Komplete Kontrol S88 MkII Interest Thread! Who's holding off getting the S49/S61 MkII for the S88?

Order of overall superiority in my opinion:
NI S88MK2 (theoretical)> Roland A88 > AKAI MPK 88 > Arturia Keylab 88 > NI S88 MK1 > Fatar VMK188.

 

So the a88 over the s88mk1 even though I use Komplete 11?

 

I’d say yes because as a musician, the touch strips on mk1 sucks...especially for controlling pitch bends. I have komplete ultimate 11 and still tossed my 49, 61, and 88 mk1 in the first 3 months.
If you rely on the NKS mapping then wait. I tweak or make most of my sounds and NKS is not ideal for me for saving presets, especially when I want to use them outside of Komplete Kontrol. I have no problem mapping my own parameters to the 61mk2, maschine, Push, or the two knobs on Roland a49.

 

Sooooo Mario....do you have any good news for us?

 

Do you have any idea if it's possible to Control the smaller keyboard with the S88? I have a midi cable plugged in and was hoping to play the S88 sometimes from another room since it won't fit into the small studio space I have... I agree - it's so different playing on the S88!

 

Put me down for waiting for the MkII S88. Been researching for a week, was planning to jump on an S88, then discovered the MKII gear. I'm planning on picking up something cheap off craigslist for now just to play around with and learn how to use a DAW.

 

*raises hand*

And please make it 54" or less so that it fits in my keyboard tray.

 

What's the word NI?

Here's how I figure it: you must be working on one, otherwise you would simply state that there are no plans for an 88 MK2, so those waiting won't hold off on buying the current stock. However, you don't want to confirm it either, for the same reason. Meanwhile, all us impatient composer types who are antsy want to know if there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

C'mon... just a hint?

 

couldnt agree more

 

All the lack of news is doing is pushing me toward a competitors' product. The KK 2.0 reviews I've read haven't helped either.

 

Sadly, I'm starting to agree. I'm thinking I might just have to forego some of the features of the S88 and stick to something cheaper like the Studiologic SL88.

 

Me too. Been holding off for a few months now. I use Komplete 11 quite a lot but don't need sophisticated sound editing capabilities right from the keyboard. Just need a very good keybed that would be as close as possible to a real piano feel. Tempted by the M-Audio Hammer 88 but cannot find a store in my area where I could try it. Anyone here has tried it?

 

Don't bother waiting for a MK2 88 - even if one appears - if it is based on the same architecture of the 61 MK2 it will be a MASSIVE step down in useability. The MK1 is a dream (I have one) The 61 MK2 is pants (I have one) The MK2 is missing most of the functions that make the MK1 worth paying a premium price for - yep - it has uber-lovely screens - but these soon loose their appeal when you realise there is so much basic control you cannot carry out with the MK2.

 

Get mk 1 88 and 49 key mk2... best of both!

 

thanks for the advice. used mk1 s88 are running at a substantial discount these days, i'll look for one of those with included software.

 

Found someone on craigslist selling a new in the box S88 for $675 so pulled the trigger. Looking forward to reading about the mk2 when it finally comes out, but no longer watching for news every day... i guess i can turn off the google alert

 

Can anyone else confirm and elaborate what is being said here please?

 

Well, anything posted here not from N.I. is only opinion and conjecture unless citing an actual user experience in detail. I have both the Mk1 and Mk2 connected at same time with a mirror display. For some stuff, Mk1 is perfectly fine -- this assumes you basically want to play music and not have it play for you, or deep dive manage your DAW.

Unquestionably with the Mk2 the focus is different - it might be best not to think of it as a replacement but new iteration (old versions not going to stop working all of as sudden). So, the new keyboards have a nice screen to preview libraries by looking at keyboard vs screen which is nice, but old way works too. I prefer the normal pitch/mod wheels, but I kind of liked the 'scribbble strip' displays better for the readouts when using certain synths.

The ability to "focus" with some DAWs like Logic and see fader levels is useful, esp. if you have a notebook; not as critical for me with a 32-inch 4K display connected to my Mac Pro. The Mk2 allows you to see more "in front of you" which is useful and is also great for those using Mashine to have an option to control some of that at the keyboard while playing vs being at the pads (and yes, they might have added pads to the Mk2, but I don't think that would have been the best exprience and wasn't the design/use focus).

Being able to scroll through and preview sounds quickly is awesome. Knobs work pretty much same way. Buttons work pretty much the same, although without the editor capability (yet) to customize certain things.

It works well for what it does --- so far --- and luckily since it's all in software/ROM can be easily upgraded as time goes on.

Watching the many videos online (both the pos and negs) would be advisable, but since the 88 hasn't been announced yet, kind of a moot point. You can basically decide your needs on if you want the features of the MK1 -- or the MK2. If I didn't already have a Kurzweil PC3K8 I would have bought the 88Mki and then a 49 MKII for best of both -- also the Mk1 is a little narrower in depth, without the screens, so works better on a keyboard stand below something like an MPC or Maschine setup. A pairing of the Mk1 88 and Mk2 49 is a great combo. Both can send MIDI at same time to DAW and the Komplete Konrtrol in standalone, but only one is focused as controller at a time for 2-way communication.

However used as DAW plugin, you can have one pointed at mk1 and another at mk2 and use each for what you need it to do.

Food for thought anyway. Most of the people complaining here are doing so as they wanted it to do something it doesn't, while there is entirely nothing wrong with what it does.

 

They really should to a KK S88 Modular similar to the mock-up posted but...

With flush 'near' invisible panels on the sides that when removed can house a combination of 2 standard sized Maschine units (MK I,II,III & Jam) and connect via an internal USB hub and powerstrip. Maybe removable panels at the rear for foot pedal and cable passthru.

This will let user keep existing or upgrade liberally. Plus if a component gets faulty you only lose the faulty component during the downtime.

It would be deeper than the current S88 by a couple in/cm but...

 

Yeah, but it would probably be too expensive to do it that way from a use case mass market and support standpoint. Of course nothing stopping somebody from taking guts of these things and building a custom case and redoing what goes where.