MASCHINE +! The Coolest Standalone YOU Should NOT Buy

Thoughts on Native Instruments new Maschine plus standalone workstation, from the perspective of a former Maschine MK3 user and current MPC and Octatrack user.

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[EngoneEndong]

“When you go dawless, there is no going back.”

100% correct.
I’m so happy with my MPC Live, my Digitakt, my Moog Grandmother, my Sp404sx and my Zoom H6 for field recording.

I don’t need anything else!
Thank you! Great content! Awesome video.

[crybo]

Had mine since release. Do not regret buying it whatsoever. Love jamming on my external synths with it or just sitting on my couch and using the internal synths.

[joelcarloaymat]

"In the end it's just you. Your creativity, your passion and the love you put into your work"

Out of all the people making videos on youtube about music and gear over the span of the 15 years I've been watching, the directness and honesty you present is by far my favorite. Glad I found your channel. Subscribed and looking forward to more. Cheers and greetings from sunny Barcelona.

[tubaszuba]

Loved this video. I am a high school music teacher. I bought the Maschine + with the hope that with the full library, my kids who focus on hip hop and rap are able to learn an "instrument" like the band and orchestra kids. Hope the gamble pays off, but so far I'm loving it 🙂

[edgarm]

i really appreciate the last few seconds. something we need to hear every day

[jeremyellismusic]

I understand the price comparison, but let me let y'all in on something a high up person at one of these companies once told me when requesting something everyone else was requesting; "Why don't you do this?" I asked. They said simply, "Because it is hard." Another time I was at dinner with an executive from one of these companies and asked why they had to build in China. And he told me that their drum machines would be sold for $1500 if made in the USA or Germany, instead of the $600 price at that time. What I'm getting at is that we all want nice things to be built in a nice way but we don't want to pay for it. And I'm guessing they didn't spend $200 on those fancy new knobs, and they tried to make it as cheap as possible while actually maybe saving their company and their employees. It's like 400x more powerful than my MPC2000xl and about the same price I paid for that MPC in 2001, with the upgraded 32 MB of storage. 32 MB, people. Now we get a standalone drum machine as fast as a PC, loaded with commercial/radio ready drums and various synths that are hundreds of dollars each and we wonder why it costs money. All that said, good breakdown on who or why people would or wouldn't want to get this. Have a great day.

[MrTian]

"Instead of hooking it up with a computer, you have to hook it up with a wall" dead right there.

[jeanhilairejuru]

I'm you're subscriber number 1000, and I'm so proud. You have a very good storytelling and a straight way to tell what it is this reality. Thank you. Respect from Italy.

[Syntox]

I don't think there will be a more nuanced, sane or fair review of this thing to be found anywhere on YouTube. This showed up as a "suggested" video on my homepage but you got yourself a new subscriber

[genxfeedback]

Maschine+ is amazing no matter what skeptics say. Updates have made this thing incredible. People complain? Let's hear your music. lmao.

[remyvegamedia]

"I hope you found this video useful, " at the end. Yeah, I really did. I've been on the hunt for the "perfect" standalone unit for when I'm away from my home studio with my Ableton Push 2 (which to me is the closest to perfect besides not being portable). I've been stressing about which to buy because I don't want to spend money and be find out that it just doesn't work. That last part was inspiring, though.There is no perfect tool, but we still gotta be creative! That's what's most important. Thanks for the video!

[damonbennett]

Maybe it’s because I’m an old head that’s been into electronic music production since the 80’s is the reason why some of the things that big you guys out about the Maschine+ doesn’t bother me. Back then nothing had a touch screen or a piano roll. Some of those keyboards and drum machines had numeric only displays that only went to 99. There was no such thing as an instrument with thousands of internal presets. In 1990 I got a Roland W-30 and made some pretty nice tracks with it and it only has about 15 seconds worth of sampling time. So to hear people complain about Maschine+ not having a touch screen and it doesn’t ship with enough content, it’s not enough cpu power, it’s not battery operated and that kind of stuff is kinda funny to me. NI manufactured something at least 100 times more powerful than what I had access to in the 80’s and 90’s. I got it done with instruments that were not nearly as powerful and some cases way more expensive.

[LousyFacelift]

Totally agree on all the points you make here. The Maschine+ is a much different concept compared to the MPC but also not different enough from the MK III to really make sense. Not including a battery at this price is such a bad mistake, probably the most obvious dealbreaker for potential customers. Compared to the MPC, the Maschine+ is a rather closed concept, you could call it a NI plug in groovebox. The MPC is a standalone DAW and as such the Maschine+ is no real competition. And it will be extremely difficult for any other company to compete with Akai who have their software development, which is the most expensive part, backed up by four different hardware products all targeting different groups of customers to ensure enough sales, which seems like a very well thought out, solid business plan.

[dkd]

I came from the Old Mpc world. I love the Maschine. Ever since i bought my workflow has been much faster.

[bradlucid]

Damn!!! this is one of the best device reviews I've come across in a long while. Especially because of the way you broke it down into three groups and showed how the device will be helpful or not helpful to those specific groups. I was also a bit boggled when I heard about the standalone not having CV outputs. They're giving me Apple vibes lol

[DJRX]

As an Mk1 user, I'm hopeful of the promise that the M+ can bring.

The Mk3 was kind of just "ok", but to be fair, I don't pay the bills with music, so I don't have an incentive to buy a room full of equipment unless it's something I could have written off on my taxes as a business expense. My empahsis has always been "learn everything I can with the gear I have until I reach the max potential of the gear, the gear itself craps out, or something genuinely transformative comes around that is radically different than the Mk1." The Mk2, Mk3, and Studio have all just been tweaked Mk1s with the Maschine 2 platform, yet as much as I was just saving my money, nothing was screaming at me as "get the new thing."

Plenty of factors discouraged me from upgrading my gear, until now. I already have a newer laptop than my current one that I should have up and running Traktor before the end of the year. That paired with using the M+ in 2021 when there likely will be a sale for at least $1000 or $1200 will be worth it.

I understand the emphasis of the cons though. Price is a huge factor for most, and sure, this is a pretty steep one. Though it should be noted here, which I'm sure it wasn't, that Native Instruments has payment plan options. I don't know what the interest increase is, but PLEASE keep that in mind when talking about price. Chances are when I put down for the M+, S61, Komplete 13, and Kontakt, I'll be using a payment plan over a couple of months to soften the blow of the overall cost.

The possibilities for the expanding on the library is actually quite exciting. Especially when you think about how third party companies will probably be partnering with Native Instruments to get their packs into Maschine. Now it could be said that stuff like Ableton, FL Studios, etc. are better for Desktop only people, but there is also a lot of extra features to this device that beg a lot of question of what could happen. For instance, being able to link other controllers to M+ wirelessly, or connecting your tablet to M+ . This is just the tip of the iceberg. It's like we're seeing this small island poke out and everyone is looking at how tall it is, while the rest of us are looking at the looming shadow under the water that probably goes down deeper than any of us realize.

Back in 2011, $600 for Maschine felt CRAZY, especially as someone who lived off minimum wage over the summers before college was back in session. Add on getting turn tables, a mixer, speakers, etc. Yet that $600 has lasted me about a decade now come next year when I switch over to M+. Does $1400 bother me? A little, but I see this as investing in something bigger and better that hasn't come before. Is there room for improvement? ABSOLUTELY, but telling people in a click bait kind of way not to get this simply because of the price is a bit much. There is a wider variety of users than three that you listed.

If someone has an Mk3, M+ isn't worth it until the sale comes.

For someone like me, this is worth jumping into the next decade with what will set the musical gear trends of the future.

[kodymonroe]

I'd like to add the new maschine is by far the best thing I've ever buaght for my studio. The sounds are amazing and the you can get songs going in like 10mins. Plus it's way more fun then clicking a mouse

[DirgeHanson]

I'm interested in it. The one thing that people skip over is the Maschine SOUND. The preamp in the MK3 sounds amazing! Plus, the amazing sound engine emulation. The events tab is super easy to use plus, it has a step sequencer that's visual and easy to edit. I think it's a good look for NI! There's the Massive standalone too! Exciting!

[ckay]

Saw the news the other day, got really excited about it, then i got to the price, in my opinion (as maschine studio owner) they missed the price tag by about 1000 dollars

[producedbynell]

Best video I've seen about the matter so far.