Native Instruments Maschine Mikro MK3

The headline, and the strongest agreement in the whole set. For the first time a Mikro got the same large pads as the full-size Maschine MK3 — Bonedo notes the two are finally identical in size — and every class of source praises them. Sound On Sound calls them extremely sensitive, DJWORX finds them soft without being spongy and rates them above the pads on the original Push, MusicRadar says they look and feel great, and owners go further still, describing the feel as playing a real instrument rather than a controller. Four dedicated buttons above the grid switch between Pad, Keyboard, Chord and Step modes without shift gymnastics, and because there are no Group buttons the pads double as group select. The one recurring niggle is that the factory sensitivity can be too hot — one owner had pads triggering unintentionally on hard hits until they turned it down in the software, which is a preference setting rather than a fault.

“The Maschine pads are extremely sensitive, which I love.”

Sound On Sound (Simon Sherbourne)

“They’re also soft to touch, without feeling spongy, and have a nice response to drumming… nicer than the pads on the Push 1, at least.”

DJWORX (Dan Morse)

“It feels like playing a real instrument.”

Sr.Pancho · Thomann

The genuine split, and the one that decides whether the Mikro suits you. Beyond the pads you get one push encoder — smaller than the full MK3's and without its four-way joystick action — a two-line display roughly 24 × 6 mm, page buttons, dedicated browser/favourites/project buttons, transport, and the Smart Strip. Everyone likes the Smart Strip: it is the same size, feature set and response as the full MK3's, covering pitch, mod, note strumming and the Kaoss-style Perform FX, and Sound On Sound calls it one of their favourite reasons to use Maschine at all. The disagreement is about what was removed. One camp treats it as deliberate focus — MusicRadar argues that conceding the computer will handle deep browsing frees the hardware to do what it is best at, and a long-term owner says nearly everything important is still reachable on the unit. The other camp reports the opposite in practice: Sound On Sound, Bonedo and DJWORX all describe reaching for the mouse for browsing, sampling, arranging and even parameter tweaks, with Bonedo listing 'viel Mausarbeit nötig' — a lot of mouse work needed — among its cons. Note that the split does not track skill or bias so much as workflow: it lands on whether you were expecting a self-contained groovebox or a play-in surface.

Deep inside Maschine, thin outside it. As NI's own hardware the Mikro drives the Maschine software as tightly as the bigger models do — Sound On Sound notes the software functionality is the same as you get with the standard MkIII or Jam, you simply have less hardware to reach it with — and that software also runs as a VST, Audio Unit or AAX plug-in inside Ableton Live, Logic, Pro Tools, FL Studio and the rest, which is how a lot of owners use it. Step outside that and it narrows sharply. You can put it in MIDI mode, but there is no template editing in NI's Controller Editor, so what it sends is largely what you get; DJWORX flagged that omission at launch and Sound On Sound repeated it a year later. Community reports pick up the practical consequence — pads sending fixed note numbers with no octave transpose outside NI's own hosts — and the sharpest owner complaint in the set is simply about the walled garden. A handful of owners also mention needing to unplug and replug occasionally to wake it up.

“The functionality via the Maschine software/plug-in component is the same as you get with the 'standard' MkIII or Jam, but you lose a chunk of tactile control and visual feedback in exchange for portability.”

Sound On Sound (Simon Sherbourne)

“One omission is the fact that the Mikro MK3 is a MIDI controller, but you still can’t edit it in NI’s Controller Editor software, which manages MIDI and user layer mappings.”

DJWORX (Dan Morse)

“The product is fine, but NI's software is a bit outdated”

FaithfulAtheist · Thomann

Worth checking the date on any review you read, because this is the one thing that has changed most. At launch in 2018 NI cut the bundle hard to hit the price: a 1.6 GB Factory Selection instead of the previous Mikro's 8 GB, plus three full synths (Massive, Monark and Reaktor Prism). MusicRadar noted the smaller library while still calling the value hard to argue with; Bonedo was blunter, listing the shrunken sound and software package among its cons and calling the swap a poor trade for the lower price. Today NI and Thomann both list the box as shipping Maschine 3 with a Maschine Central library of roughly 7–7.7 GB plus a Komplete Select voucher, which is a materially different offer from the one those reviews judged. What has not changed is the software itself: powerful, well-integrated, genuinely capable of a finished track, and carrying a learning curve that nearly every source mentions.

“With the Maschine Mikro MK3, you’ll have access to an impressive range of sounds and instruments.”

All Things Gear

“with full versions of Massive, Monark and Prism thrown in, it’s still hard to argue with the value.”

MusicRadar / Computer Music (Si Truss)

“It may take a slight learning curve to get the hang of how this software works”

Dan's Music Blog (Dan Bailey)

The clearest agreed limitation, and the least ambiguous thing about the unit. Turn it around and there are exactly two things back there: a recessed USB-B port and a Kensington lock slot. No MIDI DIN, no audio interface, no sustain or pedal jack, no power input, not even a power switch — a Bonedo aside. That is a real gap next to the full-size MK3, which builds in a 2-in/4-out interface and MIDI sockets, and it is the single most common complaint in owner reviews from people who bought the Mikro for mobile work and then had nothing decent to listen through. The upside of the same decision is that it runs entirely on USB bus power, which every source counts as a plus and which is what makes the travel case work at all.

“As the entry-level Maschine controller, there’s no audio interface, or MIDI DIN ports”

DJWORX (Dan Morse)

“It does not have a proper Audio interface. For the mobility part, it would have been really perfect to have a good Audio Interface so that you can listen with good quality on the go.”

Lockhart · Thomann

“Compact and lightweight.”

Sound On Sound (Simon Sherbourne)

Uncontested, and the clearest reason to choose the Mikro over its bigger sibling. At 320 × 177 × 45 mm and 1.12 kg it is smaller than the Mikro MK2 it replaced, and Sound On Sound calls it the most travel-friendly Maschine yet. DJWORX puts it closer in size to Roland and Korg desktop drum gear and much more practical to travel with than either the full Maschine MK3 or an Ableton Push; Bonedo says it fits in almost any laptop bag; owners report working on planes and trains and one simply notes it fits perfectly in a backpack. It draws all its power over USB, so there is no wall wart to pack. Two honest caveats: there are no fold-out feet to angle it — though the whole chassis is wedge-shaped and already tilts slightly toward you — and because there is no standalone mode, the laptop and its charger travel too.

“It’s an eminently portable form factor that makes it closer in size with some of the Roland/Korg drum gear, and much more practical to travel with than the Maschine emkay three or Ableton Push.”

DJWORX (Dan Morse)

“Excellent mobility capabilities. It is really easy to transport and works perfectly with a Surface Pro 4 Computer with a Core I5 and 8GB of ram. I found my self now continuing music production in airplanes, train and outdoors.”

Lockhart · Thomann

“it fits perfectly in my backpack.”

Hobosapiens · Thomann

Solid, and better than its price and plastic housing suggest — with one specific weakness. DJWORX found no give in the casing and every button, the screen and the encoder fixed firmly, and praised the recessed USB port for protecting the cable and socket. Bonedo judged the construction solid and said it gives nothing away to the full-size MK3 on quality. Sound On Sound notes that, unlike NI's cheaper A-Series keyboards with their hard plastic buttons, the Mikro keeps the nice rubber feel of the larger models. Owners are the most enthusiastic of all: several expected a cheap-feeling plastic box and reported the opposite. The consistent complaint is the finish rather than the structure — the plastic top marks and scuffs easily, and DJWORX picked up scratches around the Smart Strip after nothing worse than carrying it in a bag.

“the new design feels durable. There’s no give in the casing, and all the buttons, the screen and the encoder feel fixed.”

DJWORX (Dan Morse)

“At first, I thought that because of the plastic housing it was going to be just a cheap looking instrument, but to my surprise it is very sturdy and high quality looking. I just love the feeling of the buttons and knobs.”

Lockhart · Thomann

“Plastic used for the casing is prone to scratching”

DJWORX (Dan Morse)

Contested, and along an unusually clean line: almost everyone rates it a bargain, and one reviewer thinks the bargain is a trap. The chorus is broad — MusicRadar says that as a fast, fun tool for getting beats down it is hard to argue at this price, DJWORX scores value 9/10, All Things Gear says there is really no better way to go in this price range, Sound On Sound frames the whole Mikro/A-Series generation as putting powerful workstations in reach at incredibly low cost, Thomann owners average 4.7 out of 5 across 241 ratings, and a Gearspace poster who took the recommendation came back months later to call it a delight. Bonedo, the most critical review in the set at 3.5/5, argues the other way: if what you actually want is the Maschine workflow, saving half the price gets you a machine that cannot deliver it, and you should buy the full MK3 instead. Both sides agree on the facts — the Mikro is roughly half the money and materially less machine — and disagree on whether that is the right trade. The used and B-stock market, where it drops toward $146, tilts the argument further toward the first camp.