Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol A25 Controller Keyboard

Overall quality is clean and nice and of course integrates beautifully with Komplete Kontrol and Kontakt. Being used to a fully weighted keybed (88 key Fantom-08) I knew a semi weighted 61 key like this would be different, but I wanted something I could use that would slide under my desk in a big keyboard tray with lighter keys. I mainly use this for synth and other instrument compositions and of course still prefer and use the Roland for actual Piano focused compositions. I wasn’t a fan at first, but have finally gotten a feel for the keys and they have plenty of velocity control now, it just took some getting used to.

I’d me remiss if I didn’t mention I still lust for the S61 MK3 sometimes when I see them online. The big screen looks nice, but I’m in front of a massive monitor anyway and don’t really look at the keyboard much aside from playing. The knobs are really all I use for control while I look at the monitor. I would like to have the Aftertouch the S series has, but I’m so used to using the modwheels for everything that I don’t think I would really use it anyway. I’ve heard the keys are a little better on the S series, but the A series keys are still great and better than a lot of competitors still.

If you’re on a budget and heavy into Native Instruments libraries, this is the one to get and it doesn’t feel or look like a budget keyboard. The S series is nice and I would still love one, but I can’t justify the price. At around $600 *more* than the A series I just don’t see $600 worth of value add.

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 M32

Long 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.

Excellent clavier et qualité de construction impeccable on sent qu’il va bien vieillir et son prix abordable je le recommande vivement à tout ceux qui débute

Review for Komplete Kontrol A25 midi keyboard.
I don’t get to play as much as I would like. So it’s a real inconvenience to have to dick with midi mappings in Ableton when all I want to do is create. I just want to touch my midi keyboard not my computer keyboard and mouse. This keyboard has went a long ways towards that goal.

I had bought another midi controller, an 1mp@ct LX25, which totally frustrated me because they purposely don’t support Ableton (this was my fault. I was in a hurry and just read through the reviews instead of reading up on the company. Apparently it’s great if you don’t use Ableton).

Using this with Komplete Kontrol works great. Honestly, I didn’t have to really setup anything. It just worked in Komplete Kontrol either with the standalone app or launched within Ableton 10. I’ve tried it out with non-native NI apps and it still seems to work pretty good. Although you still have to deal with midi mappings.

Maybe, I’m a NOOB. However the previous keyboard I mentioned had the REC, PLAY, and STOP. For the longest time I couldn’t get these to work until I found a script. Not this keyboard. That stuff all worked right away even without launching a NI plugin.

The knobs are touch sensitive. If you just touch them the OLED display which parameter your editing. They also feel nice and sturdy. It’s very minimalist looking. Usually I’m the kind of dude that likes a lot of knobs and buttons. However, I have found that my workflow if a little better because of the minimalism. The keys are synth action, they feel pretty good. The bend and modulation wheel are the best I’ve played on a keyboard of this price. The knobs are smooth as butter, and quiet.

Cons

Clicky
It’s kind of weird, the buttons are plastic and when pushed make an exaggerated clicking sound. Not a deal breaker for me, but if you where trying to record in a live intimate setting and find you need to push one of those buttons. Someone is going to be annoyed with you.

Price
This isn’t Native Instruments fault. However, when I first put this on my wish list it was $139. I ended up buying the other day because a Youtube reviewer tipped me off that because of the trade war with China the price had went up. When I checked it had went up $20. So I bought it right away.

Size matters.

I really love this keyboard. However, I’m now wishing I could have held out for the 49 key (that one would need to be semi-weighted. I’m not sure if the A49 key comes in semi-weighted keys). This trade war isn’t going to end anytime soon. I’m afraid by September A49 will be $300 instead of $220.