Native Instruments Maschine Mikro MK2 Operation Manual v2.6.8

GETTING STARTED
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Native Instruments GmbH. The software described by this docu­ment is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Native Instruments GmbH, hereinafter referred to as Native Instruments.
“Native Instruments”, “NI” and associated logos are (registered) trademarks of Native Instru­ments GmbH.
ASIO, VST, HALion and Cubase are registered trademarks of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
All other product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their re­spective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.
Document authored by: David Gover, Nicolas Sidi
Software version: 2.6.8 (08/2017)
Hardware version: MASCHINE MIKRO MK2

Disclaimer

Special thanks to the Beta Test Team, who were invaluable not just in tracking down bugs, but in making this a better product.
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH
Schlesische Str. 29-30 D-10997 Berlin Germany
www.native-instruments.de
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS North America, Inc.
6725 Sunset Boulevard 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90028 USA
www.native-instruments.com
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS K.K.
YO Building 3F Jingumae 6-7-15, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 Japan
www.native-instruments.co.jp

Contact

NATIVE INSTRUMENTS UK Limited
18 Phipp Street London EC2A 4NU UK
www.native-instruments.co.uk
© NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH, 2017. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
1 Welcome to MASCHINE .............................................................................................
1.1 Documentation Overview ............................................................................................................ 11
1.2 Labeling on your MASCHINE Controller ....................................................................................... 16
1.1.1 MASCHINE Getting Started Guide .............................................................................. 11
1.1.2 MASCHINE Manual ..................................................................................................... 11
1.1.3 MASCHINE Hardware Control Reference ..................................................................... 12
1.1.4 Controller Editor Manual ............................................................................................ 12
1.1.5 Support Channel Videos ............................................................................................ 12
1.1.6 Other Online Resources ............................................................................................. 12
1.1.7 In This Document ....................................................................................................... 13
1.1.8 Document Conventions .............................................................................................. 14
2 First Steps ................................................................................................................
2.1 Loading a Drum Kit from the Factory Library .............................................................................. 19
2.2 Playing with the Pads ................................................................................................................. 26
2.3 Recording Your First Pattern ....................................................................................................... 27
2.4 Playing with Your Pattern ........................................................................................................... 29
2.5 Save Your Work! ......................................................................................................................... 33
2.6 To Sum Up… ..............................................................................................................................33
2.4.1 Using Solo and Mute .................................................................................................. 29
2.4.2 Using Note Repeat ..................................................................................................... 32
3 Building Your Own Drum Kit .......................................................................................
10
18
35
3.1 Opening Your Project .................................................................................................................. 35
3.2 Customizing Your Drum Kit ......................................................................................................... 39
3.2.1 Selecting another Snare Sample ................................................................................ 39
3.2.2 Loading a Drumsynth ................................................................................................ 43
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 4
Table of Contents
3.3 Save Your Work! ......................................................................................................................... 56
3.4 To Sum Up… ..............................................................................................................................57
3.2.3 Adjusting Volume, Swing and Tempo ......................................................................... 49
3.2.4 Changing the Color of a Group or Sound .................................................................... 54
3.2.5 Moving your Sounds and Groups ................................................................................ 55
3.2.2.2 Loading a Drumsynth into a Plug-in List on the Hardware ........................47
4 Creating Beats ..........................................................................................................
4.1 Fine-tuning your First Pattern ..................................................................................................... 58
4.2 Adding a Second Pattern ............................................................................................................ 64
4.3 Editing Patterns in the Software ................................................................................................. 68
4.4 Save Your Work! ......................................................................................................................... 69
4.5 To Sum Up… ..............................................................................................................................70
4.1.1 Your Pattern in the Software ...................................................................................... 59
4.1.2 Doubling the Pattern ................................................................................................. 60
4.1.3 Quantizing the Rhythm .............................................................................................. 61
4.2.1 Selecting a Pattern Slot ............................................................................................. 64
4.2.2 Adjusting the Pattern Length ..................................................................................... 65
4.2.3 Recording a new Pattern using the Count-in ............................................................. 67
4.2.4 Switching Patterns .................................................................................................... 68
5 Adding a Bass Line ....................................................................................................
58
71
5.1 Selecting another Group ............................................................................................................. 72
5.2 Renaming and Coloring the Group .............................................................................................. 73
5.3 Loading a Plug-in Instrument for the Bass ................................................................................. 75
5.3.1 Browsing the MASSIVE Presets .................................................................................. 75
5.3.2 Using Keyboard Mode ................................................................................................ 79
5.3.3 Adjusting the Base Key of the Pads on Your Controller .............................................. 82
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 5
5.4 Recording a Bass Line ................................................................................................................ 83
5.5 Accessing the Plug-in Parameters .............................................................................................. 85
5.6 Save Your Work! ......................................................................................................................... 89
5.7 To Sum Up… ..............................................................................................................................89
5.4.1 Creating a Bass Pattern ............................................................................................ 83
5.4.2 Creating a Second Bass Pattern ................................................................................ 83
5.4.3 Loading an Additional Bass Sound ............................................................................ 84
6 Applying Effects ........................................................................................................
6.1 Loading Effects .......................................................................................................................... 92
6.2 Playing with Effects ....................................................................................................................98
6.3 Modulating Effect Parameters .................................................................................................... 102
6.4 Save Your Work! ......................................................................................................................... 105
6.5 To Sum Up… ..............................................................................................................................105
6.1.1 The Plug-in List ......................................................................................................... 92
6.1.2 Loading an Effect into a Plug-in List ......................................................................... 93
6.2.1 Adjusting the Effect Parameters ................................................................................ 99
6.2.2 Practice Makes Perfect! ............................................................................................. 100
6.2.3 Bypassing Effects ...................................................................................................... 100
6.3.1 Recording Modulation ................................................................................................ 103
6.3.2 Editing Modulation .................................................................................................... 104
7 Creating Beats with the Step Sequencer .....................................................................
Table of Contents
91
106
7.1 Building Up a Beat in Step Mode ................................................................................................ 107
7.2 Adjusting the Step Grid .............................................................................................................. 109
7.3 Save Your Work! ......................................................................................................................... 111
7.1.1 Using Step Mode ........................................................................................................ 107
7.1.2 Adjusting the Pattern Length in Step Mode ............................................................... 108
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 6
7.4 To Sum Up… ..............................................................................................................................112
8 Creating Scenes ........................................................................................................
8.1 Working with Scenes ................................................................................................................... 113
8.2 Assigning Patterns to Scenes ..................................................................................................... 114
8.3 Managing Scenes ....................................................................................................................... 117
8.4 Playing Live ................................................................................................................................ 120
8.5 To Sum Up… ..............................................................................................................................122
8.6 Save Your Work! ......................................................................................................................... 122
8.3.1 Renaming and Coloring Scene Slots .......................................................................... 118
8.3.2 Duplicating and Deleting Scenes ............................................................................... 118
8.4.1 Jumping to Other Scenes ........................................................................................... 120
9 Creating an Arrangement ...........................................................................................
9.1 Accessing Arranger View ............................................................................................................ 124
9.2 Managing Sections ..................................................................................................................... 128
9.3 Selecting a Loop Range .............................................................................................................. 133
9.4 Save Your Work! ......................................................................................................................... 134
9.5 To Sum Up… ..............................................................................................................................135
9.1.1 Creating your First Section ........................................................................................ 126
9.1.2 Assigning a Scene to a Section .................................................................................. 127
9.2.1 Adjusting the Length of a Section .............................................................................. 128
9.2.1.1 Adjusting the Length of a Section Using the Software ...............................129
9.2.1.2 Adjusting the Length of a Section Using the Controller .............................130
9.2.2 Duplicating and Removing Sections .......................................................................... 131
10 Using Advanced Features ...........................................................................................
Table of Contents
113
124
136
10.1 Changing the Sound, Group, and Master Channel Properties ..................................................... 136
10.1.1 Creating Custom Sets of Parameters with the Macro Controls .................................. 137
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 7
Table of Contents
10.2 Using Other Sound Sources ........................................................................................................ 142
10.3 Sampling .................................................................................................................................... 149
10.4 The Mix View ............................................................................................................................... 153
10.1.2 Macro Control Overview ............................................................................................. 137
10.1.3 Assigning Macro Controls .......................................................................................... 138
10.2.1 Using Sounds and Groups as Sound Source .............................................................. 143
10.2.2 Using an External Sound Source ................................................................................ 146
10.3.1 How to Sample ........................................................................................................... 149
10.3.2 Editing, Slicing and Mapping Your Sample ............................................................... 152
11 Quick Reference ........................................................................................................
11.1 Using Your MASCHINE Controller ................................................................................................ 156
11.2 MASCHINE Project Overview ........................................................................................................ 161
11.3 MASCHINE Hardware Overview .................................................................................................. 166
11.4 MASCHINE Software Overview ..................................................................................................... 175
11.1.1 Controller Modes and Mode Pinning .......................................................................... 156
11.1.2 Controlling the Software Views from Your Controller ................................................. 159
11.2.1 Sound Content ........................................................................................................... 161
11.2.2 Arrangement .............................................................................................................. 163
11.3.1 Hardware Overview of the MASCHINE MIKRO MK2 Controller ..................................... 166
11.3.1.1 CONTROL Section .......................................................................................167
11.3.1.2 TRANSPORT Section ...................................................................................170
11.3.1.3 PADS Section .............................................................................................172
11.4.1 Header ....................................................................................................................... 176
11.4.2 Browser ..................................................................................................................... 178
11.4.3 Arranger .................................................................................................................... 180
11.4.4 Control Area ............................................................................................................... 183
156
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 8
Table of Contents
11.4.5 Pattern Editor ............................................................................................................ 184
12 Troubleshooting ........................................................................................................
12.1 Knowledge Base ......................................................................................................................... 186
12.2 Technical Support .......................................................................................................................186
12.3 Registration Support .................................................................................................................. 187
12.4 User Forum ................................................................................................................................. 187
13 Glossary ...................................................................................................................
Index ........................................................................................................................
186
188
196
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 9

Welcome to MASCHINE

1 Welcome to MASCHINE
Thank you for buying MASCHINE! MASCHINE is essentially the synergy of the MASCHINE controller hardware and the MA­SCHINE software combining the advantages of both worlds for making music, live as well as in the studio. The intuitive, hands-on qualities of a dedicated Instrument, the MASCHINE con­troller, with the advanced editing features and the versatility of the MASCHINE software turn it into the creative center of your musical productions.
You can create tight rhythms, harmonies and melodies — the highly enjoyable instrument combines a pattern-based sequencer, professional sampler, multiple studio and creative ef­fects, and VST/AU plug-in host. Everything is intuitively controllable via the fully integrated hardware — once you touch the tactile controller the fun and intuitive workflow takes over, al­lowing you to stay focused on your music.
Since you can integrate it in any DAW that supports VST, Audio Units or the AAX format with multiple instances, you can profit from its abilities in almost any software setup or use it as a stand-alone application. You can sample your own material, slice loops and rearrange them easily turning your ideas into full productions.
However, MASCHINE is a lot more than an ordinary drum machine or sampler: It comes with an 8-gigabyte Library programmed and created by well-known artists and a sophisticated, yet easy to use tag-based Browser to give you instant access to the sounds you are looking for. But it doesn’t stop there! You can create your own sounds and samples or use MASCHINE EXPAN­SION packs, available for purchase from the Native Instruments website to further enhance your library of sounds.
You can also control your external MIDI Hardware and Software with the MASCHINE controller and customize the functions of the pads, knobs and buttons to your needs, utilizing the Con­troller Editor Application.
We hope you enjoy the MASCHINE playground as much as we do. Now let’s get going!
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 10
Welcome to MASCHINE

Documentation Overview

1.1 Documentation Overview
Native Instruments provide many information sources regarding MASCHINE. The main docu­ments should be read in the following sequence:
1. MASCHINE Getting Started (this document)

2. MASCHINE Manual

Additional documentation sources provide you with details on more specific topics:
MASCHINE Hardware Control Reference
Controller Editor Manual
Online Support Videos
Hereafter is a quick description of each of these documentation sources.
MASCHINE documents are available in PDF. You can also access these documents from the application’s Help menu or the following location:
www.native-instruments.com.
Please check the Native Instruments website regularly for up-to-date and localized ver­sions of these documents.

1.1.1 MASCHINE Getting Started Guide

This document provides a practical approach to MASCHINE via a set of tutorials covering easy and more advanced tasks in order to help you familiarize yourself with MASCHINE.
1.1.2 MASCHINE Manual
The MASCHINE Manual provides you with a comprehensive description of all MASCHINE soft­ware and hardware features.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 11
Welcome to MASCHINE
Documentation Overview

1.1.3 MASCHINE Hardware Control Reference

The MASCHINE Hardware Control Reference provides an overview of a MASCHINE Project, the quick access options performed using the MASCHINE hardware controller, and lots of key­board shortcuts.

1.1.4 Controller Editor Manual

Besides using your MASCHINE hardware controller together with its dedicated MASCHINE software, you can also use it as a powerful and highly versatile MIDI controller to pilot any oth­er MIDI-capable application or device. This is made possible by the Controller Editor software, an application that allows you to precisely define all MIDI assignments for your MASCHINE controller. The Controller Editor was installed during the MASCHINE installation procedure. For more information on this, please refer to the Controller Editor Manual available as a PDF file via the Help menu of Controller Editor.

1.1.5 Support Channel Videos

You can find a number of support videos on The Official Native Instruments Support Channel under the following url: https://www.youtube.com/NIsupportEN We recommend that you follow along with these instructions while the respective application is running on your computer.

1.1.6 Other Online Resources

If you are experiencing problems related to your Native Instruments product that the supplied documentation does not cover, there are several ways of getting help:
Knowledge Base
User Forum
Technical Support
Registration Support
You will find more information on these subjects in the chapter ↑12, Troubleshooting.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 12
Welcome to MASCHINE
Documentation Overview

1.1.7 In This Document

What you are reading now is the MASCHINE Getting Started. This document consists of a set of tutorials that will guide you through common workflows in MASCHINE. Please follow these tutorials in the described order. You will learn a little something in each of them which will be essential later on. On the way, you will get to know the main objects and concepts of MA­SCHINE. After reading this, you should have the basic know-how allowing you to make music with MASCHINE!
Even if you’re already familiar with MASCHINE, all tutorials are worth a read as every chapter may have little workflow hints of which you weren’t aware. Should you wish to revise a specific task covered in a later tutorial, be sure to check the prerequisites listed at the beginning of each chapter!
This document is structured as follows:
The first part is this introduction.
The second part (Chapter 2 to 10) holds the tutorials:
Chapter 2, First Steps: Load a drum kit from the factory library via the Browser, play
this kit with the pads and use it to record a simple rhythmic pattern — all this using your MASCHINE controller only.
Chapter ↑3, Building Your Own Drum Kit: Customize your drum kit by quickly ex-
changing some of its sounds via the Browser and by adjusting some of the sounds’ ba­sic settings.
Chapter ↑4, Creating Beats: Record a second pattern and discover how to fine-tune
your patterns.
Chapter ↑5, Adding a Bass Line: Add a bass line to your song using a VST/AU instru-
ment plug-in in MASCHINE.
Chapter ↑6, Applying Effects: Add effects to the various instruments in your song and
quickly automate the effect parameters.
Chapter ↑7, Creating Beats with the Step Sequencer: Create a Pattern, this time with
the step sequencer — another great way of creating grooves from your controller.
Chapter ↑8, Creating Scenes: Arrange your Patterns into Scenes and play them live.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 13
Welcome to MASCHINE
Documentation Overview
Chapter ↑9, Creating an Arrangement: Assign your Scenes to Sections and Arrange
your song.
Finally, Chapter ↑10, Using Advanced Features lets you take a glimpse at some ad-
vanced tasks and workflows covered in the MASCHINE Manual: changing Sound, Group, and Master Channel properties; using advanced routings; sampling and the Mix view.
The third and last part (Chapter 11 to 13) consists of useful global information on MA-
SCHINE to be used at any time:
Chapter ↑11, Quick Reference provides you with a quick reference of the MASCHINE
hardware controller and the MASCHINE software. It gives you a good overview of the main concepts and features of MASCHINE, along with lists of hardware shortcuts for various tasks. You can use it as a quick reminder before you dive into the MASCHINE Manual.
Chapter ↑12, Troubleshooting gathers useful information for troubleshooting and get-
ting help.
Chapter ↑13, Glossary holds definitions of all the important terms and concepts used
in MASCHINE.

1.1.8 Document Conventions

This section introduces you to the signage and text highlighting used in this document. This document uses particular formatting to point out special facts and to warn you of potential is­sues. The icons introducing these notes let you see what kind of information is to be expected:
Whenever this exclamation mark icon appears, you should read the corresponding note carefully and follow the instructions and hints given there if applicable.
This light bulb icon indicates that a note contains useful extra information. This infor­mation may often help you to solve a task more efficiently, but does not necessarily ap­ply to the setup or operating system you are using; however, it’s always worth a look.
Furthermore, the following formatting is used:
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 14
Welcome to MASCHINE
Documentation Overview
Text appearing in (drop-down) menus (such as Open…, Save as… etc.) and paths to loca-
tions on your hard drive or other storage devices is printed in italics.
Text appearing elsewhere (labels of buttons, controls, text next to checkboxes etc.) is print-
ed in blue. Whenever you see this formatting applied, you will find the same text appearing somewhere on the screen.
Text appearing on labels of the MASCHINE controller is printed in orange. Whenever you
see this formatting applied, you will find the same text on the controller.
Important names and concepts are printed in bold.
References to keys on your computer’s keyboard are in square brackets (e.g., “Press [Shift]
+ [Return]”).
Single instructions are introduced by this play button type arrow.
Results of actions are introduced by this smaller arrow.
Naming Convention
Throughout the documentation we will refer to MASCHINE controller (or just controller) as the hardware controller and MASCHINE software as the software installed on your computer.
The term “effect” is sometimes be abbreviated as “FX” when referring to elements in the MA­SCHINE software and hardware. These terms have the same meaning.
Button Combinations and Shortcuts on Your Controller
Most instructions will use the “+” sign to indicate buttons (or buttons and pads) that must be pressed simultaneously, starting with the button indicated first. E.g., an instruction such as:
“Press SHIFT + PLAY” means:
1. Press and hold SHIFT.
2. While holding SHIFT, press PLAY and release it.
3. Release SHIFT.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 15
Welcome to MASCHINE

Labeling on your MASCHINE Controller

Displayed Products
Some images displayed in this document include products from the KOMPLETE and KOM­PLETE ULTIMATE series. These products are not included with MASCHINE.
As an introduction to this range please install your free copy of KOMPLETE Selection. You will find the serial number in the DVD booklet. For more information please refer to the Setup Guide. For more information on KOMPLETE and KOMPLETE ULTIMATE please visit the Na­tive Instruments website.
1.2 Labeling on your MASCHINE Controller
Since its initial release the labels of the MASCHINE MIKRO MK2 controller have been revised. The instructions in this document will only refer to the 2nd generation controller labels. If you have a first generation MASCHINE MIKRO MK2 controller, please use the table below to refer­ence the equivalent labels of the first and second generation controllers.
MASCHINE MIKRO MK2 Control­ler
MASCHINE MIKRO MK2 Controller
2nd Generation
1st Generation
BROWSE (MODULES) button BROWSE button
RESTART button RESTART (LOOP) button
PLAY (METRONOME) button PLAY (METRO) button
REC (COUNT IN) button REC (COUNT-IN) button
GRID button GRID (REC MODE) button
VIEW button VIEW (MIX) button
COMPARE pad 3 STEP UNDO pad 3
SPLIT pad 4 STEP REDO pad 4
Labels in brackets refer to the secondary function, available by pressing and holding
SHIFT when pressing the button or pad.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 16
Welcome to MASCHINE
Labeling on your MASCHINE Controller
Label changes since first generation MASCHINE MIKRO MK2
If you have the original MASCHINE MIKRO MK1 controller please download the relevant documentation for that controller from the Native Instruments website.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 17
2 First Steps
In this first tutorial, you will load a drum kit from the factory library, play it with the pads and record a simple rhythmic pattern.
For a complete overview of MASCHINE and its controls, please see section ↑11, Quick
Reference.
Prerequisites
Please carefully follow the instructions of the Setup Guide which can be downloaded in PDF format from the Native Instruments website. Once you have followed the Setup Guide, MA­SCHINE should be installed on your computer, its basic audio settings correctly configured, and the hardware controller connected to your computer. If this is not the case, please return to the Setup Guide for more information before going any further.
Please start MASCHINE via one of the usual ways on your operating system — for exam-
ple, by double-clicking the alias placed on your desktop during the installation procedure.

First Steps

A Project in MASCHINE
In MASCHINE, your whole song (or track) is called Project. A Project consists of all sounds, instruments, effects, settings, along with all arrangement information you will create — in oth­er words, a Project holds everything defining your song.
If you already started testing MASCHINE, please start again with a blank, new Project by
clicking the File menu and choosing New or by using the shortcut [Ctrl] + [N] ([Cmd] + [N] on Mac OS X).
First you will learn how to load a drum kit using the MASCHINE software and then use your hardware controller to carry out the same procedure.
For a complete overview of a MASCHINE project, please see section ↑11.2, MASCHINE
Project Overview.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 18

Loading a Drum Kit from the Factory Library

2.1 Loading a Drum Kit from the Factory Library
First you will choose a complete drum kit from the huge factory library included with MA­SCHINE, and load it using the MASCHINE Browser. The Browser is your tool for finding, tag­ging and categorizing all types of objects used in MASCHINE.
A drum kit basically consists of several instruments — called Sounds in MASCHINE terminolo­gy. Those Sounds are put together into a Group, which represents the complete kit. In addition, A MASCHINE Project can have any number of Groups which are organized into Banks. The first Group bank is labeled A1 to H1 in the MASCHINE software and the second is labeled A2 to
H2, the third A3 to H3, and so on. So let’s look for a nice kit and load it into Bank 1 Group A
which is selected by default when you start a new project.

2.1.1 Loading a Drum Kit from the Factory Library in the MASCHINE Software

In the MASCHINE software, the Browser is found in the left part of the window.
If you cannot see the Browser in the MASCHINE software, click the magnifying glass icon in the Header at the top of the MASCHINE window in order to show the Browser:
First Steps
Enable the magnifying glass to display the Browser.
To load a drum kit, do the following:
1. Click the LIBRARY tab to open the LIBRARY pane.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 19
Loading a Drum Kit from the Factory Library
2. Click the Group icon to get a list of all available drum kits in the Library:
3. In the Content selector to the right, click the NI icon to select only Native Instruments factory content:
First Steps
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 20
4. In the TYPES filter, select the Kits. The Browser will then display only kits in the Result list.
First Steps
Loading a Drum Kit from the Factory Library
5. Select the Urban Kit sub-type tag below to further refine your search.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 21
Loading a Drum Kit from the Factory Library
6. Scroll down the Result list and double-click EK-TL A Kit to load this drum kit into Group A.
First Steps

2.1.2 Loading a Drum Kit from the Factory Library using the Controller

On your controller, do the following:
1. Press GROUP + pad 13 (also labeled A) to select the first Group slot. This is where you are going to load our drum kit. While you hold GROUP, the pad 13 should be lit in blue to indicate that it is selected.
2. Press the BROWSE button at the left of your controller. The BROWSE button lights up. In the display, you now are presented with a selection of choices.
3. Press F1 above the display to select FILTER.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 22
Loading a Drum Kit from the Factory Library
4. Turn the Control encoder at the right of the display until you see GROUP at the bottom of the display.
This will allow you to browse Groups only.
5. Press Right Arrow until you see 2/3: PRODUCT at the bottom of the display.
6. Turn the Control encoder until you see ALL.
First Steps
This way, you can browse all products.
7. Press Right Arrow again until you see 3/3: TYPE at the bottom of the display.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 23
Loading a Drum Kit from the Factory Library
8. Turn the Control encoder until you see KITS.
Now you can browse all kits.
9. Press Right Arrow until you see 4/4: SUB-TYPE at the bottom left of the display.
10. Turn the Control encoder until you see URBAN KIT, to further limit the result list to this type of kits.
First Steps
11. Now press F2 above the display to select LIST.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 24
Loading a Drum Kit from the Factory Library
12. Press F3 above the display so that +PAT is deselected.
13. Turn the Control encoder until you see EK-TL A KIT at the bottom of the display.
14. Press the Control encoder to load that kit.
The drum kit is loaded into the first Group slot.
First Steps
Now let’s leave the Browser and get back to the default Control mode of your controller:
Press the lit BROWSE button to leave the Browser (the button is unlit).
That’s it! You just loaded a drum kit into a Group slot of MASCHINE. It is now ready to be played from the pads, as you will see in the next section.
The process of loading from the Browser is the same for all kinds of objects: In the Browser, after choosing the desired object, select the desired content, type, and sub­type, then scroll through the result list and select an object for loading.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 25

Playing with the Pads

2.2 Playing with the Pads
As soon as a Group is loaded (here the EK-TL A Kit) and the corresponding Group slot selected (here Group slot A), this Group can be played from the pads on your controller. Each pad trig­gers one of the Sounds included in the Group.
Play the pads to get the feel of your controller: reactivity, sensitivity to the force you ap-
ply while playing (called velocity), etc.
If you don’t hear any sound when playing on your pads, check that none of the buttons in the column to the left of the pads is accidentally lit (if any button is lit, press it to disable it).
While playing, take a look at your pads. You will note the following:
When you press a pad, it flashes and then stays fully lit.
At any time, only one pad is fully lit. This is the pad you pressed last.
All other pads are half lit to indicate that they are loaded with a Sound ready to be played.
First Steps
An unlit pad would indicate that it has no Sound loaded — hence, pressing it would not
have any effect.
Now press and hold the GROUP button.
You will note the following:
▪ All pads 1316 and 912 (AH) except pad 13 (A) and pad 14 (B) are off, indicating that
they are not loaded with anything.
Pad 13 (A) is fully lit, indicating that Group slot A is currently selected. This means that
the pads currently trigger the Sounds of this Group.
Pad 14 (B) is lit in white to indicate the next Group can be created here.
While holding GROUP, press any other pad (916) to select it.
You will note the following:
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 26

Recording Your First Pattern

The newly pressed pad is fully lit. If you release GROUP the pads can be used to trigger
the Sounds of the selected Group. Since you haven’t loaded anything in the other Groups yet, all the pads are unlit, except one of them (indicating that it is currently selected).
As you can see, MASCHINE communicates in both directions: The commands you give via the pads and buttons control the software, but the software also communicates information back to you via the display and the LEDs.
Select the Group A again by pressing GROUP + pad 13 (A) and continue playing on the
pads to get familiar with them.
When you feel ready, move on to the next section, where you can record a little rhythmic pat­tern using this drum kit!
2.3 Recording Your First Pattern
Now that you feel comfortable with the pads, let’s use them to live record some rhythm into a Pattern. A Pattern is a recorded sequence of notes played on the Sounds of the current Group. In each Group you can have an unlimited number of Patterns which are grouped into Pattern banks containing up to 16 Patterns each.
First Steps
You can now use the transport controls, which are located at the bottom left of your controller:
The TRANSPORT section on your controller.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 27
Recording Your First Pattern
1. Press PLAY to start the sequencer. The PLAY button lights up green. You won’t hear anything yet because nothing has been recorded.
2. Press SHIFT + PLAY to activate the metronome so you get a rhythmical reference. You now hear the metronome indicating each beat, the first beat of each bar being indi­cated by a different note.
3. Play along to the metronome to get a feel for the tempo.
4. If you’d like to increase or decrease the tempo to make your playing feel more comforta­ble, press MAIN (at the bottom right corner of the display), then F3 (above the display), then turn the Control encoder at the right of the display. The tempo value is indicated in the display.
When you’re done, press MAIN again to deactivate it.
First Steps
You can also adjust the volume of the metronome by pressing SHIFT + GRID and turn­ing the Control encoder.
It is recommended that you to start with a simple sequence using a few Sounds only (e.g., the kick and the snare on pads 1 and 2). You will have the possibility to enrich your Pattern later!
When you feel ready, start the recording:
1. With the sequencer playing, press REC to enter recording mode.
REC lights up red.
2. Play the desired rhythm on the pads. By default, the recorded Pattern is one bar long. Your playing is recorded and directly played in a loop. As long as you don’t press PLAY again, the new Pattern keeps playing.
MASCHINE MIKRO - Getting Started - 28

Playing with Your Pattern

3. Press REC again to stop recording.
You just created your first Pattern!
You can now deactivate the metronome by pressing SHIFT + PLAY again and listen to your newly created rhythm.
To stop the sequencer, press PLAY again.
Quick Edits on Your Pattern
At any time, you can undo your last action by pressing SHIFT + pad 1 — whether you are cur­rently recording or not. You can redo it by pressing SHIFT + pad 2.
The undo and redo commands are global in MASCHINE: Almost any action in MA­SCHINE can be undone/redone!
At any time, you can enrich your Pattern by activating PLAY and REC again, and playing the pads. This way, you can progressively build up a complex Pattern step by step.
First Steps
2.4 Playing with Your Pattern
Now that you have a nice Pattern, let’s introduce a few powerful tools for playing your Pattern live.

2.4.1 Using Solo and Mute

Muting is used to bypass a Sound or a Group, whereas Solo is pretty much the opposite: Solo­ing a Sound or a Group mutes all other Sounds in that Group or all other Groups, respectively, so that you can listen to the selected Sound or Group alone. The combination of both is a use­ful means to play live and to test different sequences together.
When used on Sounds, the Solo only applies to the current Group: The Sounds in other Groups won’t be affected.
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2.4.1.1 Using Solo and Mute in the MASCHINE Software
Soloing a Sound
To solo a Sound, right-click (on Mac OS X: [Ctrl]-click) the number on the left side of the
Sound slot in the Pattern Editor.
Soloing the first kick Sound.
To unsolo a Sound, right-click (on Mac OS X: [Ctrl]-click) the number again.
Muting a Sound
First Steps
Playing with Your Pattern
To mute a Sound, click the number on the left side of the Sound slot in the Pattern Edi-
tor.
Muting a Sound.
To unmute the Sound, click the number again.
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