MOTU machFive 3

It’s been over four years since we reviewed
version 2 of MOTU’s MachFive sampler. What
we saw back then was a great sampler standing
in the shadows of Native Instruments’ near-
unimpeachable Kontakt. We felt that MachFive 2
was, in fact, let down by the computer hardware
running it: it desperately wanted to do more
than the processing capabilities of the day
allowed. Fast-forward four years and those
obstacles are no more as processing is lightning
fast and RAM much cheaper. And as well as
beneiting from these advancements, MachFive
3 takes an evolutionary step from mere sampler
to something much more complex.
Let’s get the bit that you can’t see out of the
way irst: the audio engine responsible for the
sound and streamlined processing has been
upgraded to UltimateSoundBank’s UVI Engine
XT. The old version felt sticky; MachFive 3 feels
smooth and fast, and sounds absolutely pristine.
We were knocked out by the sound quality.
Another beneit of the new engine is its
seamless handling of diferent sample rates,
which might help with library organisation –
keep everything at 32-bit/192kHz and MachFive
will downsample when it has to. Staggeringly, all
of this runs happily in up to 7.1 true surround.
OK, you’ll be taxing your system heavily at that
level, but it’s there if you can handle it.
MOTU
MachFive 3 £319
The mighty American soft sampler rises again – although as of this
version, such a simple description might no longer do it justice…
The new window layout looks much more
slick and attractive than before, and with the
standalone version, you can expand to
full-screen for luxurious precision editing.
In response to Kontakt’s hugely successful
KSP (Kontakt Scripting Processor), the big
buzzword for this revision is ‘scripting’, which
adds a new level of expression and articulation
to performance instrument patches. See the
Read the script box to the right for more on this.
An old dog’s new tricks
What makes MachFive 3 more than just a
sampler? Its 12 synth engines, that’s what. These
can either be used independently or combined
with the sampling engine to create hybrid sounds.
Analogue Stacks, FM, Wavetable, Granular and
Drum are just some of the oscillators on ofer.
You can also assign diferent synth modules to
diferent key ranges within the same part; so, for
example, you could create a whole synth drum
“The old version felt
sticky; MachFive 3
feels smooth and
fast, and sounds
absolutely pristine”
WAVEFORM
The waveform
you’re working on
TEMPO AND TRANSPORT
When in standalone mode
you can set the loop
playback tempo,
arpeggiation, etc, here
KEYGROUP MAP
You can have an
unlimited number
of keygroups for
layering, velocity
switching and
key following
PROGRAM
Set the overall
level of all
keygroups here
and add effects
the same way as
in the Mixer
ENVELOPES AND
MODULATION
Edit sounds with
these flexible
subtractive
synthesis elements
SLICE
PROCESSING
Mess up your
sliced loops with
these controls.
The slices can be
processed and
exported
separately
PARTS LIST
Each part
contains a
sample set or
synth engines,
or both
INFO/EDIT/FX/EVENT BUTTONS
Switch between aspects of the
Part you’re editing, including
effects and scripting
MAIN/MIXER/PERF BUTTONS
Switch between pages for program
editing, the Mixer and an overview
of all parts
OSCILLATORS
The basic building blocks of a
MachFive patch. Each comprises
a sample or a synth module
KEYGROUPS
These contain one or
more samples, each
with their own
discrete filtering,
modulation, etc
LAYERS
Programs can feature
separate layers, each of
which can be individually
controlled in terms of
level, pan, etc
82 / COMPUTER MUSIC / September 2012
> reviews / motu machive 3
EDITOR’S CHOICE
CMU181.rev_machfive.indd 82 6/29/12 4:31 PM