Maschine feature requests

First of all I think maschine is fantastic and I'm definitely going to buy it. But I already have some requests . Most of them are quite important and I have the feeling that the lack of some of these features are really holding back possible buyers of Maschine.

I don't want to make this a 'let's-all-complain-about-Maschine' - thread but I wanted to highlight the most important problems / missing features. I hope NI can provide fixes and added features in updates for Maschine.

Please correct me if I'm writing something wrong (apart from my english spelling that is )
Feel free to add comment and more (realistic and important) feature requests.

- 1. Macro Controls for the 8 rotary knobs which can be freely assigned for whatever you want (like FX, filter, envelope, ... parameters for multiple sounds). This would be very nice to have when playing live and in the studio for controlling multiple parameters at the same time.

- 2. 'Copy pattern to track' - function (like reason has). So you can copy every note you programmed in a pattern to your DAW. For some of us, this way it would be much more easy to start arranging a full song in context to your other sequences (from other plugins) and you wouldn't have to make new patterns if you just wanted to change a few minor details (like adding a crash, or dropping the BD the last measure, ... I know you can mute and play sounds with the hardware but can you record and program this mutes and see them in your DAW? I didn't think so).
The way maschine handles this is not very intuitive IMHO.
At the moment you can see one note in your DAW (the trigger for a pattern switch) and when you want to see let's say your drums, you have to open your Maschine-sequences in its own window, so you can't see your sequenced maschine-lines in relation to your other synths and plugins (!).
It would be lovely to start sequencing in maschine and when you have a nice pattern going you could just copy it to your DAW and start arranging the rest of your song from there.
Now that would be 'Total Integration'!

- 3. automation editable from your DAW (let the host do 'longer-form' automation next to the 'local' - automation): this way you could very easy program automation data over the whole track. I think this can't be done at the moment (correct me if I'm wrong).

 

Another Feature - Time Stretch

-4 Time Stretching ;-)

Already posted this in the german section of 'producer area', but I think this point belongs to this thread here....

I absolutely do not understand how a sample based instrument is beeing released without time stretching! I mean it`s 2009, and there is Kontakt - why not adapting the algorithms for time stretch in Maschine?

@Anybody @NI: will this feature be implemented in the future? As a patch perhaps?

As a Live User there won`t be a big problem to load Maschine as a plugin and use Lives` time stretching engine on other tracks, but that can`t be the solution :-(

Time Stretching would really improve the workflow and avoid the need of 'outsourcing' this task to another track / clip in Live. Think of the performance orientated solo/mute functions of Maschine: with time stretched loops on further tracks in my daw, these functions become somewhat 'invalid'.

 

That would be a nice feature, but maybe technically too difficult to program with all those sequencers (Cubase, Logic, Sonar, etc.) Export MIDI on the other hand... Maschine could be a great sketch pad for creating patterns. I mean, the controller can be used with instruments other than Maschine, so why not the software too? A Ferengi would say, I smell opportunity.

 

...REX-import, REX-import, REX-import, REX-import, REX-import...

 

full midi in - full midi out
host automation

 

i second the above.
oh, and groove quantize support

 

yes UmFuFu, absolutely, this thing need DECENT quantization options ... they are talking about 50% quantizing as if it was the new hot water ... por favor .. if at least i could use my various sequencers quantization options .. oh but wait ... no midi in/out --> no host processing

 

More outputs in the VSTi. Eight stereo outputs for 6 x 16 sounds = 96 sounds just isn't enough. Eight extra mono outputs would be a nice start.

 

I don't think Maschine has these features yet:

---
Start/end trim knobs resolution:

 

Where's the panic button? I got a stuck note last night, and the only option was restarting Maschine...

I don't remember seeing a MIDI activity light either, which could be helpful.

 

Did you try the Audio Engine Button?

 

bumping this because I agree with all of the above.

* parameter automation exposed from the VST is a must. Program change for Scenes does not cut it by itself.

* MIDI out ports and a specialized Sound type / pattern controls (i.e. allow for the automation of CC's) for MIDI sequencing would be great.

 

That should be 8 x 16 sounds = 128 sounds of course.

Anyway, I've found a very simple VST plug-in to turn a stereo channel into a mono channel, so extra mono outputs is not a high priority for me anymore. But Maschine still needs a lot of extra outputs.

http://hem.bredband.net/tbtaudio/archive/files/SXmono.zip

 

Yep i agree... but i but i gotta agree wit how much i love my maschine...

 

remember if you hard pan your sounds in Maschine, 8 x Stereo can behave like 16 x Mono

sowari

 

I know:

http://www.native-instruments.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80451&highlight=outputs

But how do you separate the right and left side of a stereo channel in your DAW's mixer so you can process these individually (different EQ, FX, etc)? Sure there must be some workaround, but musicians don't want workarounds. This would be so much easier if Maschine had more outputs. With the mono plug-in I don't need mono outputs, but this too is a workaround, so why not add mono outputs and extra stereo outputs?

 

in Logic, i would create 2 Aux that are receiving the same outputs (lets say Output 2) from Maschine.

but i agree with you, i would also like more outputs from Maschine

sowari

 

In Live, you can choose which Channel to receive the audio from: 1/2, 1, or 2 ('hardpanned')

regards

 

+1 for the 'Copy pattern to track' suggestion