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Native Instruments releases Playbox, a new Kontakt-based software instrument that is designed to kickstart your workflow and refresh your creativity.

Playbox is the brainchild of Antonio de Spirt, Mickaël Le Goff and Nadine Raihani.

Roll the dice to create unique sounds

This is an instrument that is designed for everyone, regardless of their previous music-making experience.

Combining chord generation, sample layering and elements of chance, Playbox promises to produce unique sounds that you can play with just one finger. Roll the dice and it will randomise and blend between 905 samples, 224 chord sets, and 217 effects presets.

As well as playing the supplied content, users can also import up to 450 of their own samples, which are automatically repitched to the notes of a chord.

Here’s what they say:

“Our goal as creators was to establish a sound library that didn’t just focus on one specific sound, but instead explored the full spectrum of sounds available to us, and embraced the happy accidents you come across when working with randomisation.”

“A beginner can press one button, quickly randomise, and come across an interesting sound that can inspire their entire workflow,” explains Mickaël Le Goff. “With the same instrument, more advanced users can really dig into Playbox’s possibilities by adding their own samples and creating something brand new.”

Playbox is available now for PC and Mac priced at $149/£129/€149, until April 24. You can also get it as part of NI’s Komplete Now subscription service.

Find out more on the Native Instruments website.

Native Instruments is turning 25 this year. To mark the occasion, they’re sharing a newly developed free instrument and releasing a limited-edition run of six NI products called the 25th Anniversary Collection.

TWENTY FIVE is a new instrument from NI for KONTAKT 6 and the KONTAKT 6 PLAYER that’s intended to be a time capsule of their contribution to digital music making. Drawing sounds from 37 different instruments across the company’s history, it enables users to blend the sound of classic presets from their flagship synthesizers, KONTAKT piano instruments, REAKTOR, and GENERATOR, their first ever soft synth. Coming equipped with powerful FX, macro controls and a built-in sequencer, TWENTY FIVE is part of Native Instrument’s Play Series, a set of easy-to-use instruments for KONTAKT.

The 25th Anniversary Collection is made up of MASCHINE, TRAKTOR AND KOMPLETE hardware reimagined in two new colorways, Ultraviolet and Vapor Gray. The range of instruments includes MASCHINE+, MASCHINE Mk3, KOMPLETE KONTROL S49/S61, TRAKTOR KONTROL S4, and TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 – each has been hand-numbered and finished with reflective graphics celebrating Native Instrument’s anniversary.

Native Instruments is launching a producer challenge to commemorate their anniversary. Artists from across the globe are invited to submit tracks made with TWENTY FIVE, with the winning entries receiving hardware from the 25th Anniversary Collection and KOMPLETE 13 packages. The competition runs from today until 31 December.

Regarding the anniversary, Native Instruments Chief Product Officer and President Robert Linke. said: “We couldn’t have achieved what we have without the continued support of the creators who use our products on a daily basis […] TWENTY FIVE is a small token of our appreciation.”

Visit Native Instruments website to download TWENTY FIVE, which is available until 31 December. The 25th Anniversary Collection can be purchased via their online shop.

To celebrate the arrival of Native Instruments products on Plugin Boutique, the company is giving one of its plugins, Freak, away for free to anyone who purchases another product.

Part of NI Crush Pack of effects, this dirty little unit models a diode ring circuit, and can operate in Oscillator, Radio and Sidechain modes, enabling all kinds of creative filth.

Free NI plugin with any purchase at Plugin Boutique

Until 30 September, you can have Native Instruments’ excellent Freak effect – a lo-fi powerhouse  for free!

A rich source of inharmonic noises, sci-fi burbles, detuned sweeps, crazy frequency wanderings and so much more, we described Freak as the jewel in the Crush Pack crown, so it is well worth having (particularly if you don’t have to pay for it).

Plugin Boutique is also offering 80% of the Komplete Classics Collection, a special bundle that contains Massive, Absynth5, FM8 and Replika. This can currently be yours for just $99/£89/€99.

In addition, Plugin Boutique is also 73% off the Komplete Future Classics Collection, which contains Super 8, Form, TRK-01 and Mod Pack. Again, this costs $99/£89/€99.

Find out more and grab yourself a bargain on the Plugin Boutique website.