MKlll pads aren't as sensitive as the studio (+ other thoughts)

Thanks for the details. I may like it this way better as there is less chance of false triggers by brushing across a pad. Will have to test for myself to see if my natural playing will give missed hits or not.

Actually, this just rang a bell. I remember on the first Studio firmware that it would give similar issues and I had to turn the sensitivity down to exactly 50 to get good results. Setting the sensitivity to 50 was still just as sensitive as 90 though. Anyone try lowering the sensitivity to see if things improve? Maybe try decreasing in increments of 5 down to 75, then at 50.

 

Will need to play around with it more, but so far I'm really struggling to get a nice curve on the velocity/volume across diff kits/sounds.

 

Oh NO Please, not again!
I've been waiting for more than a year for Native Instruments to fix the same problem (contrast) with Jam. It has never been fixed. They just added the option to turn white the selected clips. Me and other users sent a ticket and the only reply we did receive was..."sorry, this is something that we do not consider a problem"

 

Bucking the trend here, but I'm happy to hear this and looking forward to trying it myself. I always had flange problems (unintentional ghost notes) on the Studio so this is promising news for me.

 

Yes. There is less flanging with the new pads which is a plus.
I sometimes use a technique for flanged snares where I slide my finder thru the pad right after hitting really fast, the friction of the slide makes the finger bounce on the pad (for 2 to 4 hits) and that still works too even though the pads fell more slippery.

I cant agree with the observation that the contrast is an issue, it looks fine although I am definitely used to more contrast. The MK3 pads do look a bit dimmer and less color saturated but this is nowhere near as bad as the Jam issue.

EDIT
I messed around with a script file and was able to successfully change color Pad behavior on the Studio, I was able to increase contrast, change the colors, change the color when pad is hit etc... but the color script file has no effect on the MK3, only the Studio, unfortunately. Still was interesting messing with it though.

 

Dumb question, But was that with power plugged in or only via USB?

 

Tried both. Maybe the pad-color settings are built in the firmware of the MK3 becauIe i couldn't find any script that specifically controls it. Just a generic one for all controllers.

 

I must say the more I use the new pads the more I love them. After 3 Days of testing everything works very good and i never had to use the Computer.

But I have one big new problem with MK3 Button design. The unselected Buttons are not really readable in a daylight situation. With MK2 I had the Problem that in darkness you can not read the buttons, when they are not activated. Now with MK3 it ist the opposite problem. in day light you can not read the unselected buttons. The button are lightning a little bit when they are not selected (same problem as with the half lightning Pads described in this threat). But this is not working fine.


I made 2 pictures (MK2 & MK3) from my working situation.
situation:
- there is a window infront of me,
- but the sun in not (!) shining.
- Power supply is connected
- the LED brightens (prefs) is on 100%

for me its very hard to see all the name off the buttons on the left and above.
on MK2 you can read everything perfect at daylight. on MK3 I must go direct above every button with my head to see whats the name of it.

ok, most buttons I use blind without reading (solo, mute, repeat, play, shift, ...). but often it is necessary to read the function because all buttons are looking the same.

The new buttons look very cool in black, but the lighting of the buttons is a workflow killer, because you have to move your head exact above a pad to read its function in a normal daylight situation.

i think this could be updated with firmware and Hardware prefs in the future to chance the balance between lighting of selected and unselected buttons. but I fear that than the selected buttons get a little problem to look out of the unselected. But I hope they give us the possibility to adjust the balance go selected and unselected buttons.
(same problem as with the Pads !)

 

Is it as bad in real life as it looks in your picture?
Mine doesn't look that bad, i can see the dimmed buttons very clearly, it's sunny and i have a huge window open. If that's an issue maybe instead of dimmed the non selected buttons could be full bright white and the selected colored.

 

oh, very interesting. looks very much better in your picture.
gives me a little bit hope.
in my situation in real life its even a little bit worser than in my picture.
so maybe its a problem of MY Maschine. or do you find any adjustments on the controller for the brightness. I only see the Software prefs -> hardware -> LEDs brightness. And this is on 100%
when i switch to Midi Controller the unselected buttons are much brighter. Is this this same on your MK3?
Thanx for Help!

 

Yeah, the only option is LED brightness, does the unit respond when you change the values? You got the latest firmware?
Yes, they are much brighter in MIDI Mode.

 

thanx
yes, adjusting the slider in the prefs response, but the maximum is too low for me.
yes, the firmware was updated when I connected my MK3 3 days ago.

hope that future software/firmware updates will allow to get the same contrast as in MIDI mode. this should be no technical problem.

p.s. maybe the daylight in Portugal is darker than in Germany I thought it should be the other way round

 

If the pads aren't as, or more, sensitive than what I have now (MK1 with the corks underneath the pads for added sensitivity) then I won't be upgrading. I need very sensitive pads. The best pads I've ever worked with were on Korg's padKontrol. God, if the MK3's were anything close to that, an upgrade would be a no brainer.

 

ha ha ha
the good old Korg PadKontrol is still standing beside my Maschine MK3.
I used it so much with BFD, Addictive Drums and Toontrack Drummer for non-EDM Stuff.
The X-Y Pad is a outstanding tool for the most realistic
Rolls I ever used.
But this has nothing to do with the Maschine world ...

 

I used mine with GURU. I do mostly Pop/R&B and that setup was a beast for me. So natural and responsive. Been thinking of going back to it. Then, the MK3 came out and I thought I'd see what it had to offer. So far, from what I'm hearing here, it may not be for me. That's too bad. I like Maschine. Especially now that It's so much easier to use as a VST in my DAW.

But, those pad, tho ... ugh. It's like having a hot girlfriend with stale breath. It just kinda' turns you off.

 

No offense, but to me it seems more to do with your lighting being very bright. Looks like you have your unit directly under an open window? I had to put on shades to look at your pic.

 

I'm wondering if the issue is related to the fact that the pads now have writing on them? Like they had to change the nature of the pad's rubber slightly to better accommodate the printing of text directly onto the pads?

 

Mine arrives tomorrow and I'm hoping the little box just kicks A$$.

I think the best bet for the built-in IO is to just run things at 44.1 and start bringing down the buffer until it says "no more" on the computer end. I hope they are working on the back-end of things to smooth out the whole thing, so the CPU hit can drop a bit.

 

of corse, the lightnig situation in the working room is always the most important thing when looking at LEDs. But you can see that the MK2 is more clearer in everything. and the MK2 picture was made at the same moment and the same situation. even the pads are brighter and the old MK2 display is even shown contrast. and normally the first thing you do not see when daylight is to high, is the display.

I think the best thing is if buttons have a design that is readable without LED, like the old one.

I think on part of the contrast problem of MK3 is that the buttons are to sensible to reflecting light. when a little bit light is behind the buttons they are complete black with no letters. Thats my experience with it.

And its strange that its not possible for me to get a picture or real Situaion shown in D-One 's picture. I had to make my room dark for such a picture.
And this gives me a little bit hope that it can be better with calibration. so I hope it will be possible to adjust the contrast in future updates.
This is should be possible because the LEDs under the Buttons are very much brighter in MIDI mode. ?!?

I work for years in this room and never had a hardware with such unreadible buttons at daylight.

 

I see that issue is coming up again, when there is the first summer set during daylight with MK3 as the performance tool.

An update for LED-brightness based on use of the power cable should enhance the situation.