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The initial software installation and authorization process went pretty quickly, especially considering the amount of sample content (roughly 7 GB) included in the package. The software is tightly integrated with the hardware controller, which was plug-and-play easy to connect to my computer. If you've installed any other Native Instruments applications, the steps for Maschine are the same, so it should be very straightforward.
I found the included sounds to be of very good quality, though heavily percussion-focused. The Maschine controller can be used to sequence and trigger anything from basic one-shot samples to complex, layered, multi-sample/multi-velocity sounds, so I would have liked to have seen a wider range of included material. Fortunately, Maschine lets you import your own AIFF and WAV sounds and can also handle REX2 files (slicing intact). These sounds can all be tagged for genre/style browsing within Native Instruments' organizational structure, making it much faster to find what you're looking for when building up sounds for a pattern or song.
At the heart of the hardware interface, you'll find a familiar 4 x 4 grid of velocity-sensitive, LED-backlit pads. You can use them to trigger anything from individual sounds to pre-sequenced patterns. Flexibility is the name of the game, allowing you to customize the workflow to suit your personal style. Load kick, snare, hi-hats, and shakers into separate pads, for example, and play them like a standard drum kit. Or, load the same sound into all sixteen pads, each with a different velocity setting, to get a less robotic sound. You can program separate sequences for the verse, chorus, and bridge, then trigger them during a live performance while playing over the changes.
Maschine organizes everything into groups. A group can hold up to 16 different sounds and 64 different patterns. Eight groups are available. For my initial exploration, I loaded drum sounds into Group 1 and created a few simple patterns (more on that in a bit), then loaded some bass sounds into Group 2. Within just a few minutes, I had a nice groove going. I then loaded some chopped guitar samples into Group 3 and a multi-sampled brass patch into group 4. Things were sounding really good, and I had only just scratched the surface of Maschine's capabilities.
As I said, hardware and software components are tightly integrated, and both give a good level of feedback to keep you informed. The software interface shows the groups you've got loaded along with the patterns and sounds available in the active group. The center part of the screen has a familiar sequencer setup. You can choose to view the patterns for all available sounds at once, or for a single sound in a piano-roll format. The hardware controller has two display windows: the left window is sort of a global menu, and the right window acts as a sub menu depending on what global option you've selected.
The LEDs in the pads also provide useful feedback, with two levels of brightness (plus 'off') to indicate which pads are loaded with sounds or patterns, which sounds or patterns are active, and more. The Shift button accesses alternate features for the pads, allowing you to perform common actions such as paste, nudge, and undo without leaving the hardware surface. After getting familiar with these functions, I found I could make my way through a complete session without having to touch the mouse or keyboard (after firing up the software, of course). Still, some actions (such as selecting a group of note or velocity data at once) can be done faster with the mouse, but spending most of my time on the Maschine's hardware surface helped keep the creative juices flowing.
Step sequencing and on-the-fly triggering methods are both available, and both were effective for different situations. In step mode, the pads correspond to step positions on the pattern timeline. You can set the subdivision with the grid function. With quarter note subdivision, for example, you can lay out a one-bar groove with just four pads. Select a kick drum sound and light up pads 1 and 3, then a snare sound to light up pads 2 and 4, and you've got a basic backbeat. Subdivide to sixteenth notes, and the same one-bar pattern now spans all 16 pads. You can create patterns of more than one bar, and call up each bar separately to sequence the note data. Once your pattern is created, you can use the dedicated Shuffle knob to massage the feel. I mainly use step sequencing to quickly create repetitive patterns such as drum and bass grooves.
These same patterns can be created on the fly, assuming your time is up to the task. If you find yourself off the beat, you can use the quantize and/or nudge functions to get back on track. Maschine has four realtime modes for expressive performance. Standard mode typically maps a unique sound to each pad, and both note data and velocity data are recorded. If you're not concerned about varying the velocity, the aptly named fixed-velocity mode lets you assign a velocity ahead of time and only note data is recorded, no matter how hard you hit the pads. The MPC-style 16-velocity mode maps a single sound to all pads, each with increasing amounts of velocity. Finally, keyboard mode lets you specify a starting pitch on pad 1 and raises the pitch (by a semitone) on each successive pad. Keyboard mode is cool for some stuff, but with Maschine's MIDI input, I'd just as soon use a standard keyboard controller for this type of thing. If you don't have a separate keyboard controller, or just want to quickly transpose a note or phrase, it's there if you need it. If you make a mistake, the Erase function can get rid of your last step(s) without stopping the action.
Once you've got a pattern created, Maschine makes it easy to copy and paste to lengthen the phrase. Or, you can copy and paste to a new pattern location (remember, there are 64 patterns per group). I like to come up with a fairly basic pattern, then copy it over to a few other pattern locations and tweak them a little bit. Then, I have the same basic theme, but with several subtle variations to choose from. This is a great way to make your grooves seem a little more organic.
Song arrangement is a simple matter of taking the patterns you've created and placing them into scenes. Think of it as a group of groups, or a sequence of sequences. The longest pattern in a scene determines the scene's length, and shorter patterns will automatically loop to fill the void. You can set up muting and soloing of individual patterns within a scene to make your arrangements more streamlined, and all of this can be triggered via MIDI. You can also tell Maschine where inside a particular scene you want to switch to a new scene, which I really liked.
At any point in the process, you can engage any of Maschine's 22 effects patches to add filtering, delay, compression, and much more. Effects can be set up at any level, as inserts on a specific sound, in a group, or globally over a scene. Of course, all effects parameter tweaks can be automated as you go.
I spent a good amount of time getting comfortable with Maschine in standalone mode, but when I fired it up as a plug-in inside Ableton (will work in any other DAW supporting VST, AU, or RTAS too), some cool new possibilities presented themselves. Right away, I noticed a total of eight stereo outputs available in the plug-in. You can use this to route the eight groups or even eight individual sounds to dedicated channels in the DAW. Now you've got even more control over the mix.
Even better, you can call up as many instances of Maschine as your DAW and computer hardware will let you run. You can select which instance you're working on right from the hardware controller. If the load on your CPU gets to be too much, you can drag and drop MIDI data from the plug-in right into your DAW, or convert the parts to audio and drop that into the tracks.
Overall, I was really impressed with Maschine's workflow flexibility as well as the quality of the onboard sounds. If I have one complaint, it's that the system is capable of so many things, it would take a significant time investment to get up to speed on all that's available. That said, the common functionality is pretty intuitive, and I was able to get groovin' without much hassle. If you're a producer looking to make a move from a fully hardware-based setup to a computer-based rig, Maschine has a familiar layout and offers plenty of power.
zZounds is an authorized dealer of Native Instruments products.
This item cannot be returned once the manufacturer's seal has been broken. Any defective merchandise must be dealt with directly through Native Instruments. If a product is found to be defective, you must contact Native Instruments' customer support at 866-556-6487 for service. details
4.5 out of 5
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"Over all, this product is well priced, loaded with features, easy to use with your other equipment, Stylish, and extremely upgra"
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"this is the best if you love making banging beats"
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