Ask me anything: Kontrol S-Series MK3

Firstly - no need to apologize! You have valid concerns, you're asking fair questions, and they relate to the AMA.

It's possible we bring back a basic integration at some point, software only. But we have no plans to as of now, so I don't want to give false hope. MIDI mode only for now, with the transport functions coming from Maschine hardware itself, so we thought better not to replicate them.

The question of competition is an interesting one. Maschine does have competitors. One of them even makes a keyboard that's apparently putting us out of business (it isn't). But we don't see our DAW partners as competition - we see them as collaborators. Indeed, Maschine is often used within or in proximity to a DAW. The aim isn't to grow the Maschine business and put all DAWs out of business. If anything, I think we need to improve the way Maschine interfaces with DAWs.

And besides, in the context of the Kontrol S MK3, the number of users using our keyboards in the DAW is an order of magnitude higher than the number of users using them in Maschine. So that's why.

As other commenters have noted - this may not always be easy but transparency can be helpful or refreshing. I'll try and sort out one of these for Maschine later this year, once the keyboard is out the door, and we have some Maschine updates to talk about.

Yes and no.

Massive X

NKS2 is extremely dynamic. Not just all the parameter types, but the fluid navigation. Even for semi modular stuff like MX, where parameters come and go, NKS2 and Komplete Kontrol support the VST3 dynamic callbacks feature, so we could update parameter lists on the keyboard as they're shown / hidden.

However, I think the next update to MX will be small, and get NKS2 to at least the macro workflow, rather than a larger overhaul. That would not be conducive to from scratch on the keyboard, but rather preset modification. That team just came off Guitar Rig 7, and is busy with a lot of upcoming stuff I can't talk about yet. Would be nice to see MPE, Poly AT or both.

Old Kontakt Libraries

We're updating some, but not all. Prioritizing the libraries with the most active usage.

Ashlight

I don't think there are more sample packs planned right now. Or are you asking to visualize those samples on the keyboard or something?

We weren't the first, nor the last, nor should it be seen as a race to adopt new operating systems or chipsets. It has to be done right, and well. Oftentimes, issues with a new OS or chipset persist up to and far beyond their launches. Oh the stories I'd tell about some of the hurdles we've faced if I wasn't bound by strict confidentiality to such manufacturers.

Nor can one compare apples to oranges, every product is different. Maschine and Komplete Kontrol are standalone applications, plug-ins, and hosts of plug-ins. They're also related to one another under the hood. When updating to newer environments, the number of variables increase exponentially when you consider them as hosts of plug-ins. For Komplete Kontrol, a user could host literally any one of thousands upon thousands of VST plug-ins. Each one of those plug-ins could be on a different version of the VST SDK, or contain any number of incompatible frameworks, or other issues in relation to the host environment. So such tech transitions for us are as much about identifying issues and working with hundreds of partners on a 1-1 basis to resolve those issues, as they are about us updating ourselves. Add to this the fact that we're human, and our implementation efforts took a serious hit week after week for months on end as Covid made the rounds.

All to say - I'm sorry it was incredibly belated in your estimation. I'm proud it was done to a high degree of quality at the time it was done, inclusive of helping hundreds of other companies through the transition to avoid passing issues on to users. I don't expect anyone to see the complexity as an excuse, it is simply the case that such continued investment is both important and literally what we do in the service of maintaining and supporting our products. Adding support for major formats, operating systems and bug fixing isn't development? 

🤔

You also deserve to hear this: I completely understand why you're frustrated. You want more out of us. You and the community has asked for more, and heard very little back. We're not trying to be offensive, we're a team trying our best to prioritize, in the service of making better products for you, the user. As I've said, we'll get a Maschine event of some kind scheduled, hopefully later this year when we have some stuff to talk about.

Stay tuned. If we do, it won't be this year. But it's definitely an idea that's on the radar.