Maschine live. Opinions please!

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Maschine live. Opinions please!
Posted on: 20.02.2013 by Lillia Datson
Hi all.

Ive done a lot of digging about in regards to how to set this all up (MIDI clocks, the works) and thats no issue. Ive also seen the threads discussing how Dubfire/Richie hawtin etc run their setups (IE being absolute wizards!) and people asking how to do it.

Im after some opinions to how well/intuitive it is (the actual use of) maschine live on a fairly simple setup.

What id like to do with it is run basic loops from a traktor/S4 setup (mainly bass and kicks) and have maschine on a 3rd deck as a board to complete the song using its step sequencer/me drumming along, with a pre-set kit for that song ie Snares, melodies, samples and whatnot and have a couple of pads as 'breakdown/buildup' pads that choke the rest of the maschine kit off (alongside me killing the beat through traktor) and maybe have another kit made up to play over the breakdowns/buildups.

I know i could do the whole thing through maschine without the need for the S4/traktor, but id like to retain a bit of normal DJ'ing alongside so i can chop and change.

Now it seems fairly simple on paper, but id like to know if anyone has tried something similar to see if there's any major pitfalls/issues that can hinder the performance.

I know i could spend the next 2-3 weeks going through this myself and probably come back here asking about something when i run into it, but rather than do that id like a headstart on the project so im prepared!

Any help appreciated Sir's/Ma'am's/ladies/gents
Ervin Calvery
20.02.2013
Originally Posted by DubluW
Im after some opinions to how well/intuitive it is (the actual use of) maschine live on a fairly simple setup.
It's fun and easy to use with just a little practice.

Originally Posted by DubluW
What id like to do with it is run basic loops from a traktor/S4 setup (mainly bass and kicks) and have maschine on a 3rd deck as a board to complete the song using its step sequencer/me drumming along, with a pre-set kit for that song ie Snares, melodies, samples and whatnot and have a couple of pads as 'breakdown/buildup' pads that choke the rest of the maschine kit off (alongside me killing the beat through traktor) and maybe have another kit made up to play over the breakdowns/buildups.
Why play the loops through Traktor? Will this be remix decks or regular track decks? Does Ableton, which is like a dream looper (session view), can host Maschine instances, and has flexible routing options make more sense?

Building these kits is going to take a minute, but won't take forever to make in aggregate. If you do >4 hour sets or something, it's a big (admirable) commitment to next-level track preparation.

I don't understand why the kicks and bass are in the loops as opposed to melodies. Putting whole melodies on a single Maschine pad is pretty clunky. I don't know what specific kinds of music you play, but playing snares and not kicks just feels unnatural to me.

Two or more kits per track sounds like a good idea.

Choking is easy in Maschine (either by using choke groups, turning down polyphony, muting/soloing, and/or pressing choke), and if you're hosting in Ableton, other options like gates, fades, side chaining, etc are available.
Lillia Datson
20.02.2013
Hi all.

Ive done a lot of digging about in regards to how to set this all up (MIDI clocks, the works) and thats no issue. Ive also seen the threads discussing how Dubfire/Richie hawtin etc run their setups (IE being absolute wizards!) and people asking how to do it.

Im after some opinions to how well/intuitive it is (the actual use of) maschine live on a fairly simple setup.

What id like to do with it is run basic loops from a traktor/S4 setup (mainly bass and kicks) and have maschine on a 3rd deck as a board to complete the song using its step sequencer/me drumming along, with a pre-set kit for that song ie Snares, melodies, samples and whatnot and have a couple of pads as 'breakdown/buildup' pads that choke the rest of the maschine kit off (alongside me killing the beat through traktor) and maybe have another kit made up to play over the breakdowns/buildups.

I know i could do the whole thing through maschine without the need for the S4/traktor, but id like to retain a bit of normal DJ'ing alongside so i can chop and change.

Now it seems fairly simple on paper, but id like to know if anyone has tried something similar to see if there's any major pitfalls/issues that can hinder the performance.

I know i could spend the next 2-3 weeks going through this myself and probably come back here asking about something when i run into it, but rather than do that id like a headstart on the project so im prepared!

Any help appreciated Sir's/Ma'am's/ladies/gents
Lillia Datson
20.02.2013
Thanks botstein!

I'll be using Traktor on the normal decks, as firstly i don't have Ableton and secondly its so i can mix in and out of these tracks that ive made in maschine, into regular tracks in traktor.

I haven't played sets longer than an hour or so to be honest, and don't get gigs very often, but the ones i have played (and hours of Bedroom practice) made me decide that id like to be something a bit more than just Q'ing tracks and mixing, and that id like to be more instrumental and hands on. 4 hour sets are well out of my remit for the time being! id only have a few of these tracks to sling into a set to spice it up, leaving bits that i could drum/trigger myself on the maschine. Of course over time id have a 'crate' of tracks ive made in this manor.

I see what you mean by running kicks through traktor! Melodies that ive made, run as loops through traktor, and the beats/kicks/snares/percussion and what not through the Maschine would be much better now you mention it.

Thanks again.
Ervin Calvery
20.02.2013
Originally Posted by DubluW
Im after some opinions to how well/intuitive it is (the actual use of) maschine live on a fairly simple setup.
It's fun and easy to use with just a little practice.

Originally Posted by DubluW
What id like to do with it is run basic loops from a traktor/S4 setup (mainly bass and kicks) and have maschine on a 3rd deck as a board to complete the song using its step sequencer/me drumming along, with a pre-set kit for that song ie Snares, melodies, samples and whatnot and have a couple of pads as 'breakdown/buildup' pads that choke the rest of the maschine kit off (alongside me killing the beat through traktor) and maybe have another kit made up to play over the breakdowns/buildups.
Why play the loops through Traktor? Will this be remix decks or regular track decks? Does Ableton, which is like a dream looper (session view), can host Maschine instances, and has flexible routing options make more sense?

Building these kits is going to take a minute, but won't take forever to make in aggregate. If you do >4 hour sets or something, it's a big (admirable) commitment to next-level track preparation.

I don't understand why the kicks and bass are in the loops as opposed to melodies. Putting whole melodies on a single Maschine pad is pretty clunky. I don't know what specific kinds of music you play, but playing snares and not kicks just feels unnatural to me.

Two or more kits per track sounds like a good idea.

Choking is easy in Maschine (either by using choke groups, turning down polyphony, muting/soloing, and/or pressing choke), and if you're hosting in Ableton, other options like gates, fades, side chaining, etc are available.

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