Komplete Kontrol S series MK1 keyboards End Of Life

The fact is the following, and that is the point of the users who register criticism here: Nobody buys a KK keyboard just because of the hardware. The purpose of the product is to integrate hardware and software as seamlessly as possible. And that's why people spend a lot more money on it. The main feature is the management of sounds. Unfortunately, after years, there is still no good user preset management. The minimum would at least be to integrate this perfectly and to make KK software run further for MKI users. I suggest that 90% of the users who invested in the product would never have made this purchase decision if the scenario I described had been known beforehand.

You do like gatekeeping other people's reactions and projecting what you believe they're thinking and saying. That's what I'm asking you to stop doing. I'm not being "emotional and irrational", quite the opposite. I've made a calcualtion that NI will continue to treat their customers in this fashion unless we actually stand up to them and demand decent service and support their products and meet promises they made when they marketed these products. They didn't do that.

You don't get to tell me or others that's no acceptable because you have no stake in this having decided to acquiesce.

I agree with many of your points but I don't need you telling me what I can and cannot say to. or expect from NI, nor do other customers who hold similar viewpoints to mine.

@chk071

But, the problem does not lay in that that one cannot use MK1 with KK3. It would be fine, at least for me, to use MK1 with KK2 and newer NI HW (like Maschine Studio, Jam, MK3, Mikro, ....) with KK3 on one computer.

And also be able to use MK1 (not in MIDI mode) and newer NI HW in future Maschine versions...

That’s what I was trying to convey about “dumb” controllers which require software layer to function. By buying those, we put ourselves at the mercy of manufacturers who do not think about us, instead they think about profits and selling new models.

Never again will I buy a controller which cannot function 100% standalone with all the functionality onboard.

Does the Mk3 have any integration with Maschine yet? I've only watched the Loopop video and when he did that it had none.

@Kubrak

"NI tries to do the same. They could support MK1 in their SW. Yes it would cost something and would not bring revenues. At least not in short run. But maybe it would bring revenues in long run."

Look - I am not disagreeing with anything you said.

This is how business works. Companies exist to make money - nothing more. They make decisions on areas that affect their own financial health. And unless you run a company like this where these decisions need to be made - good or bad - we all really have no idea what is going on.

All we (customers) can do - is decide if we want to deal with it (buy the product), not deal with it (don't buy the product) or abandon it for something better (dump the product).

I would challenge you on the quality angle. I have no issues with the quality of my S61MKII. I do have HUGE issues with the "quality" of KK3.

I will also challenge your "way too soon" comment as "way too soon" (whether you want to accept it or not) applies to us MKII guys too - for the foreseeable future.

Let me ask you this - IF KK3 did support MK1 right this second - would you even install it? Would you actually have the patience to deal with this severely broken piece of software with key features missing, crashes a plenty and whatever else is going on in there. Would you really commit to sit around for a year (or possibly more) for KK3 to stabilize while putting up with this crash fest that whole time?

I am 100% convinced that most (if not all) would not.

IF KK3 was a true game changer, worked as advertised and really represented "got to have it" value - some of this MK1 frustration might make sense. But right now - any sane MKI/MKII user would not get 2 minutes into a KK3 session before trouble hit hard - and they would be back to 2.9.4 in a heartbeat. These "rollback" threads from MKII folks are everywhere.

I won't even go near it, and it is "supposedly" supported for my board.

VP

@Kubrak

"I am OK if MK1 will stay on KK2 to the end of its life.... I just want to use MK1 to full its capabilities and at the same time to use other NI HW (namely Maschine controllers) to its full capabilities on one computer"

Understood. Again, not disagreeing with you.

But unless NI decides to rewrite the KK layout for your specific use case - you already have your answer.

VP

@Kubrak

"Anyway, if NI does not solve the situation, I will not buy any NI HW anymore and cut spendings on NI SW to half or so"

Makes perfect sense to me. If you do not like that way something is playing out - at least make a decision.

But how about this - until such time that your worst fears actually come true (you keep speculating/assuming/predicting the same MK1 EOL fate is going to happen to Maschine) worry about that if/when it happens and just carry on for now?

VP