malutki wrote:delicioso wrote:The supplied Mackie Control template does this
and you can toggle between these modes on the fly, while Machine-Soft is running and playing your beats, of course?
yes, and yes and otherwise it is simply possible to label any knob / button page via the screens, so you flick through the pages and you don't need to remember anything or use tape labels, because you can name all the 8 knobs and buttons (the section that has sublayers) plus the pages can have names to, like fx or tempo or volume, rec or whatever you assigned to it
and the 8 sublayers for the pads are also easy to remember i found, because the are all instantly accessible via the 8 blue illuminated buttons, so it's a 'direct' and ultra fast access to layers, i use mainly for things like scales for playing drum racks and instruments and once you flick through them they can have names as well in the right screen, like drum rack or scale A or clip trigger page or whatever you want to name them, so you always know and an instance what is triggering / assigned to what, even after month of non use... you don't need to remember anything.
those 8 blue buttons can be also if you don't use many or any sublayer on the pages (like in my traktor template case, only one used layer) be used as midi buttons sending anything a pad can send, CC, notes, MCU, etc... in my traktor template case those 8 buttons are for the 3rd deck...
for ableton however i use sub pages, different note scales (for instruments), clip trigger pages and a drum rack trigger...
logic is similar, i altered the MCU template and added note scales and an ultrabeat trigger page. (and there the MCU mode gives automatic feedback to whatever i have named in logic)
gawd damn i love this thing.
and i think except you need a lot, lot of clip triggers on one page without sublayers and strong visual feedback in ableton (the red frame) it makes a great controller for ableton as well, in my case it suits perfect, i need less clip launch buttons (usually two layers of each 16 is more then enough for me), i need rather volume, send, general transport and note scales, drum rack triggers, stuff like that and for this maschine makes a perfect ableton controller.
but that depends on each individual need and workflow.
one thing is for sure, any other controller be it NanoKontrol, a pad, apc20/40, launchpad or whatever else is by far not so flexible and can do so much at once for so many different applications and plugs... not even a lemur as it does not have velocity pads.
the others however are more specialised and might be stronger for a certain single need.
that everyone has to figure out himself.
), 