Native Instruments Maschine

NATIVE INSTRUMENTS MASCHINE

Retail Price: $599 (Get it here with free shipping)

Maschine combines the flexibility of computer-based music production with the ease of a groove box into one powerful creative tool. Utilizing onboard samples or your own audio files, Maschine's symbiosis of hardware and software not only ensures a fast and fun workflow, but lets you easily turn your ideas into professional productions.

Inspiring Sounds
Maschine comes loaded with over 5 GB of production-ready sounds and patterns. Everything from fat drum kits to state-of-the-art synthesizer sounds and pristine acoustic instruments have been sampled, sliced and tagged for your convenience. Maschine also features studio quality effects ranging from dynamics processors to beat-mashers and even mastering tools, all tweakable in real time via the hardware controller.

300 Drum Kits
Maschine lets you instantly produce rhythm tracks of any musical style. The heart of the library is made up of the 300 high-quality drum kits, conveniently tagged and sorted into categories such as “Acoustic”, “Analog”, “Digital”, “Urban” and more. Additionally, every drum kit comes with its own set of professionally programmed drum patterns for many modern styles; a valuable resource of inspirational material for further tweaking.

200 Multi-Sampled Instruments
The Maschine library includes more then 280 pro-quality multi-sampled instruments. This massive arsenal contains tons of basses and leads, state-of-the-art synthesizer sounds, pristine acoustic instruments and more - all primed to flesh out your tracks even further.

400 Sliced Loops
Over 400 pre-sliced guitar, percussion and synth loops give you a wealth of musical material just waiting to be taken apart and re-arranged. Use these loops to spice up your rhythm tracks, add extra flavor to your beats or as the starting point for your own compositions.

6,500 One-Shot Samples
The Maschine library also provides a sample pool with 6,500 one-shot samples. Use the professionally produced scratches, vocals, effect sounds, single drum and percussion sounds to give your tracks a distinctive sonic signature.

20 Complete Projects
Projects are showcase collections of samples and sequences, programmed by renowned producers and artists. The 20 included projects demonstrate the power and flexibility of Maschine and can be used as a springboard for your own ideas.

100 FX Presets/40 FX Chains
Maschine comes with an assortment of over 100 effect presets for instantly adding professional dynamics to any sound or sequence. Additionally, the versatile routing capabilities of Maschine allow complex effect combinations that take your sound way beyond the ordinary.

Content Providers
Content for Maschine's library has been provided from a wide range of sources, including influential artists like Amon Tobin, Mouse on Mars, Denaun Porter, Oliver Huntemann and Denis Gökdag, and renowned sample houses such as Sonic Specialists and Loopmasters.

Go Deep
Maschine's pattern-oriented concept frees you from the limits of linear arrangement. Build song "scenes" by layering patterns, and re-arrange the scenes on the fly. Maschine offers external sampling through your computer’s audio interface as well as internal re-sampling, precise editing and slicing, auto-mapping, effects and an ultra-convenient browser – all perfectly attuned to the hardware controller.

Controller
The Maschine controller intuitively channels your creative impulses into total interaction with the software. The controller offers a very high fun factor with mouse-free operation of the Maschine software at every level, from initial spontaneous jams to complete arrangement of your finished tracks.

- 16 velocity-sensitive illuminated pads (with aftertouch), two backlit displays with 256x64 pixels, 11 rotary knobs, 41 buttons
- Bus powered via USB 2.0, MIDI I/O, Kensington lock
- Robust and sturdy, perfect for studio and stage
- Can be used as a regular MIDI controller for other software or hardware (see "MIDI controller" section below)

Browser
A sophisticated and easy–to-use tag-based browser gives you instant access to any sound, loop and instrument.

- Browse for projects, scenes, patterns, kits, single samples and effects
- Search by key words or attributes using the search field in the software
- Use the controller knobs to filter search results
- Add sample folders to the library easily—just drag and drop from the browser to the software
- Keep track of your samples with the convenient tagging function of the browser
- Quickbrowse – cycle through similar sounds while patterns continue playing

Effects
Maschine's built-in effects section contains a powerful arsenal of studio-quality effects to shape and supercharge your sound, including dynamic effects, modulation, distortion, delays, reverbs, filters and EQs.

- Flexible routing possibilities: Two effects units each for every sound, group and the master slot
- Create multi-effect chains by combining effects into their own groups
- Record automation of all effect settings via hardware or software on the fly
- Effects can be applied (and automated) to external input signals
- Assign effects via drag-and-drop from the browser or using the hardware controller

Full-featured MIDI Controller
The Maschine Controller can not only be used with the Maschine software - it is also a powerful universal hardware controller for use with any MIDI-compatible hardware or software.

- Easily assign any button, pad and knob to a MIDI function – from software to hardware synths, samplers, sequencers and effects
- Switch control from Maschine to other gear instantly with a dedicated hardware button
- Pre-produced templates for many Native Instruments and third-party instruments included
- Easily create your own custom Maschine Controller settings using the included MIDI mapping software
- DAWs with Mackie Control Universal (MCU) support can be controlled easily with the Maschine Controller. Information from the sequencer/DAW is shown on the hardware displays.*

*MCU protocol available with free software update.

Sequencer
Maschine lets you easily create rhythms, bass lines, chords and melodies, and arrange them into complete tracks on the fly.

- Pattern-based sequencer with 64 patterns per group
- Eight groups can be arranged in the “scene” arranger
- Two recording modes: step sequence programming and realtime recording
- High-resolution drum grid and piano roll editors
- Scene arranger for linear and non-linear playback
- Live automation for effects, sampler and mixer parameters for dynamic sounds
- Four Note Repeat settings: Play the selected sound automatically at a given quantization

Sampler
Maschine is based on a high-performance sampler engine, allowing audio recording of internal or external sources and precise sample playback with maximum audio quality.

- Features extensive voice, velocity and pitch settings as well as diverse envelope and modulation pages
- Record all internal audio paths or external audio through your soundcard - all without stopping your audio: sample an external audio source or rearrange/remix the loops you created in Maschine
- Audio recording with threshold detection or sequencer sync
- Resample in a pre-selected length (e.g. 4 bars)
- Audio editing page with loop function to quickly trim your samples
- Slice loops by transient detection or a preselected grid
- Auto-map the slices to the controller pads and re-arrange on the fly without stopping audio
- Convenient mapping editor with velocity and key layers
- Eight individual stereo outputs (16 mono outs)

Studio Integration
In contrast to conventional groove boxes, Maschine provides seamless integration as a plug-in to your host sequencer. Produce the whole song in Maschine or move it to another sequencer for further processing and arranging.

- Maschine offers the same incredible feature set both as a standalone application and as a plug-in within any DAW or sequencer that supports VST, AU or RTAS. As a plug-in, Maschine retains all of its capabilities including total recall and routing up to eight stereo outs to your host's mixer.
- Export audio files: Bounce individual files from all patterns, groups, scenes or the master channel
- Import audio files: Drag and drop sounds from your hard disc to the Maschine browser
- Instant navigation: Open several instances of Maschine in your host sequencer and easily switch between them using just one controller

Complete Control
The Maschine hardware is both instrument and controller in one. Sixteen illuminated, velocity-sensitive pads form an interface to intuitively make beats, tweak sounds, create patterns and sequence whole songs with the powerful Maschine software. Two large, high-resolution displays with eight corresponding rotary encoders, buttons, and transport controls integrate perfectly with the Maschine software.

Go with the Flow
Maschine unifies and vastly improves on familiar groove production workflows. Using the Maschine hardware controller you can jam out ideas in a pattern-oriented environment, and use them as the building blocks to create your track within Maschine. New samples, loops, effects or arrangements can be added, edited and tweaked in the same intuitive way, utilizing the ultra-convenient hardware interface.

Technical Info

Hardware Specifications
General Interface Specifications
- Width: 320 mm / 12.6 in.
- Length: 295 mm / 11.6 in.
- Height: 60 mm / 2.4 in.
- 1811 Grams / 4 lbs

- 2 displays with 64x256 pixels
- 16 high-quality, illuminated pads with velocity and aftertouch
- 11 endless rotary encoders
- 41 backlit buttons
- Midi-In/Out
- USB 2.0
- Kensington(R) Lock

System Requirements
Windows(R) XP (SP2, 32-bit)/Vista (SP1, 32-bit, 64-bit), Pentium(R) or Athlon XP 2 GHz, 2 GB RAM

Mac OS(R) X 10.4, Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo 2 GHz, 2 GB RAM

USB 2.0 Port, DVD drive, 5 GB free disk space for full installation

Supported Interfaces
Runs as a standalone application, or as a VST(R), Audio Units(TM), or RTAS(R) (under Pro Tools(R) 7/8) plug-in.

ASIO(TM), Core Audio(TM), DirectSound, WASAPI(TM)

Retail Price: $599 (Get it here with free shipping)