Welcome to MASCHINE MK3
The MASCHINE MK3 Manual provides you with a comprehensive description of all features. Read this manual to learn how to use MASCHINE MK3.
Notice
Please check the Native Instruments website regularly for up-to-date and localized versions of these documents.
What's New
The following sections list features added to each new version of MASCHINE.
New Features in MASCHINE 2.15
MASCHINE contains the following new features:
Auto Sampler: The Sampler now contains an Auto Sampler to automate the process of sampling an external or internal synthesizer by sending one or multiple MIDI notes and recording the incoming audio. The Auto Sampler also includes batch processing features with three possible actions to trigger at the end of a recording. These features include: Find Loop to find loop points in all recorded samples, Trim Silence to remove silent parts at the beginning and the end of the files and Normalize to make samples more consistent in volume. Refer to Auto Sampler.
Auto Backup: The Automatic Backup option in the Preferences General page provides the option to autosave your work to avoid losing important changes in case MASCHINE quits unexpectedly. Refer to Preferences – General Page.
Chord inversions: The Chords feature contains a new parameter named Position that enables the single notes of a chord to spread to aid a more musical transition between chords. Refer to Position.
Save Sounds with Samples: The Save As feature lets you save your Sounds with samples. This is useful if you want to use a Sound (and its samples) in other projects or share them with other MASCHINE users. It can also be beneficial to use this feature when creating instruments using the Auto Sampler. Refer to Saving Sounds.
VST 3: MASCHINE now supports VST3. Note the following changes/caveats that result from technical differences between VST2 and VST3. As a result, the following issues have not been addressed in this release:
Host automation parameters are now grouped into ‘units’. The hierarchy of grouping = MIDI message > MIDI channel > MIDI event (CCs, Pitchbend, Aftertouch, etc.). Please note: this can only be observed in DAWs that support the grouping of VST3 parameters.
When MASCHINE is running as a VST3, it is not possible to trigger Scenes, Sections, or Lock Snapshots via MIDI Program Change messages. Instead, MIDI Note Events must be used.
Hosting of VST3 plug-ins inside of MASCHINE is considered a separate topic to loading MASCHINE into a DAW as a VST3 plug-in target. VST3 plug-ins made by Native Instruments can be hosted in MASCHINE, and in the future, we will work with third-party manufacturers to add support for NKS VST3s.
New Features in MASCHINE 2.14
The following new features have been added to MASCHINE:
Poly Synth: Based on the Native Instruments Pro-53 plug-in, Poly Synth delivers the colorful character of a classic dual-oscillator synth built for full hands-on control with MASCHINE. It provides warm vintage tones, organic bass, and shimmering pads with all of the 80s golden-era style. Assign modulation, switch routings, blend sounds, patch, and play for polysynth magic. For more information, refer to Poly Synth.
Multi-selection for Clips: Using the MASCHINE software, it is now possible to select multiple Clips on the Song timeline while maintaining focus on just one Clip. Multiple Clips can be selected using click-and-drag or by holding [cmd] (macOS) or [alt] (Windows) and then individually clicking on Clips to select them. This enables you to move or copy multiple Clips at once or apply context menu functions such as Clear, Color, Duplicate, and Delete.
Extended Arpeggiator modes: MASCHINE now includes the Advanced and Range Arpeggiator modes. The Advanced arpeggiator includes Retrigger, Repeat, Offset, and Inversion, allowing you to explore alternative versions of the same arpeggiator sequence. The Range mode enables you to set the minimum and maximum range of notes used for an arpeggiator sequence. For more information, refer to. Creating Arpeggios and Repeated Notes.
Document Conventions
In this document the following formatting is used to highlight useful information:
Italics | Indicates paths to locations on your hard disk or other storage devices | |
Bold | Highlights important names, concepts, software interface elements, and hardware controls. | |
[Brackets] | References keys on a computer’s keyboard. | |
| Single item instructions are represented by a bullet icon. | |
| Results in procedures are represented by an arrow icon. |
The following three icons represent different types of information:
Tip
The light bulb icon indicates a useful tip, suggestion, or interesting fact.
Notice
The information icon highlights important information that is essential for the given context.
Caution
The warning icon alerts you of serious issues and potential risks that require your full attention.
Unlabeled Buttons on the Controller
The buttons and knobs above and below the displays on your MASCHINE controller do not have labels.
The unlabeled buttons and knobs on the MASCHINE controller.
For better reference, we applied special formatting here: throughout the document, the elements are capitalized and numbered, so the buttons above the displays are written Button 1 to Button 8, while the knobs under the displays are written Knob 1 to Knob 8. For example, whenever you see an instruction such as “Press Button 2 to open the EDIT page,” you’ll know it’s the second button from the left above the displays.