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If you own any of these MIDI controllers from Akai, Korg, Novation, Nektar and M-Audio, you can have Native Instruments Komplete 15 Select for free.

Last month, we posted that Native Instruments was planning to expand its software ecosystem by teaming up with a handful of competitors to integrate its NKS protocol with their products.

Today, the NKS Hardware Partner Program has officially launched. If you own any of the following MIDI controllers, you’ll not only be able to enjoy integration with over 2,000 NKS-compatible virtual instruments and effects, but you’re also eligible to receive a free copy of Native Instruments Komplete 15 Select, a software bundle worth $99.

• AKAI Professional MPK Mini series (MPK Mini, MPK Mini Play, MPK Mini Plus)
• KORG Keystage
• Novation Launchkey MK3/MK4, FLkey, SL MK3
• M-Audio Oxygen series

Support for the Nektar Impact LX MK3 is expected to be available in April 2025.

Komplete 15 Select comes in three curated editions, each geared towards a different style of music-making: Beats, Band and Electronic. Beats features the Massive X soft synth, Battery 4 drum machine and iZotope Ozone Elements mastering software.

Band comprises a number of software instruments, including Electric Keys Phoenix and Studio Drummer, along with a basic version of Guitar Rig 7, while Electronic features the TRK-01 kick and bass synthesizer and Schema: Light sequencer.

Native Kontrol Standard is a way of integrating virtual instruments and audio effects with hardware controllers. When loaded in NI’s Komplete Kontrol software (usable as both a plugin and standalone app), NKS-compatible plugins, instruments, and effects are automatically linked to your hardware controller via pre-configured control layouts. This provides immediate hands-on control without the hassle of manual MIDI mapping.

Back in January, Native Instruments’ Chief Product Officer Simon Cross spoke about the NKS Hardware Partner Program, “When it comes to plugins, it’s a huge universe, and there’s not really any solution that connects knobs, faders and buttons to the massive ecosystem of plugins that exists,” Cross said. “That’s what NKS does.”

“Designing a standard way for controllers to control thousands of plugins from thousands of different brands is very difficult to do, but that’s what we bring to the table. The reason why these companies are partnering with us – and why we’re lucky to be launching with five of the best brands – is because they see this as an opportunity to dramatically level up the experience they can offer to their users.”

Video overview of NKS:

To redeem your copy of Komplete 15 Select for free, visit Native Instruments’ website or click on the manufacturer of your product: Akai, Korg, M-Audio, Novation.

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Native Instruments heads east for Scene: Lotus, its latest cinematic instrument

Having launched its new Scenes series with Scene: Saffron, a quick route for composers to find lush atmospheres with rich textures constructed from strings, synths, brass, and beyond, NI is now travelling to the far east for Scene: Lotus, a new instrument inspired by the sounds of Japan.

Once again, configured as a one-stop route to a ‘cinematic sound’, Lotus features new breathy shakuhachi and hichiriki alongside other timeless instruments from Japan such as the delicate plucks of the koto, all teamed with orchestral swells and radiant synths.

Native Instruments has been working hard to simplify its offerings and the Scenes series is its current roadmap for delivering keenly priced, powerful ‘instruments’ made up of hybrid synth and samples that focus on specific sonic duties – most specifically delivering instant, production-ready sounds built from multiple sources, delivered under one simple interface.

In the background there’s Native Instruments’ long-established sampling and sample manipulation skills of their Kontakt standard plus the synth-and-sequencer construction kit power of their Reaktor engine, but you don’t need to know that… Instead Scenes act as standalone instruments, appearing as instrument plugins, easily assignable to a track in your DAW then instantly producing sounds that sound like you’ve spent weeks building them.

All their power is kept neatly behind the scenes, with simple and intuitive controls and an X/Y pad allowing players to fine tune and perfect their sound to perfectly fit its purpose and then automate and animate the performance as it plays.

And with 16 hybrid sound layers and effects there’s plenty to play with inside Scene: Lotus. Lotus’s tuning modes keep its output perfectly in key with your choice of scales and modes while composers morph between textures and effects for evolving soundscapes that transition from serene to intense.

Native Instruments promises it’s the perfect way to achieve ambiences that are ready-to-go for film scoring, game soundtracks and music production.

Scene: Lotus is available now for $29 / €29. Find out more at Native instruments site.

Native Instruments released Claire, late last year – a virtual instrument for Kontakt 8 that captured the sounds of a Fazioli F308, a 10-foot Italian concert grand that also happens to be the world’s largest grand piano.

This week, Native Instruments has announced Claire: Avant, a new “avant-garde” instrument also featuring the sounds of the F308, but with a more experimental spin. Designed to be “as expressive as it is unconventional”, Claire: Avant is said to explore a variety of unorthodox articulations and preparations that reveal unexpected resonances, overtones and percussive textures in the piano.

Recorded with the piano’s lid off, these unique playing techniques and sound modifications alter how the strings are struck, plucked or dampened, expanding the instrument’s sonic palette beyond traditional piano tones. Each note has been equipped with up to 13 different velocity zones and three round robins in order to create a “living, breathing” instrument that creates evolving and complex sounds.

Claire: Avant’s samples can be processed with the onboard Particles engine, a granular effect that generates shimmering textures, or a selection of additional effects that includes reverb, delay, compression, saturation and EQ. Its sample library also features a number of different microphone placements that can be blended via a slider on the instrument’s interface.

Claire: Avant walkthrough video:

Native Instruments has described the F308 as “the crown jewel” of pianos, an instrument that delivers “immense power and harmonic richness”, with an extended string length that contributes to its exceptional clarity and deep low-end. Rather unusually, the F308 equipped with a fourth pedal, which allows the player to soften the sound without changing its timbre, by reducing the distance between the strings and the hammers.

Claire: Avant is available now for $99/€99/£89, or as part of a bundle with the Claire grand piano.

Find out more on Native Instruments’ website.