Is Maschine Plus a beta for an awesome next release?

Unfortunately, that’s how technology is developed today: Unfinished with low quality but super cheap. And this is simply because we, the customers, want more, earlier and at a lower price.

Remember the price of professional gear some decades ago: Only professionals could afford an MPC60 (€6'000) or an fully loaded Akai S1000 sampler (€10'000), and the Syclavier was reserved for a select elite. Back in the day, the E-mu Proteus/2 set me back almost twice the price of the M+ (€2'400), and a four channel Audiomedia II PCI audio interface was even more expensive (€2'800) - and required a Macintosh (yes, they weren’t called just „Mac“ back then) computer that went for about five to over ten times the price of an M+ (€6'000 for a IIc up to €20'000 for a IIfx).*

Even the last round of Akai‘s Z8 sampler and the MPC4000 cost several times as much as today’s products with comparable functionality.

However, I guess most customers prefer to cope with some issues instead of going back to those unaffordable prices.

*EUR Prices coverted from CHF at the time according to my memory. Not very exact, but it gives a rough indication.

I am totally agree.

I think people have to open their eyes once for all as the gamers do when Cyberpunk 2077 was released : undertested product or not finished products on release. And wait updates after update years long to have something convenient enough.

Some people say : "didn't buy it if you know", the fact is, "we never know really the state (thanks to marketing that can't let us know what is right or wrong) and people have to buy it to really know the state", because manufacturers and paid artists which review it will not say : "the products is not yet quite finished, it have bugs, you can't do this or that as suggest the advertisement, and we didn't tell you if or when we will add those functions". Look at all the NI official youtube page. I was shock when in this video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CXKDnJpfLM , you see the CPU going to more than 40% with a basic song and just for jamming not seriously... I check a second time to be sure it was an official video...

And the more detestable is people that didn't express their frustration who just "wait and pray" for new firmware, and invite us to "wait and pray" because "the device have the potential to be way better". Yes it could be, but when? And are we sure the manufacturer will do it? No communication policy oblige, no information. It is like waiting Santa Claus, but we know that Santa Claus didn't exist, only engineer an delivery men/women.

It is not the way it should be when manufacturer respect customer. Manufacturer have to make effort to really finish their products and/or release something really usable on day one, not on day +1 year. We can excuse bugs or missing functions if they are not too much or if the price is well adjusted. And we can excuse them if they communicate often and in detailed enough. I think a tread like this is expected since NI in particular didn't show since now a really efforts as big as the disappointment.

I work for a software company, and the day my company will act like this, I will quit. As I will do with Maschine+. If the communication of the 1.4 firmware that should be announce very soon is disappointing, I will sell my Maschine+ and bye bye NI. And invite all people that are also disappointed about this situation to do the same.

I make effort to like them, but I discover that objectively since now they don't make effort to do it (also by reading years of tread on Gearspace, Elektronauts and elsewhere about NI products). And I didn't speak about myself only, here and around people already give up or didn't expect more than the actual situation (when recognizing that they enjoy Maschine+ but find also that the device is not finished), and other just went elsewhere.

So if it, what is show it is, I will go elsewhere.

Your argument will be acceptable if NI officially communicate about it. But no precise communication was made. Or perhaps do you know exactly how they code the software? I doubt it.

But anyway, you said :

But we are no more on the 80's. And exist gear that have midi and edition functions not related with audio that is way better than Maschine+ and that Maschine+ can have. Those devices was released during the 90's and beginning 2000 : MC-80 as example. But also, anyway, look at the Squarp pyramid today. Midi functionalities on it is way better than Maschine+. So, even NI had difficulties to port the software to a linux environment, it didn't excuse the lack of midi and editing functionalities. I can barely understand with audio, but not for midi and stuff like tagging presets. But you have to admit that the approche of Akai with the new MPC is way better to limit the voices on their plugin, so the device can bear it. I own an MPC, and never I had audio problem by using internal plugin.

And me, I use mainly Maschine+ as a midi sequencer. So audio gliches is a thing, but you can't say "no problem here, move on".

It is understandable that engineer made compromis with an underpower device than computer, but since they didn't do it well by adding limitation and inform customer about those limitations, they are faulty.

The problem for me, is not only the fact that Maschine+ need improvement, but it is also that NI didn't communicate well and enough about what Maschine+ really is and how they will answer to the problem the community report.

More CPU or RAM will not solve all the main problems.

More CPU and RAM are not needed to edit properly automation / create macro / tag your preset or handle program change "normally".

Imo, the actual CPU and RAM bear easily Drum/Poly/Basssynth and non vst Fx. More limitation should be made for the implemented VST. But I know that those VST are the main marketing argument to buy Maschine+. Those VST was a mistake from the beginning imo. NI should follow the wisdom of Akai by implementing basic plugins and complete edition capabilities for presets / sample / macro and tag first and then take time to implement others plugins. Then people will not think that Maschine+ is a "beta", and will be agree to wait new stuff.

But this choice was not made, and now, yeah people ask a Maschine+ MK2, but again it will not save the Maschine+ concept. Because also, NI would add more things on the MK2, and MK2 will be again no capable to bear them, so people will ask a MK3, etc... It is why I think the problem is on conception.

See how MPC and Force are. They didn't need more specs, just more functions. The disk streaming that was added on Force is a perfect way of overcoming some limitations.

I don't agree with you. If Maschine+ didnt ship with everything it has, I would not have bought it. I can use it to make music, but I also can tinker and try to "hack" the limits of Kontakt & Reaktor. This unofficial and very much "beta" aspect of Maschine+ was and is a big draw for me.

I applaud NI for not taking the same approach as Akai.

As for the roadmaps, Akai was a lot more forthcoming about their roadmap when they still had a monopoly position in the market for standalone MPC-style devices. Now neither Akai nor NI want to tip off their hand to each other prematurely by disclosing in-depth future development plans.

Well, ok. So as result you have the complaints of lot of people that didn't understand the technical aspect. And NI environment is not made to the hacking approach. In contrary Akai approach allow hacking more easily, it's why complaints about Akai products are less aggressive.

It is understandable. But as a drawback, their reputation go down.

Drewhjava,

what I meant was that M+ was OK piece of HW, but one may not expect it would handle as much as PC with 16 core CPU and plentiful RAM.

If there will be Mk2, and I hope it will, it will pretty sure get stronger CPU (2-4 times more) as CPU technology advances pretty fast. And hopefully more memory (2-4 times more).