WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

Ahead of Superbooth 2026, Native Instruments has introduced Komplete 26, a major update to their all-in-one virtual instrument collection.

Komplete 26 is a comprehensive music production software bundle, designed to provide a wide range of instruments, effects, and sound libraries within a unified ecosystem.

It is structured across multiple editions that scale in depth, from entry-level to fully expanded professional collections. The bundle includes virtual synthesizers, sample-based instruments, studio effects, and sound design tools intended for music production, composition, and audio processing in a DAW environment.

Core instruments include flagship synthesis engines, sampling platforms, and production effects, alongside curated expansions and genre-focused sound content.

Highlights of the new version include:

• Return of Absynth 6, a redesigned evolving-texture synthesizer focused on semi-modular sound design and ambient motion
• Introduction of Odes, a new instrument built around rhythmic ensemble and hybrid cinematic sound design
• New Circular instrument for transforming chord input into evolving harmonic and textural sequences
• Addition of Electric Keys, a multi-instrument collection of vintage electric keyboard sounds
• Inclusion of Claire, a new detailed grand piano instrument designed for high-resolution acoustic piano production
• Addition of Electric Ruby Deluxe, a new electric guitar instrument with expanded expressive and tone-shaping capabilities
• Introduction of LCO Producer Strings, a new string ensemble instrument focused on contemporary cinematic string textures
• Addition of Moments: Vocal Clouds, a vocal-based sound design instrument for atmospheric and layered textures
• Updated Kontakt 8, expanding the sampling platform with new workflow and instrument-building capabilities
• Expanded integration of updated iZotope and Brainworx-based effects, strengthening mixing, mastering, and sound-shaping tools within the bundle

Features:

• Tiered bundle structure with multiple editions (entry-level Select, Standard, Ultimate, and Collector’s Edition)
• Includes synthesizers covering wavetable, analog modeling, modular-style, and hybrid synthesis approaches
• Sampling instruments platform for large-scale libraries, orchestral instruments, and curated sound content
• Integrated flagship sampler and instrument host for third-party and proprietary libraries
• Studio effects suite for mixing, mastering, dynamics processing, and creative sound design
• Genre-based expansion packs containing presets, loops, one-shots, and production-ready material
• Updated instrument collection including flagship synths and refreshed legacy instruments
• DAW integration via standard plugin formats for production in major digital audio workstations
• Hardware integration support for controller-based browsing and parameter mapping
• Designed as a unified ecosystem for sound exploration, composition, and production workflows

Komplete 26 is available now, with the following pricing:

• Select – $99
• Standard – $549
• Ultimate – $1249
• Collector’s Edition – $1949

Upgrade pricing is also available.

Early this year, Native Instruments was involved in preliminary insolvency proceedings, it caused understandable concern among the company’s base of users.

As the developers of Maschine, Kontakt, Reaktor and Traktor, NI is responsible for multiple product lines that musicians rely on day-to-day. Were support to be pulled for these, it would have a major impact not only on users – many who have also invested in system-specific hardware – but on third parties producing sample instruments designed to run within Kontakt’s much-used ecosystem.

Native Instruments is also the parent company of software brands iZotope, Brainworx and Plugin Alliance, whose plugins – particularly in the case of iZotope – are widely used by producers and audio professionals.

Nick Williams, CEO of Native Instruments

Nick Williams, CEO of Native Instruments today shared an update on the company’s ‘restructuring process’.

Native filed for “preliminary insolvency” in January of this year. This meant that a government-appointed administrator would be working with the company to protect debtors’ assets, and to see if changes could be made to enable a company to stabilize its financial situation.

In it, Williams thanks NI users and partners for their support, and reiterates that, “Business continues as usual across Native Instruments, iZotope, Plugin Alliance, and Brainworx. Our products, platforms, services, downloads, and customer service remain fully available.”

The statement continues with an update on the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) process, confirming the widely-assumed fact that a buyer is being sought for Native Instruments, either in whole or parts:

“We are currently in an active M&A process that is progressing well, with strong interest from multiple parties with deep roots in audio and technology,” Williams writes. “We see a clear path to achieve our goal to provide continuity for creators, customers, and partners.”

As part of the restructuring process, Native Instruments GmbH and a number of our German entities will shortly be moving through expected legal steps, including transitioning from ‘preliminary insolvency’ into formal ‘insolvency’ proceedings where applicable. These are expected steps in the process we are working through.

The reference to German entities here appears to align with a comment made on Facebook in January by Plugin Alliance General Manager Mo Volans, which stated that, “As of today, Plugin Alliance entities are not part of the insolvency filing. Our operations in Langenfeld and the US remain outside these proceedings.”

iZotope is based in Boston and operates as Native Instruments USA, Inc.

It’s striking that NI has moved so quickly from dominating the world of electronic music and buying up other companies, to looking for buyers.

“The failure of Native Instruments is a complicated story, worthy of a full-length case study,” notes Music Trades Editor Brian T. Majeski, adding that “Misplaced growth expectations, poor product development, and a healthy dose of hubris surely contributed.”

Native’s products are still essential for many musicians, so the outcome of their insolvency will have a huge impact on the future of electronic music making.

Read the statement from Native Instruments CEO Nick Williams in full below:

“I want to share a direct update on the restructuring process underway here at Native Instruments. Business continues as usual across Native Instruments, iZotope, Plugin Alliance, and Brainworx. Our products, platforms, services, downloads, and customer service remain fully available.

“The support we are receiving from our partners, artists, and community has been extraordinary. This loyalty isn’t something we take for granted, and it’s a reflection of what Native Instruments means to the people and businesses we work with every day.

“At the end of January I said: “We are working diligently and responsibly to secure a healthy, financially sustainable future for Native Instruments.” This remains true – and our determination to achieve a sustainable future is strengthened and energised by your support.

“We are currently in an active M&A process that is progressing well, with strong interest from multiple parties with deep roots in audio and technology. We see a clear path to achieve our goal to provide continuity for creators, customers, and partners.

“As part of the restructuring process, Native Instruments GmbH and a number of our German entities will shortly be moving through expected legal steps, including transitioning from “preliminary insolvency” into formal “insolvency” proceedings where applicable. These are expected steps in the process we are working through.“What gives me confidence in our future isn’t just the progress we’re making – it’s also the extraordinary passion and dedication of the entire team here at Native Instruments. We continue to deliver every day, building and shipping products, and looking after our customers.

“We’ll continue to share significant updates as we have them.”

Raise your tracks to pro standards with new all-in-one referencing.

Since going into preliminary insolvency back in January, the future of Native Instruments has been far from certain, but CEO Nick Williams has promised that business at the company and its numerous subsidiaries will “continue as usual” during this restructuring process.

In that spirit, iZotope – the Boston-based software developer acquired by NI in 2023 – has announced the release of Tonal Balance Control 3 (TBC 3), the next generation of its referencing plugin and mastering tool that allows you to compare your track’s frequency balance, dynamics and stereo width against that of any other track.

Tonal Balance Control 3 captures audio directly from Spotify, YouTube and your DAW timeline for fast and intuitive referencing.

Tonal Balance Control works by measuring the tonal balance and energy distribution of your track and visualizing this against a reference target. The plugin features a library of targets based on the sonic profile of specific genres – so you’re able to see how your electropop banger compares tonally to the average electropop track, for example – but more useful is the ability to reference your track against the target curve of a specific track of your choosing.

This can be achieved by uploading audio files to the plugin, but new in Tonal Balance Control 3 is the ability to capture a target curve directly from your DAW timeline.

Additionally, the software is now available as a standalone app that’s capable of receiving and analyzing audio from elsewhere on your computer. This means you can easily route reference tracks from Spotify, or YouTube into Tonal Balance Control to create customized targets based on the sonic profile of tracks from your favourite artists, without having to download the songs first.

Targets captured in Tonal Balance Control 3 can be pulled up in iZotope’s Neutron and Ozone mixing and mastering software, enabling you to use them with Ozone’s Mastering Assistant to sonically match your own track to that of your reference.

Tonal Balance Control 3 also features an expanded target library that provides references for a longer list of genres, including dubstep, drum & bass, hyperpop and more, and multiple targets can now be blended together to create hybrid genre combinations.

Whereas its predecessor was a dedicated metering tool, Tonal Balance Control 3 boasts a built-in EQ overlaid on its metering window that enables you to correct the tonal balance of your track from within the plugin itself. You’re also able to remotely connect to other iZotope plugins like Ozone to control their EQ from Tonal Balance Control.

Also new in Tonal Balance Control 3 are three dedicated meters for comparing the dynamics, stereo width and vocal balance of your track to the reference target, and a Leveled View that allows for more visually intuitive tone-shaping.

iZotope’s Tonal Balance Control 3 is priced at $129. Find out more on iZotope website.