Native Instruments MASCHINE Manual

[Page 1] Native Instruments Maschine

MANUAL ...

[Page 2] Native Instruments Maschine

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 document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other ...

[Page 3] Native Instruments Maschine

NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH Schlesische Str. 29‐30 D‐10997 Berlin Germany www.native-instruments.de NATIVE INSTRUMENTS North America, Inc. 6725 Sunset Boulevard 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90028 USA www.native-instruments.com NATIVE INSTRUMENTS K.K...

[Page 4] Native Instruments Maschine

Table of Contents 1 Welcome to MASCHINE .................................................................................................. 25 1.1 MASCHINE Documentation ..................................................................................

[Page 5] Native Instruments Maschine

2.4 Native Kontrol Standard .................................................................................................... 57 2.5 Stand‐Alone and Plug‐in Mode ................................................................................

[Page 6] Native Instruments Maschine

3.1.1 The MASCHINE Library ................................................................................. 96 3.1.2 Browsing the Library vs. Browsing Your Hard Disks ....................... 97 3.2 Searching and Loading Files from the Libr...

[Page 7] Native Instruments Maschine

3.5 Editing the Files’ Tags and Properties .........................................................................135 3.5.1 Attribute Editor Basics ..................................................................................135 3....

[Page 8] Native Instruments Maschine

4.2.4 Changing the Sound’s Color .......................................................................168 4.2.5 Saving Sounds ..................................................................................................169 4.2.6 ...

[Page 9] Native Instruments Maschine

5.1.1 The Pad View in the Software ....................................................................204 5.1.2 Choosing a Pad Input Mode ........................................................................206 5.1.3 Adjusting the Bas...

[Page 10] Native Instruments Maschine

5.6.5 Morphing Between Lock Snapshots ........................................................242 5.6.6 Deleting a Lock Snapshot ............................................................................242 5.6.7 Triggering Lock Snapsho...

[Page 11] Native Instruments Maschine

6.2.5 Page 5: LFO ........................................................................................................275 6.2.6 Page 6: Velocity / Modwheel ......................................................................277 6.3 Us...

[Page 12] Native Instruments Maschine

8.2.4 Kick – Grit ............................................................................................................309 8.2.5 Kick – Rasper ...........................................................................................

[Page 13] Native Instruments Maschine

8.5 The Toms ................................................................................................................................. 348 8.5.1 Tom – Tronic ...............................................................................

[Page 14] Native Instruments Maschine

10.1.6 Adjusting the Arrange Grid and the Pattern Length ........................388 10.1.7 Adjusting the Step Grid and the Nudge Grid ......................................391 10.2 Recording Patterns in Real Time .............................

[Page 15] Native Instruments Maschine

10.5 Recording and Editing Modulation ................................................................................ 436 10.5.1 Which Parameters Are Modulatable? .....................................................437 10.5.2 Recording Mo...

[Page 16] Native Instruments Maschine

11.1.2 Configuring the Main Output of Sounds and Groups .....................484 11.1.3 Setting Up Auxiliary Outputs for Sounds and Groups ....................489 11.1.4 Configuring the Master and Cue Outputs of MASCHINE ..............493...

[Page 17] Native Instruments Maschine

12.2.4 Managing Your Channels in the Mixer ...................................................541 12.2.5 Adjusting Settings in the Channel Strips ..............................................542 12.2.6 Using the Cue Bus ....................

[Page 18] Native Instruments Maschine

13.3.2 Step 2: Route Audio to the Send Effect ................................................590 13.3.3 A Few Notes on Send Effects ....................................................................592 13.4 Creating Multi‐Effects ........

[Page 19] Native Instruments Maschine

14.4.3 Reflex ....................................................................................................................630 14.4.4 Reverb (Legacy) ........................................................................................

[Page 20] Native Instruments Maschine

14.7.7 Tremolo ................................................................................................................669 14.7.8 Scratcher .................................................................................................

[Page 21] Native Instruments Maschine

15.3.2 Creating Sections ............................................................................................702 15.3.3 Assigning a Scene to a Section .................................................................703 15.3.4 Sel...

[Page 22] Native Instruments Maschine

16 Sampling and Sample Mapping ...................................................................................730 16.1 Opening the Sample Editor ..............................................................................................730 ...

[Page 23] Native Instruments Maschine

16.5.4 Selecting and Editing Zones in the Map View .....................................784 16.5.5 Editing Zones in the Sample View ............................................................788 16.5.6 Adjusting the Zone Settings ..........

[Page 24] Native Instruments Maschine

17.3.3 Load Long Audio Files and Play with the Start Point .......................802 18 Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................803 18.1 Knowledge Base ......

[Page 25] Native Instruments Maschine

1 Welcome to MASCHINE Thank you for buying MASCHINE! MASCHINE is a groove production studio that implements the familiar working style of classical groove boxes along with the advantages of a computer based system. MASCHINE is ideal f...

[Page 26] Native Instruments Maschine

2. MASCHINE Manual (this document): The MASCHINE Manual provides you with a compre‐ hensive description of all MASCHINE software and hardware features. Additional documentation sources provide you with details on more specific topics: ▪ Controlle...

[Page 27] Native Instruments Maschine

1.2 Document Conventions This section introduces you to the signage and text highlighting used in this manual. This manual uses particular formatting to point out special facts and to warn you of potential issues. The icons introduci...

[Page 28] Native Instruments Maschine

→ Results of actions are introduced by this smaller arrow. Naming Convention Throughout the documentation we will refer to MASCHINE controller (or just controller) as the hardware controller and MASCHINE software as the software installed on your c...

[Page 29] Native Instruments Maschine

For better reference, we applied a special formatting here: throughout the document, the ele‐ ments are capitalized and numbered, so the buttons above the displays are written Button 1 to Button 8, while the knobs under the displays ar...

[Page 30] Native Instruments Maschine

▪ Hardware Preferences on MASCHINE MK3 have been introduced which replicate the Gen‐ eral, Audio, MIDI and Hardware software Preference panel pages. These are now available di‐ rect from the MASCHINE MK3 controller using the SETTINGS button. Fo...

[Page 31] Native Instruments Maschine

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 con‐ nect MIDI devices. Before reading...

[Page 32] Native Instruments Maschine

Project A Project contains all data needed for a song: Groups with their Patterns, all Scenes and all set‐ tings, modulation, effects, routings, Sounds and Samples. It’s like a snapshot of the entire state of MASCHINE. Please read the MASCHINE Ge...

[Page 33] Native Instruments Maschine

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 ...

[Page 34] Native Instruments Maschine

tem also allows you to create send effects, multi‐effects, and side‐chains. For more details on us‐ ing effects in MASCHINE, refer to chapter ↑13, Using Effects. You will find an exhaustive de‐ scription of all internal effects incl...

[Page 35] Native Instruments Maschine

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 ...

[Page 36] Native Instruments Maschine

For more information about Ideas view and Arranger view see ↑15.3, Using Arranger View. Switching between Ideas View and Arranger View using the Controller On your controller: 1. Press NAVIGATE + Button 2 IDEAS to access the Ideas view. 2. ...

[Page 37] Native Instruments Maschine

2.2.4 Minimizing the Mixer When MASCHINE is in Mix view, you can minimize/maximize the Mixer in the top part of the MA‐ SCHINE window: ► Click the arrow button at the bottom left of the Mixer to show and hide the channel details in the Mixer. M...

[Page 38] Native Instruments Maschine

Click the arrow button at the bottom left of the Pattern Editor to show/hide the Control Lane. 2.3 Common Operations This sections introduces a few very common operations in MASCHINE you will encounter in nu‐ merous situations. 2.3.1 Pinning a Mo...

[Page 39] Native Instruments Maschine

But in some situations you might want to release the mode button of a temporary mode without leaving that mode, e.g., to free your hand and tweak other controls more easily. For this purpose, MASCHINE lets you pin (or “lock”) temporary modes so t...

[Page 40] Native Instruments Maschine

2.3.3 Undo/Redo Undoing and re‐doing your last actions can be useful to cancel operations you have performed or to compare two versions before and after a change. You can undo nearly everything you did after loading or creating your Project. Note...

[Page 41] Native Instruments Maschine

Take Undo/Redo is the default undo/redo in MASCHINE. In the software use the common key‐ board shortcuts for the Undo and Redo functions: ► To cancel your last group of actions, press [Ctrl]+[Z] ([Cmd]+[Z] on macOS). To re‐execute your last gro...

[Page 42] Native Instruments Maschine

Setting the focus on a Sound or Group is slightly different than selecting it: The focus defines what will be displayed, whereas the selection defines what will be affected by your edits. Note that a focused Sound/Group is always selecte...

[Page 43] Native Instruments Maschine

The focused Group is highlighted and the Pattern Editor show its content. If the desired Group does not appear in the Group List, use the scroll bar at the right end of the Arranger or turn your mouse wheel while hovering the Arranger to display any ...

[Page 44] Native Instruments Maschine

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 d...

[Page 45] Native Instruments Maschine

If the desired Sound does not appear in the Sound List, use the scroll bar at the right end of the Pattern Editor or turn your mouse wheel while hovering the Pattern Editor to display any hidden Sounds. You can also select multiple Sounds at once t...

[Page 46] Native Instruments Maschine

Once the Sound is focused you can use Button 1–3 above the left display to quickly switch be‐ tween the Master, the containing Group and the focused Sound! See section ↑2.3.5, Switching Between the Master, Group, and Sound Level for more inform...

[Page 47] Native Instruments Maschine

→ The selected tab lights up. The name of your Project, the focused Group or the focused Sound appears on the left display (under the MASTER, GROUP, and SOUND tabs), and the displays show the Plug‐in parameters and Channel properties of ...

[Page 48] Native Instruments Maschine

trol area, showing a square of four buttons representing the various sets of Channel prop‐ erties available for the selected Sound, Group or the Master: 2. Click the desired button (Input, Output, Groove, or Macro) in the Channel Property selector ...

[Page 49] Native Instruments Maschine

If the Plug‐in List only shows a “+” sign, it means that there are no Plug‐ins loaded in this Sound, Group or the Master. Clicking the “+” sign allows you to load a new Plug‐in: see section ↑6.1.3, Loading, Removing, and Repla...

[Page 50] Native Instruments Maschine

Adjusting the Parameters In the Parameter area, each parameter includes a control element and a label. Following types of control elements are available: Element Action Knob: Click the knob and drag your mouse vertically to change the param‐ eter v...

[Page 51] Native Instruments Maschine

3. Press Button 5 (CHANNEL) to display the Channel properties or Button 6 (PLUG-IN) to dis‐ play the Plug‐in slots of the selected Sound, Group or the Master. 4. Press Button 7/8 to navigate the Channel properties or Plug‐ins (the name of the s...

[Page 52] Native Instruments Maschine

6. Use Knobs 1–8 under the displays to adjust the value of the parameters available on the se‐ lected page. For continuous parameters, hold SHIFT while turning the Knobs to adjust the values in finer increments. The displays showing the AUDIO pag...

[Page 53] Native Instruments Maschine

8. Release NAVIGATE to get back to Control mode (or press NAVIGATE a second time if you pinned the Navigate mode). → The selected Parameter page now appears on the displays. Extended Navigate Mode on Your Controller The Navigate mode on your contro...

[Page 54] Native Instruments Maschine

Action Shortcut Follow Song Press Button 8 (FOLLOW) Timeline Zoom in/out (Arranger view only) Turn Knob 1 or press pad 14/10 Timeline Scroll left/right (Arranger view only) Turn Knob 2 or press pad 9/11 Pattern Editor Zoom in/out Turn Knob 5 or press...

[Page 55] Native Instruments Maschine

► To access another page with the Page Bank press Buttons 7 and 8. The pages for the selected bank are displayed in the software and the controller. ► To access Page Navigation mode press NAVIGATE + SHIFT + Button 2. → When Page Navigate mode i...

[Page 56] Native Instruments Maschine

A controller not connected to any MASCHINE software instance can be used in MIDI mode (i.e. as a MIDI controller) at the same time as the other controller(s). See the Controller Editor Manual for more information on MIDI mode. You can choose which co...

[Page 57] Native Instruments Maschine

▪ MASCHINE STUDIO controller: Press SHIFT + PLUG‐IN, turn the jog wheel to select the de‐ sired instance, and press the jog wheel or Button 8 to load it. ▪ MASCHINE (MK1 & MK2) controller: Press SHIFT + STEP, turn Knob 8 (or press Butto...

[Page 58] Native Instruments Maschine

Installing KONTAKT Instruments with NKS Support Third‐party developers of KONTAKT instruments provide you with a folder that contains all in‐ strument files, including presets and samples. Instead of running an installer, this folder needs ...

[Page 59] Native Instruments Maschine

2.5 Stand-Alone and Plug-in Mode You can run the MASCHINE software as a stand‐alone application or integrate it into your favor‐ ite host by loading it as a plug‐in. The MASCHINE software is available in the VST, Audio Unit, and AAX plug‐in...

[Page 60] Native Instruments Maschine

On the contrary, When MASCHINE is used as a plug‐in within a host application, the communica‐ tion with your audio and MIDI interfaces is managed by the host — the MASCHINE plug‐in only communicates with the host. Native Instruments’ Online...

[Page 61] Native Instruments Maschine

Click the Connect button to connect the controller to that instance. Switching Instances using the Controller To switch from one MASCHINE instance to another: ▪ Press SHIFT + STEP. ▪ Turn Knob 5 (or press Button 5/6) to select the desired instanc...

[Page 62] Native Instruments Maschine

Preferences… in the File menu of the Application Menu Bar (Windows depicted), and in the File submenu of the MASCHINE menu. The following pages are available in the Preferences panel: ▪ General: see ↑2.6.1, Preferences – General Page. ▪ Aud...

[Page 63] Native Instruments Maschine

The Preferences – General page. Setting Description Startup Reload Last Project Click this checkbox to automatically reload the last Project on startup. Recording Audio Basic Concepts Preferences MASCHINE ‐ オペレーション マニュ�...

[Page 64] Native Instruments Maschine

Setting Description Prefer Project Folder If this checkbox is marked, the Samples you record will be put in a subdir‐ ectory of the folder where your Project is saved. If not, your recordings will be saved in the generic Recordings folder in your s...

[Page 65] Native Instruments Maschine

Setting Description Quantize Input Quantize automatically quantizes your input to MASCHINE as you record. Select one of the following Input Quantization modes: None: Input Quantization is disabled. Events you play or record on the pads are not quanti...

[Page 66] Native Instruments Maschine

Preferences – Audio page. Setting Description Interface Driver Select your audio driver from the drop‐down menu. Device Select the available devices if you have more than one audio interface connected. Basic Concepts Preferences MASCHINE ‐ ...

[Page 67] Native Instruments Maschine

Setting Description Status This confirms whether your audio interface is currently running. Sample Rate This displays the selected sample rate of your audio interface. Please re‐ start MASCHINE after changing the sample rate. ASIO Config (Windows o...

[Page 68] Native Instruments Maschine

► To display the MIDI page, click the MIDI tab on the left of the Preferences panel. The Preferences – MIDI page. Basic Concepts Preferences MASCHINE ‐ オペレーション マニュアル ‐ 68 ...

[Page 69] Native Instruments Maschine

Setting Description Sync Mode Click the drop‐down menu to set the MIDI Sync mode preference for MA‐ SCHINE: Off: No MIDI sync mode is selected. Master (Send Clock): If MASCHINE is running as a stand‐alone application, it can also send a MIDI ...

[Page 70] Native Instruments Maschine

The Preferences – Default page. Basic Concepts Preferences MASCHINE ‐ オペレーション マニュアル ‐ 70 ...

[Page 71] Native Instruments Maschine

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...

[Page 72] Native Instruments Maschine

Setting Description Duplicate Select from the drop‐down menu how the Duplicate function in MA‐ SCHINE will operate when duplicating Scenes. Scene Only Only the Scene is duplicated. The result is a new unlinked Scene with the same Patterns referen...

[Page 73] Native Instruments Maschine

Setting Description Sound Default MIDI Input Mode MASCHINE allows you to 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 ...

[Page 74] Native Instruments Maschine

The Preferences panel – the Library page’s Factory pane. The Factory pane displays all factory libraries available. These includes the MASCHINE Factory Li‐ brary, libraries imported from other NI products, as well as installed MASCHINE EXPANSIO...

[Page 75] Native Instruments Maschine

Element Description Location column Displays the path of each library. If you have moved any library to another loca‐ tion on your computer, click the folder icon on the left of that library and select its new path. Product column Displays the name...

[Page 76] Native Instruments Maschine

The Preferences panel – the Library page’s User pane. The User pane displays all user libraries currently in use. This includes the standard MASCHINE user directory as well as any other user directory you might have defined. These libraries will ...

[Page 77] Native Instruments Maschine

Element Description Location column Displays the path of each library. If you have moved any library to another loca‐ tion on your computer, click the folder icon on the left of that library and select its new path. Alias column Displays the alias ...

[Page 78] Native Instruments Maschine

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 panel. You can modify its path in the Location column. Cancelling Library R...

[Page 79] Native Instruments Maschine

▪ If you still want to cancel the scan, click CANCEL RESCAN at the bottom right, and the scan will be cancelled. ▪ If you prefer instead not to cancel the scan, click CONTINUE or press [Esc] on your computer keyboard, and the scan will go on. I...

[Page 80] Native Instruments Maschine

▪ For all file types, any attributes already in the files will be retained. ▪ For Samples, if the product/bank/sub‐bank attributes are empty, they will be set to the fold‐ ers in which the Samples are located: ◦ The product will be set to t...

[Page 81] Native Instruments Maschine

Manager Pane ► To display the Manager pane, click the Manager button at the top of the Plug‐ins page. In the Manager pane of the Plug‐ins page, you can enable/disable VST/AU plug‐ins, rescan their directories, and set default presets for your...

[Page 82] Native Instruments Maschine

The Preferences panel – the Plug‐ins page’s Manager pane. Basic Concepts Preferences MASCHINE ‐ オペレーション マニュアル ‐ 82 ...

[Page 83] Native Instruments Maschine

Element Description Plug‐in column Lists all available VST/AU plug‐ins from the directories specified in the Locations pane (see below). This includes all enabled or disabled 32‐bit VST/AU plug‐ins, when MASCHINE is running in 32‐bit mode o...

[Page 84] Native Instruments Maschine

▪ If this checkbox is disabled (default setting), the AU versions of your Native Instruments plug‐ ins are still listed in the list above but they are disabled (checkbox unchecked): These plug‐ins won’t appear in the Native Instruments ...

[Page 85] Native Instruments Maschine

The Preferences panel – the Plug‐ins page’s Locations pane. The Locations pane also contains the following controls: Element Description Plug‐in column Lists all plug‐in directories used in MASCHINE. Click the folder icon on the left of an ...

[Page 86] Native Instruments Maschine

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...

[Page 87] Native Instruments Maschine

The Preferences panel – Hardware page. Basic Concepts Preferences MASCHINE ‐ オペレーション マニュアル ‐ 87 ...

[Page 88] Native Instruments Maschine

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 MA‐ SCHINE instance: a controller from the MASCHINE family and a KOM‐ PLETE...

[Page 89] Native Instruments Maschine

For more information on the MIDI mode, please refer to the Controller Editor Manual. 2.6.8 Preferences – Colors Page The Colors page enables you to choose default colors for your Scenes, Groups, and Sounds. ► To display the Colors page click th...

[Page 90] Native Instruments Maschine

Setting Description Scene Default Select the default color for your Scenes. In the menu, you can select the desired color from the 16‐color palette or White (default setting). The col‐ or selected as default is highlighted in the menu. If you s...

[Page 91] Native Instruments Maschine

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. ▪ If you connect a MIDI keyboard to the...

[Page 92] Native Instruments Maschine

2.7.2 Sync to External MIDI Clock If MASCHINE is running as a stand‐alone application, it can be controlled externally via MIDI Clock by any device that is capable of sending MIDI Clock. This could be hardware such a...

[Page 93] Native Instruments Maschine

2.7.3 Send MIDI Clock If MASCHINE is running as a stand‐alone application, it can also send a MIDI Clock signal to any device that is capable of receiving MIDI Clock. This could be hardware such as a drum machine, another groovebox, or even anoth...

[Page 94] Native Instruments Maschine

2.8.1 Connecting to a Network Applications that support Ableton Link can join a Link session when connected to the same net‐ work. To enable Link within MASCHINE, simply make sure the computer running MASCHINE is connected to the same loc...

[Page 95] Native Instruments Maschine

▪ MASCHINE will either join an existing Link session or begin a new session. 2. Start MASCHINE’s playback by clicking the play button. ▪ MASCHINE’s playback is now synchronized with the Link timeline. 3. To stop using Link, and leave the sess...

[Page 96] Native Instruments Maschine

3 Browser The Browser is the place where you can organize and categorize all of your Projects, Groups, Sounds, Plug‐in presets, and Samples. This is done by tagging them, which means categorizing them by using keywords. G...

[Page 97] Native Instruments Maschine

Which Files are Included in the MASCHINE Library? The files included in the MASCHINE Library are all MASCHINE‐relevant files found in the folders whose paths are listed in the Library page of the Preferences panel. For more informatio...

[Page 98] Native Instruments Maschine

The LIBRARY pane is described in section ↑3.2, Searching and Loading Files from the Library, and the FILES tab is described in section ↑3.6, Loading and Importing Files from Your File Sys‐ tem. 3.2 Searching and Loading Files from the Library...

[Page 99] Native Instruments Maschine

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 th...

[Page 100] Native Instruments Maschine

(3) Content selector: Click the NI icon (on the left) to select factory content or the User icon (on the right) to select user content instead. Only the files of the content selected here will be displayed in the Result list (8). See section ↑3...