NI KONTROL MK3 Play Button Behaviour

[MallorcaMalle]

The way the Play Button currently behaves on the new KONTROL MK3 Keyboards in Ableton is just not right.
Why doesn't it behave just same like Ableton Push or NI Komplete Kontrol MK2?

Currently:

• PLAY starts playback and stops playback. Hitting Play again continues playback at current playhead position. Regardsless how playback was stopped.

• Even if I place the playhead with the mouse somewhere in the song, PLAY does not start from there. This is i.m.o. so counter-intuitive.

• SHIFT+PLAY restarts playback at the beginning of last playback position. Regardsless how playback was stopped.

• STOP stops playback. Hitting Play continues playback at current playhead position.

• 2xSTOP Brings playhead to song start position. To start from there you have to use SHIFT+PLAY. (or SPACE!)

So PLAY and STOP currently have exactly the same stopping behaviour. STOP function is not required because PLAY does the same.

What it should do:

• PLAY starts playback. Retriggering restarts playback from last start position. (like NI KK MK2 or PUSH 2)

• If playhead has been placed with the mouse, hitting PLAY starts playback from there.

• If playback has been stopped with STOP button, PLAY continues playback from current playhead position.

In my workflow I need fast retriggering playback from same position very often. And currently I have to long for SHIFT+PLAY to do so or use SPACE bar...

What do you think?

[MallorcaMalle]

I noticed that even in Session Mode PLAY button on KONTROL S MK3 does not re-start scene. Only SHIFT+PLAY restarts clips. I.m.h.o. this is not good for fast iterating ideas and differs from other controllers used with Live.

I wish this would be changed in an update. Or Live 12 should get an option to change behaviour of the playhead when stopped. Either to continue from last start position or continue from last stop position when hitting PLAY.

[MallorcaMalle]

After using NI KONTROL S MK3 in several projects now here's a condensed wishlist how PLAY button should i.m.o. work in Ableton Live:

• If MOUSE is used to place playhead, pressing PLAY will play from that selected position.

• If PLAY button is pressed while playing, immediately re-play from last start position.

• If STOP button is pressed while playing, PLAY will continue playing from current stop position.

• If STOP button is pressed twice while playing, playhead goes to song start and pressing PLAY will start from there.

• Pressing SHIFT + PLAY can remain as it is (re-start from last start position).

[jezric]

Ah man, totally feeling this pain with my Kontrol mk3, it's maddening to have to remember to hit shift+play to get it to play from the play head and all the other weird behaviors noted by others here.

<rant>
This just adds to the list of how limited the Kontrol mk3 is. So many threads I have been involved in/started in their forums regarding the limited functionality and how it's SO "walled garden" only working with their software/plugin (KK3/K7), no config options on the unit itself (like transport behavior, default MIDI channel, etc.), no MIDI templates support (they keep promising it's coming, but it's been WAY too long for there to me nothing yet). It's got this big, beautiful screen and all these knobs and it's almost completely useless when not using it wither their software.

Sadly, it doesn't surprise me AT ALL that they went with this very odd transport control behavior with no way to change it.

Is it really so hard to just have some basic config options on the K mk3 or at least some sort of configuration software (like they have for all their older hardware at least) NI?? (apparently so)

Ugh! All of you feeling this pain, you're not alone. Probably the most disappointing piece of hardware I may have ever purchased.

[MallorcaMalle]

Hey, yes it seems to be Ableton only for NI Kontrol S MK3 with this behaviour. I also have the Komplete Kontrol S MK2, and there it works all fine for my use-cases.

In Bitwig Kontrol S MK3 restarts from last start position as I'd expect.
In Cubase you can set different stop/play behaviour in preferences as you like.

Maybe Ableton should also introduce options to choose how transport controls behave. Everyone has other use-cases. I need re-start from last start position over and over again. Also I do not want that it starts a clip in session view somewhere in the middle. This is not right. The Push 2 also re-starts clips from beginning after stop.

So my feature request would be:
Kindly adapt the Ableton script for Kontrol S MK3, so that stop/start transport controls behave like Ableton Push oder Kontrol S MK2.

[jezric]

And/Or (as you said) just let us configure transport controls per controller device in Ableton, however not holding my breath here, takes Ableton forever to implement anything (from what I have seen), especially edge cases like these.

The customization/controls need to be on one end or the other (or both), and at this point I don't see NI doing anything with customization.

My advice at this point would be, don't buy any next-gen NI hardware until all this stuff is sorted out (if it ever is).

[MallorcaMalle]

End of 2024. Still the same with latest Live and Kontrol MK3 versions.

I wish for christmas (...or better for 2025) either:

• Ableton adds the option playhead behaviour to Live 12.

• NI adds the option play button behaviour to Kontrol MK3 settings.

[mrweasel]

Has this been requested to Ableton on center code, where feature requests are supposedly looked at? ( oh hello years long ara2 integration most asked request…)

Ask there or it will definitely fall on deaf ears

[S4racen]

If it's the inbuilt Kontrol49 you're using then yes post in centre code, if it's an external script that you've installed then you'd be wasting your time there and you should speak to whomever you got the script from.
Cheers
D

[MallorcaMalle]

Yes it's the internal "Komplete Kontrol S Mk3". (Live 12.1.10)

I am not on Center Code.

Maybe it is intended that you always have to press SHIFT + PLAY for this. But first of all no other live hardware controller I had does work like this, Ableton Push 2 and KK S MK 2 do it right. An second of all the buttons PLAY and SHIFT are too hard to reach at once on the Kontrol S MK3. At least not if you need to press them hundreds of times when iterating on a bassline, beat or melody.

Maybe the scripter did only self tests but no beta with some Ableton users. They would have recognised. He should have had a look how the internal script for "Komplete Kontrol S Mk2" works, because it works perfectly.

[S4racen]

I am not on Center Code.

Wasting your time posting here I'm afraid.

Cheers
D

[MallorcaMalle]

Guess you're right .......

Cheers