To get the full benefit of S49 Mk 2’s hardware control, your NKS-supported instruments have to run within the Komplete Kontrol plug-in. Ableton Live and the KK S49 get along like a house on fire once you’ve walked through the DAW integration process on NI’s website. With that taken care of your attention can turn to finding sounds, and with the built-in screens you don’t have to turn to your computer monitor to do it. Firstly, the keyboard doubles as a DAW control surface, letting you commandeer the transport, track levels, solos, mutes, and more. The best thing about the S keyboards is how ridiculously simple it is to build a track using nothing but the hardware. No complaints, no ‘please restart session’ requests, and no software dialogue boxes asking you to select your controller. Another thing that impressed me was how quickly it settled into a DAW session, when turned on mid-session. The S49 Mk 2 runs perfectly fine off USB bus power but there’s still an on/off button at the back - no yanking the USB cable to turn it off. The full-size S88 keyboard comes with weighted keys. There’s a certain thickness about how the keys feel - a delicate balance between springy and weighty, with satisfying travel. The keybed itself is by Fatar and I love it. Also, the pitch/mod controls are wheels rather than sliders, while a single touch-sensitive slider underneath gives an extra expressive option. The Mute/Solo and Select buttons above the screens even have multiple backlight colours. Matte black suits it well and the backlit rubber buttons ensure visibility on a dim stage. It feels solid and has reassuring weight. FEELING OF KONTROLĮveryone who tried the S49 comments on its build quality. The row of buttons above and eight touch-sensitive encoders underneath help you navigate on-screen parameters swiftly, but more on that later. The new Mk 2 models have doubled up the visual feedback with the addition of two full-colour, high resolution screens. It can also light up a scale of your choosing if you forget how to play piano. a drum machine’s individual sample notes appear in a different colour to loops. Breaking up instruments categorically across the keyboard - e.g. The key illumination feature could have looked poxy, something a beginner might need to find Middle C. The most noticeable feature was the Light Guide. The first round of Komplete Kontrol keyboards were an all-round hit as Native Instruments delivered a physical interface for its NKS paradigm. Having played with the Komplete Kontrol S49 Mk 2 for a few months now, I can say these are the most intuitive, unobtrusive, inspirational MIDI keyboards I’ve ever reviewed. It was a relief to discover that rather than lobbing a grenade into my setup, Native Instruments was fighting the battle on my behalf. The battle to find a free-flowing compositional experience can shift right under your feet new software, new gear, new instruments, integrating anything new can break your flow in an instant.
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