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.

I was immediately attracted once I saw Native Instruments release a new version of this thing as an avid Kontakt user. I absolutely love the aesthetic and build quality. It’s an attractive keyboard that’s got a slim build with a minimalist interface and stunning screen, but $1,400 for a controller is no joke and it’s unfortunate to say that I’ve had many issues with this thing on the software side. I have an m2 MacBook pro with Logic and it seems a lot of other people are having issues with getting this keyboard to work properly on MacOS. Setting it up is a pain because it only includes one usb c to usb c cable but the thunderbolt port isn’t enough to power the thing to update. Besides the updating, unless you have it plugged into the wall for extra power it won’t function correctly. A lot of Native Instruments plugins crash when you try to open it with the keyboard plugged in. It’s just really buggy in general but hopefully I’ll be able to get my money’s worth once they add a few more updates? There really is no telling when it comes to Native Instruments. I truly enjoy the look and feel of this keyboard, and it’s a pleasure when it does work. It’s just a pain when logic crashes just because I wanted to open a sound from a plugin I don’t usually use. I would really only recommend this keyboard to someone who wants the convenience of having a screen for your DAW right in front of you; and I just so happen to be that kind of customer. High quality, good feeling knobs and materials that are responsive, and buggy, unreliable software that’ll undo hours of work.

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

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.

....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.

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.

It will help me . Wait for the money to arrive! It will be there

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.