new NI Kontrol S Mk3

[RABid]

26 minutes ago, zephonic said:

why assume an on-board interface would be worse?

Because my cheap Apollo interface cost more than the keyboard controller, and my good Hammerfall system cost A LOT more.

[stoken6]

9 hours ago, Reezekeys said:

Hell, add a built-in clip or holder for the tablet while you're at it, or make a keyboard with a flat surface tilted towards the player and some way to affix the tablet.

Of course. Now you're cooking on gas!

 

Cheers, Mike.

[zephonic]

30 minutes ago, RABid said:

Because my cheap Apollo interface cost more than the keyboard controller, and my good Hammerfall system cost A LOT more.

 

Sure, spend 3x the $$$ and get something better. (incidentally, which Hammerfall system are you talking about? RME? that's a PCI card right?)

 

But IME, the difference in quality is not much of an issue when you are running it on a large stage with 8 mics on the drums, another 4 on percussion, 3 or more vocal mics, a mic on the guitar amp, and 7 wedges, you catch my drift.

 

Honestly, I leave the RME at home now, and just go from the 3.5mm jack on away gigs. Having an audio interface built into the controller, though, would be a strong selling point for me. On gigs where they have a Montage/MODX 7 or new Fantom on the top tier, I use those as audio interface, with local off.

[Reezekeys]

1 hour ago, zephonic said:

Yeah, I looked at the NanoKontrol as well. How do you like it? I'm gonna give TouchOSC a try first. I need patch switching for each song, main volume control, and a few sliders for adjusting individual levels in split keyboard patches.

 

I have the original one with nine channels of buttons & sliders - the current ones have eight; not so good if you need drawbars to control a Hammond clone (but the sliders are pretty small, and of course have no detents so it's kind of a mixed bag - better than nothing, I guess). The original NanoK will not send midi program change commands - just controllers (and maybe MMC too, I forgot). Not a problem with my Bidule setup, but if you need to send PCs to hardware it could be. Not sure about the current NanoK but I think it also cannot send PCs.

 

I have TouchOSC, used to use it on an older iPhone. I set up a layout that controlled an EQ in Bidule and started a sequence that played some instruments in my setup. This so I could walk around the room and adjust the EQ. After a few gigs of always landing on the same EQ setting I didn't bother, but it was fun to see the look on people's faces when I waved my arms from the back ot the room and surreptitiously tapped "play" on my phone!

[AnotherScott]

4 hours ago, zephonic said:

tick a Komplete Audio 2 in these controller keyboards, add $100 to the price, and it makes a pretty compelling all-in-one solution. If that $100 is an issue, make it a cost option and see how the market responds

I guess in a way, it already is a $100 cost option... buy the Komplete Audio 2 and velcro it to the top of the controller.

[ElmerJFudd]

On 9/13/2023 at 5:44 AM, zephonic said:

 

Actually, revisiting this: one of the things I do not like about using the headphone jack on the MBP is volume control with the f keys. I really prefer a fader or knob for master volume control when I'm playing. To that end, if I have a Motif or Fantom on top, I run the audio out from the laptop into the audio in of the keyboard so as to tactile level control (although the extra stage of ADA is not great for sound quality).

 

It's another reason I'd wanna have audio IO on a controller keyboard

So something like Keylargo would be good as it provides a physical knob for the USB audio’s volume in line with the knobs for your hardware synths.  And a master out volume knob, and a monitor volume knob.  

[ProfD]

23 hours ago, zephonic said:

Watch for the Zephonic XE controller, coming to you soon! (hey, a man can dream ya?)

 

I see/read your commitment.  Looking forward to it coming to fruition.😁

 

The NI Kontrol S will be priced somewhere between $750-$1300 USD. 

 

Seems like a lot of money for a KB with no onboard sounds and cannot plug and play.🤣😎

[felis]

Release velocity?

[AnotherScott]

2 hours ago, ProfD said:

Seems like a lot of money for a KB with no onboard sounds and cannot plug and play.🤣😎

 

I'd say not a lot for controllers with poly AT. 

 

I just wish it was geared a bit more for live performance, in terms of patch selection and sliders and maybe a 7x-sized offering, for example. Their market (just as before) really does seem to be DAW focussed, and more specifically, those DAW users whose primary sound sources will be Kontakt and other NI ecoystem software. But realistically, that may well be a bigger market than gigging players (and/or a less competitive one).

[ProfD]

11 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

I'd say not a lot for controllers with poly AT. 

There are fully functional KBs with Poly AT within the same price range.

 

Modern controllers are geared towards studio users moreso than live performers. 😎

[AnotherScott]

4 hours ago, ProfD said:

There are fully functional KBs with Poly AT within the same price range.😎

Off-hand, the closest thing that comes to mind is the ASM Hydrasynth, and even that's a stretch to say it's the same price range (NI 49-key is $749, vs. $1299 for the 49-key Hydrasynth).

[Doerfler]

5 hours ago, ProfD said:

Modern controllers are geared towards studio users moreso than live performers. 

 

  100% in NI's case

[johnchop]

I’m filing this in the “it wasn’t made for me” category.

 

I still don’t get the value proposition of the Kontrol.  The host still won’t layer VSTis, will it? (Kontakt multis, yeah, but not multiple instruments?)

 

And its core benefit is as a preset browser for companies that provide NKS info?

 

Am I missing something?

 

polyAT and four (!) pedal inputs is the coolest bit for me, but total package feels short of “versatile”, which is what I’m looking for at this price point. 

[Geoff Grace]

From my perspective, the biggest benefit of this series over other controllers is that the light guide shows Kontakt users where the key switches are, for fast switching between articulations. It's especially helpful for composers working on orchestral mockups. The new polyphonic aftertouch and MIDI 2.0 support are nice additions in the new Mk 3.

 

Of course, the keyboard can be used for a wide variety of other purposes as well; but it may, or may not, be the best controller for all uses.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Radagast]

I wish they had nine knobs under the screen instead of 8.