Maschine MK3 don't sync/midi with external drumcomputer/synths

RenéZ

Hi fellow Maschine users,

I have a question about connecting other hardware to de Maschine MK3. I am trying to connect my roland tr3 drumcomputer to my Maschine, but it doens't work. Can anybody help me?

This is what i currently try:

1. Midi kabel from Midi out on Maschine MK3 tot Midi in on my roland tr8.
2. When i go to settings - midi, i select "send"
3. Here comes the first problem: i doen't see the roland listed under input or output devices.
4. When i press start on my maschine, the roland doesn't get any signal.
5. Another problem is that i don't get sound from the roland through my maschine. The only way i get sound (i saw that in a youtube video) is by going tot de "sampling" settings on the maschine en switch "monitor" to on. But the volume of the roland tr8 is very very low.

The weird thing is, that when i connect them the other way around, by sending midi from my Roland tr 8 via Midi out to my Midi in on my Maschine, it works. Then the Mk3 get's triggert on/off when i press the start/stop button on the Roland.

I don't wan't to control the roland tr8 via my Maschine, i use them as 2 seperate devices, but i wan't them to be in sync via midi.

Can anyone help me with this? I wan't to use the Maschine as the central device in my setup (as my midi interface) because not only do i wan't to connect the roland, i also wan't my Ableton Push 2 and an external synth to be in sync with my Maschine.

Thanks in advance!

RenéZ

Ok, so i found this article on the Native instruments website: "setting up maschine midi presets to control external hardware instruments" (sorry i wan't to upload the link but Native instruments is blocking it because i am still a new user).

I did everything exactly as described and now the Maschine is indeed triggering the Roland via midi. But still two things do not work:

1. I don't get any sound back from my roland tr8 into my maschine.
2. The sequencer on the Roland i moving at a crazy fast speed, instead of the 133 bpm it shoud get from my Maschine Mk3

Maxray

So, in your settings in Roland, you'll need to set it to "receive" midi, not "send" it. In Roland, it may be written as "Slave" or "Secondary", as some manufacturers have different vocabulary for functions. Most companies have tried to standardize the lingo, but some companies still retain their original trademark patents that way.

As far as Ableton goes, Push should automatically connect in the midi settings. Maschine will have to be set up with proper NCM3 (Script) files on your computer (Program Data folder/Applications folder Mac) in Ableton/Remote to control transport in Ableton as a plugin which will sync everything. You can find those in the "Community" tab by just typing in "Ableton Maschine" in the search bar. That being said, I will tell you my preferred method!

Connect your externals to Maschine, leave the Push connected to Ableton directly. Run Maschine and Ableton in standalone and run Ableton Link to sync them. This will allow you to Sync them, while using them independently. Hence, build in Maschine and Ableton, you will easily be able to drag and drop between the two if you want. This works great for sampling and sound design, as you can be extremely creative and use Ableton/Reason as more of a tool than a sequencer, leave that job to Maschine.

Use Maschine as the song builder with the Ideas, Song (Lock function), Scene and Clips menus. Then you can export it all to Ableton when all your scenes and layout is complete, where you can focus on premixing. This is the stage where you improve all the base sounds to tighten the over track. At that point, I usually open the file in Cubase to do the post mixing, as it's more intuitive, faster and tighter at workflow, mixing and mastering. This would be where you focus on fixing gain staging issues, dynamics, sound field, leveling, loudness and finally mastering, unless you're sending the mastering to a third party.

So, it would be separating your creative production from your analytical production, which speeds up the process. Maschine/Roland/Ableton as the creative part of production. Then, Ableton (or another DAW, such as Cubase/Nuendo, Digital Performer, ProTools) alone as the platform for the analytical part of your production.

You probably didn't want to hear all that, my point in saying it was just to illustrate another potential routing and workflow solution to your current layout. Maschine doesn't need to be used in VST mode to work with Ableton!

Maxray

You'll need to run the audio outs of the TR8 into Maschine, you can also set the headphone jack on Maschine as an audio in to the TR8 for sampling. You'll have to change the headphone jack settings in Maschine to do so.

Maxray

If the Roland is running at a faster rate than Maschine, check to make sure they are on the same time standard in settings, I believe it should be SMPTE?!

RenéZ

Thanks for your great advice and ideas. Definitely something to think about, the way you set it all up.

As for the sync between Ableton and Maschine, nice to hear that ableton link can do that. I will try this.

I like the idea of maschine and push as 2 standalone devices, actuality that is exacly what i was planning to do with both devices. I am trying to sync the 3 devices for live performance purpases, where the roland is my dedicated drummachine, whereas the maschine i use for bassloops, leadsynth and one-shots. The push is delivering me samples of songs and also aditional bassloops i created. That's what i have in mind….

About the roland running faster than the maschine: in maschine i can find the time standard setting, but the roland tr8 (original one with the green lines) does not have a screen where i can find time standard settings. So i don't know how to change/check that.

RenéZ

i don't know what i did, exept for restarting every piece of hardware, but now the roland is nog running at a crazy tempo anymore. But what i noticed is that, both devices are not in correct sync. When i play a drumkick on the Maschine mk3 and other percussion elements on the roland, the are slightly offbeat. how can i get them to sync correctly?

darkwaves

You might want to explain your setup in more detail. Taking a wild guess here; but I'd bet you have both maschine and ableton sending midi clock to the roland.

RenéZ

My setup looks like this:

1. I have ableton live running
2. With my Albeton Push 2 i control the loops, samples (bass, voice) etc. that are loaded in ableton.
3. I have Maschine 3 running
4. With my Maschine MK3 i am playing some syntpluggins. Also i play some toms/percussion on the fly or bassloops. And, when i need a harder kick or other drumsounds i use the stepsequencer.
5. Next to the Push 2 and the Maschine i am using the Roland Tr8, which should be my main device for drums. But
6. At the moment i am succesfully running the Maschine and the Push 2 through ableton link (this works perfectly in sync).
7. But, now my roland is slightly ofbeat. My roland i connected via midi. So from my Maschine midi out to the roland midi in. My roland gets triggert when i play start on my Push 2, so there is succesful midi connection between the to (running through Maschine MK3), but as said, my roland is slightly ofbeat. That makes my roland unusable in this setup.

I saw this guy mredrollo on youtube. He connected his push 2 and roland tr8 via a an external audio interface. If i am not mistaken, the Maschine Mk3 is in my case the "audio interface".

darkwaves

Do you have the same issue if ableton isn't running? Just maschine and the roland

RenéZ

No, only when ableton is running. As said, my push 2 and maschine are running perfectly in sync via Ableton link. Now i have my Maschine sending midiclock to my Roland. Sometimes they run in sync, but minutes later they are not in sync anymore…..

darkwaves

Validate that ableton isn't also sending midi clock. The maschine hardware is just acting as a midi interface; so assuming you're trying to run both maschine and ableton on the same computer; they're BOTH going to see the midi out ports on your maschine hardware. If both are sending midi clock then weirdo stuff is going to happen.