Maschine users - tell me about your workflow?

[Damon_Chambers]

i run it in standalone then drag and drop into live. i freaking love the drag and drop method. i think my fav part is it is not integrated.

[delicioso]

i run it in standalone then drag and drop into live. i freaking love the drag and drop method. i think my fav part is it is not integrated.

Yup, Maschine in standalone and drag and drop to DAW of choice is definitely the way to go. While most people know that you can drag and drop each group/sound directly from Maschine into DAW as you go, not as many seem to know that once you're done with your arrangement in Maschine, you can just export and your entire song will be separated into individual wavs in Maschine's Recordings folder, ready to be dragged into a linear sequencer for mixdown.

[skatr2]

So generally what I am getting from this thread is that live and maschine don't work well together when the track is armed. Essentially the best way to work them is to use Maschine native software, and drag in the final samples. While I am sure this works well for some, it seems to me more of an extra step that shouldn't exist.

My question is: Does the Maschine step sequencer work in lieu of the Maschine native software? If I want to load Absynth 5 to midi track 1 in ableton, and use Maschine to control it, can I utilize the step sequence function within maschine's hardware interface? Will it record into ableton on the fly as I add notes, or am I misconceiving what exactly Maschine does overall? I would hope this is a future possibility, but since NI made its own software, I imagine Ableton compatibility isn't on their personal priorities.

Thanks for any info. I'm interested in this product, but the local guitar center is less than versed on the maschine and would hate to have spent so much on ableton just to have most of the leg work go into a different program due to a controller tether.

[Klinikal]

Does the Maschine step sequencer work in lieu of the Maschine native software? If I want to load Absynth 5 to midi track 1 in ableton, and use Maschine to control it, can I utilize the step sequence function within maschine's hardware interface?

Yes You can. In Maschine choose instrument: MIDI Out. Then in Live make proper routings to recive MIDI from Maschine.
If You utilise clip automation to start and stop reciving MIDI info from Maschine (ie. by using Note Lenght effect) then there are two cool things: Step sequencer from Maschine and start and stop sequences from Live clips - BOMB setup!

This is the way i use it.

[skatr2]

excellent. Will be picking mine up used for 350 today I hope. So looking forward to playing around with the setup.

[Rationalizer]

excellent. Will be picking mine up used for 350 today I hope. So looking forward to playing around with the setup.

Make sure that it isn't an EDU version. It cannot be resold. There's a lot of angry customers on NI's forum complaining about it (even though it isn't NI's concern).

[beats me]

excellent. Will be picking mine up used for 350 today I hope. So looking forward to playing around with the setup.

Make sure that it isn't an EDU version. It cannot be resold. There's a lot of angry customers on NI's forum complaining about it (even though it isn't NI's concern).

Not being able to resell EDU versions isn't some closely guarded secret and isn't unique to NI. There really isn't a reason to be upset about it. Verifying somebody is actually a student is near nonexistent, especially when buying software online from a third party. I’m willing to bet a lot of people who buy EDU versions of software aren’t even students. And it should be a huge clue when you buy something new and it’s a 3rd off or more of the regular price.

I’m not scolding you. I just think it’s ridiculous that people don’t know this by now or act stupid about it.

[Rationalizer]

@beats me You're absolutely right.

I was referring to the fact that there's a bunch of people on NI's forums who have bought Maschine on Ebay or similar and didn't know that it was EDU. So I was merely suggesting that skatr2 may want to make sure that it's a legit version he's buying.

[delicioso]

So generally what I am getting from this thread is that live and maschine don't work well together when the track is armed.

Not at all. Not sure where you got that idea.

[beats me]

@beats me You're absolutely right.

I was referring to the fact that there's a bunch of people on NI's forums who have bought Maschine on Ebay or similar and didn't know that it was EDU. So I was merely suggesting that skatr2 may want to make sure that it's a legit version he's buying.

For sure, but that's also why I'm saying people should be suspicious of any current software sold substantially under the current going price.

[skatr2]

Its definitely not an education version. The local economy for maschines isnt great (esp on craigslist)...so ya can get some online for cheaper used. Just waiting on the license transfer on NI's side.

[skatr2]

Ugh NI said it could be up to 3 days for the transfer. Anyhoo...just to verify while I wait, an unregistered maschine unit generally can't do anything until it registers...correct? I have it plugged into ableton and its recognized, but nothing lights up except the backlit screen which just says Maschine on it. Can anyone verify this?

[Rationalizer]

Ugh NI said it could be up to 3 days for the transfer. Anyhoo...just to verify while I wait, an unregistered maschine unit generally can't do anything until it registers...correct? I have it plugged into ableton and its recognized, but nothing lights up except the backlit screen which just says Maschine on it. Can anyone verify this?

You can use it as a midi controller with drum racks. Just push shift + control on maschine controller. Oh, and read the manual.

[djadonis206]

I'm slowly developing a workflow.

All sequencing is done in maschine despite it's sequencing limitations

I route individual maschine channels into Live for sidechain compression and additional FX

Where live specifically comes into play is auditioning tempo sync'd drum and disco loops. If I like, I record the loop into maschine from Live, chop it up, rearrange and play

The biggest challenge for me right now is remembering I have to press play in Live, not maschine

[modeless]

I generally start with jamming on maschine in stand alone. i don't mess too much with any sound design, just building a kit and making a lot of drum patterns and sometimes some synth work. I like to do this without having to sit infront of a computer. Usually on the couch or armchair with a nice long usb cord.

After i have a general idea for a track I use the same file as a vst in ableton and drag and drop my patterns into a midi channel that sending midi to my instance(s) of maschine. I route audio from within maschine to seperate audio channels in ableton so I can isolate and work on the different samples (compression and other effects).

I'm debating on just rebuilding everything into a drum kit in ableton leaving maschine completely. I find having to look at the midi notes in abletin with maschine as a vst (with notes instead of sample labels) sort of difficult to work with when i need to go in and edit patterns. I'm thinking this would also give me way more flexibility in the end with using techniques like in the DrumPulse rack (put out by dubspot)