Why BIIANCO ditched the laptop and built their live set around Maschine+

Most producers treat Maschine as a groovebox. For BIIANCO, it’s the central nervous system of a live modular rig. Their new single “SPIN,” out now on Ultra Records, leans hard into that workflow – acid-drenched, euphoric, and dialed in with surgical precision using analog gear and MIDI tricks most producers wouldn’t think to attempt outside a DAW.

BIIANCO’s been building toward this moment for a while. After a breakout 2023, a viral live video with 35 million views, and a massive ADE performance, they’ve carved out a space where modular synths, hybrid DJ sets, and raw vocal energy meet. Maschine+ plays a critical role in that setup – driving acid bass lines, sequencing in real-time, and routing audio back through synced effects without needing a laptop in sight.

In this interview, BIIANCO breaks down how they’ve built a live and studio workflow that treats Maschine+ like a modular command center – writing MIDI, shaping FX, syncing with CDJs, and pushing hardware beyond what it was built to do.

Jump to these sections:

• How BIIANCO uses Maschine+ to sequence and process acid bass
• Building a DAWless rig that works live and in the studio
• Tricks for syncing hardware with CDJs in a hybrid DJ set
• Why internal 303 sequencers are a nightmare (and how to fix it)
• Advice for breaking out of your gear’s intended use
• The real benefit of learning through trial, error, and weird hacks

Keep reading for tips, tricks, and a closer look at how “SPIN” came to life through one of the most unconventional Maschine+ workflows you’ll see this year.

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Every producer finds their own way of working – what drew you to using Maschine in a way most people wouldn’t think of?

I really wanted a DAW-less way of creating midi patterns to send to my modular synths like the Roland TB-3 acid bass.

The Maschine+ became one of my most critical pieces of gear for both playing live and writing in the studio because I can creating and write the acid bass patterns within the Maschine+, send the pattern to the acid bass then monitor it back through the Maschine+ so I can add FX like compression, distortion and reverb.

It makes writing and performing one of the most critical pieces of my sound completely seamless.

Pro tip from BIIANCO: Write the midi pattern to send to the 303 in the Maschine+, send it to your acid synth via MIDI cable, then send the audio back into the Maschine+ and you can add plugins like delay (which is BPM synced), distortion, and EQ within the Maschine+.  This is really helpful for a live setup as the acid bass hardware usually only has filter cutoff, resonance, overdrive, and delay.

What’s your take on the balance between traditional setups and pushing gear past its limits?

I don’t think you’ll find a producer who loves pushing gear past its limits more than me.

I’m obsessed with finding new ways to utilize my tools. That’s what is so fun about teaching classes and presenting live setups – the presentations I do are different every time because my setups and usage of gear is constantly evolving.

Pro tip from BIIANCO: When playing hybrid DJ sets, some DJs will link their Maschine+ to the CDJs to sync them with the BPM and timing.  However, I like to beatmatch my acid bass as a layer on top of tracks being played on the CDJs.  So, I simply match the BPM of the CDJs to the Maschine+ and then restart the Clip pattern until it’s perfect in time with the beat on the CDJs before mixing it in. If you can beatmatch on CDJs, you can beatmatch the Maschine+ in.

You’re using Maschine to send MIDI to your Acid 303 – what inspired that setup?

It’s because I needed a way to both write, send, and monitor back the acid synth that can be utilized in both the studio and in a live setup.

The Maschine+ is literally one of the only ways to do that that does not require a computer or a DAW.  In a perfect world, I wanted a tool that I could also utilize for sampling and, again, the Maschine+ was it.

Pro tip from BIIANCO: You can use the Maschine+ as the brain for your live show.  If I start with a sequence on the Maschine+ and you set it as the source of Start / Stop in Ableton link, you can automatically start backing tracks in Ableton as soon as you start playing the Maschine+ sequence.

How does Maschine change the way you interact with the 303 live compared to just sequencing it internally?

Sequencing a 303 internally is everyone’s worst nightmare!

Seriously, ask any producer and if they’re trying to do anything quickly on a 303 they will 99% of the time not be using the internal sequencer.  It’s much faster to edit and write on an external source and send it to the 303.

Pro tip from BIIANCO: I love changing the length of a MIDI pattern being sent to the acid 303 bass as a song evolves to have the acid line evolve with it.  For example, the pattern might start out as four bars, but halfway through the song I reduce it to two bars.  The Maschine+ makes this easy to do in clip mode. It allows for dynamics.

Do you think producers today are too locked into their gear’s intended functions or are more artists getting experimental?

Producers tend to always get too locked into the main function of the hardware they utilize.

The good thing about your neurodivergent friends and producers is that we’re constantly finding weird hacks and ways to use things. In today’s landscape, with the rise of videos on TikTok and Reels etc, there’s a lot more visibility for us to put instructional videos out for everyone to see.

So, in short, I think there’s more visibility for teaching untraditional ways to use hardware.

Should producers spend more time reading manuals, or is trial and error the best way to discover unique workflows?

Nahhhhhh, videos are where it’s at!  And with the rise of really robust search engines and AI search functions, the algorithm can connect you to exactly what you want to learn really accurately.

Manuals never teach cool hacks.

Pro tip from BIIANCO: My favorite use of the Maschine+ in a live setting is using it for sampling or sequencing patterns at the same time as I am using it to both send and monitor an acid synth.  Then I send both outputs from the Maschine+ into an effects processor like the Pioneer RMX-1000 and you can do high pass effects on the entire chain coming from the Maschine+.  It’s like replicating effect on a DJM mixer across all the tracks but in a live setting.

Start improving your modular setup

Big thanks to BIIANCO for breaking down a workflow that turns Maschine+ into the backbone of a modular setup. The way they sequence, process, and sync everything without a DAW shows how far you can take a single piece of gear when you understand what it’s capable of.

“SPIN” captures that energy – acid lines that evolve with the set, patterns that feel reactive instead of locked in, and a live rig built for movement. It’s all shaped around a process that’s designed to be fast, flexible, and fun to perform on.

If you’re using Maschine+ and haven’t tried pushing it into new territory, this is a solid reminder: most of the good stuff happens when you stop using your gear as advertised.

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