Maschine is dying, no support for KK software or new Kontrol Mk3

Z23?

If you are a Maschine user, do NOT buy Kontrol Mk3! I wasted a bunch of time and engergy trying to "upgrade" my KK Mk1 to Mk3. Maschine and KK software working together are no longer being supported. It seems that Maschine is dying, going backwards and I would bet will have very little upgrades. Why would they not support these two products to work together? Not enough money in Maschine users to justify supporting it I assume. Kind of a slap in the face of Maschine\KK\Komplete(and for me Maschine Jam) users that have been supporting them for years.

Vic Angelo

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/19197/maschine-is-dying-no-support-for-kk-software-or-new-kontrol-mk3

I agree the lack of any integration between Maschine and Kontrol MK3 is terrible decision. Seems like an irrational decision for NI to exclude their own DAW from actual usability, and the backlash shows... Kontrol MK2 integrates FULLY and perfectly, not to mention that (Kontrol Mk2 & Masch+) is the closest thing to having NI sounds with a Computer-less setup! the Ideal situation for gigging musicians.

But that said, we have never been able open Komplete Kontrol SOFTWARE inside of Maschine, the Maschine Software acts just like and uses the same database KK Software does (including lighting functions) on Kontrol MK2.

Better Sell/Return and stick with the Kontrol MK2 keyboard, for perfect Maschine Harmony.

D-One

It was a decision made on based data - not many people use it so it was not prioritized.

Personally, I feel like this way of interpreting data is crazy, I bought KKS MK2 exactly because of the Maschine integration and I did not use it often but regardless it's still the reason I bought it... Buying a KKS and Maschine got me to buy Komplete and other NI stuff, it sucked me deeper into the ecosystem so to ignore this is baffling but they can still change their mind.

If we start removing everything people don't use often I am not sure what's gonna be left.

ozon

@D-One asked:

If we start removing everything people don't use often I am not sure what's gonna be left.

My bet: Kontakt, Massive and Reaktor. But not a single effects plugin by NI.

PS: And for the Kontakt libraries? Forget about all the more experimental or cinematic soundscape stuff. Some pianos, strings, horns and ukulele, and a ton of eight-oh-eights. Actually, there would be no need to buy anything from NI anymore.

macchinista

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/111510#Comment_111510

Totally agree. User data should be interpreted with a grain of salt. Is a feature not being used because it’s useless or because it is not obvious or decently explained/ documented/implemented? For example, I doubt many people use lock states in Maschine, but I sure as hell would be pissed if they removed that b/c of user data.

Anyways, I hope the product managers at NI are smarter than that. Maybe there is a good reason they did not implement the Maschine integration in the new keyboards and that is going to become obvious in hindsight (hint: new Maschine software). Just trying to stay positive 😉

ozon

@macchinista wrote

Anyways, I hope the product managers at NI are smarter than that. Maybe there is a good reason they did not implement the Maschine integration in the new keyboards and that is going to become obvious in hindsight (hint: new Maschine software).

The product manager explained the obvious reason in the KS3 AMA here on the forum several times, and it’s exactly as @D-One wrote: It was dropped because it’s only used by a small percentage of customers.

All Hope Is Gone

Kymeia

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/111510#Comment_111510

It’s classic misuse of statistics

My old GP used to give me antibiotics for my Sinusitis but when he retired the new one told me I couldn’t have them because ‘the evidence’ shows ‘most people don’t benefit from them’. I had to point out I’m not ‘most people’, I’m me, and I do

djneural

NI always does the same mistake : releases a new product and initially prices it very high.

Then drops the price significantly and stops or slows down development on the product.

That creates a situation where every seller loses a lot in selling it, and every new user will only consider buying it 2nd hand market.

At the end it means -> no new sales (just some 2nd hand), no interest for NI developing the product and at some point even producing it.

They've done the same that with the DJing stuff (Z2, D2...) and Maschine Jam. It's a bit disappointing to see that with M+. It's a product I've been so excited for and it still is a good product.

I think they should have raised or kept the price as is and invest more.

tetsuneko

I wonder should I buy a Jam and a KK49 MK2 while they still exist.. Together they'd make a powerful standalone workstation

Ojustaboo

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/111702#Comment_111702

Yep, bought my Maschine mk3 second hand, and just bought my Komplete S61 mk 2 second hand.

as others have said, user data isn’t a great way to make these decisions, how many users like myself don’t send any user data to them?

The things that data shows only a few people use, are the things that makes a product stand out from the competition, otherwise all companies would produce gear that only does the exact same most popular thing as every other company and there would be no reason to buy one over the other.

I only just bought my s61 mk2, the sole reason I bought this second hand and didn’t spend the extra on the mk3 is the maschine integration, and having only just got my mk2, Maschine integration isn’t something I’ve actually used yet.

I just got my mk2 for £250, I iwm Maschine, so the option of integration makes sense whether I actually end up using it or not. I decided not forking out around £500 more on a brand new device that does not have it.

So far I’m very happy with my mk2, there’s nothing on the mk3 that makes me thing “want, want, want”, the only real thing is polyphonic aftertouch having had it years ago on my SQ80, but it’s not worth an extra £500, however had the S61 mk3 had Maschine integration I would have purchased that new instead of the second hand mk2 so NI have lost out on me purchasing hardware from them.

Should I ever decide to get the mk3 in the future, as I’m so happy with my mk2, there’s no way I’m going to now buy a new mk3, I would wait until I can get second hand at a very reasonable price, and even then there would have to be a lot more the mk3 can do that my mk2 can’t, which I can’t see at the moment.

I wonder if the reality is marketing department wanted it released by a certain date, and forced them to go ahead regardless of its software readiness? Have seen a fair few major computer games go through hell for doing similar.

There’s also a real danger that people will also start not trusting the longtivity of new NI products, hence avoid altogether.

That said, I do always end up giving them money for their software, just updated to k14CE then got Session Percussionist