MPC One/Live vs. Maschine+ vs.?

Hi all,

Variations of my question have been asked on this forum (I’ve looked around quite a bit), but I wanted to hear your thoughts on my specific goals in a device.

I’m fortunate to own an OT/DT/DN and TE OP-1, OP-Z, all of which have given me lots of hours of fun and experimentation, but I miss the days when I was completely ITB with Ableton and could make a beat and export it to MP3 in 1-2 hours. I’m looking for a single box (I really hate connecting multiple things together with MIDI & 1/4 inch cables) that I can use to compose, decently mix, and export my tracks into an uploadable format for SoundCloud, etc.

Additionally, here are some of my preferences if it’s helpful:

  • Don’t care too much for external sampling (I have a lot of sample packs and enjoy working with pre-existing files)
  • I miss playing back samples polyphonically (missing on all Elektron gear)
  • I want to be able to export a track without hooking something up to a Zoom H4n / computer with interface
  • Chopping up samples and laying them out in an arrangement
  • EQ for basic mixing / frequency placement
  • Usable synths (can’t only work with samples, but also don’t need crazy deep synthesis)

I’m mainly looking at the MPC One / Live and the new Maschine+. Not tied to either ecosystem at all so I’m pretty neutral with regards to that. Definitely not looking for something like the BlackBox, really want something with all the buttons and tactile feedback and don’t need extreme portability (I can always use my OP-1 on trips). Let me know your opinions!

Interested by this as well.

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What you want is a computer with a good controller.

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Have definitely been down that path before, and while it definitely worked during college (had a Push 1 which was a lot of fun), I think that’s gotten tougher now (especially with work-from-home) given I’m on my computer all day long for work and just want to unplug, clear my desk, and sit down with just a single box and my headphones.

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on top of everything the mpc will give you Ableton ALS export, making your polishing up or sharing your tracks with ableton and the rest of your personal eco system easy peezy…

extra bonus is that you can auto sample all of your favorite synths on your computer or hardware and then easily take them along with you and use them on your mpc…, there are some nice advantages for example, how would you like a poly version of one of your fav mono synths?.. you can do stuff like that with no hassle

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Are you a mpc one/live owner/user?

I’m interested in the op’s questions as well. I’m not entirely sold on the touch screen either. I’m impartial to the three different instruments in question as I’ma dedicated Elektron user s well.

I make darker techno. I’d like to have certain things accessible like probability, their versions of motion recording, ratchets, glitch, ability for live performances.

For these things I’m leaning more toward the live 2 over the one bc of its expandable memory.

But the Machine eco is said to be very fun and sounds really really good. One con I’ve heard about is the depth of the synths aren’t that deep.

Does anyone have anymore insight to go with the original post as well?

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I have the same feeling about the touch screen as well. A big draw of Maschine is the purely tactile control for me, and the rest of the new Maschine+ thread has also made me pretty excited about it.

That being said, MPC Live with the HDD slot seems attractive as well, as I’d be able to drop my entire 250gb+ library onto it vs. having to curate through all my stuff.

Exactly my thoughts.

Machine+ has a very limited memory. It seems like depends on using synth, samples, or drums eats up cpu. Maybe layering is maxing out cpu usage. I’m not sure if I’ve heard of mpc having this issue.

I have an MPC Live and Maschine Mk3. I don’t have the Maschine + But from what I understand, it’s exactly the same as the MK3, just not tethered to the computer.

Because it’s not connected to the computer, you lose the ability to use 3rd Party synths and editing the NI synths that come with it, is limited.

I also have a Toraiz SP-16.

I like the MK3 the most because it’s super quick and fun to use. I do have an AKAI MPK mini hooked up to it for additional knobs. I like being connected to the power of my computer via the MK3 and Maschine software.

The MPC is my least favorite. But definitely has the most options/features when it’s not connected to the computer. The MPC software is hard to come to grips with.

The SP-16 is by far the quickest box to work with. But is quite limited in terms of FX and other stuff

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FWIW, I have the MPC One, and just got the Maschine+ so I’ll offer some of my initial thoughts coming from my use of both.

MPC One:
Likes:
. Nice form factor
. Nice for sequencing external synths (either hardware or on iPad)
. Song Mode makes sense
. AutoSampler feature is great for quickly creating KeyGroups from sampled synths- which you will need to do since the onboard synths sound so bad
. Nice set of Effects
. Love the Chord Progressions

Dislikes:
. I cannot stand the Pads…they feel like I’m finger drumming on frozen ham cubes
. Onboard synths are of poor sound quality. I just can’t find any use for any of the patches on the 3 included synths. They don’t work for me at all
. Not very fond of the included Sound Packs - they aren’t my thing sonically or emotionally
. Touch screen reminds me of an ATM as opposed to an iPad screen. The latency on it is maddening at times. I have so many misspelled Project names because key presses are never detected
. Why is it so fat? Does it really need to be that thick?
. Pads are a magnet for dust no matter how much I clean it
. The headphone jack is a joke…always unplugging with the slightest tug
*. Q-Link UI is buggy as heck…works most of the time, but doesn’t when you really need it when deep into a project…they refuse to display when tapping the encoders…grrrrr…just turn it OFF! :stuck_out_tongue: *
. I really don’t like the Industrial Design. I feel like I’m climbing into a Hyundai Sonata from 2007 every time I use it

Machine+
Likes:
. On board instruments sound great
. Included Sound Packs are fantastic
. Pads are perfect to play. They feel so good
. Great to sequence external synths and gear and accompany it with onboard Instruments/Sounds
. Just learning the workflow, but loving it so far
. Looks great paired with my OT MKII and DigiTone and other Gear (aesthetics are important to me when playing…I have to like what I’m playing to play well)
. While the MPC One feels like a Hyundai, the M+ feels like a modern Lexus or BMW…feels great to drive, and not too bad on the eyes

Dislikes:
. Wish it had Progressions like the MPC One
. Wish I knew the workflow better…but am willing to learn…so this will grow over the next several days and weeks
. Will need to use and abuse more to see what I don’t like

So…if you were to ask me today, which to buy between an MPC and a Maschine+, I’d say get the Maschine+. I feel like this box is going in the right direction with the future in mind, while the MPC line is relying too much on their legacy of MPC gear to bring the original user base into a future that they’re familiar with. It’s a good strategy, but the Maschine+ feels more inline with the way I like to work when composing. If NI were to never update the M+ after today, I’d still be happy with it. The MPC One, not so much.

Hope all this makes sense.

Cheers!

I recant my assessment. The M+ has been a total disappointment for me…guess it took a couple years to realize this. Go with the MPC One or Push 3 if you really want an MPC type workflow…

However, you can get an M+ cheap cheap on the second hand market these days…

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Love the insight, thank you! I had one quick follow-up question for you regarding the M+: you mentioned it doesn’t have progressions like the MPC; do you know if the M+ has other composition tools that can be helpful? Thinking about stuff like scale mode, locked keys, etc.

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Maschine has far more memory than the Akai boxes. 8x more internal HD space as the one and twice the ram as all of them.

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Yep. It has Scales and Chords. I just like the Progressions on the One since you can create your own on the desktop and transfer them over.

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the mpc one has more buttons than the MPC Live, therefore better muscle memory for some people, for me it doesn’t matter thaaaat much, on either you don’t really have to use the touch screen that much for it to be an issue. it all really depends on what kind of user you are, I would start with the sequencer and take note of which features I need for my song writing, and do the same for every other facet of the machine because they don’t all have the same features for example you’re an elektron user and if having trig conditions in the sequencer was important to you then you’d need to look at each of the other sequencers (RTM) and check for trig conditions … that’s just an example and of course neither maschine or the mpc have trig conditions.

in my case features I can’t live without are
midi merge
track explode
sample freeze
recordable , performable , muting
auto sampler
tempo/ bpm per pattern
time signature per pattern
Ableton also export,
and a few others so you see it’s really going to depend on your usage, what you need the machine to be able to do, and how you possibly need it to interact with other gear externally.

so you see you’ve got to really dig into your specifics and address those needs, I am planning on purchasing a maschine + in the future when they hopefully come out with a smaller, battery powered option, but I’m doing so specifically for it’s instruments and without those instruments I wouldn’t get it… where in contrast I would buy the mpc even if it didn’t come with any instruments or factory library and even though it does I don’t use them at all, I bought it for the other aspects of the instrument.

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Are we gonna ignore the fact that the MPC One costs half as much as the Maschine+? I have the One and I like it a lot (I use mostly external synths, so I don’t care much about virtual ones). I don’t have the Maschine, and TBH I can’t see any reason why I would want one–especially at that price.

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I don’t think so. From a $ standpoint the One is a great value. However, for me, and it’s just me, the M+ feels like a more complete instrument and this comes at a price. Compared to the Live and X i still think the M+ is a better instrument from what I’ve experienced after several hours of playing on it.

A guitar is just a guitar but they come in different configurations and prices and materials. In the end what matters is what will help you produce the music you ‘feel’ like you want to produce.

Honestly the One is great for what it is, but i opted to pay the NI tax to get a better instrument for my wants and needs.

Hope that makes sense.

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it is true that you could get an mpc one and an maschine mk3 for less than an mashing +

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And there’s that. You just have to decide what you want and need in your setup.

I remember when i was trying to decide between the OctaTrack MKII and the DigiTakt. Price was important but in the end the OT was the better choice for me so i waited until i could get the OT.

I guess the M+ would be worth it if it could really hit that sweet spot for me (more than having both an MPC One and Maschine Mk3). More’s not always better but people are right in bringing up the point that the M+ is double the price of the MPC One.

I’m not as familiar with both products the way @echo_opera is but I’ve played around with a Maschine mk2 and and MPC Live in a store. I found the workflow of the MPC to be largely unintuitive while I got along with the Maschine near instantly.

An important distinction- the MPC Live has a built in battery but most of its workflow seems based around its touchscreen. The MPC One has a few more buttons but I figure there’s still a reliance of the touchscreen. The maschine+ has no touchscreen- everything is supposed to be accessible from the hardware. This is a plus to me personally- as I prefer hardware to feel like hardware. I’ve always been tempted by the MPCs but only pulled the trigger on the M+.

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