Kontakt 5 Black Friday?

Sampler and Sampling discussion (techniques, tips and tricks, etc.)
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Hey guys, seeing as Kontakt 5 is $199.50 right now, and this being the cheapest I've seen it in awhile, I have to ask... Is Kontakt 5 worth it? I don't currently have a sampler based instrument in my arsenal, I mainly use Xfer Serum right now but wouldn't mind expanding my library for something more natural or 'instrumental'.

Please encourage or discourage me towards purchasing Kontakt 5! What do you guys think!? :help: :tu: :phones: :dog:

ThankS!!! :D :tu: :phones: :party: :hug:

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If you're willing to invest the time learning it, Kontakt's definitely worth the price if you're planning to build your own sample-based instruments. The full Kontakt also gives you access to the hundreds (thousands?) of free and commercial Kontakt instruments that aren't Player-certified.

And finally, it qualifies you for a crossgrade discount for when the next Komplete version rolls around...

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UltimateOutsider wrote:If you're willing to invest the time learning it, Kontakt's definitely worth the price if you're planning to build your own sample-based instruments. The full Kontakt also gives you access to the hundreds (thousands?) of free and commercial Kontakt instruments that aren't Player-certified.

And finally, it qualifies you for a crossgrade discount for when the next Komplete version rolls around...
Is there a lot to learn? I thought it was quite straightforward in that you are able to load up instruments and play them from the get go?

Thank you for the info! :party: :hug: :clap: :pray:

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You can but it's a full fledged sampler under the hood. What kinda sampled instruments do you want? I upgraded to K10 mainly for Kontakt but tbh i hardly ever use it!
Latest release and Socials: https://linktr.ee/ph.i.ltr3

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musikmachine wrote:You can but it's a full fledged sampler under the hood. What kinda sampled instruments do you want? I upgraded to K10 mainly for Kontakt but tbh i hardly ever use it!
Wow...! lol, that is quite an investment.

To answer your question, I love the idea of having a diverse library with many different sounds, and I also want sounds derived from actual instruments, however my main interest is in guitar sounds.

I have a follow up question, which might require its own thread but; I am also looking at Guitar Rig 5, as it is also on sale... How would Guitar Rig 5 sound on something like a Saw Wave synth sound? Will its 'amp's' add a similar distortion to a synth as it would a guitar etc.?

If so, I might pass on Kontakt and buy Guitar Rig 5. So many choices.. :dog: :dog: :dog:

Thanks!! :tu: :D :hug:

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Pick up the Guitar Rig demo and try it on your synths :wink: Or try out a few of the free amp sims - there are many and there have been quite a few discussions about them if you search the forums.

As for Kontakt, it's a good product if you want to create and/or tinker with samples. There are also many excellent libraries. If it's libraries you're mainly interested in I'd try to audition them first to find which you like. Many libraries work with the free Kontakt player so you might not need to actually buy the full product.

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If you don't intend to use the deep smiling functions of Kontakt, you might not need the full Kontakt license. However some libraries do require the full license. However if you are thinking about getting Kontakt and Guitar Rig then Komplete (regular not ultimate), isn't that much more money even with the sale going on.

But if you want to save money, have you seen Komplete Elements? 25 dollars right now (usually 50) and it comes with quite a few Kontakt libraries, Reaktor synths and Guitar Rig amps and effects. 25 bucks! Here's the list:
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/pr ... -products/

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I think it depends on how much you want to use the third party samples available for it, or how much you want to build your own complex multisampled instruments for the format

I don't use it as much as I thought I would, as I tend to prefer simpler tools for everyday sample playback

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Kontakt 5 is pretty good, and there are a ton of free libraries out there for it. I'd call it a must buy for music makers simply based on all the 3rd party libraries.
Check the re-sellers, don't check the re-sellers. I don't care.

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Rah wrote:I don't use it as much as I thought I would, as I tend to prefer simpler tools for everyday sample playback
Same thing for me. I tend to use various "open" (or cheaper) formats for my own use. For commercial music production, Kontakt is pretty much a must have. With the library you have with Kontakt plus the free ones available, your pretty much covered for acoustic instruments and even electronic ones.

VST Buzz has a lot of multi-gigabits Kontakt libraries available for free here (direct downloads links, no email signups):

http://vstbuzz.com/freebies/

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shonoob wrote:
musikmachine wrote:You can but it's a full fledged sampler under the hood. What kinda sampled instruments do you want? I upgraded to K10 mainly for Kontakt but tbh i hardly ever use it!
Wow...! lol, that is quite an investment.

To answer your question, I love the idea of having a diverse library with many different sounds, and I also want sounds derived from actual instruments, however my main interest is in guitar sounds.

I have a follow up question, which might require its own thread but; I am also looking at Guitar Rig 5, as it is also on sale... How would Guitar Rig 5 sound on something like a Saw Wave synth sound? Will its 'amp's' add a similar distortion to a synth as it would a guitar etc.?

If so, I might pass on Kontakt and buy Guitar Rig 5. So many choices.. :dog: :dog: :dog:

Thanks!! :tu: :D :hug:
I bought the crossgrade in an NI sale. I was mainly interested in Kontakt cause i didn't have a sampler and it's regarded as the standard so it wasn't just for that.

It's quite a deep sampler and there's a learning curve with scripting if you want to build your own instruments but yeah there are lots of 3rd part libs for it, can't help you with guitars though.
Latest release and Socials: https://linktr.ee/ph.i.ltr3

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musikmachine wrote:
shonoob wrote:
musikmachine wrote:You can but it's a full fledged sampler under the hood. What kinda sampled instruments do you want? I upgraded to K10 mainly for Kontakt but tbh i hardly ever use it!
Wow...! lol, that is quite an investment.

To answer your question, I love the idea of having a diverse library with many different sounds, and I also want sounds derived from actual instruments, however my main interest is in guitar sounds.

I have a follow up question, which might require its own thread but; I am also looking at Guitar Rig 5, as it is also on sale... How would Guitar Rig 5 sound on something like a Saw Wave synth sound? Will its 'amp's' add a similar distortion to a synth as it would a guitar etc.?

If so, I might pass on Kontakt and buy Guitar Rig 5. So many choices.. :dog: :dog: :dog:

Thanks!! :tu: :D :hug:
I bought the crossgrade in an NI sale. I was mainly interested in Kontakt cause i didn't have a sampler and it's regarded as the standard so it wasn't just for that.

It's quite a deep sampler and there's a learning curve with scripting if you want to build your own instruments but yeah there are lots of 3rd part libs for it, can't help you with guitars though.
What kind of libraries are there if you wouldnt mind noting some?

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Kontakt 5 is the best music software I ever bought. I use it on every single track I make. There is zero learning curve if you are just using sample libraries and it's super easy to just make a simple instrument. Of course, you can go incredibly deep too. There are some free interface shells out there to make it even easier too.

I have Guitar Rig 5 and I like it, but I also like plenty of the free amp sims out there too. Personally, I'd go with Kontakt and later crossgrade to Komplete, where you'll get GR5 anyway. They have very good sales on the crossgrades at times. Can't help you with using synths as guitars. I use Shreddage 2.

What kind of libraries? Check out these devs:

Soundiron
Impact soundworks
Spifire Audio
Hollowsun
Rhythmic Robot
8Dio

Plus about a billion more. Prices range from cheap to astronomical.

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Shangsean wrote:Kontakt 5 is the best music software I ever bought. I use it on every single track I make. There is zero learning curve if you are just using sample libraries and it's super easy to just make a simple instrument. Of course, you can go incredibly deep too. There are some free interface shells out there to make it even easier too.

I have Guitar Rig 5 and I like it, but I also like plenty of the free amp sims out there too. Personally, I'd go with Kontakt and later crossgrade to Komplete, where you'll get GR5 anyway. They have very good sales on the crossgrades at times. Can't help you with using synths as guitars. I use Shreddage 2.

What kind of libraries? Check out these devs:

Soundiron
Impact soundworks
Spifire Audio
Hollowsun
Rhythmic Robot
8Dio

Plus about a billion more. Prices range from cheap to astronomical.
If I buy Kontakt is it mandatory to buy libraries to get the fullest experience? How is Kontakt on cpu usage?

Thanks for the info!!

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I need to update it, but I made a list of free instruments from all over the web and if you go through it you will see something like 2/3rds are for Kontakt. Make sure to hit older posts as that is where the pianos and such are.
http://bigcatlists.blogspot.com/
Bedroom Producers Blog and Rekkerd are good places to look for freebies for Kontakt.

I also have fun making free Kontakt instruments from public domain and creative commons samples.
http://bigcatinstruments.blogspot.com/

Whether these are high enough quality to be a positive influence on buying Kontakt seems to vary by ear.

Kontakt comes with aging but decent instruments that cover almost every instrument known to man. I think you could make passable music using only those instruments. Add in freebies and you will likely fill in any gap and have at least two of any instrument known to man.

Kontakt is well optimized for both CPU usage and memory.
Last edited by bigcat1969 on Sun Nov 29, 2015 5:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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