Maschine Jam alternatives

MANTA

Hi everyone! I recently bought a Maschine MK3 because I would like to perform live. 

I would like to purchase a Maschine Jam, this to be able to switch between scenes faster. However...the Jam has been discontinued.

I'm looking for alternatives to Maschine Jam. I saw in the video below that the Launchpad Mini is a good choice. 

Although I don't know how to link it (and map the pads) yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjC6J1oGUng&list=LL&index=2&t=9s&ab_channel=loopop

Are there any other alternatives besides the Launchpad?

Background information: I make music in Cubase 10. 

I would like to perform elements of my tracks live.

Mutis

Get ableton live and put maschine inside or in parallel.

Peter Harris

Just keep an eye on eBay and you can find a Maschine Jam second hand for $300 most of the time. There's no substitute!

Murat Kayi

I would also advise to get a Jam. There's so many features that set it apart from everything else on the market in combination with a mk3

Kubrak

I would advice to buy two Maschine Jams. One spare, just in case... ;-)

https://reverb.com/p/native-instruments-maschine-jam-production-and-sequencing-controller

PASSION DRIVE

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/50121#Comment_50121

If you buy a used maschine jam, will it automatically integrate with the maschine studio? Also, do you have to register it with Native Access in order to use it?

Peter Harris

No, you don't have to register it to use it or get it to work with Studio as long as your Maschine 2 software is up to date and your Studio drivers are recent.

I'm sure you'll love it! I especially like the enlarged Browse view for navigating presets in instruments. You'll see what I mean when you get it. (Press the Browse button on the jam to trigger it.)

Flexi

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/9793/maschine-jam-alternatives

Akai Force, vastly superior for live performance.

aafanatic

@Peter Harris now I gotta hook my Jam back up to see what you’re talking about 😉

Peter Harris

The enlarged interface makes it easier for those of us who are more, um, mature. 😉 And it's a small consolation for the tiny fonts in the M/KK browser otherwise.

I also think it's silly that you can't use that enlarged mode in the Browser other than with the Jam. Why not add an option to use that version of the browser with the MK3 or Plus? Seems like a very easy enhancement.

aafanatic

@Peter Harris I’m “mature” or at least my eyesight is, and I have a new super wide monitor 😱 I think I remember that Jam interface from the “humanize” tutorial.

I’ll plug in my Mikro MK3 and see if it has the helpful interface as well.

aafanatic

The Mikro doesn’t get it because it has a tiny lcd screen, but I plugged in my Jam and that browser rocks!

D-One

Get a used Jam like others mentioned, alternatively, you can get a KKS keyboard, but note that keybs have very little control over Maschine, it's just minor bonus stuff, not a main feature IMO.

There is absolutely nothing even remotely similar to Jam that you can buy to add hands on control to any Maschine 4x4 controller (or the M+), not even those 16x16 launch-pad-like controllers... None of those have dedicated control over Maschine, meaning none will light up a Pad that corresponds to an active Scene/Section... that's just one example out of 200 possible.

No visual feedback for most things, no sync of whats activated or not, etc...

To get functionality even close to what Jam offers NI would have to make an API for 3rd party controller scripts (like Ableton has for example). Doubt this would happen in this century tbh.

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/57877#Comment_57877

Maschine doesn't allow two 4x4 controllers at the same time, one of them automatically turns to MIDI Mode, so even if the Mikro had an amazing screen it wouldn't be of much use... It can only serve as a generic MIDI controller, at that point it's the same as a bunch of other cheaper options.

JBlongz

I'm on the fence for another Maschine Jam. I can't help but to think that there's an MK2 on the way. Especially since NI seems to be discounting the current keyboards. Could there be an integration to answer the Akai MPC Keys?

Mutis

Probably not but dreaming is free…

Kubrak

Might come with Maschine+ MK2, if that comes...