POLL: Which Kontakt version do you use?

[soniceldorado]

Hello everyone!

We're about to update and develop new sample libraries.

Therefore we would like to ask the KVR community which version of Native Instruments Kontakt you're using at the moment?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Daniel

[EvilDragon]

Since I'm a developer as well, I use K4.2.4, K5.1.0, K5.2.1 and K5.3.1.

But for my own projects, it's always the latest version, so K4.2.4 and K5.3.1.

[tsonic]

Still on snow leopard so 5.2.1 for me (as doesn't support 5.3)

[jancivil]

I use 4.2.4 and 5.3.0.

on Snow Leopard. They broke the installer but the .component works just fine if you can extract it.
Someone here offered 'Snowify' which creates 10.6 .pkgs, for one thing. Wait, actually the 'fixapps' terminal command seems to have produced a working 5.3 standalone here. It's in a thread about NI's Xmas freebie Supercharger.

Also 'Pacifist' will extract the plugins and Application Support things (eg., Service Center xml), although the standalone out of that doesn't happen.

I see 5.3.1 things do not work on 5.3.0 which to me is ridiculous. If you're making things that require every update like that I'm very turned off to your product.

[soniceldorado]

thanks for all the answers so far!

I see 5.3.1 things do not work on 5.3.0 which to me is ridiculous. If you're making things that require every update like that I'm very turned off to your product.

yes you're right, even if the instrument/patch in 100% identical but is saved with a newer version, an older NI Kontakt version will not open the patch, so it's not backwards compatible.
Also let's say a library is made with Kontakt 5, then it's necessary to rebuild it from the ground up to make it compatible with Kontakt 4. (if the functionality is available there).
Steinberg has made the step already supporting version compatibility.
I can open a 7.5 project with Cubase 6, which is great.
Of course there are major differences in functionality, but you get all basic setups, audio, midi events working and you can go on from there.

[EvilDragon]

Actually Kontakt IS backwards compatible (means it can load older version files). But it's not forward compatible (means older versions can load newer version files). Generally forward compatible programs are in great minority...

I can open a 7.5 project with Cubase 6, which is great.
Of course there are major differences in functionality, but you get all basic setups, audio, midi events working and you can go on from there.

This would never work for Kontakt, though, because different versions can have different effects that are not available in previous versions (for example new filters in K5), and .x versions can have different KSP commands added which again change things so much, so it wouldn't be a good idea to support that kind of compatibility in Kontakt - it would produce much more headaches than it's worth. So, jancivil, don't be mad at NI because of this. It's the best course of action they could take regarding this particular matter.

[Timman]

Always the latest on my MAC.

[tsonic]

I use 4.2.4 and 5.3.0.

on Snow Leopard. They broke the installer but the .component works just fine if you can extract it.
Someone here offered 'Snowify' which creates 10.6 .pkgs, for one thing. Wait, actually the 'fixapps' terminal command seems to have produced a working 5.3 standalone here. It's in a thread about NI's Xmas freebie Supercharger.

Also 'Pacifist' will extract the plugins and Application Support things (eg., Service Center xml), although the standalone out of that doesn't happen.

Ah thats interesting info, thanks - might look into this, though the inevitable upgrade from snow leopard always looms.

[soniceldorado]

Actually Kontakt IS backwards compatible (means it can load older version files). But it's not forward compatible (means older versions can load newer version files). Generally forward compatible programs are in great minority...

Yes of course you're right EvilDragon, I meant forward compatible.

This would never work for Kontakt, though, because different versions can have different effects that are not available in previous versions (for example new filters in K5), and .x versions can have different KSP commands added which again change things so much, so it wouldn't be a good idea to support that kind of compatibility in Kontakt - it would produce much more headaches than it's worth. So, jancivil, don't be mad at NI because of this. It's the best course of action they could take regarding this particular matter.

I agree with you 100% from a user perspective. If you could load "new" patches with KSP commands not available in older versions, then things would become very messy and unreliable because the instruments would not work as expected.

On the other hand, it would be cool to have a developer mode (with warnings) in order to overcome these obstacles "jumping" between version.
For now a good way propably is to write in K4 and proceed to K5 if the desired features aren't available. (maybe offer 2 versions, one with limited K4 functionality, one in K5)

[Jace-BeOS]

I'm still on 3.5. Mac.

[EvilDragon]

I'm still on 3.5. Mac.

Damn, v3 was the buggiest Kontakt ever. Run to the hills! It's safe to say now that there will be no more K3 libraries produced, so you should upgrade.

[jancivil]

This would never work for Kontakt, though, because different versions can have different effects that are not available in previous versions (for example new filters in K5), and .x versions can have different KSP commands added which again change things so much, so it wouldn't be a good idea to support that kind of compatibility in Kontakt - it would produce much more headaches than it's worth. So, jancivil, don't be mad at NI because of this. It's the best course of action they could take regarding this particular matter.

I understand it, but 3.0 to 3.1 and it's that new seems excessive. I don't think it was this accelerated before.

To clarify my point, if you're a developer and you feel you simply must save the thing you're putting on the market in only 5.3.1 you might be apprised of some resistance to that. There came to be a certain critical mass for me with the updates so finally I went to 5.3. (5.3.1, I don't know, what's so crucial? It addresses not working in Mavericks, I don't work in Mavericks and may never do. Other than that I'm not driven by things I don't know about.)
If you are, please make this crystal clear up front. I use Kontakt every project and I already have some steps to make 5.3 workable (in three different forms). Since there is no problem of actual functionality in Snow Leopard, I'm already annoyed by a broken installer (and a broken Service Center).

[EvilDragon]

K5.3.1 has some important quickfixes for Mavericks compatibility. Of course it will be adviseable to save the library in 5.3.1 as opposed to 5.3.0, for safety/stability concerns.

"Broken" installer, I wouldn't call it that. I'd call that complying to Apple's planned obsolence concept. Don't blame NI for that, blame Apple. Go Windows.

[jancivil]

Well, you can save it in the earlier versions in addition to, which seems like better business sense doesn't it? I moved to K5 only very lately, and directly to 5.3. Behind certain libraries, and since I have to 'snowify' all of the NI updates, here is a sea change so I adapted. I still load things in K4.2.4 unless impossible. I'm not an early adopter of change like this whether it's NI plugins or Operating System. Fixed a problem with Mavericks that I don't have, right? I'm just a musician, I need the things to be stable, chasing updates is tricky business.

I don't care whose fault it is. I understand NI want to cut down on support tickets, bottom line. Go Windows? There are people on Windows that can't install the updates too, also.
Special pleading, I'm not moved by it.

[EvilDragon]

Well, you can save it in the earlier versions, which seems like better business sense doesn't it?

It really depends on what the library actually uses. For example, filters which have HQ button didn't save the state of that button in the NKI in 5.1.0. Time Machine Pro max polyphony (set in Instrument Options) wasn't loaded from the NKI properly in 5.2.1... Tiny stuff like these that the end user doesn't know drives the final decision of the library vendor on which Kontakt version it will be released.