The MachFive 3 REVIEW-1: the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

[zandurian]

Is it more efficient (cpu wise) than M5-2? When I went from my old G5 to the intel I'd hoped with the faster drives and cpu the thing (M5-2) wouldn't glitch (playback audio glitch that is) but it still does.

[tbon]

Ok, so what I've been able to learn so far about Mach5 v3 from our early adopters is:

1. There's a saving bug when using it in plugin mode in DP,
2. Only 16 MIDI channels are available in plugin mode, because it's now an AU plug, not a MAS plug,
2. It may be (?) more CPU demanding than v2,
3. There may be (?) an issue with the GUI "going grey" after making an edit in plugin mode.

I never purchased an earlier version of Mach5, but I've heard good things from friends about it regarding ease of use, and some negatives regarding it's CPU hit. I'm a longtime user of IK Sampletank, which is very CPU efficient & rock solid, and Kontakt 4, which is very powerful, but can be CPU intensive and is burdened, IMHO, with a needlessly complex GUI. I do have some interest in MACH5 v3, as I already own MOTU's Symphonic Instrument, which I can access in M5, so….a few questions:

1. Is the M5 CPU hit when playing, for example, a large streaming piano patch like Alicia's Keys, comparable to Kontakt 4?
2. MOTU's made a big deal about their new scripted instruments - any opinions on the quality of these instruments?
3. Is the new GUI as easy to use as previous versions?

I'm not concerned about the reported bugs, as the software is new, and I have confidence in MOTU / UVI to fix 'em in a timely manner. However, I read another post indicating that M5 v3 can't load Kontakt 5 patches; I would imagine that has to do with NI's decision to compress the library sample data in K5. That post has yet to receive a response - I'm surprised, because it seems to me that could be a major issue for some users.

Terry

[MIDI Life Crisis]

1 & 2: y

3 & 4: N

I don't see the CPU hit on my machine but its a fast bastard. Possible on slower machines.

I like the new interface much better and once I started tweaking a few things on the instruments I didn't like, they all sounded pretty damn good to me.

Yes, MOTU will have to face... I mean fix the SAVE bug, but it is minor, IMO.

16 parts per plug isn't a big deal. Just open another instance. Better yet, host it in something like Plogue Bidule and take a load off your machine at the same time. Even though my machine can handle it, I'll continue to use PB.

Hope that helps. I think it is a great update and no, I'm not a paid spokesperson, nor a beta tester, and my head is not up MOTUs ass (although I frequently find it up my own...) LOL!

[bayswater]

This thread is "REVIEW-1". Will be a Review-2? Or is that an invitation for someone else to offer up their own review?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

This thread is "REVIEW-1". Will be a Review-2? Or is that an invitation for someone else to offer up their own review?

It's an open forum. You can speculate (as above) or you can act (as way above).

The choice is yours, pain or no pain.

[bayswater]

Just wondered if you have more to say on the matter before I click to the checkout.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Sure I have more to say... do it!

[b.g.]

I installed MachFive 3 yesterday. Quick observations: The Star Drums instrument sounds good. In the internal synthesis section, I built a simple 3-osc synth pad using one of the Xpander LP filters. This filter sounds good. I think MF3 on its own will make a good VA synth. I was also able to load in directly the Roland-format sample CD Mike Pinder's Mellotron, as well as Kurzweil Hans Zimmer Guitars vol. 1. Note, MachFive 3 had to run stand alone to see these proprietary CD's.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Note, MachFive 3 had to run stand alone to see these proprietary CD's.

Wow. It would seem that standalone is a better VI in yet another way. Well, more functional' in stand alone.

MOTU must face.

[hugy]

Note, MachFive 3 had to run stand alone to see these proprietary CD's.

Wow. It would seem that standalone is a better VI in yet another way. Well, more functional' in stand alone.

MOTU must face.

You can do it in plugins format but it seems there is a bug currently
which do not allow you to refresh the devices list if the plugin is already loaded so the CD must be inserted before the DAW is launched.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

That's really what i was trying to say. The plug in has more than a few bugs when in DP. In Plogue Bidule, it seems to run fine. I'll have to check what plug version I'm running. I think it is the VST version and DP I believe runs the AU version. Update soon...?

Dave?

[magicd]

MOTU is working on the 3.0.2 update.

Mach Five 3.0.2 will let you right-click on the "Devices" section in the multi-column browser to "Refresh foreign disc". This will allow you to mount sample CDs in MachFive without having to quit, insert the CD, and relaunch. By the way, this new 3.0.2 command (and the current 3.0.1 sample CD mounting behavior) is the same in both the plug-in version and the stand-alone version. Also: the current behavior is not a bug. It's due to the way the OS works.

Thanks for all the comments!


Dave

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Thanks Dave. I could not find the horizontal zoom control mentioned on page 141 and discovered that the L and R scroll buttons on my Logitec Revolution MX in combination with the CMD key will zoom, but I'd love to know where the icon for that is. The manual really doesn't help find it as far as I can see.

But the app is awesome. A little like playing with an Ensoniq SQ-80 in terms of fast results and massive, interesting sounds - at least in terms of sound design. Of course it sounds a brazillion times better and has 100 brazillion times the features.

If you have a hint on where to find the zoom icon (for samples) I'd love to hear about it.

[hugy]

Thanks Dave. I could not find the horizontal zoom control mentioned on page 141 and discovered that the L and R scroll buttons on my Logitec Revolution MX in combination with the CMD key will zoom, but I'd love to know where the icon for that is. The manual really doesn't help find it as far as I can see.

Use the wheel(mouse) luke !

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I did, but perhaps I have it set for something else (using steer mouse).

Thanks.