Native InstrumentsMaschine (Mac/Win)

Jul 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Jason Scott Alexander

           
 

GROOVE PRODUCTION, PERFORMANCE AND CONTROL SYSTEM

FIG. 1: Delivering MPC-like control over its software side, Maschine’s desktop hardware features 16 high-quality touch- and pressure-sensitive trigger pads; dual backlit graphic LCDs; and 11 rotary encoders.

Maschine is a pattern-oriented sequencer (plug-in or stand-alone) that comes paired with a desktop pad controller for MPC-style groove construction. Based on the concept of scenes that you can manage in real time, it allows you to break free from the limits of linear DAW arrangement.

You can have up to eight instrument groups layered at the same time, each containing a kit of 16 drum or instrument sounds, for a maximum of 128 discrete tracks. Upward of 64 patterns can be programmed for each instrument group, and these can be arranged across a maximum of 64 scenes in a song. You can mix, match, truncate and repeat patterns at will over the course of a scene or arrangement — even in real time.

Kit sounds can be loaded from the 5GB collection of built-in samples (more than 16,000 of them) or from your own stash of mono or stereo WAV or AIFF files. You can sample external sounds through your computer's audio interface, as well as perform internal resampling from virtually any bus on your audio interface or from within Maschine itself. A built-in sample editor with slicing and auto-mapping makes quick work of assembling kits from single or multiple samples and assigning them to trigger pads. Finally, dual stereo effects processors are available to each of the sound tracks, to instrument groups and at the master level.

Bonus Material

Bonus Material: The Promise, Sampling the Goods, Slice and Dice

Video: NI Maschine From Winter NAMM '09

Check Out My New Pad

When Maschine boots, its USB 2 hardware controller lights up like a pumpkin (see Fig. 1). All 41 buttons and 16 pads are backlit orange; they feature dim, bright and blinking modes to signal various functions or convey pattern status.

Dual LCDs, measuring four inches wide and backlit in soft blue, provide an ample view of parameter data, sample waveforms and ancillary beat information. These work in tandem, with the left display acting as a level/function focus and the right acting as a value/edit display. Four soft buttons sprawled above and four endless rotary encoders below each LCD are used for tab navigation and parameter tweaking, respectively.

The 4×4 trigger matrix is one of the best I've felt. The pads are a little softer than those of the Akai MPC/MPD, but they feel more substantial than the Korg or M-Audio varieties. They have just the right amount of snap for tricky finger-bouncing without any fatigue. They're also extremely sensitive (user-tailored in Preferences) and offer smooth aftertouch response. Pressing the Keyboard button converts the pads to trigger chromatically so that you can play pitched drums, melodies or chords. A bank of eight modifiers and instrument group selectors, a dedicated Note Repeat button, looping transport controls, and master Volume, Tempo and Swing encoders fill out the panel provisions.

FIG. 2: Maschine’s sequencer benefits from real-time manageable scenes and sampling, allowing you to break free from the linearity of conventional DAW arrangement and tweak patterns on the fly without missing a beat.

What a Softie

Across the top of the GUI is the Arranger pane, in which group patterns are slotted into Scene columns along a timeline (see Fig. 2). The bottom pane contains a zoomable Pattern/Automation editor, allowing you to sequence track parts in grid or piano roll/keyboard views. Sandwiched in the middle is a general control area for tweaking sample and sound parameters, and you can toggle a context-sensitive, Kore-style browser down a pane on the left.

In practice, think of the software as an overview display for the hardware. The only time you need to go there is to precisely edit note events or type in the name of your project.

The included kits and associated loops cover every musical style, from chart-driven hip-hop and R&B to funky house, hard electro and techno, jazzy trip-hop, space rock and downtempo lounge music. Sound quality throughout is typically Native Instruments: clean, punchy and dynamic.

Into the Rhythm

Getting a beat down is pretty straightforward. Simply toggle the built-in metronome (oddly, there's no count-in), hit Record and start playing the pads. Naturally, the plug-in version slaves to DAW transport commands and syncs to host tempo. If Input Quantize is switched on, then notes will snap to grid during recording and layer with each looped pass. Should you make a mistake, there's no need to stop recording: Hit Shift+Undo on the pads, and — voila! You get unlimited undos and redos. Maschine can also act like an old-school beat box, allowing you to enter patterns 808-style, with the backlit pads guiding every step of the way.