Connections:
The Maschine+ from Native Instruments is a fully equipped music production studio in the form of a standalone groovebox, and is the first model in the series to combine instruments, samples, and effects in a single device. With a powerful quad-core processor and 4GB of RAM, it enables completely independent work, offering Maschine fans a brand-new, intuitive workflow: Just start creating! Whether recording song ideas, mixing, or performing live, the Maschine+ proves its versatility in every situation. Its numerous rear connections allow seamless integration into any setup, even supporting a foot pedal. This makes the Maschine+ not just a portable music production studio but also an intuitive hub for any home studio.
The Maschine+ features 16 velocity-sensitive pads for playing notes. In addition, it includes buttons for essential functions such as recording and editing sequences, quantising, step sequencing, selecting chords, creating variations, and muting or soloing individual tracks. Eight rotary encoders can be used to control effects and sends. Instead of traditional pitch and modulation wheels, the Maschine+ is equipped with a touch-sensitive strip. The rotary encoder is used for adjusting parameters like volume, tempo, swing, and note repeat, while the extensive transport section includes functions such as record, play, and stop, as well as options for setting loops, deleting, and replacing sequences. Two colour displays provide an overview of selected instruments and settings. Next to these, controls are available for selecting instruments, samples, and effects, as well as adjusting fundamental settings.
With the Maschine+, users can effortlessly capture spontaneous song ideas in the form of beats or melodies and arrange and mix them in detail. A dedicated input allows for the connection of a microphone, making vocal recording just as straightforward. This comprehensive feature set enables users to create stage-ready and radio-quality tracks in no time, and thanks to its Wi-Fi capability, updates can be downloaded at any time, ensuring that the Maschine+ remains up to date. The Link function enables communication and synchronisation with other devices, allowing seamless wireless integration into an existing setup.
Native Instruments is a Berlin-based company, founded in 1996, which specialises in products for computer-assisted music production. The company develops a wide variety of products: software solutions such as Komplete, which hosts a huge range of virtual instruments that emulate both acoustic and electronic instruments in hi-fi quality, and Reaktor, which lets you create your own virtual instruments – through to hardware products such as beat-making and DJ controllers. Native Instruments' goal is to inspire and encourage musicians with its innovative products. To this end, more than 500 people are employed at the company's headquarters in Berlin and at other locations including Los Angeles, Toronto, Tokyo, London, Paris, and Shenzhen. Since 2023, the manufacturers Plugin Alliance, iZotope, and Brainworx have also been part of Native Instruments.
The internal storage comes preloaded with the Maschine+ Selection software package and also includes the Maschine Factory Library, and for those who want even more, a voucher for two additional expansions is provided. The 32GB eMMC flash storage offers ample space for essential software and samples. With the 64GB SD card provided, users can load additional expansions and import their own samples – this can be done via the two USB ports. The USB connection also allows Maschine+ to function as a controller, provided the system requirements of macOS 10.14/10.15 or Windows 10 (both 64-bit) are met.