Komplete Kontrol+ ? ? ?

I'm hyped for the Maschine+ because I'm sure I speak for the whole N.I. user base and Maschine converts when I say "It's about time!". But with the announcement of the Maschine+, it begs the question "Will there be a stand-alone Komplete Kontrol keyboard coming out as well?"

I dunno if this has been brought up elsewhere in the forums since I only just got here. But oh man, how sweet it would be to take Play Series, Reaktor, Massive or an assortment of Kontakt instruments along to a gig or rehearsal without having to take a bag of cables along with you to run the laptop as well as the keyboard! Just set it up like a hardware synth or stage piano, plug it into the D.I. box and off you go.

I can picture it using the colour theme of the Maschine+ while having a layout more or less identical to the S61 MK2. All that would be different is the back panel, now sporting some audio outputs, a USB hub and an SD slot. What else does it need? I dunno, probably not much more than that.

Anybody else onboard with a Native Instruments stand-alone stage keyboard?

 

I’d have to say ‘not yet’ - there appears to be too many issues of integration with the keyboards and Komplete that need solving first - allowing multiple keyboards, and being able to access the articulation switches on the S49/S61’s without having to leave Komplete mode are two that spring to mind.

 

I would totally love to see that. But bring on a 76 key version as well

 

Good to hear someone from NI acknowledge these issues. The burning question is, then, "Is there immediate plans to reconcile the problems and give KK the functionality we all deserve since buying your hardware?

 

Having the ability to plug an auxiliary Kontrol keyboard in would be dope! Then you need a set of organ bass pedals and you're good!

But yeah, the lack of support for multiple keyboards does need fixing first.

 

I’m not a NI employee/contractor or business partner. I’m like you, a customer.

 

Prob not the best thing to have @ NI in your name as it’s misleading. No idea why you decided on that handle

 

They can't even make their CPU software multi-timbral like a real workstation, what makes one think they could even come close to pulling off what Keyboard workstations have been doing for over 38 years now?

Seriously though, I for one, would love it if they NI - Could indeed make their hardware - Komplete Kontrol and Maschine one product, and a standalone unit would be even better, but first let's hope they can make their controller and software multi-timbral, and that's yet to be seen.
The worst move this company ever made, was the drop of the developers, and development Kore 2..

 

I guess I have NI in my username also, though i am customer (i am for hire though ) Possible to change a username yourself?

 

No, send Mick @ NI a PM and ask him to change your username, only official accounts have perms for that type of change.

 

This would be sweet, but especially because it's a keyboard, I'd definitely expect access to all but the most CPU hungry NI & NKS VIs.

And yeah, a 73 key version please. Something beyond synth action would be nice too. Maybe something like the action on Rhodes pianos, but I'm probably alone on this request.

Do the KKs currently work with the Machine+ in standalone?

 

I would suspect the KK's to work as midi controller anyway, hopefully though they might support the Komplete browser and functions!

 

How the KKs control the Maschine software, I'm wondering if they have similar native control with the + in standalone; selecting instruments, controlling parameters, tracks, etc.

 

Not necessarily, no. At least not for me, in the end I'm quite indifferent about the whole thing even though I definitely agree that this is an interesting development and I can easily see why some people would be hyped. But not me... when I started with my setup I carefully weighed my options with regards to hardware and well, you can see what I ended up with in my signature. There's nothing here which my laptop + Mikro can't handle

In the end it's everyone's guess for sure, but I doubt it. Although Maschine can be used for pretty much everything (for me it's my main "Komplete interface") it's also fair to say that its main focus is still beats and percussion.

With Komplete Kontrol otoh this is quite different because you'll get the most out of this critter when you add Komplete into the mixture (hence the name). So the problem that I'm seeing is that a stand alone Komplete Kontrol combined with Komplete one package would thread on the hardware synth market. And I'm not too sure how well that would fly, both considering the competitors but also (trying) to look at this from an NI business perspective...

See, what you're suggestion is basically a combination with Komplete Kontrol + Komplete + Komplete Audio (it's going to need a decent audio interface, I suppose the one from Maschine might do but... not too sure there). I don't see NI easily combining all of that, nor am I too sure that this is something the market might want.

Komplete is more than just a whole bunch of sounds and synths (+ effects). It's also one heck of a DAW expansion. Although I do a lot with Maschine (hardware) and Absynth there are some things which are better worked out using my DAW. Which is a functionality I doubt Komplete Kontrol would be able to provide; it would be one "music box".

Then there's the issue of upgrades. If Komplete 14 gets released, would that mean you'd upgrade your Kontrol too? Heck, maybe we need to take this a step backwards: how are you going to fit Komplete in there in the first place while also keeping things affordable?

I may be a little too negative or skeptic here, could be, but when I check out my favorite online music store and skim over all the hardware synths which are available then.... I'm seriously convinced that NI would steer for an extremely rough market.

People who know and love Komplete don't always necessarily want or need "Kontrol+" (same with Maschine+, I definitely admire the project but it's simply not for me; I'm more than happy with my Mk3). And people who don't know Komplete... well, what major factor is there to persuade them from grabbing a Yamaha or Novation and go for a Komplete+? That's going to be be a tough cookie I think.

But... as always, just my 2 cents here obviously.

 

I would definitely be interested in something like this. For the people saying that adding additional hardware and CPU would increase the price and put it in competition with other hardware synths, well that might be true. But, I think you could also make the opposite argument: why would I pay $1,000+ for an 88-key keyboard that can't even make sound on its own, whereas for a bit more money, I could buy a similar synth or keyboard that does from another company? Conversely, having a stand-alone NI software synth keyboard at the center of my workflow, one that also integrates seamlessly into the Komplete software, sounds much more compelling, even if the cost is higher. Especially for a once-a-decade type purchase. If they do this, though, they should continue to sell the existing models, since I doubt everyone agrees with me.

 

Not for me.....

 

I think Maschine+ is aimed at performers with a small/specific library stored on board at any given time and that is great for that audience. But as a home studio enthusiast with a pretty much a full 1TB SSD (for K12 Collector's Edition alone), this solution doesn't serve me well at all, whether it is Maschine+ or a future Komplete Keyboard+. No ample storage for my NI library, not enough ram and so compromised performance as well. Can't see how anyone with a good workstation could be happy with it except for on the go purposes of course. Good product though.

So now that you are done with releasing this fancy new controller, NI, could you PLEASE put a few bodies on Komplete Kontrol software deficiencies now??? Pretty small ask from loyal customers, and we have all been more than patient!

 

Komplete Kontrol and Komplete Audio, yes. But Komplete as a whole package, no. There's no need to have effects designed for studio use onboard a hardware synth/stage keyboard. My vision is centred around how the Komplete Kontrol plugin works, it's just a library of patches based on sounds and samples from NKS plugins and the Reaktor engine.

I think every bit of hardware needs firmware updates, there's no getting around that. Anytime something new gets released, there'd need to be an update that allows the hardware to play the new plugins.

Now as far as storage is concerned, I don't see the need to keep the entire "Kollection" on there, just the stuff you use the most. And if you need to store a heap of instruments and sounds, that's what SD cards are for. Maschine+ will need a helluva lot of extra space for all those expansions N.I. keeps on adding, that's why it has an SD slot.

Now I'm not saying this would be for everyone, but it would be helpful for Komplete users that wanna take stuff they use in their DAW out on the road and not put their laptops in danger of stage mishaps. In the same way that a V-Machine works, but it's built into the keyboard instead of being a separate box.

 

I’d love to see a Kontrol+, also in a 76 keys format.
But I would like it to have more RAM and a more powerful processor than Maschine+ so that it also would allow me to load demanding libraries.

 

This is what I would buy...
A KOMPLETE keyboard with a tablet mount/holder, built in audio interface/speakers (headphones at least but i bet there is room in the S88 case on either side) and the ability to run/use KK on a windows/mac/android tablet over wifi. A remote controller of sorts and the studio workstation does all the heavy lifting. Then I would put my unused S88 MK1 on my coffee table and play around, search for new sounds when I am relaxing and not in the studio trying to get actual work done. If you are gonna dream, dream big!