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Table of Contents
1. Disclaimer ................................................................................................................. 1

2. MASCHINE Accessibility ............................................................................................ 2

2.1. MASCHINE Software Overview ............................................................................. 2
2.2. Known Issues ..................................................................................................... 2
2.3. MASCHINE Keyboard Overview ............................................................................ 3
2.4. MASCHINE Workflows ......................................................................................... 4
 DISCLAIMER 1

1. Disclaimer
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of Native Instruments GmbH. The software described by this document
is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this
publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose,
without prior written permission by Native Instruments GmbH, hereinafter referred to as Native
Instruments.
“Native Instruments”, “NI” and associated logos are (registered) trademarks of Native Instruments
GmbH.
Mac, macOS, GarageBand, Logic and iTunes are registered trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in
the U.S. and other countries.
Windows and DirectSound are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and use of them does not imply
any affiliation with or endorsement by them.
Document authored by: Adil Ghanty, Hannah Lockwood, Stephen Penny
Software version: MASCHINE 2.13 (03/2021)
Hardware version: KOMPLETE KONTROL S-Series MK2
Special thanks to the Beta Test Team, who were invaluable not just in tracking down bugs, but in
making this a better product.
 MASCHINE ACCESSIBILITY 2

2. MASCHINE Accessibility
Maschine software is Native Instruments’ groove production software, bundled with Maschine pad
controllers and Komplete Kontrol keyboards. The release of Maschine 2.13 software adds
Accessibility from all Komplete Kontrol S-Series MK2 keyboard models (S49 MK2, S61 MK2, and
S88 MK2).
Maschine pad controllers, such as Maschine MK3 or Mikro MK3, are not required to make use of
the Accessibility features. However, a Maschine controller can be used alongside a
Komplete Kontrol S-Series MK2 keyboard, but only the keyboard will be accessible.
Our approach to product development is incremental and we aspire to deliver value when possible,
rather than constraining features and functionality to yearly releases. This allows us to share
features with our customers as soon as they are ready, and learn what users do and do not like,
allowing us to further iterate and refine.
This first release of Maschine Accessibility represents a starting point, rather than an end goal.
There are limitations in this release that we will address in future updates, and we still very much
aspire to extend this to other controllers.

2.1. MASCHINE Software Overview

Maschine shares similarities with popular non-linear DAWs such as Ableton Live. You can create
Patterns for each instrument (Group), and add combinations of Patterns into Scenes, which are
song sections (verse, chorus, middle-8, etc). You can then arrange your Scenes into a full song on
the Timeline.
Groups in Maschine contain up to 16 Sounds. A Sound can be a One-shot sample, a loop, or an
Instrument, and can also contain Effect plug-ins within the signal chain. The Maschine browser is
home to individual presets for One-shot samples, loops, and instruments, as well as pre-configured
Sounds which load an effects chain, and pre-configured Groups which contain 16 Sounds, all
ready to go! Groups are labeled A-H, and Sounds are labeled 1-16, for example, A1.
Instruments, One-Shots, and (time-stretched) Loops can be played chromatically across the
keyboard. Groups can also be played across 16 keys, with each key mapped to a single pitch from
each of the contained Sounds; particularly great for playing drums. You can switch between these
by pressing the Key Mode button.
You can control many of Maschine’s functions directly from the S-Series keyboard. Maschine can
operate as a standalone application, or run as a plug-in in a DAW. The setup and configuration of
your keyboard will differ for each mode of use. If you are using Maschine in a DAW, you will first
need to configure the host for use with your keyboard. Using Maschine in a DAW gives you access
to additional tracks, and easy editing of preferences. Computer keyboard shortcuts like Command
+ O are not available, but operations such as saving and opening can be done directly in the DAW,
as Maschine will recall it’s loaded contents and settings between DAW sessions.

2.2. Known Issues

There are some issues and limitations that will be resolved in future updates. These include:

Speech-related Bugs
• When the keyboard is in Pattern mode, Knob 1 is used to select Sound. This isn’t always
announced, even though the Sound selection is changing. By releasing the knob and tapping it,
you can hear the currently selected sound name.
 MASCHINE ACCESSIBILITY 3

• When the keyboard is in Scene mode, the page left and right buttons select between banks of
Scenes (1-8, 9-16, etc). Pressing these buttons may cause a readout of an unrelated parameter
page.

Transport
Control of transport in Maschine is slightly different from that of conventional linear DAWs. We
have chosen to maintain this behavior as a starting point and will investigate ways to improve this
for future releases. Currently, two potential limitations exist that may affect usability for visually
impaired users:
• The 4-D encoder is not used to relocate the playhead, so it is not possible to relocate to
another position on the timeline.
• Pressing Stop whilst transport is stopped does not relocate the playhead to the start of the
project or section.
The following interactions can be used to work around this:
• Shift + Play buttons will start transport from the beginning of the project, or selected Scene if
Loop is enabled.
• When Record Arm is enabled, Shift + Rec buttons will play a bar of count-in then begin
recording.

Quitting and Saving in Standalone Mode

• Quit, Save, and Open commands can be applied when Maschine is running as a standalone
application only. We plan to enable some of these commands from the keyboard in a future
release. For more information, see MASCHINE Workflows.

2.3. MASCHINE Keyboard Overview

The S-Series MK2 keyboard is divided into the following sections:
• Keybed Controls are located at the bottom left corner, above the pitch and modulation wheels.
• Central Console is located in the center of your keyboard and contains touch-sensitive knobs
and screen buttons. Screen buttons and knobs are referred to as 1-8 from left to right.
• Navigation Controls are located to the right of the Central Console, and feature six buttons
and a 4-Directional (4-D) push encoder. These controls set the keyboard’s mode and navigate
through Maschine.
• Maschine Controls are located directly left of the Central Console, and feature five dedicated
buttons for Maschine.
• Mute, Solo, Preset Up / Down, Page Left / Right buttons are located immediately left of the
Maschine controls.
• Edit Controls are located in the upper, leftmost cluster of buttons. They are used to Undo,
Redo, activate and deactivate the Scale and Arpeggio modes, and more. The Shift button is an
important global modified key and is located with the Edit controls.
• Transport Controls are found in the lower, leftmost cluster of buttons.
 MASCHINE ACCESSIBILITY 4

2.4. MASCHINE Workflows

The following workflows describe how to navigate Maschine software from your S-Series MK2
keyboard. Follow these steps to setup your software and keyboard, then learn how to make use of
the Browser, Plug-in page, Transport controls, Scenes and Patterns, and Mixing mode from your
keyboard.

Setup
To get started, open Maschine software and start with a new project. Note that sighted assistance
may be needed to pass through any dialogue boxes that might appear during plug-in scanning,
and to enable the MIDI ports from your Komplete Kontrol S-Series MK2 Preferences.

1. Launch Maschine software.

2. Create a new project by pressing Command + N (macOS) or Ctrl + N (Windows) on your
computer keyboard.

→ Maschine is now ready to start creating music. Next, setup the keyboard's Accessibility
features.
3. In Accessibility mode, most actions from the keyboard will trigger a speech announcement. To
activate Accessibility mode, hold the top left button (Shift) and press the top right button
(Mixer) on the keyboard.
4. In Training mode, all button presses and parameter names are announced but the
corresponding action is not triggered. Press Shift twice to enter Training mode.

Browser
The Browser allows you to load Groups, Sounds, Instruments, and Effects from an S-Series
keyboard. Next, load a Drum Kit from the Groups tab of the Browser:

1. Press Browser, located in the Navigation Controls, to the right of the Central Console.
2. Use Screen Buttons 1 and 2 to navigate through the available file types and select Groups.
3. Use the knobs to filter through different search results. Adjust the knob to filter the respective
tag: Products (Knob 2), Banks (Knob 3), Types (Knob 5), Sub-Types (Knob 6). Knob 8 and the 4-
D encoder are used to scroll through the available results.
4. You will hear both sound previews and the name of each preset whilst scrolling through the
results list. Use the up and down arrows to move to the next and previous presets without
hearing the preset name. To toggle prehear (audition), press Shift + Screen Button 8.
5. Press Screen Button 8 or the 4-D encoder to load a Group.

Plug-ins
Using your keyboard, you can navigate and edit your Plug-in chains, and adjust parameters. The
Plug-in button is located top and center of the Navigation Controls

1. Press Plug-in to display the Plug-in page.

2. Press Button 1 to select the Master channel. Press Button 2 to select the Group channel. Press
Button 3 to select the Sound channel.
3. Move through the Plug-in chain using Buttons 5 and 6 to select the next or previous plug-in.
You can also push the 4-D encoder left or right to move between plug-ins.
4. If you want to replace a Plug-in, push the 4-D encoder to open the Plug-in Browser. Turn the 4-
D encoder to select a Plug-in, and push the encoder to insert the Plug-in in the chain.
 MASCHINE ACCESSIBILITY 5

5. Press Button 8 to quick browse preset files for the selected Plug-in. Push the 4-D encoder to
select the preset file.
6. To delete a Plug-in from the chain, press Clear.
7. Adjust the parameter values of the Plug-in using Knobs 1–8. The Page buttons provide access
to other pages containing further functions to control. Select the next or previous parameter
page using the Page Left/Page Right buttons.

Performance
Use the Edit Controls, located in the upper, leftmost cluster of buttons, to access the Arpeggiator
and Scale Engine. Adjust the settings according to your performance needs.

1. To activate the scale engine for the selected Group, press Scale.
2. Edit the scale engine by pressing Shift + Scale.
3. To activate the Arpeggiator for the selected Group, press Arp.
4. Edit the Arpeggiator settings by pressing Shift + Arp.
5. To activate quantization, press Quantize + turn Knob 1. To adjust the quantization value press
Quantize + turn Knob 2.

Transport controls can be used to operate Maschine's playback. They are located on the lower left
side of the keyboard.

1. Press Play to start playback.

2. Press Metro to activate/deactivate the metronome.
3. To adjust the Master tempo, press Tempo and turn Knob 1.
4. Press Shift + Play to restart playback.

Recording
Pattern mode is the recommended mode for recording. The Pattern button is the second of the
Maschine Controls, located left of the Central Console. In Pattern mode, you can create and edit
Patterns, and use the 4-D encoder to move and edit note events. When you are ready to record a
Pattern:

1. Press Pattern on the keyboard.

2. Use Buttons 1–8 to select a Pattern or create a new Pattern for the selected Scene.
3. Push 4-D encoder left or right to select another Group, and use Knob 1 to select another Sound
in the Pattern.
4. Double the Pattern length by pressing Shift + Button 3.
5. Insert a copy of the selected Pattern by pressing Shift + Button 4, and insert an empty Pattern
by pressing Shift.
6. Activate the count-in by pressing Shift + Rec.
7. Start recording by pressing Rec and stop recording by pressing Stop.
8. Adjust the Position using Knob 2. Adjust the Start position using Knob 3. Adjust the Length of
the pattern using Knob 4.
 MASCHINE ACCESSIBILITY 6

Scene
Record multiple patterns, then add them into Scenes to create song sections. The Scene button is
located at the top of the five Maschine Controls, on the left side of the Central Console. Press
Scene to access the identical Ideas view of the Maschine software. This gives you instant control
over your Scenes and Patterns.

1. Press Scene on the keyboard to enter Ideas view.

2. Use Buttons 1–8 to select a Scene or create a new Scene.
3. Use Knobs 1–8 to select another Pattern in the Scene and select the corresponding Group.
4. Insert an empty Scene by pressing Shift + Button 5, and insert a copy of a selected Scene by
pressing Shift + Button 4.
5. To delete a selected Scene press Shift + Button 6, and to delete the selected Pattern press
Clear.
6. Press Shift + Button 8 to activate retrigger. When active, the next Scene that is selected will be
forced to play from start.

Mixing
In Mix mode, you can access volume and pan settings, and make adjustments to the mix from
your S-Series keyboard. The Mixer button is located on the top right of the keyboard.

1. Press Mixer to access eight of the 16 channel strips with Sounds and Groups. The further
eight Sounds can be accessed by pressing the Page buttons.
2. Press the 4-D encoder to toggle between volume and panorama control for Knobs 1–8.
3. Push the 4-D encoder up to enter Group mode and buttons 1-8 will control Groups. Push the 4-
D encoder down to enter Sound mode and buttons 1-8 will control Sounds.
4. Use Buttons 1-8 to jump to another Group or Sound, respective of the selected mode.
5. To adjust the output volume of the respective Group or Sound, turn Knobs 1-8. To fine-adjust
the output volume, press Shift + turn Knobs 1-8.
6. Push the 4-D encoder left or right to select the previous or next Sound or Group.
7. Turn the 4-D encoder to adjust the output volume of the respective Group or Sound.

Quitting & Saving in Standalone Mode

The following commands apply when Maschine is running as a standalone application. We plan to
enable some of this from the keyboard in a future release:
• To launch the Save As dialog, press Command + Shift + S (macOS) / Ctrl + Shift + S
(Windows). This is a system dialog, and so can be navigated and read by screen readers.
• To launch the Open dialog, press Command + O (macOS) / Ctrl + O (Windows). This is also a
system dialog. Note that projects can be opened from the Browser by setting Filetype to
‘Project’.
• If the current project has no unsaved changes, pressing Command + Q (macOS) / Alt + F4
(Windows) will quit Maschine.
• On macOS, if the current project has unsaved changes, pressing Command + Q will launch a
Quit dialog which is not screen readable. Pressing Esc will dismiss the dialog and go back to
Maschine. Please note that it is not possible to quit Maschine when there are unsaved
changes.
 MASCHINE ACCESSIBILITY 7

• On Windows, if the current project has unsaved changes, pressing Alt + F4 will launch a Quit
dialog which is not screen readable. Pressing Esc will dismiss the dialog and go back to
Maschine.