My Initial Thoughts on 2.0 (using MK1)

OK, this is brief - been using Maschine since Jan 2011... and I was looking forward to the update (mainly for multi-core support and unlimited groups/scenes, etc.) What I wasn't expecting was for NI to basically go the way of Fruityloops in terms of design. I can't stand the UI. Don't know what I can click (due to the "flat" design), patterns are all jacked up, got "..." everywhere because text is too long in many areas. This is not making me feel real creative right now. Maybe a weekend of jacking with it will change my mind but I'm just not feeling it right now. I can say that I do like the Library portion; seems easier to get around there. Other than that though, kinda disappointed that I seemingly have to "unlearn" quite a bit.

Oh well - no going back now. Like I said, maybe a weekend of messing with it will change my mind. Curious to know what others are thinking (especially those on the 1st/2nd gen controllers)?

 

so u cant run 1.8 and 2.0 side by side in case u dont like 2.0

 

Yeah you can... and I have 1.8 still. My guess is that it will take 2-3 days to get acclimated and once I do, 1.8 will seem antiquated. My suggestion (for others) is to try making a beat with your monitor turned off. If you can figure it out, then the transition will be much better. Also, just know that things like Scenes and Groups aren't "pre-built" for you. For instance, you just have Scene 1 when you start off. you'll have to create your other scenes (easy). I still don't like the gui but the workflow is actually pretty good. Just need to figure out how to insert an instrument (like Kore, from my VSTSs) from my controller.

Oh, and the mixed pattern thing. I thought it would allow for you to use 1 8-bar pattern on a group and 2 SEPARATE 4 bar patterns (on another group) within a single scene... kind of like how Sony Acid works. That isn't what it does. It's the opposite. Not really useful to me but maybe they will change it down the road.

Still feels like fruityloops but not as bad. Give me till Monday and I'll put out another banger

 

Goes to show, different strokes for different folks. I say give it some time. A big change like this means you're not gonna adapt to it right away after messing about for only a bit.

This guy's loving the 2.0 update and getting busy already: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a72ETx43ZD0

 

MK1 here.

I don't look at the monitor while I use the maschine. I've owned this thing for just few weeks, but yeah. The update didn't change that much - I had the PDF open the for last hour and that's all the info I need from the screen, really. The workflow is still godly and to me the workflow is the king.

 

Yeah, that's the key right there. I use the monitor a lot (came from software vs. hardware) so the change seems huge to me, but if I use the controller more, it isn't nearly as bad. Just forces you to use the controller more. I can really see where the new controller has its advantages for someone like myself.