35 thoughts on “Maschine Studio + Maschine 2.0 First Look

  1. If this thing had the possibility to be used without computer, even if only as a MIDI sequencer, it would be the no. 1 in my “Stuff to buy” list.

    But spending 1000 euros for something that, at last, is just a sophisticated controller for the computer (without even acting as sound card, which would be another good reason to get it), is rather pointless.

  2. I agree. If a company produced this unit as a standalone maschine with audio output and midi sequencer it would be amazing. Having to rely on its attachment to a computer is limiting. In a few years from now when OSX is replaced by ‘Android Rhubarb Crumble’ as the OS of choice, this controller will be useless. Native Instruments have already stopped supporting their Kore controller and product range for example. The best solution for me would be standalone that attaches to the computer, similar to the Nord Modular.

  3. How many times can they rehash the same concept? Gimmie a perfectly tight midi/audio/controller interface I can use seemlessly with my other midi hardware then I’ll consider ditching my trusty mpc1000.

  4. I have the same concern about NI’s hardware – they seem to introduce it and then obsolete it three years later.

    I’m OK with a three-year upgrade cycle with my computer or my phone, but this has to go up against instruments that people get a decade or more use from. There’s a lot to like in this – but at $1,000, this makes a used MPC look pretty attractive.

  5. indeed, like Apple iphone, this is not a fundamental innovation, but an improvement. As several posts put it, will this attract users with a higher price tag ? And indeed, many musicians may feel frustration of computer cycled obsolescence of their instruments.

    So, the questin like Apple, is when will the next big – paradigm shifting innovation will come ? In the case of NI, it was using the PC as sound generation, and integration with hardware controllers. But innovation is expensive, and thus, the incremental improvements we see should help fund this innovation, hence a higher price tag to keep margins for reinvestment. Like the iphones.

    The problem is that, as pointed earlier, a 1000 eu device is almost as expensive as a lap top, so there are indded questions on the acceptance. Korg and others, chose to go for high volume and low margins controllers and instruments to create market share and user base.

    NI,has got nevertheless good reputation, but will this new launches trigger upgrades – and therefore many second had Maschines flogging the market ? Well see, lets go check ebay….

    1. Apple does not have any fundamental upgrades. How did you get that idea? They have minor improvements every year and leave enough out to let you wish for more.
      Maybe IOS 2 is a fundamental change. Oh no it is called 7 … already.

      You can still buy the MKII and use the software. They will keep supporting the model and also the Mikro. I am no MPC user and I like the hardware/software combo. Althouh Studio is to much for me. I believe NI is heading in the right direction with Maschine. It is a unique product. Don’t compare it with others that much.

  6. @Jordanna sounds more like Akai then Native Instruments. Maschine has been out since 09, and it is going strong.

    These products like Maschine / Renaissance are made for using with a computer. The only people who complain about it not being standalone don’t use the computer for beat creation.. if that’s the case stick with your mpc standalone hardwares

    If Maschine Studio had an integrated audio interface and a built in hard drive for standalone purposes it would cost way more then $1000.

    The Ren and Maschine bridge the gap between hardware and software.. that’s the purpose, the best of both worlds

      1. It does bridge the gap, for people who are not familiar with software music creation and want to get more familiar its the right choice.. I call that bridging the gap

    1. I understand where you’re coming from – but this plus a good laptop plus an audio interface is a fairly pricey solution. Probably a great solution for part of the market, but the rest of us don’t want to buy the next Kore, we want the next MPC 3000.

        1. It’s not a NI vs Akai thing.

          The problem with these high end custom controllers (like Renaissance or Maschine Studio) is that they’re pricey solutions and you have to worry about the companies ending support for them after a few years, line NI did with Kore.

          If a company stops updating a hardware solution, it’s still a perfectly good solution. If they stop supporting a hardware/software combo, you’ve got an doorstop when its time to update Windows or get a new PC.

  7. If this thing came with audio interfacing capabilities and allowed third parties to utilize the controls and screens for their own software – I could understand the appeal. But as it is, I don’t get why so many people are willing to throw their money at it.

    NI seem to have taken a leaf out of Apple’s book. They can get away with releasing shiny, overpriced products and dropping support for it, because they can count on their userbase clamouring for the next shiny overpriced product to replace it. And it’s not just hardware – they went through a phase of abandoning old VSTs/Instruments in order to flog their more awkward Kontakt replacements (see Pro-53, Akoustik, B4, Bandstand, Elektrik).

    1. There’s reason Ford don’t make the Model T anymore. It’s called progression, which is usually fueled by new technological advances. In three or four years time this gear will be old tech and NI know this. Sadly things aren’t made to last for 20 years anymore and that includes software based gear. We just need to embrace this tech while it’s here and look back with ‘rose tinted glasses when it’s gone’.
      As for the cost, you’ll probably find it’s a quality product (like most apple gear πŸ˜‰ and a lot of people are willing to pay a little extra for this.

      1. I think products at this cost level should last at least 12 years … if not I feel ripped off and never buy from the company again … by the way I just pooped.

        I am buying old samplers right now. The rack mount stuff by Emu Ensoniq and Akai all seem to have lasted ok. You might have to replace a backlight or two.

      2. Exactly.

        You don’t see anyone bitching about computer chip upgrades on a car from 5 years ago simply because they came out with a new/better model. Phones, laptops, ANYTHING electronic… it goes without saying. You purchase KNOWING it will be outdated in a few years. You buy something based on what it can do at the very moment you purchase it… not what it might be able to do or hope it will do in the future. If you get an upgrade for free, consider it a bonus.

        So your two options are: 1) make due with the most of whatever the fuck you purchased, or 2) dont fucking buy it.

        It’s that simple.

        1. There’s a difference between outdated and “no longer supported”. A car from 5 years ago isn’t suddenly incompatible with newly built roads. I can count on being able to use my audio interface and all my MIDI gear for years to come, because none of it is locked to a particular piece of software, and none of it is made by companies notorious for dropping support.

          The sad thing about the precedent set by NI and other software-hardware-together products is that music technology is going from being valued as adaptable/lasting/futureproof to being totally disposable.

        2. Good point, and I wont be buying this or anything like it.
          I’d rather invest in something like a Cirklon and a bunch of Moogerfoogers thats gonna last 20 years.

  8. It would be very cool if they would make a crossgrade offer for Komplete or Maschine users…

    And if they do nothing like that wait a few months and than they will call 799 or 699 for this “controller” πŸ˜‰

    But please dont buy for 999,-

  9. Another issue with these NI and Akai products tethered to computers, is that they may be virtually unusable after a couple of OS generations have lapsed, say in 15-20 years, when back-compatibility won’t be possible. Standalone hardware can run for decades (age-related hardware malfunctions not withstanding!).

    1. This is bogus argument… An old digital keyboard/expander isn’t much different from any computer, except it has proprietary motherboard, proprietary CPU/DSP, proprietary OS and sometimes even proprietary ROM/RAM.

      Once if fails, you will have hard time to find replacement parts (I have an old GEM S2/R that I can’t fix because GEM doesn’t really exist anymore and I can’t fix a new board and firmware chip). While in the mean time, I still do have an old Pentium 4 spare computer still running Win98SE and 15 years old software… and since the motherboard is made by Asus, I could surely have even more chance to find one if tomorrow it comes to fail. (I don’t really use it because everything I need is working fine with my new system, but if I would I could).

      So when computer fails, it’s not much different from any other digital hardware, except that you might have more chances to find parts because it’s parts that have been sold by millions, not few thousands units.

      Current software are 64 bits and run on 64 bits OS and hardware with 64bits drivers; So we won’t even have any trouble in future like we had with the painful transitions from 32 bits to 64 bits, because 128 bits won’t come anytime soon.

  10. I didn’t buy my Maschine MKII because I wanted a sweet looking controller or a physical instrument that would last me decades. Neither did I buy it because I’m a dumb, shortsighted kid that doesn’t realize something new is probably just around the corner, and that a few years from now my solution will be obsolete (even though they’ve just been adding to the MKI since it’s launch). I bought it because it is an amazingly fun way to work with beatmaking and songwriting, and because it is unquestionably the best at what it does. I did not need (or want for that matter) an all in one solution, because I already have a computer and a soundcard and a keyboard and a table and a chair and speakers and a coffee maker. I wanted Maschine because it’s fucking great, and thus far they’ve only been adding features and making it better. Something you can’t really do the same way with outboard gear. 2.0 looks like an even greater tool, and that’s really all that matters to me.

  11. somehow this thread is drifting towards controlerism. So, I say, bring up cool & DAW controllers, because the current offering is very toyish or hellishly expensive.

  12. I think alot of people are kind of missing the point. Yes I am a Maschine user with a perfectly good MK1 controller and I am stoked about the upgrade to the 2.0 software precisely because I don’t need to upgrade the hardware. I think this is a great example of a company respecting their legacy products.

    Do i want the new hardware? Not really. It’s a little too big for my current workspace plus i feel like i just don’t need to replace something i already use and love. Is $99 to much for the software upgrade? No i don’t think so because I see this as a major upgrade which i am happy to pay for to support ongoing development.

    Should this version of Maschine have been stand alone? Well I own a Virus TI and I think that model of hardware / software reigns supreme so I would have welcomed that but I am ok with this $99 software upgrade.

  13. What is really weird is that on my iPad this is the most recent Synthtopia post that I can access. Even if I open the browser and do a search for Synthtopia and try and enter that way instead of my bookmark, I land with this at the top and can’t get anything more recent.

    1. I had the same thing happen with me on my iPad. I had to clear my history and cache/cookies within the settings for Safari. It only seemed to be this way for Synthtopia. And also when I write these comments the typing input and interaction is sluggish and jumpy.

  14. I’m just getting started in making music and was about to get the Mk2 as my starting point in to this new world. Now the maschine 3 is coming out and I put a hold on my first purchase . I think back on all the electronic purchases I done in my life and I have all way brought the newest of whatever the purchase was. When you buy something that has first, second and newest model, and you go ahead and buy the first or second model and after your leaning curve is over you will always wonder about that higher model, and that’s a fact.
    I call me stupid, or say you don’t need this to start out, or say start with the basic and work your way up. In my mind I think get the best that available ( with in your budget ) and jump in, because you will alway wonder about that newest model if you don’t buy it.

  15. I bought macshine a year and a bit ago. I have returned to my groove boxes and outboard gear most of the Time . I like the concept but it falls flat on so many fronts. I’d never consider upgrading to this new version. In the end I feel that my purchase was a total waste of money. It’s not the same as having a stand alone box that you can liquidate a few years down the road . It’s a liability from the word go. I found no improvement to my workflow and to be honest I never felt it sounded that great . What’s incredible is that it’s 2013 and while some companies have offered us some really nice new synths we have only a sliver offering us rhythm devices. Every computer based device I’ve purchased be it a iPad app or a soft synth loses its novelty after a couple weeks. Korg have given us some toy like instruments in thier mono tribe line but really the mpc is still a valid and very usable beat making option. I’d have to say stick with the classics .if you decide musics not for you it won’t be as big a financial blow. Fifteen years ago people told me sell all my analog kit as it would soon be worthless. They touted the wonders of software and computers. I don’t know a single one of the dozens of people who told me that who are still making music, that being said some great music has been made with computer based systems and just macshine. For me it does not fit my workflow and my mk1 will reign as one of my most regretted purchases of all time.

    1. I agree with just about everything you said, and I’m feeling the same thing about the Maschine workflow that didn’t fit me. I’ve also bought a MKI and sold it to get back to my electribe for making quick ideas. The software / hardware might work but it needs a real DAW as the software. Ableton is going the right way I think.

      1. pretty coloured lights are just toy

        colour screens are over kill

        i prefer my mk1’s looks over any maschine

        maschine 3 is a pretty toy

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