Dev question - what 0x values are the piano light strips?

I'm working on a project that integrates MK3 S Series keyboards with Synthesia and would like to tap into the light strips of the piano keys.

Can someone from the dev team give info on the 0x values to control them?

I currently have an S88 MK3 keyboard that I am testing with.

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Sunborn

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/49828/dev-question-what-0x-values-are-the-piano-light-strips

Hello,

If you are looking to take manual control of the Komplete Kontrol MK3 light guide via MIDI, the MK3 operates a bit differently than the MK2. While it still uses MIDI CC or SysEx messages (depending on the mode), the "0x" (hexadecimal) values for colors follow a specific logic.

The Color Logic (Hex Values)

The MK3 light strip uses 7-bit MIDI values for standard CC messages, but for high-fidelity color control, it typically maps to a specific indexed color palette or raw RGB values via SysEx.

If you are sending standard MIDI CC data to the Light Guide:

Velocity/Value Range: 0x00 to 0x7F (0–127).
0x00: Off (Black).
Specific Indices: Native Instruments usually maps these in blocks. For example:
- 0x01 - 0x0F: Shades of Red/Orange.
- 0x10 - 0x1F: Shades of Yellow/Green.
- 0x20 - 0x3F: Shades of Blue/Cyan.
- 0x40 - 0x5F: Shades of Magenta/Pink.
- 0x7F: Bright White.

MIDI Implementation Details

To address the lights directly, you generally use MIDI Channel 15 or the dedicated DAW/Accessibility port.

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Important Note!

Unlike the MK2, the MK3 series relies heavily on the MIDI 2.0 standard and the NIHW (Native Instruments Hardware) protocol. If the keyboard is in "Default MIDI" mode, it may not respond to the old MK2 SysEx tokens. You often need to put the device into "Integration Mode" to see the full RGB spectrum.

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Sunborn

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/49828/dev-question-what-0x-values-are-the-piano-light-strips

Hello,

The Color Logic (Hex Values)

The MK3 light strip uses 7-bit MIDI values for standard CC messages, but for high-fidelity color control, it typically maps to a specific indexed color palette or raw RGB values via SysEx.

If you are sending standard MIDI CC data to the Light Guide:

Velocity/Value Range: 0x00 to 0x7F (0–127).
0x00: Off (Black).
Specific Indices: Native Instruments usually maps these in blocks. For example:
- 0x01 - 0x0F: Shades of Red/Orange.
- 0x10 - 0x1F: Shades of Yellow/Green.
- 0x20 - 0x3F: Shades of Blue/Cyan.
- 0x40 - 0x5F: Shades of Magenta/Pink.
- 0x7F: Bright White.

MIDI Implementation Details

To address the lights directly, you generally use MIDI Channel 15 or the dedicated DAW/Accessibility port.

Important Note!

pr0jectile

Thank you for the detailed response @Sunborn! That's very helpful.

Just out of curiosity, I'm trying to get some version of this script working with the MK3 series (not my script by the way, just trying to fork it):

https://github.com/ojacques/SynthesiaKontrol/blob/master/SynthesiaKontrol.py

Here's a quick set up video for the MK2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fCx9_58kjU

I'm able to make the connection into the light strips on the MK3 now by sending using 0x82 which seems to control the light strip above the piano keys instead of 0x81, and the device id being 0x2120.

When Synthesia app + python script is running, the light strips are acting properly. Synthesia is sending the MIDI notes properly back to the light strips.

However, MIDI messages are not being sent back to the computer from the hardware and none of the other buttons, wheels or inputs work from the hardware.

Is this because of the NIHW protocol or is the script not set up to properly use the right commands?

Or does this script accessing the hardware and changing values 'hijack' the device with HID write() functions?

Your input is greatly appreciated here!

Many thanks once again.

Sunborn

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/254962#Comment_254962

I'm afraid that this is "too deep" for my current knowledge… 😀

You need an expert and @EvilDragon is the only one i know.

pr0jectile

It would be good to get some insight into this, maybe alternative methods of connecting into the MK3 hardware via Python or as an Xcode project using Apple's developer kits as there is limited resource available from my search from Native Instruments.

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