This is just a quick video I put together showing how to use sounds from beat thang virtual in Maschine.
Of course it will work for other programs too, but Maschine has some features that makes it pretty easy and quick to do.
A lot of folks that have BTV are always looking for ways to get the sounds out of it to use in their favorite daw, sequencer, mpc, whatever.
There’s a few ways to do it, I found this way to be very quick and easy.
Some other ways to do it are recording audio directly into a wave editor or daw from btv, and chopping the samples, manually. You can make a simple beat that has what you need in it, export as a wave, and chop it manually. You can use something like Sample Robot or another automatic sampling system to do it, and there’s even a way you can do it with a script using autohotkey.
For me, using Extreme Sample Converter was the quickest and most efficient way, since BTV is a vst plugin now, I can just use the VST converter tool in Extreme Sample Converter.
Here’s the video:
So let me know what ya think, as you can see this is a dope tool to have, and automated vst sampling is like waking up to fresh pancakes…just a good thing!
This week we checking out a collection they sent over called Plush!
What is Plush?
Plush is a smooth sexy gumbo of Sade meets Maxwell while listening to D’Angelo and Musiq Soulchild battle it out!
Yes, it’s RnB, yes it’s sexy…
…and yes it’s smooth.
If you like slick synths, smooth and sexy keys, bangin drums, and bubblin bass….
then you may want to check this out.
Quick Specs:
Contents: 7.17gb of wave files (over 16gb all together in all formats)
Format: Acid, Wav, apple loops, rex, rmx
Price: $129.95
So how plush does it sound?
Plush like crushed velvet couches baby!
The production on this collection is really smooth and it catches that “real” rnb… you know…not the hip hop/pop/electro mix that seems to be all over the radio.
This is that sit back, relax, light a candle or two, maybe two step a lil bit type of rnb…that good stuff!
The quality is of course top notch with every sound being well mixed, non distorted and inspiring.
You have strings that are switching from left to right in the sound field, thick pads, the keyboard riffs are amazing.
You got everything from smooth acoustic guitars to some slicing distorted leads.
Even the single shot drum sounds are usable…the sound is superb in both quality and style.
So what is the final verdict?
I really liked this one…I’m a sucker for the smooth stuff yo!
There really is enough content in here to keep you busy for a good while.
I give it a 4.5 out of 5 subs…my favorite sounds were the keys and the synths, straight funk…err…silk!
I would have liked to see a little more variety in the string section, but there’s definitely some stuff in there that can be worked.
I like how you get sub as well as real bass sounds in here.
And like I said, the drums are good.
All in all this is a great collection, doesn’t sound dated but yet still has that classic RnB feel…you know…that “Grown Folks” music.
Okay, so you’ve seen me using it in a lot of my videos and such, and I’ve had it for a few months ever since NI sent it to me back in August or so to review, with the official 1.1 update out I’m finally giving you my personal review on the overall product.
It’s a killer!
Here’s why I love Maschine:
It’s hands on, but no limits like hardware with memory and drive space
I can access ALL of my sounds in the same environment, I can’t do that with my mpc, not enough space
The sound browser makes navigating through tons of sounds very easy and customizable
It has the same sequencer resolution as my mpc 4000, therefore I can turn off quantize and get the same “feel”
Each of the 8 groups has 16 “sounds” that’s like 8 mini 16 track sequencers
Each sound can be a single wave or a multi sampled instrument like pianos, strings, synths, etc
Each of my sounds has 2 insert fx, each group has 2 insert fx, and there are two master insert fx
I can change the pitch of my samples on the fly, no need to process and wait for it, just turn the knob
It has swing and note repeat if you like that sorta thing
I can change the bit rate of my samples on the fly, plus I have normal filters on each sound
It’s easy to chop samples, I can copy and paste them by hitting a pad, then duplicate, then pressing another pad, very quick
Easy to set the start end points on samples for old school style chopping, or you can use auto chop…I rarely do
Song mode is different from the mpc, but now that I understand it, it’s very quick
I don’t have to look at my screen for anything if I don’t want to, just the maschine controller
I can use it to sequence other vsts and devices if I wish…
NI is updating it and listening to the community
The real time pattern sequencer is the exact way I’m used to working
There is a step sequencer that I never use, but some do…it works lol
Has easy tap tempo, perfect for how I work
there is a “pad” mode that is pretty much like 16 levels on the mpc
easy to turn on full velocity
Yeah I could keep going, but you seen the video, I think it’s the illest product to drop in a long time and don’t see anyone taking the crown from NI if they keep developing it to it’s full potential.
Without a doubt, some sort of integration with other NI plugs WITHIN the Maschine environment is a must lol. I’m always on the forums talking about this, I really think it will take it to the next level. I don’t think NI realized how many of us would want to use JUST maschine…but they made the workflow so good that it’s what many of us have been waiting for in software music production.
Please NI, give us something. Let us have a lil “rack” in maschine, for NI plugs. Even allowing kore/kontakt player slots would be a nice step…that opens it up to a bunch of sounds and possibilities. I’ll come to Germany, I’ll wear my tie, we can chat about it… I have ideas
Sampler improvements:
Mainly on the sample editing, not so much for me, but for my homies! Being able to truncate, normalize, and adjust your slice markers manually is a much desired feature. Good for us they stated it’s in the coming update, on the forum, so that will be here in the near future.
MPC format import for those of us coming from that side of things. Maybe even battery/kontakt import would be dope too…then you wouldn’t need as much support for vst if you could browse/play kontakt instruments.
Time-stretching that is pretty transparent, but that you can turn on and off and adjust in-case you want to induce some artifacts into your samples
vintage sample mode, to mimic the sound of the ancient 12bit samplers, always a desire for beat makers wanting a specific “crunch” (coming in next update)
General improvements:
Possible way to double the number of groups from 8 to 16? Maybe a button? Many use the groups as “tracks” since you can separate stuff easier, or give us a way to have patterns for each sound in the current groups… so we can sequence multiple sounds in a group “separately”. This is mainly important when creating songs/scenes, it would be easier but may get too complex in the screen…not sure, but would be nice to have more flexibility with the separation of sounds in groups.
If no vst support, a dedicated synth engine to help get some synth sounds going. Maybe even a dedicated drum synth.
Some expansion packs, adding more sounds to the workstation. The sounds are good, but we need more instrument sounds in there.
Easier way to sequence the scenes/patterns. Let us drag and drop patterns in scene arrange, drag the length of the scene to make verse/chorus/breaks
Let us rename the groups without having to save them as a kit, just so we can keep track of what’s in a group when putting scense together.
Overall thoughts
Maschine is a dream come true, especially for folks like me that held off on software production because it just wasn’t “hands on” enough. The way most software sequencers work is linear, this is not how I am used to working.
I grew up on hardware drum machines and sequencers, creating loops and patterns, then putting them into songs is how I roll, as do many millions of others.
I always wished I could have access to all my sounds when using my mpc, but I only have access to 512 mb of sounds, that’s not a lot, I have a lot of sounds. Not only that, but being able to browse my sounds as I’m making the tracks is killer.
I really don’t see anyone being able to stop the progress of NI if they continue to listen to users and enlist hardcore hardware and software producers as beta testers, product specialists and product consultants ( i’m open!)
It took a software company to see that people want a hybrid, and to do it in a way that will set the standard for all hardware and software production stations to come.
Maschine is now the standard by which I measure the workflow of a product, it used to be the mpc, but no longer.
If you still have a room full of gear, then Maschine will not replace your mpc in that respect, which has 4 midi outputs. I no longer work that way, and my whole setup is centered around the computer now.
I can’t wait until I can use ONLY maschine for production, with a few additions and changes, I think that dream is very close to reality.
Maschine for the win… 5 out of 5, 10 out of 5 actually!
The specs on the Beat Thang from BeatKangz look crazy. It comes with more ram standard than many drum samplers can be exapnded to, it comes with 3000 on-board sounds, not just drums.
It can use sd cards, 32 gb each, for a total of 64gb of INSTANT storage, that you don’t have to wait to load.
Separate track lengths, yes, each track can have it’s own length. Onboard sampling, 1gb of sound rom with 4o0mb left open for those of us that don’t have sc cards on hand, we can still get it going.
The sequencer resolution is the same as my mpc 4000, I could go on.
If you haven’t heard about it, you should check it out on their website. www.beatkangz.com
If you have, let me know what you think about it.
Oh yeah…they have a virtual beat thang too! All the specs/sounds of the hardware, in software format.
It’s out now, and it integrates fully with the hardware, whcih ships in October.
I’m trying to get my hands on both, so I can give you the low down.
Oh did you think I forgot about ya!
Plush like crushed velvet couches baby!
I give it a 4.5 out of 5 subs…my favorite sounds were the keys and the synths, straight funk…err…silk!
Maschine is a dream come true, especially for folks like me that held off on software production because it just wasn’t “hands on” enough. The way most software sequencers work is linear, this is not how I am used to working.
The specs on the 
