The accessibility rabbit hole and where we are today. Can we fix this?

blindaudiodev · 2025-07-14T07:27:30+00:00

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Hello NI users and NI product developers, support staff and senior management,

I am submitting this post in support of blind and visually impaired Native Instruments customers / End Users who are facing many challenges within the current conditions of Native Instruments Komplete software and hardware. These issues are of concern and have existed since 2016 where they have been reported and raised, yet never resolved.

My reason for publishing this document is to raise awareness and insist that Native Instruments Product Designers / Developers take this matter seriously, because I and others can no longer support a company if they ignore urgent requests over the years for fixes that are needed in order to allow equal access to the blind community. This isn’t just some optional afterthought, this is a legal necessity ever since official development and launch of Komplete Kontrol and it’s hardware was first released with these feature sets built in. As a company actively endorsing accessibility development, you are actively involved and legally committed to providing integration for assistive technologies. Ignoring requests from users in order to come up with the next big thing, demonstrates an alarming concern. So, with this article I will set the foundations for what needs to be and must be addressed.

I am dividing this article in to entries rather than a single long page post to make this document a little easier for some to read.

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blindaudiodev

Introduction:…

Since the introduction of Komplete Kontrol and the 1st generation of S series keyboards, we witnessed the start of something exciting and life changing. The first itteration of a spoken environment for a hardware controller and software instrument environment that allowed a blind user to navigate a series of instruments and libraries by touch, using an S series controller. It’s evolution provided more means of creativity, a workflow which allowed users for the first time to be able to use a DAW like Logic Pro X as an example, or Protools series systems with a hardware controller and instrument software interface to encourage creativity and an accessible approach by spoken feedback. Changes which came with the MK2 series controllers and now MK3 controllers also, meant that functions like DAW control for mixing and project control made the interface more flexible. It has shown that there is a way forward within the Music Industry to encourage accessibility methods to mainstream hardware and software solutions.

The NKS standard, which is where Komplete Kontrol and Kontakt 8 sets itself apart from other ecosystems, provides blind users with a unique approach to a hardware meets software interface approach. NKS partners developing their instruments with NKS level integration allow us to use software we never thought possible before. I would personally have given anything for systems like this in the late 90’s to early 2000’s where I was studying music, just think how the music education sector would have been then. Today, the NKS platform with more partners joining with NI, NKS partner instruments and libraries offer instruments and tools that make live performance and music production exciting, engaging and provide us with indpendence, which is important to us.

Today The NKS system does open doorways, but not every software developer or instrument developer is in the position to move to the NKS platform due to financial costs that mean the end product price would be elevated further and in doing so, would mean that end users would be affected by significant costs for NKS integration. I understand how that affects developers in their choices to achieve their design objectives.

I know of an amazing gentleman, someone I am proud to know and call a hero, a gentleman who develops third party NKS scripts for developers who are not NKS partners. His work means that blind musicians like myself, can integrate with third party instruments and get the best out of solutions without sighted help in most cases.

Until end of 2023, Native Instruments produced hardware and software working together to provide the blind community of musicians, whether as students or even professionals like myself with solutions that allowed us to create content, whether it’s just jingles, or work for professional clients, bands, etc. With the launch of the MK3 series Kontrol S keyboards however, I was only very recently made aware of this to my total horror, anger and disgust, that Accessibility functionality was REMOVED WITHOUT NOTICE from S series MK3 hardware. A web page surfaced, but is hidden within the layers of the NI website, which is this… https://www.native-instruments.com/en/specials/ni-accessibility-helper/ A very short paragraph informing customers that a replacement accessibility solution was due to be released in 2024. As we’re now in July 2025 and blind users are not informed by any official notice, updated content, etc, they’re purchasing this hardware to find no assistive support and trapped or having to seek a refund. This now demonstrates a very concerning and dangerous precident for what may come and we cannot accept this.

blindaudiodev

The Accessibility Challenge:….

OK, We talk here about how NI’s Komplete Kontrol and NKS structure provide “an accessible environment” within music production. This is true, but it doesn’t fully focus upon navigating the User Interface and making the effective changes needed in different setups. Let us not forget that when someone invests in Native Instruments products for this particular application case, a person with sight impairment or sight loss is investing not only in the software platform, but also in the hardware platform to provide the degree of accessibility needed.

In examining the challenges of accessibility integration, let’s examine what we currently face within the NI platform…1: Komplete Kontrol software associates only with proprietory hardware controllers which comprise of the S series Mk1, MK2 and MK3, A Series and M32. There is no accessible way of providing control via a third party master controller keyboard.

2: Although Komplete Kontrol ITSELF provides a spoken interface (let’s not confuse this interface with a screen reader), there is no full support between Komplete Kontrol V3.5x and Kontakt 8.5x with screen readers which include by the very nature, the screen reader “virtual cursor” to navigate the User Interface via keyboard navigation and mouse navigation if you’re using that method. In the present itterations, Komplete Kontrol, Kontakt and Guitar Rig show very minimal support for a screen reader, as you’ll witness in the videos included in this article. Screen readers like VoiceOver for MacOS (which I’m demonstrating this premise from), cannot navigate sequentially and in doing so, do not have access to controller, object and window descriptors, etc. You will hear this and see this in the navigation video for Komplete Kontrol, Kontakt and Guitar Rig.

3: A critical part of the interface is the “Preferences” window. There is an ongoing critical concern that has not been addressed for several years, where this interface layer does not work at all with screen readers like VoiceOver, it has not done so since the early itterations of Komplete Kontrol. Today, the latest build still has this alarming issue and is echoed in Kontakt 8, Guitar Rig 7 and Maschine software. As blind musicians and producers, we are asking the same question every time… “Why is this not accessible to us, and Why isn’t this being addressed?” As part of GUI design and product functionality before point of sale, testing should have spotted this point straight away. We cannot understand as end users, why this simple yet critical window which contains all the Audio settings, MIDI settings, library management and plugin management tools, etc, has not been made accessible to screen readers, is still not accessible to screen readers and to us who feel this every day, feel that it will not be addressed at all.

4. To current date, Kontrol S MK3 series products no longer provide accessibility support, this was removed within the firmware and certain functions removed from the controller’s logical design compared to MK2 models. This means that as of late 2023 onwards, Kontrol S MK3 series controllers are NOT accessible to the blind community. This has been verified, yet to this day, no public announcement as to why this happened, no fixes made available to this date, a private beta programme only allowing access to particular testers only, so in nearly 2 years, a product that’s supposed to be an accessible platform which NI made it’s name from 2016 onwards, is no longer the case. The only piece of evidence stating from NI is on an accessibility helper page stating that a release is due in 2024. we are now july 2025 and no release or significant fixes. Marketing content for NI has not been updated and no public apology.

These issues, being the main highlights, are fixable issues. Look at the difference between Kontakt 7 and 8, 8 now has the potential that a screen reader can navigate successfully, as proof here shows, but the button functions, window function elements, etc aren’t coded fully, data is missing, descriptors missing, etc, it shows that an initial attempt has been made, but no one’s actually sat there and fully gone through all the object layout and said “we’re missing this bit of code, lets fix it.” run the tests, find other button descriptor or window desriptors, window objects to interact with, then fex them. It’s not an intensive job, you don’t need to go from the ground up and start from scratch with Komplete Kontrol, Kontakt 8 and Guitar Rig 7, because the main footprint and framework is there.

The accessibility framework for maschine however, that’s where things are of concern. To use a helper app as an external framework doesn’t give true support, yes it allows the Maschine hardware the ability to have functions spoken, but that’s just it. The main user interface is the app itself, so a screen reader cannot navigate the user interface itself. The same is said for the preferences window as per my previous comment above. Using a helper app means further resources running in background, setting up a login process for the helper app to start on login if you’re going to set your workstation up in that manner, etc.

blindaudiodev

Maschine as a Komplete Kontrol compatible solution:….

I was considering moving to the maschine MK3 as a master controller thinking it would take control natively of Komplete Kontrol / Kontakt… Only to find that the Maschine MK3 cannot do this. In my expert opinion, when you start selling a Maschine MK3 as part of a bundle with Komplet Standard, Komplete Ultimate or Komplete Collectors Edition, only to find that if you need to use Komplete Kontrol Natively with Maschine as a controller interface, You CAN’T. This is a bad business decision and an accessibility model that shouldn’t have gone ahead. If you want products to work as part of an ecosystem, they should work together, there should not be a creativity barrier or functional barrier between using Komplete Kontrol and a maschine MK3 to navigate libraries, using it as a controller interface for editing sounds, using it with midi in from a master keyboard to have a full workstation config where your master keyboard can send what you want to komplete kontrol to play instruments and use the Maschine for the recording side in a DAW, etc, you should be able to treat maschine hardware and software in the same way as that of Komplete Kontrol and the hardware keyboard controllers, it should be a fair and equally accessible ecosystem. All the maschine MK3 is doing is working as a separate tool to it’s own software and misleading customers who want to buy this as a setup, thinking that komplete kontrol could work with Maschine MK3. when it doesn’t. It makes no busiess, musical, developer, marketing or end user experience sense and needs to be addressed. The fixes are obvious. Add the support for Maschine hardware in to Komplete Kontrol and add firmware functions in to Maschine hardware to interact with Komplete Kontrol and work as a DAW controller also. If you want your ecosystem to work effectively, rather than some business practice decisions or cost efficiencies, then think of what customers want and need, consult with customers and ge to know workflows better. the answers you’ll get will stun you. I was researching Maschine compatibility with Komplete Kontrol before I was about to proceed, good thing I didn’t do so.

blindaudiodev

Native Access:….

The one environment I love as an installer manager that beats anyone else hands down. Finally an environment that does make setting up easier. Being a K15 Collectors edition owner with an s61 MK3, this setup process was better than I’ve dealt with in older configurations. Native Access has most of the tools and functions needed, to get you going.

There are a few minor things though that could do with being examined here…1: There is a screen reader bug when adding licenses manually. the first window speaks everything just fine because the focus is on that window, but the success / error window does not have a focus to it, can only be spoken if you’re enabling mouse pointer to speak text / objects )used for dev work). If we could fix that little bug, Native Access is perfect in that regard.2: Batch serial number loading as an option… If a third party developer offers a bundle, example here being Orange Tree Samples, you could have over 30 serial numbers to add, why not give the user a batch serial number import function? would make a little extra sense.3: a way to transfer all libraries and content to an external drive including backing up preferences files, etc so that content can be stored on an external SSD for mobile use, etc.

blindaudiodev

Hardware integration solutions:…

When you think of hardware and software integration, you’re thinking that a certain bit of software and hardware will work together just fine, sometimes it isn’t quite the case. If you put Komplete Kontrol with say, a Nord Stage as a midi master controller, it wouldn’t take control of Komplete Kontrol because of the controller assignments and structure used, which is a proprietory interface method. That in itself is a great sales tool, but sometimes could be seen as a trap.

As someone who’s worked in studios, both as a studio owner and operator for other studios and bands as a recording engineer, I’ve known the hells of certain environments and the horrors of certain setups. I’ve worked with some really exciting systems that weren’t even spoken, but because of their design language and methodologies, they worked the way I wanted them to work, but we’re talking equipment no longer manufactured. Today’s environments are computer driven, yeah, that’s great, don’t get me wrong, but the computer can sometimes take away the creativity from a tactile perspective. That’s why control surfaces play a great part in mixing, but some of the barriers show their ugly head with certain DAW’s like Logic Pro as an example. You could be mixing a session but the master fader which should be coupled to the master fader in logic, isn’t, it could be coupled to the final bounce bus but isn’t. Aux automation, like creating a send volume curve for a reverb ride, can’t easily be achieved with some control surfaces, due to outdated mackie control protocols from yesteryear, that’s just part of the barriers we face.

I’ve been thinking about a few matters to do with our Komplete Kontrol Series instruments and two products missing from the solution scope and noticed something… well a few things really, that’s based on design language and user efficiency.

Now if I gave someone a blindfold, sat them down in front of a kontrol S 61 or S88 as an example (MK3), then asked them to feel their way around the interface, I’d ask them to tell me what they think of the layout. From a tactile and workflow side of things from someone who sees nothing but black and has for well over 25 years, I notice things that people who can see, don’t notice., so, with a little help, and some calculations, etc, I came up with some viable solutions to solve some marketing headaches…

The S series MK3 has a layout that in my hands doesn’t make fluid sense. There are certain buttons that should be inverted in position, like the buttons above the master encoder, should be below, there are 8 buttons above the LCD, should be below encoders for easier reach and tactility, etc. I worked out a solution for the next generation keyboard, but this goes further. I’m thinking of not just blind and visually impaired users, but sighted users as well. The display itself I can’t draw comment on, but what had me thinking was this… If you’re working at a production setup, the display’s flat, so if you’re looking at the display, you’re bending your neck and your posture isn’t quite right. a good solution would be to do like some of the old workstations used to do, either cast a wedge form for the display to sit in so the display projects forward by say20 degrees or something like that, whether the encoders follow suit or be set either side of the display vertical, would offer a different tactile experience. but this is where things could go. a tilting display so the end user has a better experience of using the system either sighted or visually impaired. The renderings I include here show a merged platform which is both Maschine and Komplete Kontrol, bht what you don’t see is the inclusion of an audio interface. now, ok the S49 isn’t shown here, but a rationalised design could be done here with the s49 but keeping the pitch / mod controls in the same place as the MK3 current spec, so that certain other functions could be installed and not impact on the main UI.

Two new product ideas from me, based on experience, looking at business models and missing solutions. I present The Master Kontrol and Kontrol MIX. These two solutions combine the functionality of the kontrol S series interfaces with an inbuilt audio and MIDI interface for the Master Kontrol, this product is for anyone who doesn’t want the hassle of owning yet another midi master keyboard, but wants the Komplet Kontrol functionality, portable, USB powered and provides the user experience you need without the problems of expense and space of other hardware in the way. The Kontrol MIX system expands on this by providing a ribbon based fader system for DAW projects where mixing should be about tactility. OK not exactly a blind friendly option for ribbon method, but from an operating cost side of things compared to 100mm flying faders, etc, this offers a modern concept for a mobile studio setup for a touring musician, producer, composer, etc.

I hope that what I am discussing here can provide some influence to Native Instruments Product Design and development leaders, execs, etc and show that though there are existing problems, there are solutions.

I am available to assist Native Instruments if required, just send me a private message if you are an internal representative of Native Instruments.

Thanks for reading this and watching the content. I appreciate your time here.

Many thanks.

Lewis.

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