Komplete Kontrol S series MK1 keyboards End Of Life

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Comments

  • AMD
    AMD Member Posts: 64 Member
    edited October 2023

    Another user absolutely disgusted by this decision. I suppose I should have seen it coming since NI's business model seems so similar to greedy Apple's.

    What do I do with my mk1 when it is no longer supported? Is it even recyclable? I bet it's not. And don't tell me it still works as a MIDI keyboard. That's not why I bought it. If I just wanted a MIDI keyboard, there are far better ones out there. Thousands of pounds spent over the years and this is the thanks we get. Absolutely pathetic.

    At the very least, NI should have a product replacement path for loyal users which should involve old product recycling and incentives/assistance to upgrade. No wonder so many people use hardware synths and outboard modules. Bet they don't have to replace those every 10 years!

  • Kymeia
    Kymeia NKS User Library Mod Posts: 4,766 mod

    You need to be aware that they use the same plugin scan app but different plugin databases. The older version is not compatible with the scan app for KK3 which means in practice you will find it will not update if you have new or updated plugins. The way round that would be to backup the new scan app, install the old KK and also backup its scan app, and manually swap between them when you need to update plugins

  • Kaldosh
    Kaldosh Member Posts: 413 Advisor

    I just can't believe it...;good luck to us all

  • Kubrak
    Kubrak Member Posts: 3,051 Expert
    edited October 2023

    You need to be aware that they use the same plugin scan app but different plugin databases. The older version is not compatible with the scan app for KK3 which means in practice you will find it will not update if you have new or updated plugins. The way round that would be to backup the new scan app, install the old KK and also backup its scan app, and manually swap between them when you need to update plugins

    Well, one (or NI) could write an application named scanapp, that would look which KK (2 or 3) and according to it, it would run real scanapp for KK2 or KK3. It could work, I guess. At least on Win.

    -----------

    Such a mess, if one needs/wants fully use older and newer NI HW.....

  • spindizzy
    spindizzy Member Posts: 50 Helper

    It will however and without notice - changes made to new libraries that I might purchase will break them in 2.9.4 for no good reason and existing bugs will never be addressed and support will disappear for recently purchased products.

    It's a stupid solution for something they could have supported but chose not to as a way to sell new product to replace functioning hardware well within it's useful life.

    NI made a choise to hurt their customers, that's the hard facts here.

  • spindizzy
    spindizzy Member Posts: 50 Helper

    To help in the future you have to own the mistakes of the past of the people you work for, not brush them away as someone elses problem.

    That's basic ethics.

  • kinen_papico
    kinen_papico Member Posts: 9 Member

    I heard that when using KK3 with MK2, the movement is slow and the display screen is strange.

    Will support for MK2 end in a few years?

  • Kymeia
    Kymeia NKS User Library Mod Posts: 4,766 mod
  • Kaldosh
    Kaldosh Member Posts: 413 Advisor
    edited October 2023

    I personally honestly don't understand that NKS was sold as setting the new standard of instrument control to end up deprecating itself not even a decade after. There is very few reason to understand why the 3rd iteration of a modern sofware cannot handle the basic ground feature of its initial controllers such has controller screen feedback and lightguide when you know that each controller has his own mapping code and each instrument has his own folders for custom images. But according to new policies well I guess we are actually maybe the happy customers. In anyway I'd like to thank NI for the developpment of this amazing tool that the KK MK1 series is still today, and thanks to @Kymeia forall the hard work with NKS1 - I thought all those evolutions should be able to coexist and integrate each other but you are proving me wrong unfortunately.

    Wishing plenty of good times for new gen gear owners in the new NI scheme

  • PoorFellow
    PoorFellow Moderator Posts: 4,390 mod

    Quote Matthew_NI :

    Meaning, it should not necessarily follow that because Kontrol S MK1 was EOL'd after almost a decade, that all subsequent hardware also has a ticking clock of ten years."Other hardware could well be supported for far longer.

    Ref. : https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/99985#Comment_99985

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,401 mod

    So I'm unethical now? Jeez. I stand by everything I've said and will say.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,401 mod
  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,401 mod

    NKS has not been deprecated.

    NKS1 is still supported on all old and new keyboards. NKS2 has been added for new keyboards.

  • Sillvan
    Sillvan Member Posts: 5 Member

     I'm extremely disappointed with N.I. and from now on I won't be buying anything from Native Instruments. I own the MK1, which is worksing perfectly well. 

    Knowing that one of these days it will no longer be compatible after an OS or DAW update (and this will happen) which will no longer be supported by N.I is not reassuring at all. It's obvious that N.I is pushing people to buy their latest controllers, which is clearly programmed obsolescence.

    The best example of this is RME, who continue to support their old sound cards and Matrix software without any problems with each new OS or DAW update. 

    I don't understand why N.I can't do the same with their Komplet Kontrol, apart from pushing people to buy their latest controllers.

    really a bad move here.

  • DS99
    DS99 Member Posts: 38 Member

    RME has always been a role model in terms of first-class quality and support. Many other pro companies can take an example from this! Especially because they always satisfy all users with much less staff. Since NI have abolished the telephone support (even for Pro users who have invested a lot of money) this target group is no longer adequately served. This can be seen for example in Massive X, flagship synthesizer with the simplest bugs (sustain pedal does not work correctly) are still not fixed after years. I personally love the products of NI, have myself two MKI keyboards and do not understand how the few parameters that must also run in future KK versions can not be served further. All in all very unpleasant. Especially since once you use the KK software, you are always dependent on it and relied on the fact that it is operated for a long time! The browser has still not been optimized after years of managing user presets. That would be a central topic. If I had known that, I would not have started using the KK software at all. Akai even offers multimode and splits, many useful features that you may need live. I think NI will lose many pro customers with this product philisophy. But that is probably so planned.

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