Komplete Kontrol mk 2

presets by Type (Bass, Strings, etc) and Mode
(FM, Sample-Based, etc). It’s exactly the same
interface that Maschine Studio users have
enjoyed for the last couple of years.
Newly added (for Mk2 and Mk1), however, is
the Prehear option, which ires of a stored
sample of every preset as it’s selected, so
you can audition before you load. This is just
a static one-shot or loop, but obviously it
wouldn’t be possible to instantly load each
device as you sweep through them, so it’s as
good a solution as is possible. We expect we’ll
be able to generate preview iles for User
patches at some point, but currently it’s for
factory presets only.
As before, loading a preset launches its
instrument within the Komplete Kontrol shell,
where it appears just as it would if called up as a
plugin in any other host. The Mk2 displays show
a static graphic of the plugin (not a real-time
representation), and the knobs are
automatically assigned to its parameters in
banks of eight – it all looks a lot nicer than
before, but functionally, everything is as it was.
Apart from thinner LEDs, the brilliant Light
Guide system remains the same. This uses an
RGB LED on every key to highlight the notes of
the scale, chord or arpeggio set up in Smart Play,
as well as indicating the MIDI notes coming in
from the host DAW, and mirroring the coloured
keyswitches and cells in instruments that have
them (Kontakt, Battery, Polyplex, etc), and the
pads in Maschine. Smart Play is one of the
keyboard’s most useful features, enabling scale/
key iltering/snapping, automatic chord
generation and arpeggiation directly from
Komplete Kontrol itself.
Despite those swanky new displays, for us
Light Guide is still Komplete Kontrol’s best
feature. We loved it before and we love it now.
Kompletely integrated
Komplete Kontrol’s Host Integration setup
afords a degree of control over a handful of
DAWs – currently, for this version, Ableton Live,
Apple Logic Pro X and Garageband, with
Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo coming soon.
With Mk1, this was limited to transport functions,
and track selection and focus, but now, thanks
to the screens, 4D encoder and new
multifunction buttons, it includes the mixer
(selection, levels, pans, solos and mutes, with
the displays showing level meters and faders),
Live clip/scene launching and recording, tap
tempo, timeline scrubbing, and dedicated
buttons for Quantize, Undo/Redo, Automation
arm, and Loop and Metronome on/of. It’s a big
step up from the original implementation, which
was (and, indeed, still is) hobbled by the
limitations of the Mk1 hardware.
K class
Komplete Kontrol Mk2 is a huge upgrade. With
Mk1, the hardware controlled the browser on the
computer, but now the hardware is the browser.
And the integration with Maschine and other
DAWs is utterly transformed by the two screens
and revamped knobs and buttons. Let’s not
forget the chunky pitch and mod wheels, either,
which feel superb. On the down side, as with
Maschine Mk3, we could take or leave the 4D
controller, which never feels quite right for
accurate navigation; and non-Maschine users
might feel a bit glum about the ive redundant
buttons to the left of the screens.
Powerful, luxurious and genuinely assistive,
Komplete Kontrol Mk2 is the ultimate controller
for the Komplete instrument range, and the
perfect partner for Maschine.
Web www.native-instruments.com
Verdict
For Dual screens change everything
Mod and pitch wheels!
Deeper Maschine and Host integration
Light Guide is still awesome
Against Certain buttons are going to
gather dust if you don’t have Maschine
Not many DAWs supported as yet
Delivering total NI/NKS instrument control,
and solid DAW and Maschine integration,
Komplete Kontrol Mk2 is so good it hurts
10/10
Alternatively
Nektar Panorama P4
182 » 9/10 » £440
Take control of a range of popular
DAWs with this lexible keyboard,
and plugin/mixer control surface
Novation Impulse 49/61
179 » 8/10 » £239/£299
With its Automap plugins wrapper,
the Impulse makes plugin
parameter assignment a snap
With Komplete Kontrol Mk2’s dual
screens being the same as those of
Maschines Mk3 and Studio, NI have
been able to dramatically expand its
capabilities as a companion controller
for the Maschine software. The Mixer,
Plug-in and Browser buttons parallel
their Maschine equivalents, and a set of
ive dedicated buttons access various
Maschine-speciic views and modes.
The Scene and Pattern buttons
switch between Maschine’s Scene and
Pattern view modes (Komplete
Kontrol’s displays actually mirroring
the former more literally than
Maschine’s!), while Track pops up a
track selection overlay. The Key Mode
button toggles between pitching the
currently selected Sound up and down
the keyboard (the original Komplete
Kontrol behaviour) and mapping all 16
Sounds in the current Group to 16 keys,
and the Clear button deletes the
contents of the current clip.
Transport control, and browsing and
mixing using the displays and their
associated controls are identical to
Maschine Mk3/Studio, and the ability to
view diferent things on each and unit
at the same time – eg, the mixer and
plugin parameters – is every bit as cool
as it sounds. For those who can aford
both, Maschine Mk3 and Komplete
Kontrol Mk2 make for a great combo.
Ghosting the Maschine
The Komplete Kontrol software is a central hub for
all your Native Instruments and NKS instruments
Partner Komplete
Kontrol Mk2 with
Maschine Mk3 for
the ultimate
Maschine rig
“Despite those swanky
displays, for us, Light
Guide is still Komplete
Kontrol’s best feature”
December 2017 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 95
native instruments komplete kontrol mk2 / reviews <
CMU250.rev_kkmk2.indd 95 11/10/2017 14:45