Mark of the Unicorn (MOTU) MachFive Universal Sampler Plug-In

Plays back multiple file formats, functions in multiple plug-in formats.

Item: MTUMACHFIVE

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customer reviews

Rate and Review This Product:

55 People rated this product : * * * * * * * * * * 7 out of 10

8 People wrote reviews

* * * * * * * * * * 5 out of 10

"on PC, use only on a Vista or XP 64 bit system with more than 4GB of RAM"

Feature:
it has alot of great features. If you are an experienced 'samplist' and read the product description on the MOTU website, you will lust for it, immediately.

Quality:
I would have to say that it looks damned good. Sweet colors and user interface, but use a big screen. I HDMI'd it into my 37" HDTV so my eyes didn't have to squint to find all the little icons all over the user interface, and it works out well.

Sound:
Sounds good, does what it should. You better have a lot of RAM (IE at least 4GB and preferable 8GB), which means you HAVE to be running XP 64 bit or Vista 64 bit. I had to buy Vista 64 bit ultimate since Steinberg stopped supporting XP 64 bit with Cubase. I tried to install MOTU on XP and it did run, but once I loaded MachFive as a VST, the system crashed into blue screen of death and Memory Dump Vxooooodddd yada yada began and I had to reboot, so right now, you have Vista 64 bit as your safe bet. Oddly, Machfive ran standalone on XP 64 bit, just fine so if you are using an external sequencer (MPC or whatnot) you can run the program within a third party VST host, I am sure and simply use the 'puter as a musical instrument only.

Ease of Use:
This product is easy to use, once you RTFM a few times.

Support:
Call them and it becomes a 'day on hold' experience, so forget it. There website sucks even worse. No user experience work arounds posted . Think I need to start a Machfive Users group off site for MOTU only refers you to their 'canned' troubleshooting pages, which covers the basic stuff that most anyone could figure out on their own. It is the installation and requirements that kill a PC user before they ever get it out of the box, and that is what really needs to be covered, but of course MOTU acts like

Overall:
IF MOTU gets the PC install bugs worked out, it'll be a great system. Until then, this is A Mac product thats been half-assed code chopped Frankenstein style to work on a PC format. As you can see from my below posts, the only thing I could ever get it to load on properly in standalone mode was a Macbook Pro with 4GB RAM. When I tried it on my PC laptops, nada, never not gonna happen. Same was true for my XPC shuttle with 4GB RAM. Forget it. I finally got it to run partially on Windows Vista 64 bit, with ASUS P5E-VM HDMI mobo using Intel G35 Express chipset, running an Intel Core II duo E8400 at 3Ghzwith & 8 GB of RAM and 7200 RPM Seagate SATA II harddrive, but only within a VST host. When I built the above system, installed Vista 64 bit, then installed the 64 Bit Interlok software for the stupid usb dongle MOTU uses, it would not load version 2.01 or 2.02 of Machfive. Once installed, You'll get 'Intitialization Error'-"This software could not find the required user interface DLL. Please reinstall the software, and try again." I did, ad naseum to no success. I was about to take MOTU to small claims course when a miracle happened. All was not lost! I installed the 64 bit early release beta version of Cubase Studio 4 from the Steinber website and placed the Machfive into my x86 programs files Steinber VST folder. When I initialized Cubase, MachFive loaded just fine as a VST instrument within Cubase. About Damned time! Finally! wooo hoo! I'm up and running and since I'll sequence it anyway, I don't care if I run it standalone. Odd how I still get the DLL error trying to run it standalone on a system where it fires right up within a VST environment. I have a decent amount of RAM, so that could be a MAJOR factor in it running for when I loaded it on a 4 gig system, it was sluggish as hell and unusable, but that was a different MOBO (see other reviews I wrote on it) The caveat to all this is that if you are running an xp or vista 32 bit system, you cannot use more than 3.5 GB of RAM as the OS is designed to not see more than that, so you are screwed trying to run Machfive and must install either Vista or XP 64 bit, and your mobo and chipset must be designed to run on 64 bit OS, so if you got an older system, build yourself a newer, bigger and badder machine, or simply get a Mac. I'm cheap and like more muscle for less money, so I have stuck with PC but to run MachFive properly as much money into my system now, with software yada yada than you'd have if you just went out and bought the basic Macbook and added your own RAM and 7200 RPM laptop drive (don't pay apple to do it, it's a 400 dollar scam for 40 bucks worth of memory).

Submitted: 4/17/2008

* * * * * * * * * * 4 out of 10

"Forget it on a PC"

Feature:
NA

Quality:
NA

Value:
If you have a Mac

Desirability:
nice colors

Sound:
NA

Ease of Use:
Can't get it working

Support:
nonexistent..they'll blame your program, system etc not their product. Plausible deniability. Worse than the goverment if you ask me.

Overall:
Built an Antec with ASUS P5E-VM HDMI Mobo and 8 gigs of RAM running Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0ghz. Installed within Cubase Studio 4.1 with latest upgrades from Steinberg. Downloaded MachFive v 2.02 from MOTU site. Installed on my system. Went to run machfive as a plugin within the VST environment and it crashed my program. Did the same but within XP 64 bit, and got the blue screen of death and crash vxdoooooooo error cannot blah blah...removed Machfive from VST folder and Cubase fired up fine and was stable, so it is with MachFive, not Cubase. Go figure. Ran Machfive on its own standalone within Vista 32 bit and it seems to run, but sluggishly, and screen is too large, right part of Machfive cannot be seen on my puter screen and I could not resize it with the mouse. Just a jacked up program on ANY Windows platform. Use only with a Mac.

Submitted: 4/13/2008

Style of Music: techno

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About This Product!
Description
From Our Catalog
MachFive 2 delivers the very latest cutting-edge sampling technology by merging four worlds of advanced sound design: samples, loops, synthesis and effects. Now you can import, edit, synthesize, process and play multi-sample instruments, loops and phrases in MachFive's unified, intuitive environment.

Unprecedented compatibility and interoperability
MachFive 2 is the complete solution for sample library playback and sound design, with unprecedented compatibility and interoperability with all major plug-in hosts, sound libraries and sample formats on both Mac and Windows. Even if you use multiple platforms, hosts and library formats, MachFive 2 is the last sampler you'll ever need to buy.

32GB of included sounds
MachFive 2 includes four dual-layer, 8GB soundbank DVDs that contain approximately 32GB of world-class sounds.

The DVDs include a staggering array of multi-sample instruments, loops and phrases, including premium material recorded at 192kHz. DVD 2 provides a stunning 24-bit 96kHz 8GB sampled grand piano. DVD 3 supplies surround instruments and loops. DVD 4 provides the VSLā„¢ Orchestra MachFive Edition: an exclusive collection of expressive orchestra sounds from the most respected name in orchestra sound libraries.

Loop Lab
MachFive combines the worlds of loops and multi-sample instruments. Trigger both together within MachFive's intuitive environment. The unique Loop Lab lets you freely and easily edit REX, ACID and Apple GarageBand Loops, or create your own. Simply Drag audio files into the Loop Lab - you can even drop in audio that has not yet been sliced. Instantly map slices. Find or set a tempo. Apply destructive or non-destructive sample level editing. Assemble multiple tempo-synced loops side by side. Time-stretch with no artifacts. Then set AutoPlay to trigger the audio when you press play in your sequencer application, or trigger each slice from your MIDI controller. You can even drag both MIDI and audio files from Loop Lab to your desktop or tracks in your sequencer.

Collaborate across platforms
No other sampler can match the across-the-board compatibility and interoperability of MachFive 2. MachFive 2 supports every major software instrument plug-in format platform (MAS, VST, AU, RTAS and DXi), as well as stand-alone application operation on both Mac OS X (with full Universal Binary support for G5 and Intel CPUs) and Windows (XP and Vista, 32 and 64 bit). You can effortlessly move from one platform to another and collaborate with colleagues who use different audio software or even different computer operating systems. For example, you might write and track in Digital Performer or Logic on the Mac, and then move to Pro Tools running under Windows for mixing. Just save a MachFive 2 performance in DP or Logic, load it into Pro Tools, along with your MIDI tracks, and you are ready to go. MachFive 2 is the first truly Universal Software Sampler.

Compatibility with all major sample libraries
MachFive 2 opens and reads all major sampler library and audio file formats directly - even legacy sampler discs like Kurzweil K2xxx and the Roland S-700 series. Your computer can't read these discs, but MachFive 2 can. There is no need for time consuming file format conversion. Just load presets directly from the disc. You can even create and save disc images to any hard drive, and MachFive 2 will read directly from the disc image as if the CD were in the drive.

Special attention has been paid to compatibility with GigaSampler libraries, especially keyswitching and "dimensions". Open your GigaSampler, EXS24, or Kontakt instruments in MachFive 2 directly and preset characteristics such as key switch, release, and trigger-speed sample switching are faithfully preserved and ready to go.

Plug-in or stand-alone operation
MachFive 2 supports all current instrument plug-in standards on both Mac and Windows platforms. Perhaps you run a commercial studio that offers several different sequencing packages to its clients. Because MachFive 2 runs in any Mac or Windows sequencer that supports virtual instruments, you now have the same sounds and instruments available, regardless of which sequencer you use.

MachFive 2 is also directly compatible with notation software titles such as Finale and Sibelius.

Because MachFive 2 works in stand-alone mode, you can take your laptop computer to a gig, load your sounds, and use MachFive 2 for live performance.

Optimized for efficiency
MachFive 2 provides disk streaming on a per instrument basis for efficient memory usage. Enable disk streaming for the included 8GB Grand Piano, so only 40MB of RAM is used to load the instrument. Disable disk streaming for shorter samples, such as percussion instruments, to maximize hard drive efficiency.

Effects and synthesizer parameters (LFOs, envelopes, etc.) are modular, allowing for maximum CPU efficiency.

A new standard
For sound design, live performance, music production, or broadcast, MachFive 2 delivers the perfect balance of superb audio quality, ease of operation, and across-the-board compatibility.

Technical Info

Compatible library / file formats
AIFF
SDII
WAV
ACID
Apple Loops (.aif)
REX
Akai MPC
Akai S Series
E-mu
Ensoniq ASR
EXS24 / GarageBand instruments
GigaSampler 1, 2, 3
Kontakt 1, 2
MOTU Symphonic and Ethno Instruments
Kurzweil K2xxx
Roland S700 Series
SampleCell
SoundFont
UVI Soundcards
VSampler 2

Channel formats
stereo
quad
5.1
7.1

Plug-in formats
MAS
AU
VST
RTAS
DXi
standalone application

System Requirements for MachFive

A minimum of 1 GB of RAM is required. However, since MachFive loads samples (or a portion of the samples) into the computer's RAM add as much RAM as possible to your computer; 4 GB is recommended. MachFive also allows samples to be streamed directly from disk thus freeing up RAM.

Large hard drive(s). See below for Mac and Windows specific hard drive requirements.

A free USB port for the iLok USB key. Note that if you have multiple products which use iLoks for authorization you can consolidate multiple authorizations onto a single iLok; see this tech note.

A CD/DVD disk drive for installation.

For Macintosh:

G4 1 GHz Power Macintosh or faster, with multiple processors/cores highly recommended; a G5 or Intel-based Mac is recommended

OS 10.3.9 or higher. Version 10.4 or higher is recommended.

Hard drive(s) with at least 34 GB free to hold the sound files, plug-in, and application. The drive(s) must be formatted as Mac OS Extended (also known as HFS+); journalling can be on or off.

An audio sequencer software package that hosts MAS, AU, VST, or RTAS instrument plug-ins. As MachFive 2.0 and later has 34 outputs (stereo main outs + 16 stereo aux outputs), the host needs to support instruments with greater than 32 outputs. Alternately, MachFive can be used as a standalone application.

For Windows:

Pentium 4 1 GHz or faster (or AMD equivalent), with multiple processors/cores highly recommended

Windows XP, XP x64, or Vista (32 or 64 bit)

An Open GL-compatible video card with the latest graphics drivers (support for OpenGL 1.2 is required, with support for 1.5 or 2.0 preferred).

Hard drive(s) with at least 34 GB free to hold the sound files, plug-in, and application. The drive(s) must be formatted as NTFS.

An audio sequencer package that hosts DXi, VST, or RTAS instrument plug-ins. As MachFive 2.0 and later has 34 outputs (stereo main outs + 16 stereo aux outputs), the host needs to support instruments with greater than 32 outputs. Alternately, MachFive can be used as a standalone application.

Universal sampler with comprehensive soundbank management! The Mach Five efficiently scans your hard drive for sounds, then remembers right where they are! Convenient drag and drop loading of new samples. Supports MAS, RTAS, HTDM, and VST formats; plug-in design works within your DAW for improved workflow. Mac compatible.

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