Maschine Studio Review
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 11
  1. #1
    Tech Guru Tarekith's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Luxembourg
    Posts
    888

    Default Maschine Studio Review



    In some ways it feels like ages since I last gave NI’s Maschine MKI a try, but it’s been something I’ve been watching mature ever since. I loved the sounds, and the hardware integration felt pretty complete, if a bit long-winded in some cases. At the time though (pre-Maschine v1.5?), there were still too many things you needed to revert to the computer to do. And if I’m honest the basic mono-chromatic displays were a tad on the generic side. It didn’t exactly ooze character and I found it would take me awhile to locate where I was in various menus sometimes.

    All-in-all I was impressed, but it wasn’t quite the hardware groovebox replacement I had hoped it would be. After a brief affair, I sold it and set about mastering the Octatrack instead. Well, now the Octatrack has come and gone, and I’m once again interested in Maschine, specifically the new Studio version with it’s fancy displays. With the recent NI price drop during May, along with Guitar Center holiday deals on top, it was a no brainer that now was the time to give it another go.

    I won’t go into every function of Maschine in great detail, there’s a ton of reviews out there with that info already. What I want to look at is does it function as a true groovebox now, and how does it compare to something like Push? (a question I see all the time lately)

    The hardware itself is the same solid controller body NI has been using for awhile now on things like Maschine MKI and the Traktor controllers. Largely plastic, but with some heft to it that makes it feel a bit more sturdy. Only the lower portion of the faceplate has an aluminum skin, the upper portion is the same fingerprint-attracting gloss plastic that the S4 uses. Grr. Hopefully NI makes some skins for the Studio series, I rather liked the old gun-metal blue one for the first generation.

    The pads and buttons all feel nice and responsive, and the knobs are solid and feel like they’ll stand up to a lot of tweaking. The new jog wheel is a little less solid-feeling, but it works well for scrolling in any list, and for moving and editing your recorded notes after the fact. The outer ring lights up to let you know when you’re in a menu or edit function that the jog wheel will be active for, and luckily it’s not too bright even in a dark studio. Ditto the pads and buttons, they looked really bright in some videos I saw online, but in use they’re nicely dim enough to not be annoying. The displays can be independently brightened as well.

    One awesome new feature is the fold out legs under the Studio, I was curious about how sturdy it would turn out to be. In use they’re great, very solid feeling and it puts the Studio right at a perfect angle IMO. I use Blue Lounge’s Cool Feet to tilt all my tabletop gear, so having this built in and working so well is a huge plus for me.

    On to the main key feature of the Studio though, those new displays. When I first powered it on, I was a bit shocked that my first reaction was “wow, they’re not retina clarity”. Not that I expected them to be, nor should they be necessarily, just that it’s been awhile since I’ve seen LCDs that weren’t, doh! All kidding aside, they new display looks great and NI has done a fantastic job using them to help you navigate and edit your projects as efficiently as possible.

    Notice I said “edit”. One of things that sticks out to me the most about the new Studio controller, is that it makes using Maschine feel like you’re working at a dedicated editing station. NI have done such a good job of giving you easy and direct access to all the controls you need to edit your performances after the fact, that it feels like that’s the focus more to me than typical grooveboxes.

    Continue Reading: -> http://tarekith.com/maschine-studio-review/

  2. #2
    Tech Guru botstein's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    LA / NYC
    Posts
    1,372

    Default

    Erik - I'm sort of surprised that you compared it with Push (feh), and then did not compare the pads, and was also sort of surprised to read that you feel any brand loyalty to Ableton.

  3. #3
    Tech Guru Tarekith's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Luxembourg
    Posts
    888

    Default

    Not sure what you mean about brand loyalty.

    The pads on both are great for what they are IMO, playing both for the first time I was surprised at how far pad controllers have come in terms of sensitivity. I think the Maschine pads are a bit more sensitive myself, but some of that is because they are larger too I think. For how many there on Push I think it's pretty darn expressive, especially once you dial in the user pad settings to your liking.

    Out of the box Maschine is more playable in terms of the pad response, but if you set it upmto your playing style Push can be a VERY close runner up.

  4. #4
    Tech Guru Tarekith's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Luxembourg
    Posts
    888

    Default

    I only compared it with Push because as I was researching the Studio version deciding if I wanted to buy that I saw so many people were asking about the two. I wanted to clear up some misconceptions about what they are and are not. At least for me

  5. #5
    Tech Guru botstein's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    LA / NYC
    Posts
    1,372

    Default

    Really? I have found the pads on all of the Push units I've spent a bit of time with to be junk.

    Quote Originally Posted by Tarekith View Post
    Not sure what you mean about brand loyalty.
    But if you’re already a Live user, there’s no denying how useful it is keeping it all “in the family” so to speak...

    Have you thought about comparing the pads on each to those on QuNeo?

  6. #6
    Tech Guru botstein's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    LA / NYC
    Posts
    1,372

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Tarekith View Post
    I only compared it with Push because as I was researching the Studio version deciding if I wanted to buy that I saw so many people were asking about the two. I wanted to clear up some misconceptions about what they are and are not. At least for me
    I definitely appreciate this intention.

  7. #7
    Tech Guru Tarekith's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Luxembourg
    Posts
    888

    Default

    I've heard people complaining about the pads on Push being very inconsistant in feel, but on the few that I've tried and the one I own, that's not an issue. I did have an issue with the LEDs being off in color, but I covered that in detail elsewhere in the blog and the Ableton Push app largely fixed it.

    I didn't think about comparing Push or Maschine to something like the QuNexus because they seem so far apart to me. They all have pads I guess, but everything does now

    Honestly I don't know if I could name a favorite among the three, they've all been so good at what they do that I haven't wanted to use my MPK25 in months, if not years. For the small size and tilt functions, the QuNexus is probably my favorite and the one I'd keep on a desert island.

    Push is just class to me, it ooozes style and is easy to use, it's unique different and accessible all at once. That's not brnad loyalty, that's how I feel.

    Maschine has the best feeling pads of the group for just being responsive to velocity, and soft to the touch for long sessions. I'll admit, the 4x4 grid approach is my least favorite of all of them, but I'm trying not to think about that right now

    Better?

  8. #8
    Tech Guru botstein's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    LA / NYC
    Posts
    1,372

    Default

    I guess it's a matter of taste. I could not disagree more strongly on the topic of the styling of these products.

  9. #9
    Tech Guru Tarekith's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Luxembourg
    Posts
    888

    Default

    Horses for courses I guess!

  10. #10
    Tech Guru botstein's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    LA / NYC
    Posts
    1,372

    Default

    Wait are you talking QuNeo or QuNexus?

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •