How To Set Up The Maschine Mikro MK3 For Finger Drumming 

You're right, this is a very important point! Thanks for mentioning it, I totally forgot to explain that in the video.

Glad it helped! I agree, after playing a while with the sensitivity at maximum I actually found that it functions best around 80% for me. If I could edit the video that's the one thing I would change my advice on.

I was actually thinking of making a video called Acoustic Drumming vs. Finger Drumming, that's a good idea! Personally, I'd highly recommend getting into finger drumming, it's not exactly the same as acoustic drumming but you can do a whole lot with it and take it to a really high skill level if you practice. Plus it's a totally different way to play because you're using all your fingers, so it's just super fun!

Thanks for sharing! I actually have experienced this issue myself, I noticed that the Maschine pads seem to function the very best at about 80% of the maximum sensitivity slider. I realized that after I made this video. You're spot on!

You're absolutely right, this was my mistake in the video. Thanks for pointing it out!

Hi David, definitely use the Linear velocity curve setting. Soft and Hard settings will artificially change your dynamics in the software, so for example in a Soft setting, if you hit hard, the software will automatically suppress it and make it softer, and vice versa for Hard. Linear is what you always want because it's a true output of the power you're putting in; so when you hit hard, you hear that exact hardness output, and the same for soft hits. Without this linear curve, it's really difficult to develop good dynamic range, because your software will be artificially manipulating the output. Hope that makes sense!

@@DragonFingerDrums absolutely! Very much appreciated. I look forward to taking the class. Maybe I should sign up now . I just saw that email with the 1 on 1 offer. I’ll check my piggy bank! Lol

In Ableton, if you open your preferences and go to the Audio tab, under the Latency section, try changing your Buffer Size to a lower sample rate. I have mine set to 128 samples and it's a great balance of fidelity and low latency. The bonus is that this only affects playback, so it doesn't lower the quality of any recordings that you export!

That's strange, I haven't encountered that before. What software are you using for your drums? I'm willing to bet if you do some digging on Google, somebody on a forum somewhere has had the same issue and solved it.

Yes, you can use the Maschine to control any software! You just have to put it in MIDI mode (hold shift + press the Maschine button on the Mikro), and make sure that your software (like Garageband) has it selected as a MIDI input device in the settings.

On Maschine Mikro, hold the Group button and you’ll be able to use the pads to select different pages. The top left pad will select page 1, the pad next to that will select page 2, etc.

@@DragonFingerDrums thanks a lot!

I personally prefer Maschine, for me the Akai pads are too rubbery, and the Maschine pads have a more smooth and fine response. But it's just a personal preference, some finger drummers (like David Fingers Haynes) absolutely shred on the Akai!

Yes, you don't have to select all the pads at once when you change these settings, you can do them one at a time with different settings.

@@DragonFingerDrums thanks

As far as I remember, this feature has been available for as long as I've been using the Maschine, which is about 8 years now. I've always used it in MIDI Mode, you just have to use the Controller Editor to adjust these preferences rather than the Maschine software.

@@DragonFingerDrums Maybe I was trying with the machine software... I'll try this tonight thanks!

It depends on which drum software you're using! Usually it involves using the Maschine in MIDI Mode and going into the Map settings of your chosen drum software, and assigning different drums to each pad. In my Free Starter Course, I walk through the steps to set up a totally free drum software: dragonfingerdrums.com/starter

I usually use Addictive Drums, but I also really love Steven Slate Drums!

That's strange, because I've owned several different Mikro MK3s over the years and have always been able to change the pad values in the Controller Editor.

@@DragonFingerDrums Thanks, you’ve inspired me to get one. Im sure my wife will appreciate the option to use headphones unlike the cajon :)

You can do that, but if your right hand is dominant, I would recommend using your left hand to play the kick along with the snare. Because we can't use our feet when finger drumming, we can throw the idea of dominant feet out the window and just focus on what makes the most sense for our hands and fingers. In the case of the kick, it's easiest to play it with the non-dominant hand (the same hand that plays the snare), as opposed to trying to use the dominant hand, which is usually already playing steady backbeats on the hi-hat or ride. Hand isolation and ergonomics are generally better this way. I explain this in more detail in my Basic Pad Setup video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mriT6dq05Oo.html

Personally, I haven’t had any success using the mikro outside of NI Maschine software, and I have messed with the mappings. It just doesn’t work well in midi mode for me.

In midi mode, it’ll only send midi signals to the daw or vsts you’re using. It’s basically a midi keyboard in midi mode.