nicccccccc's Reviews

Fantastic piece of gear!

If this had a stereo to mono l/r converter on it built in, and a better file system (especially for projects) - it would be a 10/10. Now it’s like a 9.5.

This is the ultimate workstation away from a computer. I think people underestimate the power of this thing. You can do almost anything on this machine if you really put the time in. I used to use an MPC 2000XL to make my music on together with Ableton as a final mix. I only use the Maschine Plus now. Been using it since it day one and I haven’t gotten back to working with anything else yet. This just works.

I’ve been working with a lot of samplers from MPC2000XL, 3000 - ASR10s etc. But I heard so much good about the maschine, that I decided to buy the mk2 some years back. Didn’t have the patience to learn it. I decided to try learning it again when my 2000XL broke. Weeks later, the talk of a standalone was announced. I was HYPED. Maschine? Standalone? Wow. I bought this instead of getting my xl fixed.

Don’t listen to people who complain about it’s workflow - it’s not an MPC and you shouldn’t try to use it like one. Use it as a Maschine. The workflow is perfect and quick as hell once you learn stuff. I used a long time getting around it cuz I was trying to use it as an MPC. When I tried to learn it for what it was, then I couldn’t stop using it.

I feel like a lot of people who show off this piece of gear mostly focuses on expansion kits and pre-made groups, which kinda limits the possibilities for readers/viewers. My best solution : try before buy , or go for an MK3 or Mikro.

The only negatives I have are the things I stated at the top, and that it has some bugs/crashes some few, few times - but this can happen with any hardware/software. I hope they’ll just keep patching it.

Hope this wasn’t a too messy review. Fantastic device.

Preferred Settings + Usage:

portable & hot

great, great sampler. built like a tank. you can do beats on it. sequencer is ok, learn your ways - or resample.. or play live. whatever you feel like doing. you can also store beats on this, play them live etc. only reason to get this over the sx would be the vinyl sim compression. (it's almost as dirty as the 303, but there is a difference - especially when using the knobs in a rapid, live setting..)

perfect.

When I first got it, I really underestimated it. I don't really know why. This DAW and controller is basically an upgraded (like hell) MPC which works with the computer. -no standalone The way you can lay down ideas so quick and chop samples in seconds is what makes this maschine so good. Perfect way for everyone to get into making music.

works great!

Great machine. A ton of features, especially if you're upgrading from the XL. The build quality on this one is not so good in my opinion. Had to switch all the tact switches, the pads were totally fine though. Great MPC to get if you don't know what MPC to get.

battery-powered king!

Portable small mpc. Can actually do a LOT if you get into the limitations and bugs.

(There is a weird thing that when sometime you sample something it can suddenly turn into a low fidelity sample. Crisp as hell. I have no idea how this happens randomly on some recordings and some not. )

perfect!

golden machine! chopping using numbers is not a problem...some stuff can be quicker to do on say the 2000xl , but the sound of this machine is really good. top quality!

the keyboard...

pretty great. love the sample quality on this one. sequencer is pretty "OK", I prefer to sequence via the MPC.

bitcrusher

Technosound Turbo 2 + OctaMED ..some break and some sample.

portable sampling hysteria

You can bang out beats on this machine, and it's really fun learning your way around the limitations.

If you think out of the box you can do multi-sample based downtempo «triphop» beats on this. You just have to really dig into ninjaing the sp.

You can do some crazy stuff on this if you really have the time, or just use it as an effect processor. (Vinyl Sim is the real deal. it’s not overrated, and people who try to emulate it can’t get close.)

chop master

pretty OK machine! does what it's supposed to do. has a cool crunch function ("resample") sequencer sucks.

the real deal

This is usually my studio midpoint when doing hiphop (or the MASCHINE). You can do anything sample-based on this machine, whether it's an easy loop or a full-blown triphop track. I dig this machine 100%. All my tracks start out from this machine - I sequence the entire thing - and then track it all into Ableton for mixing.. 10/10

If you want to get into sampling and making hiphop / house / breakbeat - whatever fits your style, I would suggest starting with this machine. You'll be learning a lot just by trialing and erroring this machine for a month. If you can make a great track on limited equipment, think about what you can do with a DAW.

handy!!

easy as it should be. simple, 4 track mixer with volume control.

tool

cool sampler. to be used as a tool rather than to make music on (there's no sequencer, or resample function) - you can still make beats on this though;) imo - no need to get a memory card. the effects get limited when using the card. lofi is VERY lofi, don't get it for that only though.