My Turn For a Problem; can't select "Kontrol S61 MK3" in Preferences/MIDI

BIF
BIF Member Posts: 945 Guru
edited October 22 in Komplete Kontrol

I think this may have been going on for many weeks for me.

  1. When setting preferences in Komplete Kontrol, I can't select the checkbox for the main Kontrol device in the EDIT/PREFERENCES/MIDI/Input and Output settings. See here:
  • KONTROL S61 MK3 ← Has a checkbox, but cannot be selected ("ignores my attempt to tick the box").
  • MIDIIN2 (KONTROL S61 MK3) ← Can be ticked.
  • MIDIIN3 (KONTROL S61 MK3) ← Can be ticked.

The behaviors noted above happen BOTH on the Input tab and the Output tab in Preferences/MIDI.

The problem is that the first device identifies the KK keyboard's USB port, which is what I use. The other two identify the keyboard's legacy MIDI ports on the back of the device, which I don't use for anything, and probably won't.

2. The same thing happens when I try to add the MK3 to Cubase, Live, or even Kontakt.

That's right; I can't select the main device…only MIDIIN2 and MIDIIN3.

This kind of tells me that this is not a KK "software" problem, but instead may either a hardware problem with the MK3 keyboard, or it's a driver or services issue in Windows.

3. The MK3 responds to the KK software and vice-versa. Turning knobs, loading instruments, adjusting parameters, that all seems to work okay. This tells me that the USB connection is working okay and that the MK3 is getting enough auxiliary power.

4. During those instances where the MK3 does NOT play notes, that happens even when I can manipulate the UI as noted in #3 above. Each time, a "factory reset" of the MK3 seems to fix things so that notes play. But I still can't select the USB device in any of my software, and being able to play notes always ends up breaking again at a later time.

5. I found these three Komplete Kontrol entries in Windows "Uninstall or Change a Program":

  • Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol (version 3.2.1.0) ←this is the correct version for MK3
  • Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol Driver (no version shown)
  • Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol MK2 Driver (also no version shown)

6. It seemed wrong to have the MK2 driver running, so I uninstalled those three things, and then I started up Native Access and re-installed Komplete Kontrol.

7. Once the reinstall was complete, the same 3 items in #5 above appeared again, including the MK2 driver. So maybe that's normal after all.

8. I went to Windows Services and restarted the three NI services in this order:

  • NiHardwareConnectionsService
  • NiHardwareService
  • NiHostIntegrationAgent

9. They restarted fine, but this exercise did not change the issue. I still cannot select the MK3 USB device in any software and eventually the keyboard loses the ability for me to play notes until I perform another hardware factory reset all over again.

10. Additional Information:

  • Windows 11; was updated this past weekend.
  • Geforce GPU; was also updated this past weekend.
  • i9 processor, 64 GB RAM
  • SSDs are internal SATA drives
  • MK3 Keyboard is connected via USBC.
  • MK3 Agent is 1.5.5(R14), and MK3 OS is reported as 1.5.5 ( R )
  • MK3 Keyboard has never been bricked, white-screened, black-screened, and has not had any apparent difficulty taking a firmware update.
  • Not having any weird issues in Windows 11.
  • Native Access is at 3.10.3 and is working fine.
  • Komplete Kontrol 3.2.1 seems to be working fine except for the behavior noted (which other software has the same issue).
  • Cubase Pro 13, Live is Version 12, and Kontakt is Version 7.

I think this issue has been plaguing me for a few months now. I've been struggling with being able to "just play" on the MK3 keyboard. There's always this thing wrong wtih it, and by the time I get it to play again, I'm out of time and I have to go do something else.

11. Can another KK 3.2.1 user on Windows 10 or 11 please confirm whether or not they are able to tick the first device in Setup/MIDI as noted in item #1 above, the "KONTROL S61 MK3" item?

12. Can another KK 3.2.1 user on Windows 10 or 11 please check their "Programs and Features" list and tell me if you have a "Komplete Kontrol MK2 Driver" item, or does yours say "MK3"? That may help me figure out if I've got some incorrect components messing up my MK3's functionality.

13. I've reviewed the troubleshooting guide, and it doesn't mention this issue or anything similar.

14. I've reviewed the KK software user guide, and it doesn't mention this, nor does it indicate any reasons why I might not be able to select "KONTROL S61 MK3" in Settings/MIDI.

15. It's probably also a clue that I can't select that device in ANY OTHER host software either. Well, by "any", I mean Cubase, Live, and Kontakt 7. Edit: Oh, yeah, it also misbehaves in Opus.

16. I suppose I could try to see if my MK1 keyboard would work in this configuration, but I'm not sure if the answer would give me anything useful to go on.

Any suggestions would be appreciated; thanks in advance!

Best Answer

Answers

  • Jeremy_NI
    Jeremy_NI Customer Care Posts: 11,848 mod
    Answer ✓

    @BIF When did this start to happen? After an update? Komplete Kontrol? Windows update?

    Can you check on the keyboard itself if it is set to MIDI 1.0 or MIDI 2.0? Does it change anything to the name of the ports and your ability to tick them?

    Can you also give this article a try? I Cannot Activate the MIDI Input in the Audio and MIDI Settings (Windows)

  • BIF
    BIF Member Posts: 945 Guru

    Wow Wow Wow, that fixed it, @Jeremy_NI! It also corrected several other wacky behaviors I was having.

    The Process Explorer identified the culprit as Ableton Live, which at that moment was still open. So I closed it and refreshed the Process Explorer search. Now there was nothing grabbing the MK3, so next I launched KK 3.2.1 and was able to activate the correct USB Device. I have also been able to activate it in Komplete 7 and Cubase. I will try it in Ableton later today, but for now I'm going to call it "good".

    There still is an open question because I used to have the problem even WHEN Ableton Live was not active. I think this started around the time I installed 3.2.1, but honestly, I was remiss in being attentive and taking good notes on this one. Yep, even though I'm a technically-minded guy, I was a terrible debugger in this instance. But you got me going AND you gave me an excellent tool for working this or other issues in the future, so it's all good!

    So there might be more on this issue. If it happens again, I will pay a lot better attention and I will be a lot more programmatic in my note-taking. But for now, this is resolved and I'll mark it as such.

    Thank you so much!

This discussion has been closed.
Back To Top

Categories