Maschine MK3 is a groove production studio, drop controller, sampler, and sequencer, perfect for public and private studios.
The third generation of Maschine took over the classic Groovebox workflow and made it faster and more intuitive.
Optimized based on customer research, it was packed with new features to increase the speed and user focus.
But what about his coming successor, Maschine MK4? Will it be much more useful? What can we hope for? Is the release date known?
After the release of Machine+, all eyes are on the next Native Instruments move.
In this article, we’ll reveal our anticipations and update you as much as achievable about the release of MK4.
Release Date
You shouldn’t be too shocked by this renewal of the range. Native Instruments is a company that needs to release hardware to boost these sales from year to year.
But for the Maschine part, we already have the Mikro Mk3, which was released at the beginning of 2019, and Maschine+, which I believe is sold not too badly.
There are no signs that Mk4 should be out soon. It should happen with a redesign of the software and version 3.0 or their famous “all in one” program that tries to bring together Komplete, Maschine, and Traktor within the same instance to avoid dispersion during development and programming.
One thing that is certain is that the massive layoffs prevented the release of Maschine+, which was supposed to be released in September 2019, not in the second half of 2020.
A Maschine Mk4 seemed a little premature in 2021, so personally, I believed more in a touch Studio Maschine with new features reserved for software mount.
Native Instruments could release a touch Maschine Mk4 which integrates certain reserved functions at the studio.
But maybe I’m completely wrong, and the studio range is definitely dead, and they’re going to unify that under the support of a Maschine Mk4.
In any case, it’s a bit of a shortfall on Native’s part to deprive itself of a high-end machine that can be sold at 800 or 900 euros.
What’s Happening with Native Instruments?
Native Instruments is starting to lose its leading position in computer music.
If Komplete was once the best for an incredibly ridiculous price, plugin publishers have clearly caught up with them with super aggressive offers and monthly subscriptions: Waves, Softube, SSL, and UAD.
The same thing for the synth part; Fm8, and Absynth are getting old. Massive X is not the revolution that was massive in its time. Guitar Rig is almost obsolete to the competition. There is Reaktor which offers really nice synths.
Only Kontakt and the advent of NKS bring the virtual monopoly in terms of sample readers (despite version 6, which brings little novelty in the face of an aging interface).
It’s a shame because, at the time, I told myself that this box had incredible potential to become essential.
Besides, one thing I noticed was that at the time, Native Instruments products lost very little of their value even years after their release…
But now, a few months after its release, a product can easily drop by 20% compared to its new price.
Expectations
In my mind, the next-generation Mk4 MUST have a big touchscreen like the MPC one and also an option for users to define their own chord sets.
I miss the large jog wheel and the accessibility of the buttons under the jog wheel on the Maschine Studio.
Although many people believe that Maschine Mk4 will be an all-in-one hardware and computer, with all the VST synths NI use, it would not be manageable to load them all into a standalone unit.
Also, the midi market is too big. Why compete so neck and neck with MPC when they are still making that loot? Their Maschine is in the perfect spot and price range. Maybe they make a separate unit. But doubt Maschine will ever be truly standalone.
Komplete is their big deal now, and everything they do is about getting people to upgrade to the latest version.
The only way Maschine will go all-in-one is if it can drive and integrate the full suite.
Should you wait for Mk4?
I don’t believe a new version is coming anytime soon. The Maschine+ just came out with the very same layout, pretty much ensuring that the Mk3 is going to be the form factor for at least two years.
If there is an “update,” it might just be with some new labels on the buttons.
Imagine adding a ton of features that aren’t on the Maschine+ model. I don’t consider that’d go down too well with the people who just bought a Maschine+.
The distribution of a lot is synth stuff has been wonky since the crisis, but right now seems to be better.
Check the latest price of Machine Mk3, Mikro Mk3 & Maschine+ on Amazon: