The unit is beautifull, well built and feels very solid.

The DAW integration is bit limited (no MIDI) but this is specified by NI. NI said soon there will be an big update that will implement these things wich are usefull for a full DAW integration. For instance, you cant "record" midi clips on Ableton Live so Maschine acts more like an instrument.

The main problem for me is the lack of stability of Maschine, standalone or plugin, on my system (Vista64, HP HDX18 laptop, 4gb ram 2,6ghz). The first days, the unit crashed my computer alot (blue screen) and I found out through forums that this problem happened to a relevant number of users (mac and PC as well). However, the majority of users dont report crashing problems. I finally detected some sort of conflict with my graphic card (NVIDA Gforce 100 series). After the graphic card driver update, it hasn't crashed so far, but I experience ocasional freezing (with no sound cuts) when using it with ableton. Some users say having the library on an external drive can also help.

Problems aside, the unit is very intuitive and the workflow is powerfull and creative. I never touch the mouse, you can do nearly everything just using the Maschine controller (its really a midi controler, not a hardware unit itself). It sounds very good, the 5gb sample library loads very fast (on my system) and the sounds are excelent. The FX are very good too and since the controler is built for the software, there is an overall feel of total integration where everything is where it should be.
Programing drum loops and improvising over them is great. Pads are very velocity sensible and have a dense rubber feel.

It doesnt put big strain on CPU power. The most critical aspect of it is really the stability (in my case). I do however own other NI software and its very stable so I'm confident that next fixes will have this sort out.

Had this for a few weeks now and WOW! The recording quality of the USB interface is as good as studio. Really impressed with it. Have not used the guitar rig program, infact found that to be a bit crap but I have not needed it. I have used my existing effects processor and my own amps straight into the session I/O and the recording quality is superb. I had always used Acid or Adobe audition until now but it comes with cubase LE4 and its really simple and easy to use. Well worth buying even if its just for the session audio interface

Absolutely superb interface for my midi keyboard to laptop or desktop. No detectable latency and interfaces trouble free with all software. Really usefull functions assigned to top controls with a wide range of applications. Free vouchers are worth almost as much as the cost of the unit! No reservations whatsoever.

I received my Guitar Rig Mobile box yesterday and gave it a good initial playing with. My first impressions are nothing but positive. The installation process is a little long-winded; you have to register the Guitar Rig 3 LE software online, via creating an account with NI, but other than that the box installed perfectly.

The software is intuitive, you just choose what boxes you want to play with, whether it is one of the mean sounding amps or fx units, drag it into your virtual rack and twiddle with the settings to your hearts content. There's also a good number of presets emulating various guitarists sounds, which sound pretty authentic to me. My PC isn't super high end, only a twin 64bit Athlon with 4GB ram running VISTA, but even with a medley of effects on the rack the CPU usage was rarely above 50%. The latency was low, I never detected any lag whilst playing. I'm looking forward to putting the software through it's paces, I've not tried recording yet but if it works as well as the rest of it then it'll be a dream!

Final note; with its small size, I can definatly see me taking this around with my laptop for jamming sessions, rather than yanking around all the FX units. The output socket also makes it great to just plug in some headphones and practice without waking the neighbours.

Wicked stuff, and Dolphins price is the cheapest I've seen. What more could I ask for?

Guitar Rig Session from native Instruments provides the ultimate starter package for guitarists and vocalists interested in getting their ideas down quickly, without sacrificing quality of sound.

Session is bundled with Guitar Rig 3 XE (a paired down version of the superb Guitar Rig 3 software), Cubase LE4, Kore Player and Kore Sound Pack Pop Drums. All of the software is extremely easy to download and there are immediate updates available for each in the Service Centre on NI’s website. I use the Guitar Rig software through Ableton’s Live.

The Session I/O audio interface is a very neat and tidy piece of hardware and the sound it produces is excellent. I experienced no latency at all on set up and the response rate from my monitors is almost time perfect.

The Guitar Rig 3 XE software in particular provides a very good range of the amps, cabinets and fx pedals available in the full version. In fact most guitarists would find ample to work with in the XE software. The sounds produced are very accurate and do not sound like computer generated replicas. NI has described the software as “Perfect Custom Tone” and this writer would have to agree. I was amazed at the accuracy of the fx pedals too – in particular The Cat (presumably based on Pro Co’s The Rat which I had purchased recently myself) – it is a frighteningly good sound copy.

In my view the Kore Sound Player software is slightly limited for my purposes but more electronically oriented musicians would find a good deal to tinker with – from reviews the full version of Kore Player is highly regarded. I haven’t had the opportunity yet to tinker with the Pop Drums software bundled as I tend to use my own pre selected samples.

In summary Native Instruments have provided in one very reasonably priced box the ultimate starter package for budding recording guitarists and vocalists. The software provided is user friendly and the quality of the sound is superb. Having tried the XE version I’m very tempted to upgrade to the full version of the software very soon.

I've had my Audio Kontrol 1 for a week now and I have to say I'm impressed. I've been playing live using a laptop for a year now, and used a M-Audio Firewire Audiophile for most of that time.

The Audiophile is a great external soundcard but I had a few problems with the drivers hanging (especially when I opened the options dialogue in Traktor, very embarrassing when you're playing out) and also the firewire port on my laptop is a 4 pin job which can't provide power so I needed an extra power point (not always easy to find in a bar).

Then while searching dolphin music I found the Audio Kontrol 1, it's 100% powered from USB has a wealth of connectors and even a whizzy red underlit knob and three buttons which you can configure and use to control your audio applications.

The Soundcard appears to be high quality and feels solid when held in the hand. It has two stereo output channels, and one stereo input. Plus a monitor headphone out on the front which can be switched between either of the output pairs. Perfect for the laptop DJ. Plus midi in/out for connecting more control devices.

The drivers are lovely and solid even for such a new product, I've played for a good few hours with no hangs and dropouts, and no irritating 30 second hang when I go into options in traktor.

The Audio Kontrols unique selling point, and the reason it's called 'Kontrol' is that it has a rotary knob and three buttons on top. These send standard midi controls and can therefore be configured to control most audio/dj apps. These are useful, sure, but there's not enough control options to actually use something like traktor. The big knob makes a nice jog wheel though.

All in all excellent, for me this device wins because it's good quality 100% USB-powered sound board with the laptop DJ specifically in mind. The extra knobs and controls are nice, but if you really need something that does soundcard and controls in one box there are better options like the Behringer or Hercules.

Personally I'll stick with my Audio Kontrol and a Faderfox and day, they are both high quality parts with one specific job in mind. The all in one boxes just don't feel as solid and well made.