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).

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 the 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 provides two different views: the Group view and the Keyboard view.

The Group view

The Group view allows you to edit the events for all 16 Sound slots of the selected Group.

• 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 in the software

• 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 in the software

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.

Adjusting the Nudge Grid in the software

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 the 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 the software, you can choose between five mouse modes for editing your events. Each mode provides different mouse actions in the Event area.

In the Event area, the mouse cursor shows the icon of the active mode.

The following mouse modes are available:

You can also turn the Draw mode on or off by clicking the dedicated Draw Mode button (pencil icon) at the bottom left of the Pattern Editor:

The Draw Mode button.

For additional edit commands available from your computer keyboard, as well as more details on quantization behavior, refer to Editing the selected events/notes.

Mouse in Select mode

In Select mode (the default mode) the mouse cursor shows the standard arrow icon.

The following mouse actions are available:

Action	Function
Creating notes (refer to Creating events/notes for details)
Double-click in the Event area’s background	Creates a note.
Deleting notes (refer to Deleting events/notes for details)
Double-click note	Deletes the selected notes.
Right-click (macOS: [Ctrl]-click) and select Delete from the menu.	Deletes the selected notes.
Selecting notes (refer to Selecting events/notes for details)
Click unselected note	Selects a note.
[Shift] + click unselected note	Adds note to current selection.
[Shift] + click selected note	Removes note from the selection.
Drag in Event area’s background	Multiple selection (selection frame).
Click in the Event area’s background	Deselects all notes.
Editing the selected notes* (refer to Editing the selected events/notes for details)
Drag note horizontally	Moves the selected notes in time according to the Step Grid.
[Ctrl] + drag note horizontally (macOS: [Cmd] + drag note)	Freely moves the selected notes in time, overriding the Step Grid quantization.
[Alt] + drag note	Duplicates the selected notes. When you drag horizontally, the copies are moved in time according to the Step Grid.
Drag the left/right border of a note	Resizes the selected notes by moving their start/end position according to the Step Grid.
[Ctrl] + drag the left/right border of a note (macOS: [Cmd] + drag left/right border)	Freely resizes the selected notes by moving their start/end position, overriding the Step Grid quantization.
Drag note vertically	Group view: Moves selected notes to another Sound of the Group. Keyboard view: Transposes selected notes.

* If multiple notes are selected, mouse actions performed on any selected note will apply to all the selected notes.

If you edit 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.

Mouse in Draw mode

In Draw mode the mouse cursor shows a pencil icon. You can press [E] to quickly switch between the Draw mode and the default Select mode.

The following mouse actions are available:

Action	Function
Creating notes (refer to Creating events/notes for details)
Click in the Event area’s background	Creates a note.
Click and drag (with the button pressed) in the Event area’s background	Create series of notes wherever you move the cursor. Notes are created for the selected Sound.
Deleting notes (refer to Deleting events/notes for details)
Click a note	Deletes the note.
Click a note and drag the mouse( with the button pressed)	Deletes all the notes under the mouse cursor. Only the notes for the selected Sound are deleted.
Editing the selected notes* (refer to Editing the selected events/notes for details)
Drag the left/right border of a note	Resizes the selected notes by moving their start/end position according to the Step Grid.
[Ctrl] + drag the left/right border of a note (macOS: [Cmd] + drag the left/right border of a note)	Freely resizes the selected notes by moving their start/end position, overriding the Step Grid quantization.

Mouse in Split mode

In Split mode the mouse cursor shows a scissors icon. You can press [X] to quickly switch between the Split mode and the default Select mode.

To split a note, do the following:

1. Hover with your mouse over the desired note.

   A white vertical line shows the position at which the note will be split, according to the Step Grid. Hold [Ctrl] (Windows) or [command] (Mac) while moving the mouse to adjust the split position regardless of the Step Grid.

2. Click to split the note at the current position.

   The underlying note is split into two distinct notes. If there is no note playing at the split position, nothing happens.

If some notes are currently selected, the following will happen:

• Clicking an unselected note will split only that note.

• Clicking a selected note will split all the selected notes that are playing at the split position.

Mouse in Join mode

In Join mode the mouse cursor shows a plus (+) icon. You can press [Y] to quickly switch between the Join mode and the default Select mode.

• Click a note to join it with the next note on the same key.

If some notes are currently selected, the following will happen:

• Clicking an unselected note will join it with the next note (selected or not) on the same key.

• Clicking a selected note will join it with the next selected note on the same key, if any. Any unselected note in between will stay unaffected. Selected notes on other keys will also be joined with their next selected note, if any.

If the original notes did not overlap, the joined note will fill the gap between the two original notes.

Note

Both in Group view and in Keyboard view, you can only join notes triggering the same key, that is, notes that are on the same row in Keyboard view.

Mouse in Mute mode

In Mute mode the mouse cursor shows a cross (x) icon. You can press [Z] to quickly switch between the Mute mode and the default Select mode.

• Click any note to mute or unmute it.

  Muted notes are grayed out in the Event area and they will not be triggered.

If some notes are currently selected, the following will happen:

• Clicking an unselected note will mute or unmute only that note.

• Clicking a selected note will mute or unmute all the selected notes.

Note

Muting notes in the Pattern Editor works independently of muting Sounds or Groups. For more information on muting Sounds and Groups, refer to Mute and Solo.

In the software, you can create new events anywhere in the Event area using your mouse in Select mode or Draw mode.

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 Draw 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 Arrange Grid division after the new event in order to include this new event.

Use your mouse in Select mode to select events/notes in your Pattern. This defines which events will be affected by your edits.

Selecting all events

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

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

In the software, you can edit the selected events with your mouse using the various mouse modes available. Refer to Editing events with the mouse for more information.

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

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:

Nudging events/notes

Nudging lets you to shift the selected events according to the Nudge Grid. This can be useful to move your events by smaller amounts. The offsets of the events relative to the Nudge Grid are preserved.

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

Dragging vs. nudging

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

In the software you can delete events in the Event area using your mouse in Select mode or Draw mode.

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 on selecting events, refer to Selecting events/notes.

Mouse in Draw mode

You can cut, copy and paste the selected events to another location in the same Pattern or to a different Pattern, and for the same Sound or for another Sound (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:

You can audition single events/notes as you select and edit them in the Event area of the Pattern Editor. This lets you quickly hear how your edits affect the Pattern. To do this:

When the speaker icon is active:

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/notes in the software

Quantize and Quantize 50% are available from the context menu in the Event area.

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

To apply full or half quantization using the Maschine software:

You can undo/redo the quantization by pressing [Ctrl]+[Z] / [Ctrl]+[Y] (Windows) or [command]+[Z] / [command]+[Y] (macOS).

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

Input Quantization can be set to the following modes:

All the modulatable parameters are located in Plug-ins or Channel properties (e.g., you cannot modulate the Pattern Length or the Step Grid resolution). This means that all the modulatable parameters are found on 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:

In the software, if you take a closer look at the knobs in the Parameter pages of the Control area, you will notice an outer ring whose color changes to light grey when you hover over it with the mouse cursor.

Drag the outer ring of the knobs to record modulation.

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

Removing modulation

You can also use the knob’s outer ring to remove the 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.

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 a Modulator 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 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 containing your recorded movements in form of modulation points. But you can also manually create a new modulation track from scratch in the Control Lane by using the “+” symbol at the end of the Modulator List on the left:

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:

Still, you can 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 names of your own. This can be done in the Pattern Editor, in the Pattern Manager, and 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 by using any Clip referencing it:

By default, Patterns inherit the color of the Group they belong to. But you can change the color of each individual Pattern to your liking. 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:

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

The audio will be exported to a WAV audio file 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 export Patterns to audio files:

You can export MIDI files from 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 in 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 in the Arranger in the Song view.

You can 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 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 4-D 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 4-D encoder.

Once you are satisfied with a Scene you can insert it directly as Clips into 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.