Intigrating Live Sequencer (Maschine) into your Dj Sets?
Hey Guys,
Ive done a search but everything comes up with how to Sync maschine and traktor.
What i want to discuss is what we do ‘After’ we have got them synced…
Last night i gave this sync a go and got it up and running in a jiffy…
Fun - YES, Annoying - YES
It seems the levels on the Maschine running through the 4th channel on my DJM were just soo loud, even after turning the output from maschine down to the same as my track decks it still sounded like a kick drum was distorted.. (maybe this is just my levels on the maschine software)
Hi Hats and Snares worked well layered on to my track decks, although i found the whole sound of the maschine channel to sound quite gimmicky, is this because the sounds are all midi notes and not been mastered down?
Anyway what im asking is how do you, (those that actually do) incorporate maschine or any other sequencer, apc etc etc into your dj sets?
I cant see myself using more then the occasional drum sequence here and there??
i made a maschine project wich contains different sounds in different groups.
group A has claps and snares, B has hihats and shakers, C has open hihats and crashes, D has cowbells, congas, claves and other more funky stuff, E has kickdrums and F has some sound effects like white noise buildups and stuff.
i put some work into every sample to make them sound how i want them, compressed them, applied some reverb, eqed and everything. took quite some time but it’s worth it.
when i dj i just got my maschine connected to the 5th channel of my xone 92 and i control it’s volume over the gain knob and the fader.
the way i use it is i just add some small drum patterns over songs that seem to be a bit dull. for example if a song plays after the “drop” for 32 bars, i add in a clap on every second bar via maschine with the step sequencer.
or if a song has a very long breakdown which i want to play but is taking away too much energy of the set i add in a kickdrum on every second bar or two different kicks, one layered with a snare.
or when i want to apply tension before a “drop” i put in a hihat on every bar 32 bars before the drop and then start addig more hihats until i got 4 hihats per bar just before the drop. you can also do that with the note repeat button.
it’s also nice to keep a simple hihat pattern running during your transition and then keeping it running longer than the song you mixed out of, it makes the transition more natural in my opinion.
thats how i work with it, but i surley try not to overuse it because it can easily become too much.
That is pretty much what i was thinking of doing, so im quite glad you have said that… yeh i can imagine too much would instantly just spoil the whole set.
When you say you EQ and compress each sound, do you do that within maschine, or export the sound from midi and then compress/eq in a DAW then re import to the maschine?
I never thought of listing my sounds in that way, i.e groups of each sound, which i think is a absolute amazing idea!! Do you not use any Bass Synths with it, or is there a timing issue with useing them (i experienced some yesterday)
Would it be possible to get a few screen shots of some of your groups so i can see how you have organised and structured them? it would be a great help?
i edit all my sounds inside maschine with just its basic effects and stuff. most of them are classic maschine samples (909, 808 etc.), some of them are from beatport sound packs and i’ve got like 3 sampled claps from older tracks.
i always sync my maschine to my traktor decks first, to the first song i play. just a basic hihat pattern on cue and then match it with timestretch of your traktor master channel.
i am not on my own laptop right now and will not be for the next 3 days (out of town) but i will post some screens as soon as i can.
I think it’s called tempo bend or sth. Like when you move the pitchfader up and then back to normal quickly to keep the tempo but match it to the bars. Little arrows above your tracks in traktor
So on the weekend just gone i gave this a proper go live just with a 909 drum kit loaded, and i tell you what its great fun. It really does make your mix transition so much smoother as Volpe said with a simple hi-hat patter ‘bridging’ over the two songs!
I use to do the same thing with a sample deck slot. When I’m prepping new songs i’ll set a loop from a break or intro that is a nice percussive element. That way when I load a song I can start playing that part early on and keep playing it throughout the set. I’ll end up with four or five of those going at different times throughout the set. It gives a nice cohesion to the set.
I will post some screens any minute, just on my way home.
Pm me if you are interested in getting the whole project file, in exchange for yours as soon as you have something done ofc
The only thing annoying me is that you can only Chain 4 Effects in Maschine, and that the EQ is quite limited. I use a free VST EQ (MEqualizer | MeldaProduction) sometimes, but i did not in this project so ppl without it can use it as well.
As said, feel free to PM me if you want the whole Project and ill send you a dropbox link, maybe we can make a little collection there with your kits as well?
Edit: just noticed quality of the pics is quite bad, uploading them somewhere else right now
