4x4 (Buttons or Pads??) Maschine vs MF

View Poll Results: Best 1st "DJ" controller for *long time INSTRUMENTALIST

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  • Maschine

    11 78.57%
  • MIDI Fighter (classic @125?)

    0 0%
  • Novation Twitch

    1 7.14%
  • Traktor S2

    2 14.29%
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  1. #1
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    Default 4x4 (Buttons or Pads??) Maschine vs MF

    So my most current performance hero is without question Jeremy Ellis. That said, I'm wondering if a MIDI Fighter could be a realistic alternative to Maschine as a controller for such routines. I have never played one - are the buttons too small? I know they are not velocity sensitive, but for that type of routine it is almost better to have all the pads on a fixed velocity anyway, because (in my limited experience) different fingers have different strength, and using fingers 4 and 5 can throw off a balance sonically.

    Anyway, I am planning on taking my studio prowess on the road for 2013 and shedding my self-granted title of producer and adopting the "dj" hat (though I won't jokey discs, I will perform EDM style music in dance settings).

    If I am going to be getting one controller to start and don't need jogs (or, really, even an xfader), what controllers are popular for "controllerists" who gig but are not DJs?

    The other thought I had was for the Novation Twitch (to use with Traktor or possibly midi mapped to Live8, etc)

    [or, after all this, do I need to be able to DJ for real to get gigs, and I should just give in and get an S2 or something in that vein?]
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  2. #2
    DJTT Moderator Dude Jester's Avatar
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    Get the S2 for a start. You can always add a maschine or midifighter to the mix later on.
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  3. #3
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    The thing is I can't just let songs play out - I'm very much an active performer (a la 18 years of cello, 10 of piano, bass, etc.) I do know *how* to mix, beatmatching by ear and all that, I'm just not a master of picking tunes, which is the artistic part of DJing. Is that simply a requirement for gigging as an electronic musician?
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  4. #4
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    my vote is for maschine then if your looking to play around with stuff.

    Kontrol F1 is pretty nice too. i have one with a s2 and its fun on traktor.

  5. #5
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    I didn't think of the smaller NI controllers... I'll look into that!

    The other option being the Twitch (that i found for 319) seems to have enough buttons to do stuff and not need a second controller... Though I might just end up with a maschine and APC20/40...
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  6. #6
    Tech Mentor Michielygil's Avatar
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    Why do you think the pads on a Maschine are not velocity sensitive?
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  7. #7
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    I know they are, I had one last year for a minute. I just meant that it seems that performers like Jeremy Ellis might have some fixed velocity for some of the pads (or some samples are set to not scale volume with velocity?) depending on what finger is used for each sample, because it can sound weak if the snare is on your pinky and the hats are on your thumb (for example) unless you fix the snare at high volume, or fix the hats low.

    Or is it all done in the mixer?

    I never really put much thought into that part, I'm not quite there yet
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  8. #8
    Tech Guru Cybertrash's Avatar
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    Honestly, getting a Maschine for the controller only seems like a waste. The software is where the goodies are.
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  9. #9
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    Well I recently bought a PadKontrol and this thing is going back to the store. Not all pads are created equal! Getting a response like you can from an acoustic instrument (as far as playing dynamically) the maschine had the best pads I've felt so far, maybe the Mk2 is better (so they say) and who knows about the push, maybe it could be usable as a pad controller for some things... But that's a ways off.
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  10. #10
    Tech Mentor Michielygil's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cybertrash View Post
    Honestly, getting a Maschine for the controller only seems like a waste. The software is where the goodies are.

    It is indeed where it happens, especially together with a Komplete package. But to be fair, I love using my maschine as a midi controller too, since it has all these different pages of midi notes logically layed out for you plus assignable knob pages where you can edit the texts. It makes it feel ever so logical to use.

    It's an expensive controller, but a very nice one to use when you've got it anyway for the software.
    Last edited by Michielygil; 11-20-2012 at 03:16 PM. Reason: Added the quote
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