Native Instruments' new Chord functionality in iMaschine 2Native Instruments have today introduced iMaschine 2 – the follow up to their acclaimed beat making sketchpad for iOS. iMaschine 2 expands on the original with a new set of powerful features, including the Arranger, Step Mode, and Smart Play functionality. It is also the first music production app to include optimizations for the new 3D Touch features on iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. The app is aimed at users of the original iMaschine, as well as iOS users who want to start making music at an affordable price. It is also an ideal mobile complement to the full home studio setups of Maschine hardware owners. iMaschine 2 normally costs $9.99, but is available at the Apple App Store for a special introductory price of $4.99 until December 1, 2015.
iMaschine 2 is available on iPad too and makes use of a full colour palette like the Maschine hardware.iMaschine 2 adds powerful new features to the acclaimed simple workflow of the original. The Arranger allows producers to turn loops and scenes into full tracks by creating different patterns per group, and then adding, moving, and deleting song sections. Step Mode facilitates drum programming with no finger drumming skills required – users can use the 4x4 pad grid as a step sequencer to produce loops. The new Smart Play keyboard introduces Scale, Chord and arpeggiator functionality to iMaschine 2, allowing users to play chords, melodies, and basslines that are always in-key. Scale mode offers users to select from a variety of traditional and non-traditional scales, while Chord mode will turn a single key stroke into a full chord, which is especially useful when working on a mobile device. Within Chord Mode, the new Chord Sets present ready-to-play progressions to inspire and augment compositions. Furthermore, an arpeggiator makes it easy to add dynamic motion to a track. Projects created with the original iMaschine open in iMaschine 2, allowing producers to use these new features on all their tracks.
iMaschine 2 introduces colour coding for fast visual organization of projects. For users of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, iMaschine 2 makes creative use of 3D Touch – Apple’s latest interactive feature. For example, when using the Note Repeat feature, 3D Touch adjusts playing dynamics based on how hard users press a pad, just like the Maschine hardware, and rate. Producers can accelerate their workflow further with 3D Touch Quick Actions for entering Step Mode, muting pads, or erasing notes, and even to open up a new project or directly enter the field recording function from the home screen of their iPhone.
Once you’ve finished, projects created in iMaschine can be exported and opened in the full Maschine software for further adjustments and finalisation, or uploaded directly to Soundcloud.
Until December 1, 2015, Native Instruments are offering iMaschine 2 at a time-limited introductory price of $4.99. For users who have created music with the sounds in iMaschine Expansions or those looking to expand their sound palette further, Native Instruments have created the Ultimate Collection – a specially priced bundle of 36 iMaschine Expansions available for $0.99 until December 1, 2015 – the price of just one iMaschine Expansion.
