Komplete 11 Ultimate Conundrum

[jancivil]

just for a contrary take: I'm probably a bigger NI user than you, in preference to most things. But I have never bought Komplete. I started with NI in 2003 when a modest Komplete relative to now was like $1699 (albeit memory fuzzes). So even as the bang for the buck has grown, I haven't changed disposition really. When I look at Komplete today, there is very little I don't have that really would drive me to buy unless I felt pretty fat. Ultimate has more I'd want but these things have competition rather directly (orchestral samples)...

[LGK_Dude]

In a similar situation, and my concern with upgrading to ultimate vs "regular" is that going forward, are you now stuck on the ultimate path? For example, when komplete 12 comes out, and all you really want is in both the regular komplete & ultimate (e.g. Kontakt 6) are you only able to upgrade to 12 ultimate? If so, that's a noticeable price difference, especially if you are not really interested in the ultimate only additions.

Either way I'm personally waiting for Kontakt 6 before upgrading, but don't know if I should go ultimate for my reason above.

[wagtunes]

just for a contrary take: I'm probably a bigger NI user than you, in preference to most things. But I have never bought Komplete. I started with NI in 2003 when a modest Komplete relative to now was like $1699 (albeit memory fuzzes). So even as the bang for the buck has grown, I haven't changed disposition really. When I look at Komplete today, there is very little I don't have that really would drive me to buy unless I felt pretty fat. Ultimate has more I'd want but these things have competition rather directly (orchestral samples)...

So what do you do when NI comes out with a new synth, which these days appears to be all Reaktor based? You just buy them singularly? If I bought all the Reaktor synths that I'd like to have that I don't already have, it would run me $200 with the sale they're having.

I think it's silly that for just $100 more I just don't get everything given I'm missing so much stuff. Then, from hereon out, just get the individual pieces that I want. Remember, I got K9 regular then didn't upgrade when 10 or 11 came out. So there is a ton in K11 that I don't have. Again, the synths alone (Rounds, Form, Kontour, Razor) comes out to $200. Seems like a no brainer when you look at it that way given I don't have to deal with a 500 gig download all at once.

But okay, let me ask you this. If you were in my exact same shoes and owned K9 regular and was missing everything from 9 ultimate to now except for Reaktor 6, what would you do?

I'm asking because you say you're a big NI user.

[SJ_Digriz]

If it's any help, I'm getting off the Komplete train. I really only use Kontakt and a tiny bit of Reaktor. So, from here on out I'm just going to update those when they are on sale. So Kontakt 6 will be next .. but I won't buy that upgrade until it is on sale .. or possibly they will have a release sale or something.

[V0RT3X]

You might be able to use the sample libraries in your songs since you seem to use a lot of them.

They don't really do these kind of cheap updates very often, so it might be worth it if there is something in the bundle you want. On the bright side you can sell Reaktor 6 and the other extra licences and get some money back afterwards.

[SJ_Digriz]

By the way, there is no question the potential value proposition for Komplete. The issue for me was just analyzing things I use.
I figured out that I use exactly none of the effects, none of the synths, and none of the stock libraries. That kind of reduces the value proposition. I use Kontakt, but with other libraries. I use a few of the Reaktor things occasionally, but things like Rounds and Polyplex although ok, I don't use them. So, I decided not to update to K11 because R6 and Form would be the only potential things for me. I would end up not use Form even if I had it. I have too much time invested in Falcon and Halion.
So updating to R6 for $50 is worth it. Updating to K6 when it comes out will be worth some shekels at that time. That will cost several hundred dollars less than staying on the Komplete train year in and year out just to get stuff I don't use.

[wagtunes]

You might be able to use the sample libraries in your songs since you seem to use a lot of them.

They don't really do these kind of cheap updates very often, so it might be worth it if there is something in the bundle you want. On the bright side you can sell Reaktor 6 and the other extra licences and get some money back afterwards.

You're telling me I can sell my current Reaktor 6 license because I'll get a new one with K11 Ultimate?

[mladi]

As long as you didn't sell a product which destroy your crossgrade/upgrade path to K9 (if this is the case) you can transfer/sell Reaktor, Kontakt and so on.

[mutantdog]

In a similar situation, and my concern with upgrading to ultimate vs "regular" is that going forward, are you now stuck on the ultimate path? For example, when komplete 12 comes out, and all you really want is in both the regular komplete & ultimate (e.g. Kontakt 6) are you only able to upgrade to 12 ultimate? If so, that's a noticeable price difference, especially if you are not really interested in the ultimate only additions.

Either way I'm personally waiting for Kontakt 6 before upgrading, but don't know if I should go ultimate for my reason above.

I went from K10 to K10U and am able to upgrade from either of them, so i can get either K11 or K11U. So no, you won't be stuck on the Ultimate path.

[JonSolo]

You're telling me I can sell my current Reaktor 6 license because I'll get a new one with K11 Ultimate?

If you bought Reaktor 6 upgrade, then you can sell the Reaktor 6 upgrade. But that is different than Reaktor 6. If you bought Reaktor 6 without using Komplete as the path, then you can sell it whole.

As far as doing the upgrade to K11U, you can think about the synths, but there is so much else in terms of Kontakt libraries that come with it that makes it great. For $299 it really is a no-brainer. And you can install just what you want, when you want.

I think we are at least a year away from K12, so I wouldn't think twice.

[shidostrife]

As above poster said, you can sell everything extra as long as it doesn't break your Komplete 9. If it's an upgrade from, say, Kontakt, you can sell everything except Kontakt. If you bought it full version, you can sell everything else.

Also as long as you still have K9 in your account, you could still go to Komplete(non U), even though you have K11U. NI's update/upgrade scheme is kinda weird, but it's very flexible.

[Rajiv]

This is a great thread -- message boards across the internet are throbbing with a similar conversation. Kudos to Native Instruments for pricing their product right at the edge of the pain point. I'm in a similar boat -- I told myself that if NI dropped the price of the Kontakt crossgrade to $150 or less, I would buy it. And at $125, I will. But for just another $200 I could have all the toys in Komplete?!? I can live without $200. Right? Who needs that Ableton upgrade? Or maybe I'll just stop funding my kid's college funds for a couple of months (they aren't great students anyways).

I love the music stuff. But sometimes the more stuff I have, the harder it actually is to finish anything. More stuff = more inspiration. But I have so many files full of inspiration and so few of completed work. I still the the best thing I ever did was 25 years ago -- it was a cover of "In the Midnight Hour" a la The Jam with a Strat squier, an old Laney tube amp with a busted spring reverb, a BOSS DR-220A Dr. Rhythm drum machine, and a TASCAM 4-track. I got bass sounds by tuning the Low E on the Squier as low as I could make it before it drooped over the A-string.

You know why I really want the full version of Kontakt? Because I want to buy Realibanjo. Really.

I don't need any of that other stuff in Komplete (well... maybe Session Horns). I would tinker. I'd load them one at a time and play around with the presets, see what inspired me. I'd create starter tracks to fill up my hard drive and listen to them over and over again imagining what I could do with them. (West Africa looks really cool) And the ones I really need to work on, that actually have structure to them, would continue to languish. It would be moronic of me to drop $200 bucks on Komplete. (Form looks like a fun music toy) And it will go on sale again in the future, most likely at the same just-above-the-pain-threshold price point. So there... no way.

($200? Will I regret spending $200 on this on my deathbed? Of course not! I probably won't even remember it!)

Anyways, I'm sure this is not helpful to the OP. But you are not alone.

[wagtunes]

You're telling me I can sell my current Reaktor 6 license because I'll get a new one with K11 Ultimate?

If you bought Reaktor 6 upgrade, then you can sell the Reaktor 6 upgrade. But that is different than Reaktor 6. If you bought Reaktor 6 without using Komplete as the path, then you can sell it whole.

As far as doing the upgrade to K11U, you can think about the synths, but there is so much else in terms of Kontakt libraries that come with it that makes it great. For $299 it really is a no-brainer. And you can install just what you want, when you want.

I think we are at least a year away from K12, so I wouldn't think twice.

I'm trying to follow this but this whole upgrade stuff is confusing the heck out of me.

A few years ago I bought K9 from Sam Ash. Just plain K9. Not Ultimate.

And that's the ONLY thing I bought from NI until Reaktor 6 came out. Now I'm assuming when I bought Reaktor 6 (it cost me $99) it was as an upgrade from Reaktor 5 but I really don't know because I still have Reaktor 5 as part of K9. I can use either 5 or 6, though I never use 5 anymore.

I just don't want to buy K11U, sell Reaktor 6 that I have now and end up screwing myself in the process.

[wagtunes]

Okay, I went into my NI account and these are the two relevant things I found though there is a ton of other stuff there that I guess also had to be registered with NI.

KOMPLETE 9 (serial number)
REAKTOR 6 Update (serial number)

So does this mean I can sell Reaktor 6 after I buy K11U if I get it?

[SJ_Digriz]

Okay, I went into my NI account and these are the two relevant things I found though there is a ton of other stuff there that I guess also had to be registered with NI.

KOMPLETE 9 (serial number)
REAKTOR 6 Update (serial number)

So does this mean I can sell Reaktor 6 after I buy K11U if I get it?

I believe you can sell the upgrade if you upgraded your Komplete Reaktor 5.
So, if you just paid the upgrade price you can only sell the upgrade.
But if you bought full blown Reaktor 6, then yes you can sell the full blown license.