Nektar's 'beat composer' combines MIDI pad controller, step sequencer and plugin control via the brand's Nektarine system. Neat instrument and effect control solution at a great price. Check out our full review.

Supplier's notes:
The new Nektarine 2.5 software update adds a host of beatmaking features, including drum sample playback, a redesigned user interface and exclusive drum sounds.

Nektarine 2.5 adds the missing element for creating beats with Nektar's AURA Beat Composer: The new integrated DP-1 Drum Player plugin plays any WAV or AIFF audio files with up to 24 bit / 192 kHz sample rate and comes with a library of over 500 drum sounds, right out of the box.

DP-1 has been especially designed for drum sounds, with realtime access to main sound shaping parameters from AURA: Pitch, Attack, Decay, Decay Slope, Env>Filter, Drive, Cutoff and Resonance are instantly available for tweaking on AURA's 8 pots. Gritty 8-bit sound comes courtesy of the "1982" mode. When active, "1982" changes the playback resolution to 8-bit and emulates the circuitry and classic sound of those first-generation drum machines. A one knob compressor and 2-band equalizer provide additional processing options, along with 1 assignable pressure- and 3 assignable velocity-modulation targets.

DP-1 factory library was especially created for DP-1 and includes over 500 unique drum instruments and 40 kits: The patches cover a wide range from classic drum machines to electronic sounds and acoustic sets. The acoustic sounds were created using sets and recording techniques of different eras to deliver an authentic, diverse and rich collection. All sounds are available as individual patches or complete Multipatches (kits) in Nektarine.

Nektarine 2.5's user interface has been redesigned from the ground up and introduces many new features and workflow enhancements.

Central for working with AURA is the new Pads View: It combines 16 virtual pads showing all AURA pad settings at a glance, a mixer instrument channel strip complete with plugin slots, sends, pan, volume, mute & solo parameters and a Browser pane for loading of content.

The Browser pane supports fast kit creation via drag-and-drop: Dragging a sample from the Audio tab and dropping it on a pad will automatically load it in the DP-1 Drum Player and create an instrument channel strip. The sample can be instantly played from the AURA pad it was dropped on. Dragging any patch in from the Browser similarly loads that patch and its associated plugin. Pad editing options include copy, paste and swap pads either from AURA or via the Nektarine user interface.

Pad repeat: AURA's on-board pad repeat engine is directly accessible, featuring a dedicated on / off button and settings menu. Using pad pressure to control velocity while changing repeat rates with the RGB LED buttons, makes it a great tool for creating dynamic rolls. The Repeat engine is highly customizable, parameters include Repeat Rate, Gate, Accent Interval, Accent Velocity Offset, Swing, Trigger Mode and Clock Source.

Hardware step sequencer: On pressing AURA's 'SEQ' button, the 16 LED buttons below the pots become the much loved, classic 16-step programming interface. 16 patterns (one per pad) with 4 parts (comprising of up to 16 steps each) add up to a total of 64 steps. This provides a lot of flexibility for inspired beat creation. A set of patterns can be saved in one of AURA's 16 Collections. AURA's sequencer is all about interaction and performance: Parts may be triggered in any combination at any time. Each pattern, and even each part in a pattern, can have a different length - massively simplifying the creation of interesting poly-rhythms. Many of the editing features go all the way down to step level and include play rate, velocity, accent, gate and swing.

Internal and external clock modes ensure perfect sync. The sequencer may also be used stand-alone for MIDI instruments connected to AURA's external MIDI Out.

DAW integration: The dedicated 'DAW' button assigns AURA's surface to take control of many popular DAWs, offering Nektar DAW integration features such as extended transport control, track selection, project navigation and more. Nektar DAW Integration software is included for Ableton Live Suite, Bitwig, Cubase, Digital Performer, Garageband, Logic, Nuendo, Reaper, Reason, Studio One and Sonar / Cakewalk. 7 transport buttons are otherwise fully MIDI assignable, including MMC commands, and can be used to set up transport control for any software not supported by Nektar DAW integration. MIDI programmability: AURA is designed for control of Nektarine, but it can also be used as a self-contained programmable USB MIDI pad controller in 'Internal' mode. It connects with hard- and software via USB or the MIDI output jack. 16 presets store pad and control assignments for use for the 16 pads, 8 pots, 7 switches and 2 foot switch connections.