6 reviews
Komplete software & Kontrol/Maschine controllers
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Native Instruments is a German music-technology company, founded in 1996 and based in Berlin, best known for its Komplete software-instrument bundle and the Kontakt sampler, the Maschine groove-production system, Traktor DJ software, and the Kontrol keyboard controllers built around its NKS (Native Kontrol Standard) hardware-to-software integration.
The cheap way into Komplete Kontrol: S-Series knobs and a keybed reviewers rate the best at the price — and a velocity curve you can't change, buttons that click like a mouse, and integration that stops at NI's front door.
The first hammer-action controller with polyphonic aftertouch, and the deepest software integration money can buy — wrapped around a bare control surface and a USB-C connection that is either flawless or maddening.
The full-size Maschine's pads on a laptop-bag budget — everyone agrees they're great, and argues about everything NI took away to get there.
The groove-production grid producers keep coming back to — a premium pad controller that's only as free as the computer it's tethered to.
The pocket-sized door into Native Instruments — loved for its bundle and browsing, argued over for a velocity curve you can't fix.
Native Instruments' flagship smart keyboard: a superb Fatar keybed and the deepest software integration in the class, wrapped around a stripped-back control surface — and a rocky launch — that split its own users.
Prices in USD, recorded when each review was updated.