Native Instruments
Native Instruments MASCHINE Mikro MK3
Native Instruments MASCHINE Mikro MK3
Native Instruments Maschine Mikro MK3 or MASCHINE Mikro is a production studio with the benefits of a computer system. MASCHINE Mikro is ideal for creating live music as well as in the studio. The controller has advanced editing functions and software. Creating beats is often not very intuitive with a computer, but with MASCHINE Mikro hardware it is easy and fun: you can freely tap the pads or use the Note Repeat function, build your beats with the step sequencer, just like in a classic drum machine, intuitively combine patterns and change them on the fly to create interesting ideas, use different versions of a song without having to stop the music.
Native Instruments MASCHINE Mikro MK3 can be integrated with any sequencer supporting VST, AU or AAX plug-ins and benefit in almost any software configuration or used as a stand-alone application. MASCHINE Mik ro allows you to use your own material, cut and rearrange loops with ease. But MASCHINE Mikro is much more than a simple groovebox or sampler: it includes, among other things, an inspiring 7-gigabyte library and a sophisticated but easy-to-use tag-based browser with instant access to the sounds you're looking for. What's more, MASCHINE Mikro provides multiple options for manipulating sounds with internal effects and other sound shaping possibilities. You can also control external MIDI hardware and external software devices with a hardware controller when customising the functions of the pads, knob and buttons to suit your needs using the included Controller Editor app.
Understanding MASCHINE Mikro
The basic elements of any MASCHINE Mik ro project are the Sounds. They represent a single instrument, such as a foot, a snare drum or a synth, but also a sample or an audio loop. A set of 16 sounds is called a Group - a perfect example of a Group is a drum kit. Each of the 16 sounds in a Group can be triggered live using pads or sequenced from a schematic. The notes you have recorded and programmed for each Group are stored in Patterns: These are the building blocks of your MASCHINE Mikro project.
Controller and software collaboration
Everything you see on the Maschine Mikro controller is reflected in the MASCHINE software. The 16 pads represent the sounds of the current group, with the number 1 in the bottom left corner. In the software, the same sounds are represented in a vertical list next to the sequencer. If you hit any pad, the corresponding sound is selected.
Maschine Micro overview:
- Browser section: this section contains dedicated buttons that provide access to the latest sections: Projects, Browser and Favourites.
- Edit section: This section contains the Encoder, a multifunctional element used in different contexts with arrow buttons. Three nearby quick edit buttons allow you to adjust the volume, tempo and swing of sounds, groups and project. In Step mode, they allow you to quickly change the speed, position and melody of selected events.
- Performance section: the Smart Strip and the four function buttons above it create a highly versatile and intuitive tool. The NOTE REPEAT button provides access to Note Repeat and Arp functions, while the LOCK button allows you to save and recall snapshots during your set. The Group button provides quick access to each Group when used in conjunction with the eight top pads 9-16.
- Transport section: Start, stop and resume playback, start recording and select tempo simply by pressing the dedicated buttons. Use the SHIFT key to access the secondary functions of your controller.
- Pad section: Access the controller's various modes using the column of mode buttons on the left side of this section. Use the 16 pads to play sounds. Above the pads, Pad Input Mode buttons allow you to select the behaviour of the pads: for example, they can trigger all sounds in their Group, different notes of a single Sound, specific chords of a single Sound, or create and edit events in a step sequencer. In addition to playing sounds, the pads provide access to multiple editing and selection commands depending on the controller mode selected.
- Arranger: The Arranger is a large area located at the top of the MASCHINE window. The Arranger has two views: the ideas view and the song view. This allows the ideas view to develop your ideas independently of the timeline. The song view will allow you to combine Sections (scene references) and arrange them into a song.
- Browser: the Browser is the interface that allows you to access all the elements of your MASCHINE projects: Projects, groups, sounds, instruments and effects presets and samples. Each of these can be stored and labelled in a way that allows easy access to them all.
- MASCHINE Library: the factory libraries of any Native Instruments products installed on your computer. You can also import your files into the Library and tag them as well.
- Effects: MASCHINE contains a wide variety of effects in the form of internal plug-ins. You can also use Native Instruments or third-party VST/AU effects plug-ins. Each sound, each group and master can accommodate any number of effects that can be used as insert effects. Flexible routing also allows you to create send effects, multi-effects and sidechains.
- Events: Events are individual drum beats or notes that make up a pattern. In the Pattern Editor, events are represented visually by rectangles. Depending on the current view in the Pattern Editor, you can see events for all sound slots (Group view) or for selected Sound Slots only (Keyboard view).
- Group: a group contains 16 sound sockets. In addition to the effect plug-ins applied to each Sound person, a Group can have its own insert effect. These affect all sounds in the Group. A Group can also contain any number of Patterns (grouped into banks of 16 Patterns each).
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Ideas View: The Ideas View allows you to experiment with musical ideas without being tied to a timeline or arrangement. You can create Patterns for each Group and combine them into a Scene. Scenes can then be added to sections in the song view to create a larger musical structure.
