Someone from NI please Help!

HI NI,


I've been putting up with some issues for a while now and i didn't know where is best to get some help. Can you help me understand if its user error or my unit needs an update or something as I know it's not faulty as I had the same issue with the demo units at the store before I purchased my MK3?


1) I can't swipe in notes like I could and still can with my Mk1 and MK2 controller, I've tried all sorts of settings and nothing works. If I try to for example, to swipe down from pad 11 to pad 1 to input a 4x4 kick pattern, it just doesn't work. On the Mk1 & MK2 this works perfectly even with a light swipe of any pads on the whole matrix in any direction. It also works on Maschine jam. So why isn't this working as it has always worked on all other Maschine controllers, MK3 is supposed to be the most up to date of the lot?

2) What's the thinking behind removing the step page function from the 2 top right corner buttons (buttons 7 & 8) that move through the step pages in step mode? The new system using the rotary encoders on the MK3 is poor and frustrating, it constantly skips to the step you don't actually want. It was working perfect, just perfect on the MK1 & MK2, push the right button (button 8) to step to the next page, push the left button (button 7) to step back a page, nice and simple, never made a mistake going to the wrong page in 10 years using Maschine like this.
Is there a way I can set this back as those 2 top right (7 & 8) buttons, which don't actually do anything in step mode on the MK3 controller anyway?

3) One of the biggest frustrations and why I only started using my copy of Maschine 2 (even though I purchased it when it came out, years ago) is the Maschine 2 browser vs the super quick browser in 1.8, but I won't go into that. It's more to do with the fact that we have version Maschine 2 and version 1 (which is supposed to be inferior) has better and more sensible functions to help the user and smooth workflow. Example, I load up a project and decide I want to change the kick on pad 1. In Maschine 1.8 this is easy and smooth, I simply go to the browser, hold down select and tap pad 1, with the kick on it, viola, the tags I used to get to the folder the kick is from pops up again exactly how it was when i selected the sound previously. This allows me to simply continue scrolling through for the right sound, quick, easy, intuitive and smooth. In version 2, a total nightmare. In Maschine 2, the user has to enter all of the tags back in, if one can remember which tags they used anyway.
What's worse is that this is how it works even if you want to go back and change a sound 5 minutes later, the browser will show you the last sound you selected, so if that was a hi-hat, and you want to change your kick, the user is forced to start over, again. I just don't get why so many functions that were working in 1.8 or the MK1 & MK2 controllers have been removed to make workflow so much slower, am i doing something wrong or is it meant to be like this?

4) the pre hear volume, again, MK3 has a slower workflow than MK2, I just don't get it, again, am i doing something wrong here?
On the Mk2, the pre hear volume is the 4th encoder in the browser window, you turn it up or down and the volume under the browser in the software reflects the change. Now, in MK3 if I simply want to adjust the audition volume, I have to press the channel/midi button, then select the output option, then select encoder 5 to adjust the volume, which does not reflect on the software either, just confusion and hampered workflow.
This had the salesperson at the music store online for about 20 mins trying to figure it out when i was looking to purchase the MK3 :-(
Would it be possible to just put the pre hear volume on encoder 7 when you press shift in the browser? The pre hear on/off function toggles the speaker audition icon on the software from the same page when the user holds down shift, so it just makes sense to control the volume from the same place, which needs to reflect in the software like it always has done too.


Sorry I didn't want this to sound like a rant but I can't say I'm not, extremely frustrated after I purchased your rather expensive MK3 and Maschine Jam. No user who has a MK3 should have to ever use their Mk1, Mk2 or load up Maschine 1.8, ever. Really, all users should be able to do everything the Mk1 & Mk2 could do, much much quicker, easier and with the computer screen, turned off. I thought that was the point of the MK3?

Hopefully, it's just user error and you can explain what settings I need to change to address all of the above?

 

looks like the pad swipe issue is linked to the fact that holding down any pad for a second takes me to the master/group/sound page, can i turn this off so when i'm in step mode the pads only work to enter steps unless i hold down shift?

Thanks in advance

 

1 - Swinping works but you have to perform the motion in a fast manner, after a bit of practice it's easy, usually I rather press a column/row with 4 fingers at the same time.
This is because if the unit detects you holding a pad it will show you the Plugin Menu while it thinks your holding it, this is for step modulation and it's really a cool feature; if the amount of time holding the pad is increased for slower swipes it will annoy everyone using step modulation...

2 - What Maschine version are you on? There's only one page in Step Mode.

3 - There are quite a few things from V1 that were never implemented back in v2 unfortunately. Win some, lose some.
4 - Same as 3, I would like a faster way to change the preview volume aswell, It constantly annoys me. No, encoder 7 is used for tags too but it could work with a Shift Hold, for example, I'd love that.

Heres something you will quickly realize about the Maschine community:
Unfortunately the vast majority of users complaints arent about the smaller workflow things, people ask for PDC, Audio Tracks, "make it a daw" (lol), better arranger, performance recording, and all types of complex features. It's unlikely the everyday quality of life improvements have a development priority, for the most part, things tend to get released and then development moves on to the next feature without improving/tweaking the previous, that's how it's been since I am here.

 

Sorry, but no, thats not possible.

 

Hi D-One,

thanks for taking the time out to reply

1 - yeah i see what you mean about the pad new pad swipe function, when you're in flow though you don't really want to have to think about how lightly you have to touch something for it to perform properly though. It works better after i took on your comments, but it still doesn't always work as desired. I'd never even want modulation so a real disappointment i can't just turn that feature off and have the pads work as they have for the last 10 years. Does the studio controller do this too?

2 - I'm using the latest version. When i say step page, i mean bars. On the Mk3 i have to use encoder 6 to skip through the bars i want to step edit. On the Mk2 the user simply uses buttons 7 & 8, this works so much better, give it a try yourself.
Do you have any connections to suggest this to be put back as it was before as buttons 7 & 8 don't do anything in the step edit page anyway?

3 - I just don't get the rational to update something and then remove useful functions from anything a consumer would buy is illogical to me :-(
Support already admitted the flaw in the browser which makes it slow and unable to deal with sample folders made on 1.8
they said they'd add it to the feature requests but that was years ago and i don't see it changing.
We shouldn't lose features from V1, it makes no sense. This is probably the biggest frustration of all i mentioned here. Surely this is something that can be implemented? Every producer needs to change sounds from time to time. The old way in V1 worked perfectly, go to browser, hold select and press the pad and the browser showed you all the tags and brought the user back to the folder the sample was from. The new way isn't a way, you have to start from scratch again making using V2 slower, may as well load a different plugin if one has to start from scratch. Hasn't anyone else noticed this flaw?

4 - Is this something you can feedback? If it constantly annoys you too, it must annoy many more people other than us, too.
Again on the Mk2 this works in a much more user friendly and logical way

I understand your comments, people want everything in this day and age, haha.
Honestly though, all i want it everything V1 could do with the bigger screens, everything else is a bonus. I'm here in my studio going back over my hard drives so V1 can see the sample folder i made over the last 10 years as it remembers it. Unfortunately, i changed it so the V2 browser could work a bit faster due to it's browser coding limitations. Even with the new features, big lcd screen, chords, Maschine Jam, V1 is still so much faster to work with and get to sounds. I just have to wait several hours hours for V1 to scan my folders and then tag everything, all over again, you can imagine how long this will take.

I just find it nuts that any user should feel the need to do this when they have a Mk3, Jam and version 2. Now the Mk3 and Jam are slightly behind me , the Mk2 and V1 the centre piece again, it shouldn't be like this
Is there anyway to contact the dev team as these things are minor workflow issues but they all dramatically speed up workflow for us all.

Thanks D-One

 

1 - I dont use it much either except when I want a note to have a specific panning, filter settings, etc... in that case its very useful. Swiping isn't considered a function/gesture in Maschine like it is on a SmartPhone, it's a way people might or might not input notes. Yes, the Studio has it too, only the Mikros dont have it AFAIK.

If the hold-to-step-modulation feature bothers you that much I can tell you how to mod it, if you're on a mac it's super easy, if you're on windows it requires using ResourceHacker.
All you have to do is modify a plain text value, the original value is 8, it's the amount of time you have to hold the pad before the screen changes to StepMod, if you change it to 32 you can swipe away all day no problem:
(There is even an option to disable it)


2 - Oh, Pattern Scrolling, Well, personally I see scenarios where buttons are better and others where the knob is better. Maybe they changed it so your hand is not in front of one screen when scrolling? idk but I understand your point, it might be one those things you get used too over time tho.

3/4 - I dont get it either, some stuff was just lost along the way in the full rewrite to v2.
I dont want to discourage you but feedback on the little things is... little (no pun intended). To give you an idea I am here for a while and i never saw anyone mention that auto-tag selection feature from V1 to replace sounds, (i never used v1). It seems like something I would use every day, I change sounds all the time and this would save me a lot of time.

The feedback that has an impact is usually for features currently under development (beta) or immediately after something is released since the NI folks pay extra attention for a while or on rare occasions where people massively complain about something like the lack of MIDI Mode for the MikoMk3 when it was released... it took about a year for them to add it tho.

No. You will never get in touch with the dev team or see them commenting on anything, as-in "the coders", no one does, it's a common user misconception that they are the ones to reach but they're not.

Feedback is handled by intermediary roles in the company (Product Owners, Support, etc), they pass it on to the dev team if they feel like something should be added to the list of to-do's, technically a back-log, that list has a priority system as you may imagine so even if your suggestion is added there it can be suggestion #734 AKA low priority. You can be heard on the Beta, sign up if you're up to it just keep in mind as users our influence is mostly on features currently being worked on or high priority.