I am chasing opinions on the purchase of Kontakt-3, mainly as I am eligible for the crossgrade from Kontakt Player, at $279.

My concerns are that after searching the forums, I found that version 3.5 is supposed to be comming soon, and it may be, or not be a free update.

Along with this discovery, came the realization that a lot of people are really piss'd off with NI, and Kontakt in particular.

As the demo I have (from NI direct) is not the latest release, I may also not be getting the whole picture with regard to crashes, for example, if I choose to show 'foreign formats' it always crashes the host.

My simple question is... would anyone recommend a purchase, or advise against one for any reason.

Although I am eligable for a discount, it's still a lot of money, and I do not want to buy into more hassles than I have to. (I own SampleLord, Directwave and ESC).

Any thoughts ?

3.5 is a free update. I don't know where you read that it may not be, but it's free. No doubt about it. So you're safe buying now because you won't have to pay later.

I would always suggest buying Kontakt. If you are going to be using samples, there are more available for Kontakt than all others, and it's a ton of power right in the box. You won't find better out there, so if you think it will be useful, searching for alternatives will likely come up fruitless.

Anyways, you can buy with confidence that you won't have to pay again for 3.5. It is absolutely a free update.

Brent

At that price, I'd go for it. Kontakt 3 runs very well over here, although Kontakt always has a little bug here and there, so I wouldn't expect absolute perfection. But it is the best, most full-featured sampler out ther, is essentially becoming an industry standard that most sample companies code for, and you'll be able to open virtually any format. As long as you have a recent, decent, fast computer, I'd give the thumbs-up.

Thanks guys, my concern about the free upgrade came from the NI forum, I was going to quote some posts, but I will accept your comments before the rants that go on over there.

Just in case I do take the plunge, does anyone happen to know if I get a serial number to activate the demo, or do I have to wait for the full version to arrive.

You'll get the full version, because a) you need the massive library DVD's, and b) they supply the serial number on paper.

As for the .5 update, historically, we have paid for one "big" update per version. It kinda hurts - I must have spent well over $1,000 on Kontakt since buying it in 2002! - but Kontakt 3 is at a really good place right now. You could coast on this version for a long time.

Put it this way: most libraries are still coded for Kontakt 1/2. So no big deal.

I don't know where you read it, but both official posts say it's a completely free update. Both the "Kontakt 3.5 is coming" thread, posted by one of the NI team, and the official update status thread. Both say free. Anything written anywhere else is just speculation, probably by users. I assure you, it's free.

Brent

While 3.5 may be free, NI does have form for charging for point updates for Kontakt. V 1.5 was not free. I think it was 50 bucks. V2 only went up to 2.2.x.

I swear there were two paid updates, apart from major versions...but my memory is hazy...

The reason I ask is that the demo has 3 options, Run in Demo mode, Buy now, or Activate.

I figured that if I purchased the full version, I could activate the demo and just wait for the DVD's to arrive later, allowing me to use K-3 with my existing Kontakt Player libraries.

I'm still undecided about purchasing, although I'm starting to think that the sample set that comes with K-3 is probably worth the crossgrade fee alone.

Hmmm..oh yeah! That's right. You can activate it with NI Service Centre, and your serials are stored in your account. Duh!

Even if you don't plan to get into scripting (which is a very-very powerful feature in Kontakt) you'll still have loads of not-too expensive and high quality Kontakt third party libraries. For me Kontakt has been the best purchase.

Can someone explain the premise of "Scripting"........ I'm looking to make a big purchase right now and I'm stuck between Kontakt, RMX, Guru, or MOTU BPM....

FYI the K3 crossgrade is $249 at Sweetwater, I think.

edit: yes, and Musician's Friend and a few other places.

shouldn't the 3.5 update come out in december 2008 ... or was it 2009?

I've never come across any bugs in it and it's well worth it just for the great library it comes with.