Push/MK2

[solipsys]

I wanted to hear some opinions from people who have gone from Maschine to Push or who have stayed with Maschine over push and why. I am still up in the air on which one to go for but from the reviews i've read i'm starting to lean more towards push. What're your thoughts?

[panten]

I was once Sitting on the fence.

*BEWARE* This kind of 'versus' debate always brings out the best AND worst in some people.

[33tetragammon]

Maschine's midi remote script is broken in Live 9.1, so it's basically useless unless you use it as a 'normal' midi controller. It's up to N.I. to fix the script.
I use both. I wouldn't want to be without either one of them. You mileage may vary though....

[Theo Void]

I own both a Maschine Mk2 and Push. I use Live for pretty much everything everything music related so Push helps out a lot. It makes a lot of tasks in Live so much more intuitive and fun. It's like the difference between playing and programming. Also, the 9.1 update makes it even better w/ note sequence and step automation. I really do love Push.

Maschine is great too! The workflow is un-beatable. And with the 2.0 update it has unlimited tracks, fx, drum synths, etc. I am completely in love w/ MAschine. I now do mostly all my drums w/ it. Also, the samples that come with MAschine and that are in the Sample packs are amazing!! Maschine =Perfect work-flow.

All that said I've been very unproductive lately. I think it's because I have too many tools that I feel like i HAVE to incorporate into everything. As much as I love Maschine I could NEVER abandon Live completely and use MAschine exclusively. The sequencer is not powerful enough. For hands free, drums, sampling, chopping, on the fly arranging, jamming, writing Maschine cannot be beat. But Live is just too powerful to leave behind.
I guess I could abandon Maschine if I had to. Push has no where near the hardware/software integration and mouse less workflow that MAschine has but it is definitely powerful in a lot of ways and makes Live much more playable and fun.

Maschine soft-ware is nowhere near as deep as Live and so can be completely controlled by a controller. The implementation is perfect though.

Live is far too complex to ever be controlled completely mouse-free. Push does a good job w/ the important stuff though.
MAschine is ridiculously fun to jam on and start out idea;s.

If you use Live a lot I'd say get Push. But you should definitely experience Maschine at some point.

Then again, you could buy a MAschine and spend $24.00 on Touchable 2 and call it a day.

[Buleriachk]

I tried Push, but eventually got Launchpad S/Launchpad95 and Maschine Mk2 instead. Maschine 2.0.2 is great, except for the broken Live 9.1 interface. However, I just received a message from NI t/s that they are working on the script and there will be a fix soon.....

The new Studio controller is really sexy, but expensive. NI was fantastic about making Maschine 2 backwards compatible with ALL controllers; so much so that I really, really do Not need Studio. I do NOT need Studio. I do NOT need Studio.. I do NOT ne....

Maschine's midi remote script is broken in Live 9.1, so it's basically useless unless you use it as a 'normal' midi controller. It's up to N.I. to fix the script.
I use both. I wouldn't want to be without either one of them. You mileage may vary though....

[panten]

Buleriachk for someone who seems to be clued up on their music theory I find it strange that you chose a controller with no pressure sensitivity over one that does.

It depends on the type of music you're playing of course, but I presumed you would be playing in real-time subtle melodies & harmonies. How do you go about achieving nuances in note velocities on the Launchpad? Manually?
I would not purchase an iPad app or a non velocity sensitive device as a replacement for Push. I own Touchable and it's brilliant (as companion to Push) but it's inKey mode is NOT the same as playing across a tactile surface.

To the original poster:
*disclaimer* before all the Maschine nobheads start battering me for saying anything detrimental about Maschine
There are pros and cons to choosing either controller.


Maschine
Pros

• Fully hands on workflow (but see below)
• Excellent sampling workflow from the hardware.
• Great integration with it's own Libraries.

Cons

• Fully hands on workflow? = limited arrangement capability.
• Limited Octaves when wishing to play melodies/harmonies etc.
• Will have to work destructively (i.e. baking your MIDI to Audio) when making the switch to a full DAW for further editing. Presuming you want to keep automation etc.
• Can't be modified in the same way Push can.

Push
Pros

• Works really well for sketching out ideas and variations to build a song.
• Is integrated into Live so your automation and MIDI notes are already in the clips.
• Is highly moddable, meaning missing features can be fixed with user scripts. Looking at Stray and the amazing PXT-Live.
• Access to several octaves for pad work is a joy to me. I always felt so hindered by 16 pads and haven't used my keyboard since getting Push.
• Touch Sensitive Encoders are a joy to use. Only recording Automation when you touch the encoder is a really nice touch.

Cons

• The Live API seems unfortunately hobbled and as a result there is a limit to what can be controlled through user scripts. Having said this there is still a LOT that you can control.
• There are currently a lot of inconsistencies and workflow holes on the software side. e.g. the Delete button can't delete loops in the Drum Rack, you can only delete ALL MIDI notes on a pad in the clip or the whole clip itself. & why can't we hold Duplicate to copy/paste a clip into any slot we want?
• Lack of sample chopping workflow from the controller is a bit of a missed trick imho.
• Lack of 64 Drum Rack pads or with default Push.
• Browsing could be SO much better on Push. Preview of samples should be automatic while scrolling through them.

This isn't meant to be a definitive list of features, they are just the ones that seem so glaring to me and are supposed to highlight the differences between the controllers.

[Buleriachk]

I use a keyboard for that.... If I need pressure sensitivity, 16 pads are enough, and the Maschine does that fine.

And I'm waiting for the next version of Launchpad....

Buleriachk for someone who seems to be clued up on their music theory I find it strange that you chose a controller with no pressure sensitivity over one that does.

[panten]

good luck with that

.. and with cramming all your incidentals in there.. must get quite claustrophobic.

[Buleriachk]

Well, it is true that with a few beers it is hard to tell my incidentals from my accidentals...

good luck with that

.. and with cramming all your incidentals in there.. must get quite claustrophobic.

[panten]

lawl, I should probably try to not multi-task on this forum while I'm at work. My accident corrected still stands

[Buleriachk]

Well, I really like the idea of a Push, but 8th Street Music has an 18% off special, and I ordered Studio for $834.25 full price. If I can sell my Mk2, maybe I'll get Push, but I think I'm going to have a desk space issue OTH, I can just use the MK2 as a Live Controller, when they get the template fixed (I'm going to be very interested to see what they do with the template on those LCD screens for Live - there are already guys working on using their own graphics in Studio....)

But I didn't need Studio at all, but those gorgeous LCD screens kept staring at me... and staring at me... and staring at me.... and finally my grandmother went, kicking and screaming.....

(I didn't save much money in Amsterdam, either....

lawl, I should probably try to not multi-task on this forum while I'm at work. My accident corrected still stands