Support for Kontrol MK3

[yabix007]

Iam planning to update my trusty Mk1 Keyboard with the MK3 one.

Iam hoping to get Mk3 support for SynthesiaKontrol aswell.

Thanks for your effort!!!

[ninanoe]

I have the new MK3 S88 and want to help. I figure the hid id of the usb is different ? Any hints how I can figure this out to get MK3 supported ?

[ojacques]

Thanks ! Can you try with those instructions? https://superuser.com/a/1106248

[ninanoe]

ok not sure you need the ODR or the DFU but here are both

DFU:
USB\VID_17CC&PID_2120&REV_0157&MI_04
USB\VID_17CC&PID_2120&MI_04

ODR:
USB\VID_17CC&PID_2120&REV_0157&MI_03
USB\VID_17CC&PID_2120&MI_03

[tillt]

@ojacques I am still trying to figure things out for MK3 as well.

Known facts for MK3 devices...

Product IDs:
0x2110 = S61
0x2120 = S88 (thanks to @ninanoe)

Lightguide Update Command (keys):
0x83

Init Command to get both lightguide support as well as transmission of MIDI data:
???

0xA0, 0x00, 0x00 does allow for lightguide updates but does not allow for the transmission of MIDI data.

For more up-to-date development on my quest, see tillt/KompleteSynthesia#29

[tillt]

Product IDs: 0x2110 = S61 0x2120 = S88 (thanks to @ninanoe)

0x2100 = S49

[ca9]

Hi all, its been a while and I feel I just bought a 1000$ brick a la the mk3 s88, I cant get synthesia to run... :-(

Any chance of an update here? I really appreciate your efforts...

[ojacques]

Hi @yabix007 — thanks for your interest!

I've done some research on MK3 support. Here's where things stand:

MK3 is very different from MK1/MK2

The MK3 keyboards use a completely different protocol for light control. Instead of direct HID writes (0x81/0x82 buffers), NI introduced a local socket-based service (the "Hardware Connection Service") that handles LED communication via msgpack-encoded messages.

Known MK3 Product IDs

Model	Product ID
S49 MK3	0x2100 (unconfirmed)
S61 MK3	0x2110 (confirmed)
S88 MK3	0x2120 (confirmed)

(Vendor is still 0x17cc / Native Instruments)

Existing work

The macOS project KompleteSynthesia by @tillt has been actively reverse-engineering MK3 support (see their issue #18 and discussion #29). Key findings:

• Lighting works through NI's local service, not direct HID writes
• There's a Python script that demonstrates the protocol: https://gist.github.com/skylerwshaw/be4b39e12b65286aafed25e2a595e547
• The protocol uses msgpack over a Unix socket (macOS) — Windows equivalent would need investigation

What this means for SynthesiaKontrol

Adding MK3 support would require a significant rewrite of the light control layer since we can't just send HID buffers directly. However, the protocol has been documented, so it's feasible. The main unknowns are:

1. How the NI Hardware Connection Service works on Windows (socket path, protocol differences)
2. Whether the same msgpack-based approach works cross-platform

If you (or anyone else) has an MK3 on Windows and is willing to help investigate, that would be a great starting point! The Python gist linked above could potentially be adapted for Windows.

Keeping this open as a feature request.