Do you use Android in your workflow?

Options
CakeAlexS
CakeAlexS Member Posts: 108 Member
edited July 12 in Maschine

I notice that (at least) the Maschine Jam is class compliant, that means there is a good chance it will work with an Android mobile phone or tablet, although we won't get all the features, and of course Maschine 3 software will be entirely irrelevant in this scenario.

https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/en-us/articles/360014155057-Which-Audio-MIDI-Devices-Are-Compatible-with-MASCHINE-via-USB

Has anybody tried it, with what software, and what have you achieved?

I suspect hardly anybody has tried, but please go ahead and surprise me!

Thx.

Tagged:
«1

Comments

  • LostInFoundation
    LostInFoundation Member Posts: 5,644 Legend

    Sorry to delude you… but I will negatively surprise you twice:

    Maschine Jam is NOT class compliant, it requires drivers. The link you posted doesn’t indicate it is class compliant, just that it works with Maschine+ (I suspect they have achieved this by putting the Jam driver into M+). An ulterior proof of that is that Jam can’t even be put in Midi Mode without being connected to a computer (it can’t be done even when connected to M+

    And… yes… I tried anyway (not with Android but with iDevices)… the results (as I already knew before trying), is a dead device (after the initial “lights show” indicating it received power from the iDevices).

    Sorry to give you these bad news ☺️

  • CakeAlexS
    CakeAlexS Member Posts: 108 Member
    edited July 12

    Ok cool. Thx.

    Anyway I'd be interested to hear if people are playing around with Maschine software, and using Android android apps on the go with it. That would of course require a lot of import/export of MIDI patterns and audio as there is no integration.

    Thought I may pick up FL Studio for android.

    EDIT:

    Changed the title of the thread.

  • LostInFoundation
    LostInFoundation Member Posts: 5,644 Legend

    What I can tell you is that I do what you say with iDevices A LOT.

    What I use are midi controllers apps, sending midi directly to Maschine, not importing/exporting.

    Android situation is a little different, since the platform has never been good for music production apps because of various issues (latency being the most important). I know things are slightly improved over time, but still not optimal (and that’s the reason why developers tend to not develop for Android). Some apps are present on Android store (some of them are even good), but it doesn’t even come close to what is done for iOS/iPados.

    That said… latency is not such a big issue when speaking about MIDI as it is for audio. Therefore, you could find yourself at ease using Android for your purposes, although a little limited by the few apps you can have there

  • CakeAlexS
    CakeAlexS Member Posts: 108 Member
    edited July 12

    I think Android with the right hardware (it depends on how much your want to pay) is equivalent latency with iDevices. This wasn't so in the past, Google has massively improved the drivers, Android has caught up. Nowadays with the right spec'd hardware it's hard to tell the difference between the two. I'm getting a OnePlus Pad 3, and I already own a Pixel 9, believe me there are no issues with latency on these devices apart from the norm.

    The only thing that sets them asides is the software and the ecosystem (Playstore Vs Apple store). Apple wins here probably because it has pretty much always been good with audio on phones/tablets and has become more of a standard.

    Anyway I'm specifically talking about Android in this thread, I don't want to turn it is into a battle of the OS thread (my fault perhaps), thanks for your thoughts.

  • 6xes
    6xes Member Posts: 951 Guru

    heres a way of making use of an android based phone

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO1tphZYP2A

  • 6xes
    6xes Member Posts: 951 Guru
    edited July 12

    i figure you an get alot of milage with an Ipad and the maschine software without even having a single maschine controller….

    i've been building a template inside of Loopy 2.x just to see if it were possible… and so far things look promising…

    the caveat is you wont have all the functions of maschine … but you can make alot work if one takes the time to map things…

    granted everything is running on a m1macmini….

    MJam template.png
  • CakeAlexS
    CakeAlexS Member Posts: 108 Member
    edited July 12
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/233900#Comment_233900

    That's crazy!

    You are still accessing your windows (or Mac) machine via remote desktop I see (how much latency does that give you?), but 10/10 for genius!

    Totally unrelated comment (not targeted at anybody):

    Folks pretty please, I do appreciate Apple is the bees knees, most people will be using it, and is far more established for music apps, but can we please stick to (love it or hate it) Android for this discussion. I'll probably kill this thread off because perhaps nobody uses it but we shall see! Thx.

  • 6xes
    6xes Member Posts: 951 Guru
    edited July 12
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/233891#Comment_233891

    the issue with android music apps… as far as my limited experience using it…

    you only have a pair of stereo outs… no multi-tracking, no sending out of Android beyond a stereo pair..
    thus make it impossible to create a mastered mix

  • 6xes
    6xes Member Posts: 951 Guru

    as far as making Maschine Jam work with Android Apps… that is entirely doable…

    you would need to utilise rtpmidi on your computer and then set your Mjam controller in midi mode…

    send midi over to a android app that uses rtpmidi (midi hub) and then create a virtual midi port to go from midi hub the android app that you wish to implement midi with…

    been there done that

  • CakeAlexS
    CakeAlexS Member Posts: 108 Member
    edited July 12

    Not true.

    I've got apps that will multi track audio and MIDI very well, multiple tracks.

    .. and it connects to my Presonus audio 26c Interface as it's class complaint. Admittedly I've hardly used it, but I'm going to. Maybe I'll be discovering limitations further down the line.

    Either way I'd never consider using any form of tablet for mixdown (although rough mixes, sure). Getting ideas down and recording live gigs, absolutely would do.

    If I wanted to get super serious and total flexibility I'd bring my windows laptop (which mostly sits around gathering dust). Tablets and phones however are super portable.

  • 6xes
    6xes Member Posts: 951 Guru
    edited July 12
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/233920#Comment_233920

    i stand corrected….

    turns out n-track is one of the few android apps that supposedly does multi-out…

    perhaps there are others *shrugs

  • CakeAlexS
    CakeAlexS Member Posts: 108 Member
    edited July 12

    Apparently..

    BandLab, FL Studio Mobile (most popular), MixPad Multitrack Mixer, J4T,, Audacity for Android, Cubasis, Audio Evolution, and n-Track Studio.

    Writing this list so I can investigate later. I suspect I'll jump on the FL Studio or Cubasis bandwagon.

  • CakeAlexS
    CakeAlexS Member Posts: 108 Member
    edited July 12
    https://youtu.be/6by47_dim1U?si=Ec-E_ZyNngerZn41

    Just had a go at Cubasis trial set at 16ms latency, there was a 4ms option too but haven't tried.

    I also managed to get it to play back audio via Presonus Quantum 2626 interface (holy cow it took power via the phone, no powered hub required, guess I will experiment with MIDI and recording mic'd audio next, guess I'll need a powered hub by that stage (maybe).

    If all goes well I guess I'm handing over my money.

  • 6xes
    6xes Member Posts: 951 Guru
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/233935#Comment_233935

    just thinking about things with Android… and the DAW's inside that Android ecosystem

    they seem very barebones.. nothing really ground breaking, just run of the mill instruments & fx

    but where i did see the value on the android… is having a rooted phone… so that you can pull down a whole lot of loops from applications like remixlive or groovepad

  • CakeAlexS
    CakeAlexS Member Posts: 108 Member
    edited July 13

    There are so many Android music apps out there it is impossible to generalise. I've just shown you a straightforward DAW (also available for Apple) which appears to do the job pretty well. Perfect for me, I guess if I want a little more excitement I'll get FL Studio too.

    There is all sorts of other completely different stuff around.

    BTW don't need to root an Android phone to get files copied across from app folders.

    Android has always playing catch-up with iOS because iOS got to an acceptable standard first. However, no phone/tablet app is going to beat an actual DAW on a computer.

    Thing that appeals to me with phones and tablets is actually keeping it simple on the go with minimal distractions. I don't need a fully fledged DAW for this scenario. Actually that was half the appeal when I got Maschine.

    Sigh, I guess this is turning out (rather predictably) into an Apple vs Android thread.

    Let's just conclude Apple wins shall we and on with the discussion.

Back To Top

Categories