Native Instruments Announces Maschine MkIII Hardware: Hands-On, First Look Video

NI's MASCHINE hardware has been wildly popular since its release and that looks set to continue with the announcement of an extensively redesigned and expanded third generation, MASCHINE MkIII. Featuring an integrated audio interface, Touch Strips, two high resolution colour screens and larger, more responsive pads amongst many other refinements, it can, remarkably still be powered over USB.

Ask.Audio was lucky enough to be invited to NI's London HQ for a hands-on demonstration from the product owners of some of the biggest new features and you can watch our first look video below. In addition to the new audio interface capabilities which will really cut down on the amount of extra gear you have to carry around, I was particularly blown away by the new Touch Strip which greatly adds to the performance capabilities, and the Lock States feature which opens up even more creative avenues. You can see both in action in the video. 

Maschine MK3 Specs & Features

• Integrated hardware/software system includes sampler, arranger, mixer, FX, and more
• 8 GB MASCHINE library with samples, one-shots, sliced loops, sampled instruments, presets, patterns, drum kits, and songs
• Includes 25 GB KOMPLETE 11 SELECT library
• 25 pro-quality studio and creative FX including filter, EQ, delay, reverb, and compressor
• 2 high-resolution RGB color displays for precision sample slicing, sound tweaking, note editing, mixing, browsing, and more

The new, integrated audio interface

• 16 large, ultra-sensitive pads make two-handed drumming easy
• Pro-grade, 96kHz / 24-bit audio interface with 2 x ¼” TRS line outputs, 2 x ¼”  TRS line inputs, ¼” dynamic mic input, stereo headphone output, 1 x MIDI In, 1 x MIDI out, and 1 x Footswitch
• Touch sensitive knobs for parameter tweaking
• Smart Strip for strumming notes, pitch bending sounds, performing with FX, and more
• Four-directional push encoder for browsing, navigating, and adjusting levels and balance
• Powered via USB 2.0 or with the included power supply unit
• Seamless integration with KOMPLETE
• Classic groovebox features including 16 velocity levels, swing, pad link, note repeat, step sequencer, and vintage MPC 60/SP-1200 sampling emulation
• Compatible with all major DAWs (including Ableton Live, Logic Pro, and FL Studio) as a VST or Audio Units plug-in, with full multi-core support

Pricing and availability

The new MASCHINE will be available at the NI Online Shop and retailers from October 5, 2017. It will be available to pre-order from September 7 at the NI Online Shop. Pricing remains the same as the previous version in all markets.

Keep your eyes peeled for our in-depth hands-on review, coming soon!