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.