I would like to suggest two very interesting uses for anyone who has a Maschine MK3 or Plus. (For many of you this might be obvious, but it could be useful for someone else.)
Recently my setup has become hybrid and is slowly but steadily expanding toward the hardware world, mainly triggered by the vibe of the Maschine MK3 and the Keyboard MK3, which made me appreciate the feeling of physically “touching” my music.
My audio interface only has two line inputs and outputs (one if you use a stereo signal).
The first use (very simple) is to combine the devices (on Mac), meaning to merge my audio interface and the Maschine MK3 into an aggregate device in order to have more inputs and outputs. For example, the line out of my audio interface can go to one hardware unit and the Maschine output to another, and I can use them on two different channels inside my DAW.
The second use came to mind recently. I recently added a patchbay to my setup, so with everything connected (audio interface and MK3 included), I could still use the first method, but now I can create more complex routings. This made me think: why not connect the Maschine to another computer and use it as an outboard multi-effects unit? That is exactly what I did, and it works very well. I have two setups for this method:
1) Used exclusively as a multi-effects unit
Anything I send into the Maschine inputs through the patchbay gets processed with all the effects I want from my secondary computer (which I treat almost as if the Maschine MK3 were standalone, meaning I do everything from the hardware). In this method, having Maschine synced with Logic is optional, depending on whether you want to work by ear or have effects such as delay, reverb, LFO, etc. perfectly synchronized.
2) This method expands the I/O even further
In Maschine I decouple the headphone output from the main line output. For example, in a Maschine “sound” I assign the input to channels 1–2, apply my effects, and send the processed signal out in stereo through the output that was dedicated to the headphones, maintaining stereo (stereo jack-to-2-mono), which I then connect to my patchbay. Meanwhile, I can still use the standard outputs 1–2 of the Maschine as an instrument (drums, sampling, etc.), usually not VST instruments because that would be redundant (in that case I use my DAW) and I can keep one track in my DAW dedicated to that. In this method, sync (Ableton Link or MIDI clock) is necessary.
In conclusion:
- I still only have one stereo line input on my main interface, but depending on what I need, I can use the MK3 to expand my I/O (using the same Mac) and use two hardware units at the same time.
- I can use it as a digital outboard multi-effect connected to a secondary PC, so I don’t need to buy dedicated hardware for that (which would be digital anyway). This method saves CPU on the main computer and, like all hardware, encourages commitment to my sound. (Sync is recommended but optional depending on the situation.)
- I can connect it to a secondary PC and use it both as a multi-effect and as an instrument. In this case sync is necessary, and since I only have one input on my interface, I can only do one thing at a time… again encouraging commitment (I create the drums, print them, free the channel, use the headphone outputs to apply effects to the guitar recorded in the DAW, print again, and so on.)
On top of that, I can route the signal through all the hardware before going into the DAW, giving everything a more analog vibe.
Have you ever tried this kind of setup? Any suggestions for other methods? (Obviously considering the limitations of my tiny and modest home studio hahaha)
