Native Instruments releases PLAYBOX

The new release brings together handcrafted chords, multidimensional sound design, and randomization, for the first time in a single instrument.

Berlin, March 23, 2022 – Native Instruments today announced the release of PLAYBOX, the latest addition to their range of KONTAKT-based instruments.

Birthed as a passion project from creators Antonio de Spirt, Mickaël Le Goff and Nadine Raihani, PLAYBOX offers users an instant solution to writer’s block.“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 randomization,” explains Nadine, who began building PLAYBOX in her free time as a fun and useful tool to refresh her workflow and kickstart creativity.

PLAYBOX combines chord generation and sample layering with randomization, to produce one-of-a-kind sounds playable with just one finger. At the roll of a dice, the instrument will randomize and blend between 905 immersive samples, 224 chord sets, and 217 effects presets, to help spark new musical ideas, and take tracks to the finish line.

Catering for beatmakers to composers, hobbyists to professionals, PLAYBOX strives to be accessible to all, lending inspiration regardless of genre or skill. Nadine explains, “One of the goals of PLAYBOX is to pick people up at whatever level they're at. Whether they’re a professional sound designer or a first-time producer, everyone has the ability to customize their sound, use their own samples and utilize their own chords.”

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

Loaded with a spectrum of tweakable sounds straight out of the box, PLAYBOX allows creators to layer a variety of samples, from synths, instruments, bass, voices, and noise, to each note in a chord, for unheard combinations of multi-stacked sounds. Users can also import up to 450 of their own samples, that are automatically re-pitched to the notes of a chord, to revive old sample libraries collecting hard drive dust.

In this walkthrough video NI’s Head of UX & Market Research and one of the three PLAYBOX creators, Nadine Raihani, explains some of the instrument's key features, and showcases how it can be used to kickstart ideas and refresh workflow:

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

PLAYBOX is available from March 23, 2022 at the Native Instruments online shop, with a 25% discount until April 24, or unlockable via NI’s KOMPLETE NOW monthly subscription.