Hi Native Instruments team,
I’m a Maschine Plus user and a sound creator who often records my own samples. First of all, congratulations — the latest update brought impressive improvements. But there are two essential features that I can’t understand why they are still missing, and which would transform Maschine Plus into the absolute market standard.
1. Smart Strip as an expressive arpeggiator
Similar to GarageBand on iPad: select a chord (maj7, m7, dim, etc.) on a pad, and use the Smart Strip to draw the arpeggio in real time, freely controlling direction and rhythm. Maschine already has the hardware (pads + strip), all that’s missing is the software connection. This would unlock a huge creative level without needing external keyboards.
2. Sample → Instrument with real time time-stretching
I record sounds with a microphone and import them into Maschine. Right now, when mapped to Keyboard Mode, pitch-shifting makes lower notes slow and longer, and higher notes short and fast. What’s missing is a proper engine that detects the root note and generates the full scale automatically while keeping tempo stable. The technology already exists within your own ecosystem (Kontakt, Reaktor).
These two features are entirely possible through software — the hardware is already capable. And if you implement them, Maschine Plus would completely set itself apart from Akai and the rest, becoming the truly autonomous instrument we’ve all been waiting for.
As a creator, it’s frustrating to need external workarounds for something so basic. For example, I use a UGreen 25,000 mAh / 145W powerbank to make the device portable, giving me up to 7 hours of autonomy. This proves Maschine Plus can be a fully independent instrument. It only needs you to take that step in the software.
To be clear: with these two improvements, Maschine Plus would no longer be “just a groovebox” — it would become the ultimate instrument, and Native Instruments would crush the competition.
Bestregards,
El Cuervo Arcano
