Native Instruments S-Series Komplete Kontrol S88 MK3 Keyboard Controller

Not as physically robust as the aluminum one I had a few years ago but, it's solid enough. The three Bluetooth connections are a convenience I don't think I could live without now that I've had it. An Interesting bonus for this particular keyboard is that if you own a Surface tablet, this keyboard will snap right to the magnets at the "bottom" of the tablet.....which is pretty nice for keeping them both in your lap.

Great so far. Well packaged. Arrived unharmed. After reading reviews that described power problems, I didn't want to mess around so I plugged a Dell power supply to the power USB-C socket right off the bat. No problems. Fired right up. Software and firmware updates went without a hitch. Only been a couple days. but going strong.

First of all, if you want to use this as a simple MIDI controller, you can’t use this right out of the box. The unit I received was loaded with a pre-release version of its firmware (0.2.9!) and would do nothing at all until I first upgraded it. And that was the first big problem: you can only update it through the software manager program you have to install in your computer (Native Access). And then THAT has to install another package - Hardware Connection Service to do the firmware update. But THAT only runs successfully on Mac OS version 13.6 or newer. Which I didn’t have installed on my stage/performance laptop, and which I don’t want to upgrade due to needing a stable unit for performing. So I had to do that on another newer laptop that luckily I had already upgraded with a compatible OS version. Note that nowhere did the sales doc mention this requirement. And the installer didn’t stop the install of the hardware connection service if you attempt it with the wrong OS version installed. It just randomly fails, crashes, complains about “permissions”, etc. Took a lot of internet searching and Reddit discussion reading to figure all this out. Horrible first impression. Also, the box I received (shipped/bought via Amazon) had been previously opened when I received it - all the staples closing the cardboard flaps had been ripped open, and the box was poorly taped back shut with two strips of tape and looked like it had been around the world several times. The unit inside was filthy with dust and fingerprints. There was nothing in the box except the keyboard - no doc, notes, registration info…. Nothing. No usb cable. Makes me wonder if this was a previously used and returned unit. The description of the keyboard said the housing was a gorgeous bead blasted anodized aluminum finish. No. Not at all. It’s all plastic. With a finish that shows fingerprints and is impossible to clean even with a microfiber cloth and cleaner. The keybed does feel real nice and the velocity response and weighted key design is awesome for playing piano patches. I don’t use the NI soft synths / sampler stuff provided with the unit, and for the price, this is a lot to spend on just a MIDI controller, but once you get past the setup work, I think it’s still worth it for my needs. But wow - quite disappointed with the initial experience.

I'm not a big user of the Native Instruments-verse in terms of their plugin instruments, etc. But I'm very impressed and happy with this controller as my main studio keyboard for use with Logic, Dorico, etc. It's very well designed and solidly built, supports MIDI 2.0, and can be improved/upgraded over time with firmware updates.

Shipped to me with a opened box and smashed to ship on all sides. Do better handlers

Mine was a dud out of the box native instruments provides no support sent it back and bought from Sweetwater. Sweetwater spent three hours on the phone with control of my computer to finally get it working. I will buy nothing else from native instruments I wanted a keyboard and got a science project.

....when paired with NI Kontakt and other NI instruments. I have two of the S61 MK2's and one S88 Mk3 and can't imagine writing music without them.

The interface for this keyboard is still a mystery to me after several weeks trying to learn it. It is the furthest from intuitive one can get and still be useful. It works fine as a very basic keyboard and that's what I've ended up using it for. Claims they make saying you can step away from the computer are unfounded in my view. I can sometimes get a plugin to display on its screen and sometimes I can even control some of its parameters. This is by no means assured and because of that its not really useful. I use both Logic and Ableton and have a good mix of plugins in Kontakt 8, Omnisphere and others. It's a real shame because the amount of quality buttons, dials and knobs on this thing it should be easier to work. I am new to NI ecosystem so that' probably the biggest of my problems. I am still not entirely sure why they have three apps for managing plugins (Kontrol, Kontakt and Access) I understand what they all do. I'm not so sure why they aren't one app. One thing is for sure. There is a LOT of setup to customize your DAW to work with this thing! I'm sure I just need to spend a month sitting with this thing to get better. Maybe one day something will click and I'll finally understand it. That has not happened. I almost dread working on it.

The touch is horrible. The material, features and possibilities are very good, but I hardly find any reason to put a better rating than the worst possible considering that the touch is that hard (High mechanic resistance), that noisy, and that affects both your playing and the velocity accuracy. You press the touch very slighly and the note sound is far from being silent when it's supposed to. The mechanical sound of the keys are noisy, as well. I'm highly disapointed and don't know what to do with this keyboard. I have no courage to repack it, not sure I kept everything, my bad, but I wish I hadn't bought it. I don't like to play on it.