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Native Instruments Maschine Getting Started

Native Instruments Maschine Getting Started

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GETTING STARTED

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  • Page 1 GETTING STARTED...
  • 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 document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Native Instruments GmbH, hereinafter referred to as Native Instruments.
  • Page 3 Germany NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH Schlesische Str. 28 D-10997 Berlin Germany info@native-instruments.de www.native-instruments.de NATIVE INSTRUMENTS North America, Inc. 5631 Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90028 sales@native-instruments.com www.native-instruments.com © Native Instruments GmbH, 2008. All rights reserved.

  • Page 4: Welcome To Maschine

    Controller Editor Application. This is possible at the same time you are using the stand-alone version or the plug-in. We hope you enjoy the MASCHINE playground as much as we do. Now let´s get going! The MASCHINE team at Native Instruments...

  • Page 5: Installation And Setup

    2. Installation and Setup 2.1 What´s in the box After opening the MASCHINE package you will find the following items: The MASCHINE Controller The Installer DVDs This Getting Started Manual The Service Center Quick Start Guide USB cable The Serial Number Card 2.2 The MASCHINE Documentation...
  • Page 6 MASCHINE’s main features and functions. For more in-depth infor- mation on all the topics not covered here, please refer to the MASCHINE Reference Manual that is available via the Native Instruments Service Center application. Alternatively, you...
  • Page 7 MASCHINE Controller need to worry – just click “Continue” to need to worry – just click “Continue” to USB driver.
  • Page 8 If you want to install the Maschine Library contents to a custom location, e.g. to an external hard disk, click the folder icon in the “Location” column to open a dialog in which you can specify a destination for the installation.
  • Page 9 (bus-powered) USB hub. On its rear panel, the MASCHINE Controller features a MIDI In and a MIDI Out port as well as a USB port that connects it to your computer. Use the Kensington Lock slot to lock your MASCHINE controller to something immobile and thus save it from being stolen.
  • Page 10 3. Overview This chapter will introduce you to the MASCHINE Controller’s hardware elements and the MASCHINE Software’s user interface. Nearly all functions are available on both interfaces. If you need to look up a certain user interface element’s name, you can return to this chapter at any time for a refresher! 3.1 Hardware...
  • Page 11 The Header Browser Button Browser Button Display Area Display Area Transport Controls Transport Controls Connect Button Connect Button Audio Engine Button Audio Engine Button CPU Meter CPU Meter Volume Control Volume Control NI Logo NI Logo MASCHINE Getting Started – 11...
  • Page 12 Clip Area Clip Area The Browser File Type Selector File Type Selector Tag Filter Tag Filter Text Search Field Text Search Field Search Result List Search Result List Tag Editor Tag Editor Audition Control Audition Control MASCHINE Getting Started – 12...
  • Page 13 Step Editor Step Editor Piano Roll / Piano Roll / Keyboard View Switch Keyboard View Switch Sampling View Switch Sampling View Switch Sound Slots Sound Slots Automation Lane Automation Lane Automation View Switch Automation View Switch MASCHINE Getting Started – 13...
  • Page 14 The Sampling Area Record Tab Record Tab Edit Tab Edit Tab Slice Tab Slice Tab Mapping Tab Mapping Tab MASCHINE Getting Started – 1...

  • Page 15: Creating A Pattern

    4. Creating a Pattern In order to get you started with MASCHINE, let´s lay out a basic Pattern with some drums, a bassline and a melody. On the way, you will learn how to create Sounds and Groups and how to add Effects (FX) to them.
  • Page 16 Software Click the B in the top row to show the Browser within the MASCHINE rowSEr Utton window: Click the Browser Button to open the Browser. 2. We will start by finding a bass drum for our Pattern: In the top row of the Browser, click...
  • Page 17 5. Now you can listen to the available bass drums by clicking on their names in the list and choose one you like. Searching Samples by their names is not the only way to access the MASCHINE Library: you can also use the Browser’s Tag Filter to narrow down your search using Tags.
  • Page 18 In the same way you have just selected your bass drum, try to find some other drum sounds that make a good match: e.g. a clap, a snare drum, a hi-hat and maybe a rimshot, and put together your drumset by assigning Sound after Sound. MASCHINE Getting Started – 18...

  • Page 19: Creating Patterns

    Hardware To change the Step Grid’s quantization settings, press and hold the Grid Button on the MASCHINE Controller; the Right Display will show you which Pad represents which Grid. The Right Display showing the available Grids 2. Select a Step Grid resolution by hitting the corresponding Pad.
  • Page 20 The Pattern length will resize to the mouse click position, quantized to the Arranger Grid value. To change the step width that the Pattern length can be resized in, select a resolution from the p attErn MASCHINE Getting Started – 20...
  • Page 21 To activate the Metronome, hold down Shift and press Play. To deactivate the Metronome, hold Shift and press Play again. If you want to quantize your recording af- terwards, hold the MASCHINE Controller’s Shift Button and press Pad 5 (Quantize). Your recording will be quantized according to the selected Grid First possibility of recording a Pattern: press PLAY &...
  • Page 22 Right Display. With Buttons 5 – 8, you can select different quantization settings while playing. If you want to use quantization settings other than the ones currently on display, turn Rotary Encoders 5-8, selecting the desired quantizations. MASCHINE Getting Started – 22...
  • Page 23 Software In the MASCHINE Software, set a step by clicking into the Grid to the right of the respec- tive Sound. There is an Undo function There is an Undo function Adding Steps in the Grid on the Software available that you can access available that you can access To clear the step, right-click (on Mac OS X: Control-click) it.
  • Page 24 Piano Roll/Keyboard Editor. The Software view of the Piano Roll/Keyboard Editor In the next chapter, you will learn how to add effects and get to know the powerful rout- ing system of MASCHINE. MASCHINE Getting Started – 2...

  • Page 25: Mute & Solo

    Mute works in the same way as the Solo Mode: hold the Mute Button to mute Sounds by pressing their respective Pads, and Groups by pressing the Group Buttons. You can also lock Mute by pressing Button 1 at the same time and unlock it by pressing Mute again. MASCHINE Getting Started – 25...
  • Page 26 To unsolo it, right-click (on Mac: Control-click) on the Pad icon again. To solo a Group, right-click (on Mac: Control-click) on the Group icon in the Arranger: Soloing a Group To unsolo it, right-click (on Mac: Control-click) on the Group icon again. MASCHINE Getting Started – 26...
  • Page 27 To unmute the Sound, click on the Pad icon again. To mute a Group, click on the Group icon in the Arranger: Muting a Group To unmute the Sound, click on the Group icon again. MASCHINE Getting Started – 27...
  • Page 28 5. Using Effects & Routing Now that we have created the Pattern, let’s spice it up with some Effects. MASCHINE provides a healthy selection of 20 Effects (FX) that can be applied on Sounds, Groups and the Master, all as Insert Effects. By using the Routing System, Effects can also be applied to external Inputs and set up as Send Effects.
  • Page 29 FM modulates the frequency of the audio signal based on FM synthesis. High frequency settings are useful for adding a subtle “gritty” texture to the input signal. Freq Shifter The Frequency Shifter allows for shifting selected frequencies of the audio signal. MASCHINE Getting Started – 29...
  • Page 30 Ice includes a bank of self-oscillating filters for interesting and colorful effects. Reflex At moderate settings the Reflex can be useful to emulate small, “tight” rooms. At more extreme settings, it can produce interesting artificial, metallic textures. MASCHINE Getting Started – 30...
  • Page 31 Grain Delay By chopping the input into small grains, the Grain Delay is useful for creating ambient textures. Increase Size, Space and Density to quickly transform any sound into an evolv- ing ambient texture. MASCHINE Getting Started – 31...
  • Page 32 Effect you want to apply, press Button 8 to load it into Module FX1. You can also use Buttons 5 and 6 to step through the list and load the FX directly. MASCHINE Getting Started – 32...
  • Page 33 The parameters of the Reverb, ready to be tweaked 4. Now you can try out some of the parameters: turn the Size knob for a bigger Reverb or adjust the Stereo Width by using the Stereo knob. MASCHINE Getting Started – 33...
  • Page 34 5. When you’ve found an Effect you want to apply, press Button 8 to load it into Module FX1. The Right Display showing the Load option 6. Now you can edit the Effect using the Rotary Encoders! MASCHINE Getting Started – 3...
  • Page 35 Group currently in focus, so make sure to have your Group in focus in the Arranger: The Group in focus on the Arranger 3. Since our Group is mainly for drums, let´s apply some compression by adding the Compressor to the FX1 Module: MASCHINE Getting Started – 35...
  • Page 36 To choose an Effect for Module FX1, press Shift followed by Browse. The Right Display now shows the list of the available Effects. You can browse through them by either turning Rotary Encoder 5, or by using Buttons 5 and 6. MASCHINE Getting Started – 36...
  • Page 37 Since we want to fine-tune the frequencies of the Song, we choose the EQ this time. The list of available Effects for the Master Use the mouse to turn the knobs on the EQ Module. MASCHINE Getting Started – 37...
  • Page 38 3. Now click on the label (orange if it is a Sound, blue if it is a Group, white if it is the Master) on the left side of the FX Modules to mute and unmute the desired Effect. MASCHINE Getting Started – 38...
  • Page 39 Muting the Reverb 5.6 Automating FX and Sampler Parameters One of the really cool features of MASCHINE is the ability to automate parameters from the FX Modules and the Sampler Modules both on the Hardware and on the Software in a very easy way.
  • Page 40 The outer ring of the knobs, used for automation ► To remove the Automation, simply right-click (on Mac: Control-click) on that outer ring. ► To edit the Automation, drag the automation points in the Automation Lane. The Automation Lane MASCHINE Getting Started – 0...
  • Page 41 5.7 The Input Module and Advanced Routing The Routing features allow for a flexible way to handle routings within MASCHINE and together with external instruments. Since the Routing capabilities are quite powerful, we will focus on two common usage scenarios: routing external audio into the FX and setting up Send FX.
  • Page 42 Select the Sound Tab and then click on the Source Tab. On the right of the Source Tab, you will find an Arrow. Click on it and you will be pre- sented with two options in the dropdown menu: Sampler and Input. Choose Input. MASCHINE Getting Started – 2...
  • Page 43 Press Button 5 to select the Source Tab (SRC). After that press Shift and Browse. By using Buttons 5 & 6 or Rotary Encoder 5 you can select either Sampler or Input. Select Input and press Button 8 to confirm your selection. MASCHINE Getting Started – 3...
  • Page 44 Reverb. Software Select the first Sound Slot of an empty Group. Load the Reverb into the Sound Slot’s FX Tab. Loading the Reverb MASCHINE Getting Started – ...
  • Page 45 Choosing Aux 1 Send 5. As you can hear, the Snare is already being sent to the Effect; by turning the Aux 1 Level, you can adjust the amount of signal that gets sent into the Reverb. MASCHINE Getting Started – 5...
  • Page 46 FX, for example filter sweeps or complex FX clusters with multiple FX that you can use on your material. The Routing in MASCHINE is a really powerful tool with a vast amount of possibilities. You can set up your own FX Chains, route Sounds through several other Sounds or out of your soundcard through a Hardware Effect and then back into MASCHINE.

  • Page 47: Creating A Song Using Scenes

    6. Creating a Song using Scenes Creating a Song on MASCHINE is easy and straightforward. The basic concept is this: Groups and their Patterns are combined in Clips, a Clip being a representation of a Group with a specific Pattern. The Patterns are always named by their Bank and the Pattern number: A1 is the first Pattern of Bank A of the respective Group.
  • Page 48 2. Select the Pattern you want to use in the Scene by clicking on it in the Pattern Editor: Selecting Pattern A1 3. A Clip, representing the selected Pattern, will be automatically inserted into the focused Scene Column in the Arranger. MASCHINE Getting Started – 8...
  • Page 49 Scene Inserting a Scene number; respectively, if you delete a Scene, the following Scene will be ren- 3. To delete a Scene, press Button . umbered accordingly. MASCHINE Getting Started – 9...
  • Page 50 The loop range can be defined by selecting a start Scene and an end Scene. First, select the starting Scene by pressing the corresponding Pad. Then, while holding the first Pad, press the Pad corresponding to the end Scene. MASCHINE Getting Started – 50...
  • Page 51 On the Hardware, press Scene together with Button 1 to lock it and use the Pads to change between Scenes; on the Software, click in the Scene row on the Scene you want to select. MASCHINE Getting Started – 51...
  • Page 52 7. Sampling MASCHINE allows you to record internal or external audio signals using your soundcard. This is a useful feature if you want to record your own Samples or rearrange Loops that you have created yourself using MASCHINE. Hardware Choose an empty Sound Slot to record into by selecting it with its Pad.
  • Page 53 Threshold value (adjustable with the mouse by dragging) or in Sync with the Project Tempo. Since we want to record a drumloop from the 909 Kit, we choose Sync. Click on the S radio button and enter a length of 1 bar using the mouse and dragging: MASCHINE Getting Started – 53...
  • Page 54 8. Under the bigger waveform representing the recorded Sample, you can see a small icon for each Sample that got recorded into this Sound Slot: this is called the Recording History. You can drag the Samples to other Sound Slots to use them separately. MASCHINE Getting Started – 5...

  • Page 55: Editing A Sample

    Change the Start and End point of the Sample with Rotary Encoder 1 and 2. synced to MASCHINE by way of MIDI Enable Loop Mode by pressing the right Page Button to navigate to the second page Clock, it is more useful to record it ma- and then turn Rotary Encoder 1.
  • Page 56 5. If you want to have a bigger view of what´s happening, use the m in the aGnIfIEr low left: Dragging it to the right zooms in on the waveform, zooming out is done by dragging it to the left. MASCHINE Getting Started – 56...

  • Page 57: Slicing A Sample

    Slicing a Sample is useful if you want to rearrange Loops or make them play correctly at another tempo. Let´s slice the drumloop we have just recorded! Hardware Press Button 3 to enter the Slice Tab. The Slice Tab on the Hardware MASCHINE Getting Started – 57...
  • Page 58 Note Repeat to make them stutter or just rearrange them by hitting the Pads the Sensitivity value using Rotary Encoder  and slice again. whenever you like. Software Click on the Slice Tab. The Slice Tab on the MASCHINE software MASCHINE Getting Started – 58...
  • Page 59 Slice Dragger and drag it onto another Sound or Group Slot: Dragging the sliced Sound onto a Sound Slot 6. The Piano Roll/Keyboard Editor will open automatically after that, and you will see a couple of notes: The notes representing the Slices of a Loop MASCHINE Getting Started – 59...
  • Page 60 The third page is used to enter Tune, Gain and Pan for the Sample Zone. If you want to delete a Zone, select it and press Button 6 to remove it. The Map Tab on the MASCHINE Controller MASCHINE Getting Started – 60...
  • Page 61 Two Zones in the Map Tab 4. Now you can set the Root note, the note range, the velocity range, and Tune, Gain and Pan for the selected Zone by changing the values in the respective fields. MASCHINE Getting Started – 61...

  • Page 62: Managing Projects

    8. Managing Projects In this chapter we will show you how to use MASCHINE efficiently: you will learn how to save different elements of Projects independently so that you can easily use and find them for other Projects. These functions are only available in the MASCHINE Software. You will also learn how to export audio files from Groups, Sounds and the Master Output.
  • Page 63 Saving a Group 8.1.3 Saving a Pattern To save a Pattern, right-click (on Mac OS X: Control-click) on the Pattern Label in the Arranger and choose Save As... from the dropdown menu: Saving a Pattern MASCHINE Getting Started – 63...
  • Page 64 As described in section 4.1 “Finding Samples in the Browser”, it is easy to find Samples and other MASCHINE file types with the Tag Filter of the MASCHINE Browser. To get the most out of this feature, you need to categorize your files with attributes, which are referred to as “Tags”...
  • Page 65 5. Tags can be applied to a multiple selection of files. This is a useful feature after add- sample collections to the ing your own samples into the MASCHINE database. To select multiple files from the MASCHINE data base, without moving search result list window, click the file names while holding shift or Ctrl/Cmd keys on any files.

  • Page 66: Exporting Audio

    8.2 Exporting Audio There are several ways to export audio files in MASCHINE: From the File menu, choose Export Audio: Selecting the Region in the Export Window 2. In the Export Window’s r dropdown menu you can select the Region you want to EGIon export: all Scenes or the current Loop Range.
  • Page 67 Selecting the Output in the Export Window 3. Now click on the S Button: here you can additionally select a Bit Depth, enable EttInGS Normalization and choose whether you wish to optimize the loop for looped playback (Loop Optimize). MASCHINE Getting Started – 67...

  • Page 68: Focus On The Hardware

    9. Tips for playing live Since MASCHINE is a very hands-on tool for producing music as well as for performing live, we figured we would gather some tips for you to get you started playing live. If you are used to playing live, you may not need them, but maybe you will find some new ideas to integrate in your set.

  • Page 69: Use Note Repeat

    9.4 Use Mute & Solo and Scenes and Patterns with the Lock function Mute and Solo is a good way to build up a live set especially on MASCHINE as you can mute and solo Groups and Sounds at the same time. By locking the Mute and Solo func- tion, you have both hands free to mute or solo Sounds and Groups.

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