Get started with Maschine+: Standalone Music Making Workflow

Maschine+ is Native Instruments answer to stand alone beat making and groove box based electronic music production. We’ve spent more time exploring the hardware features, sounds, samples and effects. Here we step through an approach to making music using Maschine+’s stand-alone workflow. This video explores building a track from scratch starting with browsing and loading sounds through to arrangement and sequencing with a bunch of other super handy techniques along the way.
1:50 Loading instruments and sounds
11:09 Drum Programming
17:16 Editing Note Events
20:06 Melodic Arrangements and instrument techniques
30:32 Working With Audio Samples
34:20 Pattern Arrangement
Stay tuned for more tutorials to come.
Check out our Just Sounds videos for a focused listen to the Maschine+:
• Just Sounds: Native In...
• Just Sounds: Native In...
• First Look: Native Ins...
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[@Hanoveur]

One thing I think almost all of these tutorials miss: Before starting anything else, demonstrate the process of loading sounds onto a pad, step by step. It's a basic workflow thing that could be easily missed by someone new to this. If you don't know that, you're going to be successful in getting the first sound on the pad, but you're going to end up overwriting the first sound with the second sound. That threw me and I ended up having to stop and go look it up. Another thing a lot of these tutorials miss is how to make menus screens 'stick'. If you haven't activated the "stay" toggle on any of the screens, they're just going to flip back to the plug-in screen when they release it. For those who need to know this, while holding Scene, or Pattern, or Events, or Variation, you'll see a button on the top left labeled the same name of the button you're holding. Press that button and you'll see it "turn-on". That means anytime you now go into that view, it will stay locked until you press the view button (Scene, Pattern, etc) again. If you don't want it to lock anymore, hold the view button and press the upper left toggle again and it will un-fill. Hope this helped.

[@thahomie773]

Make a video on this show me what you’re talking about

[@lrkx_]

Probably the clearest, most concise, tutorial on using the Maschine+ for a newcomer to grooveboxes, Thank you.

[@thomasmatthews80]

Couldn't agree more with this comment. Helped me start to unlock the device after some initial frustrations

[@HKunze08]

Same here, awesome! Thanks a lot mate!

[@maikvanrossum]

+1 😎👍🏻

[@crypto_chris7347]

@@thomasmatthews80 I’m at this point, glad I just came across this video 🙏🏽

[@parkay909]

This!

[@PADR]

Great tut. Clear video and clear instructions. No unnecessary waffle😊

[@riverbankjournal]

It's 2024 - And this video has really helped me with my new Maschine Plus.... So much information and technique packed into just under forty minutes! I've rewatched sections of this video dozens of times. Thank you 😊

[@BlaineFallis]

Not sure yet if I’ll be able to apply what was demonstrated here, however I will say that I learned a lot about what’s possible with the device with an experienced and talented user like this guy. I’m only halfway through and I’m already blown away by this guy’s control of the many elements. 👏👏

[@briansherling5515]

Maschine plus, Akai force, Roland MX-1. Not only does my rig look Fun to those about to party, but they all play welll together and I have a Blast. This video is a huge help for those about to box out a groove.

[@Noisegate]

Cheers, looks like you have a dope setup

[@thomaspongan9835]

The best Tuto of Maschine + i've ever seen .... thank you soooooooooo much

[@Noisegate]

Cheers Thomas

[@perceptians]

Best tutorial I´ve seen for Maschine + Thank you!

[@JackAcid]

Watched, convinced and bought! Arriving tomorrow!

[@BrandonOsborn404]

I haven't had a controller in a long time, mostly keys and guitars for the past 10 years, and just bought a ;Maschine+ - this video was very helpful, and I appreciate your work.

[@Noisegate]

Cheers b dog, let us know what you think of it

[@muhammadabdulaziz3865]

BEST MASCHINE PLUS TUTORIAL..... THANKS ‼️ I NEEDED THIS. BACK IN THE LAB I GO.....🎧🎼🎵🎹🎤

[@Noisegate]

Cheers, have fun

[@bilespitter]

Swear this dude used to be my NI rep at work! Wild.

[@skatesnow777]

Most informative and full video about Maschine songwriting workflow 👍👍👍

[@Noisegate]

Cheers Maxim

[@oblio10]

Great video! Can't wait to get one of these maschines

[@Noisegate]

Thanks, you'll love it

[@edstoica]

31:30 : love that! thank you for showing this.

[@Jaysusitsme]

This video is invaluable.

[@alexiwiedemann]

Excellent

[@AndyTanguay]

Thank you for this! It can be hard to find good Maschine education for some reason. Learned a lot

[@zachshult]

Just got my first Maschine(+) and your videos have been incredible helpful in teaching me the Maschine workflow, thank you

[@UrbanGarden-rf5op]

Massive demo😉 Thank you 𝄢

[@GeneralTarik]

Nice! I literally just got Maschine+ yesterday. I’ve been a MPC user since the MPC3000 and haven’t used Maschine in years. I had a Maschine Studio but went back to my MPC1000 and hardware synths moving over to the Live about 2 years ago. I was really excited about being able to use the excellent NI sounds without having to use a computer but was worried that I’d be stifled by the workflow. Your excellent video has alleviated my fears. Thank you so much!

[@Noisegate]

Awesome, enjoy

[@rzon8]

Thank you for this.

[@musiccraftjp388]

Great explained, very good Job - many thanks!

[@echo_opera]

Really awesome project breakdown and walk thru. Really appreciate it. Can’t wait to apply what you’ve shown to my setup as a first time Maschine+ user.

[@SlickWillie]

been look at mashine vids all day as i plan on purchasing one to just mess with. you explain things pretty easy! thanks for the great vid!

[@svenbosch7258]

Nice dude! 💪

[@cruzferrer9025]

Thank you very much for this video. Very helpful for those of us that are new to this monster of a maschine. You've got a new subscriber.

[@Noisegate]

Cheers Cruz, nice to have you onboard

[@masterwise7]

very good job two thumbs up !

[@thomasblondet]

great tutorial!

[@arthurk.4240]

Excellent workflow! ***** Thank you.

[@fabgroove]

Merci… Sûrement l’un des meilleurs tutoriels (même en anglais…😜) que j’ai pu voir… C’est rapide, efficace, avec des conseils géniaux!!! Je suis impatients d’en voir d’autres sur MASCHINE MK3 ou + Bravo… 👏👏👏👏👏

[@WillieCarpenter17]

Give me moooore! Love every video

[@mrclaytron]

Great video man, I'm new to the Maschine workflow, and am really loving it so far. I've watched a few videos on KZbin, and your videos are by far the best I've seen! Really helpful, and a good pace. Cheers!

[@Noisegate]

Thanks , appreciate the feedback

[@guidokstworshipmusic]

Good teacher. Thank you for informations

[@CezarCazan_evx]

Really informative and useful. Thanks for the video!

[@crybo]

Nice! Very helpful in reminding me of the Maschine workflow.

[@jasonsheridan5848]

great video thanks !!

[@NGC1986]

This is great! I have the plus and love it. I also have a lot of faith that the future is really bright for the unit as they continue to open up the stand-alone ability to use various NI instruments and plugins etc. My only real beef with it is they dropped the ball by not including a battery. Even if there was a detachable accessory that you could bring on the go that you had to buy seperate, id be cool with it. Just kind of sucks having to get third party stuff to make it truly portable. Outside of that, I think the hype around speakers and a touch screen is overblown. Speakers are cool but they add size and even if they "bump" they aren't going to be great for mixing etc. Touch screen does come in handy when naming patters and events, but outside of that the NI workflow is still super fast and intuitive without it.

[@djsugarbear6079]

Amazing 🤩 video! Can’t wait to see the next one! Thanks for this

[@ClaudeDjale]

Wow, I just learned SOOOOOO much.... definitely ordering mine..

[@AmyKnoles]

Thanks for the great walkthrough!

[@TheEtbetween]

Excellent! Thanks

[@thegoldenamerican]

Thanks for this :)

[@MattDiamondMDE]

Great vid !

[@Noisegate]

Thanks Matt

[@ilanbendavid5660]

I the best my man Ty, more videos at the machine plus plz

[@ace0225]

Thank u for this video😎

[@MrVincent97133]

big thanks for the demo

[@Noisegate]

Cheers Vincent

[@LowryPeteD]

Fantastic vid !

[@thomasmatthews80]

Superb

[@Noisegate]

Cheers Tom

[@GlitchComputer]

This was very helpful!

[@Noisegate]

Cheers

[@inventanew]

I learned so much, great video

[@devam2288]

Nice job mate!

[@wesmares]

Go for the real stuff, Akai Force!!

[@zauberkunstlerzinomagicent3645]

Thank YOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!

[@attractor9]

realy good tutorial.

[@ezrajohn5233]

Great video! Has been really helpful. Having trouble with the Variation mode, though, at about 38 minutes. I do everything you do and instead of shuffling four notes, it generates a whole mess of notes, like maybe 30 or 40 notes. It's a big mess. I've gone over and over it but can't get it to just modify 3 or four notes. I know this video is a couple years old now, but it has helped me get up to speed with Maschine+. This has been my only snag. Or maybe one of your subscribers will know what's going on. Cheers!

[@ezrajohn5233]

I think there was an error in my OS. I did a "reset" and it seems to have solved the issue. Thanks again. I am checking out your other vids.

[@epicon6]

At 18:04 on the top left there is a recommendation to use the arrows to select indivitual notes. I find it muuch handier to scroll the encoder to the note because 1. It's faster than tapping the arrow and 2. My hand is already in place so i can nudge the sound left/right with the encoder. I have seen multiple Maschine MK3 and + review that list selecting the notes with the arrows as a negative but they don't mention the encoder. For me at least selecting a few notes to nudge/edit is much faster with the encoder than with a mouse.

[@Tetsuo618]

Very good vid! i say very cooo all the time now 😂😎

[@kodymonroe2613]

Love this. Can you record effects as it plays through on song mode. Would be cool to do the basic arrangement and add effects and automation as it plays through

[@Jbsantos54]

Great video thanks I just bought a Maschine mk3 I want learn about chord progression 😀👍🏻🎸

[@neurosentience5150]

This workflow seems way easier than my mpc one.

[@followthewaytaylor5872]

Great vid! Would of been nice if you told us what kit you were using, so I could follow along as I am a newbie on maschine plus.

[@mobilebarber2.0]

a little fast but you covered alot. Thank you.

[@antonellofabozzi7987]

Most useful training video about Maschine+ on the web. Thanks for your hard word. One question, maybe you can help me: when I apply an effect to a pattern, I get the same effect for the other patterns in the same group. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but if you can suggest how to do it, I'd appreciate it.

[@Noisegate]

Thanks very much!! All effects that are applied to a group will affect all sounds within that selected group simultaneously. Meaning that if you apply FX on a group level to group A - it will affect all of your sounds within group A etc...

[@tboogie65]

hello do you have a video on routing to external interfaces

[@footballfactoryibiza6581]

G'day mate :-) Im buying a used Maschine + and just wanted to know if those expansions you using come bundled with it or are they an extra expense?

[@starla5191]

Great video! I can’t see this TIMELESS GLOW in my library, if anyone know why ? 😊

[@riverbankjournal]

I'm guessing it's an old pack now?

[@DeepDishCoffee]

Is the cpu enough to do a full track

[@NakulKrishna]

Is there a way to record a jam with the patterns in ideas mode into the song view? Also is there a way to convert a single group pattern into a clip within a section that has more than 1 group?

[@guidokstworshipmusic]

Is it possible to rename the pattern and scenes . In standalone mode

[@epicon6]

There is a renaming function on the +. I know you can rename a project, so i would think you can rename patterns and scenes too. It's done by scrolling the wheel for letters so it isn't really fast but an essential feature still.

[@darrellthayden]

hi sorted out the Velocity thing but how you get events button to stay on and variation to stay on all the time as my unit doesn't do that

[@WillieCarpenter17]

Waiting for the deep dive into song mode still

[@SamyKdj]

Thank you for this video... Please do you know a way to import MIDI files from Ableton Live for example ?

[@WillieCarpenter17]

Did you ever do the song mode video???

[@darrellthayden]

Hi Noise gate , I have one question for you ? when I use step sequencer mode say for instance I am programming in shakers when I start to program them in they all are at 5 velocity on machine 3 which is annoying do you know how to change this value so they are all around the 80 mark Many Thanks Great tutorial

[@DeepDishCoffee]

Is the plus still good in 2024?

[@tekrahmuzik777]

Hey guys i just got mine but...if i turn Machine+ off...is it always in standby mode flashing in red? TX you all PS i dont want that lol i want it completely off

[@Freddy_VHS]

Is it possible to customize the color of the group and pad buttons like on the maschine studio?

[@Noisegate]

Sure is. Hit the Pad Mode button and you define the colour for individual pads and groups.

[@Brian-nz6ns]

Can you load Battery and Kontact?

[@attractor9]

raum - speak it roum - the ou like in out. it is german and means space or room.

[@mdnloyal1478]

Can we load our kontakt libraries that we have purchased already??

[@checkhimout7418]

Essentianally this tutorial could be used with the mk3 as well right ?

[@Noisegate]

Yep, that's right

[@brendodorset3720]

wow. that's a pretty cool house mix. I have a question: once you finish your set, where does that sequence/mix is saved to be played later? on the Maschine card? on the maschne HD?

[@Noisegate]

You can save your project internally to the 32 GB drive or to an SD card

[@Djdunya1]

Thanks for the video can Machine + also run VST's like Diva, serum as a standalone?

[@nastied]

No

[@andreweyison8406]

Thanks. Can the note repeat values be customized regarding top right section?

[@Noisegate]

Yep! you sure can. there are 4 note slots that you can toggle between at any one time and each of those can be changed using the encoders to select different timing intervals (1/1 1/2 1/4 1/8 etc) and well as selecting a dotted or triplets grooves.

[@attractor9]

hello, how often crashes your maschine+? i am in the phase of listening to the demosongs and presets and it freezes every hour. is this normal?

[@Gangbang044]

his pads are different colors instead of same color for each pad....how do I get mine like his??

[@nic3939]

Hit "PAD MODE", go to the next page (right arrow) , pick a pad and choose the color. You can also choose group colors there. (You can choose default colors in the settings too.) Peace

[@pcgNino]

can u hook up external hard drive

[@Noisegate]

Hi, We're told that support for this is coming ..stay tuned

[@pcgNino]

@@Noisegate thanks I cant wait

[@VoodooDewey69]

Thanks for sharing this video but the more I look at drum machines the more I realize how much they suck, First you have to be a computer engineer just to use it . But the real problem is that they still sound like a cheap toy after all that programming . I think the biggest hurdle for musicians doing home recording is to find good drum tracks, hopefully in the future they'll improve .

[@IsshmanGarcia]

I'll stick with MPC live 2....this is sooo confusing.

[@Matthewsavant]

Man Native instruments absolutely ruined Maschine by turning it into a vessel to sell their expansions. The priority of the Maschine is clearly preset packs, it’s cumbersome to load your own samples and you can only have a 2 folders hierarchy, which means everyone would have to reorganize all of their samples to be no more than 2 folders deep in order to use them on machine plus, where as it’s extremely easy to buy their preset packs and navigate through them quickly. Same with the synth implementation, they allowed the ability to load synths in standalone yet made the ability to program the synths very cumbersome again hearing towards people who just want to play presets and maybe make minor adjustments. Real musicians who want to use their own samples and program their own patches are left in the dust. Native made a professional instrument but overloaded it beginner features. It’s not supposed to be a preset machine it’s supposed to be a drum machine/sampler for musicians and creatives who want to actually create their own stuff. It’s a shame because I was really excited to get a stand alone mashine but now I’ve got to find something else. Even the SP404mk2 is more geared towards real musicians. Native have really tanked

[@papepcool]

PlunkRock

[@milesmacquarrie5851]

How do you change the bpm without tapping it in? TIA

[@Noisegate]

Hi Miles, to the right of the large encoder there is a button that says 'Tempo'. When this is engaged use the encoder to change the BPM of your project.

[@stevenb9209]

I am actually more confused after watching this. Really wish someone could just teach the basic features on Maschine without all the tangents and just bouncing around screens so randomly. I am an Akai Force user and really interested in Maschine. If anyone knows some vids worthwhile please let me know.

[@FlatWHDF]

Right with you

[@fremoth]

I'm scared to buy Maschine+ because if my unit shows up defective I can't return or get it replaced. Too many horror stories.

[@NGC1986]

From what I understand most of the horror stories were solved after the first update. I got mine about 6 weeks ago, use it daily, and have had no issues whatsoever. CPU never gets about 50 percent or so and doesn't effect performance. Only time I have had any issues whatsoever is when I'm using a power bank to supply power, and the bank is running low, the unit doesn't perform as well.

[@bs5341765]

CAN YOU DO ASLOW VERGECAN YOU DO A SLOW EXPL

[@garygrenus9042]

OMG way too fast. Not a get started video at all. This is so advanced without any basics given. Slow down and show how to use each function. It was very difficult to follow as you are jumping all over the place. Not a beginner video. Very advanced. I think this machine plus is only for an advanced sound engineer

[@officialpoa3171]

*WTH!!! The video tutorial is GREAT! But my son; DUDE YOU NEED A NEW CAMERA...! Your fingers look phucking hyper crazy, as you move your hands and fingers across the path of those PADS..! The contrast from light and dark, plus what ever your camera is doing is making a TRIPPY graph pattern through your hands when you move across .... I am freaking out*

[@Nonpartisanmusic]

Why they put the Red Cross symbol is beyond me... a white plus would have done it. Emergency production kit?

[@epicon6]

On the road that's exactly what it's for :)

[@grandprz1008]

Go a little faster😂😂😂😂

[@scowlsmcjowls2626]

Thats what she said last nite