Mikro, MK2, or MPC Studio with S61?

Hey all,

Seems hard to find some decent comparisons so asking here. Just got myself the S61 keyboard and have been thinking of getting something specifically for drum programming. I've owned the Maschine MK1 before, but been a while. Thinking of the Mikro, the normal Maschine, or the MPC Studio. Thoughts? Not interested in creating a whole track in any of them - more for drumming / drum sequencing (so layering and drum loading workflow is important). I have no need to only use the hardware - fine with some mouse work assuming the software workflow is good (like using the arrow keys etc). I have Geist and Battery, which are fine without a controller, but playability could be enhanced over just a keyboard. Plus searching for and loading sounds could be better (especially compardd to Geist).

I don't sample at all and have no desire to.

Would love and appreciate any advice. Thanks!

 

Based on what you described, the MK2 is the best option.

The studio will likely be overkill for you as you stated you don't want to make a full song with Maschine's sequencer and don't care about having to use the mouse. The big part of the Studio advantage is less need to use the mouse and the ability to use the sequencer without a mouse. The other big advantage on the Studio is the hardware browsing is boss. This may not justify the extra cost and bulk for you though.

The Mikro is just too lacking straight up. It misses the point of Maschine. Even if you think you don't mind the extra mouse work you really miss a lot with it. I would recommend you just get a Korg pad control or something with Battery then go for the Mikro imo. Most people wind up getting a MK2 after regretting getting the Mikro and wind up paying more in the end.

 

^ +1
for bear programming, the mikro is too small, the studio is too big...but the mkII is just right..

 

^^ +2
I bought mk2 after mikro.
If i'd known enough, i would buy regular one instead of mikro in the beginning.

 

Thanks all - the small size of the Mikro appealed to me (plus cheaper). What doesn't cut it on there for drum programming?

Also what about the MK2 compared to the MPC Studio? AKAI has dropped the ball on decent walkthrough videos it seems, while there are a ton for Maschine.

 

Actually mikro can do %99 of what mkII does (the only thing mikro cant do is event editing..)
But with too much menu diving.
Menu diving takes away most of the fun imo.

 

What kind of music do you make?

 

The mikro is small, yes, but those lost buttons and controls means as Alpert indicates, a lot of menu diving.. and tbh, the real value of Maschine is the ability to do things mostly hands-on.. kit tuning, fx etc are much quicker on maschine than mikro.

The MPC studio seems like a toy physically compared to maschine.. if it was the Ren (which is much better built, AND you were after full production capabilities) then you may want to research workflow and capabilities of MPC vs Maschine, but for your stated needs, ie drum programming.. i dont think you can go wrong with maschine mk2..

 

Indie pop / electronica.

I'll be using this within my DAW, so things like FX will be done via the DAW vs in Maschine (preferably at least). Will route each drum hit to its own DAW track. Ideally could record the MIDI directly into the DAW as well since I remember not being a fan of the sequencer in Maschine. Makes me wonder if I should just get like a nanopad or something for Battery / Geist...anybody use Maschine just in this way?

 

i like the size of the mikro. i think thats all you need, the only reason to get the mpc studio is if you want to make more complete sketches outside of your daw, it's like having an mpc-1000

 

lol There's nothing in "mpc studio" (or mpc1000 for that matter) that lets you "make more complete sketches outside of your daw" compared to any version of Maschine.

 

Thought I could fit the Mikro on my desk, but it's too big in which case I might as well go with the full Maschine. Still contemplating just a small pad controller like LPD8 or NanoPad, but leaning towards the MK2 given you can browse / load / swap sounds right from the hardware and the drum synths seem cool. Is that worth $600 though vs Geist / Battery?

 

if its mikro vs studio than studio wins

but really got o ur local store and get the feel of all three and watch some youtube vids of all three.

not rocket science just personal preference

so its kinda pointless asking others what to buy as they may have different preferences than you.

 

Ended up grabbing the MK2, which I think will be perfect for my needs. Thanks for the help all!

 

For the sake of accuracy, yes you can edit events with the Mikro. What it can't do is record modulation in step mode.

 

Interesting - I've just got the Mikro (I also own the Studio but wanted something really portable) and can't work out how to select the next / previous event using the hardware. So suppose you've got 4 events in a bar and the first is selected, I can't seem to navigate to highlight the next event from the hardware (so I can nudge it / change its pitch etc).

Is there a way of doing that from the Mikro hardware?

 

I believe page 274 of the user manual explains this.

 

If you intend to use Maschine with a DAW, then the features of the MK2 or Studio just don't add anything but convenience. All three models will all work the same within the DAW. In a performance situation, yes - the MK2 and Studio would be far better. But MIkro works very well as a controller. Especially if you run in conjunction with a S-keyboard.

 

Nope - I've seen that and that's not the behaviour I'm after.

In group mode, touching a pad will select all events for that sound
In keyboard mode, touching a pad selects all events of that note.

I want to be able to select a specific single event, one at a time, say i'm looking at the step sequencer, and want to select just the event that's on pad 8. If I'm in the step sequencer and try to press a pad it will remove the event.

 

Yes from the hardware the mikro only allows selection of event groups (same pitch or same sound). To select an individual event you would have to use the mouse. Sorry I should have fully read your first post.