So, although I never took finger drumming seriously until recently, I’ve been doing this music producer thing for a while and I have a Maschine Mk1 that I acquired probably around 2013 or 2014. I actually only really started using it pretty recently. It still has the original plastic covering on the screens. I was recently using it as kind of a glorified preset selector for my jams, inside of Ableton, while triggering all the midi via my Push 2. Anyway, although I have a disgusting number of midi pad controllers (nearly every Ableton one ever made), this is my only 16-pad style controller.
So I’ve always found the pads to be lacking in sensitivity, even when I first got it. Compared to my Launchpad X and my Push 2, there’s no comparison at all. I was thinking of getting a 16-pad controller to get that big pad experience, but the fact that things are so inconsistent with the budget options is pretty discouraging. In one of Robert’s controller review videos he mentioned MPCstuff.com, which I found offered a ‘pad upgrade’ for Maschine mk1 for $15 and I promptly bought it, thinking it a better investment than a brand new controller.
So a few things - It’s amazing that the driver support software support, all of that still exists after all that time. I also think it’s kind of amazing that I can still buy parts for this thing.
I’m not sure if my Maschine’s lack of sensitivity is because it’s probably over 10 years old, or because the standards for pad sensitivity have gotten much better since then… anyone have any idea? And if anyone is a maschine mk1 user, is upgrading the pads a good way to extend its life?
