Maschine Hardware
Comments
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It's a double edged sword. These days, people expect things to be online - even microwaves, fridges, doorbells, you name it. They expect their phones, computers, software and hardware to get regular updates. Look at the amount of posts we see here, from people asking when the next update for something will come.
Before the whole www explosion, smartphones and devices with updateable firmware, you bought something and that was the end of it. No updates, no improvements. Now people moan if they don't get that.
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Maybe that’s why before they released products that were “finished”.
Now they release incomplete products, even advertising features they don’t have at launch but telling you “they will come” and then taking one year just to fix things not working and only then releasing the first promised feature. And tell you “ in the next yearS the device will get better.
But…if you are worried that when all its potential will be expressed you will be already dead…don’t despair: they will abandon the product long before or ask you for money for a “new shiny version” that will give you all the things they promised you…but for the version before…
Yes…unexplainable why people moan 😏
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On the other hand without updates you didnt get half-baked product in most cases. Now customers are regularly treated as beta-testers in hope to fix bugs or even implement promised but missing features in later updates. But in case of M+ bugs are living for years without any treatment. And i strongly believe when NI drop its support it will still be the same buggy piece of hardware just without ability to turn it on after full reset.
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Enjoy the future ;) https://thenextweb.com/news/update-brainwashes-microwaves-thinking-theyre-steam-ovens
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And then there’s NI that forces you as a customer to ACTIVATE a stand-alone Maschine Plus, even-though it could operate perfectly fine as a sampling workstation without your Native Access account and libraries.
So if they decide to not upgrade the on-device version to the new Maschine 3.0 software, I really hope they’ll offer some sort of an exit strategy. In that case I’m happy to use only my personal samples and sound libraries, and stay on the latest version of Maschine 2.0 software (’upcoming’ update).
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Oh man, that’s my #1 risk, that in 5 years I may find my M+ not usable because NI dropped support… If aomeone will need to reactivate after a full reset… not good man, not good. A standalone device should have an “exit strategy”. At least an offline activation for those who nought it. Otherwise, you need to buy other products, but you already have one you can use.
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Well, to each their own… I try to buy products from companies I believe wont suddenly die and I choose not to live in fear of some sort of software-apocalypse, I have enough stress in my life already to be stressing that 30yr companies like NI might fail. The day NI unreasonably locks me out of what i bought I'll never buy anything from them again… I have a few companies that are off my "buy list" for exactly that.
I feel like your point is more about fear/distrust in corporate establishments than actually Maschine/Music SW/gear related.
If it didn't have some sort of NA2-style of authentication how else could the device verify you own the libraries and expansions you install on them? Your personal case of only needing your own samples is not everyone else's, running NI's plugins/synths, Kontakt Libs, etc is a major selling point of the M+…
I get your point and theres lots of similar stories of companies trying to make simple devices into super-smart appliances; I can't even set the time on my microwave or oven so I stick with the simple ones. I never though to myself: "Man I wish my fridge had some new features", it also doesn't need to check if the food inside is pirated/stolen or if i legit bought it.
If you go an buy that 2000$ microwave instead of a 300$ like normal people do then you want 1000 fancy features, web apps and whatnot, so you deal with updates, bugs like any other computer… Both Windows and MacOS updates sometimes break things, why would a 2000$ smart microwave be any different? 🤷♂️
Point being that in appliances, we can choose the expensive smart fancy pants ones or… the good old simple ones.
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@D-One asked
If it didn't have some sort of NA2-style of authentication how else could the device verify you own the libraries and expansions you install on them?
But there’s no necessity that the device cannot be activated or function without these additional Libraries and Expansions.
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Oh, hummm…. you mean no Massive, no Kontakt, no FM8, no Monark, etc?
At that point I don't really get why one would invest on an M+ rather than any other more traditional standalone but I guess you're right, it could be done and maybe put some minds at ease.
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These plugins (and other engines) can also function perfectly fine without additional libraries, other than the one that came with the M+. You’ve paid for that dedicated library when you’ve invested in the M+, over a ‘standard’ sampling workstation… so-called ‘batteries included’.
I know the M+ is way more powerful when connected to your account, so you can download and use other, separately purchased expansions. I don’t think NA should be needed to validate your legal purchase, but that’s another topic. Besides that, we can also use the same contents in the desktop software, too.
And yes, that’s software… we ‘know’ that it is only compatible with your ‘current’ OS-version, hardware configuration, etc.. But, with the M+ NI expanded their ‘kontrol’ over your purchase to stand-alone hardware. And, that practice wasn’t very common. And I think it shouldn’t be accepted by users.
Roland, no need for online activation. You can use an SP-404mk2, TR8s, etc. without an account. Only when you want to access and download additional content, you need their library software. Elektron, no need for online activation. Even sample packs (DT) and patches (ST) can be bought and downloaded separately. Moog, Behringer, IK Multimedia, ASM… all synths so ‘maybe’ a different story, but no activation needed. Same goes for Polyend Play and Trackers, and also for their sample and sound packs.
No unnecessary dependency of desktop software or availability of servers. You’ve bought a device, you can update or upgrade it for a limited period of time. It’s yours. No lock-in.
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Also Roland Fantom - everything downloaded via Roland Cloud Manager contains licence connected to users account. You can download everything you bought and store for future use. So no need to redownload and activate anything online after full reset. The only restriction AFAIK is all models/expansions on single device should contain the same license, but its perfectly fine if you do not use 'borrowed' content.
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Aside from what @MaikR already wrote…
The internal synth engines and effects are quite worthwhile, and I use them all the time. And to me, the Maschine workflow is much more enjoyable than those of the Elektrons. Compared to something like the Machinedrum (of which I love the sound engines) or the Digitakt, the only thing missing for me is probability/conditions for sequencer events. That alone would make it the best drum computer of all time (and the only one to miss tempo changes). Without any additional NI products!
Now, if you add all of those additional goodies, and especially Reaktor with the capability of using custom Ensembles, you have a standalone device that just kompletely slayed the drum computer and hardware sequencer market. In a single box. But nobody actually gets that, because everybody is looking in a different direction - «a DAW needs this, and that». It’s a freaking drum machine (hence the moniker) that is so mind blowingly powerful, it’s mistaken by many users for a fully fledged DAW!
And NI doesn’t understand it either. So they focus on the wrong features (regarding the Plus). But they aren’t the first creators to not understand the power and potential of their own creation.
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I feel like your point is more about fear/distrust in corporate establishments than actually Maschine/Music SW/gear related.
Unluckily, fears don’t come out of nowhere.
If I’m scared about what NI could do, it comes from knowing the company and what they have already done… a lot of time.
If I think about a name in the industry of someone who already proved again and again to not care too much about users, not valuing people who deeply invested in them, not being as safe as we would…and not afraid to delude them… NI is the first one that comes to mind…
Such a pity, because it’s the same name that comes to my mind when I think about me making music in the last 20 years. I probably bet on the wrong horse for too long (specially because the jockey is not the same anymore) 😔
I guess you are right: many people probably invested in Maschine attracted from the sounds… but I’m sure many others did it because of the workflow.
And that “why” in my book is exactly the point on which NI should invest: a TON of other companies can satisfy my need of “good sounds”…but the reason I’m so scared to lose Maschine is…the workflow.
The fact that NI lately is on the exact opposite of this idea (more libraries, less programs) is not helping my fear at all. And the new jockey making moves and taking decisions that I don’t agree with at all (and that once again don’t take in consideration what users are telling them from years) is another nail in the coffin.
About authentication… I guess no one is saying that there should be none (as you said, it’s needed to know which products you own…although MaikR is right: buying a M+ you also bought all the products you named…only expansions must be sorted out). But from this to making a 1400 piece of hardware unusable without it…there’s a lot of difference. My question is: why when I think about my MPC Live 2 (or almost every other gear I own) I don’t have the same feeling of “uncertainty”? Well…probably NI attitude (and history) has something to do with this3 -
I don't think this is actually true, I think corporations want it to be true so that they can force us to be dependent on them through "always online" services. It's like how "our user surveys show very few people actually use Maschine Integration with Komplete Kontrol" was an excuse to ship the Kontrol Mk3 keyboards half-finished. If the big-shots at NI were intelligent, they would have invested more resources into evangelizing the inter-operability between their products.
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There’s a reason why often buying some of NI hw has such a big value (identifiable in the amount of bundled softwares) and it’s tied to them being one of the companies with the biggest products portfolio.
Their interest is not in you appreciating the single product, but in “trapping” you in their ecosystem.
They give you some goodies hoping you will fall into the mechanism of “I need more”. Same technique used by pushers: first dose is free…till you are addicted 😂
And the whole situation of “finding ways to keep you dependent from them” (without ways to download or authenticate anything) falls into this “evil plan” 😏
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