- #BEST FLAT PIANO KEYBOARDS FOR MAC FULL#
- #BEST FLAT PIANO KEYBOARDS FOR MAC SOFTWARE#
- #BEST FLAT PIANO KEYBOARDS FOR MAC SERIES#
Last but not least the included soundware. Plus, DAW integration is especially tight with Ableton, Cubase, Logic, and Nuendo. Any soft instrument that supports NKS can take advantage of this functionality. It can color-code splits and zones, as well as key-switched articulations, drum kits (one color for kick, another for snare, and so on), and even which notes are in a selected scale-a cool tool for education. The controller’s Light Guide feature, which is a strip of multicolored LEDs just above the keys, goes far beyond eye candy. Companies that have signed on include Arturia, u-he, Heavyocity, Spitfire, and XILS, among others. Since we first reviewed the S88, NI introduced the NKS (Native Kontrol Standard) protocol, enabling third-party developers to take advantage of the same browsing and parameter-mapping integration. You can add chord generation, custom arpeggiation, and custom scales to a setup, and use the keyboard’s controls to browse for patches and multis by category and attribute tags in the Kontrol browser. Touch one, and that setting gets the focus onscreen. First, the integration with NI’s own soft synths and libraries is as tight as it gets, with important parameters automatically mapping to the eight touch-sensitive endless rotary encoders and showing up by name in the crisp display that accompanies each knob. In place of pitch and modulation wheels are two vertical ribbons with LED ladders to show their positions.Ī couple of killer features distinguish the Kontrol S. Pedal inputs are available for sustain and expression. Both USB and five-pin MIDI are provided, though the keyboard won’t run on USB power an AC supply is included. Thanks to memory-foam under the keys, they bottom out nicely with little bounce but quickly return upon let-off. The entire range, compact synth-action models (reviewed December 2014) and hammer-action 88 alike (reviewed February 2016) sports a very smooth Aftertouch that responds to pressure fairly linearly.
#BEST FLAT PIANO KEYBOARDS FOR MAC SERIES#
If your workflow involves spending much time in the Komplete/Kontakt ecosystem of virtual instruments, the case for the 88-key model of the Komplete Kontrol S series is compelling.
| Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S88 “Would be a bargain at twice the price” is a cliché, but one reason clichés stick is that sometimes they’re true.
We’re not sure how Arturia got a pianist-pleasing keyboard and the solid build quality into a package weighing under 30 pounds, but they did. This is valuable, because if you want to run the UVI or Pianoteq pianos alongside them, you’ll need a host program Analog Lab itself can’t host them.įor live use, the music rack and/or laptop shelf extension attach positively to the back.
We found that whether we ran Analog Lab standalone or hosted it in a DAW or MainStage, settings snapped instantly to their proper hardware control assignments even if we’d switched away from the Arturia instruments then back again. Still, pretty much anything you’d want to tweak-oscillators, filters, envelopes, and more-is on hand and displayed onscreen in a pane that mirrors the KeyLab panel.
#BEST FLAT PIANO KEYBOARDS FOR MAC FULL#
The Analog Lab instruments use the same sound engine as the full-priced versions, the difference being that they’re preset-based and you don’t get the full vintage-mockup interfaces you do with the full V Collection counterparts. The drum pads feel good enough that MPC purists just might not wrinkle their noses here. The key tops are textured, the keys sit tightly with no lateral wobble, and we just can’t over-emphasize that this action feels far more expensive than it is. Aftertouch, which is also adjustable, had a wide sweet spot and was responsive to subtle changes in finger pressure.
In our opinion, the Fatar-sourced hammer action skews a bit on the heavy side-pianists might consider this a plus-but can be lightened up via the 11 velocity curves. In addition to expression and sustain pedal jacks, there’s a 1/8" breath-controller input. MIDI In and Out ports are on hand for external hardware other than your computer, and the KeyLab is USB-powerable. It’s also a boon that the KeyLab 88 comes with two high-end virtual pianos-UVI Acoustic Grand, which is sampled, and Pianoteq 5 Stage, which is physically modelled.
#BEST FLAT PIANO KEYBOARDS FOR MAC SOFTWARE#
Oh, and the included Analog Lab software amounts to a self-contained “synth and vintage keys museum” that culls sounds from Arturia’s expansive V Collection, automatically mapping the most wanted parameters to the Key-Lab’s physical controls. We put this one first because it’s still the bang-for-buck leader in an 88-key controller that fires on all cylinders-ten endless knobs, nine faders (thanks, from the organ players), 16 drum pads, and a great fully weighted keyboard.
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