The Maschine 4 (Speculative) Thread
Comments
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Maybe his should be a separate as sustainability and therefore durability are ‘hot’ topics these days. And yes, a company has to take that into account… or even better, act primarily form key corporate values that are related to this.
I think Ableton does more or less with its new Push 3 controller line, it’s designed to be upgraded and therefore hasn’t to be replaced. The new controllers also positioned above / in addition to version 2.
Same goes for Elektron, as the software-part of their devices makes them really stand-alone and doesn’t need to support all kind of eye-candy. It’s more or less like the old school hardware devices; yes they use software to operate, but without the need to integrate with an online activation system or an online hub to update / upgrade the software. Updates handled by a separate process, in their case with a separate piece of software. Same goes for syncing patches and sounds. Also audio over USB is handled class compliant or as separate channels via Overbridge software. All this extra features don’t render the hardware obsolete with an upgrade of macOS, Windows or the release of a new version of the hardware.
With Maschine (Plus) you’re very dependent of NI and their effort to support the hardware. It even relies on their servers to be up and running to (re)activate the hardware.
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Where can I read up on a company's fair trade statement, their ethical standards when it comes to resources and human labour used in components? When does hardware come with a statement of targeted or expected lifecycle times?
Don't be silly, everybody knows that only by focusing on profit and profit only can we save ourselves and the planet from extinction. 🤣
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I’ve had the same push 3 for 20 years , it’s had 4 new cases , 6 new pad membranes, 2 new motherboards , and 5 new batteries
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That is awesome!
Where did you have it repaired for maintenance? Or did you open it yourself?
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I don't see 64 pads likely for the same reason that none of the NI keyboards have drum pads on them: It would reduce the need to buy both.
That being said I think the charm of Maschine is exactly that it is a 16 pad groove box, even if I use Ableton Push way more than I use Maschine. I don't see any reason for NI to emulate Ableton, when I can just use Ableton instead. It's not like the version of Maschine is going to come with a DAW that would be serious competition to Ableton, Logic or FL Studio anyway.
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There is less of a need for 64 pads once you have MPE.
Also I would like to see NI take lessons from Ableton and make their hardware upgradable
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Am I missing something? I haven’t had to connect my M+ to the wifi since the last update unless I’m trying to use Ableton Link. Why are so many people complaining about dependence on NI servers?
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I think the worry comes in, in the future. If NI ceases to exist and you reset your device, it’ll be a brick. I’m sure a third party will step in well before then, tho.
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If NI ceased to exist, and you wanted to sell your M+, you would sell it as is. You wouldn't initiate an auto destruct sequence, so the fact it doesn't need the internet to function, or NI's servers, it's probably a moot point.
Also, I read somebody post that the M+ is less of a Maschine than a MK3. It isn't less of a Maschine than a MK3, it's a MK3, that can still do a load of great things when it's untethered and standalone in a nicer (imo) shell.
It's like a best of both worlds. I never connect mine to the computer, ever, but it's great that I can and have the MK3 experience too, if I want that. It's close to being my perfect groovebox workstation powerhouse.
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I agree with this. A month ago I was thinking about moving to another platform. After a small comparison I decided to stay with M+ exactly for the same reasons outlined in your response.
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Your first point isn’t correct: in case of a factory reset (sometimes due problems) you get a fresh start and need to register / activate the Maschine with your account, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcA86IA3VTY
For the rest I fully agree… except for the bugs, most of which occur when you would use the M+ with other gear and/or equipment.
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I've performed a reboot maybe 4 or 5 times when it's stalled loading a project, usually.
I've never needed to do a factory reset though.
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I'm enjoying this thread very much, so here are my speculations ...
Based on a few assumptions though:
- NI will use existing hardware components (like the new screen introduced for the Kontrol S series) over creating new components
- NI has no interest to launch new hardware that is resembling already existing hardware by another brand (like an MPC Key 61, but from NI instead of Akai)
- NI's approach to new hardware is to focus on the main use case of the hardware instead of making it a jack of all trades (like adding polyphonic aftertouch for the Kontrol S series but removing the dedicated Maschine buttons)
So what does that mean?
Point 1:
MK4 will not have a touch screen. If so, we would have seen this with Kontrol S already. This is also in line with point 2, as a Maschine including a touch screen would become something like an MPC One/Live. And NI has made it pretty clear in their comments here or on YouTube: If you prefer the feature set of any other hardware, or workflow: Go out and get that instead! No harm done.
But it will have the new Kontrol S screen, including the increased computation power that comes with it. This could strengthen some areas of the Maschine that it's not doing so great in right now: Sound design and mixing/mastering.
The new screen might be able to display the GUI that comes with any given (synth) plugin – or at least a slimmed down version of it – and make sound design easier that way. Maybe that's already baked into NKS2 and will be released later.
Same for maxing/mastering: You could have audio meters be visible directly on the Maschine. That would greatly increase the integration with their iZotope offerings.
Point 2:
We will not get an all-in-one-thingy like the MPC Key 61. We won't get 64 MPE pads like the Push 3 (we might get 16 though). We won't get more encoders, or faders, for a better DAW control like the Novation Launch Control XL. There will be no horizontal step sequencer like on the Arturia BeatStep Pro or Roland Verselab. We will get another Maschine with slightly better hardware features – but not completely new ones.
Point 3:
In my opinion, the focus of the Maschine hardware is immediacy. No menu diving. No need to take your eyes off of that thing to look at your computer screen. Everything is available clicking one or two buttons. Cranking out beats and ideas in minutes. Even when this comes with some tradeoffs. NI will not change that, and that's another reason why I don't expect any new hardware features – as they would complicate and compromise the workflow.
If I take those things together, here's what I think the Maschine MK4 will bring:
- the new look & feel of the Kontrol S MK3 – new buttons, ring LED for the 4D encoder, new logo ;-)
- the bigger screen
- plugin GUIs on that new screen, be it synthesizers or audio meters
- 16 MPE pads (having doubts on that though, because that seems a little "Pushy")
That's it for the hardware side. No speculations on software for now ... ;-)
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If you are concerned about your Maschine+ bricking, get busy making music before NI closes their servers, so that by the time that actually happens, you will have already made your best music on it.
Alternatively, you could just complain online and keep on buying stuff you'll never use anyways 😎
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What do you mean by a reboot… turn it off and on again? Because yeah, than it’s still you as the same user with the same installation.
But, as it’s basically a computer it’s sometimes helpful or even required to have a fresh start. In that case (even NI support) suggests a full reset.
And, then again, this isn’t my biggest concern… but it shouldn’t be that way. Especially when a device receives such little attention from the company.
If they consider it EOL then at least fix the biggest bugs, require login only for downloading libraries (and their updates), let the users make their own clone / backup of the device for later restore, and shake hands and say goodbye.
Because just like you I consider it a great and valuable standalone sampling workstation.
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