Kontrol S61 Mk3 not transmitting midi note info to NI Kontakt software

Timmy Ray

Hello there. I have a new Kontrol S61 Mk3. I have not been able to get the S61 keyboard to work with my MacBook Pro via USB-C. The keyboard will not transmit Midi note information to the Mac / Komplete Kontrol or Kontakt. The virtual keyboard in Kontrol plays sounds via the mouse and the app shows the keys being pushed, but the S61 is not showing keys being pushed on the virtual keyboard in the app and no sounds. The screen browsing on the S61 is operating normally and will even play demo sounds when I scroll through presets like it does in the app, I understand that the browser menu data from S61 is not actually midi. I have tried everything I have read about including configurations, tried Komplete Kontrol alone, reinstalling software, fresh install of Sequoia and settings on the S61 and the Mac audio-midi setup. The S61 appears in all Mac and Komplete Kontrol menus where you would expect it with the check mark.

The odd thing is that I have a newish Mac mini (M2 with Sequioa 15.3.2) and I installed Komplete Kontrol, Kontakt and the S61 works perfectly fine with it. I have spent a lot of time trying to figure this out and have read everything I can find about solutions. Thanks.

mykejb

The usual reason for that is the the keyboard hasn't been enabled for MIDI input in the MIDI preferences inside Kontakt/Komplete Kontrol. That gives the symptoms you described, and you're correct about the browser not being controlled via MIDI.

Another reason can be if you've switched the keyboard from MIDI 1 to MIDI 2 in the setup but not deleted the MIDI device inside the Audio/MIDI preferences app on the Mac. That confuses MacOS and can look like there's no MIDI getting to the apps.

Try something like MIDI Monitor to see if there's MIDI coming from the keyboard - https://www.snoize.com/MIDIMonitor/

PoorFellow

How to Switch a Kontrol S-Series MK3 Keyboard to MIDI 1.0

Please notice the additional steps for Mac OS.

mykejb

The usual reason for that is the the keyboard hasn't been enabled for MIDI input in the MIDI preferences inside Kontakt/Komplete Kontrol. That gives the symptoms you described, and you're correct about the browser not being controlled via MIDI.

Another reason can be if you've switched the keyboard from MIDI 1 to MIDI 2 in the setup but not deleted the MIDI device inside the Audio/MIDI preferences app on the Mac. That confuses MacOS and can look like there's no MIDI getting to the apps.

Try something like MIDI Monitor to see if there's MIDI coming from the keyboard - https://www.snoize.com/MIDIMonitor/

PoorFellow

How to Switch a Kontrol S-Series MK3 Keyboard to MIDI 1.0

Please notice the additional steps for Mac OS.

mykejb

Yep, that's the bit about deleting the MIDI device in the Audio/MIDI preferences app on the Mac.

Whether you're running the keyboard in MIDI 1 or MIDI 2 doesn't matter as it works perfectly in both. You just have to delete the MIDI device if you change modes.

timrae_NI

Whether you're running the keyboard in MIDI 1 or MIDI 2 doesn't matter as it works perfectly in both

MIDI 2 support is still not great in OS and DAWs, so at this point in time it's still strongly recommended to use the MK3 in MIDI 1 mode for optimum system stability.

mykejb

It still works ok with MIDI2 as long as the OS supports it, although the MIDI1/2 issue might not be relevant. @Timmy Ray what OS are you running on the system that doesn't work, and can you confirm if you're running MIDI1 or MIDI2, or if you switched between the two?

Timmy Ray

Resolved. So I had Midi 2.0 in the software but not on the keyboard. I thought I had tried this, but apparently not, it fixed when I rebooted the keyboard to midi 2.0. Thanks mykejb for the solution!!!

mykejb

Excellent, glad you're up and working!