Native Instruments Maschine Mikro  

It takes a while to get the hang of things, many different options, so that is understandable.  We were pleasantly suprised at how well the pressure sensitive touch pads work.

Many of actions seem simpler to carry out on the computer vs. the controller; that's just a comment, not really a criticism.

Lots of options, features to play with!

Good solid piece of equipment, seems to be built to last forever.

It's not cheap, but it does seem to be a great value, maybe the best deal around for this kind of equipment/controller.

We unfortunately did not check the system requirements (Dual Core, Windows 7, etc.) so ended up getting a new computer (we were due anyway) to run this. It is clearly spelled out in the Specs @ M.F. what the requirements are, we just didn't check, just too excited about ordering one!

I purchased this for my son as a birthday present!  He is making music like there is no tomorrow!  He is very happy with the product!!!

Ordering the equipment was a little bit of a fiasco because of the phone connection on my end and then having the order system on Musician's Friend end kicking the order person out.  The Sales and Customer Service staff were very friendly and very helpful!  Thank you so much!

I was referred to Muscian's Friend by the vocal coach of my daughter who is a avid supporter of this company.  I will definitely purchase from Musician's Friend in the future without hesitation!!

Great Value!  The total cost of the Maschine Mikro, 3 yr warranty and 2 day shipping was MUCH less than the price of the Maschine Mikro itself from the manufacturer.

My son says he hasn't had it long enough to give any recommendations but what he has done with it and the music he can foresee making in the future, he is very excited.  He has sent me links to the music he created within just a two day period and I was very impressed.  I couldn't believe all that music came out of that small piece of equipment!!!!!

Let me start by saying I was already a fan of Native Instruments products. Their reputation for sound quality is pretty well cemented. I own Komplete 7 (now 8), Kore 2 and lots of sound packs.

I am more of a traditional music guy so my need for groove sequencer was not something I normally would of gone for but NI had a sale on the iMaschine iPhone app and after tooling around with that for about a week I was hooked. It is a totally different kind of music making from your more traditional drums, piano, guitar type thing.

However let me say that while I have done some very "dancy" kind of stuff with it I have already composed some non-dance stuff; for instance I used it to compose a holiday oriented jingle for an e-christmas card.

NI's quality is again fairly well known, however having owned Kore 2 which had a metal case I was a little bit disappointed to find this had a plastic case.

However that is where the disappointment ends, the device feels solid like a true professional instrument. While I have only had it a short while I can already tell it will probably last me a long time.

I choose the Mikro (pronounced micro) over its bigger brother as I pretty much do all my work in the studio, if you are a DJ or do not want to take a laptop with you on stage you may want to choose the more expensive version.

With that said, it comes with 6Gb of sounds and if you purchase before 12/31/2011 NI will give you one of their awesome Maschine sound packs, even still those are a great price a pop so you can add another 3Gs pretty cheaply (and I hesitate to use the word cheap).

Also if you own Komplete 7 or 8 (as I do) it fully integrates with those sounds, so I have (at this writing) about 120 Gb of sounds that I can drop into my grooves.

If you are in the market for a drum machine or groove sequencer the Mikro (and I assume the bigger brother as well) is a great choice. If you are unsure, download the iMaschine app,  you can get a vibe for the experience and that should help you decide.