Keyboard controllers with plugin integration - are they useful for live (i.e. non -DAW)?

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#1

Hi all,
following the latest addition to the Native controller line ( https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keyboards/kontrol-s49-s61-s88/ ), I was wondering: is anyone of you wise folks using controllers of that type?
Are they useful without a DAW (i.e. within cantabile)?

My impression is that the quite high price tag is due to the nice screen and VST integration and well, if I cannot use them with cantabile, why should I pay for it ? :slight_smile:

If you are using these controllers, I would appreciate your opinion, thanks!

#2

I am currently using Komplete Kontrol S61 Mk2 with Cantible, Works well. NI stuff works just as it would stand-alone. Though I haven’t quite worked out how to make Cantabile automatically make it go to the instance I want when there are several running. Clicking the keyboard icon from the PC does the trick. I haven’t yet spent a lot of time with non-NI plugins and the keyboard, but the capability is definitely there. Cantabile midi filters potentially make setting that up simpler.

I would also say that the cost is also due to the build quality, It’s plastic but has a very sold feel. And the keybed, IMHO, is much better than the typical cheap controller.

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#3

I really wish the NI keyboards had a built in audio interface so you could take a laptop, a keyboard, and one USB cable. I have a Roland RD-88 which has a built in audio interface and I did not think I would appreciate it as much as I do. It is so much easier in terms of setup to just have a keyboard and a computer. Literally all I do is hook one USB cable from the computer to the keyboard and that pass both the midi and audio singals. If the NI keyboards had this capability, I would give them a try but I don’t like the idea of bringing a keyboard, computer, USB audio interface and hooking it all together. Since NI is making the software and the hardware, it seems like they would be in an ideal position to truly integrate the keyboard and software together by having a built in audio interface.

#4

Like these ones https://www.musicstore.com/en_US/USD/CME-VX-7/art-SYN0006012-000 but discontinued long ago… it even had MOTORIZED faders :black_heart:

#5

I had one of those - it was unstable as h** so I had to get rid of it. beautiful, though…

#6

what a pity… it had most of features needed for computer-based nerds like us