Many people dream of being a music producer as it is surely one of the coolest things anyone can be. Now, this device, called Maschine Studio, will not instantly turn anyone into a music producer, but it will make you look really cool right away. This addition to the series follows Maschine Mark I and Mark II. While these devices differed somewhat, the Maschine Studio is the first major overhaul in the series, and the first substantial price increase. Prior, Maschine ran a top price of $650 for the highest end version. New features include big color LED screens, a jog wheel, and a more expansive menu section. The release date is November 1st, 2013, clocking in at $1,000 USD.
Now, if you’re only a casual dabbler in music production, here’s the lowdown: most music these days, particularly pop, hip hop, and electronic music, is produced entirely on computers. While live instruments are used, for the most part, it all ends up inside a PC, a Mac, or the more general term a “machine.”
Here’s the thing: producing music in a machine is a vast improvement in efficiency, cost, and portability, but it’s as fun as painting using a mouse.
That’s where Maschine (note the “s”) and devices like it come in. They’re not strictly speaking “software to make computer music,” nor “hardware to help you make computer music.” They’re better than that: they’re all-in-one solutions to take someone who has a computer and is willing to a buy a thing, learn it, and understand it, into a music producer.
Maschine and like devices offer a super-sweet middle man between user and computer, making music production more hands-on.
To circle back then, Maschine Studio is the latest edition in a series of products aimed at providing all-in-one music production solutions to home (and professional) producers who already own computers, but want cool buttons screens, and lots of colors n’ stuff to make music with their computers.
While $1,000 is a bit of a spend for a fun buy, Maschine Studio is exciting, and it would be a huge surprise if Native Instruments didn’t deliver on that extra $350 of cost they’ve thrown onto the Maschine series. See all the feature details here, at NI’s website.
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