Equipment advice for 2 performers. Looking at the S2 and Maschine, open to options.

So a friend and I have been producing for a bit, and we're ready to start buying some equipment to begin performing live. We currently just use PCs on Ableton.

Currently, we're looking at picking up a S2 and a Maschine, but I'm wondering if there are better options out there for a duo to perform with. We're also looking at picking up a Mac.

We like the workflow of both the S2/Traktor and the Maschine, and we want to both be able to bring something to the performance and not have to take turns. He likes to make beats dynamically, so we were considering using the S2 for mixing and effects, and the Maschine for live beats and effects. I know the F1 could be used as well, but we want to have 2 stand alone instruments.

Doing some research, I'm still a little unclear if this setup will be the best. Any recommendations/advice?
Thanks

If its gonna be two separate setups I'd prob go with an MPC for the live beats. I use maschine in my sets and its fun but if you both wanna bring something different to the table id do that. But the S2/Maschine setup is amazing, so either way you can achieve your goal.

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Originally Posted by Otacon

If its gonna be two separate setups I'd prob go with an MPC for the live beats. I use maschine in my sets and its fun but if you both wanna bring something different to the table id do that. But the S2/Maschine setup is amazing, so either way you can achieve your goal.

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Why would you recommend the MPC over the Maschine?

Also, do you guys think this is a viable setup while running off of 1 computer?

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Originally Posted by mor4sso

Why would you recommend the MPC over the Maschine?

Also, do you guys think this is a viable setup while running off of 1 computer?

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It depends on if you can handle a laptop for the drum machine or not.

Running off one laptop for two people, doing two completely different things? Even with Maschine's inbuilt screens, you're pushing it. You're really going to have to ask yourself what you're going to be doing with it, and if that hardware layout is even really necessary in a coherent setup.

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Originally Posted by Shishdisma

It depends on if you can handle a laptop for the drum machine or not.

Running off one laptop for two people, doing two completely different things? Even with Maschine's inbuilt screens, you're pushing it. You're really going to have to ask yourself what you're going to be doing with it, and if that hardware layout is even really necessary in a coherent setup.

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I was thinking have all the sets drum beats set into groups on the maschine, so that my buddy won't even need to look at the computer. Then we run Maschine in the background, and keep Traktor on the screen the whole time while I run the S2.

We're buying a brand new laptop, so hopefully it'll have the power to run everything. We're considering a PC because for the same price we can get a lot more power under the hood.

All this is up in the air, we're just trying to figure out exactly what to get.

Why not run Maschine as a VST in ableton on a second laptop. You can hook up an Akai APC40 too.

IMO Maschine should be fine to run in the background of one laptop if its powerful enough - when I play with my partner who has an S4 I close my laptop and read everything I need off the Maschine screens.

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Originally Posted by boarderbas

Why not run Maschine as a VST in ableton on a second laptop. You can hook up an Akai APC40 too.

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We can't afford a second laptop unfortunately. Running the Maschine through Ableton will be done for production, but my partner likes the abilities and pads on the Maschine over the APC40

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Originally Posted by humanafterall

IMO Maschine should be fine to run in the background of one laptop if its powerful enough - when I play with my partner who has an S4 I close my laptop and read everything I need off the Maschine screens.

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It sounds like you're running a similar setup to what we plan on doing. How has it worked out for you guys? Any recommendations/advice?

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Originally Posted by mor4sso

It sounds like you're running a similar setup to what we plan on doing. How has it worked out for you guys? Any recommendations/advice?

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We route Maschine to deck C in Traktor so we can EQ it easily in the mix. We also run midi cables between Maschine and the S4 which allows for sync and to control some of the functions in Traktor on the Maschine (by switching Maschine into midi mode).

The setups gone great for us - I love the flexibility of Maschine and the ability to host synths and instruments as well as make beats, but I haven't had enough time to go through the sample library and to figure out how to best use it in our sets. As a result we haven't used it much in our sets (more just for effects control) but I've had a bit more time now to use it and we're starting to use it our setup more.

I think Maschine is a great way to get live beats in your sets for cheap! You can do effects on it too - I mapped mine to control Traktor effects with the pads using aftertouch so I can vary the effect with the pressure on the pad. I'd definitely recommend it if an MPC etc is too expensive. As you're producing you'd get a bit more flexibility when you perform if you used Maschine rather than just an S2.

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Originally Posted by humanafterall

We route Maschine to deck C in Traktor so we can EQ it easily in the mix. We also run midi cables between Maschine and the S4 which allows for sync and to control some of the functions in Traktor on the Maschine (by switching Maschine into midi mode).

The setups gone great for us - I love the flexibility of Maschine and the ability to host synths and instruments as well as make beats, but I haven't had enough time to go through the sample library and to figure out how to best use it in our sets. As a result we haven't used it much in our sets (more just for effects control) but I've had a bit more time now to use it and we're starting to use it our setup more.

I think Maschine is a great way to get live beats in your sets for cheap! You can do effects on it too - I mapped mine to control Traktor effects with the pads using aftertouch so I can vary the effect with the pressure on the pad. I'd definitely recommend it if an MPC etc is too expensive. As you're producing you'd get a bit more flexibility when you perform if you used Maschine rather than just an S2.

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Hmm, it seems like the lack of inputs on the S2 is going to hold us back a bit. I've been debating just simply getting an S4, but as this is my first controller, I don't know if the extra cost is worth the features that the S4 provides.

Or maybe I'm over thinking everything. :P