Native instruments maschine mk3 review11/9/2022 For those considering an upgrade, the MK3 definitely feels like a worthwhile step up from the MK1 and MK2, while perhaps less so for studio owners who don’t need to save the desk space (or perform live). While not a revolutionary upheaval, Maschine MK3 feels like a smart, significant evolution of the platform. It’s a brilliant workflow improvement and helps open up new creative pathways, and one we’ll likely see copied by other manufacturers in the coming years. What’s great is that you can save up to 64 of these “lock states,” which you can then move between via either immediate or gradual “morphing” transitions. Press it, and you’ll temporarily save a snapshot of the current parameter settings for your project tweak your sounds and effects to your heart’s content, and then when you’re ready, hit the Lock button again-and everything immediately snaps back to the captured snapshot. Perhaps the most useful new feature on the MK3 is the “Lock” function (which, to be fair, originated in the Maschine Jam). The built-in audio interface is a nice addition, and will mean less clutter on the desk for many producers, and be a boon to those who want one less piece of gear to lug around to live gigs or studios (even if the tiny gain knobs on the back of the unit are a bit ungainly). The touch strip serves as a nice alternative to knob-twisting as a way to input automation, and the dedicated Keyboard and Chord buttons make playing keys and chords much more accessible and intuitive than it was in previous iterations. The layout has been refined such that things generally feel more like they’re in the “right” place, and getting around the interface simply feels quicker and more intuitive than ever before. The MK3 feels like a proper follow-up, evolving the Maschine workflow in a handful of key ways. (The color palette of the LEDs still feels more NI than Ableton, for what it’s worth). The general visual styling, including the matte finish and left-justified text on the buttons, is reminiscent of Ableton’s Push controller not a bad thing, per se, but worth noting. In terms of its industrial design, the MK3 is easily the most solidly-constructed Maschine model so far. There’s a dedicated Macro button, as well as touch-sensitivity on the knobs for efficiently adding parameters as macros, as well as a larger encoder knob that now also functions as a button, used for navigating the Maschine menus. The layout has changed in a number of ways, with the addition of dedicated buttons for the different play modes (Pad / Keyboard / Chord / Step), as well as several performance-based buttons for the touch strip controls. There’s a touch strip, the primary use of which is for performative actions (as seen on the Jam), like sound and effect modulation, and even “strumming” played sounds. The Maschine pads are slightly bigger than those found in previous versions, and feel more responsive across their surface (something of particular note for finger drummers). Even more significant for some is the fact that the MK3 also functions as a 24-bit/96 kHz audio interface with stereo line inputs and outputs, as well as a mic input and headphone output (it also maintains MIDI I/O jacks).
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