NAMM 2025: Introducing the NKS Hardware Partner Program

Kaiwan_NI
Kaiwan_NI Administrator Posts: 2,908 admin
edited January 22 in NI News
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Hi everyone,

If you've been following the news about NAMM 2025, or are lucky enough to be attending, you might already know there's plenty to look forward to. Our Chief Product Officer, Simon Cross, took the stage today to share some big news from Native Instruments, and I'm super excited to share it with you all!

Meet the NKS Hardware Partner Program

We're making it easier than ever to explore new sounds with the launch of the Native Kontrol Standard (NKS) Hardware Partner Program.

Many of you are familiar with NKS as the technology that allows third-party plugins to be pre-mapped to Native Instruments hardware. Now, with the new Hardware Partner Program, we're extending the NKS ecosystem to include third-party hardware. This means hardware manufacturers can integrate seamlessly with Native Instruments software, making your creative process even smoother.

Our first hardware partners

We're pleased to welcome Akai Professional, Novation, Nektar, Korg, and M-Audio as our first partners.

If you own any of the following keyboard controllers, you'll soon be able to use them with Komplete Kontrol software to access over 1,800 NKS-compatible instruments and effects. 

  • Akai Professional: MPK Mini, MPK Mini Play, and MPK Mini Plus
  • Nektar: Impact LX MK3
  • Novation: Launchkey MK3 and MK4, FLkey, and SL MK3 controllers
  • Korg: Keystage controllers
  • M-Audio: Oxygen Series keyboards 

This feature will be included in the next Komplete Kontrol update, so be sure to stay tuned.

Special content for MPC Users

We've also teamed up with Akai Professional to bring Native Instruments' content to the MPC platform. You can purchase some of them now at our webshop. 

  • Five MPC Expansions: Drum kits and sample packs reformatted for seamless control on Akai MPC hardware.
  • Five MPC Editions: Instrument plugins developed from our Play Series, custom-designed for MPC users.

Free Komplete 15 Select for new NKS-ready hardware owners

Soon, when you buy any NKS-ready hardware, you'll receive Komplete 15 Select at no extra cost. Depending on your music style, you can choose from one of the following editions: Beats Edition, Band Edition, or Electronic Edition.

Looking ahead

We believe the future of music tech lies in collaboration and interconnected tools, and this is just the beginning. Our ecosystem will continue to expand as more top hardware and software developers come on board. 🪩

If you have any questions about the NKS Hardware Partner Program, leave them in the comments and Simon Cross, our Chief Product Officer, will answer them in the upcoming community update. We've been putting a lot of effort into this partnership program, and while the community update is a little later than usual this quarter, we really appreciate your patience!

What other NAMM 2025 announcements are you excited about? Drop your thoughts below.

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Comments

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,623 mod
    edited January 22

    I wanted to create a space for questions and commentary on one of our NAMM 2025 announcements.

    Specifically, the start of what we intend to be a long and fruitful partnership with our friends at Akai. See below:

    —

    "AKAI Professional and Native Instruments have announced their collaboration to unlock new creative possibilities for musicians, producers, and creators. Owners of a current AKAI MPC are in for a treat: Today, Native Instruments releases three exclusive software instruments for the MPC, with more to follow.

    The MPC Edition Play Series, which is exclusively available for the MPC, is designed to offer an accessible gateway into NI’s extensive software catalog. These instruments pair high-quality presetswith intuitive controls. At launch, the series comprises the instruments Analog Dream, Cloud Supply, and Nacht, with Homage and Sway following in February 2025.

    In addition, AKAI Professional and Native Instruments have announced exclusive MPC Expansions. Faded Reels and Hazy Days are available now; Lone Forest, Global Shake, and Rare Vibrations will follow. All Expansions have been optimized for the MPC workflow and consist of one-shots, samples, tempo-synced loops, and customized effects chains. The MPC Edition Play Series and the new Expansions are available through the Native Instruments online store.

    —

    If you're curious for more specifics, here's a link to some coverage of the announcement.

    I've also linked some videos to see what others like Loopop, Bolo, Low Heat Beats and others have to say.

    —

    Please note that we're continuing work on Maschine 3.1 (inclusive of Maschine Plus support). This announcement is entirely separate.

    For additional follow up, I'm tagging in @Chris_NI and @Jeremy_NI .

  • MaikR
    MaikR Member Posts: 371 Guru
    edited January 22

    Glad you’re exited.

    But I won’t be looking forward with you.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,623 mod
    edited January 22
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/205498#Comment_205498

    I'm not sure I understand. Do you have a specific question?

  • darkwaves
    darkwaves Member Posts: 453 Guru
    edited January 22

    Why is this posted in the maschine section? It seems it should be over in NI news.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,623 mod
    edited January 22

    A lot of people own or use both products - so I thought it relevant to post here. That's all. Note that it is covered here too:

    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/41658/namm-2025-introducing-the-nks-hardware-partner-program

  • Hit-Man
    Hit-Man Member Posts: 31 Helper
    edited January 22

    So... Native Instruments has partnered up with the Maschine product lines biggest competitor…Akia MPC... to sale more sounds to their users.

    I'm pretty sure that that the biggest buyers of the NI sound expansions are Maschine users. Is Native Instruments trying to replace the Maschine users that buy expansions with Akai MPC users so Native Instruments can discontinue the Maschine product line but still have a base to buy all their sound expansions?

    Why would Native Instruments partner up with Maschines main competitor?

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,623 mod
    edited January 22

    @Chris_NI can fill you in on the plans for Maschine Plus moving forward. I believe it starts with an update to make it compatible with Maschine 3 software.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,623 mod
    edited January 22
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/205511#Comment_205511

    In reality, we're talking about, and to, the same end users. A lot of people use both products interchangeably, or collaborate with others who use one or the other. Making sounds consistently available to people no matter where they are is generally a good thing, right?

    Between this, and some larger efforts also announced here and here, my hope is that you can see a commitment from NI to be less of a "walled garden" and more open to working with everyone and everything.

    It really isn't about competition, so much as partnership. The NKS program has already created thousands of compatible products from hundreds of companies, even those end users might consider as direct competitors to NI. The reality is that with so many competing DAWs, formats, standards, etc, the more companies can come together to offer a consistent user experience, the more folks can focus on what's most important here: making great music.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,623 mod
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/205514#Comment_205514

    It is receiving an update soon. @Chris_NI can share the details.

  • PK The DJ
    PK The DJ Member Posts: 2,186 Expert

    At the very least a reduced price for NI customers who already purchased the Play Series instruments would help to reduce the bitter taste of the pill…

  • Cretin Dilettante
    Cretin Dilettante Member Posts: 220 Pro
    edited January 22

    Right, but why do Akai users get all of this stuff before your existing customers? Are we getting -any- of these instruments or expansions? Why/why not? This is honestly a huge middle-finger to everyone who has already invested in the Maschine ecosystem.

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