Native Instruments S61 Mk3

Woo.

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From NIā€™s instagram: NATIVE INSTRUMENTS on Instagram: "At the core. Stay tuned āœØ"

Is there any other info out there? Looks like the leaked images were accurate

1,898 likes, 234 comments - nativeinstruments on September 8, 2023: "At the core. Stay tuned āœØ"

Itā€™s a release a week at this point! I am really hoping that A) this is a nice upgrade for anyone wanting NI hardware and B) that it comes with a new Komplete Kontrol 3 software for all users.

See no other release info at this point.

PolyAT and being able to switch midi channel without being connected to a computer would win me over.

Just FYI, you can change MIDI channels on previous versions of the S series too, itā€™s just a bit of a pain. You need to create templates in their MIDI editor that are set to different channels and then you can simply recall those from the keyboard, even with no computer connected. I do this with my S49mk1 and have them named according to the MIDI channel. Obviously it would be nice if there was an easier way to do it, but it is possible.

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Thank you @maymind_trax. My initial search had pointed me in that direction, but like you said it sounded like a bit of a pain to set up.
Iā€™ll give it a go, but would love it if those templates could be managed on the device itself like on the SL MKIII.

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https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keyboards/kontrol-s49-s61-s88/

Polyphonic Aftertouch

Keybeds were developed in collaboration with Fatar.

Prices range from ā‚¬749.00 for the 49-key model to ā‚¬849.00 for 61 keys to ā‚¬1299.00 for the 88-key version. The 88 has hammer-action keys, the other two are semi-weighted. A single large color screen.

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So itā€™s just a hardware upgrade? Doesnā€™t look like they changed much

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A bit expensive for a MIDI keyboard, but built quality and features seem properly high-end. Interested in what they do with Maschine. I want that GUI on my MK3.

This might sound a bit stupid but I sort of wish theyā€™d bring out a keyboardless version. Iā€™d be quite happy with a desktop module type thing that would give me some visual feedback

Either that or some official support for browsing via Push in Live.

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Hammer action and polyphonic aftertouch on the 88-key version is pretty much the only keyboard out there with those two as a combination I think. Will be interesting to see if Arturia match that with a MK3 Keylab 88.

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Crazy that NI has such powerful synthesis software, but canā€™t seem to come up with a hardware design to truly interact with it.

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One can only hope that this inspires NI to update Komplete Kontrol software which hasnā€™t been significantly updated for agesā€¦I honestly thought it was dead.

Personally, I didnā€™t pay much more than that for a full MPE Osmose with a synth engine, Hydrasynth also pretty close in price think its too expensive for a dumb controller, but I guess if you are only interested in ITB it may be a good option, but for that cost no pads for drums or faders for mixingā€¦not the ā€˜one thingā€™ on the desk solution I thought the MK3 may beā€¦

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Iā€™ve seen half of the video until freezes and itā€™s only hardware upgradeā€¦

next-generation NKS implementation

Be interesting to see more on this and if this also works on the MK2 (I have a 49) as currently the screen displays almost no information - just a big blank screen moist of the time!

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On NKSā€¦

Looks like this essentially runs a version of Komplete Kontrol within the HW itself, but with some added functionality not available in the SW. Does this spell the end of Komplete Kontrol as a software concept, or signal exclusivity to the hardware for these features with a SW update or a new software called ā€œKontrolā€ to be launched?

I actually quite like the idea that the lightguide shows you where you play wrong notes, rather than playing them for you or putting the whole keyboard in a key.

I highly doubt itā€™s the end of the software platform, n.i. may make some questionable decisions but can you imagine the uproar if they made komplete kontrol EOL after having sold hundreds of them in the pre release sale, I reckon the pace of updates will slow inline with maschine and itā€™ll be more of a maintainance programā€¦ also with mk2s being a more affordable option itā€™ll draw more people into the ecosystem, makes no sense to alienate fresh customersā€¦

True enough. I was thinking/hoping/wishing that they would do refreshed SW in line with the new keys (perhaps selfish as I donā€™t have an NI board.) I was thinking that a refreshed KK 3.0 with a nice NKS 2 protokol available to all. Youā€™re right though. Why would they EOL the carrot that gets people into the ecosystem?

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