why there so few arrangement videos for maschine?

There are many ways. The way flux described is one "traditional" way to use a groove box, especially for dance tracks.

Programing patterns then stringing them together is the "traditional" way for hip-hop & pop music.

This is from the MPC 2500 manual

Like Maschine, you can't record automations, mutes, solos, tempo adjustments, etc... in song mode. However, unlike the Maschine you can convert a pattern of sequences into a song, then edit it.

 

Generally speaking, the older grooveboxes you used less patterns, and relied more on realtime manipulations.. its not a 1:1 comparison with Maschine in structure though, as for example in the MC-808 (which has 16 parts), i may setup to use 7 parts comprising drum kit patterns and 9 instrument parts (say with 2 bass) .. so within one overall "pattern" you have 7 variations of drums alone (without combinations) and multiple layers of instrument.. so this approach, along with mutes/unmutes and fx control gives huge flexibility and there are plenty of examples where an entire track is one pattern... the mutes and volumes are managed to build and transition the song through its phases.

For example, using the mc-808 i reduced the entire cover of yazoo "Only You" into 2 patterns, one of 4 bar and one of 16, then managed the flow of the song using 2 pattern changes and mutes/unmutes. for giggles i play the synth solo and outro along with it. I could also have made it into a song structure and recorded the mutes/unmutes to be totally handsfree ..but no fun in that..lol

In Maschine the same song is 6 scenes

 

Guys, this is the best discussion on Maschine on the whole site and it seems like people who have worked with a lot of legacy equipment. Please continue because you guys are really stressing a lot of reasons why I would rather see Maschine as an actually DAW based program that has a "drum machine" program inside it.

 

I strongly agree. Tempo change is my number one want.

 

I'm sure this discussion will continue, it's been going on for 4 years.. In the meantime
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S0788by4M98

 

Make it a linear fashion NI, obviously choices are better then none.

 

Kinda like Ableton Live?

You can make your patterns 256 bars long. Create a "New Project" with a 256 bar pattern & you'll always be in "linear mode"

 

this is not the case thunderkyss, you can record automation, mutes, and tempo adjustments in the 2500 (not while in song mode) but you can do it in sequence/pattern mode and then you can string the sequences together in songmode, convert songmode into one sequence and do that stuff all over again if you wish.

 

I don't know for sure there are some akai ren users here as well who could confirm but I'm assuming you can do these things on the ren since you can do them on the mpcs that came before, hell even the mpc 500 can do that stuff.

 

So from this method, Maschine is just missing the ability to combine multiple patterns into one? That has been requested and something I personally would like to see very much. Just, for example, holding PATTERN, pressing another button to activate combine mode and then pressing the corresponding pads of the patterns you want to combine in the order you want them to be combined in a newly created pattern. And/or creating new patterns from the current scene loop.

 

I honestly can't remember. I provided a link to the manual & it says you can't record them in song mode. It did say you could convert the "song" back into a sequence & record all the mutes & panning & what not...... but I'm pretty sure you had to fat finger the different tempos when you made the patterns.

I don't have a problem with people asking for that, I think it should be there. I don't get the complaining about working with patterns, stringing them together to make songs. That's the way grooveboxes does them.

 

@mr.36-not quite, on the 2500 you can have each sequence be a different tempo, also you can record mutes in your sequences etc...
yep I've requested that feature too, it's going to be great if we get it in machine.

@thunderkyss - you just have to set the bpm # in the tempo field of each sequence, it's not necessary to wait until after you have merged lets say 3 sequences into one, you don't have to use the merge function. your song could be made up of 20 sequences and each of those patterns can be set to a different bpm.

and I don't get the complaining about patterns either, i love working that way, maschine is only missing those few things to make its pattern system gel together and if ni added this stuff maschine would still be far from a full daw. add a few of those things and the ability to capture your performance so you can edit it later and maschine is going to be nuts.

 

each pattern can have a different time signature too.

 

thanks for all the additional replies, I have been reading them with interest.

my outlook on all of this is I started out in electronic as a DJ and then decided I wanted to make my own tracks. I allways envisioned making music as a free flowing process that happens in real time. I started out on Cubase and soon learned that I was wrong to think it would be possible to make music as I envisioned it.

Then Albeton live happened and this got me closer to my dream but not quite, finally I got maschine and in all honesty it is as close to being perfect as it can be. for the creative part of making a tune, as is in building up the layers it is perfectly hands on and I am able to make music as fast as I can think it, couldn't be happier there.

when I first got maschine I wanted to be able to arrange a tune in a live free flowing way as well, but so far have found this near impossible. I just don't have enough hands to control all the mutes and FX tweaks etc, so there are large pauses as I set up the next part of the tune I want to effect. So I then thought maybe I need to just lay the arrangement out and make the tune that way. Which as I said at the start of the thread is OK but I find it kills the vibe for me. I'm stopping to think and not in that creative zone anymore- music to me should be felt not thought.

Although its good to think of what you would like something to be and what features you want adding I very much focus on what it is now and how best I can use it. I feel maschine probably does have within it somewhere the ability to do what I want, I just need to work out how to do that. Which is why I was trying to find videos.

That all said, this thread inspired me to look at videos of people making techno on MC 808 and 909's and that has given me more ideas.

Im now thinking if I simplify my tunes and try to work within one group I might find it easier.

So yeah that's where Im at, it sall good, and please do keep adding ideas or sharing vids to this thread if you can, because it is all helping.

 

Those things weren't mentioned in that method.

 

Mac Pro Video have a tutorial on how to construct a complete track in Maschine....... If that's any help? What you're saying about working with smaller groups and simplifying your tracks is a good way to go...... Found this a good way to improve workflow re arranging as very easy to get lost having too many sounds..... Keep at it you'll get there.

 

i'll check it out cheers.

I'll keep on keeping on. No worries there.

 

i'd be happier if Maschine could have pattern changes triggered by a midi note (geist can do this)

so then you could just use one midi track in a daw to control the song arrangement.

 

Maschine can and does change scenes with either a midi note or a program change..

 

In his defence, he did say patterns, not scenes (which is something that has been requested before - controlling each group's patterns via MIDI individually), but, still, song arrangement can be done by controlling scenes via MIDI when used as a plugin.