I have many gripes with the Kontrol MK3, but the among the worst decisions made by NI is forcing users to move through DAW tracks with individual rotary data wheel clicks (i.e. push the wheel to the side until it clicks). It is abosolutely mind boggling to me to have a design which necessitates moving through tracks one at a time, especially since the MK2 used the more logical option of selecting tracks with the buttons above each track (now designated for mute). The “add insult to injury” part is that the data wheel is an endless encoder, so why can’t I just turn the wheel to cycle through tracks more quickly…maybe use the shift knob to move 5 at a time. Instead, the data wheel randomly increments volume, which is already controlled by the 8 knobs under the tracks (albeit also randomly, so both are useless!). It’s these decisions that lead me to believe no one at NI actually uses or cares about these products. I am reminded of one of their first demo videos where the product specialist admitted he never used his MK2. Anyways, the MK3 is useless for DAW control if you really need to depend on it imo. I worked with it for four hours today, and I am really on the fence of selling it for an MPC Key 61 which would let me load all my Maschine expansions; have wireless DAW control; have better midi capabilities; and include all the basic plugins stand alone. Are any other MK3 owners actually navigating tracks this way?
