The MASCHINE+ Feedback Thread

TheLoudest

I can't imagine how disappointed people (myself included) will be if there is no ability to edit automations with the next update...(or at least visualize them!)

I mean...it's supposed to be a fully standalone device, right?

also agree about Program Change, Guitar Rig/Absynth and external keyboard compatibility (what a brilliant idea! Is this possible to have bluetooth keyboard with the current hardware?)

sp4o4

It's a standalone device from a sound design company that won't let you sound design on it. It's so ridiculous. Instead it's a glorified preset player. You have two giant screens. DO SOMETHING WITH THEM!

Such a waste in so many areas.

Percivale

Look forward to the roadmap (if any),

Justin Lipsey

I often wonder why some of the comments are so angry and insulting. We all are here because we believe in this product and own other products that NI makes. Insulting the dev team will not get our feature requests integrated or completed any faster, probably the opposite. Can we try to be respectful and keep our expectations realistic? I honestly feel like I purchased what was advertised, yes there could be improvements but the Maschine+ is extremely capable as is. Just my two cents.

cheers!

Eight4aWish

My top 3 asks:

1. official battery solution (I have no interest in integrated speakers)
2. Ableton script
3. ability to disable ending up in clip mode

Akira-76

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/3026#Comment_3026

I didn't read any insult here, but angry comments for sure !

I honestly feel like I purchased what was advertised

I've create in many forum from many countries treads where I ask the question if the Maschine+ is finished or not and if yes, should NI communicate more and in details about the firmware 1.4 ?

The number of answers since now are not exhaustive imo considering the number of M+ that was sold, but it show clearly that people who think Maschine+ is finished or not is dependent to the way they use it.

People who think it is finished (on their first answer) use mainly Maschine+ alone, without HW gears or just for jamming (so that mean without recording automation), or use only installed presets. Some use the sampler functionalities.

So they admit they didn't need to :

• tag their presets
• create macros
• and constraint them itself with the audio limitation (VST)

But some of them (quite few) admit afterward (when I explain my point of view) that Maschine+ is not finished. One, a french guy, say that after renaming samples he chop on Maschine+ they are not recognized when he open his project on Maschine Software, and so, he wait a real improvement about it.

People who think it is not finished (on their first reply) use mainly Maschine+, like me, as a center piece of a computerless setup. They admit that it is possible to produce music with it, but they have to use other gears (one use a daw on computer) or some do some "hack" things to work well with it.

For them, the missing features or features to improve are :

• better automation and automation edition (also related to macro creation)
• better Program change management

The "advertisment" say (in marketing language) that you can use Maschine+ as :

• jamming device
• production device (also with HW gear)
• Djing instrument

And at the top of all : "standalone".

For jamming : no doubt, nothing to say.

For production : definitively not convenient with HW since you need a computer to create macros, and automation is like on the 90's, but compare to some gears of this era and ours, on Maschine+ it is worse.

For Djing : no doubt.

For each of those situations you need at least a computer for tagging your presets or your samples. So it didn't sound totaly "standalone" for me.

I didn't speak a lot about audio, because imo it is not needed to speak about the VST implemented to objectively show the problem about Maschine+.

Rhythm Droid

My top request:

• Robust integration with USB audio interfaces (Presonus StudioLive 32R please!!)

Thank you! = )

enz0

Top request from me would be an easy way to record lock state changes. Why can’t this be done by simply enabling automation recording? I feel like adding this would solve a lot of issues (ability to record mutes, less need for automation editing, easier way to incorporate advanced automation). Also it would enhance standalone aspect by reducing the need to edit automation on the computer

Akira-76

Hi @Matt_NI

Can we expect more information this week as you mentioned about the firmware 1.4 ?

I already post adverts to sell my Maschine+, but on my heart I want to believe in NI (it is probably naive...).

A lot of people here and around (not all) that disagree with my opinion about Maschine+ (particularly) are jaded about NI product, and encourage me to be jaded also. They say "You have to enjoy the actual status and don't ask more. It is already a chance that a product like Maschine+ exist". So, they take your products as they are and didn't have the force anymore to ask new features. They act like Zombie in my opinion. I don't think that creating Zombie is a good thing.

I think NI could do more for the community, not particularly by accepting all the features requests (I understand that it need time, work and money), but at least to say "no, it can't be done for those reason, or yes perhaps, one day" more often. And communicate more also about how to overcome some limits (that sometimes it is not clearly mentioned). As example, that Maschine+ can record CC modulation from external device and not only from macros.

So any chance to have information this week ?

Matt_NI

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/3586#Comment_3586

I'm definitely trying to get the status update for Maschine/Maschine Plus and KK sorted this week. I can't really say if it will answer all the questions you may have though.

I tend to agree with the comments about the status of the product thought and it has nothing to do with being a Zombie. It's a personal choice at the end of the day and you need to evaluate if the hardware you have is fitting your workflow or not. Sure, Maschine Plus could be used by more people if it has X or Y features but it doesn't mean users are "wrong" if they're happy with the way it works today.

I also agree that communication is key and we should be more proactive but saying a feature isn't going to happen is usually not something we can be absolutely sure of.

TheLoudest

Hello @Akira-76,

I'm just curious... what would be the announced features that would make you give up selling your Maschine+?

is this the possibility of creating Macros, the possibility to edit automations? or the implementation of Program Change (to control external midi devices) ?

all in standalone of course

By the way I had proposed in a post that the implementation of PC/MSB/LSB be done at the "patterns" level (but I was not sure) and a user had answered me that it would be better if it is done at the "sounds" level, after a time of reflection I think he is totally right! It would be much better and more consistent with the current Maschine architecture

Akira-76

@TheLoudest

Just 2 things :

• That Program Change didn't jump between 2 values when set on a step on a pattern as modulation
• the possibility to tag presets (indeed without using a computer)

TheLoudest

@Akira-76

OK :)

and what do you think about the idea to set the PC/MSB/LSB at the "sound" level?

suppose you have a "Group" for each of your external synths, we could have 16 sounds/patches/presets to call on each group

really simple and consistent with the Maschine workflow

(and the values can't "jump" since we use a different sound to create a different pattern)

cons:

we can't have more than 16 presets (at least for one group but we can add more groups so it is not really a limitation...)

and we couldn't change Preset at the middle of a pattern (but I guess at this point it would be more related to the "create automations in step-by-step" feature...since PC/MSB/LSB could be added/edited like all others CC# in that case)

despite the problem you mentioned with the jump between values, it seems that you manage to set a program change on a step?! really? 😮

how do you do that? because while waiting for the update which will allow us to simply edit program and bank messages, I am still trying to find a "workaround", but without success...

(and currently my Maschine+ is pretty much useless in my setup 😥)

Akira-76

@TheLoudest

About PC/MSB/LSB, I think it is the more logical place for it ! At the "sound" level.

Since modulations can be set on step basis, so the process is :

• create with Maschine Software a sound with 3 macros : Program Change/MSB/LSB and save/tag it
• load this "sound" on Maschine+ (you notice the combursomness...)
• then record a Program Change on the first step of a pattern, and then record the wanted Program Change on the second step... (You have to look at your gear and try may times because you have no feedback on Maschine+ to be sure the right value are set...)

If you just record a modulation on 1 step, nothing happen because Maschine+ send modulation only when a modulation change happen from a the fist value that is recorded. So if you have midi notes on first step, only the third or the fourth will be heard when you play the pattern the first time.

• So the better usage of this "hack" is to create a "void" pattern with only PC/MSB/LSB at the beginning of your song, so you will be sure that the second pattern will play with the preset of your gear you want.

People who find this process just reproduce the way they do on Maschine software, that work great. But they notice that the modulation on Maschine+ didn't act as in Maschine Software. So they have to create extra patterns just for Program Change... That is a shame imo.

TheLoudest

Thank you @Akira-76

I already experienced the first two steps of your process

But when it comes to recording, you mean via a "live recording" then?

Because what I miss the most in Maschine is precisely the possibility of recording automations in "step-by-step" a bit like you can add notes in STEP mode...

even if this mode could also be optimized... example: you press a step, you keep your finger pressed and you play a note or a chord on your midi keyboard and this note/chord is recorded on the step (even if playback is stopped)

And they could implement the same thing for automations.

Because otherwise I'm not really sure how to manage to add a pitch bend message right on the step 1 and right on the step 2

with a "live" recording you have to be very precise..and like you said, you can't really have a visual feedback on what you do (and what is really set on the steps)

unless there's a way to record events that I'm not aware of yet (I'm brand new on the Maschine workflow) the live recording solution with macros does not seem very practical...

Anyway, thanks again!