It’s fascinating to see how Native Instruments continues to develop its Maschine platform; the latest version, 2.7, includes realtime timestretching and new ways of working with loops.
At the heart of this update is the new audio plugin. The new timestretching feature means that pre-rolled loops are always in time with your project, automatically adjusting as soon as you drop them in, and you can now audition and swap loops without stopping the music.
There’s also the Gate mode; loops play through when you hit the pads, and you can chop the loop by drumming as you want to hear it. You can also change a loop’s melody by playing pads up and down the scale.
Tantalisingly, NI says that this is just the first in a series of updates that will integrate audio into the Maschine workflow. Maschine 2 owners can download it for free from the Native Instruments website.
