Komplete Kontrol M32 2 £99

Putting the company’s troubles this year aside – and we obviously wish them well in this regard – Native Instruments used 2019 to set out their stall as being a company that welcomes newcomers into the world of computer music making. They should therefore be applauded for breaking down the barriers to entry for all music makers, which they certainly did with products like this, the M32.

Following quickly on from the A-range of keyboards – that also offered a big bundle of stuff for a small bundle of cash – M32 delivers the Komplete Kontrol experience with the Native Kontrol Standard, plus a big enough software bundle, but this time for just £99. Yes, £99, an almost ‘jealousy-inducing’ amount of money for those of us who spent well into four figures getting into this game decades ago. (Bitter? Us?)

That (frankly ridiculous) amount of cash gets you a decent enough controller, a micro-sized keyboard with 32 keys, plus a bundle of software that includes Maschine Essentials, Monark, Reaktor Prism, Scarbee Mark I, and Komplete Start plus Ableton Live Lite. We simply have to state that price again. £99!

Komplete Kontrol and the NKS software standard means that the NI software can be automatically mapped to the M32 keyboard’s controls for the famous KK experience, which offers a very decent ‘software in hardware’ feel. It’s not quite up there with the original (and vastly more expensive) S-Series of controllers but, frankly, if newcomers to music making don’t pick this up for the song that it is, then we will be very angry indeed. (Almost as angry/ jealous as we were when we heard about the price in the first place.) It would not only be like looking a music-giving gift horse in the mouth, but possibly punching that horse in the face* while you’re at it.

270 » 10/10 *Please don’t punch horses in the face.