![]() Once saved, you can sequence or perform with your sounds to build a song. It comes with over 8 GB of sample content, but you can also create your own palette of sounds. You can browse loops, kits, sounds, genres, effects, instruments, Modes, and instrument groups from your computer or from the Maschine itself via its two hi-res screens. The hardware interface is well laid out and intuitive – even for a Luddite like me. How does it work? The Maschine’s software lives on your computer and the hardware connects via USB (note the controller can operate via its powered-USB port, but also includes a wall wart option that illuminates the pads more brightly). The MK3 is an intuitive, combo hardware/software workstation and controller that features a ton of new upgrades: bigger pads, full color hi-res screens, an integrated 24-bit/96 kHz audio interface, an updated transport section, and an improved workflow over previous Maschine versions. But it is an iPad app and has its limits. It’s great for inspiring sounds, ideas, loops, bleeps, and bloops. I have had the Maschine iPad app since it was introduced, and I love it. When the opportunity to check out Native Instruments’ Maschine MK3 came around I was eager to dive in. I know that they make sense to many folks, but for me, not so much. But, I have never been fond of small screens with layers of menus, sub-menus, and menus below the sub-menus. Be it an Akai MPC, a Roland TR-808, a Novation Groovebox, a Korg Kaoss Pad, various iPad apps, or you name it – I was messing around with it. I have always been interested in new tech and gadgets geared towards making beat based and electronic music. To do so, you gotta be just like my dog – hungry. I don’t feel old but am a little shocked sometimes when I walk by a mirror! The truth is, if you want to stay relevant in the music game, you need to keep reasonably current and learn new processes and concepts. In fact, I think because he’s always hungry, he’s hungry to learn new tricks. Maschine MK3 is available for $599, and Komplete Kontrol MK2 is available in $599 49-key and $699 61-key models.Can you teach an old dog new tricks? I have a medium aged dog, and he’s awful smart and seems eager to learn. ![]() ![]() It’s no Ableton Push in terms of integration, but if you’re a heavy NI plugin user and want a proper keyboard to play them, you’re not going to do much better than this. You can scrub through your track or even trigger scenes with the push encoder, and the Auto button lets you record automation in supported DAWs. Ableton Live, Logic and GarageBand are all supported via the keyboard’s dual screens, which let you do things like hit the Mixer button to bring up a graphical representation of your DAW’s mixer tracks, which can then be controlled with the knobs underneath. The MK2 better integrates with both NI’s own Maschine software, as well as third-party DAWs. The Light Guide is back, with brighter LEDs than in the previous model. There’s also the same new push encoder from the Maschine MK3, which can be turned or used like a joystick for directional buttons. It brings a similar dual screen approach as the new Maschine, and replaces the pitch and mod touch strip with nice snappy, analog wheels (a touch strip for modulation still exists, but it’s smartly placed beneath the wheels). ![]() In terms of hardware, Native Instruments’ new Komplete Kontrol MK2 is more of an incremental upgrade. (Videogames could learn something from the idea.) It’s a great improvement to the workflow, opening up new avenues for experimentation without risking losing your current progress. It’s possible to save up to 64 of these “lock states” per project, which you can then snap or morph between. Also handy is the “Lock” function, which lets you save and transition between snapshots of your current parameter settings. Perhaps most surprising feature of the Maschine MK3 is its built-in, bus-powered audio interface, which lets you record sound directly into the line inputs (and straight into the Maschine software), and output to your monitors and headphones (though not simultaneously, for some bizarre reason). Navigating menus is the easiest it’s ever been (a good thing, as this is something you’ll generally be doing a fair amount of when using Maschine), and the pads feel great and responsive across their entire surface. The layout has been refined, with dedicated buttons for play modes (Pad / Keyboard / Chord / Step), as well as a handy Macro button. Like the larger Studio model, the Maschine MK3 includes two high-resolution screens, and borrowing from the Maschine Jam, also incorporates a touch strip for controlling everything from pitch and modulation to effects and even notes. Native Instruments’ latest round of hardware updates includes its two most popular production tools: its all-in-one production hardware Maschine, and Komplete Kontrol keyboard.
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