I’m a noob, made noob mistakes. I picked up a used Maschine Mikro MKII on Reverb. Only realized after the fact that it needs the accompanying software. I reached out to the seller, but they didn’t have a license to transfer me, so I guess I’m kind of screwed now.

I found an installer for the software (Maschine 2), but it still asks me for a license. Trouble with that is, there’s nowhere to even buy a license for this old software.

I filed a support ticket with NI, but that’s going to take a few days apparently. I was curious if anybody here knows a way I could solve this problem. Thanks.

One command. No soldering, no config files, no DAW. The same box takes touchscreens, multitrack USB interfaces and more MIDI gear. The ceiling is the platform's ceiling.

An eight-channel generative groovebox on Zynthian, played entirely from a Native Instruments Maschine MK2 - pads, encoders, both displays, LEDs. Five euclidean drum channels and three Turing-machine voices, all eight always alive; nothing is created or torn down while playing.

The generator owns the pattern.

You do not draw a beat. You set hits, rotation, chance and swing, and the driver writes real notes into Zynthian's own sequencer. Because they are real notes in the real sequencer, patterns persist in snapshots and the touchscreen pattern editor mirrors exactly what the pads show.
The five drum channels are euclidean: hits spread as evenly as the grid allows, then rotate. Four hits in sixteen is four-on-the-floor; five is the clave.
The three voices are Turing machines. Each owns a shift register, clocked once per pass and mutated with probability RANDOM, and the register's value becomes pitch. Set RANDOM to zero and the loop you are hearing freezes bit for bit, for as long as you leave it there - the display reads LOCKrather than a number, because a number could be a coincidence.

It is built on Zynthian, a maintained open-source synth platform with an active community and official hardware kits if a boxed version is ever wanted. Every line is readable, every part swappable, all of it yours to fork.

Alpha Release:
I am currently actively working on it, expect changes. Also not all features are documented yet, there are more Features in the pipeline like Maschine Display supported Synth Engine & Effect loading. Midi Output via DIN Jack etc.

Feels free, to raise issues or Feature requests.

How do I remove/deselect libraries from the Maschine browser. Right now, I don’t want every preset showing up from my 3rd party synths, or orchestral libraries being scanned in from Kontakt. Is there a way to only show the factory library for now so I can familiarise myself with it?

https://preview.redd.it/wv35nxjk9mih1.jpg?width=3226&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=365f6f20f208c1d33a447b469885611156bffdec

Like many people here, I spent years looking at Eurorack systems, Elektron boxes and various grooveboxes trying to find the perfect setup for live techno improvisation.

What I eventually realized is that I wasn't really looking for another synth. I wanted an instrument that could continuously generate evolving rhythms and melodies, expose all important parameters directly on the surface, and let me perform without staring at menus all night.

The problem is that achieving that with hardware gets expensive very quickly. By the time you've bought a sequencer, synth voices, drum machine, effects and a mixer, you're often deep into Eurorack money.

So I decided to build my own.

The current prototype runs on a Raspberry Pi 4 using Zynthian as the audio engine and a Native Instruments Maschine MK2 as the control surface. I started writing a Linux Device driver that turns it into something completely different from the original Maschine workflow. The hardware buttons, pads, encoders, LEDs and even the built-in displays are now driven entirely by my adapter.

One of my favourite parts of the project is the display integration. The Maschine's two LCD displays no longer show NI software information. They now render custom screens showing channel states, pattern parameters, synth controls, sequence settings, FX values and performance information. The displays change dynamically depending on the selected track and page, effectively turning the controller into a dedicated hardware groovebox rather than a generic MIDI controller.

My design philosophy was simple:

Everything important gets a dedicated control. Nothing should require menu diving. Nothing should require a touchscreen during performance.

The machine always has eight active channels: five drum tracks (Kick, Snare, Clap, Closed Hat, Open Hat) and three melodic voices (Bass, Lead, Pads). There is no loading tracks, browsing projects or building arrangements while performing. You turn it on and start shaping a living groove.

Instead of programming step sequences manually, the instrument is built around generative processes. Drum tracks use Euclidean sequencing, while the melodic voices are driven by Turing-machine-style shift registers. Rather than creating patterns step by step, you're steering systems that continuously evolve and react to parameter changes.

When a melody suddenly reaches that perfect sweet spot, you can instantly lock it in place and keep it forever. If you miss the moment, there's even an undo mechanism that lets you recover previous Turing states.

Current features

Drum section

• 5 independent Euclidean drum sequencers
• Adjustable hits, rotation, length and clock division
• Per-track probability
• Per-track swing
• Velocity control
• Real-time regeneration
• Manual pad editing

Melodic section

• 3 Turing-machine voices
• Adjustable mutation amount
• Phrase locking
• Multi-level undo/history
• Variable register lengths
• Octave and range control
• Gate control
• Scale quantization

Sound design

• Instant drum kit switching
• Instant sample switching
• Multiple classic drum machine kits
• Synth preset browsing
• Filter cutoff
• Resonance
• Envelope modulation
• Decay/attack shaping

Performance workflow

• Channel mute
• Momentary mute
• Additive solo mode
• Instant restart/re-sync
• Snapshot recall
• State persistence
• Dedicated LCD feedback
• Color-coded channel system

FX

Every channel has dedicated reverb and delay controls, while global parameters include reverb size and type, delay timing and feedback, BPM and master volume.

The whole thing is still a prototype, but it's already become the most inspiring techno machine I've owned because it was designed around a single idea:

If generative techno was the primary goal, what would the ideal instrument look like?

Future plans include scene snapshots, ratchets, performance macro layers and a dedicated keyboard extension.

Curious what the synth DIY community thinks.

https://imgur.com/a/maschine-SvOXnxq

Not sure if this is allowed, but I'm looking to sell/transfer my Komplete Standard 15 license. Allows you to upgrade to 26 relatively cheaply

Hi. I am about to buy a m+ second hand. I have found conflicting info online about how to deal with the license transfer. And also I don't know the state of the NI support at the moment.

Maybe someone have experience with how this works?

Hi

I have been looking at the Maschine but I am wodnering if I need it for what I want to do. I want to play in some drums using pads rather than a regular keyboard because i think it will feel more natural if I do it like that.

I have Komplete so I would use studio drummer or battery for the sounds. Does it make sense to buy a Maschine or is it overkill if I won't really use the software? Or is the software really worth it?

I understand that it has its own DAW but you can use it in Ableton as well.

And finally I see quite a few MK2 for sale. Can I still use that well today or should I go for the new MK3?