Maschine Mikro MK3 screen is busted. How can I view its information on the Maschine software?

azh
azh Member Posts: 3 Newcomer
in Maschine

Hi everyone! I have bought a used Maschine Mikro MK3, which have a very dull screen. After failed attempts to fix it, now the screen is "officially" broken. I can't seem to find the information displayed by the screen anywhere in the Maschine 2 software. For examples, in Keyboard mode, the small screen shows information about the base key, different types of scales, and other stuffs that I can't remember yet. I have read that some people also have problems with the small screens on these devices, so I guess someone may have workarounds. Thank you so much!

P.S. I have contacted Native Instruments for the fix, but I can't send the unit to them since the shipping costs more than what I paid for it (about 80 Euros, I'm in SEA)

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Best Answers

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 3,762 mod
    Answer ✓

    The computer GUI can show some stuff but not all, Scale for example is only displayed in the Controller (all the 'Smart Play' stuff actually: Chords, Scales, Arp, etc…)

    Base key is here:

    Screenshot 2024-12-01 at 12.09.16.png

    How did you fully break the screen? Did you open the controller to fiddle with it??

    Those tiny oled screen are very, very cheap (between 2 to 5$)… you could try to put a new one there.. At your risk!

    You would need to inspect the ribbon connector to see how many pins it uses then find something like this:

    https://www.buydisplay.com/white-1-09-inch-graphic-oled-display-screen-64x128-ch115-controller-spi

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 3,762 mod
    edited December 2024 Answer ✓

    No prob :)

    1 - As long as the number of pins and the specs are identical, any screen of this kind will work?

    2 - There's actually a piece of clear plastic lies in front of the screen. This plastic piece is smaller than the screen itself, so I wonder if any modification is needed to make the screen works (code wise), or just a replacement is enough.

    1 - No, it might be a long shot, it's only worth trying because the srceens are super cheap. To start trying to figure out what exact screen it is we can look at the number of pins, 7-Pin is SPI while 4-Pin i2C (+-), I think its the former. Then it could be either and SH1106 or an SSD1306 (later is more common & better) not sure how to check that, and size and resolution must be the same too, measuring should be the easiest part, resolution is 128x32 I think.

    2 - Code changes would make it impossible, it has to match the original exactly. These screens without an attached small PCB are harder to find. Id inspect the original and look for a code number written in the back or something… A part number would help a lot.

    I have read some discussions that people complained about these screens durability not just on the Maschine Mikro (Kontrol M32, A series I think). It would be great if Native can add a workaround for these scenarios in the future (a small windows in Maschine software for viewing the "Smart Play" parameters like you said).

    Those are pretty durable, to be honest it's the first thread I see with a broken Mikro Mk3 screen. NI is not gonna do that, they used to have a On-Screen-Display for the MK1 keyboards and even Maschine Jam but it was removed on the latest controllers, probably to add value to the big ones with higher res screens… Certain things seem to be only available via controllers on purpose, I assume.

Answers

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 3,762 mod
    Answer ✓

    The computer GUI can show some stuff but not all, Scale for example is only displayed in the Controller (all the 'Smart Play' stuff actually: Chords, Scales, Arp, etc…)

    Base key is here:

    Screenshot 2024-12-01 at 12.09.16.png

    How did you fully break the screen? Did you open the controller to fiddle with it??

    Those tiny oled screen are very, very cheap (between 2 to 5$)… you could try to put a new one there.. At your risk!

    You would need to inspect the ribbon connector to see how many pins it uses then find something like this:

    https://www.buydisplay.com/white-1-09-inch-graphic-oled-display-screen-64x128-ch115-controller-spi

  • azh
    azh Member Posts: 3 Newcomer

    Thank you for your support! I didn't think the reply was coming so soon😲

    How did you fully break the screen? Did you open the controller to fiddle with it??

    Yes I have opened the controller. The previous owner do left the controller in a bad state: Smoked odor; Some pads are not very responsive; Screen is very dull. The owner told me he rarely use the controller for a long time, so it is weird for the screen to be like that. I at first suspect the cleanliness of the controller, so I have it opened to clean the inside, as well as having a look at the screen.

    About the "fully break" thing, I accidentally inserted the screen incorrectly, cause it to be broken😅

    Those tiny oled screen are very, very cheap (between 2 to 5$)… you could try to put a new one there.. At your risk!

    I actually have looked at these screens! My concerns with these are:

    1. As long as the number of pins and the specs are identical, any screen of this kind will work?
    2. There's actually a piece of clear plastic lies in front of the screen. This plastic piece is smaller than the screen itself, so I wonder if any modification is needed to make the screen works (code wise), or just a replacement is enough.

    The screen is useless anyway, so more fiddling with it is not a big deal to me. My knowledge in electrical engineer is very limited, so I may ask some friends more about this. Worst case, I have to learn what the controls are without visualization😂

    I have read some discussions that people complained about these screens durability not just on the Maschine Mikro (Kontrol M32, A series I think). It would be great if Native can add a workaround for these scenarios in the future (a small windows in Maschine software for viewing the "Smart Play" parameters like you said).

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 3,762 mod
    edited December 2024 Answer ✓

    No prob :)

    1 - As long as the number of pins and the specs are identical, any screen of this kind will work?

    2 - There's actually a piece of clear plastic lies in front of the screen. This plastic piece is smaller than the screen itself, so I wonder if any modification is needed to make the screen works (code wise), or just a replacement is enough.

    1 - No, it might be a long shot, it's only worth trying because the srceens are super cheap. To start trying to figure out what exact screen it is we can look at the number of pins, 7-Pin is SPI while 4-Pin i2C (+-), I think its the former. Then it could be either and SH1106 or an SSD1306 (later is more common & better) not sure how to check that, and size and resolution must be the same too, measuring should be the easiest part, resolution is 128x32 I think.

    2 - Code changes would make it impossible, it has to match the original exactly. These screens without an attached small PCB are harder to find. Id inspect the original and look for a code number written in the back or something… A part number would help a lot.

    I have read some discussions that people complained about these screens durability not just on the Maschine Mikro (Kontrol M32, A series I think). It would be great if Native can add a workaround for these scenarios in the future (a small windows in Maschine software for viewing the "Smart Play" parameters like you said).

    Those are pretty durable, to be honest it's the first thread I see with a broken Mikro Mk3 screen. NI is not gonna do that, they used to have a On-Screen-Display for the MK1 keyboards and even Maschine Jam but it was removed on the latest controllers, probably to add value to the big ones with higher res screens… Certain things seem to be only available via controllers on purpose, I assume.

  • azh
    azh Member Posts: 3 Newcomer
    edited December 2024

    Sorry for the late replies. Work stuffs happened the last few days😐️.

    it's the first thread I see with a broken Mikro Mk3 screen

    The "broken" part is on me, but at first the issue is that after a period of time, even without using it, the screen starts to be a lot dimmer than they should. Weirdly enough I cannot find those posts I have stumbled upon again. Maybe this is just a bad batch of screens, I can't fault NI on that.

    NI is not gonna do that, they used to have a On-Screen-Display for the MK1 keyboards and even Maschine Jam but it was removed on the latest controllers, probably to add value to the big ones with higher res screens… Certain things seem to be only available via controllers on purpose, I assume.

    This is sad to hear, but also makes sense to them. Maybe I'm unlucky this time.

    I actually found someone who is somewhat knowledgeable about electronics. I will meet him days later to see the specs, order, and attempt to replace the screen. Similar to you, he points out the importance of the number of pins, and it basically is a gamble whether the placement of the pins are the same or not. I will update this thread later with the results.

  • QuanBiu
    QuanBiu Member Posts: 1 Newcomer

    Hello, what's your story, I'm also in Southeast Asia, it's difficult to find a replacement repair place, my screen has 2 horizontal rows with dead pixels.

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