I have a brand new Maschine Mikro MK3, right out of the box.
I did my mapping and started trying some things, but I find that two of the pads frequently don’t respond and/or get stuck. I thought it was something to do with SD3 or latency, but it’s definitely happening in the MM3.
Was the upshot for others’ I’ve seen posting about this just to replace the unit in the end? 
I was straining at the leash to get going and now I’m stalled. It’s pads 9 and 11 so both mapped to my high hat with the standard mapping so it’s a show stopper to getting started.
Not my day.
I haven’t got mine yet, still working on that. The supplier keep running out of stock, must be a popular model. However, there is a post in the list (can’t remember which one unfortunately - read so many) which explains how to use the Control Software (apparently available from NI) that will allow you to vary the touch sensitivity and velocity curve. That may help.
Thanks for the reply.
Unfortunately after (and before) I did the setup successfully with Controller Editor and set all of the pads to the same sensitivity, it’s still a problem.
A couple of pads just frequently fail to trigger, no matter how hard or soft I hit them. It’s intermittent. After hitting a few other pads, the eventually clear and trigger as normal for a few hits, then stick again and don’t trigger.
The pads light up when you hit them, and this seems almost certainly a hardware problem because the pads light and stay lit when they are “stuck”, even when not connected to any software or plugged into any MIDI device.
1 Like
I have a suspicion that it might also be a driver / usb issue, because I don’t have this problem exactly on my computer, but I do have another problem where my sound craps out (because of some shitty Dell BIOS scan that happens every 30 minutes). When that happens, the pad that I hit on my maschine mikro remains lit up. I can then turn it back off again by hitting it again, but there’s some sort of disruption in the signal that causes this.
So I can imagine that a certain usb port, or driver or configuration is causing this to happen. If it’s possible to plug the device into another computer I would try that. Obviously, you might still want to return it because it should work with your preferred computer, but it might be nice to know, because if its some sort of usb incompatibility it might just happen again if you get another one.
My recommendation for an alternative for the Maschine Mikro mk3 is now the Nektar Aura. I only played one unit (got it two days ago), but if they’re all like the one I tested, you will be very happy with it!
1 Like
One problem for example could be this: The laptop tries to be power efficient and once in a while cuts power to (some of) the usb outputs. When that happens, Maschine freaks out and crashes. Power efficiancy stuff on laptops is truly the shittiest thing for music makers 
You raise some good points @Robert_Mathijs, USB will react very differently depending on the circumstances. Some questions that I would have and will probably have to test out once I get my device (ordering today and its likely to be the Machine Micro).
- Is the device plugged directly into the PC/Laptop or via a USB Hub? That could make a difference.
- Are the latest devices, like the Micro and the Aura, designed for USB2 or USB3 and are they compatible with USB3 as that will have a difference on speed and response?
- if the device is plugged into a USB hub, is the hub powered by mains or can it be?
- You are right about power efficiencies in laptops, or like my machine that thinks its a laptop because its quite portable. You have to sort that out early doors in all the individual advanced settings to remove things like sleep, hibernation and turning off hard drives and USB ports.
When I was researching for the device for me, I was seriously looking at Akai to begin with. I think it might have been in their manual (sorry a real anorak that pre-reads manuals), but there MPD226 has a mains port on the back. There recommendation, because the mains power supply is extra and they not needed, is if you plug the device into a USB hub the hub needs to be plugged into the mains.
If it does turn out to be driver issues, I would be inclined to go back to NI and raise a support ticket. I hope this adds a little to helping. 
Hi Robert, and thanks for the suggestion.
I’m on a fairly new (1yr old, maxed out memory) MacBookPro here, everything is up to date and I do have the latest drivers for Maschine and everything else I’m using.
I was, however, plugged in through a USB hub since the MacBookPros are all USB-c and I’d need an adaptor for every device - the USB hub gives me the USB-2 ports I needed. (Apogee Quartet, Komplete Kontrol keys, Maschine Mikro).
I had no trouble with any other midi devices connected that way, but sure enough, the behavior of the Maschine Mikro is noticeably different when I plug it directly into a USB-c port with an adaptor than through the hub. I’m going to put it through its paces before I call it a cure because one of the pads is sometimes lacking responsiveness, but the two hi hat pads that were consistently sticking before are no longer doing so at all, at least so far.
There’s hope!
Thanks.
Ken
1 Like
Hi Ivan, and thanks. You’re on the right track.
I was plugged into my MacBookPro through a USB hub, which I’d been using for all my USB-2 Midi and audio interface devices prior to this.
I tried connecting it to a USB port and it’s almost entirely cured. I still have one pad that’s just not responsive, but the consistent sticking of the other two pads is gone altogether.
The remaining issue is that one of the pads sometimes doesn’t trigger no matter how hard I hit it, but then comes back to life after a few hits. I’m going to noodle around to see if resetting it helps and check the velocity curves and pad sensitivity settings to rule those out.
Progress.
Thanks!
2 Likes
Ken, that it really good news. I placed my order this morning for a Machine Micro Mk3, unfortunately not with my usual supplier as they have no stock until August which is quite disappointing. I hope that the chosen supplier is alright, but it is scheduled to arrive tomorrow which is very different to August. I on a PC rather than a Mac, but have no option but to use a USB hub. My hub does have a power supply, so I will be using my Micro which the hub plugged up to the mains.
Great bit of testing, useful to know these things. I do wonder how many other Pad Controllers would function differently based on this knowledge?
Regards
Ivan
2 Likes
I’d be interested to know how it goes with your USB hub.
Curious: when you say “mains” are you referring to an AC outlet for power?
My USB hub is not powered from an AC outlet, but passes power from the computer’s USB.
At the moment, while connected directly (not through the hub), I have just one pad that’s still flaky. I’ve tested it using Maschine mode and midi mode with a couple of different drum kits.
I’ll see how it goes when I connect it to my iMacPro, which is my photo/video editing workstation. I need to install and activate a bunch of software first to give it a try.
So close… but the one pad (happens to be my open hi hat pad) is still going to sleep frequently. The other two are rock solid now.
3 Likes
Yeah this has to be some sort of lack of power issue through the usb cable… if more pads are working now than before. The solution is so close I can almost smell it.
Alas, I removed the USB hub altogether and plugged only the Maschine Mikro and my Audio Interface each directly into their own USB ports on the MacBook.
I’m still finding that pads 9, 10, and 11 are failing to trigger sometimes. In fact, it did seem to be much better when I plugged the Maschine directly in, but it was still failing.
Next up: try it on my iMacPro, but it’s smelling like those three pads are flaky now.
I can’t explain why the improvement, but not a cure, when I plugged directly.
My Mk32 keyboard triggers drum kits accurately and reliably, with or without the bus. The Maschine Mikro is unstable for only those 3 pads.
1 Like
I will try to give a possible explanation (of the improvement) with my limited knowledge of USB.
I checked and the mk3 mikro is powered by USB 2.0. Now with USB, voltage is 5V, and the current can be up to 0.5A for USB 2.0. (that’s 2.5W), and one unit load will be 100mA. While low-power devices draw one unit load, high-power devices can go up to five (using all the 0.5A). And the point is that with a passive hub, you are “sharing” the current. Maybe you start to see the (possible) problem now… I’m not sure about the exact power consumption of the mk3 mikro, but I’m pretty sure it super close to 0.5A. So it can be that with the passive hub while using other devices as well, you just don’t have enough power for the drumpad, or more accurately, the delivery is not stable enough.
In the case of an active USB 2.0 hub with an external power source, you can use up to 0.5A per port (ideally, in the case of a good quality high power hub). So for example, for the “worst-case” of a 6 port active hub, the power supply must be validated ideally for 3.0A (makers assume lower power devices though).
The above still does not eliminate the possibilities of a faulty cable, port, or device. Especially because you mentioned that it’s better but nor perfect. Can be also that sufficient power delivery was a problem indeed, but there is still a problem from the PC side or the drumpad, etc. Trying different ports, PC, cable with the possible combinations is the next step I guess… Good luck Ken!
1 Like
I agree! A ‘powered’ hub might also be a solution to the computer cutting power to usb outputs. So that’s one last thing to try.
That said, if the device behaves the same on your other computer we probably have another problem on our hands… keep us in the loop!
I also found this article about usb 2 problems in newer macbooks.
Would that be applicable to you? Ot do you have an older model?
I just got a new macbook a few days ago. Will test. My machines with it asap.
Quote:
As noted by MacRumors , there are a significant number of complaints from users on Reddit and Apple Support Communities. In most cases, USB 2.0 accessories are randomly disconnected from the MacBook and sometimes the system crashes after that.
One of the affected customers said the connected accessories stop working after using the machine for a while, and the only known workaround is rebooting the Mac.
When I use an external USB-C hub in any port of my MBP, and connect USB 2.0 devices that include a Filco keyboard and a Razer DeathAdder mouse… after a while (minute or hours) the USB 2.0 devices will stop responding (keyboard dead, mouse
Allcon, just to throw another spanner in the works (sorry) the older the PC (I would have to guess there is no difference with Macs) the more tiresome the USB ports can get. All the USB info that @ungoleth has written is absolutely correct. The problem is that as PCs get older the USB ports seem to get more flaky, perhaps not providing the full 5v that they should do. That could be a slowly failing power supply, problems occurring on the motherboard or just about anything. For example, my personal PC (I use for correspondence and this this type of portal) I purchased in 2003. I have upgraded it several time, its now at full RAM capacity and on its 3rd or 4th hard drive. The USB ports are flaky, some things work fine but if you try to do something serious like format an external drive it may not complete. Also some device just may not work.
Food for thought, but it probably leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Sorry.
Ivan
Hey! In the other thread it turns out the returned device that got replaced worked perfectly fine, so the chance increases that you just have to send it back and get it fixed / replaced!
First of all, thanks so much to everyone jumping in to help troubleshoot this!
@Robert_Mathijs My MacBookPro is a 2019 model, so my read of that article is that it wouldn’t be affected by that specific issue, which was limited to the 2020 models.
Being that I tested it on my iMacPro and found the same behavior in SD3, AbbeyRoad, Maschine, GarageBand and Kontakt, and even in Maschine mode, not MIDI mode, I became somewhat convinced that it was a hardware issue with the MM3.
Seeing that the other poster had success with his replacement, I think that all but seals it.
Now if I can only get the seller to reply to me about the replacement.
On a positive note, I’ve spent time over a couple of weeks getting familiar with your QFG approach and watched quite a bit of the video content and read the forums. While it’s frustrating to finally get a set of pads and have them be flaky, it’s really only because I was excited about digging in.
With the help of the generous group here on the forum, I’m sure it will get resolved and I’ll just need to tap into my extra reserve of patience.
Thanks!
1 Like
Hi Ken, @pelletk I have got my Mikro up and running. The overall setup was lengthy, but I mentioned that on the other stream. Obviously, I don’t really know the difference between hard / soft in reality. However, I can say that my device is working very well and I am pleased with it. I did, as it happens, come across something on the NI site about using USB hubs. They say exactly the same as Akai, if you are using a USB hub it should be an active hub that is plugged in to the mains. My hub is plugged up to the mains and my Mikro works fine. Hope your replacement works out well for you.
Ivan
1 Like
Thanks for the update. Glad it’s working well for you.
Mine ended up not working even when I eliminate the hub altogether and even when I tried another computer - not a laptop, buy a new iMacPro.
So for me it wasn’t the hub, but it’s something to be on the lookout for, thanks.
Ken
1 Like