Maschine 2.0

All the bedroom groove-makers have for some time now been waiting for a ‘real’ update on the Native Instruments Maschine. So far they’ve been more or less served with colorful skins and software updates. So what is the deal with Maschine 2.0?

For an interesting conversation on the subject, please refer to the NI forums – the topic has been on for over a month now. I must warn you though if your intentions include participating in that conversation (I haven’t). As it often is with these sort of wish lists, all the enthusiasts are defending their own views, trying to block any opposition by calling them with a variety of names. I believe this is because they feel that by doing so they might actually affect the way the future update specs.

I don’t think Native Instruments will let people vote on what they want Maschine 2.0 to include. However I will list below some of my notions based on using my Maschine Mikro.

First of all, the divide between Maschine and Maschine Mikro is not valid anymore. Rather I would see it as sensible that the Maschine 2.0 would be the workhorse will all the imaginable treats included, whereas the other model would be something like iMaschine: a portable device designed to be used either as a wireless standalone or with iPad and possibly Android tablets. The latter option would bring in both the display and new control options in the form of touchscreen.

Of course sample content is required also in the future, so both models should include a separate USB for external hard drive – that’s where many users already have their samples collection laid out. This solution would free Maschine users from their workstation and make using Maschine more mobile an experience.

So what about the flagship – the future Maschine 2.0? Some sort of touchscreen control would surely be a treat so at least integral connectivity with tablets – and smartphones – would be required. Having an integral x/y-touchscreen in the device itself would be a real treat, but for pricing reasons I don’t see it as a valid option. Then again, in my experience most people still use their mouse instead of the device rubber buttons for most of the controls – the 16 pads themselves excluded – so there might be a momentum for some new thinking there. In one sentence: more buttons and knobs for playing and performing and less for editing.

Also, nowadays when you buy for example the NI Drums installations and other similar products, their integration in the Maschine environment is a bit problematic: you only see some of the control features, and compared to the actual software you really don’t know what’s going on all the time. To put it simply, the users should lead the workflow and not vice versa.

Finally there is the issue of updating databases – in my case this may take some three hours. The amount of third-party libraries made for Maschine has not been as large as I would have hoped for. I don’t know the reason for this, but after experiencing numerous issues with installing them I have concluded that compiling those products are not as easy a task as it should programming-wise. Libraries keep disappearing and reappearing, and the meaning of the infamous alias data is still a mystery at least to me.

But in the end I as well as the NI forums people will have to wait until the new product line comes out. The last quarter of this year is a good guess for the release. A similarly good a guess is that there won’t be an iPad app version of Maschine before that.

VST: summer sales

First of all, in this post I am not compiling any sort of comprehensive summer sales bargain list about different VST items. The reason for this is simple: the sales are yet to begin. But what I will do is mention some things I may be interested in – if the price is right.

Actually one item I did purchase already was the Detroit Soul library at Big Fish Audio. Normally I am not into loop packs or construction kits, but I was looking for some vintage sounds to be used on Maschine, and the 60 percent discount was very generous indeed. This deal will expire soon I believe so check it out fast if you’re into that sort of stuff.

One other thing I picked up was the Propellerheads Thor Polysynth for iPad. The synth was released only last week so it was not on sale, but it was very much worth its price. Both the sounds, the interface, and the overall usability are of greatest quality, meaning Thor will surely make it to the Top 10 must-have apps for iPad music makers.

The summer sales are the second most important period for me to gather new music items – the prime season is Thanksgiving. If my memory serves me right, already last summer Native Instruments were offering their George Duke Soul Treasures 50 percent off the list price. I did not pick it up then since I had missed the crucial update concerning the time-stretch feature, which makes this loop-based library very usable in any projects requiring that 1970s vinyl-ish feel. The product also includes all the loops in WAV files so they can be applied in Maschine as such – another thing I had not noticed. So I have basically made the decision to pick this item up – if the discount percent is 50 like last summer. By no means I absolutely need this product, but if the price is right, I sure know things I can use it for.

Also the NI Scarbee Rickenbacker bass is one item I could use with the right price tag included. All the Scarbee instruments in NI catalog are extremely well-structured and have great playability, but then again I don’t actually need a new bass. If summer brings the Rick half-priced, I may be into buying however.

There are also some loop library items at Big Fish Audio catalogue – mainly guitar-based stuff – I might have use for, but since these are pretty new products, I doubt they will be on sale before Thanksgiving. Regardless of this their site is worth checking especially on Thursdays, when their weekly sales items are published.

Otherwise I don’t think this year’s summer sales will include anything radical product-wise. Also iPad app vendors will spend their time coming up new products aimed at the new iOS 7 so that front will probably be somewhat quiet too. Well I am very much strapped for cash now myself so I won’t mind.

UPDATE 6/27:

Samplephonics now has a -50 percent discount on its products. I purchased the Funk and Soul Guitar as well as the Vintage Keys libraries. Also Orange Tree Samples releases its new Rick Bass tomorrow, the discount being 20$.

VST: the sample DJ

In my recent post I expressed my interest in the Traktor DJ app for iPad along with some doubts on its functionality. In the end I was unable to resist purchasing the app although at least one of the questions I pointed out has realized itself: Native Instruments is – compared to for example Steinberg and their Cubasis – painfully slow in updating their apps and fixing the bugs and errors in design.

However I enjoy using the Traktor DJ even more than I expected. In fact it made me think about some of the recent VST instrument releases from the viewpoint of usability.

Let’s take two examples from 8DIO, the high-end VST instrument vendor. Recently they put out the EDM Trap, which is labeled as a ‘production tool’ for DJs and other dance music aficionados. The library consists of over three gigabytes of trap sounds divided in several Kontakt instrument patches. For more details, please refer to the link attached in the beginning of this chapter.

But in the end, what is the fundamental difference between DJing an original song and using a sampled dance music library aimed at DJs? The library of course has more controls over the outcome, but still one cannot avoid the feeling that more than an instrument, EDM Trap library is about being a sample DJ: someone who tinkers with preprocessed sets of sounds just like a DJ does with songs.

The other 8DIO example is their latest wind instrument, the Clarinet Virtuoso, which is described as a ‘highly playable’ clarinet VST instrument.

As I’ve argued before, long gone are the days when the issue with instrument libraries were the quality of sound – the sampling today is more or less impeccable.

But the ‘highly playable’ side? Not so much. We’re still often limited to patches, keyswitches and clumsy menus. Thus regardless of ultra-deep sampling, one ends up being a sample DJ: repeating more than creating.

However I did notice a fresh take on this issue when Embertone released their new Friedlander Violin last month. The instrument includes the option to control the sound via custom-made Touch OSC app patch on iPad. Thus controlling for example the violin vibrato is in practise achieved by using one’s touchpad, which is indeed a major improvement compared to the all-too-familiar keyswitch jungle.

Whether it is EDM, a woodwind instrument, or a violin, the person playing it is after the feeling that he or she is doing more than DJing by repeating something made by other people. Going after just great sounds is not enough anymore. True freedom of expression is about dry sound and limitless options for molding it, not about making a VST clarinet divided in 25 instrument patches.