Kontakt Player Alternative

[SampleScience]

I'd go with UVI Workstation. It has a good selection of sounds compared to the other free alternative and you can load all the basic audio formats and more. You have plenty of quality effects that comes with it.

[sprnva]

If you want to take advantage of the many cool sample banks out there then there really is no alternative. Even though I have EXS24 in Logic I ended up getting Kontakt because I'd gathered up so many samples that I wanted to use.

Kontakt by itself is kinda pricey but if you can't find a good deal in the market place, then it's much better value if you buy Komplete.

[BBFG#]

I'd go with UVI Workstation. It has a good selection of sounds compared to the other free alternative and you can load all the basic audio formats and more. You have plenty of quality effects that comes with it.

Unfortunately, it uses PACE software.
You're better off with Kontakt than anything that uses PACE.
(With or without dongle)

[SampleScience]

I'd go with UVI Workstation. It has a good selection of sounds compared to the other free alternative and you can load all the basic audio formats and more. You have plenty of quality effects that comes with it.

Unfortunately, it uses PACE software.
You're better off with Kontakt than anything that uses PACE.
(With or without dongle)

Why? Do they collect personal information and sells it?

[bigcat1969]

Odd Question, do instruments with the same samples sound better on some samplers than on others? I've been listening quite closely to certain piano sounds on different samplers / formats. I swear the Kontakt version sounds clearer than the VSTi and the SFZ which seem slightly more muffled. The Sampletank version is quite smooth, but rather synthy.

[BBFG#]

I'd go with UVI Workstation. It has a good selection of sounds compared to the other free alternative and you can load all the basic audio formats and more. You have plenty of quality effects that comes with it.

Unfortunately, it uses PACE software.
You're better off with Kontakt than anything that uses PACE.
(With or without dongle)

Why? Do they collect personal information and sells it?

It runs services in the background that could be better used in your DAW.

[BBFG#]

Odd Question, do instruments with the same samples sound better on some samplers than on others? I've been listening quite closely to certain piano sounds on different samplers / formats. I swear the Kontakt version sounds clearer than the VSTi and the SFZ which seem slightly more muffled. The Sampletank version is quite smooth, but rather synthy.

Interesting, it seems the same samples could sound better on one or another.
At least, it seems so when I compared the Emu Proteus set for Kontakt and the same set for DimensionPro.

Although they don't actually tell you on the DSF site, you can deduce that if the DimensionPro Hi-Def samples are 24 bit that the rest of them are likely 16 bit?

Maybe the Kontakt versions are 24 bit too? But there seems to be some difference between the two players playing the same sounds...

[Shask]

Odd Question, do instruments with the same samples sound better on some samplers than on others? I've been listening quite closely to certain piano sounds on different samplers / formats. I swear the Kontakt version sounds clearer than the VSTi and the SFZ which seem slightly more muffled. The Sampletank version is quite smooth, but rather synthy.

I spent a lot of time recently comparing samples on Kontakt and other free samplers (When I decided to buy Komplete 9...)

It could all be in my head, but I swear it sounds like Kontakt has some sort of bass boost, and some sort of stereo widener type effect.

I could make free samplers sound similar using an EQ to boost the bass, use a mild stereo enhancer effect, and a slight reverb. Kontakt still did have an edge in clarity though.

[Winstontaneous]

Good thread...I was also wondering if there was anything else that would actually play Kontakt instruments. I like the simplicity of Logic ESX24 mkII, and the fact that Reason's samplers are easy to use and actually, um...sample.

Was considering MachV, but it appears that's not a sure bet. Will probably spring for next version of Komplete.

[hollowsun]

If you want to take advantage of the many cool sample banks out there then there really is no alternative. Even though I have EXS24 in Logic I ended up getting Kontakt because I'd gathered up so many samples that I wanted to use.

Many people do.

Kontakt by itself is kinda pricey ...

So you never shelled out over two £grand for a hardware sampler that came with four floppy disks (6Mb of library) and then shelled out another £1,000 for memory expansion and then £750 for a 40Mb SCSI hard drive?

At €300-odd with GB of library and terabytes of free and inexpensive library out there, Kontakt's a bargain!


Stephen

[murnau]

As everybody knows, Kontakt Player works and is free for some libraries, like Vintage Galaxy, but not for others, like Imperfect Samples, which it plays in "demo" mode, only (15 minutes, max).

Not everybody particularly needs a heavy-duty sampler like Kontakt 5, which is expensive and which seems to be the only game in town for many nki-based piano and instrument samples.

All many of want, and will ever need, is a sample PLAYER.

Any new kids on the block to satisfy that market? NI sample players, plain and simple??

JG

i rather pay once for the full kontakt and compensate the price with many affordable libraries i can use with it then buying overpriced libraries (licence costs towards NI) just to use them in my "free" kontakt-player.

got my kontakt for 99 bucks btw. and crossgrade to komplete in a sale. i paid often more for less.. ..often for much less.

[SampleScience]

I don't know if it's been already mentioned, but Zampler RX could be a pretty good alternative. There's a couple of sample libraries for it all free + you can consider all the free SFZ files you can find on the net.

[sprnva]

So you never shelled out over two £grand for a hardware sampler that came with four floppy disks (6Mb of library) and then shelled out another £1,000 for memory expansion and then £750 for a 40Mb SCSI hard drive?

At €300-odd with GB of library and terabytes of free and inexpensive library out there, Kontakt's a bargain!

Well, everything nowadays is cheaper relative to what it used to cost in the 80s and 90s (analog gear aside). I couldn't even afford a battered-up DX7 back in the early 90s when I was trying to get started. For sampling I had to settle with my Amiga 500.

But a lot of people who are looking at Kontakt are just looking to play back sample libraries as it's become almost a universal format (all your releases are in Kontakt format).

So €300-odd to essentially remove the 15 minute demo limit of Kontakt Player is quite expensive. Although as has been said, there are ways to get it cheaper from crossgrades and sales etc as well as buying it as part of Komplete.

[murnau]

So €300-odd to essentially remove the 15 minute demo limit of Kontakt Player is quite expensive.

if you buy one library in a lifetime yes, otherwise no.

it is also bullshit the other way around: why i have to pay the same price for a library when i have purchased full kontakt like someone with player only? most of the time i dont buy libraries that work full in player because i have full kontakt purchased and dont want to support this license thing because i dont have any benefit from it. i rather support the devs which release their libraries for a low price (what they only can do because they dont pay NI = demo in player).

[hollowsun]

But a lot of people who are looking at Kontakt are just looking to play back sample libraries

Even the Akai S1000PB was about £1,500 or £1,600!

So €300-odd to essentially remove the 15 minute demo limit of Kontakt Player is quite expensive.

Yes ... I understand and appreciate that but I am with murnau - just get it over and done with and as you say...

there are ways to get it cheaper from crossgrades and sales etc as well as buying it as part of Komplete.

Yup. I bought K5 in one of NI's sales for $130, I bought a copy of second hand K4 for $80 which I gave to a collaborator and another collaborator bought a copy for $90 - full works, all the library and totally legit and NI happily transferring licences over. And the Komplete deal, as you so rightly say, is a good option. More expensive but comes with SO much ... enough for a lifetime.

I have tried to encourage NI several times to make a proper payware player but it ain't gonna happen.


Stephen