Just a wee update. NI got back to me this morning:
You are receiving this email because you have been in contact with our technical support.
Your Native Instruments product Maschine Mikro MK3, Device ID MM3************ needs to be repaired or exchanged.
The ticket number for this process is: *******
They sent me a label to print out that provides free shipping to Germany via UPS. I’ll get it sent off ASAP and then I guess I just need to wait. So far, so good.
Maybe to reassure you: besides this issue I haven’t gotten any complaints from anybody. And I tested 3 mikros myself and they all worked.
Order placed! 3 weeks ^_____^
Ouch…I’m also playing the waiting game for the Midi Fighter Twister to get back in stock.
Hi Mathias,
I’ve been wrestling with exactly the same problem you’re describing and wondering: did your 2nd replacement work for you?
I have a ticket in with the retailer I bought it from and they’ve been pokey getting back to me about a replacement. In the meantime, I’ve tried everything I can think of - checked firmware, eliminated a usb bus, tested with Kontakt, Superior Drummer, and Maschine; connected to a different computer altogether with clean installs all around.
Same 3 pads are just intermittently flaky, sometimes getting stuck (I can see a midi note on is sent, but no corresponding midi note off).
Maddening.
Man this sucks… I feel bad for the both of you being our guinea pigs.
We now have to see whether the repaired or replaced unit makes a difference or if we can get this thing sorted out through fixing some weird usb issue.
Problems like these can drive a man crazy. Hang in there.
The third device I got works fine 
Ah there we go… that means the other one is probably faulty as well.
Looks like NI had a bad batch recently out something. The mikro mk3 that I bought 4 months ago was fine and the one a year before that as well and 6 months before that that one was good as well.
Goes to show that quality can always decline. Super annoying when trying to recommend something. Luckily the problem was fixed! Confident that the other problem will get fixed as well then.
Thanks, really helpful to know I’m not chasing my own tail trying to isolate it. Or, I was, but now I can stop.
I’m pushing to get the replacement and I’ll report back.
The good news is that, although the original vendor didn’t reply about a replacement, and took 3 weeks to get the first one to me, I found another source online and placed the order today and they had free shipping. It is arriving tomorrow.
The defective one will be returned for a refund.
At least I’ll be back up and running in a day.
Hi Everyone! I am new to QFG and Im so glad I joined. Unfortunately, I am also having issues with my brand new Mikro MK3. When I set sensitivity to max as suggested in the QFG setup instructions, pad 1 stops working completely. Its so weird. To get around it, I only set sensitivity to around 80% but I dont know if this will make practicing the lessons harder. I opened a ticket to NI but they are very slow to respond. First they wanted me to ship the item back so they can repair. I said thats not acceptable and I want a replacement. I said you dont buy something new to have it repaired. After that, they have not replied back for several days now. Did anyone else encounter this problem with your Mikro? Thanks.
You should just be able to set the sensitivity to max without any problems. And we just found out over here that apparently there are more and more faulty devices out there.
So far exchanging the unit was always the best solution. Or money back and then ordering somewhere else.
I said this before and I’ll say it again: I personally owned 3 maschine mikro units (I now have 2) that never had any real problems, and obviously everyone with a working device is less inclined to start posting in this thread. So its a little unclear how widespread this problem actually is.
I’ll keep monitoring this because the Mikro is such a perfect unit for most people. Would be sad if NI starts messing this up.
Alright! Let us know how the new unit functions.
Well my Mikro arrived late yesterday afternoon, so far so good (I think). The first issues that I had was finding the right drivers to install, its a bit of a needle in a haystack situation on the NI site. Then after over 5 hours of no progress installing the software I found that I really should not have hit the ‘Install All’ button because it tends to hang. I had to do an End Task to stop it, reboot and sort out the drivers, then start again. Installing the software one package at a time is definitely recommended (for PC at least), its much faster. So I really only got as far as making sure it works in the Machine software last night (or early this morning). Configurations, templates and setups for Ableton still to complete. Then I’ll probably find out if the unit is good or not so good.
IC
The update here is that my new mikro (which arrived overnight, by the way!) is so far working flawlessly. The other was apparently a lemon.
I first connected it directly to the USB (no hub) and no other MIDI devices. All good.
Then I connected a keyboard and audio interface to the other USB ports on the MacBookPro, still good.
Then I got wild and connected them all through the non-active hub, just to see if there are any glitches there. So far, I haven’t had any non-responsive pad hits or sticking pads.
Fingers crossed this is solved and I can chalk it up to a defective unit.
For what it’s worth, the store I bought it from just got a big shipment after being sold out, so maybe they’re from a whole new production run.
So far, so good.
Thanks everyone. It’s been a big help to get feedback and similar stories and solutions.
Nice. Glad the problem is solved.
Now my problem is, should I recommend the mikro mk3 to other people or not… 
It’s a reasonable question. For me, this device is ideal for a few reasons. I have a lot of NI instruments and libraries, and it fits well into my setup. Apart from these incidents where there seems to have been a batch of lemons out there, it’s a very good choice.
It’s hard to say how limited the issue was and whether it’s fully solved in NI’s production. I can speak for my own experience and say that this new unit is still running smoothly. Not a single glitch.
I’m glad that you’re sorted Ken. I didn’t expect to be writing about problems, but I think this is more likely to be lack of understanding on my part, or at least I hope it is. I purchased this mainly because it seemed to be a better device and better machine (no pun intended), the amount of facilities available as a controller looked to be massive (still no pun intended). I don’t know if this is me, but it appears at the moment that the majority of the controlling features only work when you are using NI software and recording in Machine 2. In Midi mode, i can use it as a finger drumming tool very easily and it does a really good job. I produce all my music stuff in Ableton Live 10, as @Robert_Mathijs (Rob) says, I wouldn’t use the NI software for that as I really don’t think much to it. I have been playing for hours and hours and hours - so frustrating.
Earlier today, something wiped out all my VSTs in the Ableton list and everytime I tried to re-scan them. Ableton just shut down, I had had Machine VST up trying to work out how I can record directly into Ableton. The main issue that I have is that there is no templates in the Controller software for Maschine Mikro, I have no idea which Control Surface to choose in Ableton Preferences as again there is no discrete item for the Mikro in the list. I have been trying different choices with some very odd results where the Pads are connected to some Session View Scenes and not others. But in Midi Mode, it looks like most of the functionality of the Mikro goes out of the window.
Any tips would be gratefully received, I’m pulling my hair out. Particularly on the correct Control Surface to use. Thanks
Hi Ivan,
I wish I could offer some help or advice, but I’ve never used Ableton. I do use Logic Pro and GarageBand and can load Kontakt (and drum libs like Abbey Road, Studio Drummer, Drum Lab, etc), Maschine and Superior Drummer 3 as a plug-ins and record drum parts I perform on the Maschine Mikro, but I haven’t tried any of the other controls yet apart from the transport controls, which do work for me; record, play, stop, etc on the Maschine Mikro all control the DAW as expected if I turn that feature on in the Controller Editor.
As for the replacement Mikro, two days of steady playing and all the pads are still triggering as expected.
Hi Ken, @pelletk, I am pleased that you are able to play your Mikro and the pads are working well. I haven’t had pad issues, I think mine is fine in that respect. As its essentially a controller and not just pads for drumming, I was hoping to be able to control a number of features inside Ableton. I would guess that you have lots of favorite sounds that you regularly use in Logic and Garageband as I do in Ableton. I thought that I would be able to use features like the finger glide for Pitch Bend and Modulation. It seems that unless you have a NI software product loaded up in your DAW, these functions don’t work (specifically Maschine 2). I have found out how to get it to record directly to my DAW without recording in Maschine 2 today, that’s a bonus in some respects and it lets you use some of the other features sometimes. You still have to load up Maschine 2 VST on every track that you want to use the Mikro in that way. For learning finger drumming it’s great, I have a freebie kit that I can use (MT Drums) and I am in the process of setting up the Q4G template in a Drum Rack (just need to add some compressors and stuff).
Still stuck on which control surface selection in the Ableton preferences. There are no discrete scripts or templates available for the Mikro Mk3, I found a Mk2 template but that does some weird stuff. They are supposed to help to convert some of the functionality when in Midi Mode. There is one called Mackie, but I’m not sure what that supposed to do, there is little that can be configured for that template in the Editor.
I’m soldiering on, do some more tomorrow, its way past my bedtime now. Thanks for getting back to me.
Ivan