Komplete Kontrol S series MK1 keyboards End Of Life

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Comments

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,454 mod

    I think there are a few misunderstandings here.

    It is no longer supported, yes. That means no new features, and no additional support for bug fixes or improvements after having added features like VST3 and Apple Silicon.

    It is still functional though, exactly as it is today. And will be so indefinitely, either in MIDI mode, or using KK 2.9.4.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,454 mod

    This is a very fair point. I can suggest this to the team and see what they say.

    To be transparent, this decision was not made to entice MK1 users to upgrade. Indeed, Kontrol S MK3 was built primarily for new customers who don't yet have a Kontrol keyboard.

    Certainly, some may wish to upgrade, but for everyone else, MK1 still works, and will still work indefinitely in MIDI mode or using KK 2.9.4, which as stated, we'll make available.

    The risk of issuing vouchers would be the perception that this decision was a money-grab designed to force users to upgrade, as opposed to a decision made with particular legacy libraries and frameworks that are no longer compatible with or supported by new features we're introducing or wish to build (ironically, by popular demand).

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,454 mod

    So - until very very recently, there were no reports of any serious Studio One issues, and we have thousands of Studio One users, so I would have expected to hear about such things.

    There is this one thread that is a little hard to follow (it even mentions non Native Instruments products) if I'm being honest, with unclear repro steps we've been unable to reproduce ourselves in house.

    Kontrol S MK1 and Komplete Kontrol 2.9.4 should be working fine here. And seemingly are for most.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,454 mod

    No changes to this integration at this time, but as the Kontrol S MK1 is being EOL'd, future versions of Maschine software will be treated as the transition from KK 2.9.4 to KK 3.0, meaning, no longer supported. We would not break existing things, just pause that version in time for those users as we have here.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,454 mod

    I just said this in response to another comment, but the suggestion to offer some sort of coupon is a good one I'll bring to the team.

    The delicate (damned if we do, damned if we don't) nuance here, is that the decision was not a money-grab, nor was it designed to get MK1 users to upgrade. Those keyboards still work exactly the same way tomorrow as they do today. Sure, they don't get new features, and if unexpected bugs emerge, would no longer see fixes, but the motivating factors here are outlined in the FAQ, and not to get people to upgrade if their existing keyboard is still functional.

    The risk in offering such a coupon or voucher is that then a swathe of users perceive it as a money grab. So it's being considered, but I just want to be transparent and expose what goes into such thoughts.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,454 mod

    "KK 2.9.4 has been rock solid for months and months"

    This is what we see and here from our user base. Bugs and instabilities are infrequent, but of course can happen, and we tend to hear about them here.

    There are no widespread Studio One issues reported by the community, but there are one or two reports here.

  • Vocalpoint
    Vocalpoint Member Posts: 2,670 Expert

    @Matthew_NI

    Thanks for the update. I am certain that I would have heard something by now as well - but have not. This one thread sounds (until someone can really clarify) like an isolated incident and without a true repro - it can't even be called a bug right now.

    All my NI stuff works perfectly in S1 6.2.1 and I will be sure to give it all a good run in 6.5.1 as soon as it's released.

    Cheers

    VP

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,454 mod

    Download links are download links. They're not restricted.

    KK3 will continue to see new feature improvement and investment, so while it may not be for everyone, it will be for most, and will continue to grow.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,454 mod

    If there was truly a critical issue affecting a huge swathe of the community, unfortunately and unexpectedly timed right as we announce EOL - then worst case we might have to consider a temporary rollback internally to a branch, try and pull in a hot fix, etc etc, but this becomes a can of worms.

    I'm hoping there is nothing here, as certainly we are not seeing anything there.

  • Vocalpoint
    Vocalpoint Member Posts: 2,670 Expert

    100% guarantee this one thread (here on the NI boards) is just that.

    If I see anything even mildly related to anything NI and Studio One 6.x - either from the Presonus forums to the FB Studio One groups - I will be sure to swing in here and post it up for the crew.

    There are literally hundreds/thousands of users in the Presonus forums alone that use KK everyday - and all is quiet over there - even with S1 6.5.0

    VP

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,454 mod

    I'll own all of this: the decision, the announce, the timing. The buck stops here, and you can @ me with you feedback.

    What I will say, is that the announcement is intended as a forewarning not to upgrade to KK3 when it comes out. And so I thought it prudent to do in proximity to KK3.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,454 mod

    This is true. That said, I can understand some of the consternation, so I'm here to try and help work through that.

  • Matthew_NI
    Matthew_NI Product Team Posts: 1,454 mod

    Nearly ten years, and post VST3 and Apple Silicon, the Kontrol S MK1 with KK 2.9.4 should continue to work indefinitely.

  • PoorFellow
    PoorFellow Moderator Posts: 4,831 mod

    Maybe I do not understand enough about your business and I do not know enough anything about your computers or your setup, so this is just more of a question than an actual suggestion ! : But could you not 'just' make multi boot with two copies of same OS on same computer and then have one boot be with the old KK 2.9 and the other with the new KK 3+ ? Or couldn't you add another computer to setup if you do not want to have multi.boot (of course another computer is a great expense , hence the multi-boot question)

  • AbbateEntertainment
    AbbateEntertainment Member Posts: 19 Member

    @Matthew_NI Thank you for taking the time to respond to this and to many others. It is more than appreciated.

    In your responses you continually say the mk1 will continue to work as-is after 10/12. This is not entirely a true statement, especially for those of us who have additional NI hardware (ie. KK mk2, 3, Maschine mk2, 3, +, etc) that also rely on KK. We have to decide if keeping the legacy functionality of the mk1 by continuing to use KK v2.9.4 is worth not receiving the updates, enhancements, and compatibility upgrades to KK v3.x for our additional NI hardware.

    For those who only own a KK Sxx mk1, this isn't a big deal. But for studios like ours that live and breathe in the NI ecosystem, it is not an easy issue to tackle. We have plenty of other non NI "midi only" controllers. Turning the mk1 into just another one of those is not a good solution for our team and our students (who have been learning on these boards for years).

    Anyway, anything you can do to assist those of us in this situation would be extremely helpful.


    Thank you!

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