2020. 1. 25. 08:39ㆍ카테고리 없음
Native Instruments Maschine
About Native Instruments: Native Instruments’ first product, Generator, a virtual modular synth that eventually morphed into Reaktor, may have been born of Berlin's active techno scene, but the success of that product and Pro-5, a model of the legendary Sequential Circuits Pro-Five synth, led company founder Stephan Schmitt to realize that.
Is legendary for its synth sounds and production software. But, the Berlin-based company has also built a reputation for excellence with its hardware controllers, and the Maschine Mikro Mk3 is no exception. For the purposes of this review, I’ll be discussing the Mikro in the context of building beats. Keep in mind though, it’s equally adept at any kind of music – it’s even a great device for filmmakers who want to score their own movies but don’t know how to play all the instruments in an orchestra.
But, for me, it’s a drum machine. And, as far as drum machines go, there’s the Akai MPC60 – a device that deserves to be inducted into the Hip Hop Hall of Fame – and there’s everything that came after it. Native Instruments’ Maschine Mikro falls into the latter category, obviously, but it does so with an apparent respect for the gear that came before it. Akai’s MPC60 was created in response to increasingly cluttered studios that relied on multiple pieces of gear with dozens of knobs, switches, and sliders to shape sounds. Producers didn’t want furniture-sized gear anymore – especially those who primarily wanted to work with samples.
So the MPC got rid of all the extraneous stuff and focused on a layout that worked for beat makers. Fast-forward to present-day music gear, and we’re seeing the bloat return. Even Native Instruments’ own gear was starting to become a bit “bell and whistle-y” for everyone but the power users.
But the new Mikro model seems to pay homage to the spirit of Akai’s MPC by reducing clutter and eschewing unnecessary doo-dads (for the most part anyway). This thing is gorgeous when the lights are on. But, when the power’s off, it’s just a hunk of black plastic with a bunch of square white buttons on it. And, oddly, I kind of like that about it. Maybe it’s because I know Native Instruments is a Germany-based company, and that makes me think of precision engineering, but it feels like the Mikro is conserving energy when it’s turned off. Not in the sense of saving power, but in the sense of a lion resting while it watches a herd of gazelle trot by, waiting for the moment to unleash its power. I know that’s a bit hyperbolic, but I’ve watched this thing go through its colorful light-up sequence at least once a day for the past two or three weeks and it brings me joy every time.
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It wants me to make beats with it. Also, it combines with your other gear perfectly. In fact, my current favorite production workflow includes both the Maschine Mikro and the Komplete Kontrol controllers. I feel a bit spoiled by the seamless integration that allows me to tap out the drums with one hand while playing a simple bass line or testing melody notes with the other. Another handy feature was the ability to keep separate sounds loaded to each pad, but also load any individual pad’s instrument to the keyboard where I can use the keys to find the specific pitch I want. We’ll have a complete review of Native Instruments’ Komplete Kontrol A25 soon, and more info on including both controllers in your workflow then. Credit: Nicole Gray If there’s one place the Mikro absolutely shines though, it’s in the pads.
The 4X4 grid of over-sized tap pads look beautiful when they light up, and provide the perfect tactile percussion experience. There’s no wobble or sponginess but they still feel equally good tapping drums or mashing organ sounds out. Honestly, if you’re willing to learn Native Instruments’ take on music production hardware, the Mikro is worth it for the brilliantly done pads. Unless you prefer squishy pads, in which case you’ll want to shop around. Other things I liked about the Mikro, compared to other beat machines in the price range, were the fantastic touch strip and understated black buttons. With the touch strip I was able to load up a wah-wah guitar sound and bend the notes by hand to make it sound much more realistic. And I love how the text on the black buttons lights up to make it easy to read in any lighting situation, plus everything is spelled out so you don’t have to spend two weeks remembering acronyms or shortcuts.
Credit: Nicole Gray Tiny details like that make your music unique and your experience top-notch. And they’re easier than ever to access because you don’t need a college education in music theory to bring them out with this device. It’s amazing how much the learning curve has come down for audio production in just the past decade. I think Native Instruments has pulled off a practically magical Maschine with the Mikro. It makes me feel smarter than I am by making it easier to produce unique music with this piece of gear than anything I’ve used before it. But at that same time there’s still a few buttons and features I simply haven’t had the time to try – it can do stuff I’m not skilled enough yet to understand.
Such is the life of an amateur producer. That’s what’s great about the Mikro: you can throw away the instruction manual and try to figure it out on your own if you want to. It’s not rocket science. Even total novices will be able to make some noise with the Mikro Mk3.
But, if you invest your time in the Native Instruments’ audio production world, it’ll pay off in your ability to get the most out of the gear. Because, like any musical instrument, you’ll get better at using it the more you practice with it. Native Instruments hasn’t reinvented the drum machine here, but you’re almost certainly going to hear the Maschine Mikro in some of your favorite songs next year if you’re into hip hop, electronica, or pop. The Maschine Mikro Mk3 is the kind of hardware that inspires entire careers. It’s ease-of-use gives beginners the confidence to try out advanced features and empowers experts to distill the production experience down to its roots. Published November 26, 2018 — 17:37 UTC.