2025 Outlook: Maschine, Kontrol, and NKS Hardware Partnerships

2A2E

if I may request one thing that would be so awesome: to be able to use controllers on different groups. E.g. play one sound on Komplete kontrol S49 and drums on another track on Maschine MK3 … plus triggering patterns from Jam. 👍🏼

AdelV

Chris, instead of slaying zombies, is hunting down bugs in Maschine. Biohazard: DAW Edition! Nice! 😆

MLARS

Nice seeing third party keyboard NKS support for the Komplete Kontrol plugin. And finally getting the ARP. Hope the upcoming expected M32 (or maybe a M37 keyboard), has the ARP and other internal features - maybe CV, Gate and Clock ports - working with the arp. Hopefully we will see an internal sequencer too.

IMO it is important to explore next how we can get NKS supported for third party hardware outside of the Komplete Kontrol plugin, for instance the channel strip and mix controllers with their own developed platforms where NKS could be a smart industry standard to make more third party FX plugins available as an option amongst the SSL and Softube first party offering. Currently the SSL Single Fader controller may be a possible candidate. Softube may be working on a similar hardware solution. The bonus is NI get more NKS FX plugins supported to use in Komplete Kontrol too.

The goal for NI should be to get Ozone (but also Neutron) to run with NKS macros on mix hardware like an SSL or (the very likely planned) Softube Single Fader controller. It just makes sense.

If NI is not planning to compete in this space, support third party to develop smart NKS solutions. Talk to SSL and Softube.

MLARS

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/208032#Comment_208032

Interesting feature for Kontakt too.

Impermanence

Somewhat disappointed. Only update for Maschine 3 is going to be custom chords? Nice that it is coming, but if you have read any reviews, people are kind of waiting for a bit more. No aftertouch?It has been teased for a while. So, what is the story with that? No conditionals or chance? Any lighter UI coming up? Old people need to see things too. Locks. Automating them,adding some nice colours and naming them. Skipping this midi routing nonsense to make any form of lock automating work..@Chris_NI I Would like to hear you here.

Nice that the plus is getting some love, but it feels like it is on the expense of MK3 users.

Any integration with Kontakt 8? It is really lame at the moment. Like really.

I hope bugs are fixed and stability is the main focus.

Sunborn

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/208024#Comment_208024

On the same page with @Kymeia and @Vagus dear @Chris_NI

We expected (and still expect) more for Komplete Kontrol.

If not new additions or unlocking some features very useful to us who create NKS, at least to bring back some options from the earlier version.

Thank you.

trusampler

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/208024#Comment_208024

.

This is beyond a complete let down I'm sorry, but I'm not at all impressed, they're not even adding the features that v2 had ? Likewise the list you have has been common knowledge what users decided over many years needed to be added. This shows they're not even trying to stay relevant.

What a shame.A major company like Native Instruments, how many developers do they even have on staff ? 1, 2 ?

Nyla

Excited to hear something is being done for maschine +

We really would like to see better midi for external gear. I should be able to sequence program changes, record automation for external cc, and have more than one bank of cc in standalone. I know it probably won't ever happen but being able to view automation lanes would be nice. Put my chip in for the beta program nonetheless. Also please fix kontakt. It doesn't load from saved projects. I know I'm not the only user with this issue. Native instruments without kontakt is rather pointless for those of us who use real world sounds in our music.

Beatsandmore

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/208056#Comment_208056

I guess being positive didn't work for us kontrol mk3 users we are stuck in the mud

ini4

@Chris_NI Thank you for the update. I agree with @BIF about using the Kontrol S Mk3 with Maschine 3. The ability to browse presets in Maschine via the Kontrol S Mk3 is sorely missing. Hopefully it's on the roadmap.

Beatsandmore

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/208056#Comment_208056

Might be more maybe 6 or 7 if you count them shuffling around.. this why they haven’t gave an update because there isn't real meat on the bone..

dogbreath11

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/41992/2025-outlook-maschine-kontrol-and-nks-hardware-partnerships

these are the things that make me happy, very happy…

1. maschine+ bounce in place (amazing to free up resources)
2. maschine+ working with other komplete products such as the fx range and kontakt libraries. how about reaktor ensembles like kontour, form, trk01, etc?
3. kontrol play assist arp

these things would make me even happier

1. side browser on komplete kontrol software like the one in v2.91, with tags
2. direct connect to other ni products such as massive, massive x, reaktor,fm8

LostInFoundation

It seems we still don’t want to see the truth of facts:

NI has very limited manpower. They can work at only one thing at a time.

Last year it was Kontrol time. They released MK3 (deceiving) and tried to recover working on “updates” (deceiving), if we want to see recovering what has been missed as updates.

And Maschine users felt neglected

Now they released Maschine 3 (deceiving) and they announce more work (coming really too late) on it (deceiving).

And Kontrol users feel neglected.

I’m not too surprised. I started admitting to myself NI’s situation is this now long time ago (inability to work on multiple things without making users waiting ages…and in a proper way).

What I’m more worried about is that even in this “we focus on one thing at a time” situation I had to use so many times the adjective “deceiving”… and that many things we thought (or hoped) that were already been tested from long time are still announced as “we are launching beta test” (or even worst “we WILL be launching it in beta” or not even started working on). And that we can not believe anymore that those beta (or work on) will be fast… we must wait ages even in this one at a time situation

LostInFoundation

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/208028#Comment_208028

It means they are only in Maschine desktop software. The fact that they can be captured in MK3 and M+ in controller mode is only because they control the desktop software.

The only hope is that at least M+ is part of “Other Maschine hardware devices” that “can use the new chords for playing”. We must satisfy ourselves with that limited hope

Percivale

Just like Synthstrom Audible Deluge and Ableton Move, when a use case cannot be handled - just resample! Bouncing to audio is just the same isn't it (standalone device point of view). For me, it is a crude workaround to overcome limitations of the device (by design or otherwise). Imagine monitoring the CPU meter periodically to tell you when you should start to resample. Also, when you "bounce" to audio, you lose (or have to store elsewhere) those granular components that made it (sans MIDI I guess). It might impact anyone's workflow.