drift

It works like a dream for me. What's great about Maschine is that it's so flexible to cater to different workflow preferences. I prefer to use Maschine standalone. Once you're done with your arrangement in Maschine, you can just export your whole arrangement as separate sounds or groups and you will have all the individual wav files in Maschine's Recordings folder ready to be dragged into Logic for mixdown.

Maschine is actually super intuitive even with all that it does. And the full visual feedback you get on the dual displays on the controller makes a huge difference. Spark does look interesting though especially if it was used as a dedicated controller for something like Ultrabeat.

I've owned just about all of those pad controllers mentioned and I would highly recommend Maschine over anything else. It's just a superb MIDI controller in a league of it's own just for the amount visual feedback you get on it alone on the dual displays that show pages of custom labels, parameter names and values. You can easily make a template for Ultrabeat or any software and the pads are even more sensitive than padkontrol's which are already top notch.

Finally some sense and perspective.

I'm using Maschine exclusively for all my productions now. I just drag and drop the exported stems into Logic for mixing.

Native Instruments Maschine. Dedicated hardware with total integration with the software to the point of never having to look at or touch the computer or mouse/trackpad. Has 16 pads with both realtime and x0x style step sequencer with visual feedback. You can easily drag and drop into Logic as MIDI or audio.

Aren't you talking about using Maschine as a plugin in Logic and trying to send MIDI out from the plugin instance? You will find this problem when using any plugin in Logic because it has nothing to with Maschine itself but everything to do with Logic specifically in how it doesn't fully utilize the AU spec, as Jordito pointed out earlier.

I know that's why I said "it sounds like you're saying...". And as I pointed out, the issue you're talking about has nothing to do with Maschine itself as it is a Logic-specific issue. Anyway, Maschine's own virtual output works great for me when syncing with Logic and other software.

What it sounds like you're saying is not true in that you can of course input notes live into Logic's piano roll grid from Maschine pads, as long as we're talking about using Maschine pads with sounds in Logic. It's one of the most useful MIDI controllers I've ever used and it works fine for that. What you're talking about is the current inability for any AU plugins to send out MIDI information (because of Logic's limitation) which has nothing to do with Maschine itself or its controller. But that would only affect people that wish to use Maschine in a very specific way it wasn't meant for and it won't matter to everyone else who uses it fine with Logic with all the different ways Maschine can be used. For example, I prefer to use Maschine in standalone mode and just export stems of each group and drag them into Logic. You can also just drag and drop each pattern (you can isolate sounds) as audio or midi into Logic.

NI just released the feature list for the upcoming 1.6 update. Public beta to be released in January for Maschine owners. The update will include the following improvements: New and improved features: * Plugin hosting for VST/AU instruments and effects * Increased number of effect slots (3 per Sound, 4 per Group, 4 on Master) * New "Pad Link" function with 8 pad groups and Master/Slave option * Individual swing setting per sound * Clip naming * Sample renaming * Improved scene duplication * External audio input/output increased to 16 stereo channels * Improved Drag&Drop mapping for samples * Improved Drag&Drop from OS for Maschine files and audio files * Drag&Drop rearrangement of scenes and patterns * Snap-to-grid when moving events via mouse * VST plugin operation under Mac OS X 64bit * Rex import under Mac OS X 64bit This list is subject to change, and does not necessarily list all features and fixes that will be in the final update.

NI is killing it!!! This is a huge announcement. And it's only one single feature revealed yet as part of the next free 1.6 update: "I can finally break the news to you about the biggest feature that will come to Maschine in the next free update - which is plugin hosting! So, according to popular demand, the upcoming 1.6 version will allow you to use VST and AU plugins as sound sources and effects in your Maschine project. This includes both the whole NI range of instruments and effects as well as any third-party plugin." http://www.native-instruments.com/forum/showthread.php?t=122599 Teaser screenshot: http://www.native-instruments.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=21005&d=1289488022 The implication for us Logic users is also huge. As Logic doesn't allow MIDI output from a AU plugin to drive another plugin. This gets around that issue. Plus, this would make Maschine function as a VST/AU or VST/RTAS wrapper.

You can use 2 finger tap as right click. Also, you can do all kinds of customizing with a free tool called BetterTouchTool.

Maschine is perfect for this. And you can just drag and drop patterns as audio or midi directly into Logic.

Looks great. Yes, please post the template.

Absolutely loving the Magic Trackpad. Switching to single/double tap instead of click makes a world of difference for me. I also like the drag lock function. I've ditched the mouse for good.