Native Instruments Maschine Mikro mk3 emkay three (18)
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A beautiful box of buttons named Maschine Mikro MK3

Maschine is traditionally something that our core audience might have an interest in, but not in quite the same way as maybe a spinning haptic jogwheel controller. But the new Maschine Mikro MK3 definitely fits into out demographic as an add on controller, as well as an extremely cost-effective gateway into the world of producing that apparently you absolutely must be to be a DJ these days (hint — you really don’t).

It’s a long press release that details a number of new entry level NI releases. I’ve lifted the Maschine Mikro parts for clarity:

MASCHINE MIKRO is a flexible, compact beatmaking companion, now in its third generation. All-new bigger pads, based on those of the popular MASCHINE Mk3, make tapping out beats, playing melodies, and building up tracks a more fun and hands-on experience. The addition of a Smart Strip provides new ways of playing with MIKRO – by sliding fingers across the strip it’s possible to strum and bend sounds, and get creative with effects in real-time. 

MASCHINE MIKRO comes bundled with MASCHINE Factory Selection – 1.6 GB of sounds, kits, samples, effects, and instruments, designed to give musicians and producers everything they need to start making music. Also included are full versions of the popular NI synths MASSIVE, MONARK, and REAKTOR PRISM. The MASCHINE software can be used standalone, or with any DAW, meaning that MIKRO fits easily into any music-making workflow – all while costing significantly less than previous generations. 

The release of MIKRO also brings an all-new experience for getting started with MASCHINE. Whether making their first beat, or brushing up on the basics, NI’s comprehensive guides for getting started mean it has never been easier for musicians and producers to take the first steps on their MASCHINE journey.

Maschine Mikro MK3 – Pricing and availability

MASCHINE MIKRO:A compact beat-making companion that quickly takes users from the creative spark to the finished beat.

Available September 18, 2018

249 USD, 249 EUR, 31800 JPY, 199 GBP, 379 AUD, 329 CAD, 1999 CYN.

Maschine Mikro MK3 – Dan’s take

This is a bit of news that really works for me! Though it isn’t technically a Traktor product, it could be: the Maschine Mikro MK3 seems like a great laptop-based answer to the Pioneer DJ DJS-1000. If you’re already running Traktor, then installing Maschine with one of these and Ableton Link gives you loads of fairly lightweight potential, both literally and on laptop resources. Thinking about it, in the grand scheme of things, running Maschine as a drum sampler and step sequencer on a modern laptop will give minimal overhead, and offers so much extra functionality, with room to grow thanks to the recent addition of sample features.

Reading through the press kit about this, the complete lack of mention about DJing is loud, which surprises me. I get that NI might want to silo their products, but with something like this, there’s going to be crossover. Things are continuing to head in that direction, and this product seems ideal.

On the production side, there’s some features added to the controls, such as the touch strip for pitch bends, or the dedicated step sequencer button. There’s also a brand new set of instruction videos when you launch the software for the first time, with content tailored to your needs of the hardware. This is something that’s really been lacking in the user experience when it comes to audio software and hardware.

Basically, I’m looking forward to reviewing the Maschine Mikro MK3 when it comes in next week!

Maschine Mikro MK3 GALLERY

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Mark Settle
The Old Owner
I was the editor around these parts for the first two decades of the DJWORX journey. I’m on a creative journey at The Worxlab, and drop in occasionally here. Expect the odd article from me every now and again.
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30 Comments

  2. I will be buying one. Simply so that I can leave the Full Sized MK3 in the studio.

    Another use would be, buy two of these. Set em on either side of your mixer. Map em to Traktor for Deejaying. The possibilities are awesome. I’ve been waiting on a new mikro for some time.

      2. Im not sure if it is a truth, but i read on ni forum that there is no midi mode currently on start, so if it is truth , then it isn’t useful for nothing beside maschine soft. I hope it isn’t truth but it is possible

          2. Accurate Beats have it already and he DID CONFIRM IT to me [on comment of video] that i has not https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6OGjYj8D4c . In this manual only words about midi mode are “A controller not connected to any MASCHINE software instance can be used in MIDI mode (i.e. as a MIDI controller) at the same time as the other controller(s). See the Controller Editor Manual for more information on MIDI mode.” and screen on bottom of it doesn’t have maschine mikro on list so im pretty sure that is direct copy and paste from maschine mk3 manuall. I do believe that they probably rushed realease of it to make release of all new items in same time and they will add it, but in this moment it has not. On top of it later in manuall there is info how to trigger midi mode from hardware, and there is no mikro mk3 on list at all, so …

    1. They’re deliberately boosting the entry level end of their range. Like others, they’ve realised that constantly serving the top end is a road to nowhere when there’s little new to trickle down. So they’re creating a new generation of producers brought up on NI gear. The new keyboards for example are amazing for the price.

  4. Why in these products’ reviews / announcements nobody ever mentions anything about sound quality?

    Everyone is all about features / buttons / integration, yet nobody bothers with the actual output of those things: sound and how good is that.

    Maschine is notorious weak on drums. That thing literally sounds like knocking on taperwares, I highly doubt I ever heard anything else that weak on drums.

    Yet, it’s all about features.

    1. That’s easy to answer. At announcement stage, nobody knows. You can’t gauge sound quality from words, pictures, or Youtube video. So you’ve really only got features left to talk about. Until review time of course, and then we definitely do talk about sound quality.

      I can’t really talk about sound quality of Maschines. I deliberately stay well away from groove boxes because of the productivity black hole that would form around me.

    2. This thing doesn’t produce any sound, for a start. Besides, beyond a literal hardware manufacturing fault, most any modern audio interface will sound fine in a club. You can argue about ‘warmth’, ‘harmonics’ or whatever bollocks seems audiophile, but its pretty much irrelevant to a club environment where the speakers, crossover settings, crowd size, and room shape will have 100x more of an effect on what’s heard.

      1. ‘warmth’, ‘harmonics’ or whatever bollocks seems audiophile, but its pretty much irrelevant to a club environment”

        Seriously?

        Also, this thing might not produce any sound, but it’s still a controller specifically designed for only 1 piece of software which *produces* sound..

        1. And if we reviewed alongside Maschine software as a production website, we would dive into that. But this is mostly the ‘wow and flutter’ argument for the digital world. We can argue numbers and opinions about sound quality, but as I said, it’s such a small part of the audio chain in a club (or even a bedroom), that it’s just pointless.

          In a review of DJ gear (specifically), things worth noting for sound quality (beyond cold hard stats) would be stuff like “there’s a ground loop hum somewhere on channel 2”, or “the audio interface only supports 44.1 KHz”, or “there’s a noticeable difference in max volume between RCA and TRS output”.

          1. Seriously again? The production suite behind any type of song doesn’t matter that much, because “it’s such a small part of the audio chain in a club (or even a bedroom) that it’s just pointless”???

            I can hardly believe that you have never participated in any kind of mastering process, nor that you have no idea about how a mixed version of a song works with mastering and how that translates into “clubs”, yet you comment like you actually have no idea.

            Strange.

            1. Because none of that applies. you’re not mastering a track live in a club, you’re playing a few beats. Just like you don’t expect a band’s live performances to stand up to a fully mastered version of their tracks. Live is live. And we’re not a production blog, so don’t pretend to approach reviews from that point of view.

              1. Okay. You’re not a production blog and I shouldn’t pretend to approach reviews from that point of view, even if THIS review is about a production tool.

                If you say so.

                But please, show some more respect towards who you reply too. We’re not all 20 years old, nor we share your sarcasm. Okay boss?

                2. The average age of the writers of DJWORX is likely older than you, so cut the lack of experience schtick. As well, both ray and Dan produce. I’ve been recording, producing and engineering for about 18 years, and started to get into production close to 25 years ago. I only say that because I trust my ears, and Maschine’s engine is very capable of producing incredibly punchy drums. It takes samples. You get what you give it. If you export your tracks separately you can further mix in your favorite DAW, which gives you the flexibility to mix in an environment that is better for proper mixing/mastering (as Maschine’s workflow is not great for that last step).

                  If you aren’t getting the drum sound you want out of Maschine, it is your own fault.

    3. As you yourself said, we are looking at a controller with no built-in audio interface. All this thing does is talk to the Maschine software, and the output quality depends on whichever interface you’ve got attached to it – or the DAW where you use Maschine as a plug-in.

      Now, when we talk “quality”, what exactly do you mean? The built-in drum synth, sample playback, or… what, general mixdown capability of Maschine’s master output?

      I would say that with Maschine’s (or, in fact, any) drum synth, it’s a bit much to expect it to magically conjure up a sound that is normally achieved through layering and heavy processing. It’s capable for my purposes, but I’ve also got a couple of plug-ins sitting on the output – and I do layer stuff. A lot.

      With sample playback, I fail to see how the software itself could be messing with that so much you’d be able to actually notice it. Put the same sample into an Ableton Drum Rack and Maschine, play them back, and kindly point towards which one is coming from Maschine.

      If you can do that consistently, I will retract everything I said, but in my experience most people who talk “quality this quality that” can’t tell whether an acid squelch is coming from an OG 303 or a plug-in, or distinguish between a Moog and a VA patch emulating it (I have witnessed both first-hand, many times).

      One point where we could (perhaps!) argue quality is when you put the flagship Maschine MK3’s audio interface against, say, an RME Fireface. I haven’t done a blind test here, and perhaps I should. But as Dan said – one: both you and I would fail such a blind test listening to most club PAs (which is very sad, but also very true), and two: we’re not a production blog.

  5. Point of fact, Traktor will crash, or simply refuse, if you try to use it and Maschine at the same time on an Audio10/8/6/etc. with a PC. Traktor will run next to Maschine with a Midas firewire mixer for a few minutes, but it always crashes.

    2. That’s… actually something I’ve never tested, because I don’t have any of these interfaces, but I’m not sure I can confirm what you’re saying. Multiclient ASIO has been a thing for a while.

      On my Windows systems (Win10/64), I’m using Traktor together with Ableton Live as well as a bunch of (3-4) other programs that need to access the audio driver simultaneously, and it works flawlessly. It works with the RME Fireface UFX+, Rane Sixty-Four, the A&H Xone:96, and even the slightly lower-end iConnectivity ICM4+.

      While those are not NI’s audio interfaces, I’m quite sure that NI have LONG since enabled ASIO multiclient support in their windows drivers. The fact that ASIO’s (which I assume is the “lower latency API” you’re talking about) original spec from the late 90s defines it as exclusive has no meaning anymore – most manufacturers have worked around it years ago. At the very least, I can’t name a single one that hasn’t (but do correct me if I’m wrong).