I ended up getting the Maschine (full model, not the Mikro, because I wanted the extra screens and knobs and the shortcuts to things like groups).
Absolutely no regrets or buyers remorse! This is one piece of kit I'm keeping (and no, you don't have to be a hip hop artist to like it). Love the feel of the pads, different from Akai pads but much better for my needs. This thing will get used a lot and is the first piece of gear I've used that rids me of my desire to play an actual drum set, and I've only spent a small amount of time with it (its very easy to learn, no nonsense, and everything including the software just works). What struck me first about it was that as I play, I seem to get the level of expressiveness I was seeking but never got from my old Akai MPD when I mapped samples to it, or those old school Alesis machines. Maybe it's just the drummer in me that loves it because it fills a functional gap in my percussion needs, but every one who owns one seems to love it, so I recommend it if you have even a passing interest in it.
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