Spectrasonics collection vs N.I. Kontakt+Battery+Libraries

[ObsoleteAcc99]

[DELETED]

[JavaJ]

I regret starting with Komplete.

Why is that?

If I could do it all over again- I would have started with Omnisphere, Trillian and RMX. It covers a lot of areas and was more inspirational to me. I could come up with very cool stuff. Komplete, to me, was just a smokin deal when they had their half price sale a few years ago (or every year- atlhough I think that is changing now). BUT, it was a combilation of a bunch of other synths, and was very disjointed to me. The whole installation process was not simple or easy- and things just seemed cumbersome. I do like B4 (which I use all the time), and of course Kontakt- but I could get away with just the player as I liked Alicia's Keys and Session Strings (well, maybe not as much as I would like to like Session Strings).

I know it will cost more to start with Spectrasonics, but their support is something else (and the fact that you can interact directly with them is awesome). I like their philosophy and feel they have a different reason for existing then their German competitor (if they are even considered that to them). They seem to "bless" their users more and more with additional features and patch updates.

To me, they inspire me more then NI. But that is just my own personal opinion. I don't hate NI, I have them too- just would do it differently now.

[Tridnod]

Less is more!!

Really, to start with komplete can make you uninspired when trying to learn it all.
I has Komplete, sold it and then bought just Kontakt, Maschine and Omnisphere. Its better to learn a few things in depth.

[PraxisCat]

Get Komplete.
Do not get Kontakt or Battery on their own. Get Komplete.
Komplete as a package is probably the best place to start. It is very deep, and has a very wide range of possibilities built into it.
As it was stated these are open tools with a great deal of third party support.
Because it is when you add in Massive, absynth, FM8, Reaktor, Reaktor synths.

The Spectrasonic stuff is not bad, but I would never prioritize it over getting Komplete, especially for the cost.

[sauli]

Haven't tried Omnisphere, but considering how much people rave about it, it must be good.

But no matter what you will need Kontakt. It's the de facto standard for pro quality multisampled instruments. If you have time to wait you can get it pretty cheap. Just wait for NI running 50% crossgrades deal and get something cheap that allows crossgrading, for example Sonic Reality Infinite Player. Or buy any third party library you want which has Kontakt Player included and you will be able to get the crossgrade deal later.

[Uncle E]

it was a combilation of a bunch of other synths, and was very disjointed to me.

Right, I completely get that, especially around Komplete 5 when it was packed full of completely distinct products. Komplete 8 is so squarely focused around Kontakt that I think it's much easier to master now. Maybe Omnisphere + Kontakt alone would be the ultimate combo in this scenario.

[tommyzai]

Thanks for the super advice. I will pass it along to my friend. .

Kontakt is the big one.
Omnisphere is big, but for that price my friend could almost get the whole Rob Papen or U-he collection. I guess that opens another debate. .

[dalor]

Spectrasonics: If you're a more of a Composer than sound designer.

Komplete: If you're more of a sound designer than a composer and love digging complex sound synthesis.

Both: If you have too much money or don't know what to get

[jancivil]

as far as a basis to grow with, Kontakt is not proprietary while Spectrasonics is. think about it.

I never bought Komplete, and I'm not likely to. I do have Absynth, Reaktor, Guitar Rig, Kore, Kontakt. I only get the one break up to Komplete. When I started investing in NI it was like 1600 dollars, it's still not that compelling, there will be many things just taking up space here I think.

[jancivil]

Spectrasonics: If you're a more of a Composer than sound designer.

Komplete: If you're more of a sound designer than a composer and love digging complex sound synthesis.

a strange dichotomy to me. I would say my sound design exists to fuel composition and that third-party development just massively tips the scale for me to choose something wholly proprietary.

So Spectrasonics doesn't provide complex synthesis? I wouldn't really know, I have trilian which surely doesn't. It's not more useful to me as a composer than anything NI, not through itself. My go-to for bass is Scarbee basses for Kontakt for instance. I kind of read this as a presets vs tweaker distinction tbh.

More is sometimes actually more. For someone that is intimidated by too many possibilities I can see focusing. but having a bigger palette does not mean you can't focus.

[dalor]

Spectrasonics: If you're a more of a Composer than sound designer.

Komplete: If you're more of a sound designer than a composer and love digging complex sound synthesis.

a strange dichotomy to me. I would say my sound design exists to fuel composition and that third-party development just massively tips the scale for me to choose something wholly proprietary.

So Spectrasonics doesn't provide complex synthesis? I wouldn't really know, I have trilian which surely doesn't. It's not more useful to me as a composer than anything NI, not through itself. My go-to for bass is Scarbee basses for Kontakt for instance. I kind of read this as a presets vs tweaker distinction tbh.

More is sometimes actually more. For someone that is intimidated by too many possibilities I can see focusing. but having a bigger palette does not mean you can't focus.

Spectrasonics does have a VA Synth Engine including a bit of FM and this and that - but it doesn't go by far as deep as let's say FM8 does. Overall you wouldn't buy Spectrasonics for it VA engine but it's endless giant sample library.

Some music genres are entirely based on sound design (e.g. Massive=Dubstep wobble bases) - it can also be done in Omnisphere but not to the detail as in massive. (BTW I have both and would say I prefer Omnisphere for quicker results instead of tweaking hours on one sound on a VA synth). Just my 2c.

[A.M. Gold]

Kontakt has an included library, but the Spectrasonics line is mostly centered on the included library and the presets. Kontakt is a sample playing/editing engine, whereas each of the Spectrasonics products are designed around what might be called "proprietary" as opposed to "open source" sounds.

K5 offers a very open-ended set of possibilities, but Spectrasonics is much less so, so you must audition the Spectrasonics line in order to settle a question like this---there's really no other way since it's going to be a strictly personal choice.

[JPQ]

For wider sound palette i prefer komplete and i actually dont like much stylys rmx but is my style which needs drum sounds with velocity layers...

[golemus]

Which do you consider more stable or efficient code, NI or Spectrasonics products...?

I had a lot of problems with StylusRMX, NI products seem to be quite stable (with the exeption of Massive). in Live btw.. which is not famous of its stability


Which gives more value per CPU cycle/or per 1MB of RAM ... ?-D

[JPQ]

Which do you consider more stable or efficient code, NI or Spectrasonics products...?

I had a lot of problems with StylusRMX, NI products seem to be quite stable (with the exeption of Massive). in Live btw.. which is not famous of its stability


Which gives more value per CPU cycle/or per 1MB of RAM ... ?-D

Its next impossible compare and i give more weight customer support but i dont have yet problems with NI i mean serious and supports worked things what i have fine.