S61 MK3 only shows DAW mode - Logic Pro 10.7.9

TomSynsongs

Still having a hard time with the S61 MK3

Upon installing it in Logic, all I get is DAW mode - which works perfectly fine.

But loading Kontakt 7.6.1 with an NI instrument does simply not change the view on the S61 MK3. It keeps being stuck in DAW mode, showing the channel strip with the volume knob.

The other buttons (Browser, Plug-In) cannot be selected at all.

Tried a power supply, but no change. The device is connected via USB-C to a Mac Studio M2 Ultra with Ventura and as mentioned, keyboard and DAW mode work flawlessly.

How can I get what the keyboard is supposed to be doing?

Thanks

Tom

TomSynsongs

Okay:

To answer my own question (again after spending much time myself which is not being paid for by NI) the situation is as follows:

1. S61 NK3 connected to a Mac Studio via USB-C - only DAW Mode, no visual support of Kontakt instruments, just plain nothing except for the channel strip info on screen
2. The same situation with KK Standalone - identical. The keyboard displays "Default Midi Template" and does not show an instrument, preview or something else.
3. Both scenarios with an external power supply - no change :-(
4. Finally I have connected the S61 MK3 via a USB-C to USB-A adapter to an USB-A cable an inserted it to a USB-A Hub, everything seems to work as expected!

Honestly, it really cannot be that a brand new 900 Euro keyboard cannot communicate via USB-C with a Mac Studio system but requires me to purchase a USB hub, a USB-A cable, adapter etc. (that said I have already spent money on a long USB-C cable which is now absolutely useless).

Just for the record:

Being a beta tester myself, nobody can tell me that these systems have been properly tested. Under no circumstances would NI not have seen all the trouble, except they had explicitly excluded musicians which are using Mac Studio systems since years. Not funny at all.

Regards,

Tom

Eskapone

I’m having the same issue stuck in daw mode after setting up my keyboard last night, I concluded it had something to do with the usbc cable supplied so I’ve ordered new cables and usb A adapters late last night to try the same thing u did, after just reading your post I’m glad you found a solution, I’m now confident mines will work when my cables get delivered (fingers crossed lol)

Matthew_NI

See this comment:

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/111829#Comment_111829

TomSynsongs

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/129628#Comment_129628

Hey Matthew,

having read the linked post, I understand your point. However discussing this with an engineer made me wonder, because he had a totally different opinion regarding what might be wrong with the MK3. Also being under NDA I cannot expose the dialogs and of course it is not possible for me to judge who is right.

But looking at my M2 Ultra, all the ports are separate and none of my other USB-C devices do expose any issues, problems, dropouts whatsoever (that includes multi-channel audio interfaces, external 4 TB NVMe drives, USB-Drives, monitors etc. all hooked up at the same time). So it obviously stays a mystery.

P.S.: Since NI is aware of the USB-C situation, it would have helped so much to either include an adapter or at least putting a message up on the product page plus adding a piece of paper highlighting the solution.

Thanks a lot & Kind Regards

Thomas

Matthew_NI

You may think that - but many such devices have those issues.

The insidious thing is that the issues can appear at random, infrequently, or very frequently, with the same devices, because issue is with ports and not the devices. This has been confirmed.

Depending on the device, the issue may also be more or less apparent. If a display loses connection, it may be visible only momentarily, or a hard drive appears simply to have ejected. If a MIDI controller loses connection, far more is obviously ruined, especially if it is unable to regain connection. But the underlying root cause is the same (I know of someone dealing with 50 USB-C displays running off these problematic models, and finding that on a daily basis, more than half of the displays will randomly not function). It's enormously frustrating.

I am very limited in what I'm able to say, and certainly not at liberty to make pages and articles that would contravene the NDA established with any other companies. The most we can do is advise here whereupon the issue surfaces, if it surfaces, that a USB-C hub is most often the solution to 99% of the folks.

TomSynsongs

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/130385#Comment_130385

I get your point Matthew, many thanks. The problem is (as mostly): Every blames somebody else and as much as I understand the necessity for NDAs (I have signed some myself regarding music software I am beta testing), it is frustrating that things cannot be said publicly, because it would help so many users in understanding what the problem really is.

Without these informations, we are running in circles, first trying to blame ourselves for doing something wrong, then trying to find a pattern and in the end, we still have no clue and remain in a position where workarounds are "normal".

Since the latest NI updates, I get random screen flickering again with K7, Guitar Rig etc. and not one of my other plugins are showing the same behaviour. Now I can think of this being also a USB-C problem (which already had me buy expensive cables, check stuff for hours...) or I can think that NI has a bug in the way these products refresh the screen. Anyway, nothings helps me from being frustrated when the issue occurs and - as said above - every tells me hat the other side is to blame. And I am sitting on the fence with flickering plugins which kill my creativity.

Kind Regards

Thomas