Native Instruments Maschine Mk3

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FM VERDICT

9.1

A few minor bugbears aside,

this is probably the ﬁ nest

hybrid hardware/software

music-making platform on

the market right now.

TOUCHSTRIP The Maschine Jam-

style strip can control performance FX

and ‘strum’ through sounds.

PAD GRID The 16 pads are now larger

and more sensitive, but maintain the

centre-to-centre position of the Mk2.

SCREENS As with Maschine Studio,

the larger colour screens make

browsing and editing more engaging.

LAYOUT A subtle reorganisation of

the control layout really speeds up the

Maschine workﬂ ow.

version of the touchstrips found on

Maschine Jam, and brings some of

that controller’s best functionality

across to the Mk3. This includes

control over Maschine’s Performance

FX and the ability to ‘strum’ notes

across a scale, multiple drum sounds

or slices of a sample.

One area where it does feel like

NI have missed a trick by not

implementing touchstrip control is

the note repeat. As before, repeats

are triggered by holding down the

note repeat button, with buttons

above the screen controlling the beat

divisions of the repeats. Given that

the touchstrip is placed so close

under the note repeat button, it

would be great to be able to use it to

control repeat timings, for a more

convenient way to sculpt drum ﬁ lls.

On the subject of ﬁ lls, another

Jam-era function added to the Mk3’s

interface is access to Maschine’s

variation engine, which can be used

to humanise and randomise patterns.

The ﬁ nal Maschine Jam feature

brought across is the ability to create

and morph between parameter lock

states. This is a great tool for

automating live performances or

A/Bing mix states; it’s just a slight

shame you can’t currently record

parameter morphs into arrangements

as MIDI automation.

What’s impressive about the

Maschine Mk3 is that it manages to

add functionality to the controller

while simultaneously feeling like it’s

been simpliﬁ ed. Thanks to the smart

reshufﬂ ing of the interface, some

clever use of the new screens and

improved rotaries, and general

ergonomic improvements, the Mk3

ends up being less cluttered while

also putting more functionality at

your ﬁ ngertips.

It’s impressive too that, despite

the added interface and enlarged

screens, Mk3 maintains the rough

size and weight of its predecessor,

and even still runs on USB buss

power. The controller does now come

with an optional power adaptor, and

you’ll need to use this to get full

brightness out of the screens and

pads, but the drop when running

solely via USB is fairly negligible.

In all, this is the slickest, most

user-friendly incarnation of Maschine

we’ve seen so far. For new users it

represents excellent value too;

despite the added interface and

screens, the Mk3 comes in at the

same price as its predecessor. Add

in the inclusion of the – now

exceptionally powerful – software,

plus Komplete Select, which

includes Massive, Monark and a

healthy selection of quality sounds

and effects, and the package seems

very reasonable.

As an upgrade it’s less of a

no-brainer; NI have never been great

at rewarding existing hardware

owners, so there’s little to sweeten

the deal if you’re coming from Mk2

or Studio and already own the full

suite of software. A few free

expansion packs or some bonus

Komplete content would certainly be

welcome. Don’t get me wrong, the

Mk3 is a signiﬁ cant improvement in

terms of workﬂ ow and overall

experience but, if you can survive

without the sleeker workﬂ ow and

interface, it doesn’t revolutionise

what the platform is capable of.

Upgrade considerations aside,

the overall Mk3 experience is

probably NI’s ﬁ nest product to date

and arguably the pinnacle of

controller-centred music making

right now. Sleek, fun and inspiring

– what more could you ask for?

TOUCHSTRIP

The 16 pads are now larger

As with Maschine Studio,

A subtle reorganisation of