The S88 is a full-sized keyboard but not quite as heavy as some, at 14.4 kg. Hammer action keys are just a requirement for some players. Although I have many keyboards, the one I play on when I’m really playing piano is a digital stage piano, because of how great it feels. Those keys in this instance come from Fatar (as do the others in the series, though only semi-weighted), whose keybeds are well known in the industry for being very playable. I should qualify that last statement by saying that enjoying synth-action keys doesn’t make someone less than serious, but rather that there are some sounds-the most obvious example being acoustic piano-that are just so much more expressive when played with full-sized, weighted, hammer action keys.

Joining the 25, 49 and 61 key models is an 88-key weighted beast that’s designed for the more serious player. Along with the release of the Komplete Kontrol software version 1.5 that brings a bunch of important new features to the platform (like expanding it to other VSTs), NI has released the biggest and you might reasonably assume final model in its “S” keyboard series.

Komplete kontrol s88 mk3