Mikro and string sounds

Hey everyone!
I just bought the Mikro mk3 today and this is very new for me. I've been playing guitar for about 18 years but have never tried diving into this. First, are there any good tutorials for this thing and the maschine 2 software? Willing to pay but most of what I see is for the mk3 or studio. Also, I really am looking for more string sounds and piano and making melodies without having to be great at piano. Not that into beats or dj or most of what the tutorials and sounds are for. In fact, I only just heard of maschine a few weeks ago watching a YouTube video of The Maine where they were showing how they got the sound for "numb without you." Theybare using a string patch called fake tail staccato where is that from and are there any good packs I shouod be looking at? Thanks!

 

Seems like I need komplete 12?

 

Yes I would absolutely recommend komplete 12(maybe ultimate), especially if you look for piano and orchestra sounds.

https://maschinetutorials.com/category/maschine-mikro/
Maybe this could be something, they normally have some free video's so you can see if you like it or not. But as far as i remember they are really good, explain things straight and understandable.

Uwe

 

Thank you! It's just so expensive haha. Do you know where that sound I mentioned is from? Also is there anything in the komplete 12 select? Can get that with a mk3 instead...

 

Fake Tail Staccato is an old sound, originally from the Maschine 1.8 Factory Library.
If you dont have it under Browser > All SOUNDS it's because you have the smaller library that comes with the Mikro, you can upgrade to the full library here for 99$
https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/maschine/maschine-accessories/upgrade-your-library/
(If it's worth that price tag or not IDK, I dont use the library much)

You absolutely do not need k12 to have "good sounds", there's plenty of free stuff out there, however, if you want realistic sounding strings with articulations and whatnot then you either need a full license of Kontakt and quite some research skills to find decent instruments for free or you need to buy into expensive solutions such as K12, K12U, etc... I'd say most people dont need ultra-realistic orchestral instruments but it depends on what you're into.

For example, that preset you liked is pretty basic and not very realistic at all, it doesn't mean it sounds bad but it probably wouldn't be a good choice for people going for a cinematic orchestral emulation.

 

Thank you! What are some good free sites? This is a whole new world for me haha. I am willing to buy what I need though to not have to spend hours searching.

Does the maschine mk3 already come with the library that is $99? I'm just wondering if it would be worth it to keep the mikro and buy the komplete 12 pack or take it back and get the mk3 which comes with komplete 12 select if that'll be enough for now. I dont think I need super realistic orchestral emulation (although that would be awesome). Whats the difference between the komplete packs and the maschine packs? I wish the website went a little more in depth on exactly everything that was included. Thanks for the help!

Edit: just saw that you can buy session strings 2 standalone for $99. If the Mk3 comes with that extra $99 pack and komplete 12 select I'm thinking maybe going with that plus session strings for a total of 750 might be better than the mikro plus 500 for komplete 12 for practically the same cost.

 

Welp... I just order the Mk3 with Komplete 12 so there's that... lol

 

So... first welcome to the wonderful world of synths & digital music. To be honest I think you made a good choice here, but despite me being late to the party I'd still like to comment on a few things.

About the price and such.... you're right, this stuff is expensive and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's also well worth it because, well.. never underestimate all the time & effort that goes into this stuff. You usually don't "just" make a good FM8 preset (FM8 = One of the (awesome) synths which are included with Komplete 12 (standard and up)). Note that I'm not necessarily talking about N.I. here but the DAW market in general.

When you want to start within this world then it is going to cost you one way or the other. It's also my advice I always give to newbies: prepare yourself and try to spend as much on your preferred platform as needed to get to a good basis setup. It'll be an heavy investment but also an honest one if you stick to the more bigger brands. For example: don't worry about having to spend another E 599,- when the next Komplete comes out: you'll be able to upgrade with a nice heavy discount or... you don't and skip a version. The version that'll come after it will also allow you to upgrade with a nice discount. I call that a very honest business setup and all major brands (Native Instruments, Ableton, Reason Studios, iZotope, ..) apply this approach in some way.

Anyway.. The Mikro is indeed not the best Maschine to start with because it's completely tied into the Maschine software and operating it isn't exactly intuitive (it was also never meant for that). Getting Mk3 regular will ensure that playing your setup becomes a whole lot easier and more to the point.

Honestly... I think this can make a very good basis setup. Maybe not a very conventional one but that's another thing I strongly suggest you keep in mind: never try to do things "as they should" because that's pretty much bogus. Because in the end this is all a creative process and you can't really steer or 'dictate' creativity. Example.. I started out on Ableton Live and picked Reason (both are DAWs) to expand on that whereas many would have picked Komplete for this. I recently picked up on Komplete myself as well and now I can really see what people meant "back in the days" but even so: I managed to squeeze plenty of high quality sounds out of my Reason setup as well and looking back while knowing (and having experienced) what I have with Komplete I still wouldn't have done it any other way. Yet that doesn't mean that my way or the "Komplete way" was the right way, there really is no 'right' and 'wrong' here.

Having said that I do think you should consider expanding with a DAW of some kind. Maybe not right away but in the future it will come in handy if you want to record, process and work on your audio material. The Maschine software can come a long way here, and it also depends on your style of music and what you want out of this whole thing. Still... eventually you'll want a DAW of some kind.

DAW: Digital Audio Workstation, so basically "audio software" which allows you to process material; audio, midi etc.

Most come with their own set of instruments and effects to use but assuming you got the regular Komplete you won't be needing much of those any time soon which means that pretty much any DAW should work out here.

There are dozens out there and all have their pro's and con's but.. May I suggest looking into Reaper? It's an in-expensive DAW which can provide a very solid starting ground to build on. Best of all: full VST support.

VST's are devices which you can use in most DAW's and DAW-like software such as Maschine. Heck: Komplete ships all of its instruments as VST's as well meaning... that you can easily use 'm in any DAW of your choosing. Food for thought?

 

I am very conservative with my instruments since I have K12UCE, I try hard not to horde so I am not the best person to advise, you probably have more qualified people to give you suggestions over in the Kontakt / KK forum.

Recently I needed a solo guitar so I got this cause I saw someone recommending it
https://impactsoundworks.com/product/shreddage-3-stratus-free/ Pretty decent and free.
Here's a bunch that are quite popular:
https://www.productionmusiclive.com...hestra-guitars-pianos-vocal-world-instruments

This guys makes instruments and often gives recommendations for great Strings and Pianos for Kontakt that are also free:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXCXxhRVYvBOX45_gxr0iHA/videos
(pretty cool channel to follow for other reasons aswell)

All those require a full version of Kontakt tho.

Yes.

The Mikro Mk3 has little tutorials because its the newest and a lof of people who buy it get it just as a generic MIDI controller to use alongside their DAW, it offers very little control over the Maschine Software, most of the tutorials for the Mikro mk2 won't be 100% accurate but will still teach you something...

In your shoes, I would just get the MK3, learn it for a while, explore all the stuff that comes with it then decide later if you really need extra instruments or not... since you're not going for realism, there are tons of synth strings presets or more basic instruments that could work for you. Often the key to great music is not really buying expensive stuff.

 

Well.... that settles it then. Hope you like it.

 

Thank you for that reply I do have protools I just haven't ventured into midi or devices like the maschine yet. Yeah, it has been a challenge finding tutorials on the Mikro and I also hate being limited and finding work arounds so I think it was best just to dive in with the Mk3!

 

Thank you! Haha I think this will get me closer to where I wanted to be for awhile and there is definitely a lot more tutorials for the mk3 than the mikro.