I was an avid Maschine user until I got tired of a lot of NI inconsistencies, awkward and uncooperative support as well as their weird antagonism to evolution, they seem to be forever stuck in 2010. Anyway, one day I discovered Elektron and the “dawless movement”. Since then, I use Maschine exclusively to make samples… It’s pretty good at it.
It’s a bit of a shame that Absynth and FM8 aren’t being updated. They are both great synths, and were part of my initial introduction to NI.
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I was a heavy NI user, especially Traktor but got Maschine and Komplete along the way before I sold everything for various reasons.
I would still enjoy using Traktor but as already mentioned their lack of M1 support for the majority of their products is just a shame at this point for a company that size. But what made me leave Traktor was the lack of hardware options for mixers for someone who is turntablism oriented. The Z2 gives good value for its price but after several years it just felt very outdated and other companies have already set standards for this niche. I was even in a small „focus group“ to collect ideas for a possible new mixer as a follow up to the Z2 but this project like many others got scrapped when the first big layoff wave started.
That was the point when NI as a company turned really sour for me. Not because the project was cancelled but because it was clear to me where the company was headed since the former duo in charge kept referring to Adobe as inspiration and wanting to provide a „one platform for everything“ approach and was already focusing on sample libraries/expansion packs back then instead of coming up with new ideas.
They also had some bad luck with some decisions. The Stem format in Traktor was ahead of its time and mostly failed because the tracks needed to be in a special format which made it impossible to use your already existing library in this context. And the approach of getting rid off jog wheels on their new controllers wasn’t really praised by the internet mob who seems to mainly consist of open format dj‘s complanining about everything.
But also rather fast discontinuation of good products like Kore 2 or Maschine Jam really made a dent in their reputation. While the quality of their entire sample libraries/expansion packs is top notch I just grew tired of them as everything just started to sound the same to me.
The Komplete bundle was mostly just bloatware for me and never got used a lot. After wanting to work with Maschine one evening after not having used it in a while and getting disrupted with a full procedure of library checks and updates I got so pissed that I sold the whole lot and never looked back. The only things I really miss are Traktor and the Maschine pads.
I only had positive experiences with the customer support though. Every time I had issues I got proper help and it didn’t take all too long either. Back then it was easy as well as you could just call and had a helpful human being on the other end of the line in a heartbeat. Licence transfers were also always a breeze and they still have some interesting stuff happening besides the same old library stuff. But since the people in charge are the ones with money focusing on money and not the ones with creative ideas I don’t expect anything exciting to come from them anymore at all. I‘m afraid if they didn’t build up their good reputation in the early years they would be long gone given their performance in the last years.
I was one of their first customers and supporters.
I adored Dynamo, lived a long time with Reaktor, fell in love with Absynth, appreciated Battery… I don’t even install my komplete anymore.
Abandonment of drivers on sound cards, synths that disappear from your licenses, updates detected as viruses, absolutely pathetic customer support.
They have essentially become sellers of soundbanks and oversized bundles. Ciao.
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For some reason I wanted to do it in point form.
Below are my personal thoughts:
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Over the years, I bought and used Maschine MK1, MK3, Maschine Jam, Kore2 and S49 MK2 with mixed experience. MK3 + Jam combo was brilliant.
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Started with NI ecosystem at time when Traktor was still the king. Somehow NI slipped and allowed Serato into the game which subsequently took the crown - and then PioneerDJ joined the fray.
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NI had many futuristic ideas at its peak but unsure what challenges stopped them from seeing these ideas to fruition, maybe the tech wasn’t ready or perhaps there was a distinct lack of leadership/capability, etc.
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NI often made solid hardware that stood the test of time, the opposite is true of its software nowadays. Take a look at the state of the NI forums, you’d feel sorry for the moderators there.
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NI releases sound packs like nobody’s business - guess you know by now where NI’s focus is.
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NI made a mistake by releasing the Maschine+, which was thoroughly under-spec and caused it harm and adverse feedback to no-end - it’s a vicious loop until another hardware appears or we reach end of NI’s hardware journey. The person responsible for this foolish decision on CPU/RAM should be fired immediately.
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NI got sold on to another company yeah. In my opinion, they had the market leadership many years ago. As a business it failed when someone in the company assumed it could pull off a massive coup - by convincing every other player in the industry that it competed to adopt and use its proprietary standards, a bit like the Betamax vs VHS story. Eventually, the market forces decided and NI began its state of decline.
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Give us a Maschine MK4!
I’m not sure. Sorry.
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In fairness, I was worried even that installing the free trial would knacker my computer. But honestly - it’s pretty smooth. Even if I don’t continue the sub, I will probably keep the freebie…
Also, like the other comments on Mac - M1 is fine from my side - no glitches or issues at all.
This is true.
Also true, though I’m OK with using the subscription as a trial for some of the more expensive plugins, at which point I’ll probably make a call on whether or not a bundle makes sense.
I’m guessing they get people hooked on the free tier, then encourage a sale of the “Originals” collection? Not sure if this is true but these are priced just below a typical NI Play instrument, but significantly cheaper than the more involved instruments like Pharlight etc.
For VSTs 100%, UHE stuff sounds incredible - I love Diva, and Arturia even have tread into NI’s “Play” territory with their recent hybrid instruments (not sure who got there first - not that it matters). I also see that some sound designers are building their own non-Kontakt libraries, Spitfire being the most notable, but there are several others.
It wouldn’t take much for an “Arturia of samples” eg: a great interface along with an amazing & diverse sound library into one package. Unless that already exists maybe?
Ah so my spidey sense is working on that one! I work with Adobe stuff for work, and people just accept defeat on it for the most part. As @monquixote says, the difference is in music that there is a hell of a lot of competition - Adobe have little or none. So while I get their point from the standpoint of having a standalone login for all your sounds, I think they might be missing a trick if they are thinking that theory applies to the music market as a whole.
Anywhoo…
As a summary so far, we have a much more balanced set of views here than I’ve seen elsewhere, which is interesting in and of itself. But the sense I get is that wholehearted recommends are rare as people have misgivings about the handling of either the company itself, criticisms about stuff they make (either from a sonic or a UI/clunk perspective) and of course the potential for even more decline. This is also seemingly an issue for those who did like the company but now cannot access/use software or hardware they’ve already bought. That said, I also hear some folks quite content with what they have from NI and that while they might not be on the cutting edge, they do still have a handfull of offers that are worthwhile. that things have turned a corner and that some of their new gear (mostly on the software side) is going in the right direction.
- Rosetta is the key for M1 right now, disregarding Massive X
- I regularly use Kontakt, Maschine, and FM8, and Reaktor standalone, they work the same as Arturia.
I was just playing around with Reaktor last night, and the tools that it provides still blows my mind. I was using specifically Form last night, and was just blown away with how much mangling can be done with that, and not to mention the plethora of other tools on offer. It certainly appears that their development schedule is focused more on simplistic Kontakt instruments. I’m not sure if it’s them following the music market, and creating tools that are easy to pickup and get results, but I have a feeling that’s what it is. I do wonder if we’ll see any other future groundbreaking stuff like we saw with Reaktor, and Kontakt. I still think the Massive X is one of the more powerful soft synths out there, and am surprised it doesn’t get more love. Perhaps it was an impossible task to make a new version of such a beloved soft synth that has been used by so many in the music industry.
Having gotten into this world now, I have to say getting Komplete has been the best cost to value ratio for my music despite the clunk (klunk?!) that it comes with. The biggest hole in my arsenal when I started producing was quality sounds, as I enjoy mostly writing vs spending time (which I don’t have much of) designing a sound. I now wish I’d gone with my gut and started with a Komplete deal rather than trying a piecemeal approach plucking bits of the best from various sources (which also took time and mental overhead). That’s not to say Komplete or NI is perfect - far from it. But on value, what you get in the SoS bundle sales isn’t matched anywhere else for value. For the price of maybe 1-2 other synths you’re getting synths plus an entire sound library of sampled instruments, oneshot samples, loops and more to mess with. In my mind it’s a good balance of options (to give depth and variety) but tools like Kontakt & KK that help you hone in on the feel you want so you can get writing. The technical stuff is its biggest issue from my playing around so far.
In terms of the way the’re headed, this approach works for me. I prefer to start with presets and go from there, and the Play series (and the whole Komplete set up to be fair) is literally designed around that, so I’ve actually gelled with that more than any synth. To be fair, their rivals like Arturia are also heading in this direction with their Augmented series, so I suspect this is NI reacting to market changes.
On breaking new ground, I found it interesting that NI classifies Playbox (which is very obviously a sampled instrument) as a “synth” alongside Massive and other traditional synthesis based instruments. I think what they’re doing is trying to use Playbox as a new flagship instrument, which sits above the Play series; and I reckon they see that as competition for Arcade from Output.
I think overall, there are so many synth companies (Arturia, Xfer, PhasePlant) that have the allure that maybe Massive once did, that I kinda see why NI would focus on samples instead of synthesis. Their whole thing is based around Kontakt and I’m not sure any other soft synth maker would have that same play there. To your point (and our other chat on cool sample manglers) I think that because of various technology and musical trends, sampled instruments that is the way things are going, and so aside from rebooting or redesigning a synth, I can see NI keeping the foot on the gas in this direction.
This reminds me that I need to have a play with Form. That one looks fun! I also think Super 8 (on having a quick play with it) sounds really good too.
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I think there’s a lot to like about NI stuff. Even their old Reaktor stuff is still interesting. Razor, Form, Kontour and Super 8 (among others) all sound great and they can be picked up dirt cheap if you hunt around for used licenses. Reaktor is a very good modular synth (especially with Blocks) but it only has a handful of active “pro” developers making new stuff. To be honest, the core Blocks and the Blocks Primes are excellent and in terms of sound quality it stands up to the competition comfortably if you can live with some interface quirks, fair to say it’s not the best in that department. Some of their sample-based instruments sound awesome as well.
My personal grievance is that they seem to have stopped innovating with their DJ range. I’m still waiting for a manufacturer (any would do) to make a decent hardware/software combo for live performance and jamming. There is a halfway between DJ-ing and production and I’m waiting for it to be filled. Ableton with Push really isn’t much good without the computer and you still can’t really load/manipulate/perform with looped audio without using the computer. NI Maschine can be fun but it’s still geared towards a linear production workflow in my opinion.
Years ago NI released their Traktor S5 and S8 controllers and that was the closest I’ve seen to what I’d like. Tons of hands-on control, the ability to curate/browse/load full tracks and stems/loops and perform with them with fun and creative “colour” FX. These controllers have since been abandoned. That said, they seem to have had some success with Maschine+ which makes me wonder if a newer and better DJ controller might be coming down the line.
One more thing - I DON’T NEED JOGWHEELS!! We’re not all turntablists, some of us want to be able to experiment and perform with tempo-locked electronic music. Please give me this device! I will pay handsomely!
I still use Battery and Massive a fair bit - especially in legacy projects, but don’t really have use for the other plug-ins.
So, I haven’t updated Komplete for the last 3 or so iterations.
It took them aaaaages to get Battery updated for Apple silicon and VST3, but no new features. For me at least, they’re resting on their laurels when it comes to their most useful (to me) plug-ins.
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Unfortunately, as much as it might annoy people, the truth is that selling “content” seems to be a much more viable business model than developing new software or maintaining old products that won’t sell any more units. It’s still a business at the end of the day and it’s no coincidence that so many companies are trying to sell preset packs, sample packs and “added value” stuff rather than going down the route of expensive and time-consuming software development.