Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol A61 MIDI Keyboard Controller & RockJam Xfinity Heavy-Duty Adjustable Keyboard Stand with Locking Straps - Perfect for Home Studio, Music Production, and Live Performances

Short Version: If you are looking to buy a bass deck, and you live in a lot of the Native Insturments’ world of virtual synths, this is a no brainer and dare I say, better than the M32Long Version:I bought the “Analog Dreams” synth pack from Native Instruments at the start of Quarantine, and was VERY impressed with the sounds and overall 80’s vibe. VERY impressed. But, my main controller is an Arturia. Nothing against them, but the mapping always had to be done manually, and using the stand alone control software for live playing just didn’t work. Since I was mainly looking for a bass deck, I did my research and it was down to the A25 or M32. Everyone raved about the M32, but I didn’t hear much about the A25. So, after some deliberation, I bought one.First impression- This is not a small controller when it comes to 3-octave decks. The matte plastic finish and full sized keyboard were flat out impressive feeling. The discrete label controls also made it look VERY German, and very cool. The keys are a full size “Semi Synth Weighted” affair, and feel fantastic! I have fat stubby hands and I am no concert pianist, so the large layout felt natural. It is also quite a bit taller than your average 25 key deck, but since I don’t intend to try to write anything on a plane, I didn’t care about how portable it was. In fact, the large footprint is a plus as it fit well into a spare mixer stand I had.DAW and plugin integration- While this is a very smooth controller to play, it really is best when paired with Native Instruments software and plugins. The controls are mapped out simply and well, and when running the Kontrol environment app, there is ZERO issue! Although, I found out when installing this on a Mac, make sure you disable all other MIDI devices first. I had my Arturia Keylab 49 and my mixer’s DAW controls active, and the controller wasn’t able to be read properly. So, I had to uninstall and reinstall the Kontrol app and then things worked fine. Once you do that, it works like a charm. Jumps right into ProTools and Ableton without fuss. Even tried it in Reaper (My preferred editing DAW), which is famous for working with ANYTHING, but usually you have to do some routing and mapping no matter what. All I had to do was to decide which MIDI channels to use for the I/O in Reaper, and once again, it worked like a treat!Performance- The semi weighted keys are placed naturally for any piano player, and nothing on the keyboard feels cramped. This controller also rocks the pitch and mod wheels to the left that are a decent size and don’t feel overtly plastic. All together, this just *feels* premium. It really shines as a bass synth, with everything within reach of a single left hand. The only issue is that the LED display is quite tiny, and you find yourself squinting to see what info is on it. But, given. How it performs and at the price, I can overlook that as my attention should be on the laptop if I am tweaking the settings.Speaking of price, it is more expensive than other 25-key controllers, but you are really getting your money’s worth. This is especially true with the free software that comes with it. I have paid for plugins and synths that sounded and performed worse.If you have a home studio that doesn’t need moved around constantly, this is a VERY wise companion to you main controller. As an audio engineer and a musician, I am of the mind you really only need 3 main MIDI components: A large format keyboard, a small format keyboard and a drum pad/sequencer. This is exactly the kind of 25 key that you need for that kind of setup, and would be almost perfect with their Machine pad controller for producers who are looking for a clean, integrated beat production setup. For a keyboardist like myself, this sits above my Arturia and is the best bass key controller so I can double up on multiple tracks.A25 Review and Test ...This test is approximate not scientific but should give you some idea of the overall tension on the keys themselves thus showing you what to expect when pressing the keys on this keyboard. I did not see any real info on this and thought it could be of some use. So if your expecting a soft feel close to what other keyboards in this test have this one is dif. Unfortunately this keyboards spring tension may be a bit too high to feel just right. Hey If your used to playing on keys with a lot of tension and weight then this may be what you seek. For me its taking some getting used to as all the other keyboards and controllers I own have far less tension, the Ensoniq being my fave for feel and wight as those keys feel almost like there is a hammer even though its just a semi weighted keyboard its well engineered and feels quite good.Comparison Examples ...13 US Nickels are 65gKomplete Kontrol A25 66g Pressure to depress keyM-Audio Orig Axiom 25 50g Pressure to depress keyRoland Juno 2 (Matsu) 46g Pressure to depress keyEnsoniq VFX (Fatar) 40g Pressure to depress keyWhile the A25 is indeed a semi weighted design it just feels like if there was less tension it would feel just so much better, why they decided on a higher tension spring I am not sure but might be something to think about when searching for that next keyboard or controller.The keys them selves feel solid although not perfect some of the keys on my copy are a little off by this I mean there is some inconsistency in the key-bed itself so some keys are not perfectly level with other keys (SEE PIC) its very slight but is noticeable. As many have said the keyboard build is nice otherwise and it does feel quite solid in its feel and overall build, way more so then my M-Audio Axiom 25 those keys tend to bottom out a bit on the metal base-plate when pressed harder while the A25 does not and is nicely damped at full travel as with my older much more expensive synth keyboards. So in my opin with the next gen I think NI should bring the tension down to around between 45g - 50g max which I think would be a happy medium for most as some have also mentioned there is a fair bit of key travel which I don't normally dislike as my Ensoniq is similar in this respect but coupled with the apox 66 grams of pressure it takes to press each key this may prevent some from loving this design choice made by NI.O one last thing I know some mentioned so I will touch on as well all the other buttons are ultra clicky why no idea they should really by soft touch virtually click-less type that just press in similar to whats found on my M-Audio those buttons feel good you know that you pressed record for example but without a loud click, really not needed other then that some will like its mostly solid build and tight integration with other NI products def check out the keyboard if your looking for a new one ... this is replacing my very old now hap hazard M-Audio 25 and I think I will keep it, but I think it does take some getting used to the higher tension on the keys though other then that and the very clicky buttons it is quite nice.I hope my slightly dif review is helpful to most who are looking into the A25 and wondering what the keys may feel like in comparison to some classics they may have used ...Solid keyboard. Once it’s set up, integrates with my DAW (Cubase) really well. Excellent build quality, buttons are a bit more “clicky” than the S series, but work fine.Very pleased with it.Music production. I am the next Avicii.Positivi:- Tasti buoni, buona resa dinamica- knobs infiniti- layout "essenziale" senza pad di scarsa qualita' o sliders, quello che c'e' e' fatto bene- Tasto undo, pomello joystickNegativi:- Decisamente non e' una master: non si puo' manco scegliere il canale su cui trasmette, non si puo' splittare- non c'e' manco il transpose hardware, solo il suo software Kontrol lo fa e in una maniera irragionevole- non c'e' modo di modificare la velocita' dei tasti: se non vi ci trovate game over- sostanzialmente e' solo un player per Kontrol, in modalita' midi e' una scatola chiusa che manda solo i segnali delle note e dei knobs, manco si possono mappare i pulsanti- Il suo software Kontrol sembra fatto negli anni 80, non va a tutto schermo, ingestibile su touch screen, si ridimensiona costantemente, non ha i suggerimenti per le icone, non risponde agli shortcuts di windows, non ha zoom o regolazione per DPI, praticamente dovete avere un monitor da 1920x1080 solo per lui perche' piu' grande o piu' piccolo siete fregati- Licenze software: se volete venderla o comprarla usata ci sara' da piangere perche' senza i suoi software e' inutile e questi non seguono l'hardware come per AKAI, per ogni componete software deve essere trasferita la licenza.E' una bella tastiera che per alcune cose fa' letteralmente infuriare. La funzione principale che sarebbe la navigazione tramite la stessa tastiera tra i preset e' un gran casino (il browser e' raccapricciante: non va a tutto schermo, con tutti i tag aperti non resta spazio per vedere i risultati), come controller per DAW e in generale comporta switchare continuamente tra le modalita' operative o usare combinazioni di tasti con SHIFT.Insomma se volete un "giocattolo NI" tanto vale prendere la piu' piccola m32 che tanto fa le stesse identiche cose. Come "player / controller sinth" meglio Arturia con i suoi software, come controller per DAW (per Ableton e simili, Maschine e' un giocattolo incompleto) meglio Akai o Novation o addirittura Arturia (almeno controlla anche i devices). Come master meglio una Roland a49 o praticamente qualunque altra cosa, qualsiasi schifezza da piu' di 50 euro permette almeno le impostazioni midi di base.I was looking forward to trying this keyboard out. But honestly, I was very disappointed.1) a) The implementation of the workflow is not intuitive nor complete. It took me a while to understand that you have to click the 4-d encoder left then right to scroll through the choice of instruments. b) You have to use the mouse as an intermediary for bunch of stuff. c) The integration with certain DAWS is not always a great experience. d) The keys have fixed levels of playing intensity (on the software side) and there is NO aftertouch.2) a) The build quality is not there, at all. b) The buttons click waaay too loud. c) The keys are not premium and are rough underneath. d) The 4-d encoder is not a super smooth experience. e) The should at the very least have put the Oled screen above each of the 8 touch sensitive knobs?I know they had to cut somewhere, but this product as is makes little sense to me (other than a gateway drug to the Kontrol series and N.I. ecosystem).In short, if you're serious about music production, I recommend you find another solution or pay the extra for the S-series. Or wait to see what comes out next (possibly with touch screens?).Value for money keyboard with great keybed although not a fatar keybed as provided in its elder sibling the S49 the key response is better in a49 as it is semi weighted also the bundled library has good collection for the entry level musicians