Working with Patterns and Clips

The Pattern Editor is the all-in-one Pattern editing tool of the Maschine software.

Pattern Editor contains the following control elements:

The Pattern Editor (Group view depicted).

Patterns on the Controller

Your controller provides numerous modes to work on your Patterns:

• The Pattern Arrange mode allows you to quickly visualize the content of your Patterns and gives you access to various edit commands (see below).

• The Pattern mode allows you to select and manage your Patterns: Managing Patterns.

• The Control mode (default mode of your controller) allows you to record Patterns in real-time using various recording modes: Recording Patterns in Real-Time. It also allows you to record modulation for your Pattern: Recording and Editing Modulation.

• The Step mode allows you to record Patterns (including modulation) in the step sequencer: Recording Patterns with the Step Sequencer.

• The Event Select mode allows you to select the desired events: Selecting Events/Notes.

• The Event Edit mode lets you edit the selected events: Editing Selected Events/Notes.

• The Grid mode lets you adjust the Step Grid: Adjusting the Step Grid and the Nudge Grid.

The Pattern Arrange Mode

The Pattern Arrange mode is a powerful tool that allows you to visually control the content of your Patterns while providing important Pattern management features.

To enter Pattern Arrange mode on your controller:

1. Press ARRANGER to enter Arrange mode. The ARRANGER button lights up to indicate that Arrange mode is activated.

2. Press Button 2 (PATTERN) to enter Pattern Arrange mode.

   Button 2 lights up and the PATTERN label underneath is highlighted to indicate that the controller is in Pattern Arrange mode.

The Pattern Arrange mode in the controller displays: Keyboard view (top) and Group view (bottom).

In Pattern Arrange mode, the displays of your controller show the following:

• The left display provides an overview of the whole Pattern:

  • The display follows the Group or Keyboard view of the Pattern Editor in the software and the mode of your pads: if your pads are in Pad Mode the display shows all events for all Sounds in the Group; if your pads are in Keyboard mode the display shows all notes at all pitches for the focused Sound. For more information, refer to Group View and Keyboard View.

  • The velocity of each event/note is indicated by its transparency. Selected events/notes are highlighted. You can also select individual events using the Page buttons (left of the displays).

  • The overview includes a timeline (1). A white vertical line indicates the current playback position (2). In addition, a frame (3) shows you which part of your arrangement is currently shown in the right display (see below).

  • Above the arrangement overview, you see the name of the Project, the focused Group, or the focused Sound (depending on which of the MASTER, GROUP , or SOUND tab is selected in the software’s Control area) along with the current tempo and playback position.

• The right display provides a detailed view of a portion of your Pattern:

  • The name of the selected Pattern is indicated at the top of the display (6).

  • The velocity of each event/note is indicated by its transparency. If visible, selected events/notes are highlighted.

  • With the pads in Pad Mode, the display shows events for all Sounds in the Group. The 16 Sound slots of the Group are represented in the leftmost column by their index number (5). The focused Sound is highlighted.

  • With the pads in Keyboard mode, the display shows notes on two octaves for the focused Sound. On the left, a piano roll (4) indicates the pitch of the various events. On the piano roll, each C is indicated by its octave number and the middle C (C3 in the Maschine convention) is colored. Additionally, the pitch of any played note is highlighted. Turn Knob 7 to scroll on the pitch axis (vertical axis) from events at the lowest pitch until events at the highest pitch. If all events are within two octaves, they all appear in the display, and Knob 7 is inactive.

  • Horizontally, the displayed time interval is variable: Turn Knob 5 and 6 to zoom and scroll horizontally in the right display to your liking, respectively.

  • As in the left display, you can see a timeline (7) at the top and a vertical playhead indicator (8) across the entire display.

Tip

In Pattern Arrange mode the pads behave as in Control mode. In particular, this allows you to record Patterns while seeing them developing in the displays! For more information, refer to Recording Patterns in Real-Time.

Finally, the Pattern Arrange mode provides useful commands for the selected Pattern:

• Turn Knob 4 (LENGTH) to adjust the Pattern Length (refer to section Adjusting the Arrange Grid and the Pattern Length).

• Press Button 3 (DOUBLE) to double the Pattern (refer to section Doubling a Pattern).

• Press Button 4 (DUPLICATE) to duplicate the Pattern (refer to section Duplicating, Copying, and Pasting Patterns).

• Press Button 5 (EVENTS) to access Event Edit mode, which allows you to precisely adjust the selected events (refer to section Editing Selected Events/Notes).

The Event area in the Pattern Editor can be scrolled and zoomed in or out to fit your current needs.

Navigating the Pattern Editor Horizontally (Time)

A zooming scroll bar is available at the bottom of the Pattern Editor. This tool allows you to both scroll and zoom in/out horizontally in the Event area and the Control Lane on the time axis:

The zooming scroll bar at the bottom of the Pattern Editor.

Use the horizontal zooming scroll bar as follows:

• Click the main part (1) of the scroll bar and hold the mouse button, then:

  • Drag your mouse horizontally to scroll through the Event area on the time axis (common scroll bar behavior).

  • Drag your mouse vertically to zoom in or out of the Event area on the time axis. The center of the zoom operation will be exactly where you placed your mouse cursor when you clicked.

• Click the left handle (2) of the scroll bar, hold the mouse button, and drag your mouse horizontally to zoom in or out of the Event area while keeping the right border of the display at a fixed position in the Pattern.

• Similarly, click the right handle (3) of the scroll bar, hold the mouse button, and drag your mouse horizontally to zoom in or out of the Event area while keeping the left border of the display at a fixed position in the Pattern.

• Double-click the main part (1) to reset the zoom and display the entire Pattern.

Tip

The Event Area and the Control Lane (if visible) always stay in sync on the time axis. For more information, refer to Creating and Editing Modulation in the Control Lane.

Navigating the Pattern Editor Vertically (Sounds or Pitches)

When the Pattern Editor is in Group view, a classic scroll bar is visible right of the Pattern Editor. It allows you to scroll to hidden Sound slots in case all of them don’t fit in the Pattern Editor.

When the Pattern Editor is in Keyboard view, a vertical zooming scroll bar is available on the right of the Pattern Editor allowing you to both scroll and zoom in/out vertically on the pitch axis. It works in the same way as the horizontal bar described above.

Notice

For more information on the Group and Keyboard view, refer to Group View and Keyboard View.

You can also adjust the height of the Pattern Editor in order to display more/fewer Sound slots at once by resizing the Arranger above. For more information, refer to Navigating Song View.

You can use the timeline above the Event area to set the playback to the desired position. For example, this can be useful to check a particular transition between events in your Pattern without waiting for the whole Loop Range to be looped.

In the timeline above the Event area, a playhead (the little white vertical line) indicates the current play position in the Pattern.

The playhead in the timeline shows you the current play position.

The Pattern Editor allows you to edit the events for all 16 Sound slots of the selected Group: this is called the Group view.

• Click the Group View button (showing little rows) on the left of the Pattern Editor to switch it to Group view:

  

In Group view each row of the Event area represents a different Sound slot.

In Group view, the Pattern Editor shows the events for all Sounds in the Group.

This view is well suited for rhythmic instruments (for example, a drum kit) since you can see and edit the events for all Sounds at once, without worrying about the pitch of the events you create or edit.

The Keyboard View

Alternatively, you can switch the Pattern Editor to Keyboard view:

• Click the Keyboard View button (showing a little keyboard) on the left of the Pattern Editor to switch it to Keyboard view:

  

  The Event area now only shows notes for the selected Sound. By adding or editing notes, you can choose their pitch in semitones depending on where you place them on the vertical axis, the lowest note being the lowest row.

In Keyboard view, the Pattern Editor shows all notes for a particular Sound.

If you select another Sound slot in the Sound List on the left, the whole Event area will switch to the notes for that Sound.

On the left of the Event area, a vertical piano roll indicates the note corresponding to each row in the Event area. Octaves are indicated by a number on each C key: for example, the middle C, which is noted C3 in the Maschine convention, will read “3.” Click any note on the piano roll to trigger the selected Sound at that particular pitch.

This view is well suited for melodic instruments (for example, a piano) since you can focus on a particular Sound, and edit notes at every pitch.

The Arrange Grid defines regularly spaced-out timings notably used in the following situations:

The Step Grid defines regularly spaced-out timings (the “steps”) at which your events/notes can be created, moved, etc. The Step Grid resolution corresponds to the step size, which directly affects the precision of all Pattern editing actions, including quantization (refer to Quantizing Events/Notes).

In the Pattern Editor, the Step Grid is indicated by the gray vertical lines in the Event area:

The vertical lines represent the Step Grid in the Event area.

By default the Step Grid is active and the step size is 1/16th. However, you may use another step size or disable the Step Grid completely, as described below.

Enabling or Disabling the Step Grid

• To enable or disable the Step Grid, click the Step Grid button (showing a little grid icon) in the bottom left corner of the Pattern Editor.

The Step Grid is activated.

Adjusting the Step Grid

The Step Grid resolution can be adjusted via the Step Size menu, showing a value next to the grid icon at the bottom left of the Pattern Editor:

The Step Size menu lets you adjust the Step Grid resolution.

• To select the step size that will apply to all your editing actions, click the value next to the grid icon at the bottom left of the Pattern Editor and choose the desired step size from the drop-down menu. Values range from 1 Bar to 1/128 and also include triplet values. The default value is 1/16th note.

The Nudge Grid

In addition to the Step Grid described above, a secondary grid specifically controls the timings at which existing events/notes can be nudged in the Pattern: the Nudge Grid.

Tip

Nudging events means shifting them a small amount ahead or behind their current position. For more information, refer to Editing Selected Events/Notes.

The Nudge Grid is based on the Step Grid:

• The Nudge Grid is active when the Step Grid is active. If the Step Grid is deactivated, nudging events will shift them at the maximum resolution of the sequencer.

• By default, the Nudge Grid resolution is half a step, meaning that events will be nudged by half a step at a time.

• If you set the Nudge Grid resolution to a full step, the Nudge Grid will mirror the Step Grid and you can nudge events with the same resolution as when creating or quantizing events.

• You can also set the Nudge Grid resolution to a smaller fraction of the Step Grid resolution. This allows you to nudge events with even finer increments.

The Nudge Grid resolution can be adjusted in the context menu of the Event area:

• To adjust the Nudge Grid, right-click ([Ctrl]-click on macOS) on the background of the Event area, select Nudge Grid in the menu, and choose a resolution from the values available in the submenu: Step, Step/2, Step/4, Step/8, and Step/16:

  

Notice

The Nudge Grid is not indicated in the Event area of the Pattern Editor.

In Control mode, your controller provides many tools to live record Patterns for the focused Group.

Overdub Mode

Overdub mode is the most usual recording mode. In this mode, all pad hits are added as events/notes, no matter if the Pattern already contains events.

Recording a Pattern: press PLAY, then REC, and hit some pads!

Replace Mode

When recording in Replace mode the events of the selected Sound(s) are replaced by what you play.

In order to prevent you from erasing events accidentally, in the following situations Replace mode is automatically disengaged (ERASE turns off) and the recording continues in Overdub mode:

You can also manually disengage Replace mode and switch to Overdub mode:

Where are the Events Recorded?

When you start recording the pads, the events are recorded as follows:

When you get ready to record, you can also use the Record Prepare mode on your controller to quickly create a new Pattern with the desired length and directly start the recording! For more information, refer to The Record Prepare Mode.

The Record Prepare mode is very useful when you are about to start a new recording. Indeed, it allows you to adjust the Pattern Length and the resolution of the Pattern Grid right before starting a recording. This way you can quickly create a new Pattern with the desired pattern length and directly start recording events in it.

Auto-Growing Patterns lets you record patterns of an undefined length. This means that when inspiration strikes, you can quickly capture an idea without having to set a pattern length in advance. Simply begin recording and the length of the pattern will grow until you stop recording, allowing you to maintain your creative flow.

When you have finished recording, any silence at the end of the pattern will automatically be trimmed to the nearest Bar (quantization can be adjusted via grid settings). You can then define the start of your pattern and set its length, to pick the take or part of your recording that you liked best. 

Setting Auto-Growing Pattern in the Preferences

Auto-Growing Patterns is activated by default unless the pattern length is manually changed before recording. However, the Auto-Grow Patterns can be activated/deactivated in the Preferences page of the software.

To enable/disable Auto-Grow Patterns from the software:

The metronome will help you to keep time when recording in real-time.

The metronome signal is sent to the Cue bus. To know how to use the Cue bus, refer to section Using the Cue Bus.

You can customize the metronome in various ways in the Preferences panel:

Count-in allows you to start the metronome before the sequencer and recording begin. This is very handy if you want to start recording a Pattern exactly on the downbeat.

When recording starts with a Count-in, the following happens:

If the current Loop Range does not start at the beginning of a bar (i.e. on a downbeat), the count-in phase will start with a downbeat, count the selected duration (1, 2, or 4 bars), and then add the offset between the beginning of the bar in which the beginning of the Loop Range is placed and the actual beginning of the Loop Range:

Count-in when the Loop Range starts at the beginning of a bar…

…and when the Loop Range doesn’t start at the beginning of a bar.

You can also use the Count-in to start a recording in Replace mode.

Adjusting the Count-in Duration

You can choose how long the metronome should be heard before the recording actually starts. In the software, this is done via the Count-in Length setting in the General page of the Preferences panel. Available values are 1 bar, 2 bars, and 4 bars. For more information, refer to Preferences – General Page.

You can choose to have notes automatically quantized as you record. This is called Input Quantization.

On your controller, the step sequencer is available via the Step mode. The Step mode allows you to program the steps to be played by the focused Sound in the current Group.

1. Press STEP to switch your controller to Step mode.

2. Move the 4-D encoder up or down to select a Sound.

Step mode is a submode of Event Edit mode available on the PATTERN page of Arrange mode (refer to Editing Selected Events/Notes for more information on the Event Edit mode). Hence, it is very similar to the Event Edit mode.

The main difference with the Event Edit mode is that in Step mode each pad of your controller represents one step of a 16-step sequence for the focused Sound. The size of the steps depends on the current Step Grid settings. Lit pads indicate events on the corresponding steps.

Notice

For more information on the Step Grid, refer to Adjusting the Step Grid and the Nudge Grid.

The displays of your controller show the following:

The Step mode on the controller displays: the first bar of an eight-bar Pattern.

The left display shows your entire Pattern, and the right display focuses on the portion of the Pattern corresponding to the steps controlled by your pads. The details shown in the displays depend on the current mode of your pads:

• If your pads are in Pad Mode:

  • The left display shows events for all Sounds in the Group.

  • The right display shows events for the focused Sound in one row at the top along with their velocities underneath.

• If your pads are in Keyboard mode both displays show notes for the focused Sound across the pitch scale. Depending on the pitches of the existing notes, turn Knob 7 to scroll pitches in the right display (in the left display the vertical zoom factor is automatically adjusted so that all notes appear in the display).

Recording a Sequence

1. Set the focus on the Sound you want to record by pushing the 4-D encoder up or down or by holding SELECT and pressing the pad of the desired Sound (refer to Focusing on a Group or a Sound).

2. Press PLAY. You will see the playback position in the form of a light chasing through the pads, starting from pad 1, going up all four rows from left to right, and ending at pad 16. At any time you can enable/disable PLAY as you see fit (for example, to check how your actions affect the Pattern).

3. Press an unlit pad to create an event on that step. The pad lights up to indicate that there is an event on that step. The new event is one step long. The next time the playback position reaches that step the new event will be played.

4. Press a lit pad to remove that step.

   The pad turns off and the event on that step is deleted.

5. When you are done with the sequence of that Sound, repeat the previous steps to create sequences for all desired Sounds.

This way it’s easy to quickly put some drums together.

In Step mode events are created with the following settings:

• The event pitch is set to the Sound’s base key (refer to Adjusting the Base Key.

• The event velocity is defined by how hard you hit the pads unless you have activated the Fixed Velocity option (see below).

• The event length is set to one step (hence, it depends on the current Step Grid settings).

• Obviously, the event position is defined by the pad you hit.

Checking Your Sequence (Right Display)

The right display of your controller provides more information on the sequence:

• Individual events/notes are represented by rectangular blocks. These always mirror the steps currently represented by your pads. In both Group and Keyboard mode, velocities are indicated by the event transparency: the more transparent the event, the softer the velocity (in Pad Mode velocities are additionally indicated under each event in the display).

• The playback position in the Pattern is indicated by a playhead traveling from left to right.

• The Step Grid is displayed in the background.

To switch the right display and your pads to another part of the sequence, you have two possibilities:

• Press the FOLLOW button or Button 5 (FOLLOW) above the display to enable/disable the Follow function.

When Follow is activated, the right display and your pads automatically switch to the next 16 steps as soon as the playback position reaches the end of the portion currently displayed.

In Step mode, you can quickly adjust the parameters of events on particular steps.

You can also record modulation in Step mode. This is helpful when you want to set value changes at a specific time in a Pattern.

In the software, you can choose between Select mode and Pencil mode. Each of them provides different mouse actions in the Event area.

The Edit Mode selector.

Listed here are all available mouse actions from the Mouse Edit modes. For more information, refer to Editing Events.

Mouse in Select Mode

The following table is an overview of available mouse actions in Select mode (works in both Group view and Keyboard view, refer to Group View and Keyboard View).

* When editing, mouse actions can be performed on any of the selected notes — they will apply to all selected notes.

Mouse in Pencil Mode

When Pencil mode is activated, you can use the mouse draw events or notes:

The other way round:

In the software, you can create new events anywhere in the Event area using your mouse. The procedure depends on the active Mouse Edit mode (Select or Pencil).

Each event is created at the beginning of the step in which your mouse cursor is located, according to the Step Grid settings. If the Step Grid is deactivated, the event is created at the exact position of your mouse cursor.

In Group view you can create events at the base key for all Sounds in the Group, no matter which Sound is focused. In Keyboard view you can create events at all keys (pitches) for the focused Sound. You need to set the focus to another Sound in order to create events for that Sound.

Mouse in Select Mode

Mouse in Pencil Mode

Creating Events beyond the Pattern’s End

If you create an event beyond the end of the Pattern in the Event area, the Pattern is automatically extended to the next Pattern Grid division after the new event so that the Pattern includes this new event.

Use Select mode to select events/notes in your Pattern. Select mode is the default mode indicated by the unhighlighted Pencil icon. Notably, the Select mode allows you to define which events you apply your edits.

Select mode indicated by the unhighlighted Pencil icon.

Selecting All Events

You can select all events displayed in the Event area via the usual keyboard shortcut on your operating system:

Selecting Events/Notes on the Controller

Using your controller, you can quickly select particular events from the current Pattern and in order to edit them without affecting the other events.

To select events in your Pattern:

1. Hold EVENTS to enter Event Edit mode, or press EVENTS + Button 1 to pin the Event Edit mode.

2. Press Button 2 (SELECT) to enter Event Select mode.

   The EVENTS button lights up. You can now select notes and events using various tools: the 4-D encoder, the pads, Buttons 5–8, Knobs 1–4, and the Page buttons (left of the displays).

Tip

The Event Select mode complements Event Edit mode. You can quickly switch between the two modes by pressing Button 2 (SELECT).

Depending on the current pad mode (Pad Mode or Keyboard mode, refer to The Pad View in the Software), these tools will select events differently, as described in the following paragraphs.

Event Select Mode: Selecting Events (Pads in Pad Mode)

In Pad Mode (the default mode of the pads), each pad represents a specific Sound of the focused Group.

When your pads are in Pad Mode the Event Select mode looks as follows:

Selecting events on the controller with the pads in Pad Mode.

• The left display shows an overview of the events in your Pattern for all Sounds in the Group.

• The right display shows a detailed view of a portion of your Pattern with events and their velocities for the focused Sound.

You can adjust the right display as follows:

1. Turn Knob 5 to zoom in/out of events on the right display.

2. Turn Knob 6 to scroll events on the right display.

3. Turn Knob 7 to increase/decrease the size of the Sound lane.

You have following selection tools at your disposal:

Selection Tool	Description
Pads	Unlit pads indicate Sounds for which the Pattern has no events. Nothing happens when you press them. Dimmed pads indicate Sounds for which events can be selected: Press any dimmed pad to add all events for that Sound to the selection. The pad turns fully lit to indicate that all its events are selected. You can press any additional dimmed pad to add its events to the selection. Pressing a dimmed pad additionally switches the focus to the corresponding Sound. Fully lit pads indicate Sounds for which all events are selected: Press any lit pad to remove all its events from the selection (the pad turns dim-lit).
4-D encoder	Select a Sound: Move the 4-D encoder up/down to select a Sound. Select an event: Turn the 4-D encoder to select an event. Nudge: Move the 4-D encoder left/right to nudge the selected event. Press Button 4 (GRID) to move events in relation to the selected Step Grid value. Change event length: Press and turn the 4-D encoder to change the length of the selected event. Press Button 4 (GRID) to resize events in relation to the selected Step Grid value.
Button 2 (SELECT)	Switch between Event Select mode and Event Edit mode.
Button 4 (GRID)	Selects/deselects the Step Grid. When the GRID is selected, events can be nudged or resized with the 4-D encoder relative to the value of the Step Grid. Press SHIFT + FOLLOW (Grid) to access the Step Grid.
Button 5/6 (ALL/NONE)	Selects/deselects all events for all Sounds, i.e. all events in the Pattern.
Button 7/8 (UP/DOWN)	Switch the focus to the previous/next Sound in order to add or remove some of its events to/from the selection (using Knob 1, 2, and 4, and the Page buttons, refer to below). The name of the selected Sound is indicated under the EVENTS label in the top left corner of the left display.
Page buttons	Drop the current selection and select the previous/next individual event for the focused Sound.
Knob 1/2 (START/END)	Define the start and endpoints in the timeline for the selected event of the focused Sound. All events within this time interval are included in the selection.
Knob 4 (EVENT)	Selects individual events for the focused Sound using the events’ index number (their “order of appearance” in the Pattern). If the selection contains more than one event, the EVENT field indicates (MULTI).
Knob 5	Turn Knob 5 to zoom in/out of events on the right display.
Knob 6	Turn Knob 6 to scroll events on the right display.
Knob 7	Turn Knob 7 to increase/decrease the size of the Sound lane on the right display.
Page buttons	Drop the current selection and select the previous/next individual event for the focused Sound.

By combining these tools you can precisely define the selection of events you want to edit.

Event Select Mode: Selecting Notes (Pads in Keyboard mode)

In Keyboard mode each pad represents a specific pitch of the focused Sound.

When your pads are in Keyboard mode the Event Select mode looks as follows:

Selecting events on the controller with the pads in Keyboard mode.

• The left display shows an overview of the events in your Pattern for all pitches of the focused Sound.

• The right display shows a detailed view of a portion of your Pattern containing events on two octaves.

You can adjust the right display as follows:

You can adjust the right display as follows:

1. Turn Knob 5 to zoom in/out of events on the right display.

2. Turn Knob 6 to scroll events on the right display.

3. Turn Knob 7 to increase/decrease the size of the Sound lane.

You have the following selection tools at your disposal:

Selection Tool	Description
Pads	Unlit pads indicate pitches at which the Pattern has no notes. Nothing happens when you press them. Dimmed pads indicate pitches at which notes can be selected: Press any dimmed pad to add all notes at that pitch to the selection. The pad turns fully lit to indicate that all its notes are selected. You can press any additional dimmed pad to add its notes to the selection. Fully lit pads indicate pitches at which all notes are selected: Press any lit pad to remove all its notes from the selection (the pad turns dim-lit).
4-D encoder	Select an event: Turn the 4-D encoder to select an event. Nudge: Move the 4-D encoder left/right to nudge the selected event. Press Button 4 (GRID) to move events relative to the value of the Step Grid. Change pitch: Move the 4-D encoder up/down to change the pitch of the selected event. Change event length: Press and turn the 4-D encoder to change the length of the selected event. Press Button 4 (GRID) to resize events relative to the value of the Step Grid.
Button 2 (SELECT)	Switch between Event Select mode and Event Edit mode.
Button 4 (GRID)	Selects/deselects the Step Grid. When the GRID is selected, events can be nudged or resized with the 4-D encoder relative to the value of the Step Grid. Press SHIFT + FOLLOW (Grid) to access the Step Grid.
Button 5/6 (ALL/NONE)	Selects/deselects all notes for all pitches of the current Sound, in short, all events of that Sound.
Button 7/8 (UP/DOWN)	Switch the focus to the previous/next Sound in order to add or remove some of its notes to/from the selection. The name of the selected Sound is indicated under the EVENTS label in the top left corner of the left display.
Knob 1/2 (START/END)	Define the selection’s start and endpoints in the timeline for the focused Sound. All notes within this time interval and within the pitch interval defined by LOW and HIGH (see below) are included in the selection.
Knob 3/4 (LOW/HIGH)	Define the selection’s lowest and highest pitch for the focused Sound. All notes within this pitch interval and within the time interval defined by START and END (see above) are included in the selection.
Page buttons	Drop the current selection and select the previous/next individual event for the focused Sound.

By combining these tools you can precisely define the selection of notes you want to edit.

Once you have selected particular events, you can edit them in various ways.

In the software, you can edit events with your mouse only if Select mode is selected in the Edit Mode selector. Select mode is the default mode indicated by the unhighlighted Pencil icon:

Select mode indicated by the unhighlighted Pencil icon.

If multiple notes are selected, mouse actions can be performed on any of the selected notes — they will apply to all selected notes.

If you perform any of the actions listed above on a note not included in the current selection, the selection is dropped and the note you are editing will be the only note affected by your edit.

Quantization when Editing a Single Event/Note

By default, all dragging actions on the time axis are quantized according to the Step Grid:

Quantization when Editing Multiple Events/Notes at Once

When you drag multiple notes (or their duplicates) on the time axis or resize them according to the Step Grid, the various notes in the selection are affected as follows:

Dragging vs. Nudging

Dragging with the mouse is different from the Nudge command on your controller:

In the software, the Nudge command is not available with your mouse but via a keyboard shortcut:

See the hardware section below for more information on the Nudge command.

Editing Selected Events/Notes on the Controller

Your controller provides various features in order to edit the events you have selected.

Editing Events and Notes via the Event Edit Mode

The Event Edit mode provides you with a few essential editing functions. These functions will be applied to the current selection of events.

• Press EVENTS to enter Event Edit mode.

  The EVENTS screen appears.

If your pads are in Pad Mode the Event Edit mode looks as follows:

The Event Edit mode on the controller with pads in Pad Mode.

• The left display shows an overview of the events in your Pattern for all Sounds in the Group.

• The right display shows a detailed view of a portion of your Pattern with events and their velocities for the focused Sound.

If your pads are in Keyboard mode the Event Edit mode looks as follows:

The Event Edit mode on the controller with pads in Keyboard mode.

• The left display shows an overview of the events in your Pattern for all pitches of the focused Sound.

• The right display shows a detailed view of a portion of your Pattern containing events on two octaves.

You can adjust the right display as follows:

1. Turn Knob 5 and 6 to zoom in/out and scroll on the time axis (horizontal axis), respectively.

2. If your pads are in Keyboard mode, turn Knob 7 to scroll on the pitch axis (vertical axis) from events at the lowest pitch until events at the highest pitch.

Under the left display Knob 1–4 provide the following editing functions:

Editing Tool	Description
Knob 1 (POSITION)	Nudges selected events, i.e. shifts selected events on the timeline according to the Nudge Grid (the events’ offsets relative to the Nudge Grid are preserved). Hold SHIFT while you turn the knob to temporarily override the Nudge Grid quantization and adjust the positions in extremely small increments. For more information, refer to Adjusting the Step Grid and the Nudge Grid. If one event only is selected, its position is shown under POSITION. If several events are selected, the field shows (MULTI). See also the alternate method described below.
Knob 2 (PITCH)	Transposes the selected events by semitones. If one event only is selected, its pitch is shown under PITCH. If several events are selected, the field shows (MULTI). See also the alternate method described below.
Knob 3 (VELOCITY)	Adjusts the velocity of the selected events. If the events have different velocities, the velocities differences are retained as long as the limits (0 and 127) are not reached. If one event only is selected, its velocity is shown under VELOCITY. If several events are selected, the field shows (MULTI).
Knob 4 (LENGTH)	Moves the end of the selected events according to the Step Grid (the offset of each event’s end relative to the Step Grid is preserved). Hold SHIFT while you turn the knob to temporarily override the Step Grid quantization and adjust the lengths in extremely small increments. If the events have different lengths, the length differences are retained as long as no event becomes shorter than one step. If one event only is selected, its length is shown under LENGTH. If several events are selected, the field shows (MULTI).

Tip

You can also use these editing functions to quickly create variations of your Patterns during a live performance.

The following paragraphs will show you alternate editing functions available in the EDIT section of your controller. These functions also work outside Select mode.

Nudge Events and Notes

Nudging allows you to shift selected events by the Nudge Grid resolution (the events’ offsets relative to the Nudge Grid are preserved).

Notice

The Nudge Grid is based on the Step Grid and allows you to define even smaller jumps than the Step Grid divisions to move your events more precisely. For more information, refer to Adjusting the Step Grid and the Nudge Grid.

• Press SHIFT + pad 7 (NUDGE <) to nudge the selected events to the left, or SHIFT + pad 8 (NUDGE >) to nudge the selected events to the right. If nothing is selected, all events/notes in the Pattern will be affected.

Tip

Setting the Step Grid to “Off” and then using Nudge will shift events in extremely small increments. This can be used to creatively add groove to Patterns, for example, shifting the snare drum so that it is ever so slightly late, or “in the pocket” (something a funk drummer does naturally!).

Transpose Events and Notes

You can transpose selected events by semitones or octaves to match their pitch to your taste.

• To transpose the selected events down in semitones press SHIFT + pad 13 (SEMITONE -); to transpose the selected events up press SHIFT + pad 14 (SEMITONE +). If nothing is selected, all events/notes in the Pattern will be affected.

To transpose the selected events down in octaves press SHIFT + pad 15 (OCTAVE -); to transpose the selected events up press SHIFT + pad 16 (OCTAVE +). If nothing is selected, all events in the Pattern will be affected.

In the software you can delete events in the Event area using your mouse. The procedure depends on the active Mouse Edit mode (Select or Pencil).

Mouse in Select Mode

If some events are selected, you can also press [Del] or [Backspace] on your computer keyboard to delete them. For more information, refer to Selecting Events/Notes.

Mouse in Pencil Mode

You can also cut, copy and paste selected events to another location in the same Pattern or to a different Pattern and for the same Sound or another one (possibly in another Group).

To cut, copy, and paste the selected events/notes in the software, do the following:

Pasting Rules

The location at which the cut or copied events will be pasted depends on the following:

Quantization is the process of moving events to the closest steps. You can quantize your notes at any time, no matter how you recorded them. They will be quantized according to the step size (i.e. Step Grid resolution) selected. If you turn the Step Grid off, no quantization will be applied. See section Adjusting the Step Grid and the Nudge Grid above for more information on the Step Grid and the step size.

There are two strengths of quantization:

In addition, if you record notes from a MIDI keyboard or use the pads, and create unwanted double notes where you don’t want them; Maschine automatically detects and removes these double notes while quantizing.

Quantizing Events via the Pattern Editor Context Menu

Quantize and Quantize 50% are available from the Pattern Editor context menu. This menu provides the same functionality as pressing QUANTIZE and QUANTIZE 50% on the Maschine hardware.

Quantize and Quantize 50% in the Pattern Editor context menu.

To apply full or half quantization using the Maschine software:

Input Quantization mode allows you to quantize events also as you play them on the pads.

Input Quantization can be set to the following modes in the Preferences:

Your controller provides a useful shortcut to double the length and content of the current Pattern. In the software, you can do this for example by copying all events, putting the Playhead indicator at the end of the Pattern, and pasting the events (the Pattern Length is automatically doubled).

Variation provides an abundance of inspiration and even “happy accidents” when applied to your workflow. The variation engine contains two modes:

Variation is available in both Pad mode and Keyboard mode and can be applied to a Sound. In Keyboard mode, the Variation Random mode contains extra parameters that allow you to add variety to melodic content.

All the modulatable parameters are found in Plug-ins or Channel properties (e.g., you cannot modulate the Pattern Length or the Step Grid resolution). This means that all modulatable parameters are found in a Parameter page of the Control area (when the software is in Arrange view).

In order to be modulatable, parameters of Plug-ins and Channel properties have to meet the following requirements:

Almost all parameters meeting these requirements can be modulated, the only exceptions being:

Also note that your Macro Controls will be modulatable if, and only if, their target parameters are themselves modulatable. For more information, refer to Creating Custom Sets of Parameters with the Macro Controls.

If you take a closer look at the knobs in the software Parameter pages of the Control area you will notice they have an outer ring that changes its color to light grey as soon as you hover over it with the cursor.

Drag the outer ring of the knobs to record modulation.

As soon as you create modulation for a parameter, the following happens:

Removing Modulation

You can also use the outer ring to remove the entire modulation for the knob:

You can also create, select, and edit individual modulation points in the Modulation pane of the Control Lane.

Displaying the Modulation Pane in the Control Lane

The Modulation pane showing the modulation track for the Decay parameter (on the left).

The Modulation pane contains the following elements:

As soon as some modulation is recorded for a parameter in a particular Pattern of the Group, the corresponding Modulator and modulation track appear for all Patterns of the Group. The track will be empty for Patterns in which you haven’t recorded any modulation for this parameter yet. Similarly, if you delete this Modulator in the Modulator List and its modulation track in a Pattern, it will be deleted in all other Patterns of the Group as well.

Editing Modulation Points

You can create, edit, and delete modulation points in the displayed modulation track with your mouse. As for the Event area above, the mouse behavior in the Control Lane will depend on the Mouse Edit mode selected in the Edit Mode selector, at the bottom left of the Pattern Editor:

The Edit Mode selector.

All actions in the Control Lane are quantized according to the Step Grid. For more information, refer to Adjusting the Step Grid and the Nudge Grid.

Adding a Modulation Track

As soon as you record modulation for a new parameter in the software or from your controller, a new modulation track is automatically created and contains your recorded movements in form of modulation points. But you can also create a new modulation track from scratch in the Control Lane. Here is how.

At the end of the Modulator List (in the left part of the Control Lane) you can use the “+” symbol to create a new modulation track.

Click the “+” symbol to add a new modulation track.

To create a new modulation track:

Resetting a Modulation Track

Re-Assigning a Modulation Track

Removing a Modulation Track

First of all, you don’t need to explicitly create a new empty Pattern before filling it with events:

You can still manually create a new empty Pattern in the software:

You can create and delete Pattern banks in order to organize your Patterns to your liking.

You can replace the Patterns’ default names with custom names of your own. This can be done in the Pattern Editor, in the Pattern Manager, or in the Arranger.

Renaming Patterns in the Pattern Editor

To rename the selected Pattern in the Pattern Editor:

Renaming Patterns in the Pattern Manager

To rename any Pattern even if it is not selected:

Renaming Patterns in the Arranger

You can also rename a Pattern in the Arranger via any Clip referencing this Pattern:

By default, Patterns take the color of the Group they belong to. But you can adapt the color of each individual Pattern to your needs. To do this:

Maschine provides different ways of copying/pasting Patterns.

You can reorder Patterns via drag and drop in the software. It can be helpful to organize your Patterns more conveniently (for example, to bring together variations of the same rhythm).

To move Patterns:

Patten Length can be adjusted in fine increments to create irregular pattern lengths by temporarily pressing the [Shift] button on your computer keyboard or SHIFT on the Maschine controller while adjusting the Pattern Length. The size of fine increments are defined using the Step Grid.

The Audio drag-and-drop function allows you to export audio from the selected Pattern onto your desktop or into your host software by simply dragging it onto the target location or application. This function is only available in the software.

The audio will be exported as a WAV audio file and according to the current settings of the Export Audio panel (refer to Exporting Audio for more information on these settings) with the following exceptions:

To render Patterns to audio files:

You can export MIDI files from selected Patterns. This is useful if you want to use or edit them in another application. This function is only available in the software.

The MIDI file will be exported according to the Channel and Transpose parameters in the MIDI page of the Output properties of each exported Sound. For more information, refer to Sending MIDI from Sounds.

You can export MIDI files using two methods: via drag-and-drop or via the Group/Sound context menu.

Exporting MIDI via Drag-and-Drop

You can render the selected Pattern to a MIDI file by simply dragging it onto the target location on your operating system or directly into a MIDI channel of your host software:

Exporting MIDI via the Context Menu

You can also render the selected Pattern to a MIDI file on your hard disk using the Export MIDI… entry in the context menu of the Sound or Group:

Sounds that do not contain note events in a Group Pattern are exported as empty MIDI tracks. This way, if you are exporting multiple Patterns and some Sounds in the Group only have notes in some of these Patterns, you will get a consistent assignment of notes to MIDI tracks across all exported Patterns. Also, when you export a Pattern and then re-import it into Maschine, the notes will always be mapped to the correct Sounds.

You can import MIDI files (extension “.mid”) to Patterns. This allows you to use Maschine MIDI files prepared with another application. This function is only available in the software.

You can import MIDI files into Groups or into individual Sounds. You can do this via three methods: via the context menu of the Group/Sound, via drag-and-drop, or via the FILES pane of the Browser. You can even import multiple MIDI files at once. The following paragraphs describe each of these situations.

Importing a MIDI File to a Group

You can import a MIDI file to a whole Group. In particular, this allows you to import a drumbeat for an entire drum kit. You can do this via the Group’s context menu or via drag-and-drop.

Method 1: via the Group’s context menu

Method 2: via drag and drop

MIDI to Group rules: When you import a MIDI file into a Group, Maschine assumes that the MIDI file contains data for different instruments (e.g., a drum kit), and the import will be performed accordingly. Your MIDI file will be imported as follows:

Importing a MIDI File to a Sound

You can import a MIDI file to a single Sound. For example, this can be useful to import a melodic part for a single instrument. You can do this from the Sound’s context menu, via drag-and-drop, or via the FILES pane of the Browser.

Method 1: via the Sound’s context menu

Method 2: via drag and drop

Method 3: using the FILES pane of the Browser

MIDI to Sound – import rules: When you import a MIDI file into a Sound via its context menu, Maschine assumes that the MIDI file contains data for one single instrument (e.g., a bass or a lead synthesizer), and the import will be performed accordingly. Your MIDI file will be imported as follows:

Importing Multiple MIDI Files to a Sound or a Group

You can even select multiple MIDI files and import them all to a Sound or Group at once!

Contrary to the single-file import described above, importing multiple files doesn’t replace the content of the selected Pattern, instead, for each MIDI file in the selection, a new Pattern will be created.

To import multiple MIDI files to a Group:

To import multiple MIDI files to a Sound:

A new Clip can be created anywhere on the arranger in the Song view.

It is possible to convert Patterns into Clips in various ways:

When arranging your song in the Song view you may need to switch focus between editing Patterns or Clips. When you switch focus, the content of the selected Pattern or Clip automatically becomes available in the Editor. Here you can edit your content as required. Additionally, you will notice that Clips can also be freely moved here (as well in the Arranger) and placed anywhere on the timeline.

To switch between editing Patterns and Clips in Song view:

Maschine provides a simple way to switch between Pattern view and Clip view for ease of use and to speed up your workflow.

The 4D-encoder can be used to interact and arrange Clips in Song mode. It is possible to navigate between Groups, select, move, and resize Clips using the 4D-encoder.

Once you are satisfied with a Scene you can insert it directly as Clips to your arrangement in the Song view.

Clips can be deleted from the Arranger and Editor in Song view.

The size of a Clip can be doubled in the Song view.

Using the duplicate function enables you to make a copy of a Clip.

Clearing a Clip allows you to remove all of its Events, leaving the Clip empty.

In the Song view, you can adjust the length of a Clip. When you adjust the length, it snaps to the nearest position on the grid, using the current Arrange Grid value. You can override the grid by holding down SHIFT while dragging the Clip.

In Song view, you can adjust the start of a Clip. When you adjust the start point, it snaps to the nearest position on the grid, using the current Arrange Grid value.

In the Song view, a Clip can be moved to a different position within the same Group. This enables you to place a Clip exactly where you want on the timeline.

Clips can be renamed in Song view to replace the default name with a custom name of your own choice.

By default, Clips take the color of the Group they belong to, but you can adapt the color of each individual Clip to your needs.