Native Instruments’ Maschine 

SONGWRITER’S PLAYGROUND

Although mostly adopted by the electronic music community, Native Instruments’ Maschine offers superior songwriting and arrangement tools that nearly every musician can benefit from. Both the DAW-style software environment and the purpose-built hardware controller are fairly straightforward, making it easy to lay down original backing tracks with the included virtual instruments and grooves. Sophisticated yet user-friendly recording and looping functions also allow you to painlessly record riffs and A/B different combinations of musical patterns, fueling creativity.

–Phil Selman