I have the Bheringer X-touch Controller DAW (MCU) and I would like to add an “all in one” Master keyboard, mainly for VSTi, CC, etc.
Nektar? Arturia? Komplete?
Seeking the best (current) integration with Cubase 10.5 / 11
There is good talk of the Panorama P6 for integration, but it has 61 keys … maybe the sister Impact?
Arturia Keylab? Very stylish…
Komplete Kontrol? Expensive, but …
Quite confused. Thanks for your suggestions
If you use Native instruments plugins, the Komplete Kontrol is likely worth it.
If you don’t, then you can probably try something else.
The integration of whatever sliders/knobs CC senders exist on the keyboard is likely to be the same between brands, and the same thing for transport controls, so what other integration are you looking for?
I don’t think anything else does the level of “pick an instrument, and display parameters on the controller itself” fanciness that the Komplete Kontrol does, and it only does it for the NI plugins, not for other things.
Guy Michelmore is a prolific composer and Cubase guru who thinks highly of the Native Instruments 88 key keyboard - have a look here
Not totally true: any plugins you add to the effect chain can be controlled from the Komplete Kontrol keyboard too. Of course only NKS compatible effects show up, but a fair few do including Arturia, iZotope, Waves, Eventide, NI, and Softube. From within the software you can add even more, but the amount of control you get over these on the KK varies from almost none to most major controls.
I can’t compare to other MIDI controllers other than my Roland A800 Pro (which is a more basic MIDI controller), but I like the Komplete Kontrol a lot. The ability to quickly browse through lots of presets and audition them quickly , then hit record on the KK and start recording in Cubase is quite powerful. Enable metronome, loop, punch-in, record quantize, navigate tracks, mute, solo, undo and more are available functions on the KK.