Ableton Forum

I am truly confused.

Why does every thread about one of these two pieces seem to have a comment about how one MUST be better than the other?

As far as I see it, they aren't even competition. Two different pieces with two entirely different purposes. So HOW can one be better than the other?

I have had hands on with both (full disclosure: APC40 at only at NAMM and Maschine at Guitar Center - I am not expert) and from my hands on experience and research I believe these are two devices designed for two different things. The only two similarities in my mind are: step sequencing and lighted pads.

SO. I ask. Where's the beef, how come these two entirely different beasts seem to constantly spawn "better than" or "can't do" comments? It's apples and oranges. It's guitars and microphones. It's...I ran out of comparisons but you get my point.

it's mpcs and maschines

i dunno about everybody else but since John Gordon has one I'm looking further into checking out maschine
I'm a feng-shoi psycho and it pains me everytime I have to take my mpc-500 off my desk and put it in my bag or go from the bag back to the desk, been using it as a controller, i might pick up maschine even before it reaches the $200 mark if the universe is so inclined but first Maschine must prove that it can make beats underwater while nazis in bow-ties fall victom to my nuclear blowdarts and die a dark painful death of agony and dispair.

Glitchrock how extensive is the audio editing on maschine, do you still need a sep editor?

Two observations regarding this...

• NI hardware seems to get that kinda heat in general. I didn't follow very closely but Kore seemed to get trashed pretty heavily then some people warmed up to it later.

• I think it got kinda weird when the videos got posted showing Maschine being able to fire off clips and scenes etc, thereby being compared to the APC. So maybe it bummed people out to see SOME of the functionality of APC getting to market before the APC actually hit?

Probably just stating the obvious though...

starving student wrote:Glitchrock how extensive is the audio editing on maschine, do you still need a sep editor?

You can do your basic cutting/trimming etc. in maschine. I don't think you'd need an external editor. You can resample directly in maschine too.

glitchrock-buddha wrote:

starving student wrote:Glitchrock how extensive is the audio editing on maschine, do you still need a sep editor?

You can do your basic cutting/trimming etc. in maschine. I don't think you'd need an external editor. You can resample directly in maschine too.

thats about all i'd need too, is it possible to choose between destructive editing and non-destructive, if not hopefully it's all destructive?

Bump for beef

I own both and I use the APC40 to do live scenes and I use the Maschine to play samples live and create beats and beat patterns live on stage. Both are amazing, both light up for easy access to stage performance and etc. I love APC cause of the knobs and mixers, I love maschine because its got the best pads i've touched, they are velocity sensetive and its got the 1/8 1/16 1/32 1/64 etc step repeat so I can do snare fills with velocity sensetive pads as well as changes patterns on the fly and keep it all in sync with APC40 and ableton.

you can't make hip hop without an apc


or wait do I mean mpc?

I guess I mean:

you can't make boring electronic music without an apc.

(ahem....youtubers...do something besides launch scenes...you got the power!)

I suppose when people stop awe-ing over the LEDS they might do something interesting with the apc40, but I haven't seen it yet
(thats an invitation to post your fav. apc vids...)

the only beef between the two is the imaginary one brought up by people who obviously see nothing except light up pads and don't bother researching equipment.. it's like saying mpc vs apc..

nuxnamon wrote:the only beef between the two is the imaginary one brought up by people who obviously see nothing except light up pads and don't bother researching equipment.. it's like saying mpc vs apc..

That's not true. Like someone already mentioned, Maschine was the first to be on the market with the clip matrix launcher navigation thingamajig with lighted pads for visual feedback to control Live's session view, even though the APC40 was the first to announce it. Add to that the fact that Maschine is also a midi controller with two LCD displays with the ability to control Live and native Live devices via custom templates. So given all that, I think it's more than reasonable that people were comparing the two devices.

And that's without even mentioning all the things unique to Maschine: an alternative to Live's session view that actually allows recording automation (that can work inside Live's session view), being able to work just like hardware with the laptop closed, hardware step sequencer with velocity sensitive pads...etc.

I was intrigued by APC40 for sure when it was the only multi-color button matrix controller for Live in town but I never had the space for it and I like my controllers bus-powered. And now that Launchpad has been announced, it will be a perfect companion to Maschine.

Actually, all these devices are lacking some fundamental functionality: velocity. I have an Axiom 25. It only has 8 pads which don't light up but at least I can put accents on the notes as I am recording.

maschine has velocity

Be concerned about Native Instruments packing up shop. Very concerned about the stability of the company.

Cheers,

-ix