You'll need to hover over a software control with the mouse to see the exact value you've inputted, which can be a pain for making specific parameter edits.ĭownsides aside, there's a lot that Maschine Jam does remarkably well.įirstly, Jam massively improves on Maschine's step-sequencing capabilities. It's possible to access most parameters with the eight touchstrips - along with the page navigation buttons along the edges of the controller - but there's no specific numerical feedback provided when adjusting parameters, beyond that provided via the touchstrip LEDs. Some deeper parameters suffer from a lack of visual feedback too. Together, Jam and Maschine MkII offer the most fully rounded controller experience we've tried. It's possible to move start points and reverse sounds using the sampler's general controls, but there's no simple way to properly edit waveforms from the hardware. Jam doesn't really engage with Maschine's sample edit window in any meaningful way. There are a few other functions that suffer from the lack of screens too. The new pop-up browser is fine, but it doesn't fold through sub-categories in the neat way that screens and multiple rotaries allow for, and generally feels like a clunkier system. Using Maschine's browser with Jam is nowhere near as fluid without the built-in screens. It's easy to get hung up on the things Jam doesn't do as well as its siblings, so let's get these out of the way first. Deus Ex MaschineĪpproaching Jam as an existing Maschine user can initially be a little confusing. Beyond that there's just a single USB connection that provides buss power and connection to a host computer. Connection wise, Jam features an expression input but ditches the MIDI I/O of the MkII/Studio. The only truly 'new' elements here are the touchstrips, which NI tell us have been designed fresh to be as responsive as possible. The only difference is its flat, rather than sloped, profile - but it does, come with a screw-on stand that angles the unit to sit flush with one of its siblings.Īs is standard with NI hardware, Jam feels well-built and durable. While this control layout is all new, the Jam hardware is the exact same dimensions as Maschine MkII. The main consequence of these changes is to move away from the sampler-style workflow of the original hardware towards one focused on 'performance' parameters, along with considerably deeper sequencing and arrangement capabilities. It also does away with the built-in screens, the functionality of which is replaced by a number of pop-up windows that appear on the computer screen in response to button presses on the hardware.
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