11/3/2019 Native Instruments Maschine Mk3
Features: Maschine MK3 is a creative production tool meant to streamline your setup and help you make music fast, both live and in the studio. A versatile machine, NI's Maschine MK3 can be used as a performance instrument and as a MIDI controller for performing your own tracks. ZZounds is an authorized dealer of Native Instruments products. The black Native Instruments MASCHINE MK3 Groove Production Studio is a professional production and performance system, designed for both Mac.
Native Instruments MASCHINE MK3 lets you effortlessly produce beats, melodies, and harmonies with powerful drum synths, premium sounds, an integrated sampler, and more – cutting-edge software meets intuitive hardware for ultra-smooth workflow. The Maschine enhances workflow with a more intuitive user interface and backlit-RGB drum pads for easy programming and sequencing. Maschine is by far the most creative groove production solution – tried and tested in studios and on stages worldwide. A groundbreaking instrument that combines a pattern-based sequencer, professional sampler, effects, a sonically outstanding drum synth, and an incredible sound library.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS macOS 10.12, 10.13, 10.14 (latest update), Intel Core i5, 4GB RAM Windows 7, 8, or 10 (latest Service Pack, 64-bit only), Intel Core i5 or equivalent CPU, 4 GB RAM Additional Requirements. USB 2.0 Port, 9 GB free disk space for MASCHINE software and MASCHINE Library, 33 GB free disk space for KOMPLETE 12 SELECT. An Internet connection and a graphics card which supports OpenGL 2.1 or higher are required to download and activate MASCHINE software. Once installed and activated, all products can be used offline.
ADDITIONAL INFO. Supported Interfaces: Stand-alone, VST2 (64-bit), Audio Units (64-bit), AAX 64, ASIO, CoreAudio, and WASAPI. MASCHINE requires activation: Activate using the serial number on the flyer inside the box. In case of graphics issues, please install the latest drivers for your GPU. This can be necessary even if Windows reports them as up to date. MASCHINE software, MASCHINE Factory Library, and KOMPLETE 12 SELECT are provided as downloads after registration — an Internet connection and a graphics card which supports OpenGL 2.1 or higher are required to download and activate the software. Once installed and activated, all products can be used offline.
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT Width: 320 mm / 12.6″, Length: 301 mm / 11.85″, Height: 41 mm / 1.61″, Weight: 2.2 kg / 4.85 lbs SETUP EXAMPLES MASCHINE fully integrated into a DAW. MASCHINE software delivers advanced MIDI CC control. Create detailed automation lines in your host – MASCHINE stays locked to every tweak, pan, and fader ride. MASCHINE connected to laptop as all-in-one production system with monitors connected to the built-in audio interface. MASCHINE connected to laptop with headphones for beat making or performance on the road. MASCHINE setup for recording with a microphone plugged into the audio interface.
The headphones are plugged into the built-in audio interface for cueing. MASCHINE ready to record an analog synth and a modular synth hooked up via the audio interface’s line inputs. MASCHINE, MASCHINE JAM, and KOMPLETE KONTROL work together perfectly as a unified production ecosystem. MASCHINE connected to one laptop and synced to another running TRAKTOR PRO 2 via Link. MASCHINE fully integrated into a DAW. MASCHINE software delivers advanced MIDI CC control.
Create detailed automation lines in your host – MASCHINE stays locked to every tweak, pan, and fader ride. MASCHINE connected to laptop as all-in-one production system with monitors connected to the built-in audio interface. Control your DAW’s Solo, Record-enable, window selection, Play, Stop, and Record functions. Manage markers and punch in and out with a footswitch (not included). The FaderPort makes it fast and easy. You can even create your own custom key mappings.
And if you use PreSonus’ award-winning Studio One® DAW software, your FaderPort will be automatically recognized and can be used to tweak virtually any plug-in parameter. PreSonus FaderPort has been tested and approved to work with the following software: Native Mode:. Ableton Live (all versions, using MIDI Learn). Apple Logic Express/Logic Pro 7, 8, 9, X. Cakewalk Sonar 6, 7, 8, X1, X2, X3, Platinum. Magix Samplitude Pro.
Magix Sequoia 10, 11, 12, 13. PreSonus® Studio One® (all versions).
Reaper 4, 5. Steinberg Cubase SX3 and Cubase (all versions; 64-bit Mac must use HUI). Steinberg Nuendo (all versions; 64-bit Mac must use HUI). An efficient, single-screen interface houses an unlimited number of tracks, intuitive editing tools, and advanced virtual instruments. Spend your precious time creating music instead of wondering what to click next.
Studio One doesn’t dictate how you work or what you work on. Studio One® 4 was designed with ease of use at its core. It seamlessly combines the time-tested and proven recording studio model with today’s beat- and loop-oriented production process so you can bring musical ideas to sonic reality more quickly than ever before.
Studio One places no limits on your creativity. You have unlimited Audio and Instrument Tracks, virtual instruments, buses, FX channels, and undo/redo.
With the 64-bit processing precision Studio One 4 offers, Capturing tracks is fast and easy. Designed to provide a compact sonic reference system for musicians, producers, and audio engineers in home setups, project studios, and commercial facilities is the PreSonus Eris E3.5 PreSonus is a pair of 3.5' 2-way 25W nearfield monitors. Eris E3.5 has a frequency response of 80 Hz to 20 kHz via a 3.5' Kevlar woofer and a 1' silk dome tweeter powered by a 25W class AB amplifier. The monitors can handle 100 dB maximum peak SPL. A rear bass-reflex port provides enhanced low-frequency range. The Eris E3.5 accepts balanced 1/4' TRS, unbalanced 3.5mm, and unbalanced RCA inputs.
An integrated 2-band EQ allows you to fine tune the monitors to your listening preference. SE X1 A is high quality condenser microphone intended for a wide range of studio applications, from vocals to drums to acoustic instruments and beyond. Thanks to its custom design and carefully-selected capsule, it delivers pristine sound quality and an even, well-balanced frequency response. X1 A Large-diaphragm Cardioid Condenser Microphone from sE Electronics places superb sonic performance in your hands for a relatively small amount of cash. Experience impressive accuracy, dynamics, and frequency response, by virtue of the X1 A's upgraded capsule and overhauled electronics. Effortlessly capture an endless variety of sources with a 20Hz-20kHz frequency range, up to 134dB of dynamic range, and 150dB of SPL handling. An integrated windscreen eliminates the need for an external pop filter and provides an extra layer of protection for the X1 A's capsule.
PreSonus Temblor T8 is a subwoofer that provides the extra-deep low frequencies you need when mixing on relatively small monitors, especially for music that requires serious low-end punch. Powerful and musical, Temblor® T8 active, downward-firing subwoofers are designed to deliver fast and accurate transient response, extending low frequencies without a hint of “tubbiness” or overshoot.
This ensures that Temblor-series subwoofers complement full-range monitors without overshadowing them, naturally extending the reach of your full-range system’s low end so that you can produce your best mix from top to bottom.
However, it was already a remarkable value from the start. On top of a massively overhauled design—which includes two large color displays, touch-sensitive encoders, larger pads, a four-mode Smart Strip, and a directional push encoder, among other things—the Maschine MK3 also adds a professional-grade 24-bit/96kHz audio interface. It feels like two hardware iterations for the price of none, because it has retained the same $599 street price.
EYES ON THE PRIZE One look at the Maschine MK3 side-by-side with the Maschine MK2, and the older model already seems like a relic. In a simply elegant fashion, Maschine MK3 fits a higher quantity and quality of controls and features into the same surface area. Even the unit’s enclosure feels sleeker and sturdier. Browsing sounds is a delight from the Maschine MK3’s displays, and Previews let you hear a sample of the instrument without loading it, saving you time.
Most noticeably, two new crisp, high-resolution color displays make virtually every task, including browsing sounds and instruments, mixing, editing and arranging, more immediate from the hardware, rather than the computer screen (see Figure 1). These displays are not iPhone X or Pixel 2 XL crisp, but they are comfortably legible and bright, with vibrant colors that match the Track, Pattern, and Scene color coding of the backlit pads and function buttons.
Beneath the displays, the newly capacitive touch-sensitive encoders adapt their functionality to the matching on-screen parameters. Their touch-sensitivity activates certain abilities, such as assigning Macro controls to plug-ins or bringing up contextual menus on the display to quicken your workflow.
These encoders also work the Native Instruments or other NKS-compatible plugins hosted in Maschine’s software. Although it is just a single component, the new four-directional, LED-assisted push encoder contributes inordinately to the Maschine MK3’s greatly sped-up workflow. It allows for faster navigation of the instruments, effects, and presets in the browser, easy control over the mixer, and other functions.
Blue LEDs indicate when the encoder is active. For example, you can use the encoder within the mixer to quickly select channels and adjust their levels with a single hand. SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR FINGERS Maschine MK3’s 16 backlit performance pads are significantly larger than in previous models. They also exhibit increased sensitivity across the entire pad, making it easier than ever to play nuanced patterns with more than one finger on a single pad. You can set the pads’ sensitivity level in the Settings, and a Fixed Velocity function-button toggles all the pads to trigger at their maximum level.
Four new function buttons above the 16 pads let you quickly select pad performance modes. The Pad Mode button works in the most traditional manner to trigger different sounds from each pad. Keyboard mode triggers the selected sound in pitched tones, and you can select 15 scale types to play (chromatic, major, minor, etc.) from the displays. Chords mode lets you play the selected sound as a full chord from a single pad, and again you can choose from 15 chord types (major, minor, augmented, etc.) in the display menu. The Step button turns the 4x4 pad grid into a step sequencer, and from there, the displays and encoders let you view the MIDI notes in the pattern and adjust their position, pitch velocity and length.
This is not nearly as powerful and tactile of a step sequencer as with the 8x8 pad grid on the Maschine Jam, but with the help of the large displays, step sequencing on the Machine MK3 is now much more productive. A TOUCH OF JAM Maschine MK3 also borrows a Smart Strip from the Maschine Jam, which introduced the multifunction touch strips for mixing, playing notes, and modifying sounds and effects. The Smart Strip has a full row of LEDs above it to indicate its position, as well as four function buttons to toggle its mode between pitch bend, modulation, Perform (effects and other parameter adjustment), and Notes. In Notes mode, the Smart Strip works to “strum” notes from the sound selected on the pads, either as individual notes or as chords. For my taste, using the Smart Strip to play notes doesn’t really feel right for strumming acoustic instruments, but it is an interesting tool to try for triggering sounds in different ways; for example, rapidly triggering percussion or SFX sounds in the Keyboard pad mode in ascending or descending pitches. The Maschine MK3 has 5-pin MIDI I/O ports, and its detachable feet can angle it up from the tabletop. The 2-in, 4-out interface includes a dedicated 1/4' dynamic mic input, as well as balanced stereo 1/4' TRS line inputs and outputs.
The 1/4' stereo headphone output can be set to mirror the line outputs in the settings, and the mic input, line output and headphone output all have level knobs on the back panel (see Figure 2). I compared the Maschine MK3’s audio interface with a couple of dedicated, rack-mounted 24-bit/96kHz audio interfaces, and it held up extremely well in terms of audio clarity and levels on both the inputs and outputs.
In those key areas, it’s a pro-level interface. It only lacks certain extras like hardware level metering, phantom power on the mic input, and an XLR connector. Take note that the Maschine MK3 can run off its included AC power adapter or off of USB bus power. When powered from USB, it slightly lowers the maximum brightness of the displays and backlit controls, and it also introduced some noise on the audio line outputs, but not however on the headphone output.
THE KOMPLETE PICTURE The purchase of a Maschine MK3 also buys you into the extended Native Instruments universe, which in this case includes over 30GB of soundware content and plug-ins from the Maschine library and the included Komplete 11 Select software. That means that out of the box you have enough virtual instruments and sounds to start producing: synthesizer plugins such as Massive and Reaktor Prism; sampled acoustic pianos, electric pianos, organs, and synths; and tons of percussion and effects. And if that is not enough, you can crossgrade to Komplete 11 or Komplete 11 Ultimate at a discount.
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