NKS

[rod_zero]

Personally I don't care about auto mapping, it is clumsy. Many times it is not to your liking, you have to remap.

Personally while mapping is PITA you have to only do it once for each plug in. For me the real problem is visual feedback: parameter names and values shown on the controler. Haven't use Kontrol S keyboard, but I have push and the visual feedback makes things lot easier, avoiding those moments when you don't remeber what parameter was mapped to which control. You change presets and you can see the new values.

The shortcoming to me is the number of controls, 8 just doesn't cut it for me.

[EvilDragon]

Not sure how it works - can NKS assignments be changed on a per-patch basis or only per-vst?

Per-patch.

[aMUSEd]

Not sure how it works - can NKS assignments be changed on a per-patch basis or only per-vst? Modular synths like Zebra would be impossible to map I guess unless you could map specifically for each patch - and honestly wouldn't it be amazing if eventually something like that became a defacto standard over time?

Not impossible, you can map Zebra but to do it properly it takes a lot of user pages and so there is a tradeoff between detail and usability. I made a simplified template for NKS/Komplete that covers most modules, the downside is that not all patches use all modules or have them in different orders. In my much more useful Kore 2 template for Zebra that isn't a problem as Kore has the ability to reorder user pages on the fly, and because I have 1 user page per module (2 for comb) people can just drag the user pages needed for the corresponding modules to the top in whatever order they want, then those are going to be accessible. However you can't do that in Komplete (or Maschine either I believe).

[mostlyjustj]

Not sure how it works - can NKS assignments be changed on a per-patch basis or only per-vst?

Per-patch.

Very cool. Potentially a LOT of work for VST and patch vendors who want to make use of NKS, but again, if the format/hardware can achieve critical mass it would probably help them tap a large group of users who would be into really it!

Also looking forward to seeing how the Kontrol software matures. SO much potential! But of course tempered with finding the balance of not getting painted into an overly specialized/proprietary corner marketing-wise, like Kore did.

[Numanoid]

Papen goes NKS

http://www.robpapen.com/Latest-news/com ... i-nks.html

[Cinebient]

I'm thinking NI did a great job here.
The truth is i would change my Seaboard Rise 25 (which i really like) in a heartbeat against a Komplete Kontrol S keyboard now because there are so much more ready to play tools.
Akai..... Never would buy something again from them.
For me NKS is a great thing and i hope it's getting more wide spreaded. But alone most of my Kontakt instruments support it.
I wish i had looked earlier into this.
At least i doesn't heard about a better hard- software integration yet. Maybe the Seabord Rise with Equator but mapping third party tools without MPE is a pain.

[Ryan99]

I have Akai Advance 49 and VIP 2.0 has been released for free with adding effect plugin maps from many companies, while releasing more plugin maps.

A lot of the stuff I own has plugin maps for my keyboard. Good quality, very easy to make multis, now including multi-effects. I have around 90 000 patches mapped inside VIP by Akai. What more could I need?

Very happy with my purchase.

And for NKS, I have Maschine Mikro, so I can benefit also. Best of both worlds!

[bungle]

Kore has the ability to reorder user pages on the fly, and because I have 1 user page per module (2 for comb) people can just drag the user pages needed for the corresponding modules to the top in whatever order they want, then those are going to be accessible. However you can't do that in Komplete (or Maschine either I believe).

Another example of how ball breaky setting up maps in Komplete and Maschine is, not being able to reorder pages easily means a hell of a lot of extra work if you want to do the reordering (Quite common)

[CharlyLN]

Hello,

I´am still confused what NKS really is? How deep is the control feature? Can i route Mod Matrix settings like in a TI or Blofeld?

[aMUSEd]

Depends on the plugin. Not many allow modulation itself to be automated, one of the few exceptions is several u-he synths but they don't use traditional mod matrices.

[Echoes in the Attic]

Depends on the plugin. Not many allow modulation itself to be automated, one of the few exceptions is several u-he synths but they don't use traditional mod matrices.

There a few these days have fully exposed modulation targets, sources and amounts in the mod matrices. Just off the top of my head I can think of the Arturia synths, Spire, Sylenth1, Tone2 synths and Halion. And then many who's sources and amounts are hardwired to the targets, like some u-he synths as you say, Poly-Ana and lots of freebies.

On the original question though - I am shocked at how poorly implemented NKS is. From the company that made Maschine and kore, both of which were brilliant hardware/software combos, came the lamest, most absurd format i could imagine, with such amazing workflow features as:
-8 whole knobs
-Zero buttons. Awesome. So you have to use one of the 8 knobs if you want to map a button?
-No direct access to a page of parameters. You actually have to use page next/previous to get to the different pages. Mixed with the fact that you only get 8 knobs and no buttons, this is a real brilliant design (extreme sarcasm). I've even seen NI mappings for things like Massive that have 16 pages. Umm, has anyone from NI actually tried to use a controller where you have to hit next 15 times to get to the page you want? This is absurd.
-By some ludicrous magic, the macros of komplete kontrol aren't even in a predictable/consistent order between plug-ins. If there was one saving grace about having 8 parameters per page, it's that many DAWs use the 8 macro system for their device macros (like Ableton and Bitwig), so theoretically you should be able to at least map the macro pages of komplete kontrol once to your device template and the pages should easily line up with your DAW hardware mappings. But nope, even though the parameters in pages of 8, the order changes all over the place somehow in the host. They are not the same order as they appear in the komplete kontrol macro pages. This must have been a lot of work to actually screw up the order so much. As if they didn't want people to be able to use any other hardware besides the Kk keyboards.

I can not believe anyone has made anything so poorly thought out. I also can't believe any companies are going along with this crap.

[Lotuzia]

Hello,

I´am still confused what NKS really is? How deep is the control feature? Can i route Mod Matrix settings like in a TI or Blofeld?

The same NKS patches can be seen by Maschine and NI NKS keyboards.

In Maschine you can have direct access to any 'controller page' instantaneously (and you can see the titles of the pages). In NKS Keyboards you have to use the arrows next/prev.

You can route mod amounts if the synth expose them to host (like in most Xils-Lab synths for example)

The controler pages are per patch, but you can also apply them like a 'template' to any selection of patches. You can therefore map the most interesting parameters for a given patch to the first page easily, making controlling/tweaking such patches a really nice AND musical experience.

You can also map buttons or selectors, but they will appear as a 'knob'. Maybe NI will change that over time, but it's not a problem. The next nice thing is that you can rename the knobs, as well as design 'sections'. Makes your life easier too.

All in all, NKS is a very powerfull format, wich requires more attention and work for large libraries for synths, and is extremely powerfull for content based on a lot of samples, but controlled with a more reduced set of parameters, and with few presets.

[BeatModo]

Wish there were a tool which allowed designers to create one patch/preset that is compatible with multiple vsti. Like how people can now make an app in one tool that can be used on multiple devices like Apple and Android, etc.

If someone can create that, they'd bank.

[acYm]

Hello,

I´am still confused what NKS really is? How deep is the control feature? Can i route Mod Matrix settings like in a TI or Blofeld?

it's just a vst automation parameter mapping interface. it does nothing special in particular. you cannot program and adjust each knob like you can in a well-made control surface wrapper. there are also, laughably enough, no programmable buttons. like, at all. it's extremely poorly designed and executed. there isn't a community of people making and sharing cool user templates for it, like there still is for Kore. why would there be? even the best NKS templates are pathetic. it's not fun to use. there is also nothing special that NI can do in particular about it, to better integrate either their own instruments or third party ones. utterly worthless. there are not enough words to describe the uber-failure that NI have pulled off with this insanely useless platform. oh, and it doesn't even have any FX support at all either! so you only get instruments, and for your effects, too bad, well, let's be honest, it's better to use the mouse or dumb MIDI than the KK panel anyway

some people call it a standard? lol! biggest misnomer in the industry...

a standard for noobs, the naïve and NI shills to be suckered into getting more NI bloatware with pre-planned obsolescence is what it is.

I'd like to add that this post is my 432nd, therefore it is in tune with the universe. yeah that's right, it's a negative world out there.

[danbroad]

not a fan then?