Ask Patch Foundry: Native Instrument’s Komplete Kontrol Integration

I received this email from a reader this week:

I see you are using the NI controller in your rig. I got an Arturia keylab 61 and the V collection along with a NORD STAGE EX 73. I also got a lot of the NI Products.

Does the NI controller fully interface with the NI au plugins through main stage like it would through kontakt and will the keylab integrate with the vst plugins as well?

Thanks,

- Bill

Hi Bill,

Yes, this it totally possible for Native Instrument’s Komplete Kontrol software, and while I haven’t tested the Keylab plugins, it should work in a similar manner, too. 

The way Komplete Kontrol works is a little different than in a traditional DAW, but is still functional. Instead of automatically switching to the currently selected patch’s controller info, it stays locked to whatever instance you set it to manually. 

For example, if I have a three patches that each have an instance of Komplete Kontrol, I’ll have to manually select which one I want to control using the Instance button on my Kontrol S61 keyboard. 

The Instance button looks like this on my Kontrol S61 keyboard. 

This can be annoying, but it can also be an advantage. Often I use aliasing for some of my basic sounds (piano, Rhodes, etc). I set each one of these as a Komplete Kontrol instance, then use aliases of them in the rest of my patches. 

When I want to adjust the aliases’ parameters, I simply fire up the Instance button on my S61 and select from the few Komplete Kontrol instances I have running. It’s relatively fast, and allows me to keep adjusting on the fly quickly. 

Hope this helps, and happy gigging! 

- Eric