(2017-10-07) Komplete Kontrol Mk2 Review A Midi Keyboard That Keeps Your Eyes Off The Computer

Komplete Kontrol MK2 review: A MIDI keyboard that keeps your eyes off the computer. Native Instruments’ new Komplete Kontrol MK2 (available in $599 49-key and $699 61-key models) feels like an attempt to reframe the MIDI keyboard as an all-in-one production station like the Push or Maschine.

For the most part, the MK2 does everything the original does in terms of integrating seamlessly with Native Instruments’ Komplete suite of software instruments (a limited selection is included with every keyboard). You can still browse for presets and tweak pre-mapped parameters with the eight function knobs (which are now touch-sensitive)

The Light Guide, which makes it easy for anyone to play melodies and chords in the correct scale without musical training, also returns. Functionally it’s sharper and brighter than before, but it’s also a lot more obvious when the keyboard’s turned off. However, it’s still the best reason to choose a Komplete Kontrol over any other MIDI keyboard: those who have music training or like to go off-piste might find it too limiting to established conventions and scales, but for the rest of us, it’s nothing short of revolutionary.

The real changes to the MK2 are in the way it integrates with both third-party DAWs and NI’s Maschine software. Ableton Live, Logic and GarageBand are the first to be fully supported at launch, with Cubase and Nuendo following later this year. It was possible to do this with the original model, but the dual screens add a new dimension of integration. Once you’ve followed the setup process you can press the “mixer” button on the right to bring up a graphical representation of your DAW’s mixer tracks, which you can control with the knobs underneath.

One of the criticisms of the original Komplete Kontrol keyboards is that while they’re were great for using Native Instruments software, they weren’t the best all-purpose MIDI keyboards. That’s still the case with the MK2, though admittedly to a much lesser extent

while the MK2 does the job in the studio, I’m not sure I’d be comfortable using it in a live context: Ableton’s Push or the Maschine MK3 are much better suited to quick triggering of music and on-the-fly music-making. (cf LiveCoding)