KVR Audio

tdm71 · Post by **tdm71** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 2:24 pm

I produce mainstream music.. Call it pop, edm, whatever... Now, with the NI sale being very good, I see K9U as a scoring movies/video game composers dream but I'm not sure how useful any of the extras are for radio/ club friendly music. I never hear anyone loving the drums or raving about the extras. Anyone made the jump in my boat and loving it?

robogone · Post by **robogone** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 2:37 pm

I'm not sure why you would associate any of the products with any particular genre. They're all pretty much universal if you want them to be.

foosnark · Post by **foosnark** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 2:39 pm

I'm guessing the extras in Ultimate are probably not worth it to most, but you just kind of have to do the math. It's a $500 difference, so you'd have to seriously want $500 worth of stuff to make it worthwhile instead of getting separately.

Among the whole list of things K9U has that K9 doesn't, all I'd pay for would be Razor (which I did, and it is nice), and maybe Damage if I was really jonesing for it.

(To be frank, there's a lot in the non-ultimate version that I don't use or foresee ever using. I'd gladly pay $50 less and lose 6 or 7 libraries from Komplete 9. Overall it's still worth it though.)

xamido · Post by **xamido** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 2:52 pm

No. Razor, damage, session strings pro can be used for pop music. Even the scarbee funk and jay bass is useful since recently people have been going back to that nu-disco sound.

BERFAB · Post by **BERFAB** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 3:00 pm

This last time around, the bigger packages in KU9 seem to be more cinema oriented.

I don't do scoring, but I always find things that spice up my tracks from these.

Most often, if one of my drum tracks just isn't doing it for me, I'll find something in Damage to put behind it, just to give it a bit of a kick.

The same with the strings and horns. I won't build a track around them, but I will use them as an added accent.

And yes, Razor is great. This with Prism will take you to some very interesting places, IMHO.

-B

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 3:15 pm

All the effects in Komplete are extremely useful in any kind of production, IMHO.

tdm71 · Post by **tdm71** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 3:38 pm

Ok... thanks guys. As an owner of K2, the ultimate is only a difference of 250 from the regular. BTW: how are the drum packs in the ultimate compared to the sound quality of say Slate or AD? I never hear them mentioned.

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 3:56 pm

EvilDragon wrote:All the effects in Komplete are extremely useful in any kind of production, IMHO.

+1

There's nothing low quality about any NI stuff although mac users be warned, they have started blocking snow leopard installs which they told me they wouldn't until k10.

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 4:17 pm

Yet it's still possible to work around that and have things working in 10.6.8. http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34753

@OP: Regarding the drums, they are extremely great, and very very flexible. They can chomp some CPU, though, but the sound is worth it, IMHO.

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 4:59 pm

I'm not a great fan of the K9U libraries. But I did want certain things from it. Once I added up the few things I wanted though, it again became cheaper overall to just buy the update. Much of the sample libraries I find to be easy tools (AKA 'Action') that get in the way of me really using them how I need to. And I'm not an immediate fan of their strings/horns/pianos/basses for Kontakt. They all seem to more of an effect of that instrument than the instrument for me. Not saying they aren't any good, but for my use right now, they're the weakest. Third party sounds are where the player/synths start to shine in K9U IMO.

You mentioned the drums though, and more of Battery was one of those things I wanted along with a couple of the Reaktor Ensembles making it a better deal to update the whole thing rather than getting those products piecemeal.

I also think I just haven't spent enough time getting to know this monster Kompletely and taking apart the automation where I can to build it toward my needs.

Bottom line: look at the separate things you really want out of the ultimate and price them up. Chances are, you'll end up just going for the package. And if happens to you like it did to me, things I wasn't even wanting have become the things I use the most in it.

Remember too, just because you have it, doesn't mean you have to load it up. And that is where the bloat is, in our need to have it all there ready to go and never touching it more than the first few times to try it.

KevWestBeats · Post by **KevWestBeats** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 6:40 pm

tdm71 wrote:I produce mainstream music.. Call it pop, edm, whatever... Now, with the NI sale being very good, I see K9U as a scoring movies/video game composers dream but I'm not sure how useful any of the extras are for radio/ club friendly music. I never hear anyone loving the drums or raving about the extras. Anyone made the jump in my boat and loving it?

No not everything is for scoring. I have owned several pieces of K9U individually though I have just finally bit the bullet and got the bundle. Here are some of the tools that are only in Ultimate and work well for non score music.

Alicia's Keys
George Duke Soul Treasures
Razor (Great for EDM)
The Mouth (great for EDM)
Session Horns
Session Strings Pro
RC48
RC24
Vari Comp
Passive EQ
Enhanced EQ
Driver
VA2A
VC76
VC160
The Abbey Road drummer series
Funk Guitarist
Jay Bass
Pre Bass

I have owned or demoed all of these except for session horns, session strings pro, jay bass. This is the bulk of K9U, Not sure about Damage, Evolve, Evolve mutations or Action Strings but those are the only pieces I would call cinematic. Its worth the jump for many but the standard version is more than enough to get busy making good music.

KevWestBeats · Post by **KevWestBeats** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 6:52 pm

tdm71 wrote:Ok... thanks guys. As an owner of K2, the ultimate is only a difference of 250 from the regular. BTW: how are the drum packs in the ultimate compared to the sound quality of say Slate or AD? I never hear them mentioned.

If you are in the US Guitar Center is giving up K9U updates for $200. Its a bitch to find one but there you have it

UltimateOutsider · Post by **UltimateOutsider** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:10 pm

To me the biggest advantage to Ultimate over Standard Komplete is all the effects (both standalone and the Guitar Rig addons). They are all good. I've also used the Scarbee basses in pop/dance tracks, and Damage is a treasure trove of industrial drum sounds.

KevWestBeats · Post by **KevWestBeats** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:13 pm

UltimateOutsider wrote:To me the biggest advantage to Ultimate over Standard Komplete is all the effects (both standalone and the Guitar Rig addons). They are all good.

+1 The fx are really nice especially those reverbs.

tdm71 · Post by **tdm71** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:49 pm

KevWestBeats wrote:
tdm71 wrote:Ok... thanks guys. As an owner of K2, the ultimate is only a difference of 250 from the regular. BTW: how are the drum packs in the ultimate compared to the sound quality of say Slate or AD? I never hear them mentioned.
If you are in the US Guitar Center is giving up K9U updates for $200. Its a bitch to find one but there you have it

Aren't those upgrades for 9 to 9u or 8u to 9u? I'm just a k2 owner... I'd love it if that was the case.

Btw: Thanks guys for all the feedback. Really doesn't make sense to not get ultimate

Is most of K9 Ultimate just bloat for the producer who doesn't do any scoring?