Sequencer/Pattern Editor improvements

Murat Kayi

@jolly Dodger aww man, that is messed up, sorry. But internal MIDI routing in Maschine needs some care anyway, so I am totally for it. I just hoped your problem might be solvable already

good to ask man, problem is when no one asks questions.

tempsperdu

Firstly, I'd like to second all of D-One's excellent suggestions.

I can't talk about the Piano Roll or sequencer without talking about the overall layout of Maschine which needs dragging out of the nineties. I keep saying this, but you really need to look at how the various CGI programmes handle their GUI's, as they are probably far more relevant to Maschine's potential interface solutions than you might imagine.

To have all the windows to be modal so you can arrange them as you like at appropriate sizes for whatever you are doing could be very helpful. Use mouse functions / scroll wheel to zoom in and out and click scroll wheel click to grab and move focus frame up /down/left /right.

For me, the change of interface colours to as dark as they are makes for very poor readability and would like the difference to not be as pronounced and any writing to be adjusted contrast wise to improve readability.

Hard to know if additional functionality to the sequencer is planned. At the moment, it's remarkably basic. At the very least, please can we have mutes.

Enabling midi in would enable users to use third party sequencers without having to use Meta Plugin / Patchwork or equivalents.

Fixing the long-standing bug that stops you grabbing the right-hand side of an event properly if it's next to another event wouldn't go amiss.

At the moment, you have to select a scene to create a new pattern, as otherwise the default is to create a clip.

Being able to set default behaviour to a pattern would be very helpful, as the extra clicking over what used to be, slows one down. In fact, given that you can convert a pattern into a clip but can't convert a clip into a pattern, it makes far more sense in some ways to have the default as a pattern.

Please can we have the option for legacy behaviour with duplication, and it's alternative to be worked on as something that not only works with itself but satisfies those calling for changes. The amount this has slowed Maschine down for those that used the legacy behaviour cannot be overstated.

The ability to have user constructed chord libraries has been requested for years, and it's amazing this hasn't found its way on to any road map, although I don't believe any road map as ever found a way to achieve existence...........................

Can we have focus on speed, readability and ease of use? These were some of Maschine's major attributes, and arguably no longer are.

If we can't have more flexible windows, at least can it be arranged that we can have arranger and ideas both visible so we don't have to keep clicking backwards and forwards to see what we are doing. Also, can we grab anywhere along the bottom of the upper window to increase the depth rather than having to lurch over to the small area on the right-hand side.

Can we have the ability to connect scenes together as 'groups' to move or duplicate, think similar to verse / chorus etc?

broonton33

#1 is ability to set pattern length per sound for polyrhythm/ polymeter.

#2 A euclidean fill or sequencer option would be great, or even midi routing so you can use a 3rd party euclidean sequencer.

3# Probability per step.

All of these would allow for more evolving, interesting beats and sounds.

DRKLIGHT

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/116556#Comment_116556

Hey NI, I was going to say something then I saw @D-One post. I'm like, damn... All my gripes and frustration are listed in there. Dude went and did the dirty work for us! 👏

So, take his post altogether and run with it. While you guys are at it, sprinkle some FL Studio PR and Ableton 12 PR features. Well, you can guarantee yourself an entire community of users worldwide clapping furiously for you when the upgrade drops!

epiphaneia

Here´s an odd one:

An event list, tracker style, for patterns:

• columns for event type (note, automation event,...), event (note c4, sampler cutoff freq pad 01...), value1 and value2 (eg. velocity 100, length 120...)
• simple actions to "select all events", "select all events of the same type", "select all events of the same notes", etc.
• application of modifier patterns (e.g. fixed values, "LFOs" or rules like "every nth event") to automation events

For me as an M+ user, that would work great with the list on the right and the actions and modifiers on the right screen.

AlessWo

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/116463#Comment_116463

For sure this area needs improvement like the ones you mentioned. But also for the maschine plus in stand alone. Also the possibility to fix the piano roll to the scale of the project if needed as every DAW does. Some functionalities like the way you could compose on the site www.hooktheory.com, means easy to connect harmony and melody in one visual way. Also somo better copy past. A visualization tight to the song mode.

mtamayo

My # 1 sequencer feature request that is top priority for me above all else, and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else in this thread mention it, is the ability to step record notes one by one, step by step.

This is a super useful feature that is available in the Studio One DAW, and is explained pretty well in this video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4r8UEBSOWeU&pp=ygUWU3R1ZGlvIG9uZSBzdGVwIHJlY29yZA%3D%3D

I like the option to select the note length (which should be able to be mapped to keyboard shortcut or Maschine controller buttons) and manually input individual notes or chords on a per step basis.

Studio One has one of the best MIDI editing workflows out of any DAWs, so the more you can implement features that Studio One has, the better, but this step record feature has to be my #1 most wanted for a long time.

AlessWo

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/116463#Comment_116463

The piano roll needs a huge amount of work. Just do a benchmark with the DAW world. But for me the best way to compose using a piano roll type of visualization is the one on the site hooktheory.com where you can edit harmony and melody in a single intelligent way also freeze scale and visualize chord notes it is color coded. Is amazing.

all the improvements please make it available on the Maschine+ in stand alone mode.

please implemente some of the functionalities on the maschine jam too.

a good benchmark in terms of hardware sequencing is polyend play with all its automated fill functions based on music genres and Euclidian algorithms.

also please make easier to “recycle” patterns from the extensions and editing it in an easier way.

AlessWo

The piano roll needs a huge amount of work. Just do a benchmark with the DAW world. But for me the best way to compose using a piano roll type of visualization is the one on the site hooktheory.com where you can edit harmony and melody in a single intelligent way also freeze scale and visualize chord notes it is color coded. Is amazing. 

all the improvements please make it available on the Maschine+ in stand alone mode. 

please implemente some of the functionalities on the maschine jam too. 

a good benchmark in terms of hardware sequencing is polyend play with all its automated fill functions based on music genres and Euclidian algorithms. 

also please make easier to “recycle” patterns from the extensions and editing it in an easier way.

ozon

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/117278#Comment_117278

What of the existing way to do that doesn’t work for you?

Carbon

Here's a great function of cubase, being able to use or create groove presets that dynamically change the basic quantizing to a grid. The software can analyze your audio sample hitpoints or your MIDI triggers of a specific track and create the the global quantization grid that everything will snap to. There could be presets of all sorts of grooves like E-MU AKAI ROLAND KORG etc beat machine grid quantization

mrwillz

I would love to be able to zoom in on MIDI patterns and the overall pattern screen with quick keys. Command/Cntl + or - would be best.

Input quantize should be a function on the main screen instead of only being able to access it through preferences.

The nudge function is cumbersome. You should make it so we can access it via an easier to access menu or quick keys instead of being relative to the grid. When I want to keep the grid the same, but nudge just a bit I always have to record the pattern, set the grid value, nudge or correct notes, then go back and change the grid back. It disturbs the creative flow.

I also would love to be able to groove quantize the individual midi notes instead of only applying swing at a macro level. I may want to swing the kick differently than the high hat or swing individual notes the same amount, but not the entire midi pass.

Rebelkleff

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/117013#Comment_117013

I agree 100%

there are definitely a ton of small tweaks and improvements that could be improved but please don’t break the incredible workflow in the process 🙏

a lot of the discussed features can fit perfectly into this ecosystem you have created hopefully without making it too convoluted. I assume this is the challenge that you guy as developers constantly have to face

EFTHIMIS

Maschine should allow the control of various vst's, looping, arpeggiating, and harmonising according to intelligent detection of inputted chords. So we can create the loops and then play on the fly recording our ideas in real time to the arranger timeline.

Workflow example: maschine can focus in a sound with a push of a button. We can play a sound freely and everything in the group will change according to our playing. Bass sequences, arpeggios, choir, pads are changing in harmony with your playing.

For me this is freedom. Composing in real time

darkwaves

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/117301#Comment_117301

Or an option to disable local control like in many synths. I've run into issues when I wished I could hit a pad on maschine and NOT have it trigger whatever is on the pad directly.

I don't use maschine in my daw currently, but I used to use groups A and B as "midi controllers". They'd only exist to send midi out to my DAW and then I'd route back into maschine. You'd be able to do something similar with a midi loopback.

Being able to turn off local control would make this process a lot easier.