Asus ROG Ally + Maschine MK3 = Ultimate standalone combo?

stepansonsky

Hey folks!

I'm super excited about this device, paradoxically not for gaming, but as a portable companion for Maschine MK3. It runs W11 and thanks to AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme + 16GB RAM, it has plenty of power to run even hungry VSTs.

https://rog.asus.com/gaming-handhelds/rog-ally/rog-ally-2023/

I wonder if anyone else had the same idea and already tried this combo. Let's discuss and share experiences, what is working, what doesn't, how stable this setup is for live performance, etc.

D-One

It's certainly interesting, would love to see how it all works too.

Sounds very risky to buy it if your primary goal is music production, a Surface Pro might be a more reasonable choice. Not sure if a GUI not designed for touch is a good idea on a 7" inch screen either.

If no one replies here try asking on the /r/ROGAlly/ if anyone there owns Maschine and could test.

stepansonsky

I would say not primary goal, but having some basic set of VSTs and expansions in such a small, portable device is damn cool.

I don't mind small touch screen, I like to interact only with Maschine HW, so it's absolutely ok. Surface Pro with similar specs (i5 + 16GB RAM + 512 GB SSD) is unfortunately around double price. Anyway, the best would be, if NI ports the full Maschine to iPadOS, but it's utopia.

LostInFoundation

I thought about this device for my music softwares too. But then I decided that my Surface was more than enough, that it gives me more the feeling of being just the extended screen (and a bigger one) for my mk3 and even that probably being a (yes bigger) but flatter device probably the portability is even better than this smaller but bulkier device (and with controls on the side that makes it a little awkward for being an extension of the mk3)

So, as D-One said, I would think again about it only if gaming is the main focus with the plus of running Maschine on it (or even better Studio One and Bitwig that are designed for touchscreens)

And for 799€ you can buy a Surface that is more than capable for music making

Kubrak

Surface Pro with similar specs (i5 + 16GB RAM + 512 GB SSD) is unfortunately around double price. 

I do not know how much ROG Ally is, but I bought Surface 7 Pro (i5, 16GB, 256 GB) including keyboard and pen for about 500 EUR secondhand. It was almost unused...

7+ is even better as it has newer CPU model, but still normal one - no big.little. And it is last Surface model that is passively cooled. And it has changeable SDD.

the_wiki

I do question the value of the portability. Maschine is already a big device. It's heavier and has a bigger footprint than many laptops. It's not like you are going to be able to work from a waist bag if you get an Ally. You'll still need the backpack or messenger bag. Might as well get a "real" computer to go in there with it.

Also battery life is going to be a real issue on the Ally (under 2 hours by some reports). By the time you pack a USB power bank, you'll be back to full laptop weight.

I do think it would work as long you truly do not need any screen real estate (barely bigger than a nice phone screen). More than enough processing power.

stepansonsky

Valid arguments for Surface Pro, I agree that it would be better alternative for most people, but I already own the iPad, so I wouldn't utilise another tablet, that's why Ally attracts me more. Anyway, I will wait few weeks/months while Asus catch initial bugs and then see, if anyone try Maschine + Ally together meanwhile.

spock

According to this tweet, Machine works well with Rog Ally.

https://twitter.com/Asus_ROG_Ally/status/1661679009820704771

stepansonsky

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/79128#Comment_79128

Nice finding, it seems promising, looking forward to more experiences and performance tests. :)

LostInFoundation

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/79128#Comment_79128

I must admit that seeing it running on the device looks quite nice ☺️

D-One

👀 Ooohh nice. It looks "wrong" but also so fun at the same time.

CPU usage seems to be roughly half of the Maschine Plus.

I have to give props to whoever runs that Twitter account, running all sorts of tests and answering questions.

Murat Kayi

But does the Surface Pro feature more than one USB input by now? I like to have one USB reserved for plugging in my audio interface directly and then you need another one for the Maschine/s which means actually a USB hub.

I have only ever seen SPs with just one USB port.

P.S.: yes, I prefer my audio interface over Maschine's

Kubrak

Surface 6 Pro has just one USB port, Surface 7/7+ Pro two (USB-C and that older rectangular). Concerning newer models I am not sure, I guess they also have two USBs....

Concerning 7+ Pro.... models having LTE do not have slot for microSDHC memory card, it is either LTE or memory card slot.

SongOfFire

I can confirm that the ROG Ally works AMAZINGLY well with Native Intruments Maschine MK3. I am blown away at the performance (latency less than 8ms), portablity (works great on battery for ~90-120 mins), and realiability (no issues for me in over a month of use). Word of warning though, dont try to store/load large libraries on the SD card, even with the fastest speed microSD card, some libraries (Heavyocity Ascend) take over a fill minute to load, but load in 10 seconds or less on an external SSD.

tetsuneko

I wouldn't want to edit automation on that thing though 😹