Maschine+ OR Mpc One / Live II? (Comparison)

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On popular demand: My Maschine+ / MPC comparison. Let's get into some of the pros, some of the cons, some of the differences and similarities between these two systems and let's see what's what.
This is a topic that seems to bring out strong feelings in the community! Feel free to use the comment section for this video and I'll do my best to participate in the conversation. At least for the next few days. Keep in mind that I'm sharing my subjective opinions in this video... I might be right about some things, I might be wrong in others.
#mpc #mpcone #maschineplus
Here goes the usual spiel:
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[@Ulvens]

This is absolutely awesome. Having a sample and beatmaking connoisseur explaining me the difference between these machines. Much appreciated. Thank you.

[@bentaylor5328]

I bought the MPC One back in January and I personally love it. Next to my electric guitar, MPC One is the best piece of gear I've ever bought.

[@AccurateBeats]

That’s great man! people definitely has their own personal experiences with these devices. Glad to hear it :)

[@sinewaymusic]

@@thecreepysilence4290 It's excellent for any electronic genre. I've made several trance/house/techno tracks with it. It's amazingly versatile. The software synths are decent, too, lots of good presets to get you going. Lots of control of the mix using inserts and sends with effect chains. You could use a return channel as a parallel processing track for your drums, but you can also dynamically add plenty of effects on the drums themselves, per pad/sample, like distortion, ring modulation and 50+ other effects. The only downside I've found is that the CPU has its limits. If you push it to those limits, you'll start to experience stutters. Not affecting the exported track, but heard when playing it live. I mostly hit this limitation when getting close to a finished track and my solution is to switch to Controller mode and using the MPC 2.0 software on my MacBook air instead.

[@aloharay]

All true. The time spent focusing on the specs of gear means less time using the gear. Pick one you like and marry it.

[@AccurateBeats]

For sure! learning the tool at hand makes the biggest difference m. 100%

[@ventactics]

Yeah well said. With digital music, there's many paths to the same sound, find your shortest or most seamless

[@MiketheNerdRanger]

The reason people do this is because of cost. Most people who want these will not be able to just toss money at it, and if they find they don't like it, just toss money at the other thing. Let's not forget money is an issue.

[@warnutztheloser]

@@MiketheNerdRanger fax the cost is everything

[@LukeLine]

The MPC Live has been a dream over the last 4 years! So much inside, all my 20gb of Splice sample packs and it is truly standalone!

[@Bsoftproductions]

I agree about the muscle memory thing. I can fly through maschine and could never get into the MPC workflow. I have a Maschine+ on the way and I’m really excited to get into it. I’ve owned a Maschine Mikro, MK2, and a Studio and I loved them all

[@dracul74]

They are both great. I like the arranging on Maschine and the sampling on the Mpc. I recently picked up the mc 707... not a good sampler... but a fantastic tool to build tracks with what is in the box with 8 out tracking over usb. For me I had tried to use these as daw replacements... honestly that doesn’t work for me... now i use them as song generator and I finish in the daw. Being able to switch between these helps keep the inspiration going...

[@michaeltrenier]

DITTO

[@DJWOLFLIVE]

I’ve had both and for me it’s been the maschine+ hands down not just because of it’s a standalone and direct download of the expansion packs to the device via Wi-Fi but because it’s so much fun and enjoyable to create and make music on. For me it’s really the workflow that I like better!

[@draglinedrummer]

Isn't there a limit to how many expansions you can have on it? I have always felt more comfortable on Maschine and really want to go standalone but being more limited stops me from going that route. I have an MK3 but want to get away from being tired to computer.

[@justinorndorff2754]

always great. love your content. I've been thinking about getting a machine +. I've been an MPC user for 10_ years and I love my MPC live, I started out with an MPC2000XL and I miss it because I knew that thing inside and out. But the newer MPC line is hard to beat. much love my G!

[@warnutztheloser]

Did u get a mashine? How is it. Am 15+ yrs dedicated MPC user myself too

[@tntshuffle-9799]

I can tell you I loved Maschine. I was able to make beats very quickly becaus of the work flow. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy to lay down drums and samples quickly. After about 5 years with it, I gave my Maschine MKI to a family member hoping to upgrade to the Maschine +. Now I'm interested in the new MPC One +. It looks fire and I like to try new equipment/ tools. Can't beat the price of the MPC + either!

[@nickgilday8946]

I love watching unbiased reviews/comparisons. I think this is a fair look at the options an appreciate the insight. I started with MPC studio and for me the workflow of Maschine just clicked. I have always been more of a tactile knob twister, pad hitter type of person so the maschine giving you more of that always worked best for me. I have talked to people who think im crazy for saying the NI workflow is better too haha. It's all about personal opinion.... I will say that I get very frustrated with what feels like very little updates from NI outside of stability and compatibility. Auto sampler is something MPC has had for some time, and the most recent update (which you talked about) of automatically providing bpm and scale of samples, along with the serato sampler style of synced time stretch etc.. NI needs to step up to the plate there. They have the technology to do it.

[@AccurateBeats]

Thank you! :D Yeah, everyone is different and works in different ways. I'm glad you found what works for you! Sure, NI should have the technology since the Traktor software has it but I guess it's easier said than done to actually implement it in Maschine :P Making a video like this is tricky since the software keeps getting updated. I just hope I'm able to help anyone! Thanks for the support! :D

[@thomas-ww9zt]

wow - that was a no-bullsit / no-biased / no-fanboy comparison.... Refreshing. Like your content man!

[@AccurateBeats]

Thank you! I tried to make this as helpful as possible without going to easy or hard on any of them. I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D

[@TheNathtube]

I've just pulled the trigger on the mpc one retro can't wait to get hold of it, thanks for all the great vids on the one.

[@otobotrecords]

It's a fantastic unit. Don't forget to add a suiting power bank to it.

[@cresshead]

A Superb, Fair overview and Accurate! I can only say that my MPC One has been a great productive addition for me. i've never tried a Maschine+ but neither i'm looking over my shoulder with envy at one either.. pretty happy with what i have here. looking forward to a sp404 vs video!

[@1G0R16]

Also using ONE, when + came out i was envy a lil bit, but i have NI plugins so i would have only standalone NI with + and im not pro with maschine skills so im happy one user :3

[@AccurateBeats]

Thank you! I love still seeing you around here :D For sure! If the MPC One is the right now for you - I wish you the best possible future together! It's great when people finds what works for them :D

[@ejilla04]

Great viewpoint! I have the MPC One retro that I grabbed last October due to my MPC touch just not working with new operating systems on Mac. I have had my NI Mk3 for years. Love them both. i just don’t see a need for me to have two standalone units

[@AccurateBeats]

That’s a totally valid point!

[@MeerkatMuzic]

Good comparison review. Hope we see some good updates or competition this year.

[@AccurateBeats]

Thank you! I couldn’t agree more :)

[@mechasartre3694]

Maschine won me from Akai with the Plus. I still love my 2500 but I hated the Live, that said I find the Maschine infuriating in how close to perfect they got it and how I’ve lost ~£500 off it’s new value in a very short space of time, but if they can just fix the remaining bugs then I’d run in a burning building for it. Great review.

[@AccurateBeats]

Thank you! Yeah, Maschine+ has a lot going for it without being perfect, for sure!

[@dustyrhodes1655]

MPC user here(currently Live 2) and very happy with it but the Maschine + looks like a great tool as well. I've had to fight the gear lust in getting one because I still after years and years haven't learned everything MPCs offer and it would be counterproductive for me personally.

[@AccurateBeats]

Makes total sense. Sometimes sticking with what you got is the best and most productive solution. :D

[@ernestm8884]

I have an MPK MK3 and just the Machine the MPC live II has caught my eye so that may be next . I have purchased the MPC DAW and use both the MPC beats as well. I am trying Komplete start with my MPK mini MK3 but I'm running into some user issues at the moment.

[@MusicWizard85]

Cool comparison video. This helped me make a decision.

[@MakingMadBeats]

Hey Accurate! I got a question hooking up my Maschine MK3 with the Roland SP 404 MK2 which is about to arrive in a couple of days. I understand that it would be very easy to set it up with Maschine+ just by using an USB -C to A cable out of the SP 404 MK2 into the USB hub of the Maschine +. Then select the SP' s audio interface in Maschine+ settings. So, you can Sample/resample between the both devices. But how would I do this to sample resample between the Maschine MK3 and the SP404 MK2? I do not use Maschine MK3' s bulit-in interface. I use my Focusrite Clarett+ 8pre with Maschine. THX 🙏!

[@joshuagardner894]

Not mentioned is the tagging system in the Maschine+. The sounds in the Maschine+ are better, the effects are better, the tagging system is better (it is VERY easy to find samples based on genre or instrument type). The Maschine+ however is missing that touch screen, which I find to be easier to work with. Both units require learning shortcuts. Over all, I find the process / workflow easier on the MPC, the sounds are better on the Maschine+, just keep in mind, you will have to remove FX to keep the CPU use down.

[@AccurateBeats]

Yeah, thats right. The browsing, tagging and sorting of samples and presets is great on Maschine for sure!

[@Th3rdFloor]

Perfectly executed in comparison as everything comes down to individual preference and workflow. Now that for me is the clear winner! Well done accurate for your totally unbiased opinion and input,,great video!!!

[@AccurateBeats]

Thank you! ❤️

[@ProducedBy10A]

I use an mpcx that I got given at the worlds beat battle in toronto 2019. I can happily say I really love the mpcx and machine when its not crashing but then I copped an iPad pro and that thing has taken over both stand alone machines lol its a fricken ipad!!! The ipad is so powerful with the amount of proffessional plugins and daws. Its just mind blowing when paired with a bluetooth keyboard or any midi controller and sound card. My 2cents

[@rafsanrahi2469]

I connect the MPC One to my iPad Pro 2021 and use the mpc as a sequencer to my korg gadgets. It is THE perfect combo. Gadget 2 doesn’t have a powerful sequencer which mpc does and mpc doesn’t have powerful cpu for HQ plug-ins and iPad has M1 chip. So one device complements the other very well. And pair the two with a MPK midi controller…dream come tru!

[@LaidbackSounds]

@@rafsanrahi2469 or you could just use cubasis in the ipad lol

[@TonyFlorean]

Look forward to working with you 🔥

[@DavidGarcia5300]

great video! I would love your opinion on any of the beat making software on iPads.

[@GrootsieTheDog]

Just picked up the One SE Gold version (beautifully pimped out look imo). Feel like I’m swimming in the dark right now. Any good suggestions for tutorials? Thanks!

[@camilosanchez24]

Hey mate ! Great video and interesting point of view. I would like to ask you something. What about the Elektron Octatrack MKii ? I saw you don't have a video of it, but maybe you can give me a guidance about what could be best if a Machine Plus/MPC live or Electron Octatrack Mkii bearing in mind sounds, workflow and live performance ! Cheers.

[@fredicagoillanoise1309]

I love my MPC One but since acquiring a Maschine Plus and upgrading from the MK2, I've really enjoyed the standalone Maschine Plus. I haven't had any problems with CPU overload because I always delete all of the unused pads in the groups. Haven't had any probs with the system crashing or anything. It's a rock solid machine that could be better but I enjoy it for what it is.

[@christophetof9808]

j'ai une mashine plus ,j'ai voulu changer car j'etais sur MPC live .de tres loin MPC est au dessus jamais eu de bug , mashine c'est bc trop de fois que ca bug.perso je vais me remettre sur akai force

[@apoclypse]

I just got the Maschine Plus second hand. I was a hardcore day one MK1 user but moved to the MPC about 3-4 years ago. Both are good devices. I would say Maschine has an edge in terms of samples but luckily my MPC has an SSD and I can just drop all those sounds right on the drive and use them on the MPC. I can say that on the plus it’s concerning to see 30-40% cpu usage with jus a few groups loaded. I can fill up a whole drum group with many of the pads having effects and the MPC barely breaks a sweat. I also found it concerning that the plus did a hard reset two minutes after first booting it up for my first project.

[@hattoom]

BEST COMPARISON VIDEO!!!!!! Thank you so much for ur work 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@AccurateBeats]

Thank you Hatim!

[@OperculumAudio]

Yo Accurate, thanks for coming through earlier to the live stream. I had actually watched your channel in the past, and when you came into Ave's Live Stream, I was like....that name sounds familiar. And then I looked at your channel and I was like, Oooh yeah I know this dude! Lol, good to meet you man. Cya around the community

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

Good comparison and I am trying to decide which of these to buy as a groove box and DAWless experience. I have an Octatrack and SP 404 MK2 that are really fun samplers but not really a DAW in a box like these tools.

[@k00k]

I have the Maschine, Ableton Push, and have owned many MPCs over the years (I actually used to work at Akai). The problem I'm having nowadays is that I work more in the DAW than standalone and the integration of these devices into DAWs never feels quite right. I understand the technical limitations of using the corresponding VST, and I'm not quite sure how to solve the problem.

[@fraicheness]

Uhhh, it‘s so difficult to decide!!! I have a Kontrol S4 Mk3 controller (with F1) and thinking about incorporating a Maschine Mk3 into the already existing Kontrol DJing/remixing on the spot workflow. Then again, I don’t wanna sit even more in front of the PC all day and I loooove the showcasing of the Live 2 in yours and Ricky Tinez‘ videos. My DAW is Reason, which would go great with creating samples for further manipulation and sequencing on the MPC.

[@FluoLente]

I had an MPC Live 2, the internal audio device constantly failed, crashing the device. It also then wouldn't power back on for an hour or two. Sadly had to return it and I've been afraid to take a shot at another one. The device seemed awesome but my experience was the worst I've had in a while with any device.

[@sisonkemanentsa5153]

Awesome video accurate, just a minor correction on the IO, maschine can only do 4 stereo in and 8 stereo out whilst MPC is 32 mono/ 16 stereo in and out. That’s the limit with the external sound card.

[@AccurateBeats]

Awesome correction! Thank you

[@MiketheNerdRanger]

Haven't used them, but by the looks, the Maschine's workflow seems to click with me just in concept alone. I'll be trying that first.

[@JEFFMAN90]

When I first started making beats 5 years ago I was a big Maschine head but once I tried out the MPC it was a wrap. Making beats on the MPC felt way more comfortable to me then both Maschine and any other DAWS out there. To me the MPC Live 2 is the best choice out 3 here.

[@AccurateBeats]

That's cool to hear! Thanks for sharing

[@fabiancortes6255]

Yep ,very mature points of view ,i don't think i couldn't explain this machines better than you did.

[@ivan_kodolov]

Hey Accurate! Are there any sonically differences between Akai and Maschine to your taste? I have the Maschine Plus too and there are MPC 60 and SP 1200 emulations (I guess they are MPC 60 and SP 1200). So do the Akai still have the iconic sound of their earlier MPC's? I guess there might be some emulations too. What do you think?

[@AccurateBeats]

Well… i might be wrong here but I’ve never found the emulations to make an important enough difference to be useful for real. I find the (new) MPCs to have a slightly warmer or softer sound than Maschine+ but the difference is barely noticeable. The classic mpcs like my mpc2000XL definitely has a lot more of a character to its sound.

[@kierenmoore3236]

Are the Mk3 pads every bit as good/sensitive as the + pads? If so, as a total noob not bothered about about portability at this stage, I’m thinking of trying out both the MPC One and a Mk3 as I can, and deciding from there … ?!

[@davidscott2095]

Fantastic video, Accurate. Blessings!

[@WarrenPostma]

I just bought an Maschine MK3 and for me it was a far better choice than any hardware groove box out there. It's a hardware groove box in every way except that I can't take it anywhere away from the laptop which sits near it. I don't actually use the laptop screen much except for naming things and saving things. It's also great to have my favorite VSTs and a far more powerful CPU than the atom in the MASCHINE+. If a Maschine+ edition with a built in battery existed and if it had a decent AMD APU instead of the Atom in it in a future iteration of the hardware, I would totally consider maschine +.

[@CamelJoebo]

Thanks for this, appreciate the useful feedback!

[@grdalenoort]

i bought a used Live MK1 (no need for speakers now) and then with an entry level USB midi-keyboard you have a nice setup to begin and to try out.

[@sinewaymusic]

I bought the MPC One mainly due to cost reasons, where the Maschine+ was nearly twice the price. I hesitated because it looked like the MPC community was mostly hip hop producers, and I do electronic music (trance, techno, ambient, retrowave, etc). In the end, the MPC One is the best hardware music production purchase I've ever made. It's truly amazing. And I've gone through many machines over the years, the MC-101, Digitakt, Digitone, Pocket operators, and many synths. The MPC also handles external synths beautifully and its sequencer has things my DAW doesn't even have, such as polyphonic aftertouch (Reason lacks it).

[@SonicVibe]

Agreed

[@jamainebrown]

Me too I so wanted the machine 😂 because my laptop broke and wasn’t wanting another I just wanted the stand alone and I’m so glad I chose the one ☝🏾 it’s only been 4wks and I’m loving it messing with samples and finding myself with it I’ve still am got some way to go I love old skill house so I’m trying to re create And get better at arranging my music 🎵

[@GrootsieTheDog]

Great to hear! I like making ambient and minimal electronic music genres and I bought the One thinking this could be amazing for these styles. Just started digging in so right now a bit lost. Any tips for ambient on the MPC One would be 👍 great!

[@sinewaymusic]

@@GrootsieTheDog Haven't personally attempted ambient yet but will soon. I'd say you probably will want to use the Granulator effect on at least one synth track. That, with an octave shift and in a chain followed by Air Reverb is magical.

[@delfiobacco7156]

i always loved mpc's and while i really like hip hop and occasionally make some beats i'm into other types of electronic music,fact is the mpc's always were the best and most open sequencers, allowing one to write every kind of music and not strictly 16 steps pattern based stuff. i had mpc 2kxl, 4k,2.5k and 1k prior to my actual mpc live mk1. all sounded great. i had an octatrack for about a cpl of years and while it was a great weird creative device, it always sounded bad to my ears, especially when mixing different stuff. not enough headroom, and sounded flat as hell, a bit better in 24 bits but nowhere near any mpc in history :)

[@ickebins6948]

I bought a MPC Live II 2 years ago and I just cant get comfortable with the workflow at all... ( Maybe I'm not oldschool enough ) I see the potential and the technical aspect but its just not for me somehow. It is sitting here, collecting dust since last year. I'm using Ableton with push2 now and its a whole different experience. It just makes more sense for me. Glad people can enjoy different stuff. Keep it up Accurate!

[@parismusic3590]

I have MPC L2 a month ago and I am about to release my third beat album. Never used it before. However, I am very comfortable. I prefer it over Logic and Fl studio. DAW are not the best way, they are demanding in terms of CPU.

[@joshuagardner894]

If it helps, a track is the raw MIDI data (the "sheet music" if you will), a program is the instrument playing the MIDI data. This way, you can write a track and merely change the program to have a different instrument play that track. This one subtle explanation helped me immensely for understanding the MPC.

[@ickebins6948]

@@joshuagardner894 Thanks for the help. Maybe I should explain it another way: I can make music with the MPC just fine BUT i can't enjoy the process. I'm not trying to make money with music, its my hobby and I'm just not having alot of fun doing it with the MPC. As I said, its a great machine and has all the features one could ask for.

[@ickebins6948]

@@parismusic3590 The MPC is still a "PC" running a daw. There is nothing analog in it. It's a great piece of hardware but its not for me.

[@parismusic3590]

@@ickebins6948 I agree. Use the outputs to make it analog by routing it to your interface. You don't enjoy the MPC probably because you are not a sample based producer. Working with samples is way eazy than you can thing, another thing is the drums. Putting drums together is more fun in the MPC. Please don't leave the MPC, it is really a fun machine.

[@salix5380]

I love the MPC one because the workflow is fast and the Price is good.

[@Bigheadedwon]

When it came out 2 years ago it was $699. It's had 2 $100 price increases since. That's a huge jump. NOTE: I bought one literally 2 days after the 2nd $100 price hike.

[@CharlieYsasi]

This has been pretty much the best comparison, honestly. I’ve been really interested in getting one. I’m just curious about proyect management for live performance. Let’s say I’ve produced about 10 tracks and I want to go dawless… which one would be the right one to load independent projects if needed? I’ve used a Maschine Mikro for years and i love the workflow but I’ve never seen someone talk about this 🤔 maybe the sp404 could be the right one for loading whole tracks and adding Fx and stuff live?

[@AccurateBeats]

This depends a lot on what you mean by “loads projects”. Loading up the different projects files and jump between beats like that actually doesn’t work on any of them. Importing finished wag-files and trigger them would work perfectly on both of them though. I’ve used both Maschine+ and the MPC one for live setups like that together with an SP404. The touchscreen on the MPC is pretty cool for adding effects on the fly but the touch strip on M+ is also pretty fun. But sure… Just an SP would pretty much do the same job all in itself :)

[@CharlieYsasi]

@@AccurateBeats man, this is exactly the type of answer I’ve been looking for! Thanks a lot! I guess it is now up to looking the better tool for me and what I wanna do

[@AccurateBeats]

@@CharlieYsasi I’m just glad to help!

[@rene.rodriguez]

Great comparison video. Liked and sub’d.

[@ralphkaysse5182]

hello, thank you for your video, I see that you use Maschine and MPC but do you use them both together in your creative process? because I have been using Maschine mk3 for 3 years inside Ableton and recently I bought an MPC ONE+ except I am working on improving my musical creation or production process and until now I have not yet found the good workflow. so can you help me with some little advice please?

[@ambrushadam]

I love my MPC Live II and my Maschine Mk3. One for standalone and one for going crazy with plugins and effects.

[@AccurateBeats]

That's a great way to think about it!

[@ambrushadam]

@Accurate Beats I actually made two videos about this topic so I have thought about it a lot 😂 Check them out if you want! kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGTUlqCBqJJ4bJY

[@illeagle8041]

It seems the disk drive could be the culprit in many of my crashes. Is there an sd you’ve found works best for Maschine+

[@JohnMark61355]

Thanks for,the video. I quickly reviewed the manual for the Machine+, so I may have missed this, but it does not appear that it has a multitrack recorder function like the MPC. I play actual instruments and would like to record multiple tracks without having a second piece of gear. Did I miss something; does the Machine+ have a multitrack recording function? Than you.

[@AccurateBeats]

Thanks! What you're talking about is 100% doable in Maschine too in a couple to ways... I normally record that type of audio in loop mode, in sync with the sequencer and then convert the sample to an audio track in Maschine... That way it loops on beat and just works. You can also record audio as sample and trigger it as a one-shot in the sequence but I find that to be less intuitive. I don't think NI calls this multitrack recording but that's essentialy what it is :D

[@JohnMark61355]

@@AccurateBeats Thank you!

[@siccavicca]

My bro .. great clip ,, I agree with most of what you’ve said but ..er. THE MOC LIVE 2 is the only 1 of the 3 that would work on that is And you mentioned ..”I’m just saying fam ..it’s love lol!!”

[@tonyjackson5261]

Hey Accurate, Question, do you know if the MPC Touch works with 2.10? Is anybody you know rocking MPC-Beat and a Touch?

[@AccurateBeats]

Oh, thats a good question! I've never had the MPC Touch but my guess is that it should work to at least some extent with 2.10. Sorry I don't have a better answer for this

[@noahwaiwaiole7888]

Am I able to keep my expansion packs for machine on an external hard drive? If so, I think the MK3 may be a better option, for me.

[@jortsgod7892]

love this guy. he’s the best at what he does on youtube fs.

[@AccurateBeats]

Thank you so much!

[@edgi55]

I have both and found Maschine's workflow so much easier to learn as many of the functions are logical and the MPC One not so logical. The MPC ONE has a huge learning curve and it took me months to learn just the basics on the MPC One compared to Maschine. I find also the touch screen on the MPC ONE clunky and slow especially when selecting, erasing or making precise changes, whereas its so much more precise and faster on Maschine using the knobs and buttons. I would definitely choose Maschine if you are just starting out as it's way easier to learn than the MPC.

[@vaiman7777]

Disagree, Maschine is very confusing for beginners. I get people constantly asking me for help. I agree the screen has it flaws, but it’s still better than my Maschine. Try getting a beginner to fire 3 external hardware synths via Maschine. MPC, it’s all on one screen.

[@benwhitaker6755]

I absolutely love my mpc one, but mine does crash on me fairly frequently and it is completely updated. (disclaimer: I have never used any maschine products)

[@pierrefitch]

Wow how you like the maschine mk3 compare to MPC one ?? Can they work together

[@sibagiba]

Thanks bro. Very well explained

[@JackAcid]

Had both, but let the Akai go because I could not get my head around the workflow. Just my two cents.

[@centr0]

Which has bigger pads? MPC ONE or the Maschine MK3?

[@bigingram9593]

im new too mpc ....Can i record my yamaha keyboard directly into ither , with out recording my music as a sample ...i am looking for direct recording my instrument as a track or loop

[@AccurateBeats]

That’s totally possible to do on the MPC, for sure. You are limited in how many tracks you can record before you need to bounce them down to samples but that workflow does work pretty well too :)

[@BubbaSatori]

Which one is better? Both. Have the mk3 and the Live 2. Mk3 for the desk and Live 2 for it’s portability, io and touch screen.

[@AccurateBeats]

They're both really great! No doubt :D

[@GearAddict90210]

I bought a used MPC One for monetary reasons. My only gripe with it are the stiff pads and double triggers, otherwise it's pretty amazing what you get. I wish it had a favorite system for effects, it's a bit tedious to browse every time. 1st world problem though. I do believe the sounds and synths of the Maschine are better and more up my alley though and I believe I like the Maschine workflow better, but for now I will just stick with what I have.

[@parismusic3590]

Some people doesn't even have studio monitors. They should go for the MPC LIVE 2. I have it and I love it.

[@AccurateBeats]

That’s also a thing!

[@SaulHoodman]

I have not been able to get my maschine mk2 system to work as a controller in FL studio. Do i need to get the newer maschine controllers? the software uses way more AI machine learning compared to the mk2 system

[@SonicVibe]

I have the MPC One and love it just saying lol

[@BuleriaChk]

One can easily use a battery pack with Maschine+ (or a Ripcord from MyVolts) The Maschine+ can also be used as a controller for Maschine on the PC (you just need a sound card). So no need for a Mk3 except, of course, price.... If you want clip launch, you can use a Maschine Jam.

[@elek-trick]

That about sums it up for the MPCs and Maschine+. The SP-404 is a fantastic sampler but why don't we ever hear you talk about Elektron hardware? I was a Maschine user until I discovered the Digitakt, the Digitone and others. As time went by, I used my Maschine MK3 less and less and had a hell of a time with the Digis. Maybe you don't know much about Elektron's gear but if you do, a vid would be appreciated by many... 😃 Keep on the good work.

[@AccurateBeats]

Thank you! Well... The only Election device I have is the model: samples and lets just say that I haven't used it much at all... I'm very excited about the new Syntakt but I'm not sure I'll get it tbh. If I ever explore the Digitakt/ syntakt or anything like it, I'll definitely made a video on my thought about it but I just have my doubts. I guess my first experiece with them through the model samples left me pretty disappointed. I know that the model samples is the worst device they have, 100%! Maybe I should tak to someone at Eletron, just for the fun of it :D

[@abuwabu]

A plus for the MPC range that no-one mentions in these reviews is the quality of the analogue output. It sounds great.

[@yungjetski2751]

Plus filters pertaining to older models!! The MPC sounds really really good

[@jamwithjason3112]

could you elaborate on that? I am trying to make a decision on which to buy. I have played with maschine befure, but always thought the beat sounded quiet flat, vs the videos i see on youtube. Is it just that the MPC samples hit harder or is it because something to do with MPC itself? Does the MPC also have latency advantage?

[@yungjetski2751]

@@jamwithjason3112 There is no latency problem that i’ve noticed. And they’re both great IMO, it all just comes down to how gritty you want your samples. I personally think the MPC does better with distortion and filtering but the maschine could be entirely capable of doing the same. The MPC one is killer though, i’ve only had minor crashing problems whenever bouncing from project to project.

[@abuwabu]

@@jamwithjason3112 There are too many variables to determine why a beat on YT sounds a bit flat and lifeless. You can make great music with either one, so don't sweat it too much. I personally prefer the workflow and interface of the Maschines (I really don't like touch screens); but the actual analogue outs of the MPCs (when you take a physical cable from an output and plug it directly into a mixer or your audio interface) sound great. If you drive it a little bit you get that gritty, crunchy AKAI sound. The audio interface on the Maschine MK3 is pretty average. I can't speak for the Maschine + because I haven't tried it; but I don't think they changed it. Of course you can use either one as a plugin and not use the audio interface at all. Depends what you're after.

[@onebluntman10]

@@jamwithjason3112 MPCs always have a a bigger output. The sounds that come out of an MPC is larger boomier and fatter. It’s analog vs digital and while people think analog doesn’t matter it’s always gonna be a fatter sound then digital that’s why the maschine beats sound “flat”

[@ameeromedia5883]

For me, After about less than an hour of use and a few quick KZbin videos, I was able to make full compositions using the MPC live 2. I was not a former MPC user. Maschine products to me are just way more difficult to learn and work around.

[@coldskoolbeatz]

Native Instruments, period.

[@ameeromedia5883]

@@coldskoolbeatz nope lol.

[@larrylynch8113]

Dude I d love to have a course about finger drumming you re excellent at it 👌

[@AccurateBeats]

🤪

[@tobiaslofi]

Here I am looking for a screenless & dawless groovebox/daw and thus will try the Verselab MV-1 which has the best vocal processing as well. (And I get to rest my eyes from looking at screens all day)

[@AccurateBeats]

Yeah, that’s an aspect, for sure! The eye fatigue can become a real issue and the more and the bigger screens we keep relying on, the impact on us gets bigger. I keep hearing both good and bad about the verselab and I haven’t tried it myself… You bring up a valid point here Tobias. Thanks for sticking around on my channel :)

[@tobiaslofi]

@@AccurateBeats I'm mainly using SeratoStudio but eventually I want to learn the Verselab... I got it used and saved a lot of money. have not tried it yet

[@tobiaslofi]

@@AccurateBeats I enjoy your music and watching you make it. So I’ll stick around for sure. Thanks for making the videos.

[@tobiaslofi]

@Joel Harvey I totally understand! I have not tried it yet at all. But my limited understanding is that the sampling /chopping ability is more limited than the Maschine/mpc/sp… but I hope that if I prepare my main drum samples and main LoFi synths as samples on my Mac and onto the SD card I have enough of a solid and consistent foundation for each new verselab track to still sound like me, and use the Roland sounds for bass/EP/pad … I don’t want music made on verselab sound less than the music that I now make. I hope so. And the prospect of writing, producing and vocal production without a screen both scares and excites me :)

[@johnnieray2423]

Posting this a year later I have the maschine mk3 and just got the live 2.. portability hands down live 2 but maschine mk3 or maschine+ Has better sounds and expansions and instruments. I'm struggling to get any great sounds for my live so I'm gonna start convert maschine expansions thanks to ave macree tutorial for on the go but in the studio mk3 with komplete is my go to One nice thing I just fig out is I can open maschine 2 software in mpc software and use both maschine mk3 and mpc live 2 together

[@synkuk]

and what you think of the force these days ?

[@gutaninblanco]

Im on maschine mk2 and still satisfied, waiting for mk4 but honestly I could stay on mk2 for life it does everything I want.

[@AccurateBeats]

Yeah, I love that! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it :)

[@JustDanielSon]

where can i buy your beats? r u not on beatstars? or airbit?

[@AccurateBeats]

Hi. I actually don’t sell beats right now. I have a few projects in the works and might think about doing something like that later. Thanks!

[@tobiaslofi]

Interesting to see that the mpc one has grown on you so much. Years ago you recommended Maschine mk3 over mpc live. I understand that. But standalone the mpc one is great value for money.

[@AccurateBeats]

Yeah, I know. The MPCs has really grown on me over time. Glad you noticed :)

[@jimharris6389]

Everyone talks about the differing workflows between the MPCs and Maschine ... without actually explaining the differences in detail 😊. I'm still none the wiser. Any clues or good links?

[@afxtwinreverb]

The MPC is more one thing at the time, more "menu" driven, less playable. For me the maschine felt like an instrument and not just a machine. The workflow is very good. For example to go more in detail, if you are live jamming and want to mute the kick in the maschine, you hold mute and select the pad, in the mpc you have to go the "Pad Mute" menu.

[@Joel-re1jz]

I love my MPC One. I do agree the UI is a little strange. Like trying to find the menu where to create a new project took me way to long to discover.

[@AccurateBeats]

Yeah, I had to spend a bit of time to get 100% comfortable with the workflow and some of the shortcuts too. Once I've learned everything, things makes a lot of sense. :D

[@kanez691]

THX a lot!

[@jonathansoko1085]

The MPC one is the greatest solo beat box ever created. Why don't i say the Live2? Because of price, you are off, here in America the One is 699$. (Not 900$) and for 699$ it does everything, literally. I cant believe there exist a beat machine that is capable of doing everything under the sun, at that price. That is hwy i have to give it the nod as the best beat machine ever made. For 700$ you can have an entire studio in a box that can record your entire album as its a multi track recorder, sample and make every beat, mix and master and set up complete live performances. Its mind blowing when you think about it really.

[@marianmusic7221]

I owned Maschine MK3 (not Maschine+) and I have something to say about it. The "Step" sequencer on Maschine MK3 is not working the way it should - it jumps over the first beat (it is not playing it), when that first beat is drawed with the pencil inside the Maschine software next to the left locator (inside the loop zone) in Cubase Pro 11. The problem was first reported on the Native Instruments forums in 2015/2016. In 2021 the problem was still there. The NI forum admins deleted my post reporting the bug. The NI support team was not helpful at all - after contacting them I was told that they will come back with an email to me - now is one year later and I still did not received an answer. I had to send the unit back and asked for the money back. Maschine MK3 is a very nice piece of gear and a very good system to work in, and I would chose it over the Akai MPC. Unfortunately that bug (somewhere in its firmware or in the Maschine software - it seems to me that it has something to do with the way the Maschine software interacts with the DAW) made it useless for me. And it seems the problem is so deep that they cannot fix it without a big investment - an investment which they do not want to make. I know that this video is more about the Maschine+, which is a standalone unit and it probably does not have that problem. But I just wanted to talk about my experience with the NI Maschine system. I know nothing about the Akai MPC.

[@AccurateBeats]

Oh! And This is specifically a problem with Cubase? I’m afraid I haven’t used cubase for many years but this definitely sounds frustrating and I totally see how it’s not working out for you… Thanks for sharing this though!

[@marianmusic7221]

@@AccurateBeats Thanks for replying. I have checked out with the Steinberg (Cubase) support team and they have said the problem does not lie on their side. I kindly asked both teams to get in contact with eachother and to work together to solve the problem, but got no answer on that. The fact that the NI forum admins and the NI technical support team were very repulsive, and the fact that there are posts reporting the problem lying on the NI forum since so many years, with no helpful answer, made me think that the problem is on the NI side. Beside the above mentioned problem, the audio output knob on the back of the Maschine mk3 seemed faulty (turning it up just a few degrees would raise the volume from 0 to 100%, and the rest of the travel was doing nothing). As the time in which I could return the unit was limited, and as the NI representative did not replied (as promised), I had to return it. It's a pity because I liked the Maschine mk3 in every other way. But I bought it mostly for adding beats on the fly using the "Step" function. I already had a midi keyboard which also has 16 pads that i can use for the other purposes. There were no good reasons to keep the Maschine mk3 if I could not use it.

[@ranroc4358]

Great content

[@dannykirsch]

Which has better sounding swing? Mpc or maschine?

[@MBeats27]

Can you do a video on the sp404 mk2 vs mpc

[@sftraxx]

After owning a MPC Live 2 and a Maschine MK3 i gotta say that I agree. I think both product lines are excellent and are very capable of producing full polished songs. It really does come down to workflow preference. Here's the truth: Regardless of which one you buy you are really only limited by your own creativity ✨️ 👌 😉 💯

[@AccurateBeats]

Hear hear! Thats exactly how I feel about them too and why this video was a bit tricky to put together :P Thanks for watching :D

[@TwinCitiesOxygen]

Which is easier and more intuitive if you just want to focus on simple sampling. Or a better way of saying it is which one is more immediate?

[@sftraxx]

@@TwinCitiesOxygen From my experience the MPC line is better at sampling and sample manipulation.

[@MH_79]

I had both, but sold them. MPC Workflow is really special and not what i expected. For me it was very hard to get familiar with it. Maschine+ is really a dream when it comes to Workflow and intuitive Usability, but it has so big stability Problems, that's not acceptable for this Price class. The CPU is always at the Limit and it doesn't run simultaneously with other devices. I tried many Devices, and kept a MC 707, for me the perfect Device. Hope the SP 404 comes soon...

[@AccurateBeats]

Interesting stuff! The MC-707 is great in many ways but I personally find the sampling a bit more difficult on the 707 compared to these ones. People seem to have very different experiences with the CPU on Maschine+ but I see how it can be an issue for some users. The SP404MKII is also a great device that I tend to use a lot too! Thanks for sharing :D

[@MH_79]

Yes, it depends on what you want to do with it. In my Case, i wanted a well working Hybrid Setup (Live/DJ) for EDM Style Music. I have Ableton on Track 8 and 7 Tracks to play around. For Example Track One is filled just with Kickdrums, Track 2 is filled with the Basic Percussion, Claps, Snares, Hi Hats. Track 3 and 4 are filled with extra percussive One Shots. Track 5,6 and 7 are Tone tracks filled with Basslines, Synths etc. It has perfect Interaction and is very good synced. And i'm totally mobil with everything, cause it fits very well in my Army Backpack, the 707 and the Push 2 are running with a Powerbank and the Tablet runs easy for 5 - 6 Hours, enough to have Fun all Night. Tried this with the Maschine+ and it sucked so badly. The MPC One could handle it, i think but with just the 4 Knobs, there's not enough Interaction and as i told, the whole Workflow /Interface is just not designed for this Purpose. In your Case, when you're just fokused on one Song theese two Devices should do the Job. Btw, i tried the AKAI Force also, but it was to big for my Backpack 😊.

[@QR_Code]

i ordered an mpc one back in 6/2020 when they were out of stock for months...i paid just under $600 (not $699) total shipped. i see they are now selling for $900 😭... i actually managed to get crazy deals on musical equipment in the last few years. but anyways... i love the mpcone just based on the footprint and dedicated buttons. me personally, i dont need the portability, ssd capability, speaker, extra outputs of the live II, but i can see why its appealing to folks and i think its good marketing by Akai so they can sell both units. i also feel like Akai is gonna release another smaller cheaper scaled down version with alot less features than the one/live but will be highly portable have a battery and speaker but no ssd capability 'mpc pocket' 🤔🤔 90% of my beats/ideas are started on a keyboard workstation, my workflow is then exporting the wavs and loading em on the mpc ..add /change drums and other elements and seq the song. then the tracks go to a computer for final touches. so this is the main reason why i'd never need one of the higher priced units . i never used maschine so cant comment on it alot of folks seem to mess with it though

[@AccurateBeats]

Thanks for sharing! Yeah, I have a decent amount of stuff in my studio but I use the mpcone more than the Live 2 even though I could use the multiple outputs for a lot of stuff. Having the extra buttons and the workflow of the one just makes sense for me too :D I dont know about an Mpc pocket but its a fun idea 😃

[@otobotrecords]

Man, it's so easy to ad a power bank to the one.

[@QR_Code]

@@otobotrecords right. but someone that actually moves around with their mpc for work or whatever will most likely just get the live 2... i personally have never seen anybody outside banging out beats like you see on videos 😄

[@otobotrecords]

@@QR_Code It's actually much easier to move the One with a power bank strapped on with velcro than the Live 2. You can strap it off if you want 😅 and even be more portable 🤷‍♂️

[@otobotrecords]

@@QR_Code BTW I've done that a lot - banging out beats outside.

[@shawnbravo5201]

Cool video. I’ve been considering switching from my maschine to a Mpc. I’m getting tired of the crashing and constantly having to run updates and running all of these vsts to get a vintage sound. My heart keeps calling for a MPC

[@terranceshumake2239]

Make the switch! It’ll change your life!

[@MakingMadBeats]

The new MPCs won' t give you that "vintage sound" neither. They sound punchy but very neutral. You will have to use the built in FX, to "dirty up" the sound.

[@AccurateBeats]

Man... Frustration like that doesn't have a place in music making. It should be fun and the tech should be enabling, not preventing. Switching systems is a roug process though but sometimes that might be needed.

[@MakingMadBeats]

@@AccurateBeats I' ve been through the whole switching process. DAWs, different grooveboxes, samplers, dawless. I went back to Maschine MK3 since it is the best "in between" solution for me and It' s workflow suits me the best and complemented it with a Komplete Kontrol S49 MK2 keyboard.

[@krakapoww]

Sounds like you should give the mv8800 a lookup, can do old mpc and sp1200 swing and has great effects for lo fi crunchiness. Load times and stuff are a bit long cause its an older box, but They go quite cheap these days

[@snotnosedpunk7995]

Really workflow is the biggest difference. The 80's workflow that's been grandfather by the MPC line can be a little difficult for modern producers to understand (Sequence, Track, Program). But the MPC offers more at that price point in terms of hardware specs and stuff like Stem Seperation.

[@RedMeansRecording]

Does the MPC feel as CPU bound as the Maschine? Are you hitting the top end of what the MPC can do as quickly as the Maschine does?

[@AccurateBeats]

I never hit that threshold on any of them… I might be making too simple music for that but as far as I know… The MPC’s actually has less ram than Maschine+ and I haven’t heard anyone complaining in the MPC community. I guess my answer is that the Mp feels less limited but it’s honestly never been a real problem for me on M+ either.

[@mrrafsk]

MPC can only stack x4 fx on a program/input, x4 on one of four buses and then x4 output. One also has a limit of how many plug-in synths can be used at any one time. So it’s hard to get crazy to max out the cpu on the MPC, unlike the m+. The subtleties of the fx/synths sounds on the m+ are nice. No way can the MPC do raum reverb, complex wavetable massive wubs or the physical modelling of prism. However designing anything on the m+ is hell. I often have more fun on the MPC, stacking x4 fx together with the x/y pad for more playable and unique fx, than playing with an overused NI preset. And odyssey, electric, drum synths all have lots of character for me. I really hope the m+ gets voice stealing or some kind of workaround to deal with the cpu clicks, like the deluge.

[@AveMcree]

It’s no where near as buggy as the Maschine 😂

[@noahsiekmann4275]

I've hit the RAM limit on my MPC more often than on my M+. I've had a few issues with CPU usage on M+, but usually only when loading NI expansions for just the reason Accurate mentions. Too many efx on each pad. The MPC is more stable, but it has also been on the market 4 years longer, so they've had longer to fix things and make it more stable. I'm in a similar place as Accurate, I have the Live mk1 and M+ and I love them both.

[@noahsiekmann4275]

@@AveMcree true, but it is older. My Live mk1 was buggy as he'll the first 2 years too. But Akai have improved a lot since then. Personally I think the Force took Akai's attention off MPC for a little while.

[@matthewgaines10]

As always the case, what is “best” ultimately depends on who “you” are, what you’re making, and how you work. There is no best but what works best for you.

[@djsimson]

To compare both systems is really a question of taste. I don´t have or ever used a Maschine+ but own a MK3 & Jam, my best friend owns a MPC Live MK I. Apart from the taste of Pads & Workflow i prefer the MPC because of the Hardware & the Software that comes with it. The 9 Knobs of the MK3 feels very cheap compared to the MPC Live one, i don´t know if the Maschine+ has better ones. And as an expirienced Producer (FL Studio 20+ years, Ableton 4 years) I'm coping better with the built in Synth´s and FX of the MPC than with the Maschine stuff. The sample packs (Techno, Deep-& Tech-House) , Air FX Suite and Hybrid Synth are my favorites of all Plugins and Samples i have. Sure the Plugins and Samplepacks are still my taste, nvm. When it comes to the Pads and the Workflow, i still prefer the MPC. I love the fact of the Midi Tracks and their behavior in the MPC Workflow. For example: I save the first 8 Midi Tracks velocity on a hardware faderbox and i never have to change these 8 hardware faders for a live performance, because i can change the used program on these faders on every new sequence or even in a used sequence (maybe to just change the used drumkit). That´s awesome!!! The only thing i like the Maschine hard & software more is, when it comes to use it as a plugin (software) or the usability as hardware for other Apps. For example: i use the Maschine MK3 for everything... Traktor, MPC Software, Ableton, FL Studio a.s.o. and can switch the Midi preset on the hardware without using the NI controller editor, also i can switch between Ableton controller in midi mode or Maschine plugins (switch between instances of the plugin) on the fly inside my upcomming Liveperformance. I also love the Lock mode of Maschine and that´s the reason i use my Maschine MK3 with the Maschine FX plugin as Main Master FX section of my Liveperformance... awesom!!! When i try to use the MPC plugin version, it seems little buggy and i don´t see any benefits of using it. That´s just my opinion ;)

[@ventactics]

Good comparison, answers all my questions except feel.. are you German Irish? Your accent caught my ear

[@justszpaq]

I have an mpc studio2 and I love it. I don't understand how people mooning about it. It's so easy to use and makes it complete solution for everyone...

[@tobiaslofi]

Just got an email from AIR (the company that made all the instruments &Synths for MPC) they are releasing them all as VSTs for any DAW!! Hype Synth, Bassline, Vacuum, Mellotron, …. Ca $79 each.

[@AccurateBeats]

Yeah, thats right! I'll check them out too and it'll be great to have access to the same stuff in the daw for sure

[@tobiaslofi]

@@AccurateBeats I didn’t know for sure that it was AIR that made the synths for MPC but that’s great. AIR are the ones that made “all the best synths in the world” for ProTools. I’ve heard that “they might not strike you as the best sound on their own but they sound great in a mix/song” that heritage is what explains why MPCs sound good and possibly better faster than Maschine and other DAWs where the sounds/VSTs are from many different companies and don’t always easily fit together. So I’ve observed at least.

[@nieprawdopodobniebystry2158]

What do you think about akai force, is it better when mpc or maschine?

[@AccurateBeats]

I love a lot of things with Force but it’s a little bit too big for my taste. The different scales and modes really makes sense on the pads! I haven’t used it much lately so I’m not ready to say weather it’s better or not but in general, I kinda prefer the MPC’s. :)

[@nieprawdopodobniebystry2158]

@@AccurateBeats I really like my MPC but I hate Akai DAW. It' the worst DAW ever ;) Force can be dawless Have you seen the SmplTrk?