Any difference on MK2 after update to 3.0? My observations

MyStudioOne · 2023-10-12T14:51:33+00:00

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Hello fellow MK2 users...

Having just given 3.0 a test drive with my MK2, here are my observations at first blush...

Midi page exactly the same.
Search/Preview now matches Kontakt which we already knew from preview videos.
Multi's the same (i.e. light guide activation between one instance and another can only be done with mouse click on orange box).
There seems to now be a very noticeable lag between previewing and searching on the keyboard and what you seen on screen (the window is MUCH slower now).
You can't resize KK search window (bottom right resize button) like you can on Kontakt 7. I do find that surprising. I guess that mean that the changes to the Komplete Kontrol "window" or "container" are only cosmetic? Anyone at NI interested in clarifying this?

As far as I can tell, there is no real benefit to me from updating to 3.0 that makes it worth bricking my MK1 into midi mode.

It seems that all the functionality benefits are built into the hardware which is not surprising to me, really. But still I am interested to see what differences and benefits others can find? Maybe I missed something crucial. But I am already thinking of reverting back to 2.9.4.

EDIT: Actually I now find myself quite annoyed. I kind of feel cheated. I spent 1600CAD on my S88 and for literally years I have been dreaming of KK 3.0 (with significant improvements) only to finally find/realize that my MK2 functionality/integration has been entirely leap-frogged by 3.0! Apart from being made backwards compatible that is which is more than I can say for my MK1.

😒

System:

Windows 11 PRO

AMD Ryzen 9 5950X

64 GB Ram

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Dave Schulze

Per #5. I assumed that "ADDED Support for HiDPI mode(s)" would mean we could resize/scale the Komplete Kontrol app interface which it appears we cannot do unless the loaded instrument is Kontakt (or other). In this case, we can resize the loaded item, which resizes KK. I had hoped/wished/assumed that the update KK would be scalable with the Zoom option as in Kontakt 7.

B.Minor

Dear Guys from NI Development Team,

what were you thinking when you decided to present such an "inkomplete" (and from my personal point of view even downgraded) KK version to the public? I'm really more than disappointed!

Obviously now the space for displaying actual preset names has shrunk even more, and there's no way anymore to display these NKS preset names (e.g. for direct selection via mouse) side by side with the currently selected plugin view and its parameter details. In fact, the user must always toggle between two different views - destroying the whole flow - when jumping between different presets in the list. That's really ridicolous! Please bring back the old style where the screen was consisting of two seperated parts, the browser window on the left and the plugin area on the right, both visible at the same time!

And any possibility for resizing the application window - like it is now finally possible in Kontakt 7 - is still not possible in KK by the EOY 2023? Please Guys, come on!

I'm really considering to go back to version 2.9.4 where everything was still acceptable and easy to manage. Yes there were no fency icon overviews available, but it was still effective and fast. I can only hope that the user database hasn't been converted (or destroyed at all) when launching V3.0.0 the very first time and now trying to revert back to the older version. At least the scanning process after launching the new version took about 20mins before all libraries - including custom ones - were finally appearing (which makes me think that there were actual changes in the database)...

PLEASE NI, I THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER!

YOUR LOYAL CUSTOMERS WOULD REALLY DESERVE THAT!

Vocalpoint

While I am disappointed by some of this early intel - I do appreciate the updates folks.

I believe I will stay comfy on 2.9.4 until such time that KK3.x gets some additional TLC. It sounds more than a bit rough right now.

Matthew_NI

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/99950#Comment_99950

KK will support resizing with all hosted content, not just Kontakt 7.

Matthew_NI

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/99958#Comment_99958

A lot of your thoughts I addressed here in a reply to another user.

As per what we were thinking: we'll hear from users who don't like the changes, but are confident in a great many more who do, and will (and tend to be less vocal). For instance, a majority of users browse on-device first, and rarely interact with the Komplete Kontrol UI using a computer keyboard or mouse. So this informed our initial approach. But we'll continue to iterate (something I mention in the linked thread as well).

B.Minor

One more thing I just figured out which doesn't work anymore:

Why you removed the possibility to edit all aspects of a customizable NKS user preset?

Why can only TAGS be edited anymore, but not PROPERTIES?

What is the aim of your approach?

I'm really more than upset now!

B.Minor

And another BANGER:

The categories seem to be gone forever, meaning that you cannot switch anymore back and forth between "VENDOR" and "CATEGORY" when looking for specific presets. This option is no longer available, neither in the KK application nor directly at your MK2 keyboard! I really think I'm tripping right now! This is by far the biggest downgrade I have ever seen so far for any NI application!

B.Minor

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/99967#Comment_99967

Okay Matthew, I'll have to take it for now.

However, it would have been very customer-friendly if NI had put an official warning to all the useres before taking such decisions on the general KK redesign. At least at installation time there is an optimal possibility to ask the user if he's willing to give up all the features that might have been set up before and will become unavailable.

Can you please tell me if it is safe to revert back to the older V2.9.4 version without destroying the existing user database (where categories were still included and user library properties editable)?

Thanks in advance.

Kymeia

You can't resize KK search window (bottom right resize button) like you can on Kontakt 7. I do find that surprising. I guess that mean that the changes to the Komplete Kontrol "window" or "container" are only cosmetic? Anyone at NI interested in clarifying this?

I know - but you can at least do this now to show more results (whether with NKS presets or samples) because the tags are now in a different position relative to the search results which does free up more space:

Kymeia

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/99995#Comment_99995

It is safe to do that, I have done this a number of times to test both side by side and compare them

Kymeia

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/99968#Comment_99968

Hopefully this is a bug and not a 'feature'

Kymeia

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/99958#Comment_99958

Yeah I hate switching between 2 windows. I would have liked to have a search window separate from the plugin window, I do think it works better at least that the plugin windows now resizes without it affecting the size of the search pane, unlike before that is a big improvement, however the search panel itself should also be freely resizable or possible to decouple it from the plugin windows to make it full screen

B.Minor

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/100003#Comment_100003

Hi Kymeia, thanks for your confirmation.

Before going back to the old KK version V2.9.4, I'd have another question related to the same topic:

Looking into the img_database directory now (after having upgraded to V3.0.0), I can see that - as per the KK 3.0 installation time today - all NI-owned library entries, e.g. for categories/colors/shortnames etc. have been entirely deleted by NI on purpose. Not sure why this was done without asking the user first.

Anyway, when reverting back to V2.9.4 (I guess the current application V3.0.0 needs to be uninstalled first, right?), will all the previous category/colors/shortnames information for original NI products be available again? In fact, will the deleted NI contents in the dist_database be re-created/re-installed as well?

It's really annoying having to deal with such topics, especially if these destructive changes weren't announced at all. But I have no other choice if I'd like to keep my usual workflow. Thanks for your support.

Kymeia

I’m not sure about that aspect so you might have to try reinstalling to find out. I hope so.

Yes a warning would have been good - I always keep a clone disk handy though anyway but a warning would enable people to back stuff up

B.Minor

Good news (at least for me): I was able to reinstall the previous KK version 2.9.4 successfully!

Thanks God, now all previous library logos/icons/windows/database features etc. within the KK application (and on the MK2 keyboard) are available again; and most of all, everything is fully working again as expected.

As it seems to me, V2.9.4 wasn't only the last supported KK version for S-Series/MK1 keyboard owners; that also seems to be true for users who are seriously intending to continue using their precious MK2 keyboard any longer, maxing out the possibilities to their full potentials. All these new "changes" in the new KK 3.0 release seem to be tailored to those useres only who are willing to grab the new S-Series/MK3 keyboard. However, NI forgot about the majority of loyal NI customers who purchased the MK2 keyboard recently and got used to the great features which could be achieved by using the recent application version. Instead of building up on these MK2 experiences, a totally new approach seems to be appreciated by NI. Personally I really cannot comprehend why most of the features from V2.9.4 should be gone now and probably won't get implemented in the next future - or at all (if reading NI's comments carefully).

So, again, here's a serious warning to all KK users who attempt to upgrade to the new KK 3.0 application version:

Currently this is NOT a good idea, unless NI has brought back all the mentioned functionality which has already been implemented before. After all, many users like me spent hundreds of working hours customizing our personal custom library setups, including custom logos, icons, categories and taggings which were all editable before. In addition, all KK-related manuals/tutorials/guides out there on the internet (either commercially available or free of charge from third parties) are still referring to these well-known features. As a MK2 owner you really have to deal with the fact that things won't be the same anymore in your workflow after upgrading to the new KK version V3.00. This situation might be okay for new NI customers not knowing about such achievements made already, but for sure it's not okay for all those customers who would have to give up on all these features after using them for a longer time. However, most disturbing to me is the degradation of this application without any previous warning, e.g. at installation time. Just my 2 cents.

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