Released: Komplete Kontrol S-88 MK2

Damn. That makes me sad. I keep thinking the Output desk I own will have a simple upgrade kit to fit the s88.2 and I assumed it felt proper as a hammer action weighted piano keybed.

 

It may already have been suggested, but for all the variations we're now seeing on the NI keyboards, one with a top quality keybed would seem to me to be the most logical. For me, the screen, interface and controls - useful as they are - are ultimately secondary to the piano action itself.

 

Just chiming in to say that I actually like the keybed a lot - it is a wee bit heavy, but I find that actually helps my piano playing a lot. And the softer landing is easier on my fingers/hands - so I can play longer and repeat a part I'm trying to get more times before I have to rest.

The feel of this keybed is perfect for me, but I play more piano/drum stuff than I do synth stuff. I've used it with Session Strings, Session Horns, and numerous pianos and electric pianos. At the moment, I'm totally digging it, and have found over the past week of use, that each time I sit down at it it feels better and better.

Also - like I said, it is a wee bit heavy - but this is only at the onset of the key press. Once you get about a third of the way down, it becomes easier. I believe this helps a lot to give a responsive, quick feel to the keys. I have had no trouble at all playing fast passages, or getting drum parts to be right in time. In fact, I tend to push the beat a sight bit on almost everything I play, and I've noticed that having just a bit of a heavier feel at the beginning of the key press helps me keep slightly better time.

Your mileage may vary. If you are used to non-weighted keys, this will feel like driving a car with manual steering. But if you are used to playing grand pianos, this is not that far off the mark, and is very usable to me.

I'm just one person, but I say this keyboard is really well made and I, for one, am enjoying it. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. It totally saved my bacon on a music bed I was working on for a client this week - allowing me to quickly and easily dial up the sounds I needed to layer things for a totally awesome Mission Impossible type sync track and I never opened the manual once.

 

My keyboard has some black plastic spots. It is not so pronounced, but it has. Any suggestions on how to clean?

 

I actually tried a different one in a different store and I like it now. Maybe that one was worse or defective or something, but I like the one I ended up buying. It is still a little mushy, but that's ok, maybe it will improve my playing like high action on a guitar does.
Also the other one did scrape a bit between keys, this one doesn't. Quality control might be a bit of an issue. It's also a bit disappointing to see that they still have inconsistent amounts of resistance in the knobs, just like they always have since Maschine mk1. Some are are tighter and some looser.