![]() On the KKS I was never confident that I’d left the mod ‘wheel’ at zero. And this time the designers have really nailed it. While the KKS has returned to traditional wheels, it makes total sense to get performance control on to the pad controller via touch. A Nice TouchĪn entirely new performance input is the Smart Strip. This is a big improvement on the previous models where mode changes were often a secondary Shift function. They are simply brilliant.Ībove the pad grid is a new strip of buttons for switching the grid’s mode between Pad (drum kit) mode, Keyboard (notes mode for instruments), Chords and Step. They don’t have quite the same velvety texture, but they match the sensitivity and even response, and don’t have Akai’s tendency towards over-sensitivity and double triggering. These are the first pads I’ve used that compete with those on the latest generation of Akai MPCs and controllers. This makes the pads forgiving of sloppy accuracy, but more importantly you can play rolls, triplets and fast 16ths with multiple fingers on a single pad. Impressively, the response seems to be completely even across the whole area of each pad, so you can take full advantage of the new size. The span between the centres of the pads has been kept the same, so it should feel completely natural moving from the earlier models. All labelling has been moved on to the pads themselves to facilitate this. The all-important pads have been significantly enlarged, leaving just a sliver of a space between them. As with Push, a mains power connection makes the screens brighter, but (unlike Push) they’re perfectly usable without it, and in fact I hardly ever plugged in. ![]() To summarise what’s changed for skim-readers, the new hardware squeezes in bigger, better pads, more dedicated function and mode buttons, big colour displays, touch-sensitive encoders, a unique multi-directional push encoder, a touch strip, and a built-in audio interface.Ī mains adaptor is supplied in the box, but both the Maschine 3 and KKS keyboard can run from USB power. The unfussy lines, surface finish and backlit button legending create a definite Push 2-like impression, which is to say classy and modern. The new Maschine is a sleek, solid wedge, with simple, straight edges that free up surface area to accommodate the larger screens and extra buttons. I’ll look at them separately, but note similarities and differences as we go. However, the keyboard shouldn’t be confused as a Maschine controller: it’s primarily a master keyboard and plug-in instrument workstation. The new controllers share a number of features and the keyboard can now work closely with Maschine software, so we’ve reviewed them together. ![]() New versions of NI’s flagship controllers bring the onboard display features of the Maschine Studio to both the Maschine and the Komplete Kontrol S-series (KKS) keyboards, offer multiple usability enhancements, and bring them up to date with the latest Maschine software workflows. Mast also chose to move away from KGA’s previously zany palette of orange and green instead opting for a more minimal approach that allows their work to do the talking while reflecting their pure, collaborative and client-focused approach.Are the Maschine 3 and Komplete Kontrol 2 enough to keep NI at the top of the integrated controller/software game? The idea stemmed from KGA’s desire to have more than just their initials in their new symbol – a concept that is successfully realised in Mast’s solution leaving the exact interpretation open to the viewer. Alongside clean sans serif typography, the resulting system centres around a geometric mark that provides a subtle graphic reference to classic and modern building forms. Ahead of their 35th anniversary, KGA turned to Denver-based branding studio Mast in search of a revitalised identity that would better reflect their honest values. After more than 30 years in business, KGA has become one of Colorado’s oldest and most respected residential architecture practices in most part down to their belief that successful design serves the client above all else and doesn’t cater to their own egos.
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