In December, MASCHINE 2.7 will arrive and will include the first round of some highly-requested and anticipated features for playing loops with real-time time-stretching. Chad Carrier and Mario Altvater, from the software development team, explain the new features found in MASCHINE 2.7, how they came about in consultation with users, and why this new development approach will ensure a steady stream of exciting updates.

“For quite a while people have been coming to us and saying ‘hey, why can’t I just make all my music in Maschine?” starts Chad, MASCHINE Audio Product Owner. “It sounds so good and is so fun to use, let me just stay here through the whole process.’”

“A lot of people were asking for better integration of recorded audio,” adds Mario, Senior UX Designer. “Everyone had different expectations about how they wanted it – but when we started talking with our customers, we found out that if we do it, we have do it in a Maschine way.”

This “Maschine way” that Mario refers to is crucial. In a nutshell, it’s about speed and spontaneity.

“We originally started going down this traditional audio track path,” Chad explains. “But it’s just too much of a departure from the workflow that everyone currently has.”

“For many of our customers, Maschine is an instrument at the heart of their creative workflow,” Chad continues. “They’ve learned the hardware and software inside and out. They just want to get their ideas out quickly. So when we think about new features, one of the most important considerations is how these can be folded into the Maschine experience without adding any friction to the existing workflow.”

The addition of real-time time stretching, coming in MASCHINE 2.7, illustrates this aim perfectly. “There’s nothing new our customers have to learn here,” says Chad. “Pre-cut loops will simply play in time with the project, no matter their speed, and they’ll adjust automatically to the project’s tempo changes. The Audio plug-in does the hard work for you. After that, the Pattern behaves as it always has, whether it contains MIDI, audio loops, or a combination of both.”