The Italian company has been in the business since the mid 1950s, having started out supplying keyboards to electronic organ manufacturers. The actual keybed is manufactured by Fatar, long-time manufacturers of primo electronic keybeds. So remain aware that this keyboard only functions with a computer attached. These are, however, only accessible when the keyboard is connected to a computer via USB and you instigate the Controller Editor software. The unit includes sustain and expression pedal inputs, and sports real MIDI DIN-plugs for MIDI in and out. Bear in mind the keyboard requires power - no USB power-only option - no doubt due to the plethora of LEDs. With the overall finish a glossy mirror black it looks every bit the modern studio accoutrement (and all those pretty lights… ooh la la!). The S49 presents as quite an attractive piece of hardware - it’s a very impressive effort when you consider this is Native Instruments’ first crack at a keyboard, but then remember, NI has put some pretty sturdy runs on the board with Traktor and Maschine. Included in the review setup was a Komplete 10 software package which, in itself, is a formidable sonic arsenal, but again, more on that later. In terms of sound generation, the S-series are strictly controller keyboards, and are designed to helm the Komplete suite of virtual instruments and sample players. For review purposes I received the 49-key, S-49 model. The Komplete Kontrol keyboards come in three typical keybed sizes: 25, 49, or 61 key models, dubbed S25, S49, and S61 respectively. Much sensation indeed! However there’s more to ‘Light Guide’ than whiz-bang lighting effects, and I’ll expand on those features a bit later, in the meantime, let’s look at the more traditional features of the Komplete Kontrol series. If sci-fi aesthetics are your thing the Komplete Kontrol keyboards are the only keyboard worth owning. Absolutely fantastic look, and perfectly suited to a dimly lit studio atmosphere. Upon boot-up this array of lights goes through a Las Vegas display, pulsating every colour the system allows, blue, red, green, purple, yellow, orange etc, before settling into a subtle blueish hue. Every key on the keyboard has a multiple colour LED situated at the rear of each key. The Komplete Kontrol keyboards sport this crazy feature called ‘Light Guide’. With the various sized Kontrol S-Series keyboards, NI has gone utterly berserk with LED lighting - this thing lights up like the Sydney Harbour Bridge on New Year’s Eve. I honestly thought I’d seen everything there was to see in the world of controller keyboards, but Native Instruments’ Komplete Kontrol controllers have relieved me of that claim. While Kontrol’s berserk LED Light Guide and ribbon controllers might seem gimmicky, there’s method to the madness behind NI’s first keyboard controller.
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