Ask me anything: Kontrol S-Series MK3

I'm so disappointed in you NI, so many Mk2 users have been waiting for a mk3 with faders, pads and knobs that we could use to expand our creation ... But no, you just released a "Mk2 v2" !!!

I'm keeping my S88 mk2 !!

I truly don't get it, after so many years, that's all you could come up with ??

I wonder who in your company took the decision to release that, please give use his name and bring him on a live show so he can explain ****** happened, or even better to tell us the reasons he didn't listen to his customers.

You should take example on ARTURIA, they sure do a better job than you listening to their customers.

No point in upgrading from mk2 for me. No interest in niche PolyAT. So many mk3 gifted YouTube videos highlight existing mk2 features as if they are some great new mk3 innovation.

Not all of us want the thing cluttered up with more controls that would be midi only and would not integrate with NKS and honestly, for $30 odd you can get a korg nano fade to fit the bill if needed. No one wants cheesy pads on a high end keyboard, makes it look like a toy IMO. People need to stop expecting a single tool to do every job on the planet. A Swiss Army knife sux as both a knife, screw driver and bottle opener in real world usage…

if you have an MK2 then there is not all that much to really entice an update and I don’t think they planned to make it attractive to existing users, many would be glad they aren’t missing out on a whole lot and can still consider the MK2 a useful tool and only a few will bother to upgrade, however new users will appreciate the simplicity but depth of what NKS and the daw integration can offer since that is what it does very well.

will never please everyone.

Please confirm it is the same keybed and just the aftertouch strip has been replaced with the polyphonic strip:

https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/ff/f0/64/710132c38f6af0/US20210005174A1.pdf

Ok so they have changed out the aftertouch strip with a strip that has individual switches. https://1drv.ms/i/s!AvpkfFAMxJosgfVfdOC_trtPK75HSw?e=Zj2jD3

But the actual keybed is the same!

If you look at the patent, the strip of switches is the same size and location, as the aftertouch strip.

https://1drv.ms/i/s!AvpkfFAMxJosgfVhHGgFwrI1atqsQw?e=wHjR9x

so it's a direct replacement stip. Locates the same way, only difference is each key now hits a switch instead of the 1 piece foam strip.

Here is my old post on the noisy key issue: https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/1437/s88-mk2-noisy-keys-fixed-instructions#latest

so are we going to see the same defects appear after one year with this new MK3? noisy rattly keys?

My pre-ordered Kontrol-S61 MK3 shipped yesterday from MusiciansFriend.com finally. However today the status was switched in the UPS.com tracking to ‘returning to sender’. Just Got a call from MF…….They are telling me that they got a recall notice from NI and had to recall the KK61 MK3?

Agree. Checked other sites after I posted this comment and no one was shipping yet so I came to that conclusion as well.

One more day and I would have had one 'early' so to speak lol. The guy at MF said "What can I send you instead' and I said "um.... nothing! I want this new controller when it releases!!"

Count me in as another user who doesn’t want pads or sliders on a Kontrol keyboard. For some people, the “ultimate” keyboard includes every possible feature (basically the equivalent of a toddler activity center for adults), and there are plenty of options out there if that’s what you’re looking for.

What I find appealing about the Kontrol S series is that it’s focused on being a great keyboard with a display and a set of controls that are never in the wrong position — this is why it’s essential to only include buttons and endless knobs. Sliders are out, because motorized faders are expensive and endless knobs can do the same job just fine. If you want actual faders to control your DAW’s mixer, there are better tools for that job (like Softube Console 1 Fader) that don’t require you to be in front of your MIDI keyboard. (Consider the fact that the S88 is so large it may be impossible to put in front of your computer display, where you want to be when focusing on mixing.)

As for pads, the ones included with keyboards are mediocre at best, and I suspect most people don’t use them. My view is if you really want pads, you want good pads, and will likely prefer to use them at a different angle anyway.

I am concerned about the loss of Maschine integration. Not the dedicated buttons — those really don’t make sense, since most Kontrol users don’t use Maschine. But they definitely need to re-enable the transport controls and NKS control of instruments and effects in Maschine, and I think it’s very likely that will happen.

I do think the loss of dedicated mute and solo buttons was a misstep. Sure, you can show mute buttons on the screen by default and use shift for solo, but now there’s no way to directly select a track, so you’ll be clicking left and right on the main encoder a lot.

But otherwise, I think they made good choices in terms of which hardware controls to include, and which ones to leave out. The big display and its buttons have a lot of potential for additional functionality that can evolve over time (whereas physical controls can never change).