Is maschine studio for a beginner?

[Nuxinho]

Hello. For a whille now I'm thinking to start making hip hop beats. Because I'm totally beginner I have some questions. I was considering to buy a daw, some midi keyboard controler and headphones. I downloaded demo version of reason, but then I found out about maschine studio. And I read that is quite easy to use and software is easier than other daws. So I was thinking to start with maschine studio and later after few months to buy myself daw as well. (Money is not an issue). So my questions are, maybe some funny to you

, but still... :

1. Do you think for a beginner is better to start with maschine studio or daw?
2. Do I need audio interface for headphones?
3. I read that you need sound card for maschine. Is that audio interface or something else?
4. Can i use for example Akai midi keyboard with maschine?
5. Is there any daw more appropriate to use it with maschine or are they all the same?
6. Can I make whole beat with maschine or do I need daw as well for arranging, mixing,...? Can I do all that with maschine?
7. To record vocals I probably need a daw. Wright?

Thank you

 

[Fade]

1. Do you think for a beginner is better to start with maschine studio or daw?
2. Do I need audio interface for headphones?
3. I read that you need sound card for maschine. Is that audio interface or something else?
4. Can i use for example Akai midi keyboard with maschine?
5. Is there any daw more appropriate to use it with maschine or are they all the same?
6. Can I make whole beat with maschine or do I need daw as well for arranging, mixing,...? Can I do all that with maschine?
7. To record vocals I probably need a daw. Wright?

1. What about Maschine MK2? What some people don't realize is that the MK2 and Studio are both running the same Maschine software, so Studio just has a different layout on the controller. But you can do everything with both controllers it's just some of the buttons are different. The Studio is nice though! I would say get Maschine and work on your beats first then worry about a DAW later on when you want to start building a full song and do mixing.
2. Yes.
3. Audio interface. I have the NI Audio 8 DJ but that's because I bought Traktor. This is suitable too, but there's plenty of interfaces you can get, not just from NI.
4. Yes.
5. Some DAWs handle Maschine better than others (if you want to insert Maschine into the DAW as a VST). What I do is just export my tracks from Maschine as WAV files and then import them into my DAW (Cakewalk Sonar) and then do my mixing there. I find it's much easier then inserting Maschine into the DAW.
6. Yes, a whole beat because you have patterns and scenes. It's just that the Maschine DAW is not exactly like a regular DAW. They're working on making it much better though.
7. Yes.

 

[JCFAX81]

Hi

I'm a beginner and have a Maschine MK2. I'm having loads of fun with it, and still learning everyday. It's a great piece of kit and the software and sounds are good. The patterns, scenes etc can become fiddly, but its really hands on and i love it.

If you go over to Producertech, they have some really good courses to get you started (currently a 40% sale on). Also try CreativeLive, there is a course called Mastering the Maschine with some guys called JK Swopes. Knocksquared, and Flux. The course is expensive, but trust me, it is brilliant! Flux shows you some REALLY cool stuff you can do inside of Maschine.

Hope this helps your decision.

JC