Kontrol S88 Keyboard MK3 Accessibility Features Rolled out yet?

Hi Native Instruments,

I am a blind, award winning songwriter and producer. I have been using Native Instrument products for the last ten years, and I was so excited to purchase the MK3 keyboard with assistive technology. Your advertising clearly states that the accessibility functions were going to be made available in 2024 for this model, as they are available for the MK1 and 2.

I just received my keyboard today and tried to set it up, only to realize that the accessibility features are in fact, not available at this time, and there's no definitive release date offered by your company. This deeply concerns me. Can you please advise if I should immediately return this keyboard? Since without the accessibility function, I will have no use for it. I have been terribly mislead by your organization.

It has come to my understanding that the MK2 could be useful for the accessibility features. Is that keyboard and support even available anymore?

Looking forward to a timely response,
MDM

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Accepted answers

Jeremy_NI

Well, to answer this simple question. It's not rolled out yet but it's coming soon and I believe it's already in Beta. @marvin moore @blindaudiodev et me know if you wish to participate, maybe I can forward your emails to the team to include you in this round?

timrae_NI

It's coming out next week :)

All comments

mykejb

Hey Marvin - there's a thread here where @Matthew_NI comments on the state of the latest updates -

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/46550/from-a-blind-composer-and-producer-thanks-for-robbing-the-blind-community

The updates are close to release, and there's also a contact person given in that thread who deals with the beta program which you might be interested in. The person to contact is @Chris_NI

PoorFellow

I can give no guarantee that what N.I. delivers will fit your particular needs/situation or that it will be delivered in a 'timely fashion' , but N.I. do tell that accessibility features is being very much upgraded and that it is being worked on and in 'beta' now. However then the only 'safe bet is to test something that is ready available.

The direct link for Matthew_NI's answer is here.

Vagus

Deleted. Someone had already answered, but the new forum setup is awful, so I didn't see the replies.

JesterMgee

Yeah this new forum is honestly garbage! I love how each release NI make these days seemingly just makes things worse and alienates those of us that have been big supporters over the years.

To the OP, sad state of affairs for this situation to drag on for so long. Hope is there but it's a clear sign of a company that is completely understaffed and over extended and it's losing customers and generating an all time high rate of user dissatisfaction.

Matthew_NI (on leave until November)

Regarding this comment:

situation to drag on for so long. Hope is there but it's a clear sign of a company that is completely understaffed and over extended and it's losing customers and generating an all time high rate of user dissatisfaction.

I agree that implementing accessibility for Kontrol S MK3 has taken longer than desired.

I also agree that having more staff would enable us to build more things more quickly.

But we have the people that we have. Those of us on staff are very, very busy working on all the right things in the right order.

And in fact, we have more active users than ever. Each month is a record high, even when compared against older versions of a product (Kontakt, in my case). That's thanks to increases in new users, as well as better retention amongst existing users, and upticks in returning users who'd previously left us. All of which correlate with the significant increases in satisfaction we've seen in various quarterly and annual surveys, other measures like Net Promoter Score, and even the issues and sentiments reported via Customer Support. People have particularly responded to the increasing cadence of updates across all the key product lines.

Ironically, that sometimes works against us. If things are going well, then powers that be may at times determine additional help isn't needed, given the efficiencies of the present. Which cycles back to the first two points on which you and I agree. I'd love to get more done more quickly, but we're getting the right stuff done in the right order.

I say all of this to say only that: you have a particular bias here; you represent a particular slice of the experience that hasn't been great, of late. You (understandably) want some particular updates made to the Kontrol line, that you're aware are coming, but are unhappy at having to had to wait for. Again, you know I agree with you there too. But please don't assume that you speak for the entirety, is all.

LostInFoundation

A couple of your paragraphs are particularly worrying …

Even MacDonald’s hamburgers are eaten by way more people than the ones that eat well done, well cooked, well thought and complex meat dishes…

That doesn’t make them a better and healthier dish… just the one that sells more…

JesterMgee

Would have thought more active users would generate more income that could be invested in more staff to support the more products and users to deliver updates faster and better.

From the outside of the black box there is a shrinking team that appears to struggle to spend dedicated time on any one product line. Going from days where there were teams per product line, sounds like it is down to just 1 team. Downsizing coupled with as you mention, more active users and less real-time support means all that income is going into someone's pockets then…

blindaudiodev

Do forgive me chiming in here, but I was alerted to this post as my username was shared in this, so I thought I'd share what's happened with me and where I stand currently.

Yes, I'm now back using K15 collectors edition and an s61 mk3 but this is with an environment under test, I cannot disclose any further without permission.

I had contacted NI customer support due to a matter I won't discuss here, in doing so, asked for a little help regarding a previous offer I had missed out on, had explained my disability and the need for particular solutions and my last hardware setup knowledge / usage. I received an email some time later from an NI member of staff which changed my direction for the better, so I hoped. I trusted in this member of staff's knowledge and ability to look in to what issues there may be with my particular needs, but in our communications, at no point did this person state that the S series MK3 keyboards were at the time inaccessible.

I was examining a solution that could have appeared viable, but this particular setup turned out not to be and this is a product marketing issue within NI. Allow me to draw this to your attention please. I was considering taking on a maschine mk3 for the reason of controling Komplete Kontrol software directly and possibly controlling the DAW also (Logic Pro 11), and this was assumed by the various product deals where a maschine mk3 could be purchased with any of the komplete bundles, now of course, part of the bundle is komplete kontrol. However, Something stopped me in my tracks when I started to research an issue I was worried about, it led me to a direction that stopped this particular solution and here's why. I did not want to go down the route of owning yet another keyboard, I would have rather just used the Maschine Mk3 hardware to natively control KK and logic in DAW mode, but that's not possible due to a design and marketing choice. I would have rather connected my master stage piano, a nord stage 4 88 to the maschine and do all the major work between the two pieces of hardware. So, I then found myself having to research things further and my plan wasn't viable.

I started examining the current range of native instruments Kontrol keyboards. the M32 initially could have been viable, but no MIDI IN socket, A series, same thing. I had the chance to feel the keybed of an A series and didn't want that feel, so checked out the S series MK3, because the MK2 was discontinued long ago. Now I've used the MK1 S88 and MK2 S88 so know the quality, etc, but also know the challenges as a pianist where a triple pedal comes in. either way, workarounds, not much of an issue. At no point could I find anything that exposed that the S series MK3 systems were no longer accessible to blind musicians, no official announcements, nothing on product marketing, etc, so I ordered an S61 MK3 and it arrived, registered it, set it up, updated firmware, etc, now that's a problem because the firmware updater can't work with a screen reader, why doesn't it surprise me? I had everything ready to go. then started running my fingers around the surface, to find a few buttons missing from the MK2, didn't make sense. So, off to the pdf manual with VoiceOver I went. Something didn't make sense to me. This made me feel vulnerable and threatened my work. Why? throughout the entire manual, compared to the mk2 manual, no mention what so ever of accessibility mode, tools, etc. At first I thought it was a print error.

So I started digging, the more I started digging, the more I felt physically sick. then an interesting page, a Native Instruments webpage labelled "Accessibility Helper", which can only be found by a search internally. Right at the bottom of the page, a little paragraph informing anyone reading this page that S series MK3 products are not accessible and a solution would be available in 2024. But we're in August 2025 now. So I reached out to my contact, who I've developed a bit of a working friendship with, discussing some solutions, highlighting some accessibility problems I noticed and sent over evidence to prove this. This time however, the email I sent was sent in pure horror and panic, to which a 2nd email later apologised for my wording and response. However It did not excuse NI from undertaking something so critically and fundementally harmful as removing accessibility resources from a new product, knowing that these products change the lives of people with sight loss. This action was and is to this date, damaging to the brand and should never have happened. but I have experience of this having worked for a number of manufacturers whether in the music industry or other technologies, so I'm qualified to say this.

I then found myself in an uncompromising position. I had already started some project involvement with an NKS partner I had business with years back and a few other matters on the go that required my time and attention. I had to notify those concerned that I may have to temporarily stop work due to a serious issue. an inaccessible system, a system vital to what I'm doing that is supposed to be accessible and isn't. I felt sick, hollow, empty. Everything I've tried to work so hard for, fight for for a number of years, came to nothing as a professional musician, because of this.

so I requested a refund for the software upgrades and sent the master keyboard back to my supplier. refund for the keyboard came through fine. refund for the software took 5 email requests to confirm it, then someone else emailing me instead. fine. But this led to something…

days after the email confirming refund of the software, etc, I get an email confirming an invite to a particular group, no, not a centercode dev group which I've requested access to for some time as an experienced specialist and this WAS raised in a number of emails to my then contact but it was all brushed off, promises to speak with lead development, someone on accessibility, all promises that had no weight or guarantee, proving nothing but trying to get rid of me or shut me up.

The position now is this, I can't officially comment on the knowledge I possess as I don't want to get certain people in any bother. I'm not here for that. Instead, all I can say is that there is a way forward and soon, things will all iron out well.

Now, let's go over the mistakes that caused this screw up in the first place.

1: information provided highlighting requirements and accessibility needs were not examined by case handler.

2: Solutions examined did not raise a flag where an accessibility issue was of concern - hardware solutions internally known not accessible but customer was never informed of this.

3: Knowing I am a developer and technical specialist, no effort was made by case handler to send me to any centrecode management or pages to register to Komplete Kontrol Access, etc and in doing s, caused escalation of situation which caused me harm.

With these issues, there's lessons to be learned. but I think the first most critical lesson here overrides the above. When developing a product / solution that already has accessibility solutions that "work" with some limitations. DO NOT kill off the entire system, launch new products and FAIL to inform users of this move. This is a dishonest action.

You promote NKS and Komplete Kontrol as an accessible solution and have done since 2016 where I was part of this as an early adopter for R&D work within my studio and dev lab at the time. What you must understand is that regardless of company restructuring, staff changes, etc. Executing design changes that critically impact the lives of blind and visually impaired musicians, it is harmful.

What you need to realise is this. You are a game changing company for blind musicians, you have made the outstanding effort to roll out something that in it's initial concept has proved that if a manufacturer of keyboards, synths, etc could make a solution accessible and viable without third party dev intervention, you've achieved it. The only problem was that when the apps in question were developed, there was no screen reader compatibility, such as VoiceOver for MacOS. The signs of change came when Native Access launched, then screen readers like VoiceOver could interact with the app, but still, nothing with KK or Kontakt or guitar rig.

Today, Native Access provides 99% accessibility with a minor bug or two which has been shared. Komplete Kontrol 3.5x, Kontakt 8.5.1x and Guitar Rig 7x have the foundations of screen reader compatibility, but it's an unfinished work. Yes, VoiceOver can navigate the basic foundations, but it's missing details such as list groups, buttons, object descriptors and a reading order error. These can be fixed and it doesn't take too long to do so, you don't need to rewrite the entire system, you just go in to the UI and examine the interface build, going through buttons, windows, tables, window layers and look for the missing details. I have a video showing these problems and it's available on request.

So, a little friendly advice. Please do not attack me for raising awareness of a critical mistake on the part of NI, when in fact it's an international Disability and equalities law matter to do with providing accessible solutions. When you started development of this solution, you nailed your colours to the mast, you were respected, admired and given the opportunities rightfully deserved. This move which became a hidden issue to consumers affected by this has raised alarm bells. Your marketing hasn't helped you in this regard, you haven't been honest ane made public announcement on your website without extensive digging to say that this is the current situation and we're fixing it and here's how. You've left people in the dark.

I can forgive you for that, knowing what I know now and testing that's on the go, but 2 years of this, is harmful and damaging. Please learn from these mistakes. We as a blind community are here to help you, not put you in a corner, we're here to guide you because of our experience in this industry.. Professionally, I've been in the music industry for well over 25 years, from a working musician and chorister, to a studio engineer and studio owner / producer, but also as a software engineer for accessibility solutions.

This is all I'll say on the matter. If an internal member of NI wants to reach me PRIVATELY off list to discuss this further, I welcome it. I do not believe in fire fights and I am not here to start a ware, I'm here to solve a problem that exists and offer my experience that some companies have respected and taken on my methodologies, training and consultation. Trust in what users like me tell you, you'll go much further. Sometimes you have to learn what's broken by seeing through someone else's eyes before you can fix it.

lew

blindaudiodev

Hi Marvi,

You and I have both seen this, so have many others. I come from two professional sectors, firstly as a musician and compser / studio owner, but also from a software engineering and accessibility background. Let's put it this way, 25 years and more of being fully blind (nothing but black) and witnessing the music industry as it was and is today, you learn a few things, but you also seek ways to change things for the better.

I got caught out with this too. The harm it caused, nearly destroyed a professional relationship with NI. I was an early adopter with the s88 mk1 and komplete ultimate at the time. I saw where the bugs were and joined the then developer beta programme in order to advise on fixes and solutions. they were ignored in favour of new releases, etc. I was even told to "Shut UP and put up with it" by a then member of NI and I couldn't believe my ears. Over time I kept pushing this, but ran out of steam, then a family tragedy happened and my studio was closed down and sold, it's only now I'm back with NI hardware and software, but at what cost?

Yes, to my knowledge the MK2 would still provide you with support, but they're no longer available new.

What I can say is that the MK3 feels so much better, does offer a lot, but there is a solution on the way. When I OFFICIALLY know, you'll find out. I'm sorry you've gone through this as have others. It practically broke me going through this hell, to expose what's been going on. yep, the marketing raising awareness of this was down to a single entry on a web page, nothing other, other than digging through the NK3 manual to find all accessibility references erased.

Let's see what happens.

lew

Jeremy_NI

timrae_NI

It's coming out next week :)

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