Released: Komplete Kontrol S-88 MK2

The long and short of it: I won't be buying the MK2 unless I know for sure what Fatar model is being used. I suspect I'm not the only one.

 

I really don't understand the reluctance from NI to explain what's actually in the S88. I don't fancy taking mine apart to find out, but I could so what's the harm in NI simply revealing the information?

 

I received my S88 MK2 this morning. While I never owned the MK1 I do have two quick comments. I have some issues with quality control first. Some of the keys make a scraping sound, they're noisier than others and definitely stand out. Does not seem to impact playing, for now. The keybed itself plays noticeably heavier than my Yamaha CVP605 Clavinova digital piano, which I found surprising and might put some people off. All in all I find the keybed acceptable. Again, I never touched the MK1 so I can only compare to other gear I own.

 

As an aside: Evil D. - How would you rate the key-action/feel of the RD-2000 vs. the Kawai VPC?

 

I tried the new S88 mk2 at Guitar Center today right next to the mk 1. Unfortunately mk2 feels spongy and mushy, while mk1 is clunky and loud. Not happy enough with the new mk 2 keyboard feel to buy one. Others' mileage may vary, but that's my opinion anyway.

As Sovereign75 said, it's a heavy feel - not as good for fast synth-style playing, as the better fully weighted keyboards are. Very disappointed. Not sure what the options are. I love the lighted zoning and new screen features, etc. -- would be amazing for scoring, but with a keyboard that feels like this there's little point for me.

 

I guess their marketing data indicates that people who want an 88 want piano action. (Maybe the DJ crew wouldn’t buy a keyboard they couldn’t put beside a Traktor or something.) But I think this is wrong-headed. If you are writing for orchestra or with synths or organ or even programming drums, a weighted keyboard is unnecessary - but the real estate would be very useful. It would be the only synth-action USB 88 on the market - surely that would grab a portion of the live gig-with-laptop crowd in addition to those who don’t feel like they have to play a piano-action with legato strings. Also, do untrained musicians prefer weighted action? What are they trying to recreate if they don’t play the piano?

 

IMHO RD-2000 is better - smoother and more consistent response. Faster key-up, too, which I appreciate.

There's a few of semi-weighted actions (which is synth weighted in practice, really) out there, like Nektar LX series, M-Audio Keystation, etc.

 

Keystation? Wow, that thing is simply awful to me. It was loud and felt terrible. And I’ve never played a Nektar I liked. I’d like something that felt polished and fast with good build quality and the Kontrol features.

 

I've said nothing about the quality of those keybeds - just that they exist, and that a potential synth weighted S88 wouldn't be the only one on the market

 

76 could actualy be the sweet spot for a little extra room over the 61. I guess it's too narrow a market to produce.

 

How is the RD-2000 for controller use? I mean, I've been looking at the S88 and the KeyLab 88 because I own Komplete Ult, and all of the Arturia plugins, but I have a ton of stuff that isn't NKS-style, and I'm concerned about how much downtime is involved in going through a lot of midi-learn rituals. I just don't really know enough to guess what I'd be up against. Some years ago I was using a Novation, but the AutoMap drove me a bit crazy, that and creating duplicates of hundreds of plugins... I'm a bit spooked. I need advice, really.

 

Do you think theres a mod to speed up the Key-up on a S88 Mk1? I'd love to be able to play some faster things.


I regret buying my Mk1 Now... actually had regret from the moment I bought it and felt the keys. I expected much more. Matt keys would've been nice too.

 

I guess you could replace the springs in the mechanism. Not for the faint of heart. But the main problem would still remain - it only has 2 sensors, so the key needs to pass that sensor close to the top of the key travel in order for it to be retriggered...

 

Hmm, good point, I wonder if a firmware mod/change might be easier? Cause if what you're saying is the case, we need to be able to trigger it without waiting for a full return.

 

Well, if they had a keybed with triple sensors, I imagine they would be shouting about it at every opportunity, so I take the silence to mean this keybed wont be suitable for me. Still S61 mark 1 is perfect for me, I like the touch strips rather than mod wheel.

Looking around, I see various pianos with triple sensors available, I think having the S61, the 88 keybed is more important than anything else, as not interested in sounds, and can use the S61 as the controller (home studio use, not gigging).

The NI mk2 s88 is around £779 and it's not looking like it has triple sensor.

Or these with Triple sensors :
Casio Privia PX 160 £358
Roland FP30 £450

So do I prefer a better keybed for £300 - £400 cheaper or pay the extra and have a substandard digital piano keybed but have the MK2 KK functions (to be honest, at the moment I'm happy with the s61 mk1) .

Or do I pay around the same price as the MK2 and get a digital piano with triple sensors and triple pedals etc such as the Roland RP-501R , or a second hand Kawai MP7 for around the same price

Not an easy decision. If Arturia comes out with a 88 note Keylab mk2 that has triple sensors I would jump at it. So far total silence on whether an 88 note mk2 is coming at all.

While the keybed is the most important thing for my 88 purchase, if I had the choice, I would rather have one that's also a controller such as keylab or S88, sadly at present, I think I'm out of luck.

I'm not expecting a keybed along the lines of say the Kawai MP7 (which I really really like) for the price of the NI S88 mk2 , at the same time the whole point of buying a weighted 88 note is to have some sort of real piano feel, not something that feels like the keybed is an afterthought. Sadly by the advertising I've seen so far, it appears them saying it's a "fatar keybed " or "Premium hammer action keybed" appears good enough for them. Them having no interest on telling us how the key action works, pivot point, sensors etc, doesn't make me think it's going to feel all that great.

Will have to go to my local music store at some point and give one a try.

 

I would buy a 76-key version with a proper keybed. I have a piano in the dining room for when I "really need to play proper keys" but would prefer a better, and longer, option under the desk. S61.2 is still nice... Just not "proper keys" per se.

 

Hi! I own a ROLAND Fp-30 (new model, i think it has the ph5 system) and in a moment of lack of reason I ordered on line the new Komplete NI s-88 mk2.
As I can’t afford both I decided to sell the ROLAND.
NI keyboard is not yet arrived.
Roland has a nice hard response Keybed.
On the pianist side do you think I have made a mistake ?
I am concerned about the fact that maybe the ROLAND fp -30 has a better keyboard compared to the Mk-2 s88 especially because at present times nobody still knows which kind.of Fatar is on board on the NI. Please note I AM NOT GLENN GOULD.
Thanks for reading all answers are welcome!
Matteo

 

May it be possible to release drivers for FL Studio for this keyboard?

 

Been trying the 88 MKII lately in stores. Very surprising how bad it feels. Like playing on a sponge. Pretty much every other 88 key piano/keyboard in the store feels better. I've never felt a piano that feels like this.

 

Which is weird and I've never understood that about the modern midi controller makers,because most professional live gigging keyboardists / musicians choose the 76 key models on stage. Which is why the big 3 Yamaha,Roland and Korg manufacturers aren't going away anytime soon. I still use my Yamaha EX5 76 for gigging. Some of the best keybeds ever produced.