.
"false assumptions and misinformation":JaysonJoyce wrote:I am only looking at the colors for velocity or available pads or something basic and I don't need the rainbow to do that.
^ Falsely implying that you can't do that in Maschine.JaysonJoyce wrote:You could pretty much finish a complete mastered song in the MPC
"downright misleading and unfounded claims about MPC Studio vs. Maschine without anything to back them up":JaysonJoyce wrote:Maschine, like most NI Software, adds a lot of complexity with updates and software.
JaysonJoyce wrote:The mixer features are much more powerful on the MPC.
"pitiful attempt to rationalize the shortcomings of the still buggy MPC software and make it seem superior to Maschine just because you personally like using it":JaysonJoyce wrote:in Maschine you need to use it as a plugin to really get a good idea of your final sound/mix.
JaysonJoyce wrote:I don't know what bugs one of the posters mentioned but I haven't seen one bug in 1.3 and Akai updates the MPC software faster than NI does. At this rate they will get to 2.0 quick than NI will.
Corrections made to the misinformation found in above posts backed up with supporting evidence/explanations: viewtopic.php?p=1502689#p1502689JaysonJoyce wrote:If everyone says the software is bad like MPC Version 1 then its probably true but when everyone says 1.3 is better then its probably true as well