Native Instruments Kontrol S61 MK3

The Native Instruments Kontrol S61 is a great keyboard. I wasn’t expecting anything extraordinary from the keybed itself (it’s decent and within the norm), but the real advantage lies in how it optimizes the creative workflow and improves convenience. The main highlight, of course, is its excellent integration with Native Instruments Kontakt 8 — it truly opens new creative possibilities and encourages me to use effects I probably wouldn’t touch without this keyboard. For example, it’s very easy to set up scenes and adjust mic levels in Spitfire Abbey Road Orchestra without even opening the player, and you can quickly make changes to plugins directly on the selected track. The integration with Logic Pro is excellent. These benefits clearly outweigh the average mechanics of the keybed. Hopefully, future models will also include a touchscreen. Thank you, Native Instruments.

The keyboard is well built and feels premium. I personally really like the single screen - I like the simplicity of it. The user flow of searching for what I need is intuitive and encourages me explore and experiment. The light guides are very useful, especially if you're learning, and when paired with some of the tools they make it a really great experience. The polyphonic after touch is implemented in some of the instruments I tried, and does feel like it adds some depth. The keyboard does not include a lot of other features you might see in other keyboards (like pads), but what it does offer is very solid and premium

Here are my thought of the Keyboard -

Build Quality :

The controller feels premium and durable, with a design that looks clean and professional in the studio. It’s clear that a lot of thought went into both the aesthetics and functionality. The knobs on the keyboard feel amazing. It gives an instant feeling that you actually want to use them rather than just sitting there.

Keybed :

I Never had a keyboard which had a Fatar Keybed. So to compare with other keyboards I had, this one feels amazing. When you press the keys it feels solid, responsive, and expressive, making it great for both melodic playing and detailed performance work. And the light guide. I wish it had a little more brightness though. But it's not a major issue for me.

Display :

The display is Crystal Clear. I really don't have any bad things to say about that display as it's perfect.All the text and values displayed you can clearly see it on the screen without bending over to see whatever on the screen.

Software Integration :

I'm a huge fan of Kontakt Instrument. So I have a large variety of libraries that I control through the mouse. Now with the mk3 i really dont even need to touch the mouse. It gives me freedom that I can do more expressive control via the keyboard which i couldnt do with the mouse.

Final Thought :

Overall, the Kontrol S61 MK3 is a powerful, expressive, and well-designed MIDI keyboard. They build this to last. So I don't have to worry about getting another one after 2 years. I am not a composer or a pianist. I am an electronic music producer. So for my workflow this makes a great midi keyboard. If anybody is looking to buy this i couldnt recommend it enough. So thank you Kontakt.