A few days after the release on the world market of the new Native Instruments products, Maschine Mk3 and Komplete Kontrol S Mk2, we meet Massimo D'Ambra, Producer, Musician
and Italian Endorser of the German giant.
Fresh from the victory of two Gold Discs and a Platinum Disc (Gue Pequeno "Trinità" / "Gentleman"), we meet Massimo in his Studio dealing with the preparations for the new product demo native instruments. We take advantage of it and ask him some questions about the innovations introduced on Machine, its Complete Control and how these tools have influenced his way of producing.
A.Campeglia: Hi Massimo! So, tell us a little about these news.
M. D'Ambra: Gladly! In my opinion, Maschine represents a truly innovative tool for musical production / performing. From the release of the first model, passing through the version Mk2, Male Studio, Male Jam, up to the brand new Maschine Mk3, Native Instruments has always met expectations, putting the technological aspect of its products in the foreground in favor of an increasingly intuitive and creative musical workflow.
Taking a look at Maschine Mk3, one of the important news is certainly the presence on board of a sound card 24bit/96khz 2 IN and 2 OUT + a microphone input and anheadphone output. Going further, we find the presence of 2 display high resolution and very low power consumption (Maschine Mk3 is powered entirely by USB, but can be further charged with the supplied power supply, to increase the brightness of the displays).
I 16 pad they have an exceptional dynamic curve, they are larger and the space between them has narrowed, allowing performance of finger drumming even more technical and effective. The layout of the function keys has been redesigned, with the addition of new keys for direct access to some functions used more often; there is the presence of a 4 Directional push encoders, a sort of wheel / button / joystick, very useful for navigating through the various menus, changing pan volumes etc ...
In addition, a Smart Strips as an additional check. The smart strip has countless features and is, in my opinion, one of the most creative and effective innovations introduced on Maschine Mk3 during performance.
HUNGRY: Wow, I feel really excited! Now can you explain to us, in practice, how the Maschine Mk3 behaves?
MDA: Yes, that's right, I'm very excited, and you would be too! You see, for a producer, a musician, having tools available to help your creativity come out is no small feat. On the market there are thousands of controllers, masters, and simli products, but in reality there are very few tools that in practice make "the difference".
Maschine Mk3 has a straightforward workflow, everything you think it should do, it does, and it goes even further: I mostly use it as a plug in inside Logic Pro X, and it's amazing how you can switch so easily from an arrangement to the other simply by reorganizing the patterns within Maschine, and listening in real time which is the most functional to our musical creation.
Paired with Komplete Kontrol Mk2 then… I have the feeling of having everything totally under control.
AC: Komplete Kontrol Mk2 and Maschine Mk3… how do they behave together?
MD: I believe that together these two machines are the most definitive a Producer could wish for: Komplete Kontrol Mk2 fully interfaces with Maschine and it is amazing to see how naturally the machines work “hand in hand”. You have the possibility, for example, to view the Maschine mixer on the Maschine displays and perhaps simultaneously view the Scenes and Patterns on the Komplete Kontrol displays; or, working on a DAW such as Logic Pro X o Ableton Live, have all the control of the transport, quantization, automation management and even the visualization of the mixer of your DAW inside the displays of the Komplete Kontrol, being able to manage volumes, pan pot and all other functions. I say it and my eyes shine !!!
AC: How much have these instruments changed your way of “making music”?
MDA: A lot, a lot. I fundamentally believe that the depth of a musician, of a producer, is in his head, in his ideas, in his sound, but having tools available that emphasize the creative process is no small feat. Maschine and Komplete Kontrol are now a constant presence in my productions. They are beautiful hardware with excellent attention to detail and accompanied by impeccable software management. I have followed Native Instruments since the beginning and I believe that over time they have well understood and interpreted the needs of those who make music in the third millennium.
AC: Is your choice to use Maschine and not another Professional Controller mainly due to an endorsing speech or would you have opted for Native Instruments products anyway?
MDA: From my enthusiasm you will surely have understood that I am "on the ball" with the products NI: I certainly have had and still own Masters and Controllers from other brands, for example in my live performances I often use a Nano Kontrol Mk2 by Korg or use one Keystation Mini 32 By M-Audio that I always carry in my holiday backpack in case I get the “creative blow” under the umbrella, but they are mostly “service” machines rather than creative tools, like Maschine or Komplete Kontrol. For sure, if I hadn't been chosen as their Endorser, I would have probably bought their entire range of products. Among other things, there is an unexpected factor that is the aesthetic aspect, and in this Native excels, there is not a single instrument, a single package that is not finished to perfection and that is not taken care of down to the smallest. particular; in this they remind me a lot Apple . However, it must be said that the market in general offers many alternatives, and often even at lower costs: I am thinking of Nektar, to Akay and M-Audio, but none of these brands have also established themselves on the software market. I invite you to try the interaction of Komplete Kontrol or Maschine with a virtual instruments and you will immediately understand what I am talking about.
AC: Do you think Maschine is still seen as a DJ product?
MDA: Absolutely not! Generally, whoever is still firm in this type of reasoning is a Musician or a Producer still firm at the time of Roland D50 or of DX7 (synth that I love), or belongs to a certain type of characters who do not have the technical / musical / computer skills to be able to interface with such innovative tools. I have never considered Maschine as one groove box, but as a tool that integrates itself into the production workflow, expanding and enriching the possible choices.
AC: Upcoming projects?
MDA: Soon, together with Native Instruments e midi music (Italian distributor Native Instruments), we will do a promotional tour of these products and we will touch almost all of Italy. It will be an opportunity to touch and listen to what I told you about. As soon as possible I will let you have dates and places, in order to invite friends who are readers of Age of Audio to come and visit us! Then many productions in Italy, France and Germany, in which I am having a lot of fun and in which I am already making an important use of Maschine and Komplete Kontrol.
AC: Then we wish you good luck and we will come and visit you on your demo tour!
MDA: I wait for you!
