# Maschine Mikro - What Am I Missing?



## JStraitiff (Nov 12, 2013)

Recently I have been studying drums with the goal to program drums for my music. A friend of mine has a used NI maschine mikro that we have been playing with however we have had a hell of a time getting it working. I'm considering buying it from him but I need to be sure that it's not defective first. Anyone who has had experience with maschine I could use your help. First issue is that the pads are not responsive. You have to mash them to get any sound. I have adjusted the sensitivity to 100% but they are still not working like they should. There is also a delay between the button hit and response on the computer. This could be due to computer side lag but I'm not quite sure. Can you use the other buttons on the maschine to control your daw or is it only useful alongside the maschine software? Thanks guys


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## vices like vipers (Nov 12, 2013)

You will probably have more lucky asking on the NI forums, and DJtechtools.
Also more info would help, like.
Computer spec,
Operating System,
Maschine Firmware,
and DAW software.


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## Djazzy (Nov 13, 2013)

I used to own a Maschine Mikro and ended up giving it to my brother in law because I didn't like it. What you're describing with the pads is perfectly normal. Even with the sensitivity at 100 you need to use a fookin hammer to make the thing work. I didn't notice any lag with my computer. And unfortunately without the Maschine software, the other buttons do... nothing.

It's a good groovebox for DJing and stuff like that. But as a midi controller it's really bad. And for the money they're asking for it you can go way better. I say .... it.


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## coffinwisdom (Nov 15, 2013)

Is it a Maschine MK1 or MK2? MK2 has the multi-colored pads. MK1 is just orange. AFAIK they upgraded the pad sensitivity for MK2. That's the only version I've personally used and I thought they were easily the best pads I've ever used on a midi controller.

Delay between hit and the sound is more than likely just the audio latency setting. Doesn't sound like a hardware issue.

Maschine is awesome for making any kind of electronic music it's super intuitive and comes with a ton of great sounds. That being said I would not recommend it just for drums. It's dependent on the Maschine software which is cool in it's own right but not a proper DAW and the sounds in it are geared towards DJs. You can for sure use Maschine as midi controller to control your DAW but I would rather have something else for that.

If you just want drum software and a controller get Superior 2.0 and the Korg drum controller I've heard great things about the pads on that. I personally have an Akai MPD26 and the pads are pretty much how you describe yours. Wouldn't recommend it.


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## Djazzy (Nov 15, 2013)

My experience was with the Mk 1.


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## Fretless (Nov 15, 2013)

That would be the problem entirely. The original Maschine didn't have the same sensitivity that the current maschine does (even MK II doesn't have as great of sensitivity as maschine studio). However the MK II would clear up most of your troubles. I currently write all of my drums using maschine, and I just have a custom midi map (with each unique part of the kit having it's own color for reference) and it works amazingly.


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## TristanTTN (Nov 15, 2013)

I use the the buttons on the Maschine Mikro MK2 to control Reaper and the pads are set for Superior Drummer. Make sure you have the Pad Velocity Curve set to Soft 3 for better sensitivity. I also have each pad set with a minimum velocity at ~50 except for my kick which I leave at a fixed velocity of 127. You can also have the buttons set for your drums as well, but they'll be at a fixed velocity of course.


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## Djazzy (Nov 15, 2013)

I don't think I'm gonna bother buying a new midi controller any time soon. I still need some standalone guitar processor, because I'm using pod farm now, and you know... it's pod farm. However, I'd like to try the new Maschine just to let it redeem itself.


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