Noisetheorem

I have decided to write this review in two parts: one now, detailing my first weekend with the product, and one later on when I have become more familiar with it and fully put it through its paces in detail.

Initially, when I heard about NI’s Maschine, I was very excited.  Here was the hardware/software integrated drum machine update to the MPC concept I had been waiting for.  Then I found out the details, specifically that it requires connection to the computer to run.  While the controller *looks* like one hell of a drum machine, it is actually just a controller with only a USB connection and a pair of MIDI sockets on the back.  I was bummed.  At the time, I was in the midst of a pure hardware kick and didn’t like the idea of being permanently tethered to a computer.  My interest went back to the MPC line and I eventually got a MPC2500.

Well, time passes, and I start getting really hardcore in to software again triggered by a rethinking of my studios basic ergonomics.   I started playing with the NI software that I had for a long time but hardly used, discovering it a new. Kontact, Massive, Absynth, FM8, and Battery all found new spaces in my heart and in my workflow. 

As I was playing with these apps, I noticed a gaping whole in the NI ecosystem. While it was nice that you had something like Battery to quickly layout a drum kit, I was completely dependent on a host sequencer to drive it. This works, mind you, but its not as lovely or elegant as working with FL Studio or my MPC to craft beats.  There is something about having a tailor made UI when it comes to working with beats.  This circled me back to Maschine, and after a big eBay sale..I pulled the trigger.  It arrived yesterday.

First Impressions

After unboxing the box containing Maschine (why companies feel the need to double the size of their package and waste so much cardboard and paper is beyond me) I was greeted by the very attractive controller pictured below:

NI did NOT cut corners on this thing.  It is no surprise that so many people thought this was a hardware MPC killer when they saw it.   When working the design, it is clear to me that their inspiration was the MPC line, and not the endless range of cheap plastic pad controllers that are currently flooding the market.  NI wanted to aim higher, and I think they hit a bull’s-eye.

Also contained in the box were manuals, the software (with Mac and PC DVDs included) a coupon for an NI sound library, and the registration code.

Installation

For some reason, the first time I tried to run the installer it failed on me.  I don’t know why, it just gave an error and said ‘finish’.  Running it a second time, the install proceeded perfectly.  Go figure – this is windows vista after all…(yes..vista….and I have no problems with it usually).

After installation, I ran the NI Service Center application to register the product.  The Service Center app has matured a bit over the years, and really does a great job of handling your NI registrations.  It definitely beats the days of having a separate registration system for each application and having to be careful which version of update xyz you ran.  This app handles it and handles it well…and without resorting to a hardware USB key (props to NI on that!).

After updating the driver to the most current version, plugged in the hardware box and dove in.

The Idiot Test

To be a proper idiot test, you require two things: a new piece of gear, and an idiot to play with it.  Having both in the room, I decided to jump right in and not bother with the manual.  I also wanted to really test the hardware integration, so I turned of my computer monitor while doing my initial test.  I wanted to see how far I could really go without the benefits of a computer display.

You know, it is a true shame that NI doesn’t build hardware UI’s.  Korg, Roland, Yamaha, Akai and all the others could really learn a thing or two from Maschine.  Its layout is simple to navigate, and I was able to get a beat going, completely unaided by the computer, within minutes.  Everything from selecting sounds to sampling audio (it uses the audio inputs you specify on your sound card) can be done from the box without ever needing to look at the computer.  I particularly liked the x0x style drum editing.  

The design of the box is very solid, as I stated before.  The buttons are all backlight to give you instant information on the status of what your working with.  The dual displays with their row of knobs underneath are perfect for navigation.  Really, I think this is the first hardware synth UI that I have actually fell in love with. 

Digging deeper

After about an hour of idiot testing (man was it getting late at this point) I decided to turn the monitor back on and see how operating it from there was.  Could it be they put all their efforts into the hardware box, and didn’t polish off the software as much as the could have?  Thankfully, the answer to that is a big NO. 

The software Is laid out very logically, with group and scene selection at top, a file browser at the left, and a big sequencing window in the center, taking up the majority of the applications real-estate.  One very nice thing is that you can actually maximize the application window to take full advantage of the entire computer screen.  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU NI!!!.  

Everything you can do on the hardware box you can do here, though honestly I do think the hardware box is easier for some things (sequencing).  One nice discovery I made is that each ‘pad’ sound is actually its own complete instrument track. In the software, you can switch that to a piano roll view and set pitches for pitched instruments.  This is really great, and something the MPC just cannot do given its architecture. 

So how does it sound?

Marvelous.  I only tested it with the provided library, which is very extensive. Finding sounds is easy either with the control surface or the software.  All the sounds have been categorized (bank, type, subtype), so you can drill down to what you want easily.  finding an 808 or 909 kick is just as simple as setting Drums-Kick-Analog  and scrolling through and auditioning your choices.

I haven’t had much time to get into trying to design my own sounds with it just yet.  So far my impression is that this is definitely no replacement for Battery or Kontact, but its a quite respectable voice structure none the less.  NI is pretty careful not to let one of their products overlap to greatly with any of their other ones, so this does no surprise me.  I do think it would be nice if there were a way to import your Battery and Kontact sets into Maschine for sequencing (maybe I missed it?). 

Preliminary Conclusions

If you like the concept of the MPC line, then you will love Maschine.  Its not as big and ambitious as FL studio, and its definitely more comprehensive than Guru.   Its not DAW, though you could probably squeeze whole productions out of it if you really tried. 

As much as I love Maschine, I cant leave without mentioning the one thing that is missing: Comprehensive MIDI output.  If I could drive my hardware from the Maschine Sequencer…I would be happier than pigs in shit, and my MPC would be on the way to a quick eBay auction.   According to the NI site, this is in Beta right now, so it may not be too long before Maschine is driving my entire rig..