thisnameistaken Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 (edited) When making demos of new tunes I like to come up with a rough arrangement and instrumentation that the band can use as a basis for adding their ideas, but something that always bothers me about using a DAW for this is you've got to get the computer and the audio interface and whatever outboard kit and so on all fired up, and then you're stuck wherever you've set it all up - probably at a desk - trying to make some music, and DAWs are generally geared more towards production than creation anyway. These days I struggle to find enough time to justify doing all this only to find that I'm not feeling especially creative that day. What would be ideal is if I had something I could just sit on my lap and start being creative with. And then put it down again, and pick it up again later if I get the chance, and so on. So I'm looking for… something… to just quickly demo tunes and put arrangements together. Ideally some hardware interface with drum samples and soft synths on board and an audio interface built in so I can plug in a mic or a guitar or whatever, and a really well thought-out interface for stitching ideas together quickly. I was looking at Maschine which seems like it's intending to be the sort of environment I'm looking for, but having to tether it to a laptop and audio interface leaves me in much the same space I was in before, with lots of bits of kit with wires in between meaning I'm likely to be stuck at a desk again. And it looks like Akai's MPC products are heading in that direction too. I don't have an iPad and don't really like using them either, so iPad apps are out. Is there anything on the market that sounds like it would fit the bill? Edited June 1, 2014 by thisnameistaken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Boss Micro Recorder thingy? BR80. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 The BR800 looks interesting but it doesn't seem to have any features for punching in drum patterns by hand or modulating effects like you'd get on an MPC-type device. I think I'd want more than just canned beats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I have a Maschine Mikro mkII and it's great for sketching things out quickly. It [i]does[/i] take some getting used to... but it's designed for use live on stage (as well as in home studios), so the interface is fairly intuitive. Just don't expect to make sense of it straight 'out of the box'. You'll need to spend some time learning the ropes, after which it's a very useful piece of kit. It's especially good for creating drum patterns, but it comes with a HUGE library of high quality sounds that cover a range of instruments. Maybe have a play with one in your local music shop before spending the ca$h. Its big brother, the full Maschine, is more versatile beast but comes at around twice the price (£450 or so). Bear in mind that Maschine doesn't work on its own - it needs to be connected to a computer/laptop via USB. Your other option might be to consider an iPad with something like GarageBand, iMaschine or Nanostudio. Hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 Yeah like I said the Maschine looks like it nearly fits the bill, if only they did one with a built in audio interface and onboard storage. It doesn't look like anyone makes anything like that. :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the boy Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Why not buy an iPad and an apogee jam. You could pick them both up secondhand for about £300. Garageband is so easy to use. The jam is limited in what it can do but it is awesome all the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 So it turns out a guitarist I know has a Maschine Mikro so I went to toss about with it the other night, then today I nipped out to Gear4Music in my lunch break and bought a Maschine mk2. Just downloading the inevitably enormous system updates and libraries now. Also found out my superdrive is knackered. Which is not 'super'. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 (edited) A few days in I'm really pleased with this thing. I bought it to demo tunes for a couple of bands - one doing a sort of dub/dancehall/electro/punk thing, the other a sort-of hip-hop outfit. It's great for putting ideas together quickly and the interface is well designed enough that you only really need to go to the computer for quite specific (note-level) editing. I imagine with the more expensive 'studio' model you would never look at your laptop at all. I honestly think it would be worth the £400 if all you wanted was a good drum machine, but they throw in a great sampler and sample editor, and many of the other instruments are really quite special, the effects are genuinely great, it'll also load VSTs, and you can also program it to work as a controller for your DAW of choice and it ships with many defaults for common applications. Great bit of kit. It's also USB powered so setup is very simple. Edited June 18, 2014 by thisnameistaken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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