My Maschine + pad sensitivity lost

Guix

Hi there,

I bought a Maschine + in November 2022. Unfortunately Pads 1,2 and 3 are not responding normally. Very low sensitivity, very annoying. Someone knows how to resolve this problem? Thanks

Samed

Well i think you need to open up your maschine + and clean the sensor-sheet.. i had the same issue but after cleaning everything from the inside you be good again.. there are some videos on youtube and this one will help you

https://youtu.be/jP63znVEUJ4?si=7uFlejlNztnJlOwG

Good luck..👌

Guix

Thanks for the answer! Apart from cleaning the sensor-sheet did you also bought a new sheet to replace the old one? Do you think it is due to the hard use of the pad with fingers that creates pad dust?

D-One

Hard to imagine a grafite sheet can "break" to a point of needing replacement, it's laminated and mostly endures pressure, not much friction. Maybe it can wear out under extreme usage but usually it's just dirt.. worst case scenario is PCB damage of some sort.

I wouldn't go using a dry cloth on the PCB like that guy did in the video, seems like it could grab some traces and peel it off, especially if it already has water/humidity damage, usually isopropyl alcohol is the recommended method or "electronics cleaning fluid".

For the silicone Pads I scrub them with a soft brush and some soap, rise well and dry, thoroughly… You dont want any water or soap residue in there.

Andy Wt

Also, even if using isopropyl alcohol is fine for PCB i would strongly advice against using any kind of alcohol for grafite sheet cleaning. Speaking from my own experience ethyl alcohol easily dissolves grafite contacts which could be found in Yamaha keyboards. I suppose NI graphite contacts not much different in this regard

D-One

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/187145#Comment_187145

Oh! Thanks for sharing, thats great info. Apparently it can indeed degrade the material over time, or remove a little bit of material, distilled water seems like the safest option.

Guix

Ok, thank you for your answers. I also send a ticket to NI Customer Service. After all they are probably aware of this flaw in their maschine. It's supposed to be sturdy and endure finger drumming for more than a year. Otherwise i think the price is much too high. I hope they will give an answer like which products to use, where to find a sensor sheet that actually could revive the Maschine,etc…
I dont feel that i want to open my maschine and mess around inside…

D-One

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/187885#Comment_187885

You probably just got unlucky.

I doubt they will give you any tech details on fixing it yourself, generally companies never do that as they don't want to be liable if you break things, they definitively don't sell spare parts neither. They will offer you to repair it, at your own cost if it's out of warranty, but but all means try and see what they say.

Buena suerte!

Guix

It´s amazing that NI doesn´t sell spare parts!!! I have a tech guy near by. He will repair my Mashine. I ordered the Native Instruments Maschine MK3 / Plus Pad Sensor Sheet Replacement just in case the cleaning won't be enough! Gracias for your help.

D-One

Spare parts + repair manuals should be mandatory to any big company, I understand that for smaller ones the cost would be huge but when you're the size of NI it shouldn't be a big deal and could actually be a source of revenue…

Only the EU can save us, https://repair.eu/, the US certainly will not set the example.

DiosGnosis

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/189632#Comment_189632

Mandates I can actually support!