Maschine Mode

View Categories

Maschine Mode

4 min read

0:00 4:22
Table of Contents

You can import NI Maschine Expansions into Kit Maker and convert them into kits for other DAWs.

Import your Expansions #

The Maschine Importer button

There are two ways to import your Maschine Expansions. 1. Drag and drop the Expansion folders onto the import panel. 2. Or click the Maschine Importer button inside the Import panel (it’s under the Large Files and Keywords buttons). Extras > Import Maschine Expansions… opens it too.

The Maschine Importer opens over the main window and scans for your Maschine Expansions. It lists them for you. The NI Content line at the top shows the folder it’s scanning. Click the folder icon beside it to choose a different one, and click Refresh after installing new Expansions.

Click the Expansions you want to import, and they’re added to Kit Maker. Click Done when you’re finished.

What works #

  • Official Native Instruments Expansions, the Maschine 2 Factory Library, and the Battery 4 Factory Library. Battery kits with more than 16 sounds are scaled down to 16.
  • Third-party (non-NI) Expansions aren’t supported in Maschine Mode. See Unofficial Maschine Expansions below.
  • Import the Expansion folder itself (for example “Street Swarm Library”), not an inner folder like Groups or Samples.

Process your Expansions #

Turn on the formats you want to export, then click Make Kits.

Kits are created in the Kit Maker Kits folder on your Desktop, and a few DAWs get theirs in their own folder instead. The folder icon in the bottom right of the main screen reveals them. See Where Your Kits Go for the details, and Folder Paths to change where kits are created.

Layout and Pad Colors #

Learn about editing your layout and the pad colors in Layouts and Pads.

The pad names in Maschine Mode reflect the most common sounds in a typical Maschine kit. Each kit is made with the same samples and kit name as the original Maschine kit, and if you leave the Layout on Classic, the pads come out in the same order as the original.

Options #

  • Use Original Layouts. With the Classic layout, follow the exact pad layouts of the original Maschine kits. See Maschine Mode preferences.
  • Include Maschine Previews. Copies the audio preview that ships with each Expansion kit into your MPC and Ableton kits. See Audio Previews.

What are Maschine Expansions? #

Maschine Expansions are the sound packs Native Instruments sells for Maschine. Kit Maker reads them and converts their drum kits for use in other DAWs and hardware. It doesn’t create presets for use inside the Maschine software itself.

If a product is sold as a Maschine Expansion (the product page lists something like “50 Maschine Kits”), it works with Kit Maker. A few things with similar names don’t: Massive X and Leap Expansions (they’re for specific synths), Kontakt libraries, and plug-ins such as Studio Drummer. The free Community Drive Expansion uses a different format and doesn’t work either.

Each Expansion installs as a folder named after it, such as “Amplified Funk”. On Mac these folders usually end in “Library” (“Amplified Funk Library”); on Windows they may not. Import that folder itself, not one of the folders inside it. The Maschine Factory Library works the same way (“Maschine 2” or “Maschine 2 Library”).

Where are the Expansions on my computer? #

The Maschine Importer finds them for you in most cases. If it doesn’t, here’s where to look.

By default, Native Access installs Expansions to:

  • Mac: Macintosh HD > Users > Shared
  • Windows: C: > Users > Public > Public Documents

If you chose a different location when installing, open Native Access, go to Preferences > File Management, and check Content Location. In the Maschine app you can also go to Preferences > Library and click the folder icon next to the Maschine 2 Factory Library; your Expansions are in the same place. Searching your computer for an Expansion’s name works too.

Native Instruments explains content locations in more detail here: Native Access: changing install locations.

Troubleshooting #

Some pads or kits are missing #

A few Maschine kits use sounds that the Maschine software generates live, with no .wav file to copy, so those pads come out empty. Kits that would end up nearly empty are skipped on purpose. The vast majority convert fine.

Unofficial Maschine Expansions #

Third-party Maschine Expansions won’t process correctly in Maschine Mode, so only use official Expansions there. If a third-party Expansion is organized by folders or filenames, try processing it in Sample Pack Mode instead.

Making kits for Maschine #

To turn sample packs into kits you can use in the Maschine software, use the Numbered Files format. It’s a quick way to make kits for Maschine, but it doesn’t create Maschine’s own kit presets.