Has anyone used a Novation Launchkey controller with the M+? I’m curious how well they work together. Specifically if you can select what group you control from the controller.
I just made a discovery that someone else made a discovery 2 years ago: Midi from an iPad to Maschine+ with only a usb cable (tested and working) — Community). I happen to have the USB-B to USB-C cable, hooked up my Maschine+ and sure enough, it just works and all iPad apps capable of providing a MIDI-Out allow Maschine+ to be set as a destination (and a source). This is pretty cool as Maschine+ lacks a decent MIDI generator or a way to import/export MIDI.
I tried using the Harmony Bloom iPad app and it worked well. For playback, MIDI appeared to be playing back Maschine+ instruments on-time, but for recording, I noticed a few notes recorded were a little off. However, nothing that Quantize couldn’t fix. I’ve been sampling my iPad already using the USB-C to audio cables, but this theoretically can improve productivity.
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I am finally back to my M+ and updated to 1.6.1. I was hoping since I have guitar rig the new effects would be available for the M+, but it looks like I’m wrong.
I’d still try the new Dirt plugin if you happen to have it. Choral and Flair could also work nicely on guitar.
Oops, my bad, you were talking about your licenses… look for cheap 2nd hand offers on crush pack / mod pack on KVR audio and knobcloud
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With the addition of the five FX modules, Maschine+’s value as an FX unit has nudged even higher. Even before this update, M+’s built-ins—and its ability to assign, order, param-lock steps, and automate (albeit a bit limited inside the M+)—were already strong. On top of that, Maschine has the ability to create lock-states and morph between them, so not only real-time FX, but also morphing between FX states. Here are the stock built-in FX:
I understand there are CPU constraints, yet I’ve been able to build long chains and take advantage of routing. You can send any sound or group to two AUX buses and also set its audio destination to dedicated FX sounds and groups. This area of Maschine feels under-represented: there are hardly any videos or discussions about M+ FX, and I’m not aware of preset packs. Saving effects isn’t straightforward—one workaround is saving a “Sound” with an FX chain (the sound device can be empty, but loading it will replace a sound). Hopefully NI will add the ability to save FX chains in the future.
There’s likely an unmet need for Maschine FX chains. Think “Empress Zoia,” where a strong community shares patches. I’d gladly pay for guitar or synth FX preset packs that chain and tweak NI’s built-ins. If you want to build something from scratch and know what you need, great. I sometimes like to start with something that I can tweak. I would love for NI to include additional Bite, Raum, Dirt, Prism, Choral, Flair, and Freak presets in future expansion packs or release curated preset chains. Regardless, M+ is becoming a modular FX tool, and with second-hand prices sometimes dropping to the cost of a Zoia, Meris LVX, or Mercury X, it’s hard not to consider M+ as a dedicated FX unit.
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Love your take here, absolutely agree. Considering that these devices can be had for 700€ new from NI directly, it‘s worth getting one for the FX capabilities alone.
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Me: ChatGPT, Tell me how I can create transition effects similar to Baby Audio Transit 2, inside Maschine+, using Clips, Lock States, and built in effects.
ChatGPT:
1 — What Baby Audio Transit 2 brings to the table
| Pillar | Why it matters for transition design |
|---|---|
| All-in-one motion FX – 6 Motion Modes (Macro, Follower, Side-chain, Sequencer, Random, Rise-&-Fall) drive up to 28 high-quality modules (filters, pitch, glitch FX, delays, reverbs, tape-stops, etc.). BABY Audio | Shows how a single macro can sweep many parameters at once. |
| Macro knob + 8 mini-macros – One gesture (or DAW-automation lane) moves everything in sync. MusicTech | Inspires a “master automation lane” inside Maschine+. |
| Follower / Side-chain modes – Effect motion can react to source or external audio dynamics. BABY Audio | Mimic with modulators or velocity-sensitive lock snapshots. |
| 300+ presets & randomizer – Fast experimentation. Sweetwater | Equivalent in Maschine+: snapshot pads + lock morph let you audition ideas just as fast. |
Keep the Transit mindset in the back of your head: one control, many coordinated moves, instant auditioning.
2 — Maschine Plus foundations you’ll leverage
| Feature | Quick reminder | Where to dig deeper |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in FX & routing – >20 internal plug-ins + premium NI FX; insert at Sound/Group/Master and send to two AUX busses per source, or build chained “multi-effect Groups”. Native Instruments | “Using Effects” §15.1–15.3 in the manual. | |
| Lock Snapshots – 64 snapshots per project; store every modulatable parameter (including mutes/solos) and morph between them with bar-synced or free-run timing. Native Instruments | “Using Lock Snapshots” §177–183. | |
| Macro Controls – Assign up to 8 parameters from any plug-in or channel to one page; automate or mod-wheel them. | Manual §221. | |
| Clips (Song View) – Audio/MIDI containers that sit on the timeline, independent of Patterns. Create, duplicate, stretch, or reposition with dedicated buttons (CREATE, DOUBLE, DUPLICATE, etc.). Native Instruments | “Working with Clips” §200–209. |
3 — Step-by-step: building “Transit-style” transitions in Maschine Plus with Clips
Goal: a four-bar riser that sweeps multiple FX, then slams into the chorus – all controlled from one pad or automation lane.
3.1 Create a dedicated FX Group
- Add new Group H (or any free letter).
- In Sound 1 slot load no instrument, then press PLUG-IN ➜ Add Effect and stack your chain (e.g., Filter, Dimension Expander, Noise, Transient Master).
- Rename the Sound “RiserFX” for easy AUX targeting. Native Instruments
Tip: For crunchy glitches, route Sound 1’s output into Sound 2 and continue the chain (“Creating Multi-Effects” workflow). Native Instruments
3.2 Send material to the FX bus
- On the track(s) you want affected, CHANNEL ➜ OUTPUT ➜ AUX 1 DEST. and choose “H1-1” (your FX Sound). Adjust AUX level. Native Instruments
Now anything you pipe to AUX 1 hits the same effect chain—exactly how Transit routes multiple tracks through one macro.
3.3 Build the master macro
- MACRO button → assign the key parameters you plan to sweep (Filter cutoff, Reverb mix, Noise level, Transient Master punch…).
- Optionally map the same parameters to the Smart Strip for touch control.
3.4 Capture before and after Lock Snapshots
- Dial your starting settings (dry, subtle).
- LOCK → first snapshot.
- Crank the macro / tweak FX until it’s full-on chaos.
- SHIFT + LOCK (Ext Lock) → choose an empty pad → LOCK to store the peak state.
- Still in Ext Lock, turn Knob 1 MORPH = ON, set MODE = TARGET, TIME = 4 Bars. Native Instruments
Maschine will now glide from pad 1 to pad 2 across exactly four bars—hands-free.
3.5 Lay down the transition Clip
- Switch to Song View ➜ CLIP.
- Navigate to the FX Group lane; Button 5 (CREATE) inserts a new Clip of the default length. Native Instruments
- Shift-double or drag the Clip to be 4 bars long and position it right before your chorus. Native Instruments
- Press REC, trigger snapshot 1 at bar-start, snapshot 2 at the Clip end. The morph writes automation data into the Clip.
Alternative: Instead of Lock morph, simply record your Macro knob movement in real time into the Clip (REC + twist). This mirrors Transit’s single-knob sweep.
3.6 (Optionally) make it reactive
- Want a side-chain-like swell? On the source track create a second AUX send, but modulate its AUX-level with velocity, or capture two more snapshots using Follower logic: snapshot A = low AUX, snapshot B = high AUX. Fire them off with note events to make the riser react to kick hits, just like Transit’s Follower mode. BABY Audio
4 — Managing multiple transitions
| Situation | Quick tactic |
|---|---|
| Several risers/FX drops | Use separate snapshot banks (Button 7/8 navigates) – 16 pads per bank. |
| DJ-style build-ups | Shorter Clips (1–2 bars) with morph TIME = Grid 1/8 for stuttered ramps. |
| Live performance | Map snapshot pads to MIDI notes via MIDI Change (§214) and launch from an external keyboard or footswitch. |
Save the entire Group as “Riser FX Transit”—next time just import the Group, reconnect AUX sends, and you’re ready.
5 — Key takeaways
- Transit 2’s philosophy = one macro, deep coordinated moves.
- Maschine Plus offers the same power via Macro pages + Lock Snapshots – no plug-ins required.
- Clips give you DAW-style timeline control so transitions stay locked to song structure, while still being trigger-able in performance.
Master these three pieces and you can recreate (or outdo) anything Transit 2 does—straight from the standalone Maschine Plus. Have fun morphing!
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holy smokes youre right… maschine as a dedicated scriptable multi effects unit is actually kinda insane…
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Can lock states be limited to only a specific parameter / set of parameters? I’d like to transition certain parameters but not all. Excluding levels for example, so I don’t have to update each lock state if I subsequently tweak the mix levels.
Seems that you would have to update other lock states as well as it’s everything or nothing. It’s implementation of Lock states reminds me of the the Digitakt 2 Perform Kit on/off, except you can store and recall modifications. I’m guessing there’s like a change log that gets created and executed, probably re-use of the undo/redo buffer. While it is relatively straight forward to update (load lock state, adjust, save lock state), it would get pretty old pretty quick if you have to make multiple adjustments. It would be pretty cool if you could have like an “exclude” list of parameters to ignore. I think the way it is implemented was likely for a performance mode.
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GPT response was a lil off as usual, but it got the gist of the process right.
Lockstates arent stackable, they store/recall the entire state of all the project parameters (except for which patterns/scenes happen to be playing). Using them well takes a bit of planning ahead.
FX chains are meant to be saved as “sounds” or groups if they contain more than 1 sound. You could tag the sounds so your fx chains would be easier to browse (tagging requires Maschine desktop, sadly)
M+ Could be an insane fx unit if you only use it for that. Not only do you have all the stuff prebaked, but its trivial to add your custom DSP stuff in via Reaktor. you could also do M/S processing and split audio into multiband material
M+ has vast potential, its super ironic people see it as a “preset player for NI expansions”, when its even deeper than an Elektron box!
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Thanks, that confirms my experience (lock states represent the global machine state). It would be great if we could set which parameters to lock either using lock states or by adding time transitions for parameter locks.
No, this was my biggest frustration with lock states - it includes the state of the mute as part of the lock
This is what I mean by “planning ahead” when using locks. You cannot resort to muting/unmuting sounds/groups anymore if you use em, you need to mult out your patterns so you have variations with every possible “mute state”, you then use these patterns in lieu of actually muting stuff
If you happen to have select MPC hardware registered, they dropped some redemption codes into accounts for a choice of one of the three NI Komplete Select bundles per eligible device, some of these bundles have the new filters in them.
Introducing NKS Support for MPK Series | Akai Professional
There were other brands that were supposedly participating, but Akai were the only one where I saw the key dropped in my account without any effort on my part.
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Hi everyone,
Is there way to mono a sample using internal fx in maschine plus standalone mode?
Looked online but no straight answers
Thank you
You will need to resample it, or use another sound and route audio into it. Third option is to use one of the many Reaktor fx plugins made for M+ (There’s a thread at NI forums about Reaktor optimized M+ content, it should have links)
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So I also just learned, with Dirtywave M8 M:02 with latest, firmware 6.0.0, and Maschine 1.6.1.24 USB Audio & MIDI is a thing now. I’m not sure if this worked before as I didn’t try M8 5.0
My mind is truly blown. Is this now the ultimate portable setup?
Got my beloved M8 hooked up to Maschine+ with a USB-C to USB-A wire and both MIDI & Audio work well in both directions. I’ve been able to sample in both directions, use M+’s MIDI Keyboard to play scales on M8. Few little things: clock is a little jumpy going from M+ to M8, but setting tempo on M8 and just using Transport receive on M8, addresses this. Didn’t notice latency issues. Also, on M+ only 44100 audio rate is supported, not sure if 48K will be an option, but to me this isn’t that big of a deal.
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Super, thanks for this. All clear!
I keep trying to not want a M8 and this isn’t helping. Haha!
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