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vsavagellc « The Akai Mpc Killer! »
Published on 10/24/11 at 06:18Coming from an Mpc 3000 & 1000 production background, I found Maschine a breeze to use. The installation was very simple and straight forward as well as the documentation (manual).
Maschine interface is quite easy to get use to, if you've used an Mpc then maschine should be a breeze for your but if not the manual included explains everything in detail. I do wish Native Instruments would have included video tutorials as they would help those who are new groove maschines (pun intended). Now there are plenty of youtube videos out there but some people don't know how to navigate the net too well or and or are not able to stream videos online (ie some college students).
Aside from that small suggestion or gripe (whichever fits best) everything else was perfect. Not only are the functions laid out in a organized manor but the shift options and dual function commands are very easy to get the hang of.
Lastly, I loved the fact that everything could be controlled from the hardware interface: Sampling,chopping,truncating,browsing samples,transport functions etc.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
What's really cool is that Maschine software and Hardware interface both work flawlessly together. Whatever is being down via the hardware unit can be seen in software in real time and vice versa. In fact they work so well you don't ever have to look at the computer screen when working and that's the work flow an akai mpc user LOVES.
I've run Maschine on a few different setups and each runs the unit perfectly. Here are my setups.
Older Mac
Mac G4 1.5ghz,
2ghz Processor,
Delta 1010 Soundcard
Stock Ati Vid Card
Windows Machine
Delta 1010 Soundcard
Custom made 3ghz Quad Core
4gigs of Ram
5700 (ATI) Vid Card
Mobile Setup
Saffire 6 Usb Interface
Stock Vid Card
4ghz Ram
DualCore 2.2ghz Processor
I don't run into any issues using machine with either one of the setups listed above and I've had the original unit since 2008 when I was sound designing for it. With that said you should be fine using any computer made within the time from of
2008-20 – whatever.. Unless you are a really heavy plugin user.
OVERALL OPINION
What I like most about Maschine is it's SPEED! This is the fastest groove box I've ever used. The time it takes to sample,chop and lay your samples across the pads can take a quite a while on a mpc 3000. When the Mpc 1000 can out it was 5x times faster but maschine is nearly instant!
I do wish the build was a little more solid, not saying that it isn't but it's really light which makes feel as if it would shatter if I accidentally dropped it or, maybe I'm just use to lugging around heavier units .
Maschines sound quality is superb they even have an mpc 3000 and Sp 1200 emulator built into the sampler. My advice is process your sound through an older preamp. You get a really nice feel with them.
If I was a new producer looking to get my hands on a groove box Maschine would be my go to unit for 5 reasons
1. It's easy to use
2. Quality (Sound)
3. It's doesn't cost much
4. Can expand any setup
5. Kills any groove box on the market (even the mpc)
Maschine interface is quite easy to get use to, if you've used an Mpc then maschine should be a breeze for your but if not the manual included explains everything in detail. I do wish Native Instruments would have included video tutorials as they would help those who are new groove maschines (pun intended). Now there are plenty of youtube videos out there but some people don't know how to navigate the net too well or and or are not able to stream videos online (ie some college students).
Aside from that small suggestion or gripe (whichever fits best) everything else was perfect. Not only are the functions laid out in a organized manor but the shift options and dual function commands are very easy to get the hang of.
Lastly, I loved the fact that everything could be controlled from the hardware interface: Sampling,chopping,truncating,browsing samples,transport functions etc.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
What's really cool is that Maschine software and Hardware interface both work flawlessly together. Whatever is being down via the hardware unit can be seen in software in real time and vice versa. In fact they work so well you don't ever have to look at the computer screen when working and that's the work flow an akai mpc user LOVES.
I've run Maschine on a few different setups and each runs the unit perfectly. Here are my setups.
Older Mac
Mac G4 1.5ghz,
2ghz Processor,
Delta 1010 Soundcard
Stock Ati Vid Card
Windows Machine
Delta 1010 Soundcard
Custom made 3ghz Quad Core
4gigs of Ram
5700 (ATI) Vid Card
Mobile Setup
Saffire 6 Usb Interface
Stock Vid Card
4ghz Ram
DualCore 2.2ghz Processor
I don't run into any issues using machine with either one of the setups listed above and I've had the original unit since 2008 when I was sound designing for it. With that said you should be fine using any computer made within the time from of
2008-20 – whatever.. Unless you are a really heavy plugin user.
OVERALL OPINION
What I like most about Maschine is it's SPEED! This is the fastest groove box I've ever used. The time it takes to sample,chop and lay your samples across the pads can take a quite a while on a mpc 3000. When the Mpc 1000 can out it was 5x times faster but maschine is nearly instant!
I do wish the build was a little more solid, not saying that it isn't but it's really light which makes feel as if it would shatter if I accidentally dropped it or, maybe I'm just use to lugging around heavier units .
Maschines sound quality is superb they even have an mpc 3000 and Sp 1200 emulator built into the sampler. My advice is process your sound through an older preamp. You get a really nice feel with them.
If I was a new producer looking to get my hands on a groove box Maschine would be my go to unit for 5 reasons
1. It's easy to use
2. Quality (Sound)
3. It's doesn't cost much
4. Can expand any setup
5. Kills any groove box on the market (even the mpc)
