MachFive 3 Crossgrade

[mikehalloran]

I got mine Friday and spent a good part of yesterday installing it.

The only reason for this post is that some parts of the process were unclear. The idea is to save someone else a bit of time. Some of this applies to the Crossgrade only - other applies to M5 3 in general.

At first I was concerned that there was no serial number - how does one install without, right? All you see is a postage-paid envelope for you to put page one of any qualifying product manual and mail it to MOTU. Hmmmmm... Turned out not to be an issue - the Serial # is required for registration and support only. As long as you have an iLok, the Crossgrade installs and works.

I chose the 1st page of the Logic Sounds manual from Logic Pro 8 since that is "EXS24 - any version". I had two other Crossgrade choices as it turned out.

There is a card with instructions for adding M53 and the included XTreme FX libraries to your iLok. If you have not downloaded the latest drivers from iLok, they are also included on the M53 install disk.

iLok.com warns you that the site only works in FireFox 3.5 and later adds Safari 4 - neither of which run on a late model Mac. Not to worry - the site works fine in the latest versions of Safari and Chrome (I didn't try FF).

M53 and XTreme FX use two different methods of adding licenses to your iLok - I figured that out soon enough. Follow the instructions on the card and you'll get there. Mine is an iLok 1 - no problem there.

Installation went smoothly enough but took a few hours to load the 7 DVDs of sound files - would have taken a lot longer had I used the internal Superdrive on my iMac. I installed the libraries on an external eSATA drive to see how that goes.

Thanks to an earlier post, I knew about the 3.0.3 upgrade, found the download after logging in at MOTU.com. I was concerned that, since I wasn't registered yet, the download would be unavailable but there is was. It installed fine.

I am now reading the manual and playing with it. As usual, the MOTU manual has some things wrong. It often refers to the File menu - which does not exist - took me a while to realize that the Tools menu was the one I needed. The index is also inadequate but so far, the text in the wrong section has pointed me to the pages I was really looking for.

The adventure begins.

[oldecuriosity]

Thanks for the post . . . just got my MachFive crossgrade over the weekend and new hard drive arrived today, so I'll be installing all night. Any tips to make it go smoother are always appreciated.

[mikehalloran]

This list is more complete than the one posted on the MOTU upgrade page:

To qualify for this reduced price crossgrade, you must be able to provide proof-of-registration for one of the following products:

Ableton Live
EastWest Play
E-MU Emulator X2
Apple Logic (any version with the EXS24)
GigaStudio (any version)
Steinberg HALion
KVR Yellow Tools Independence
Native Instruments Kontakt (any version)
Quantum Leap Goliath
Propellorhead Reason
IK Multimedia SampleTank
Avid Structure

If you do not already own a package to cross-grade, it is possible to buy SampleTank XL plus MachFive for less than MachFive by itself. As it turns out, I own Logic with EXS24 so that worked for me. Now that Logic Pro 9 is $200, it's a wash.

[wvandyck]

I am now reading the manual and playing with it. As usual, the MOTU manual has some things wrong. It often refers to the File menu - which does not exist - took me a while to realize that the Tools menu was the one I needed.
The adventure begins.

You bring up good points that may cause concern for someone who hasn't completed a MOTU cross-grade before. The install time from a super drive was substantial but no more so than a Komplete installation.

Regarding the printed documentation, I found it to be one of the best written MOTU manuals that I've read.

I don't think there's a Tools menu.
The wrench icon represents a number of different menus which the manual clearly presents with both image and text labels:

File Menu
pages 10 and 58

Part Edit Menu
p 65

Tree Edit Menu
p 163

Program Menu/Layer Menu/Keygroup Menu
p167 showing the levels available in the List editor


The only issue I recall with the cross-grade process was waiting. I sent MOTU the required documentation via US mail, waited a couple of weeks before sending an email inquiry assuming they were swamped with requests to process the newly released M5 3. An email response the next day indicated that my version was already registered on-line in my account.

MachFive 3 is incredibly powerful. My learning curve has been incremental as I can only process small bits of it's complexity over time.

Enjoy it!