This article will guide you through the steps necessary to add a REAKTOR Ensemble to MASCHINE 2's Browser. You will also learn how to optimize your Ensemble for display within MASCHINE 2. The following instructions apply to both User Ensembles and Library Ensembles. We will demonstrate this using the RE-201 Space Echo tape delay effect available for download in the REAKTOR User Library on our Website.
Important note: REAKTOR 5.9.0. or later must be installed on the computer for this procedure to work.
Optimizing the Ensemble in REAKTOR
Naming your Ensemble
First of all, name your Ensemble as you want it to appear as REAKTOR Sub-Bank in the MASCHINE 2 Browser. In this example, we are using the RE-201 User Ensemble, which we will rename to "RE-201 for Maschine 2". The Sub-Bank name will be taken from the Snapshot Master Module name in the Ensemble's structure.
- First, switch to REAKTOR's Edit Mode.
- Open REAKTOR's Properties tab and navigate to the FUNCTION tab.
- Name your Ensemble as you wish it to appear as Sub-Bank in MASCHINE 2's Browser. Here we are naming it "RE-201 for Maschine 2". MASCHINE 2 will use the name of the Ensemble's Snapshot Master to generate its Sub-Bank name. By default, this is simply your Ensemble's name.
- Set this Snapshot as Master by pressing the Set As Master button at the bottom of the Function Properties window.
Tagging the REAKTOR Ensemble as Instrument or Effect
Once the Sub-bank name is defined (in our example "RE-201 for Maschine 2"), you will have to tag your Snapshots as Instrument or FX.
- Open the Snapshot menu and select your Ensemble for the Snapshot (in this example "RE-201 for Maschine 2").
- From the Edit drop-down menu, select Show Meta Info.
- Right-click on your Snapshot, and select the relevant tag for your Snapshot next to NI Meta Info. Since the RE-201 is an effect, we choose Effect. If your Ensemble is an Instrument, choose Instrument and if it is both, select Both. If None is selected, the REAKTOR Snapshot will not be displayed in MASCHINE 2's Browser.
- Repeat this procedure for all the Snapshots you wish to add to MASCHINE 2's Browser. If you want to tag all the Snapshots in the Bank simultaneously, right-click on the whole Bank and select the relevant tag for your Ensemble, as shown below:
- At this point, save your Ensemble to make the changes permanent. To do so, choose Save Ensemble from REAKTOR's File Menu.
Define REAKTOR Panelsets for MASCHINE 2's Default and Additional Plug-in Views (optional)
For an optimal integration of your REAKTOR User Ensemble to MASCHINE 2, you can define Default and Additional Plug-in views. These views are based on the Panelsets of your Ensemble. For MASCHINE 2 to recognize a Default and Additional view for your Ensemble, you have to create two Panelsets. In this example, we have defined the first Panelset for the Default View in MASCHINE 2.
Below, we have defined the second Panelset for the Additional View. In this additional Panelset, we have enabled the view of the SE-201's Spring Tank settings module.
Note: If you skip this step, MASCHINE will simply take the first Panelset, corresponding to the last saved state of your Ensemble. If you have more than 2 Panelsets defined for your Ensemble, MASCHINE will only recognize the first two.
Adding the REAKTOR User Ensemble Directory to MASCHINE 2's Database
Once your User Ensemble is optimized for MASCHINE 2, you can close REAKTOR 5 and open MASCHINE 2. Now, we must add the User Ensemble Library folder as User Library in MASCHINE 2. Finally, a Rescan of this folder is necessary, in order to reflect these changes in MASCHINE 2's Browser.
- Open MASCHINE 2's Preferences, open the User section of the Library Tab. If your REAKTOR User Library folder is not listed in the User Libraries, you can add it to the list by pressing the Add button.
- In the Add Directory dialog, navigate to your REAKTOR User folder, and select it with Choose. By default, the REAKTOR User folder is located here on your hard drive:
- Mac OS: Macintosh HD > Users > *Username* > Documents > Native Instruments > REAKTOR5
- Windows: C: > Users > *Username* > My Documents > Native Instruments > REAKTOR5
- Once you have successfully added the REAKTOR User folder to MASCHINE 2's User directory, rescan by pressing the Rescan button at the bottom of the Preferences window. This will update the information contained in this folder. Please note this step is mandatory even if your REAKTOR User directory is already present in your User Libraries, since it contains the new meta data information (the Instrument, Effect or Both tag).
- When all the above steps have been conducted successfully, you can close the Preferences and go to MASCHINE's Browser. Open the FX Section of the Library and press on the little user icon. There, in the REAKTOR Bank, you will see your User Ensemble appear as Sub-Bank - in our example "RE-201 for MASCHINE 2". Below, you will see your User Ensemble's Snapshots appear in the Browser's User FX section: My RE Snapshot 1 and 2.