- #WHERE TO PUT MASSIVE IN MASCHINE LIBRARY UPDATE#
- #WHERE TO PUT MASSIVE IN MASCHINE LIBRARY SOFTWARE#
bottom-left pad = pitter patter of minimal blip, top-right pad = drill & bass drum from the gates of hell). Also added is the ability to trigger samples in "16 velocity level" mode, where one sound is mapped across the 16 pads of the controller at varying velocities (e.g. Users can now import MPC program files in the format used by almost all of the AKAI line a feature which will make many a dusty sample CD-ROM relevant again. A number of the new enhancements are targeted squarely at this market.
#WHERE TO PUT MASSIVE IN MASCHINE LIBRARY UPDATE#
The 1.5 update must also please the group who were looking to Maschine as a full replacement of existing MPC-style hardware. These macro knobs are then automatically mapped to the hardware controller, and are available for automation by your DAW. Another communication improvement is found in the addition of macro knobs, which allow you to assign up to 8 knobs per group (a group is 16 sounds, each with 2 FX) to any parameter on any sound in the group. This MIDI loop can then be used straight from the DAW rather than from Maschine's internal sequencer to drive the original group of sounds. That means, for example, you could build up a pattern using the hardware to overdub and record on the fly, and when you have something you like, click and drag the MIDI out into your DAW where you can arrange and mangle the MIDI loop at will. One of the most valuable new features is the ability to click on a pattern and drag either the MIDI or the audio from said pattern directly into your DAW host. The options for communication in and out of Maschine are greatly enhanced. With version 1.5, the toddler has learned the value of sharing. Essentially, it was a really handy tool for building beats, but once those beats were created, there was not much you could do with them, save recording them into your DAW and working with them in there.
In addition, there was no way to receive MIDI in from your DAW of choice to perform the usual tasks one would expect of a VST instrument plugin (triggering sounds, automating effects, etc.). Missing was the ability to send MIDI out in order to sequence external instruments (as you can with any MPC). Communication in and out was limited to synchronization and of course audio. Putting the initial hiccups aside, one thing that was immediately evident after working with the 1.0 versions of Maschine was that much like your average toddler, it wasn't big on sharing with others. Perhaps, Native Instruments had decided to rush a working version of the product out that would be improved upon as time went on? As a result, the very early updates included feature additions like new effect types, a new FX version of the VST plugin (for processing audio with the built-in effects rather than generating audio) and improved ways of browsing for sounds.
Perhaps most vexing was the fact that there was a button on the controller that served no real purpose other than to provide a placeholder for features still in development. The first release of Maschine lived up to many of the PR claims, albeit with a few miscues and curious omissions.
#WHERE TO PUT MASSIVE IN MASCHINE LIBRARY SOFTWARE#
(Which makes using the software much more of a streamlined process than trying to navigate with a mouse or a manually-mapped MIDI controller.) The intuitive sound cataloging/managing features is reminiscent of Kore, as well as the fact that it ships with a dedicated hardware controller. The heart of Maschine is a sampling engine which is a bit like "Battery for Dummies," without the advanced functions like sample layering or triggering multiple samples in a round-robin fashion. Much of the philosophical ideology and design of the product came from a pair of Native Instruments' existing products: The aforementioned drum sampler Battery, and Kore, whose main function is to allow users to organize and layer sounds. So what was Maschine's deal? The Native Instruments product description professed a "symbiosis of hardware and software" combining "the flexibility of computer-based music production with the ease of a groove box." Essentially, what they set out to do was take the immediacy of physical interaction offered by hardware drum sampler/sequencers like the mighty and ubiquitous Akai MPC line and merge it with a software sequencer evocative of Ableton Live's session view.
Native Instruments already sold a drum-centric software sampler, Battery, which had built up a strong following of users with its sophisticated feature set.