lol the only reason I was able to afford one was because of the trade-in program they were doing when it came out. I got my Push 1 used, and then upgraded for like $500... which is still not cheap, but I don't think I could have justified $800 in one go.

 

I use mine everyday!!! Love the fact than I can browse Patches, samples, use the step sequencer to build something pretty quick not looking at the screen at all, ( facebook, youtube etc etc ) Feels like having an MC 505 back when computers didn't do other than MIDI and a few audio tracks. workflow and inspiration is very personal and not everyone gets there the same way.

 

Explore using the SHIFT button in conjunction with other buttons. It opens up alternate functions that would normally require more button presses or mouse and keyboard navigation. Especially useful for live performance.

 

Mine was an impulse buy as the used price was good. In fact, I could probably resell tomorrow it at a profit, as it is still virtually brand new.

I play mostly live instruments, so I'm not sure what I actually need it for, but I could do with a bit of help when programming drums and percussion - it's a terrible job to do it with a mouse! I also read that people are using their Maschine's to control Geist, which I really like. And now that I've got it, I guess I will also explore sampling a bit more too.

Regarding Push, I'm not sure if Ableton have woken up NI or sent them on a wild goose chase! They seem to be talking to customers again, and have recently announced plans to introduce an extra layer for arranging. I think the software may even end up as all-in-one DAW type solution.

I suppose NI have to do something or Ableton will wipe them out. I just hope they don't kill the development for early the hardware, as they have some history on this.

https://www.native-instruments.com/...on-the-future-of-the-sequencer.308076/page-13

 

Last edited: Oct 2, 2016

LOL!!!! I swear Maschine is the biggest damn paper weight I ever bought!!! LOL!!

 

It's a steep learning curve, but my first impressions are that it will ultimately turn out to be useful. People are making entire albums based around these things, it just requires an entirely different mindset.

 

Last edited: Oct 2, 2016

Maschine DOES require a different mindset for sure, not necessarily a worse one.. I am one of those like you guys who never quite gelled with it. I tend to play more real instruments as well, and I DO like the way maschine could make me approach things differently, but it was more of an exercise then an eye opening shift of how I create music. The interface is a little clunky, doesn't time stretch (or didn't), lots of buried stuff (imho), .... I end up making simple beats in it and dragging over to my daw.... honestly, I thought the first Arturia Spark (shudder) was better for that kind of thing... I know people do amazing things with Maschine, and I am remiss in that I haven't given it enough time... maybe after typing this I will make myself... but with a daw like Ableton it just seemed I could do more quicker.... but this is just my quick .02...

 

Have you tried it with Geist?

(BTW timestretch came in Maschine 2.0)

 

Last edited: Oct 3, 2016

cool, didn't even notice time stretch..... will have to look into it (stupid me), and no haven't tried it with Geist, but will, .... are there mappings available for it? ( to tell the truth, I haven't even looked at Geist because I have so many drum options!)

 

The mappings can be found on the FXpansion website. I haven't tried it yet (my audio computer blew up!), but it's the reason why I got the Maschine, so that I could easily play (tap) in natural "humanised" rhythms and have more hands-on control. And the Maschine software is a bonus at the moment that may yet become the main event!?

Basically I've identified electronic rhythm as being my weak point for the new stuff I am exploring and I've taken action. I've also got an excellent live drummer, but sometimes it's not always what you need.

Anyway, it's still all a work-in-progress as I attempt to make the leap from owning a nicely priced used paperweight, and try to turn it into something useful

 

Last edited: Oct 4, 2016

What's your DAW? You were talking about the Push a bit, so I would assume it's Live, right?

There's a lot to be said for playing your own rhythms in, so I definitely wouldn't dissuade you from that. But do you use the groove pool? I swear I actively avoided it for two years and just started using it like a month ago. It's a ton of fun and convenience.

 

Old school Reaper

I like imperfection but machine is also a step-sequencer and a sampler, so lot's of things to explore from a traditionalists point of view.

I'll check it out

 

Last edited: Oct 4, 2016

I am clicking your link right now, but if you are talking about their "Kore" system, which they launched essentially twice, ... well I got burned on that one... I have/had BOTH a Kore 1 and Kore 2, and if you want to talk about paperweights.... and the time I spend getting patches compliant with it and whatnot, just to see them dump it and put the same kind of idea into the Maschine eco-system.... well it was bullshit, and perhaps that kinda trained me NOT to buy into the whole maschine thing... (well actually i DID BUY into it as I HAVE it ;( ).... but I wasn't going to rely on that anymore to be my "sound manager/browser" whatever... now I just use good old fashioned memory, Abletons or whatnots browser to save chains (which can be a problem having different places of work and not having all sounds at both, or rather the ableton links to them...)...

I think NI makes excellent products, and Kontakt 5 is the gold standard of samplers, and I like a LOT of their other stuff, and Maschine is a very solid piece of hardware with great feeling pads now etc... but I'm not a hip hop guy, not an EDM guy, I'm kinda all over the place, and that paradigm doesn't really work for me as much... in the same way I don't use session view as much in Ableton...I know it would be great for putting together ideas like i used to do in Studiovision, but I write songs generally, and think of things in that fashion, not loops, (not to say I don't use them).... so outside of pecking out some beats, maschine is not really a writing environment for "me"... can see how it would be for others...

I hope NI doesn't do a daw, because I can see that introducing all sorts of problems, starting with them kind of dropping some support for other DAW's, or at least keeping some of the "cherry" features only for themselves.... But in general, I have a few problems with NI in terms of their design, I really hate the new Native Access (why? it was cracked in 2 minutes and seems like a big pita, phones home, collects user data, nothing was broke that they "fixed" etc...)... but I use their products each and every day. Outside of my DAW and sound toys, they are the only other dev that I really really rely on to do what I do..