Although NI's Maschine is not an officially tested or supported DAW for UAD-2 / Apollo devices, it is capable of hosting VST (macOS & Windows) and AU (macOS only) format plug-ins. The main issue is that Maschine standalone does not offer full plug-in delay compensation which is a requirement for using UAD plug-ins in any host.
This article will guide you through the necessary steps to configure the standalone Maschine application with Console so that audio from Maschine can be monitored or printed through UAD plug-ins with low latency using the Virtual Channels in Console. This allows you to send audio from Maschine to Virtual Channels in Console, where you can process the audio with UAD plug-ins before sending the audio back into Maschine.
There are three ways to send audio into Console from Maschine:
- Send the Master - Send all audio from Maschine to Console.
- Send a Group - Send a group of instruments or sounds from Maschine to Console using the Groups within Maschine.
- Send Individual Sound - Send an individual Maschine sound to Console.
Maschine Setup
In this example, we are using an Apollo Twin USB. In the Maschine software, first make sure the Apollo is selected as the playback device. Go to:
- File > Preferences > Audio
Under this tab, make sure the Driver is set to ASIO and then select your Apollo from the Device list.
Once you do this, your inputs and outputs should look similar to the "Routings" section in the screenshot below.
Under Outputs, you should see the Virtual Channels. On the Apollo Twin USB, these are:
Maschine Out 3 L > Virtual 1
Maschine Out 3 R > Virtual 2
Maschine Out 4 L > Virtual 3
Maschine Out 4 R > Virtual 4
Note: Channel numbers and Virtual Channel count may be different for your Apollo depending on your device.
You can use these Virtual outputs to send audio from Maschine into Console.
Now, in the Maschine software, let's route some audio to Console and apply some plug-in processing. For this example, we're going to route Maschine's master audio into a pair of Virtual Channels in Console to apply a tape emulation effect via the Studer A800 plug-in. In the top left corner of your Control Area in Maschine you can click on Master, Group, or Sound tab to display the different channel properties. Click on the Master tab, and set the audio output to Ext 3 (which corresponds to the Virtual 1/2 outputs).
Console Setup
In Console, there should now be a signal coming in to the "VIRTUAL 1" and "VIRTUAL 2" channels when Maschine is playing back.
Right-click on the name label for either Virtual Channel ("VIRTUAL 1" or "VIRTUAL 2") and click "Link" to merge the two mono channels into a stereo channel.
Next, right-click on the VIRTUAL 1/2 channel and select "Rename." Change the channel name to "Maschine." Make sure to mute the "Maschine" Virtual Channel before proceeding to the next steps.
On the right side of the Console window, set INSERT EFFECTS to UAD REC so that the affected ("wet") audio is recorded back into Maschine.
Additional Steps in Maschine
Back in Maschine, find an unused sound channel to route the audio from Console back into. Rename the new sound channel as "Print", and set the input source to "In 3 L+R."
Next, set the Output to External 1.
At this point, the audio from the Maschine Virtual Channel in Console is routed back into Maschine and the audio should be playing into the new sound channel created above, called "Print". The signal is now passing through the Maschine Virtual Channel in Console, where UAD plug-ins can be applied. To apply the UAD plug-ins, load the plug-in into an Inserts slot of the "Maschine" Virtual Channel strip in Console.
Printing the Audio in Maschine
When you're ready to bounce down the master output of Maschine with UAD plug-in processing added, go back to the "Print" sound channel created earlier in Maschine. Open the Record page, and setup the Record settings as shown below.
Press Start on the Record Page, and then start the playback of your Maschine session from the beginning for the audio to begin printing to the track. Once the audio is printed, you can right click on the audio file and save it.
That's it! You now have a stereo audio file of your Maschine master output printed through the UAD plug-ins used in Console. The same concepts from this example can be applied to Groups or individual sounds in Maschine as well.