Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol A61 Reviews

Good quality, but very limited

If you need an inexpensive keyboard with very good keys, go for it, but be aware that you won't be able to control hardware synths with it due to the lack of MIDI out ports. The software instruments included are some of the best out there (even though they are a bit dated). Overall, if there were MIDI outs, it would be the perfect keyboard for me.

Opportunities

This MIDI keyboard offers an impressive combination of quality and functionality. With it, I can fully immerse myself in the music creation process with intuitive controls at my fingertips and deep integration with Komplete Kontrol software. Benefits: +Playing this instrument gives a great feel and response, but the keys themselves could have been made better, although you can't complain about that for this price. +Integration with Komplete Kontrol +Touch controls and 4D encoder are awesome. Despite its affordable price, the A61 is as good as its more expensive counterparts in terms of functionality.

Decent for its price. Lacks a bit on dynamics, other than that it’s one of the best options on that budget

Tough to set up

Had a lot of problems setting it up on Windows. It's was a breeze and fun to use on MacOS.

Nice entry product

Really good overall. The controllers are a bit confusing but practical once you get the hang of it.

The keys have a good feel and have a nice interaction with the velocity of the notes when you play with the daw.

Seamless workflow

Great addition to my set up as it really helped me enhance my workflow

Great affordable keyboard

I have used this keyboard to learn to play a little, and i does the job very well.

Nice controller

Feels good to use. Good quality for the price

Good, but not enough

Pros:

Many plugins;

+- Nice keys

Cons:

Keys are scratchy

It`s difficult to navigate, set up plug-ins and work it all out

Keys are too soft

But in general we are satisfied.

Encoders broken

After a few years of use two encoders are constantly sending small changes over MIDI. Also the keyboard is needlessly big. The design could have been slimmed down a lot more.

Other than that I can't complain. It's decent.

Excellent keyboard with a "but"

Perfect keyboard in every aspect, especially compared with e.g. Arturia, it has much nicer key action. Excellent, buttery smooth mod and pitch wheels and dials, and - the loudest control buttons ever created.

Fortunately I never use them anyway, as I control my DAW with keyboard/mouse so this is an acceptable compromise - you'll still get the best keyboard in class.

Awesome Keyboard For The Price

although the package was a bit damaged, the keyboard didn't had a scratch.

the keyboard feels sturdy and looks like it would survive on the road.

The keyboard comes with grate plugins that I use a lot.

Pros:

Price, build quality, plugins bundle, on board controls.

Cons:

the keys don't really feel like a real piano and are pretty loud.

Overall a great keyboard! Highly recommend for everyone!!

Thanks to its beautifully weighted keys, with good feedback I have this keyboard at my main place and the b-studio as well. I especially like having the transport control and a couple of knobs available straight at the keyboard as it gives me an option to move my keys away from the desk and still have control over the playback and the instrument I am playing.

A huge plus is that you get a basic set of instruments, sounds, and a "DAW" (Maschine Essential) together with the keys so you're pretty much ready to rock - a nice start to the Native Instruments ecosystem.

1a wie von NI gewohnt

Das Keyboard aus dem Hause Native Instruments hält wie immer was es verspricht. Perfekte Verarbeitung, perfekte Einbindung, super Haptik, einfach genial. Kann ich jedem empfehlen der Geld sparen möchte, keine Displays braucht aber Spaß mit nem Midi-Keyboard haben möchte. Und wertstabil san die Sachen von NI eh meist über ne längere Zeit. Also, da kann man nix falsch machen. Kaufen, ausprobieren und geiles Zeug produzieren. Ab geht‘s!

Great Keyboard with nice Daw integration

I use it for both composition, teaching and production, integrates really well with Cubase and the buttons and knobs on the front are a life saver for scrolling and ease of recording, would recommend !

Most beautiful touch in this price range

Build & Quality

Just amazing. I didn't expect everything to feel so well-built. Everything feels nice - the knobs, the wheels feel AMAZING. The mod wheel is smooth as butter. It's heavier than most, but if you're a producer using VST (which, I suppose is 95% of the reason one gets MIDI keys), I can only imagine that being a plus. In general, all the knobs have a good heavy-solid feel to them.

I'm comparing it to some previous keys I've had:

Nektar impulse, Arturia keylab essential, Korg SP100, Novation impulse

The keys are great. As semi-weighted keys, it obviously makes piano expressions much better than non-weighted ones.

The cons:

The only one I can think of so far is the tiny screen. I don't think an LCD screen could've been that pricey. I hope they had put one at least as big as the Arturias

Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol A61 Compact Controller Keyboard

Best Controlers Ever , Native Instruments , The Best

Nice Feel.. Does the job

The action/feel of the keys is really good for the price.. perfect for my use with logic. The one extremely annoying thing is that I cannot get a pedal to work with this keyboard. It seems like a lot of people have this issue. If you don't care about using a pedal.. the keyboard works and feels great!

Great for the aspiring producer!

I've been a studio guitarist for more than 5 years, but I wanted to add something else to my musical skillset. I was looking at a more affordable keyboard, but when I saw the software bundle that comes with this keyboard, I was sold. The keys themselves feel absolutely fantastic, especially for the price, and with over 500 euros worth of software included it's great for producers who are into sound design, and want to work without anything hampering their creativity.

My first keyboard

I'm really excited about how expensive this one feels.