The modular synthesizer that started it all. GENERATOR, the brainchild of NI founder Stephan Schmitt, was one of the first synths to run on the readily available (and predominantly beige) consumer PCs of the time. Today, it’s the DNA of REAKTOR, the platform behind MONARK, RAZOR, FORM, and many of our other synthesizers – as well as more than 6,000 free ensembles created by the REAKTOR community.

Our virtual tribute to a pioneering digital hardware synth was 100% faithful to the original – right down to its colorscheme. It could even run the same patches via SysEx import (a handy trick that FM8 retains). There’s no real way to make FM synthesis entirely simple, but FM7 did at least make it more approachable – and fun. 

First released a year earlier by designer Brian Clevinger’s Rhizomatic Software, NI saw the potential of this semi-modular monster synth, and added it to the portfolio. Since this initial release, ABSYNTH has grown into a soundscape-generating powerhouse of a synth, beloved by forward-thinking producers and Hollywood sound designers alike for its complex, evolving timbres. 

The first version of TRAKTOR kickstarted the digital DJ revolution, just as the MP3 format was becoming popular. It spawned many of the features and workflows that DJs now take for granted: Visualising tracks with waveforms? TRAKTOR. Setting loop points? TRAKTOR. Carrying your whole record collection to the club in your pocket? TRAKTOR.

After we launched the BATTERY drum sampler in 2001, a fully fledged NI soft sampler was hotly anticipated. KONTAKT arrived a year later and quickly became the industry standard in sampling. Today, it’s the platform on which top developers like Spitfire, Output, and Orchestral Tools have built incredible catalogues of their own, and a go-to for producers, sound designers and composers of all types – from bedroom beatmakers to Hollywood’s finest.

The first Native Instruments ‘everything’ collection came in with a total of nine products in a big, bulky box full of CDs. It quickly became a staple in both pro and bedroom studios, and the bundle has been growing ever since. 22 years and 13 Editions on, the Komplete portfolio now includes over 150 instruments, effects, and Expansions – without a CD in sight.

With its authentic tube sound and flexible virtual rack, GUITAR RIG debuted as the first truly versatile guitar studio. It gave guitarists the ability to record anywhere, any time with a full backline of drool-worthy gear – and all at bedroom volume.

The most used synth of all time? Probably. Responsible for 15 years of wobbling basslines? Definitely. With a high-resolution engine that went way beyond the wubs it became synonymous with, MASSIVE was the next-generation wavetable synth that spawned genres of its own.

MASCHINE wasn’t the first ever drum machine, nor was it the first groovebox software. It was the first real integration of fast, fun hardware-based workflows, with the full power and flexibility of a software production suite. It didn’t take long to catch on, and today it’s hard to fathom the number of Billboard hits that have been programmed on MASCHINE.

For laptop DJs, our first integrated DJ controller, the S4, allowed them to step away from the keyboard and mouse without giving up any of the flexibility they’d become used to. And for those who were yet to make the switch, it provided access to all of TRAKTORs key features in a familiar hardware format. 

The Mk1 S49, 25, and 61 keyboards arrived in 2014 with their now-iconic Light Guides, and the S88 followed a year later. For the first time, a keyboard controller was able to display highly-detailed instrument and performance information directly over the keys themselves. And thanks to NKS, these keyboards now bring hardware workflows to hundreds of instruments from more than 70 top developers. They’re also setting the bar for accessibility in music tech, thanks to thoughtful innovations in the included KOMPLETE KONTROL software.

Not so much an update as a full re-imagining of its forebear, MASSIVE X took everything that made the original great, and turned it up several notches. More flexible than the original, with even more powerful wavetable oscillators and virtually unlimited modulation options, it’s designed to do what MASSIVE did a decade before – help a generation of producers to design the future of sound. 

The most recent milestone on our timeline is also one of the most significant. When we launched MASCHINE+, we came full circle with our first ever embedded product – the first to combine the power of software and hardware in a single instrument. It’s the flagship of our current range, and a new benchmark for everything that comes next.