KVR Audio

optofonik · Post by **optofonik** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:19 am

I'm also only running on an AMD Phenom hexcore.

paulbreeze · Post by **paulbreeze** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:04 am

optofonik wrote:I'm also only running on an AMD Phenom hexcore.

That does not count so much, since on the software side you get nearly the same (kontakt5 and gr5 are the exception). The added value are sample packs...

optofonik · Post by **optofonik** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 4:12 am

paulbreeze wrote:...The added value are sample packs...

So, essentially, it's a $200.00 sample library. That begs the question, is it a good sample library? For $200 I want to think, "How can I go wrong?"

paulbreeze · Post by **paulbreeze** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 6:44 am

[edit]One other thing to mention: 199USD is the regular upgrade price. In the last years there were -50% discounts in the summer. So, if you are not in a hurry, It's probably a good idea to wait...[/edit]

Disclaimer: I do not have komplete 8, I use k5 and a few upgrades...

That depends... Are you into pianos? Acoustical and/or electronic?

In K6 acoustic pianos were removed, but electronic pianos were still included. Now K8 has scarbee samples for those two kinds.

Instead of B4 it has 'Vintage Organs' for kontakt.

Electronical: 'Scarbee Clavinet/Pianet', 'Scarbee Mark I', 'Scarbee A-200'

Acoustical: 'New York Concert Grand', 'Vienna Concert Grand',
'Berlin Concert Grand', 'Upright Piano'

www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=268994

Vienna Concert Grand = Bösendorfer
New York Concert Grand = Steinway
Berlin Concert Grand = Bechstein

bass: 'Scarbee MM-Bass'

drums: 'Studio Drummer', 'West Africa', 'Abbey Road 60s Drums'

Apart from that: 'Retro Machines MK2'

For Reactor: 'Reaktor Spark', 'Reaktor Prism', 'The Finger'
For Guitar Rig: 'Transient Master', 'Rammfire'

optofonik · Post by **optofonik** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 7:42 am

The pianos are what appeal to me since that's where I usually start writing and working out the arrangement and a good piano sound can be inspiring. If these don't do the job I'll probably pony up for Pianoteq which I've demoed and been amazed by. Thanks for the tip about summer pricing in the past. I'll wait. Who knows, maybe Ultimate will be on sale as well.

paulbreeze · Post by **paulbreeze** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 7:50 am

For pianos (and anything else

) I would recommend you to check out SampleTekk stuff. Very good samples (in my opinion) and very good prices. They have currently a -25% discount for acoustic pianos :

http://www.sampletekk.com/products.php?cat=44

darsho · Post by **darsho** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:58 am

optofonik wrote:The pianos are what appeal to me since that's where I usually start writing and working out the arrangement and a good piano sound can be inspiring. If these don't do the job I'll probably pony up for Pianoteq which I've demoed and been amazed by. Thanks for the tip about summer pricing in the past. I'll wait. Who knows, maybe Ultimate will be on sale as well.

imo the NI pianos in Kontakt suck big time.
(I don't know Alicia's keys yet, though)

chroma · Post by **chroma** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 12:51 pm

for me, it wasn't so much 'is it a good $200 sample library?' as 'does it fill any holes for me?' (also still on K6, so not even any K7 stuff). in my case, it didn't.

here are what it offers, how i'd put the categories:

- pianos. 4 different pianos.
- keys. 3 different kinds iirc.
- convolution reverb.
- drums. You get abbey road 60's kit and studio drummer.
- bass guitar samples.
- 2 reaktor ensembles (spark and prism).
- west africa.
- some effects stuff.

It's really not a bad deal for $200 if you need more than a couple of those, but i already had good subs for almost all of that, and i play bass.

ultimate is a far more intriguing deal... in additional to all that, you get session strings pro, the softube 1176/la2a/dbx160 emulators, and the ssl bus comp/eq emulator. those together had me interested (though less so now... since then, i've picked up some kirk hunter stuff, and the IK 76/2a deal...) plus you get razor, alicia's keys, the evolve mutations bundle, and a lot of other less interesting stuff. and you stil get the extra stuff you get with regular K8.

Jake Andrews · Post by **Jake Andrews** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 6:08 pm

optofonik wrote:The pianos are what appeal to me since that's where I usually start writing and working out the arrangement and a good piano sound can be inspiring. If these don't do the job I'll probably pony up for Pianoteq which I've demoed and been amazed by. Thanks for the tip about summer pricing in the past. I'll wait. Who knows, maybe Ultimate will be on sale as well.

I highly recommend Pianoteq. I just have Pianoteq Play, which is the version without all the tweaking options and all that fun stuff. Just loading it up and picking a piano in the "player" type... it sounds phenomenal without any tweaking. It sounds like playing an actual piano right in front of you.

Cruciform · Post by **Cruciform** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 3:03 pm

optofonik wrote:The pianos are what appeal to me since that's where I usually start writing and working out the arrangement and a good piano sound can be inspiring. If these don't do the job I'll probably pony up for Pianoteq which I've demoed and been amazed by.

Personally, I've never been moved by NI's pianos with the exception of Alicia's Keys (which I don't own anyway).

I hear a lot of positive comments about the Sampletekk stuff. FWIW, my money is on Soundiron's two plunkers - Emotional Piano and Montclarion Hall Grand.

EP is a dark, lush cinematic sound and MHG has a lighter, brighter jazzy vibe. Though I don't think either of them are all-rounders, they are definitely worth considering. EP simply inspires me. Only downside is they are heavy on ram if that's an issue.

JavaJ · Post by **JavaJ** » Sun Apr 01, 2012 12:42 am

optofonik wrote:I'm also only running on an AMD Phenom hexcore.

I just upgraded from K5 to K8 as I won a Visa gift card and my wife let me keep it!!!!!! So what would any musician/app-addict do??? I already got on the 50% deals from a few years ago on Alicia's Keys and Session Strings. So getting the upgrade got me Komplete 8 No-so-Ultimate, but darn good enough. Now, I do question if NI will do those same 50% off deals again. They didn't repeat the same sales last year- likely because everyone was expecting it. They might just do smaller upgrade promos like they seem to be doing- or picking an instrument to discount. I would hold off until the summer still and see if there is a K9 coming- the upgrade price will only be the same as now- and maybe better.

osiris · Post by **osiris** » Sun Apr 01, 2012 12:50 am

LGK_Dude · Post by **LGK_Dude** » Sun Apr 01, 2012 1:04 am

If you're looking for new sounds and new inspiration, then go for it! The finger alone looks way cool!

But if you're happy with what you're using, why upgrade? They will always come out with bigger and better versions.

optofonik · Post by **optofonik** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:20 pm

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. I think I'll wait till summer then decide.

optofonik · Post by **optofonik** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:44 pm

I figured I'd resurrect this thread from spring before I pull the trigger. Any additional thoughts no that the summer sale is here?

SOLVED. Is the upgrade from NI Komplete 6 to Komplete 8 (Standard) worth the time money and effort?