I have Maschine.
 
I originally purchased it primarily for standalone use, along with mostly hardware synths, however its sequencer sucks butt big time... It seems that NI r&d had zero clue as to what a sampler sequencer groovebox should actually do, and it has not improved that much along the way... So, as a standalone unit, unless you are solely into hiphop (it doesnt do techno well as fx tails are cut), I would not recommend it to anyone.
 
However, it is a decent drum machine and so with Sonar, running it as a VST it integrates quite well... you get a lot of kits, its easy to build your own (even just pulling in hits from CW freebies)  and a bunch of patterns in step sequencer format come with the stock kits..so from that aspect its a decent addition. 
 
 
 
 

I have the Mikro unit and use it for MIDI input (the pads) in Sonar. It has many other uses as well which I'm not particularly conversant with but do use. Overall I like it. Recommended (so much I'm upgrading to the full Maschine in the near future).
 
Regards,

Maschine is sick, I use it on a fair amount of my projects within Sonar, by far my favourite sampler, very fast workflow, great for constructing intricate beat patterns and sample chopping, plus you can drag and drop audio files from Sonar to Maschine, I have used Akai mpc 2000xl's, mpc 1000's, mpd 32 midi controllers etc etc.. all are great samplers but in my opinion the Maschine MkII is on another level, would deffintly recommend. Juddz.

Hmm I had a Akai S1000 once and those drum pads that came with it. Hmmm.
So really opinion is split, and that seems to be down to the way people want to use it.
Very enlightening... thankyou...

s100 with drum pads?  Are you sure it was an s1000? If i recall, that was a rack mount unit. Maybe you are thinking mpc1000.

Creating a track template with a bunch of outputs and midi tracks really solved  most of my woes integration wise.

dubdisciple
s100 with drum pads?  Are you sure it was an s1000? If i recall, that was a rack mount unit. Maybe you are thinking mpc1000.

That and a MPC3000, worked together very nicely.
 

i use mine frequently for dance/electronic hip hop flavor. love adding maschine fx to sounds and groups too. Reminds me of sampling sequencing with my Roland S-50, in middle school. :) I use mine in Sonar, (recording in maschine)

I just bought a Maschine Studio and Komplete 9 Ultimate.
I must be nuts!!!!
 
Cheers :)

Being a long-time MPC owner, my main reason for going with MASCHINE was that it really captures the familiar drum programming workflow of working with a dedicated device like an MPC. Early iterations of the software weren't very good, but the product has steadily improved to the point where AKAI Professional (makers of the MPC line) is now playing catch-up.
 
My main issue with MASCHINE is that the DAW integration appears to be an afterthought. NI currently seems more focused on turning MASCHINE into its own little standalone production studio. It's probably good for sales and marketing, but it also makes MASCHINE seem like its not being geared for use in serious studios. It's fairly obvious that they've nailed emulating a dedicated device, now they need to focus on MASCHINE's real strength and refine the software to work more efficiently and predictably. The recent 2.0 software release was a great opportunity but it seems to have come up a bit short.
 
I've highlighted my biggest concern with MASCHINE in this recent thread in NI's forum. 
  
Nevertheless, Congrats Alex! I highly recommend that you pick up some of the MASCHINE Expansion packs that are on sale for half-price until 12/9. Those expansions add a lot of bang for the buck. Let me know if you have any questions about getting MASCHINE working with SONAR.
 
-e.B