Native Instruments MASCHINE MK3 Manual

Page 2

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of native instruments gmbh. The software described by this docu- ment is subject to a license agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied...

Page 4

Table of contents 1 welcome to maschine .............................................................................................23 1.1 maschine documentation .......................................................................................................... 24 1.2 document conventions .....

Page 6

3.1.2 browsing the library vs. Browsing your hard disks ................................................... 104 3.2 searching and loading files from the library ............................................................................ 105 3.2.1 overview of the library pane ..........................

Page 8

4.3.1 creating groups ........................................................................................................ 194 4.3.2 loading groups ......................................................................................................... 196 4.3.3 renaming groups ...................

Page 10

6.1.2 first plug-in slot of sounds: choosing the sound’s role ........................................... 275 6.1.3 loading, removing, and replacing a plug-in ............................................................ 275 6.1.3.1 browser plug-in slot selection ........................................

Page 12

7.4.7 quantizing events/notes ........................................................................................... 377 7.4.8 quantization while playing ........................................................................................ 379 7.4.9 doubling a pattern ..........................

Page 14

9.2.6 using the cue bus ..................................................................................................... 499 9.3 the plug-in chain ....................................................................................................................... 501 9.4 the plug-in strip .....

Page 16

10.6 the percussions .......................................................................................................................... 587 10.6.1 percussion – fractal .................................................................................................. 589 10.6.2 percussion – k...

Page 18

13.5 delays ......................................................................................................................................... 692 13.5.1 beat delay ................................................................................................................. 692 13.5.2 gra...

Page 20

14.3.11 clearing sections ...................................................................................................... 772 14.3.12 creating and deleting section banks ........................................................................ 773 14.3.13 enabling auto length ....................

Page 22

16.3 special tricks ............................................................................................................................. 860 16.3.1 changing pattern length for variation ...................................................................... 860 16.3.2 using loops to cycle th...

Page 24

1.1 maschine documentation native instruments provide many information sources regarding maschine. The main docu- ments should be read in the following sequence: 1. Maschine getting started: this document provides a practical approach to maschine via a set of tutorials covering easy and more advance...

Page 26

▪ text appearing on the displays of the controller is printed in light grey . Whenever you see this formatting applied, you will find the same text on a controller display. ▪ text appearing on labels of the hardware controller is printed in orange . Whenever you see this formatting applied, you will...

Page 28

2 basic concepts this chapter will reintroduce you to maschine’s main elements and terminology and explain how they relate to one another. You will also learn how to set up your audio interface and how to connect midi devices. Before reading this chapter it is strongly recommended that you read the ...

Page 30

Scene a scene is a combination of patterns for each group. They can be used to combine patterns in order to create musical ideas. Scenes are created in the ideas view and then added to sections in the arranger view to create an arrangement. Refer to chapter ↑ 14.3, using arranger view for more infor...

Page 32

The view submenu in the maschine menu. Full screen view is also available from your computer keyboard via [ctrl]+[f] (macos: [cmd]+[f]). 2.2.2 switching between ideas view and arranger view at any time you can quickly switch between the ideas view and the arranger view, using the arranger view butto...

Page 34

Minimizing/maximizing the mixer. 2.2.5 showing/hiding the control lane when maschine is in arrange view, you can show/hide the control lane under the pattern editor: ► click the arrow button on the bottom left of the pattern editor to show and hide the con- trol lane. Basic concepts adjusting the ma...

Page 36

The encoder situated to the left of the volume , swing and tempo buttons. Depending on the menu or context, the available actions differ: ▪ the displays are navigated by moving the 4-d encoder in a direction indicated by the sur- rounding leds. ▪ entries in a list are browsed by turning the 4-d enco...

Page 38

▪ step undo allows you to cancel your last single action. ▪ take undo allows you to cancel your last group of actions. Step undo step undo/redo is the classic undo/redo found in most applications. It cancels or re-executes each single action you have performed. In the software use the following keyb...

Page 40

When you touch the knob of that parameter, a list appears above the parameter on the display of your controller. This list shows you at a glance all possible values for the parameter you are touching along with the value currently selected, making the value selection much more intui- tive. Touch the...

Page 42

Setting the focus on a group ► to put a group in focus, click this group in the group list of the arranger: → the focused group is highlighted. The pattern editor displays the sounds and patterns of that group. Basic concepts common operations maschine - manual - 42.

Page 44

1. Set the focus to the group containing the desired sound by clicking it in the group list on the left of the arranger (see above). The focused group is highlighted. The pattern editor displays the sounds and patterns of that group. 2. Click the desired sound slot in the sound list of the pattern e...

Page 46

2.3.7 switching between the master, group, and sound level at any time you can quickly switch the control area between the parameters of the master, the focused group, and the focused sound. Click the desired tab to switch the display of the control area. ► click the master , group or sound tab in t...

Page 48

2. Click the desired button ( input , output , groove , or macro ) in the channel property selec- tor to select that set of channel properties. → the selected button is highlighted and the parameters of the selected channel properties appear in the parameter area (the right and biggest part of the c...

Page 50

Element action knob: click the knob and drag your mouse vertically to change the parameter value. Hold [shift] on your computer keyboard and drag your mouse to adjust the value in finer increments. Button: click the button to switch its state. When the button is enabled, it shows a small colored led...

Page 52

Using the navigate mode alternatively, you can also navigate channel properties and plug-ins along with their parameter pages via the navigate mode of your controller: 1. Press shift + variation to enter navigate mode (or pin it by pressing navigate + button 1). 2. Press shift , then button 2 ( page...

Page 54

Action shortcut pattern editor scroll left/right turn knob 6 or press pad 1 / 3 pattern editor scroll up/down (keyboard mode only) turn knob 7 or press pad 8 / 4 you can quickly switch the software between ideas view and arranger view by pressing shift + scene on your controller. The page navigation...

Page 56

▪ maschine studio controller: press shift + plug-in , turn the jog wheel to select the desired instance, and press the jog wheel or button 8 to load it. ▪ maschine (mk3) controller: press shift + plug-in , turn the 4-d encoder to select the desired instance, and press the 4-d encoder or button 4 to ...

Page 58

Example of use touch auto-write can be very handy if a parameter already has some modulation recorded in the pattern, and you want to re-record modulation for this parameter, this time at a constant value: ▪ with touch auto-write disabled (and in previous maschine versions), you have to con- stantly...

Page 60

2.5 stand-alone and plug-in mode you can run the maschine software as a stand-alone application or integrate it into your fa- vorite host by loading it as a plug-in. The maschine software is available in the vst, audio unit, and aax plug-in formats. For further information on plug-in compatibility a...

Page 62

► to select your controller from a particular maschine instance, click the connect button in the maschine header of that instance. Click the connect button to connect the controller to that instance. Switching instances using the controller to switch from one maschine instance to another: 1. Press s...

Page 64

▪ colors: see ↑ 2.6.8, preferences – colors page . 2.6.1 preferences – general page the general page holds a few global settings. ► to display the general page click the general tab on the left of the preferences panel. The preferences – general page. Basic concepts preferences maschine - manual - 6...

Page 66

Setting description default midi input mode maschine lets you play your sound(s) via midi notes, for example, from a midi keyboard. By default and without any configuration, incoming midi notes on any midi port and any midi channel will trigger the pitch of the focused sound. In addition, you can se...

Page 68

For more detailed information about usage data tracking, please refer to the following knowl- edge base article on the native instruments website: https://support.Native-instruments.Com/hc/en-us/articles/209545029 to enable or disable usage tracking: 1. Open the general page of the preferences by cl...

Page 70

Setting description interface driver select your audio driver here. Device this allows you to choose from the available devices if you have connected more than one audio interface. Status this shows you whether your audio interface is currently running. Sample rate this displays the selected sample ...

Page 72

The preferences – midi page. Basic concepts preferences maschine - manual - 72.

Page 74

Setting description inputs clicking inputs displays a list of all the available midi inputs of your system. You can activate/deactivate each input by clicking the fields in the status column, which displays the current status of the corresponding port. Outputs clicking outputs displays a list of all...

Page 76

Setting description project standalone here you can select a project to load automatically when you start a new project in maschine used as a stand-alone application. The field displays the location of the template project selected for use. Click the folder icon to select another template project. A...

Page 78

At the top of the page, the factory and user buttons allow you to switch between the factory pane and the user pane. Factory pane ► to display the factory pane, click the factory button at the top of the library page. The preferences panel – the library page’s factory pane. Basic concepts preference...

Page 80

The preferences panel – the library page’s user pane. The user pane shows all user libraries currently used. These include maschine’s standard user directory as well as any other user directory you might have defined. These libraries will appear in the user view of the browser’s library pane. Basic ...

Page 82

The user content folder can neither be renamed nor removed from the list. You can modify its path in the location column. Standard user directory cannot be removed the standard user directory can neither be renamed nor removed from the list in the user pane of the library page in the preferences pan...

Page 84

Adding folders to the user library in the user pane of the library page, you can add other folders to the user content of your ma- schine library. To do this: 1. Click add at the bottom of the pane. A folder selection dialog opens up. 2. In the dialog, navigate to the desired folder on your computer...

Page 86

The preferences panel – the plug-ins page’s manager pane. Basic concepts preferences maschine - manual - 86.

Page 88

Manager pane: use ni audio units checkbox (macos only) on macos, the manager pane contains an additional use ni audio units checkbox. Check this box to include the audio units (au) versions of your native instruments plug-ins in the soft- ware’s plug-in menus and in the controller’s plug-in browser:...

Page 90

Element description remove button click remove to remove the selected directory. Rescan button if you have changed the content of a directory (such as installed or removed plug-ins), you should rescan your plug-in directories in order to keep the list of available plug-ins up to date. Clicking resca...

Page 92

Setting description controller the controller menu allows you to select a connected device and modify its settings. You can have two devices simultaneously focused on a maschine instance: a controller from the maschine family and a komplete kontrol s- series keyboard. After a new device has been sel...

Page 94

The preferences panel – colors page. Basic concepts preferences maschine - manual - 94.

Page 96

2.7 integrating maschine into a midi setup you can quickly integrate maschine into a midi setup. You can use midi in maschine in various ways. Notably: ▪ you can synchronize a midi clock signal between maschine and other midi devices: ↑ 2.7.2, sync to external midi clock and ↑ 2.7.3, send midi clock...

Page 98

If you want to configure maschine to react to other midi messages than midi clock, in particular if you want to control maschine notes and parameters via midi, please refer to section ↑ 8.2, using midi control and host automation , where this is described in detail. 2.7.3 send midi clock if maschine...

Page 100

After clicking the play button, playback will resume on the downbeat once the moving bar within the link button is filled. The first participant to join the session sets the initial tempo, from then on any participant in the session can change the tempo in their respective applica- tion. If multiple...

Page 102

To access file mode: ► press the file button. → the file menu is displayed. All file menu options are explained in the table below. File management option description new creates a new project file. If you already have a project open, you will be prompted to save or discard it, after which a new pro...

Page 104

Note that the library is the only other way to display and access your files: you could also navigate to the same files in your file system. The (substantial) difference lies in the fact that the library organizes your files in a musically relevant way. Which files are included in the maschine libra...

Page 106

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 the elements of the library pane. (1) library tab: click the library tab to open the library pane described here. (2) file type selector: this contains six icons, each representing the different files types of ma- schine. From the left to right the file types are project, group, so...

Page 108

▪ for all files, click the edit button at the far right of the bar to open the attribute editor and modify the tags and properties assigned to the selected file(s). See section ↑ 3.5, editing the files’ tags and properties . Overview of the search workflow in the library pane when searching for file...

Page 110

1. Move the 4-d encoder left/right to select the field you want to select. The selected field is indicated by thin brackets: 2. Turn the 4-d encoder to change the value in the selected field. 3. Move the 4-d encoder up/down to scroll the results list. 4. Press the 4-d encoder to make a selection fro...

Page 112

▪ other if vendor is selected in the category / vendor selector, the product list is sorted by the names of the manufacturers. ► to select a product and show only the preset files associated with it, click on the product in the list. → upon your selection, the product selector automatically closes, ...

Page 114

► to select a particular bank for the selected product, click the bank menu under the prod- uct icon and choose a bank from the available entries. → upon your selection the bank menu closes and displays the selected bank. The tag filter and results list underneath further narrow their content accord...

Page 116

3.2.2.2 browsing by product vendor using maschine mk3 the maschine browser can filter your search by product category. To filter products by category in the browser using the controller: 1. Press browser to show the browser. 2. Press button 2 to select a product. ⇨ the browser now only displays inst...

Page 118

(1) product selector header: the header shows the product or the selected product category — if there is no selection it shows a generic label ( all instruments in the picture above) corre- sponding to the type of file selected in the file type selector above. Click the header to close the product s...

Page 120

► to select a particular bank for the selected product, click the bank menu under the prod- uct icon and choose a bank from the available entries. → upon your selection the bank menu closes and displays the selected bank. The tag filter and result list underneath further narrow their content accordi...

Page 122

Selecting a product category, a product, a bank, and a sub-bank on your controller. Additionally the left display shows you the name and icon of all products corresponding to the selected product category (knob 1). The selected product (knob 2) is highlighted. If there are more than six products ava...

Page 124

► at the top right of the left display, press button 4 ( user ) to browse the user content (button lit and user label highlighted) or the factory content (button off and user label not highlighted). Choosing the factory or user content using the controller on your controller in browse mode: ► at the...

Page 126

By selecting any of these tags, say, acoustic , you will narrow your search to this particular sub-type of shakers: ▪ now imagine that you have loaded an acoustic shaker sample and want to find a sample for another drum instrument, e.G., a tom: you leave the drums tag selected at the top level of th...

Page 128

► click the small triangle located to the left of the attributes ( types or modes ). → the attribute sections will collapse results will be shown depending on the amount of space available. Click the triangle again to reopen the sections. Highlighted triangle next to the attributes (types and modes)...

Page 130

The left display, here when browsing effects: selecting the creative effects category via knob 1 (on the left), the 2.0 library bank via knob 3 (in the middle), and all sub-banks via knob 4 (on the right). Like in the software, each of these lists includes an all… entry at the top allowing you to de...

Page 132

The result list showing kicks from the maschine library. If the list is too long to fit in the display, use your mouse wheel or drag the scroll bar on the right to show the remaining items. The result list allows you to: ▪ select the desired file(s). ▪ load the selected file(s) into your project (or...

Page 134

▪ you can load the file into a group or a sound slot that is not currently focused, or into a plug-in slot that is not selected. ▪ you can load a sample into its own zone in the zone page of the sample editor: a new zone will be created for that sample. See section ↑ 15.5.7, adding samples to the sa...

Page 136

1. Right-click ([ctrl]-click on macos) the desired user file and select delete from the context menu. If you want to delete several files at once, first select them as described above, and right-click ([ctrl]-click on macos) ([ctrl]-click on macos) any of them. A warning dialog opens to inform you t...

Page 138

Autoload is not available when browsing projects. Autoload is not available when browsing samples with prehear enabled — see section ↑ 3.3.3, auditioning samples . When prehear is enabled, button 5 and 6 select the previ- ous/next sample in the result list without loading it automatically. 3.3.2 aud...

Page 140

When prehear is enabled, you can directly hear samples as you select them in the result list of the library pane or files pane. ► drag the prehear volume slider next to the prehear button to adjust the volume of the samples you are pre-listening to. The prehear signal is sent to the cue bus of masch...

Page 142

Loading groups with routing using the controller ► press shift + button 3 ( + routing ) to include or exclude audio and midi routing when groups are loaded. → when the option is enabled (button 3 lit and + routing label highlighted), groups are loaded together with their audio and midi routing. 3.3....

Page 144

The maschine browser showing all favorite instruments tagged with the type bass. To activate the favorites filter: browser using favorites in the browser maschine - manual - 144.

Page 146

2. Click on the set favorite icon to add the corresponding item to the favorites. → the item is added to the favorites, indicated by the lit set favorite icon next to its name: you can add any item in the results list to the favorites, no matter if it is selected or not. The set favorites icon will ...

Page 148

2. Press the button 7 to activate the favorites filter. 3. To filter the list of favorites, use knobs 5 to 8. → the favorites filter is now activated and the results list shows all favorites that match the search criteria: adding an item to the favorites to add an item to the favorites using follow ...

Page 150

Changes to the selected files, or click the lit edit button again to cancel you changes and close the attribute editor. See section ↑ 3.2, searching and loading files from the library for more information on the library pane. ▪ when importing folders to the maschine library from the browser’s files ...

Page 152

3.5.3 the types and modes pages the types and modes pages display and let you modify the tags assigned to the file(s) se- lected in the result list above. ▪ the types page is available for all file types when opening the attribute editor both from the library pane and the files pane. It shows three ...

Page 154

In the types page, if you uncheck a tag for which some sub-type tags were selected in the columns on the right, these will automatically unassigned as you unassign their pa- rent tag. Creating new tags you can also create your own tags both in the types and modes pages: ► to create a new tag in any ...

Page 156

4 5 6 1 2 3 the elements of the files pane. (1) files tab: click the files tab to open the files pane described here. (2) favorite bar: displays all your favorites. Click any favorite to directly jump to that particular path and display its content in the result list (5). See section ↑ 3.6.2, using ...

Page 158

► click any favorite in the favorite bar to jump to that location. → the selected location is loaded in the location bar and its content appears in the result list. Favorites can be useful if you often return to the same location while browsing your file system in the files pane: save this location ...

Page 160

The last 10 locations you have visited are stored by maschine and available here: ► click the recent location button and select any recently visited location from the list. → this location is loaded in the location bar and its content displayed in the result list. 3.6.5 using the result list the res...

Page 162

Loading files from the result list you can load files from the result list using the same methods as in the result list of the library pane: via double-click or via drag-and-drop. For all details, please refer to section ↑ 3.2.9, loading a file from the result list . Additional features in the resul...

Page 164

3. Select the desired folder as described above. 4. Click the import button at the bottom right of the browser. You will be presented with the attribute editor. 5. In the attribute editor, tag the files you are about to import to the library as described in section ↑ 3.5, editing the files’ tags and...

Page 166

Locating or purging missing samples at a later time when sample references cannot be resolved, two additional purge missing samples and find missing samples appear in the context menu of the affected sound(s) in the sound list. The purge missing samples and the find missing samples entries in the co...

Page 168

▪ quick browse for instrument/effect presets and for samples: click the magnifying glass in the upper right corner of the control area to recall the search query that was used for the plug- in in the selected slot: ◦ if a sampler plug-in is selected, it will recall the search query used for the samp...

Page 170

5. Turn the 4-d encoder to select the desired plug-in preset or sample from the list, and press the 4-d encoder to load it. → the selected file replaces the previous file in your project. Quick browse from browse mode on the controller you can also access quick browse from the browser on your contro...

Page 172

1 2 the sound list (1) and the group list (2) in the arrange view of the software. 4.1.1 the sound, group, and master channels from a routing point of view, each sound, each group, and the master represents a distinct channel in maschine. The channels of the 16 sounds in a group are mixed together a...

Page 174

▪ in each group you always have a fixed number of sound slots — namely 16. Some of these sound slots might be empty, and you can have gaps in your slots (i.E. Some empty sound slots between other slots containing sounds), depending on how you prefer to play your sounds from your pads. You cannot cre...

Page 176

▪ if you set the focus to a sound or group which is already included in the current selection, the focus is moved to this new sound or group but the selection is preserved. This notably allows you to check the parameters of any selected sound or group while keeping the abili- ty to modify parameters...

Page 178

► press and hold select to enter select mode. You can also press select + button 1 to pin this mode and make it permanent. → you are ready to select more than one sound or group. Selecting sounds and groups via the select mode. You have following selection tools at your disposal: selection tool desc...

Page 180

The pad view. The pad view can be shown by activating the pad view button above the sound list: the pad view button. ► click the pad view button to show or hide the pad view. → the pad view replaces the sound list on the left of the pattern editor. In the pad view, each cell represents a pad on your...

Page 182

▪ alternatively you can recall the search query that was used to find the sound currently loaded in the focused sound slot. See section ↑ 3.8, using quick browse for more informa- tion. 4.2.2 pre-listening to sounds you can pre-listen to the sounds of the focused group as you set the focus on them i...

Page 184

1. Right-click ([ctrl]-click on macos) the desired sound slot in the sound list or in the pad view and select color from the context menu. A color palette appears. In the palette, the current color of the sound is highlighted. 2. Select the desired color in the palette. You can also choose to set th...

Page 186

► right-click (on macos: [ctrl]-click) the sound slot in the sound list or in the pad view and select save from the context menu: → your modifications are saved to the sound file. Even if you don’t save a sound individually, its current settings will still be saved with your project. But once a soun...

Page 188

In the software, sounds are copied without their note content in the pattern. To include the note content in the copying operation, use duplicate on your controller (see be- low)! To copy and paste sounds in the software: 1. Right-click (on macos: [ctrl]-click) the sound slot (in the sound list or i...

Page 190

2. If you want to duplicate a sound including its pattern content, enable the +events op- tion (button 5). 3. Press the pad of the sound you want to copy. The pad of the sound starts blinking. 4. Press the pad of the target sound slot (this can also be in another group, in this case first press the ...

Page 192

4.2.8 resetting sound slots resetting a sound slot will remove the sound it contains and put all its settings (channel properties, name, color…) back to their default values. You can select multiple sound slots to reset them all at once! See ↑ 4.1.3, selecting multiple sounds or groups for more info...

Page 194

▪ the context menu of the focused group in the pattern editor, opened via a right-click ([ctrl]-click on macos) on the group name in the top left corner of the pattern editor: both context menus are equivalent: use either menu as you see fit. 4.3.1 creating groups creating a group will add a new emp...

Page 196

4.3.2 loading groups you can load a readymade group from the browser or from your operating system. The group can be included in the maschine library or any expansion pack but it can also be a group you have created yourself and saved for later use. You have many methods at your disposal to load a g...

Page 198

1. Right-click ([ctrl]-click on macos) the desired group in the group list or the group name in the top left corner of the pattern editor and select color from the context menu. A color palette appears. In the palette, the current color of the group is highlighted. 2. Select the desired color in the...

Page 200

You cannot save changes to factory files — these files are read-only. If you run the save com- mand on a factory file, it automatically turns into the save as… command: a save group dia- log opens and lets you save your modified group to your user library. See next paragraph for more details. The sa...

Page 202

3. Right-click (macos: [ctrl]-click) any group in the group list and select paste from the context menu to replace that group with the copied one. If you want to paste the group without affecting the existing groups, first click the “ + ” under the last group to create a new empty group and paste th...

Page 204

4. Press the group button of your target group (this can also be in another group bank, in this case first press button 3/4 to select the group bank). If you want to paste the group without affecting the existing groups, press the dim white group button after the last col- ored group button to creat...

Page 206

Deleting a group. Deleting a group on your controller on your controller in control mode, do the following to delete a group: ► to delete a group, hold shift + erase and press the group button of the group you want to delete. → the group is removed. All following groups are shifted left to fill the ...

Page 208

Controls description group displays the name and location of the group file to be created. The samples will be put in a folder with the same name in the same location. By default, the group file inherits the name of the group in the project and it will be saved in the “groups” subfolder of your stan...

Page 210

Element description project displays the name and location of the project file to be created. The samples will be put in a folder with the same name in the same location. By default, the project file inherits the name of the project and it will be saved in the “projects” subfolder of your standard u...

Page 212

The export page of the export arrangement as audio panel. Following parameters are available: managing sounds, groups, and your project exporting maschine objects and audio maschine - manual - 212.

Page 214

Element description folder displays the folder on your hard disk where the exported audio file(s) will be saved. To change the destination folder, click the field and select the desired folder in the navigation dialog that opens. Name in this field the name of the destination audio file is displayed...

Page 216

Element description sample rate selects from five different sample rates for the exported audio file(s): 44100 hz (this is the sample rate of the audio cd format), 48000 hz, 88200 hz, 96000 hz, and 192000 hz. Bit depth selects from three different bit depths (or bit resolutions) for the exported aud...

Page 218

Supported parameters from mpc programs since maschine has a different approach to handling and naming parameters, please refer to this list to find out how mpc program settings are being translated into maschine settings. Mpc parameter mpc500, 1000, 2500 mpc400 0 mpc2000 (xl) mpc300 0 maschine param...

Page 220

Control description import all banks select this to import all banks of the mpc program file. Each bank will be loaded into a separate group. Import one bank select this if you only want to import a single bank. Use the drop-down menu to the right to select which bank you want to import. The list be...

Page 222

When the pad view button is enabled, the pad view replaces the sound list below: the pad view replaces the sound list. At the top of the pad view, the grid of pads gives you access to all sound slots of the current group. The focused pad is fully lit; other pads containing a sound are dim lit; pads ...

Page 224

If your controller is in group mode (default mode), the right display contains a mapping matrix showing the name and color of the sound played by each pad. You can adjust the base key for the selected pad by pressing buttons 5-8. Parameter description octave- , octave+ , semitone- , and semitone+ (b...

Page 226

Activating keyboard mode on your controller automatically switches the pattern editor to keyboard view in the software, and inversely. To shift the scale in octaves use button 5 (octave down) or button 6 (octave up). You can also shift the scale in semitones: use button 7 (semitone down) and button ...

Page 228

Sound slots 1 to 4 are selected. If they have different key values, a multi label appears (left). When you drag it (middle), a transpose value appears (right) that will be applied to all selected sounds when you will release the mouse button. This is also true when adjusting the parameter from your ...

Page 230

Sound slots 1 to 4 are selected. If they have different choke values, a multi label appears (left). When you click it and select a new choke from the list (middle), this new group is applied to all selected sounds. This is also true when adjusting the parameter from your controller. To assign the se...

Page 232

A link group makes sense only if more than one pad/sound are assigned to it! Adjusting the link parameter for multiple sounds with different link values ► click the multi label next to link and select the desired value from the list to set all selected sounds to that same link group. This also appli...

Page 234

Adjusting the choke or link parameter for multiple sounds with different choke or link values ► click the multi label next to choke or link and select the desired value from the list to set all selected sounds to that same choke or link group, respectively. This also applies to the master/slave sett...

Page 236

▪ mute and solo allow you to selectively mute and solo sounds and groups: ↑ 5.4.1, mute and solo . ▪ choke all notes allow you to cut all playing audio: ↑ 5.4.2, choke all notes . ▪ groove allows you to give a shuffling flair to individual sounds/groups or to your entire project: ↑ 5.4.3, groove . ▪...

Page 238

Muting a sound ► to mute a sound, click the number on the left side of the sound slot in the pattern edi- tor. Muting a sound. ► to unmute the sound, click the number again. By default, the mute on sounds is an event mute: events for muted sounds are not trig- gered, but the audio coming from previo...

Page 240

2. Mute sounds by pressing their pads, and mute groups of the current group bank by pressing their group buttons. Press button 3 and 4 to switch to the previous/next group bank, respectively. In both solo and mute modes you will note the following: ▪ on your controller, the unmuted pads and group bu...

Page 242

The groove properties for a sound in the software. The groove properties for a sound on the controller. Controls description swing section amount adjusts the amount of swing, i.E. The amount by which some events are shifted. At 0 % events are not shifted. Raise the amount value to increase the stren...

Page 244

Volume and velocity shortcuts the volume button. In pad mode, keyboard mode or chords mode: 1. Press the volume [velocity] button. 2. To change the output level of the master (i.E. The overall output level of maschine), sim- ply turn the 4-d encoder. 3. To change the output level of a group, hold it...

Page 246

1. To change the position of a selected step in step mode, hold its pad and turn the 4-d en- coder. → the adjusted value is temporarily shown on the left display. To adjust the value in finer increments, press and turn the 4-d encoder (or hold shift while you turn it). These shortcuts control the am...

Page 248

You can also use the tap button to adjust the current tempo: ► press the tempo button and turn the 4-d encoder to quickly adjust the tempo of your project. Press and turn the 4-d encoder (or hold shift while you turn it) to adjust the value in finer increments when the tempo button is enabled. These...

Page 250

The control signal flow—pads in group mode the following diagram illustrates signal flow between your hits on the pads in group mode and the resulting sounds: the signal flow including the perform features (note repeat, choke group, and link group) when your pads are in group mode. In this picture y...

Page 252

▪ of course, if a sound slot contains a komplete instrument providing control notes (e.G., key switches) on particular keys, these notes will not be triggered by the scale and chord engine. Available scales the scale engine is controlled via two parameters: ▪ root note (c3 by default): defines both ...

Page 254

◦ chord set: this special mode maps a set of chords onto the first 12 pads of your con- troller. These chords are not bound to any scale type, they are only affected by the se- lected root note. Use the chord type parameter to choose a particular set of chords to be mapped onto the pads (see below)....

Page 256

Note that if chord mode is set to harmonizer, pads triggered as part of the chord will also flash. When chord mode is set to chord set, pad 1 is fully lit: type of pad led in default state led when pad triggered pad 1 fully lit flash pads 2–12 dimly lit flash pads 13–16 off (pad inactive) enharmonic...

Page 258

▪ the note repeat / arp engine detects and makes use of any changes in the pressure you apply on each single pad you hold (polyphonic aftertouch). This allows you to generate ar- peggios and repeated notes with varying velocities! ▪ the output of the note repeat / arp engine is recorded into the pat...

Page 260

Element description gate reset (button 4) press this button at any time to reset the gate parameter to its default value of 100% . Button 5–8 selects between four different presets, even during playing. Each preset can store particular values for the type ; rate , unit , sequence , and octaves param...

Page 262

The applied swing is not recorded in the pattern editor. For an overview of the signal flow starting from your pads, have a look at the diagrams in section ↑ 5.5.1, overview of the perform features . For example, when you play live beats on top of a running pattern, you can use note repeat without d...

Page 264

3. Select the pad containing the snapshot you want to update. If necessary, press button 7 or 8 to access a lock snapshot from another bank. ⇨ the selected snapshot will illuminate to indicate it is in focus. 4. Press the lock button to exit extended lock view. 5. Adjust the settings on your control...

Page 266

5. Press the pad containing the snapshot you want to clear. The snapshot is cleared. 5.6.7 triggering lock snapshots via midi if maschine is running as a plug-in in a host environment, you can trigger and change lock snapshots using midi note or midi program change messages sent from your host to th...

Page 268

5. Then select midi note to trigger your lock snapshots via midi notes, or program change to trigger your lock snapshots via midi program change messages. 6. If necessary, reopen the same submenu and select the midi channel the lock changes should receive midi messages from (channel 1 by default). M...

Page 270

1. Press the plug-in button. 2. Select the channel you want to apply the effect by selecting master , group , or sound buttons 1–3 respectively. 3. Open the perform fx page on the controller by pressing shift + perform . 4. Select a perform fx mode from the mode menu by turning knob 1, and letting g...

Page 272

The control area displaying the content of the sound kick ordinance of the selected sound slot 1. Sounds, groups, and the master can each hold any number of plug-ins. These are stacked up in the plug-in list, on the left of the control area. Working with plug-ins plug-in overview maschine - manual -...

Page 274

Instrument plug-ins effect plug-ins internal plug-ins sampler, drumsynths maschine internal effects native instruments plug-ins vst/au instrument plug-ins from native instruments’ range of products vst/au effect plug-ins from native instruments’ range of products external plug-ins third-party vst/au...

Page 276

Area above. The control area will now show the content (channel properties or plug-ins) of the sound we have just selected. 2. At the far left of the control area, click the little plug icon to display the plug-ins. This displays the plug-in list on the left of the control area: the plug-in list is ...

Page 278

A few plug-ins loaded. This down-pointing arrow lets you open the plug-in menu for slots already hosting a plug-in. ► in the plug-in list, click the down-pointing arrow at the right of a plug-in name to open the plug-in menu for that slot. You can also right-click ([ctrl]-click on macos) the plug-in...

Page 280

Plug-in menu entry description native instruments submenu lists available native instruments’ instruments (first plug-in slot of sounds only) and effects. For products working both as instrument and effect, the effect plug-in name is followed by the mention fx. If necessary each entry is followed by...

Page 282

→ the focus slot can be selected from the browser. 6.1.3.2 loading, removing, and replacing a plug-in on your controller on the controller, do the following: 1. At the top left of your controller, press the plug-in button to enter control mode and dis- play the plug-in slots of the selected sound, g...

Page 284

Replacing a plug-in ► to replace a plug-in, simply select its slot and load a new plug-in as described above. You can also recall the search query that was used to find the plug-in preset currently loaded in the plug-in slot (see section ↑ 3.8, using quick browse for more information). 6.1.4 adjusti...

Page 286

4. If you want to bypass a plug-in of a sound, press button 3 to select the sound tab, se- lect its parent group as described in the previous step, and press select + the pad of that sound (or simply hit its pad if pads are in group mode). 5. Press button 5/6 to select the desired plug-in slot. The ...

Page 288

5. In the plug-in menu that opens, select paste. → the plug-in with all its parameters has now been moved from its original location to its target location. Duplicating plug-ins across sounds and groups instead of selecting cut in the plug-in menu of the original slot (see above), select copy to du-...

Page 290

The commands for saving and recalling plug-in presets in the plug-in menu. Plug-in menu entry description save saves your changes to the preset currently loaded. Save as… saves the current plug-in settings as a new preset on your hard disk. Save as default… saves the current settings and assignments...

Page 292

2. Click the plug-in drop-down menu. 3. Click remove default preset in the menu to remove the default preset. → the default plug-in preset is removed and the plug-in will load with its initialized settings next time it is opened. You can also use the plug-in manager in the preferences panel to gain ...

Page 294

6.2.1 page 1: voice settings / engine sampler parameters – page 1 of 6: voice settings and engine on the controller. Sampler parameters – page 1 of 6: voice settings and engine in the software. Parameter description voice settings polyphony here you can define a voice limit for the sound, that is th...

Page 296

Sampler parameters – page 2 of 6: pitch / gate and amplitude envelope in the software. Parameter description pitch / gate tune defines the basic pitch of your sample: turn the knob to the right for a higher pitch and to the left for a lower pitch. Start determines the start point of the sample. This...

Page 298

Parameter description amplitude envelope attack (ahd and adsr) attack determines how quickly the sound reaches full volume after being triggered. Hold (ahd only) hold determines how long the envelope will stay at its maximum level. Decay (ahd and adsr) decay determines how fast the envelope drops to...

Page 300

Filter modes description bp2 bp2 is a band-pass filter with a cutoff parameter. Cutoff can be modulated by velocity, the modulation envelope, the lfo or the midi modulation wheel. Hp2 hp2 is a high-pass filter with cutoff and resonance parameters. Cutoff can be modulated by velocity, the modulation ...

Page 302

Parameter modulation destination drive drive parameter of the fx section on the fx / filter page (page 3). Pan pan parameter on the audio page of the sound’s output properties (see ↑ 8.1.2, configuring the main output of sounds and groups for more information). 6.2.5 page 5: lfo sampler parameters –...

Page 304

6.2.6 page 6: velocity / modwheel sampler parameters – page 6 of 6: velocity destination and modwheel destination on the controller. Sampler parameters – page 6 of 6: velocity destination and modwheel destination in the software. Velocity destination this section allows you to use the input velocity...

Page 306

6.3 using native instruments and external plug-ins maschine allows you to load vst/au plug-ins from native instruments (native instruments plug-ins) or any third-party manufacturer (external plug-ins) and to use them like the ma- schine internal plug-ins. As with internal plug-ins, the following rul...

Page 308

You can also close any floating window via the common button provided by your operat- ing system at the top left or right corner of the window. Maschine will always show the open floating windows of the focused sound, group or master when selected. When you set the focus to another sound, group or t...

Page 310

▪ the current state of the plug-in parameters can be saved to the browser as a preset for to- tal recall of the plug-in (see section ↑ 6.1.9, saving and recalling plug-in presets for more on this). An auto-mapped parameter page of the massive plug-in in the software. An auto-mapped parameter page of...

Page 312

3. Click the pages tab in the left part of the assignment area: → the pages tab lights up and the pages pane appears on its right. You are now ready to assign parameters to the parameter pages. The pages tab can be clicked only for native instruments or external plug-ins and for the macro properties...

Page 314

Parameter slots - context menu when the assignment area is opened and the pages tab is selected, a right-click on an as- signed or unassigned parameter slot’s label brings up a context menu. The parameter slots’ context menu. The context menu contains following items: menu item description keyboard ...

Page 316

Accessing factory presets of native instruments’ instruments/effects accessing factory presets of your native instruments instruments and effects is straightfor- ward: factory presets of all native instruments instruments/effects installed on your computer are already integrated into the maschine li...

Page 318

Saving vst/au presets as maschine plug-in presets once you have loaded a vst/au preset (user preset of a native instruments instrument/effect or any preset of a third-party vst/au instrument or effect) using the method described above, you can save it as a plug-in preset in maschine via the save as…...

Page 320

In every scene of your project you can choose for each group which of its patterns has to be played. In each scene the pattern you have chosen will be referenced by a clip (more on this in chapter ↑ 13.6.3, saturator ). 7.1.1 pattern editor overview the pattern editor is the all-in-one pattern editi...

Page 322

(10) midi and audio dragger: the midi dragger and the audio dragger allow you to conveniently drag and drop midi or audio from your patterns to your desktop or host software, respectively. See section ↑ 7.8.1, exporting audio from patterns and ↑ 7.8.2, exporting midi from patterns for more informati...

Page 324

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 the pattern arrange mode in the controller displays: keyboard view (top) and group view (bottom). In pattern arrange mode, the displays of your controller show the following: ▪ the left display provides an overview of the whole pattern: ◦ the display follows the group or keyboard vie...

Page 326

▪ press button 4 ( duplicate ) to duplicate the pattern (see section ↑ 7.7.8, duplicating, copying, and pasting patterns ). ▪ press button 3 ( double ) to double the pattern (see section ↑ 7.4.9, doubling a pattern ). See also 2 following the playback position in the pattern [➙ 327] 7.1.2 navigating...

Page 328

► to follow the playhead position in the event area during playback, click the follow button in the maschine header. → the follow button lights up in the maschine header. The event area will now switch to the next pattern portion (with the same zoom factor) as soon as the playhead reaches the end of...

Page 330

Depending on the playback state, the following will happen: ▪ if playback is off, the playhead jumps to the closest step before your mouse cursor, accord- ing to the current step grid settings. If the step grid is disabled, the playhead jumps to the exact position you have clicked. For more informat...

Page 332

In keyboard view, the pattern editor shows all notes for a particular sound. If you select another sound slot in the sound list on the left, the whole event area will switch to the notes for that sound. On the left of the event area, a vertical piano roll indicates the note corresponding to each row...

Page 334

Adjusting the pattern length you can adjust the length of your patterns to fit your needs. The pattern length is measured in bars and beats, and patterns can be up to 256 bars long. When you create a new empty pat- tern (see ↑ 7.7.3, creating patterns ), the pattern has the default length as defined...

Page 336

→ the selected value is highlighted on the right display and the corresponding pad turns fully lit. To disable the arrange grid, simply select the off value in the top right corner: ► to disable the pattern grid, hold shift + grid , press button 3 ( arrange ), then press pad 16 ( off ). You don’t ne...

Page 338

The step size menu lets you adjust the step grid resolution. ► to select the step size that will apply to all your editing actions, click the value next to the grid icon at the bottom left of the pattern editor and choose the desired step size from the drop-down menu. Values range from 1 bar to 1/12...

Page 340

2. Press button 4 ( step ) to access the step and nudge grid settings. The right display will show you which pad represents a resolution: 3. Select a step size by pressing the corresponding pad. Alternatively you can repeatedly press button 5–8 to successively select each of the resolutions in the c...

Page 342

Recording a pattern: press play then rec and hit some pads! 1. Press play to start the sequencer. The play button lights up. 2. Press rec to begin recording. The rec button lights up. 3. Now hit the pads you want to record and listen to what happens. Each hit will create an event in the pattern edit...

Page 344

▪ if a pattern is already selected (i.E. Loaded in the pattern editor), the events are recorded in that pattern. This is also true if the playhead of the arranger currently is within an auto- matic repetition of the pattern. ▪ if no pattern is selected, engaging record (in overdub or replace mode) a...

Page 346

► click the metronome icon in the maschine header to enable/disable the metronome: the metronome can be heard only when the sequencer is playing! The metronome signal is sent to the cue bus. To know how to use the cue bus, see section ↑ 9.2.6, using the cue bus . You can customize the metronome in v...

Page 348

If the current loop range does not start at the beginning of a bar (i.E. On a downbeat), the count-in phase will start with a downbeat, count the selected duration (1, 2 or 4 bars), and then add the offset between the beginning of the bar in which the beginning of the loop range is placed and the ac...

Page 350

The left display shows your entire pattern, and the right display focuses on the portion of the pattern corresponding to the steps controlled by your pads. The details shown in the displays depend on the current mode of your pads: ▪ if your pads are in group mode: ◦ the left display shows events for...

Page 352

1. Press and hold for a second the pad(s) of the step(s) you want to edit. If you want to ad- just the last step you have created, you can skip this step: the last created event is auto- matically selected. You can also use the 4-d encoder or the page buttons left of the dis- plays to quickly select...

Page 354

The page button (left of the displays) to select the parameter page containing the parame- ter you want to record modulation for. Only parameters that can be modulated will appear at the bottom of the displays. 3. While holding the pad(s), turn any of the knobs 1–8 under the displays to edit the mod...

Page 356

Action function creating notes (see ↑ 7.4.2, creating events/notes for details) double-click in event area’s background creates note deleting notes (see ↑ 7.4.5, deleting events/notes for details) double-click note delete selected notes right-click (macos: [ctrl]-click) delete selected notes selecti...

Page 358

Mouse in erase mode with erase mode enabled, the mouse works like an eraser: ► click and hold the left mouse button down to erase notes wherever you move the cursor. Contrary to paint mode, in erase mode notes are always deleted, no matter if you first click a note or in the background of the event ...

Page 360

Selecting all events you can select all events displayed in the event area via the usual keyboard shortcut on your operating system: ► click anywhere in the event area and press [ctrl] + [a] ([cmd] + [a] on macos) on your computer keyboard to select all displayed events. → if the pattern editor is i...

Page 362

Selection tool description pads unlit pads indicate sounds for which the pattern has no events. Nothing happens when you press them. Dimmed pads indicate sounds for which events can be selected: press any dimmed pad to add all events for that sound to the selection. The pad turns fully lit to indica...

Page 364

Selection tool description pads unlit pads indicate pitches at which the pattern has no notes. Nothing happens when you press them. Dimmed pads indicate pitches at which notes can be selected: press any dimmed pad to add all notes at that pitch to the selection. The pad turns fully lit to indicate t...

Page 366

If you perform any of the actions listed above on a note not included in the current selection, the selection is dropped and the note you are editing will be the only note affected by your edit. Maschine also provides an exhaustive set of keyboard shortcuts to edit your events! For a detailed list p...

Page 368

The event edit mode on the controller with pads in group mode. ▪ the left display shows an overview of the events in your pattern for all sounds in the group. ▪ the right display shows a detailed view of a portion of your pattern with events and their velocities for the focused sound. If your pads a...

Page 370

Editing tool description knob 3 ( velocity ) adjusts the velocity of the selected events. If the events have different velocities, the velocities differences are retained as long as the limits (0 and 127) are not reached. If one event only is selected, its velocity is shown under velocity . If sever...

Page 372

Mouse in erase mode ► to delete an event, simply click it. Click and hold the mouse anywhere in the event area and move the cursor to quickly delete series of events. Deleting events/notes on the controller your controller provides you with several tools to delete events from the current pattern. Qu...

Page 374

▪ the jumps are based on the step size, that is on the step grid setting. See section ↑ 7.1.7, adjusting the step grid and the nudge grid for more information. The command has the same effect whether your pads are in group mode or in keyboard mode. 7.4.6 cut, copy, and paste events/notes you can als...

Page 376

◦ if you have changed the sound focus without changing the playhead position, events are inserted at the same timings as the original events. In group view the events cop- ied from the topmost sound in the sound list are pasted onto the focused sound, and the other events will retain their vertical ...

Page 378

Quantize and quantize 50% in the pattern editor context menu. To apply full or half quantization using the maschine software: 1. Select the events in the pattern editor you want to quantize. If nothing is selected, the whole pattern will be quantized. 2. To apply full quantization to the selected ev...

Page 380

Choosing an input quantization mode in the software the input quantization can be configured via the quantize setting available in the input section at the bottom of the general page in the preferences panel: ► click the quantize menu and select the desired input quantization mode from the three mod...

Page 382

Element description velocity lo adjust notes with a velocity no lower than the set value. Velocity hi adjust notes with a velocity no higher than the set value. Time shift step set the amount of time shift per step. The value is applied to all notes and will move them randomly in both plus and minus...

Page 384

Element description notes (keyboard mode) equal : notes will be evenly distributed across the pattern in accordance with the step grid. Gauss : notes are more is likely to be distributed to the middle part of the note range. ½ gauss : notes are more likely to be distributed to the middle and lower p...

Page 386

7.5.1 which parameters are modulatable? All the modulatable parameters are found in plug-ins or channel properties (e.G., you cannot modulate the pattern length or the step grid resolution). This means that all modulatable pa- rameters are found in a parameter page of the control area (when the soft...

Page 388

► to remove the entire modulation for a knob, simply right-click (on macos: [ctrl]+click) its outer ring. You can also create and edit modulation tracks directly in the control lane. See section ↑ 7.2.2, the record prepare mode for more information. To modulate a parameter with the controller: 1. Fi...

Page 390

▪ the left part shows the modulator list showing all parameters currently modulated in the focused sound or group. Click any entry to display the modulation track for that parameter on the right. Click the “ + ” symbol at the end of the list to add a modulation track for an- other parameter (see bel...

Page 392

Adding a modulation track as soon as you record modulation for a new parameter in the software or from your controller, a new modulation track is automatically created and contains your recorded movements in form of modulation points. But you can also create a new modulation track from scratch in th...

Page 394

Removing a modulation track ► to remove a modulation track, hover its entry in the modulator list with the mouse and click the little cross that appears on its right. → the modulation track and its entry in the modulator list are removed from the modula- tion pane for all patterns. The parameter is ...

Page 396

You will notice that one midi track is always present in the midi pane: the velocity track. This track holds the velocities for all the events for the focused sound in the pat- tern. You cannot delete the velocity track. Removing a midi track ► to remove a midi track, hover its entry in the list of ...

Page 398

Closing the pattern manager ► to close the pattern manager, click anywhere outside it. The pattern mode on your controller the pattern mode is where you select and manage your patterns. ► to enter pattern mode on your controller, press and hold pattern (you can pin it by pressing button 1 at the sam...

Page 400

→ the selected pattern is loaded in the pattern editor and its events appear in the event area. Furthermore, this pattern is referenced by a clip for the selected group in the cur- rent scene in the arranger. This clip replaces any previous clip for the group in that scene (see chapter ↑ 14.3, using...

Page 402

→ a new empty pattern is created in the selected pattern slot. The new pattern is loaded in the pattern editor with an empty event area. Furthermore, this pattern is referenced by a clip for the selected group in the current scene in the arranger. This clip replaces any previous clip for the group i...

Page 404

2. Press button 7 and 8 to select the desired pattern bank. 3. Press the pad corresponding to the pattern you want to delete. 4. Press button 6 ( delete ). → the pattern is deleted. Alternate method 1. Press and hold pattern to enter pattern mode. 2. Press button 7 and 8 to select the desired patter...

Page 406

If the patterns of the deleted pattern bank were referenced by clips in the arranger, these clips will be removed as well! 7.7.6 naming patterns you can replace the patterns’ default names with custom names of your own. This can be done in the pattern editor, in the pattern manager or in the arrange...

Page 408

1. Double-click any clip referencing the pattern you want to name. The clip turns to a text field and waits for your input. 2. Type a name and press [enter] on your computer keyboard to confirm. → the pattern is renamed. All clips referencing this pattern will mirror the new pattern name. If you use...

Page 410

2. If necessary, select the pattern bank containing the desired pattern by clicking its pad grid on the right. The selected pattern bank is surrounded by a white border and its patterns appear in the list on the left. 3. Right-click ([ctrl]-click on macos) the pattern slot or the corresponding cell ...

Page 412

→ the pattern is copied to the target pad. The target pad starts flashing and you can further copy/paste it to other slots! This procedure has following benefits: ▪ you can paste the copy into the pattern slot of your choice — empty or not. If the target pattern slot already contains a pattern, it w...

Page 414

→ pressing shift temporarily allows the pattern length to be adjusted in finer increments according to the value of the step grid. 7.8 importing/exporting audio and midi to/from patterns in the pattern editor you can quickly export midi and audio from patterns and import midi to patterns via drag an...

Page 416

You can export midi files using two methods: via drag-and-drop or via the group/sound con- text menu. Exporting midi via drag-and-drop you can render the selected pattern to a midi file by simply dragging it onto the target location on your operating system or directly into a midi channel of your ho...

Page 418