NAMM 2025: Introducing the NKS Hardware Partner Program

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  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,623 mod
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/206263#Comment_206263

    It's important to separate into categories here:

    NKS has no licensing fees whatsoever, whether that be a Kontakt instrument, or a plug-in.

    Developing for Kontakt may sometimes involve a licensing fee, but that's a separate matter.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,623 mod
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/206268#Comment_206268

    The only thing we can do moving forward is continue to build and release things. It has not always been smooth sailing in the past, I agree.

  • LostInFoundation
    LostInFoundation Member Posts: 4,711 Expert
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/206273#Comment_206273

    Sorry but…

    In the past AND in the present…

  • TVbene
    TVbene Member Posts: 24 Member
    edited January 24
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/206179#Comment_206179

    What are these user mappings for other keyboards? I could not find anything with the link you provided. I know that KK software has MIDI learn for a few functions. But I lost interest in that when I could not find a way to control the 8 KK parameters with relative MIDI messages from my rotary encoders. Would be great to know if there's another way.

  • oobe79
    oobe79 Member Posts: 138 Advisor
    edited January 24
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/205704#Comment_205704

    Man, I’m so late to this “party”. But more than anything or anyone else, these two diametrically opposite viewpoints pretty much sum up the current meta on Native Instruments.


    I think it’s clear that:

    1. @Matthew_NI and all other NI Community official NI employees care, deeply, about the products they are creating. To this end, LostinFoundation’s post is over the line.
    2. The existing user base is divided into two vocal camps- those who are obnoxious loyalists and fanboys and those who just want NI to be what it was in 2012-2019.
    3. The release of the MK3 keyboards was an exercise in user frustration and anger and added to the ill will that had already been building towards NI. There is simply no two ways about it. I don’t care how much “big data” says otherwise.
    4. Currently the customer service NI provides to its customers is quite bad and far below industry leaders in this area.
    5. It is probably true that NI cares more about the next customer than the existing one. Their strategic planning is going to be based on that. If the scales tip too far towards that direction, however, there will be a reckoning. There has never been an example of this strategic planning ever working out differently in the retail space. My guess is NI strategic product development people are smart enough to know this, and they will do enough to keep existing user base happy. Their BIG challenge, then, will be how to make navigating their ever-expanding ecosystem in a way that isn’t overwhelming. It’s already overwhelming.
    6. I disagree that opening up NKS (essentially NKS1) to third party hardware equates to abandonment of NI hardware development. These are not mutually exclusive goals.
    7. MK3 S-series keyboards should have shipped with a touchscreen, goddamnit!

  • MLARS
    MLARS Member Posts: 183 Pro
    edited January 24
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/206381#Comment_206381

    2. Agree, I'm one of the customers who liked the company more in the 2010s (but the severe mismanaged tech debt was clearly showing even here).

    3. Agree. I own the S88 MK3 and after more than a year it still haven't received all functionality (where is the internal ARP engine?), Kontakt 8 still do not connect properly to the S88 MK3 in Cubase 14, and the Kontakt compatability mess for MK2 owners really had bad optics.

    7. Agree. Touch screen would be nice - I add to that detachable desk control unit (keybed beneath the desk, control unit with the touch screen on the desk).

  • TVbene
    TVbene Member Posts: 24 Member

    Oh. So after watching the loopop video about Akai & NI it seems like this support for KK just means that the already existing „MIDI learn“ is preconfigured for these keyboards? Well then I‘ll just repeat loopop‘s feature request to also support relative MIDI cc for the parameters. And another one: in the software please show the value of the parameter that currently gets tweaked. Like it happens when using the mouse.

  • oobe79
    oobe79 Member Posts: 138 Advisor

    haha voted down by, assuredly, one of the so-called obnoxious loyalists who can’t be honest about NI

  • TVbene
    TVbene Member Posts: 24 Member
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/206388#Comment_206388

    I‘d probably buy the detachable desk unit …or they could finally let us use Maschine to control Komplete Kontrol.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,623 mod
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/206397#Comment_206397

    The first version is relatively simple, yes.

    That'll ship soon.

    In the coming weeks, we'll also be releasing an update (similar to our NI Hardware Connection Service or NI Hardware Agent, if you're familiar with those) that will allow 3rd party hardware partners to go a lot deeper into the NKS experience. How deep they go will also depend on the limitations of each particular piece of hardware.

  • PoorFellow
    PoorFellow Moderator Posts: 5,398 mod
    edited January 25
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/206381#Comment_206381

    Matthew_NI and all other NI Community official NI employees care, deeply, about the products they are creating.

    Very true

    The existing user base is divided into two vocal camps- those who are obnoxious loyalists and fanboys and those who just want NI to be what it was in 2012-2019.

    That's an oversimplification in the extreme. Besides then please stop calling people obnoxious.

    E.g. I can not recognize myself in this , even if some consider me "loyalist and fanboy" then while I surely am 'a N.I. fan' and of course to some extend is loyal then I don't pretend that everything is fine and dandy if it is not. I think that there is a lot of difference between meeting with a positive attitude towards N.I. and being a "loyalists and fanboy" in the sense that you are painting it.

    The release of the MK3 keyboards was an exercise in user frustration and anger and added to the ill will that had already been building towards NI. There is simply no two ways about it. I don’t care how much “big data” says otherwise.

    I do not think that anybody will claim that the release of the MK3 keyboards were without problems (to say the least)

    Selected quotes from Matthew_NI,Product Team, 3:05 PM , 2024-02-19

    As frustrating as this is to you, it is also to us.

    I'm sorry that some of you choose to blame us. I recognize that it's deeply frustrating, but I cannot change the facts of the matter that I've outlined above.

    Currently the customer service NI provides to its customers is quite bad and far below industry leaders in this area.

    I think that N.I. customer service is rather good and that N.I. is allocating a lot of resources to it. My own viewpoint is that the real problem is that far too many resources have to be used on the Native Access problems that some people experience.

    It is probably true that NI cares more about the next customer than the existing one.

    Again very much an oversimplification building on your own viewpoint. New customers I am sure do not agree if they experience shop problems. And the 'existing customer' resentment that you are trying to 'channel' here stems from various sources rather than from just one reason making it all a much more complex discussion than what you are trying to make it.

    I disagree that opening up NKS (essentially NKS1) to third party hardware equates to abandonment of NI hardware development. These are not mutually exclusive goals.

    Agree (These are not mutually exclusive goals.)

    MK3 S-series keyboards should have shipped with a touchscreen, goddamnit!

    I think that each type of solution will have it's strength , a touch screen might have been cool, but would most likely have added a lot to both build cost and also added to the overall cost of software development , and then on top of that then if you want a touch screen then probably next complaint will be that the touch screen needs to be bigger and so on. Anyway , I think that it would have been incurring too great costs to add a touch screen.

    P.S. Perhaps we are all (myself included) straying a bit too far off the topic here : NAMM 2025: Introducing the NKS Hardware Partner Program , and ought to get back to topic.

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