Commanding an advanced arpeggiator

>We’ve already seen some of the basic functions of arpeggiators and how they can inspire you. But these parts of synths have been around for a few decades, and in the meantime, a succession of hardware and software makers have spent time pushing the envelope and improving the feature set available from an arpeggiator.

Native Instruments’ Komplete Kontrol is a great example of what a more modern, digitally based arpeggiator can do. Komplete Kontrol was designed to host any given Native Instruments synth, Kontakt or Reaktor instrument, and many by third-party developers as well. In doing this, NI had to make sure their arp features were up to the task, and with their Smart Play features, they’ve given both amateur and professional producers a ton of new ways to use the instruments they load into the software – whether they’re playing using a MIDI controller or the company’s Maschine hardware.

In the tutorial below, we’re going to give you a tour of Komplete Kontrol’s Smart Play features, showing you how you can make the most of them to create musical ideas or turn a track that’s getting a bit stale into a more interesting, feature-filled piece of music. Komplete Kontrol software is required if you want to follow along to the letter here, but the features we’re discussing are commonplace on many of today’s soft synths and DAWs. You can access Komplete Kontrol’s Smart Play arpeggiator from within the plugin or the standalone software, from the three musical notes icon.

WITH THEIR SMART PLAY FEATURES, THEY’VE GIVEN BOTH AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL PRODUCERS A TON OF NEW WAYS TO USE THE INSTRUMENTS