Arturia controllers are now compatible with the NKS standard, according to an official press release. Support for the standard has been made possible through direct collaboration with Native Instruments.
According to the announcement, compatibility with NKS (Native Kontrol Standard) will allow musicians to enjoy a more comfortable and efficient user experience when interacting with virtual instruments and effects. According to Martin Dutasta, Arturia's Product Director, the initiative will provide greater connectivity and a smoother workflow for musicians who rely on the [Arturia and Native Instruments] ecosystems simultaneously.
The collaboration with Arturia is an evolution of Native Instruments' development policy to expand its market presence and popularize the NKS. The company has moved away from the somewhat closed nature of the standard and offered third-party manufacturers the opportunity to include support for the protocol in their products. According to statements made by Native Instruments in January 2025, support for the standard will soon appear in controllers from a number of other popular brands.
According to Simon Cross, Director of Product Development at Native Instruments, the partnership with Arturia is the result of a desire to create a more open and connected music industry. The company's goal is to remove restrictions and give musicians the freedom and convenience to work with sound.
The NKS integration will be available in the coming weeks for Arturia's KeyLab mk3, KeyLab Essential mk3 and MiniLab 3 MIDI controllers. After the firmware update, users will be able to control more than 2,000 NKS-compatible instruments and effects with Komplete Kontrol software. This integration provides access to instant parameter mapping and seamless operation.
In addition to standard support, users will also receive a software suite. According to a statement from the companies, the Native Instruments Komplete 15 Select plug-in kit will become part of the Arturia Lab Controller Bundle that comes with the French manufacturer's devices.
The regular price of the Komplete 15 Select kit is $99, but users who register the Arturia gear listed above will receive it for free. Please note that users who have already registered their units will not be able to get the license - according to the terms of the partnership, the plug-ins will only be made available for new registrations. In general, if you haven't already registered your KeyLab or MiniLab on the company's website, then… there's no rush - wait for the integration to appear and then register your controller to get a set of effects and instruments from Native Instruments.
Users subscribed to Arturia's mailing list will be notified when updated firmware with NKS support is available. All new controllers purchased after May 2025 will be automatically updated with the new firmware when connected to a computer and the appropriate software is installed.
The new V collection was definitely a disappointment, but this is fantastic news. Komplete Kontrol works so much better as a VST and control mapping than Analog Lab it's not even a fair comparison. Personally, I can't wait for this one.