Host integration
Alongside Komplete Kontrol integration, the A-Series (and S-Series) keyboards also serve a secondary role as DAW controllers. Known as ‘Host Integration’, the specifics of this functionality vary from DAW to DAW, and involve some very brief faffing about in terms of initial setup in certain cases (we’re looking at you, Ableton Live). Once everything’s up and running, though, it works very well.
The transport buttons – Play, Record, Stop, Loop, etc – hook in just as you’d expect, while pushing the Track button switches the 4D Encoder, all eight parameter knobs and the Previous/ Next buttons over from Komplete Kontrol to DAW control (switch them back with the Plugin button). Take Logic Pro X as an example: the knobs control the volume faders and – with the Shift button held – pan for eight tracks at a time; the Previous/Next buttons (with Shift held, oddly) handle mute and solo for the selected track; while the 4D Encoder acts as a playhead jogwheel when twisted, and is used to navigate through tracks and regions thereon when clicked up/down and left/right.
At the time of writing, A-Series Host Integration was up and running with Logic Pro X and GarageBand, with Ableton Live in the pipeline.