Komplete Kontrol S61 Keyboard Touch-Strip Issues

Just wanted to report back I have received a replacement. It appears to be a new unit.
The initial unit I purchased from B&H I thought was new and it may have been but the box sure was beat to hell, and I had a serial number issue when trying to register through the service center, so NI gave me a new serial, which I thought that was odd. So I now have a new unit, new box etc and It seems to work perfect. Thanks NI for the quick turn around. I will report back with any new info as it becomes apparent.

 

That is Great News psymeta! Glad your issues are finally sorted and you can enjoy your new board.

 

I finally received my replacement (technically my 2nd replacement, or 3rd controller) and...

it works!

Only took 1 month from the time I bought it to getting one that works, but it is an excellent keyboard - I just hope that the quality is there so this doesn't die in a year!

 

Happy to hear you're up and running again! Enjoy the new board.

 

I've gone through four brand new Komplete Kontrol S61 keyboards from Amazon. All four of them were received running firmware version 16 and all four had defective touch strips. Updating to the latest firmware version 17 did not produce any change --still defective touch strips.

I've also noticed that all four of the S61's I've received have inconsistent sustain pedal behavior.
That is, the S61 intermittently switches between treating the sustain pedal as a “gate” switches (hold it to turn it on, release to turn it off) and a “toggle” switch (press it once to turn it on, press it again to turn it off). This very frustrating when attempting to play. I tried switching pedals but doing so had no effect. The only way I could fix this inconsistent pedal behavior was to swap out the S61 with an M-Audio AXIOM 61 (2nd-gen).
The M-Audio does not have any such problems with any of the sustain pedals I have..

Windows 8.1 64bit
Komplete Kontrol Driver 3.9.2
Komplete Kontrol Application 1.0.2
Maschine 2.2.1

 

Finally after receiving my fifth replacement from Amazon (that's right, I've been through five keyboards), I have an S61 with functional touch strips. For others reference, the issue I was seeing was similar to others here. The indicator lights would become offset from where my finger was pressing, they would randomly freeze or completely max out and become unresponsive. Also, I did not see anyone report this here, but for me, on two of the defective keyboards, touching the glossy plastic which surrounds the touch pads was somehow transmitting a signal.

My apologies to those still incurring this issue. In hind sight, I should have tracked the serial numbers for others reference --my bad.

p.s. the sustain pedal issue in my previous post still exists. Upon further testing, it seems to be somehow related to Maschine as it does not occur when using Komplete Kontrol to browse virtual instruments.

 

Received the S-61 replacement from Thomann's. The strips work like a charm, although I do prefer the normal wheels. I guess, by getting used to them, I will get addicted! I provided support and further explanations to NI (incl. the video ) to help them solve the problem. They were eager for information, they even asked Thomann's to ask me for feedback, so I guess, they are working on it. Good luck everyone: I have the feeling that the issue will get resolved soon for all of ya.

 

Nope. Not just the S61. I have an S25, and both my pitch and modulation strips are exhibiting the same behavior. I am now thinking it must be hardware after reading these threads. Both of my strips get stuck (Mod gets stuck in high and Pitch gets stuck in low) regardless of whether I am using Kontrol software, Logic, Live, Reason, whatever. I sent a video to NI, am waiting to hear back. If I don't, I will call.

 

I am having the same problem with my S49 purchased in December. Both mod strip and pitch strip get stuck as soon as they are touched. Ugh.

 

Same issue here: If I apply any pressure at all to the frame around the touch strips, the pitch gets stuck at the bottom and the mod gets stuck on the top, until I reset the unit with a power cycle. Really hard to tell if this is hardware or software, but either way, I need those strips to work, or I am going to have to unmap them.

 

As has been reported by users, who contacted support, NI confirmed, that the touchstrip issues are hardware related.

 

Any news about strip issue? S61 is out of stock at NI store, any chance that incoming batch is completely ok?
Hardware issue has been sorted out or is still a problem on some random units?

 

It seems, they are working on QA improvements to make sure, the next batch will be ok.

 

So Aymara you suggest to wait and buy direct from NI store?
The chance to get a defective unit from NI should be less than from resellers (with immediate availability but maybe old stock with defective units).

 

Good question. It seems, when buying keyboards the best advice is the same as for guitars ... play it before you buy it.

But I fear in this case, it will be hard to make that happen. Maybe just search for an online shop with a good reputation and return policy?

I would guess buying directly from NI is less risky, but that's just a guess.

 

I have an S61 bought last Tuesday. All the same issues, right down to the sensitivity to touching the plastic frame around the touch strips. After reading these posts, this thing is on its way back to GC tomorrow, and my Prophet 12 is going back to the controller spot in my rig. No second chance. I'm done. I know where this goes when it starts. Been there, done that. Maybe version 2, or 5..

 

The touch strips on my keyboard were flakey as soon as I took it out of the box - just touching the surrounding plastic trim would cause the lights - and the values generated - to jump around. Updated the firmware and no change. I took it back the next day and exchanged it for a different one. The salesman told me he had seen the same issue on a couple of other units. (I checked the new keyboard before I took it home!) I'm absolutely convinced that on mine it was a hardware issue.

 

So - are you home free with the strips on the new KB?. I was not so in love with the concept of the strips in the first place. Yes, they do work well on other equipment, but for instance the Prophet 12 uses them as mod strips for extended functions but there are also conventional wheels as well. Granted, the P12 and the S61 are in two different leagues cost-wise and in every other way. The P12 is not an ideal midi controller, but after experiencing these issues, I would use the P12 all day instead of the S61. I can do without the lights and the Browser function in exchange for a fully playable board.

 

(knock on wood) I have had no further issues with my S61 since it was returned from N.I.'s repair process. It caused me some discomfort having to return it but it was not painful as they were very quick about it.

I absolutely Love the design and sensitivity control of the touch strips. There is no way I could control a pitch wheel to do such realistic vibratos.

 

That's great to hear. Perhaps others will chime in to say how much they enjoy their S61. For me, I'm not sure if it is the fact that the mod strip is so whacky to begin with, but I am having trouble getting comfortable even with the ergonomics of the flat surface in the strips. I'm not as fond of wheels as I am of the KORG joystick, but having something there to hold onto is just part of the experience for me after 30 years playing synths.