What are some good Native Instruments Kontakt cinematic libraries to get?

[djshire]

I recently registered an NI Traktor Z1. With it came a $50 voucher. I also got a $25 voucher for recently upgrading to Komplete 11 from 7, but that voucher is going to be used for Replika XT.

I'm learning to make video games with Unity and Blender, though its more "make games as part of my portfolio so I can get a job with a company" kind of deal, and what I want to stand out are my soundtracks. I want to be flexible, so that if need be, either as my own projects or as a job from a company, I can make a wide variety of soundtrack types.

So I'm looking at the various "powered by Kontakt libraries" that I can use with my voucher. Kinetic Toys is out of that, since I have Kinetic Treats and can't use the voucher for upgrades. I've been looking at getting the Evolve Mutations Bundle, but I'm wondering if Evolve is worth the extra money. I've also been looking at Thrill and Damage, but those are a bit more than I want to spend, but sound worth it. I also wonder if the Symphony Essentials are worth looking at, since having Kontakt I already kind of cover that (I also have Logic 9, and that seems to have a lot in there too).

So what would you get?

[Cinebient]

Logic Pro X (best value ever for the content)
Then maybe Komplete 11.
....then whatever

[arturmeinild]

Gothic Instruments "Dronar" and "Sculptor" series seems like a good choice for atmospheric and cinematic sounds, and they're reasonably priced. There's also a free preview version available.

http://www.timespace.com/productlist/3/ ... ments.html

The orchestral instruments included in Kontakt Factory library is not bad (Vienna "light"), and there's also some additional orchestral content in Komplete 11 (session strings, session horns and session guitars).

[djshire]

Logic Pro X (best value ever for the content)
Then maybe Komplete 11.
....then whatever

Did you just TL;DR my post? I already have 11, I'm wondering what to use a voucher to add onto what I've got

Gothic Instruments "Dronar" and "Sculptor" series seems like a good choice for atmospheric and cinematic sounds, and they're reasonably priced. There's also a free preview version available.

http://www.timespace.com/productlist/3/ ... ments.html

The orchestral instruments included in Kontakt Factory library is not bad (Vienna "light"), and there's also some additional orchestral content in Komplete 11 (session strings, session horns and session guitars).

I'll check those out, its really good there are free versions of those, but I'm looking for NI libraries only (so I can use my voucher).

[Gamma-UT]

I've been looking at getting the Evolve Mutations Bundle, but I'm wondering if Evolve is worth the extra money. I've also been looking at Thrill and Damage, but those are a bit more than I want to spend, but sound worth it. I also wonder if the Symphony Essentials are worth looking at, since having Kontakt I already kind of cover that (I also have Logic 9, and that seems to have a lot in there too).

So what would you get?

The first Evolve is showing its age a bit. Unless you're desperate the recreate the glories of the Evil Pianocks beloved by shows like Law & Order: Special Perps Unit Milwaukee, it's probably worth skipping. The Heavyocity stuff got more sophisticated with better control over the sound, such as the trigger FX, with the second Mutations. But Aeon was an improvement over that - the voucher won't work for that but maybe worth considering in a future sale. Similarly, since Damage came out, there's been a bunch of epic percussion libraries appearing. AIR's Big Bang Cinematic often goes on sale for very little.

Recommendations are tougher. Rise & Hit maybe? Although, it's not hard to build template presets in Absynth and Massive that do a lot of those jobs.

[Kinh]

The evolve bundle is a mixbag of random stuff that may or may not be ideal for video game.

The ensemble collection are epic Orchestral loops.

Aeon rythmic is a bunch of loud distorted slices, all of which suit fast tempo music.

Dm307 are standard drum loops. Too generic for film/video game.

Action strikes are similar to ensemble collection.

Damage is probably closer to where you wanna be as its not just cinematic tom loops but also quirky sounds and electronica.

All of the above come wit oneshots too.

[djshire]

Law & Order: Special Perps Unit Milwaukee

I heard the first season of that is in post-production The Heavyocity stuff got more sophisticated with better control over the sound, such as the trigger FX, with the second Mutations. But Aeon was an improvement over that - the voucher won't work for that but maybe worth considering in a future sale. [/quote]
I'll look into that. So is Evolve better than Mutations?

Similarly, since Damage came out, there's been a bunch of epic percussion libraries appearing. AIR's Big Bang Cinematic often goes on sale for very little.

Not trying to be "that guy", but when I tried to find AIR Big Bang Cinematic, it came up with...Sonivox Big Bang Cinematic....which is currently $70 USD, so that might be worth looking into, but does it measure up with Damage and the like?

Recommendations are tougher. Rise & Hit maybe? Although, it's not hard to build template presets in Absynth and Massive that do a lot of those jobs.

I hate Massive with a passion, but love Absynth. I have no idea how to build template presets in it however.

The evolve bundle is a mixbag of random stuff that may or may not be ideal for video game.

The ensemble collection are epic Orchestral loops.

Aeon rythmic is a bunch of loud distorted slices, all of which suit fast tempo music.

Dm307 are standard drum loops. Too generic for film/video game.

Action strikes are similar to ensemble collection.

Damage is probably closer to where you wanna be as its not just cinematic tom loops but also quirky sounds and electronica.

All of the above come wit oneshots too.

Damage looks great, but its slightly out of my budget. How do you feel on Mutations vs Evolve? What about Rise & Hit?

[Gamma-UT]

I'll look into that. So is Evolve better than Mutations?

Evolve probably has more playable instruments. Mutations is more about stings and transitions, but Mutations has the more sophisticated scripting. I think the later Aeon-type instruments are better investments. The earlier ones have plenty of show-ready sounds but they aren't difficult to recreate in many cases with a bit of FX+resampling, if you have more time than money. There isn't a lot of deep sampling going on in the first Evolve - it's beauty is more in being a source of sound ideas.

Similarly, since Damage came out, there's been a bunch of epic percussion libraries appearing. AIR's Big Bang Cinematic often goes on sale for very little.

Not trying to be "that guy", but when I tried to find AIR Big Bang Cinematic, it came up with...Sonivox Big Bang Cinematic....which is currently $70 USD, so that might be worth looking into, but does it measure up with Damage and the like?

Again, Damage is delivering sounds that are ready to go, but it's a steep price compared with some decent samples and a bunch of FX. However, I thought Big Bang had gone on sale for less for that - AIR has done a bunch of sales where they offer the whole bundle for not very much. It's worth getting hold of Xpand!2 at the very least to give you something to upgrade from. That has been knocked out for a dollar and has a lot of very good, if 90s-ish ROMpler-style sounds.

I hate Massive with a passion

Feedback is your friend in Massive. Do not rule it out for mad sound effects, brrraaams and basses. Also, look up the YouTube channel of Daniel Petras for cinematic sound-design tips in Massive.

but love Absynth. I have no idea how to build template presets in it however.

Bad phrasing on my part. I just meant a basic preset for transitions where you have a bunch of envelopes set up ready to go for each of the oscillators and then load different samples into the first page.