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Native Instruments today announced the release of the 2.0 firmware version for Kontrol S-Series MK3 keyboards. The update adds deeper DAW integration and enhanced accessibility for blind and visually impaired users.

Kontrol S-Series MK3 now offers a unified plugin view, letting you load and tweak both NKS and non-NKS plugins directly from the keyboard for seamless navigation and full parameter control.

The firmware 2.0 release adds plugin and extended control for the following five DAWs:

• Ableton Live: Ableton Instrument Racks are now displayed as container plugins that can be expanded or collapsed from the keyboard. Up to 16 macros per Rack can be controlled directly from the MK3. Customize plugin mappings via ‘Configure Mode’.
• Logic Pro: Up to 8 Logic Smart Controls are automatically mapped
• Cubase: Customize plugin mappings with the Cubase Remote Control Editor
• Bitwig Studio: Bitwig Browser / preset navigation, named pages, and fully customisable mappings via ‘remote controls’ are available in Bitwig Studio. Furthermore, there’s an extensive library of user contributed pre-mapped plugins available on the NI forum. See also Bitwig controller extension doc.
• Digital Performer: Preset navigation

Support for Pro Tools, FL Studio, Studio One, and Reaper are planned in the coming months

Accessibility Helper Support

Additionally, this firmware update introduces support for Native Instruments’ redesigned Accessibility Helper application, offering improved support for blind and visually impaired users, such as:

• Voice Feedback: Descriptions of all physical buttons, encoders, and navigation can be read out loud by the Kontrol MK3.
• Training Mode: All buttons and controls can be read out loud without triggering them, helping musicians learn the layout of the keyboard.
• DAW Integration: All new firmware 2.0 features are fully accessible, making non-NKS parameter control accessible for the first time.
• Hardware Synth Support: By loading a MIDI template onto Kontrol S-series MK3 and using the Accessibility Helper, hardware synth parameters are spoken aloud, providing an industry-first accessibility path for outboard gear.
• OS Integration: The feature respects language, speed, and other system speech settings from operating system accessibility preferences.

Kontrol S-Series MK3 owners can update their hardware in Native Access in the Updates tab, via the Hardware Connection Service.

New from iZotope comes an innovative multi-effects plugin that marks the next addition to its Catalyst series, a collection of easy-to-use plugins designed to help you quickly solve mix problems and remain in the creative flow.

Intriguingly, FXEQ allows users to “paint” reverb, delay, lo-fi and other effects directly onto sounds using an intuitive EQ-style interface, unlocking creative flexibility and sidestepping the “complex plugin routing and endless plugin stacks” required to achieve a similar effect.

In total, there are five creative effects on board, each with multiple modes and two central controls. Each effect module runs through its own six-band parametric EQ with four shapes and adjustable Q, giving you targeted control over its application across the frequency spectrum.

Those five effects are: Saturate, Reverb, Delay, Modulate, and Lo-Fi, with all of them accessible and tweakable through Catalyst’s familiar EQ-style interface.

FXEQ’s Saturation module offers eight saturation modes designed to give your sounds “weight, bite and fizz”, while the Reverb module features three distinct reverb algorithms, covering Hall, Plate and Chamber modes.

The plugin’s Modulate module brings chorus, flanger, phaser and doubler modes to the table, while Delay delivers four delay types spanning Classic, Reverse, Crunch and Modulation, complemented by Time and Feedback controls. Finally, a Lo-Fi effect recreates the nostalgic tones of vinyl, cassette, tape and radio.

All five of FXEQ’s modules has its own parallel signal path, processing the input signal independently before the results are combined and passed through a global zero-latency limiter at the output stage.

Compatible with macOS and Windows and available in AAX/AU/VST3 formats, iZotope’s FXEQ is priced at $49/£49. Find out more at iZotope site.

Massive X Player is a new free virtual synth that enables users morph and modulate presets from Native Instruments’ wavetable powerhouse. With its new freebie, Native Instruments aims to bring its next-gen Massive to the masses.

Native Instruments’ original Massive synth was always going to be a tough act to follow. Released in 2006, Massive became one of the best selling and most influential software instruments of all time, helping to define the sound of 2010s EDM with its gritty wavetable oscillators and copious modulation tools.

Following a decade of small, incremental updates, NI released a fully-fledged Massive sequel in 2019 in the form of Massive X.

Now, six years on from its release, Native Instruments appears determined to broaden the appeal of Massive X with a significant upgrade that also introduces a new free version, named Massive X Player.

Massive X Player is a preset-driven version of the synth that gives users free access to sounds created by Massive X without having to worry about what’s going on under-the-hood. Users can select a sound from a bank of presets that contains basses, leads, pads and more, all of which can be adjusted using a bank of eight macro controls.

In the words of NI: “Whether you’re chasing growling basses, shimmering leads, or ambient pads, Massive X Player offers instant inspiration with a premium preset library and no steep learning curve.”

While these free sounds are appealing on their own, Massive X Player also features a trio of features that have the potential to turn the plugin into a bountiful source of sonic inspiration.

The first of these is the Morpher, which allows users to assign multiple presets across the points of an X/Y pad and blend between these selected sounds. This can be done manually, by clicking and dragging the visual interface, or be modulated using the second of the synth’s new features, the Animator.

This features a set of pattern-based modulation curves that can be used to add rhythmic sound shifts as the control node maps an automated course around the Morpher interface. This movement can be synced to project tempo and comes with direction and rate controls to adjust the movement of the pattern.

The final creative tool in Massive X Player’s arsenal is a Randomize button, which will generate a randomised sound that can be adjusted using the macro controls.

Features:

• 60 synth presets, plus an extra free Massive X Expansion
• The Morpher lets you shift between parameters in real time.
• Animator introduces evolving movement and rhythmic modulation with just a few clicks.
• Use Randomize to spark ideas, break patterns, and make each sound your own.

Massive X Player is available to download as part of NI’s free Komplete Start bundle, which also contains a variety of other instruments and effects. And, it’s also accessible to current owners of Massive X, and those with access to the full plugin can open up Player presets to dive under the hood using the full synth engine.

Massive X Player is available to download now. It also comes with the Bass Music Essentials expansion pack, offering additional sounds for low-end loving electronic music makers.

Visit the Native Instruments site for more information.