native instruments komplete kontrol s49 mk2 review

The usefulness of these new screens isn't limited to Komplete Kontrol. These high-res displays and the eight new buttons that sit above them allow you to control nearly every aspect of Komplete Kontrol right from the keyboard-from browsing presets to controlling instrument parameters-without having to glance at the computer screen.

Another obvious change is the addition of larger colour displays, similar to those that first made an appearance on the Maschine Studio controller. There's still a power jack, but it's only needed If you want to use the hardware MIDI outs without the aid of a computer (you'll need to purchase an adapter separately to do that). They are now efficient enough to run off of USB bus power. The first major difference you'll notice during unboxing is that the Kontrol S MK2 models don't ship with a power adapter. The S49 MK2 and S61 MK2 retail for the same prices ($599 and $699) as the older MK1 versions, which is a good deal when you take into account all of the new features.

There's no indication of when these sizes will be updated-Native Instruments are focused on the midrange keyboards for now. With the addition of high-res colour displays, more buttons and physical pitch and mod wheels, this new keyboard seems to be more of an overhaul than an upgrade.Īstute observers will note the conspicuous absence of the Kontrol S25 and Kontrol S88 keyboards in the last product announcement. Now the hardware has been updated with last month's release of a MK2 version of the Kontrol S49 and Kontrol S61 keyboards. It was further enhanced with the release of NKS, a parameter mapping and preset organisation system that has been adopted by software developers like Soniccouture, Arturia, u-He and more. The software has seen updates that introduced support for third-party plug-ins.

Native Instruments' Komplete Kontrol ecosystem has come a long way since we first reviewed the Kontrol S-series keyboard back in 2014.

Native instruments komplete kontrol s49 mk2 review