Kontakt 6 or Sampletank 3 - what to get?

[Anlon]

Initially I wanted to buy Sampletank 3, but I recently bought some third party libraries for the free Kontakt Player. Thus, I get a price-reduced offer on the full Kontakt 6. I demoed Kontakt and ST and I prefer Sampletank, but everybody keeps saying that Kontakt is so much better. Am I making a mistake because I prefer Sampletank? 'Am I missing something?

[Silaris]

Each product has its pros and cons. Kontakt definitely has a broad-range of free and commercial libraries available, and can be customized to a users preference. SampleTank 3 provides a similar experience to a keyboard workstation and has limited free and commercial expansion options.

FWIW, I own Kontakt 5 and SampleTank 3, and use SampleTank 3, included with Miroslav Philharmonik 2 and Syntronik Deluxe, the most often for my needs. YMMV.

[Gamma-UT]

Sampletank comes with a lot of content but is far less flexible than Kontakt. If you ever want to customise or program your own sampled instruments, Kontakt is streets ahead of Sampletank. Its user interface isn't pretty but it can do much more.

[devilnishy]

Defo Kontakt!

[Elektronisch]

Also Kontakt 6 is a wavetable synthesizer now

[dellboy]

I bought Kontakt 5 years ago and never use it. Pretty awful interface. Inbuilt sounds are nothing to write home about. Why they have never given it a simple rompler mode is beyond me.

I also have Sampletank 3 and use that quite often. Sounds and interface are a lot better, although it does tend to crackle under load on my low end PC.

[Aloysius]

K6

[Gamma-UT]

I bought Kontakt 5 years ago and never use it. Pretty awful interface. Inbuilt sounds are nothing to write home about. Why they have never given it a simple rompler mode is beyond me.

Which sounds are you using in ST3 in the main? Whenever I've done a head-to-head comparison - which was not extensive, I admit – I've found the differences in quality between the Kontakt Factory library and ST3 to not be all that great. The exceptions are not necessarily in ST3's favour. The saxes, for example, are nothing to write home about. In fact, in a head to head, they sound really synthy. And you have the problem that IK doesn't make it easy to add modulations that would improve realism. You can use MIDI learn but it's an all-or-nothing thing with the controller. Kontakt lets you set ranges easily to tune the response, which is pretty essential if you're using something like a breath controller.

However, ST3 does have the benefit of making it easier to audition sounds - you're not always having to delete loaded banks and then going through the filesystem - and set up mixes.

[Elektronisch]

I bought Kontakt 5 years ago and never use it. Pretty awful interface. Inbuilt sounds are nothing to write home about. Why they have never given it a simple rompler mode is beyond me.

I also have Sampletank 3 and use that quite often. Sounds and interface are a lot better, although it does tend to crackle under load on my low end PC.

Its a matter of preference and taste. I had both, sold Sampletank 3, i still have Kontakt. Higher quality sample library, automation (you cant automate sampletank 3 without workarounds), buggy, does not release ram. Sound variety is great, but quality of some sounds is just afwul (choirs). Sample import is horrible, no drag and drop. As a stand alone thing yeah its alright today, but Kontakt is miles ahead also it has insane amount of 3rd party libraries and using them you can create insane amout of multipatches.

[dellboy]

I bought Kontakt 5 years ago and never use it. Pretty awful interface. Inbuilt sounds are nothing to write home about. Why they have never given it a simple rompler mode is beyond me.

Which sounds are you using in ST3 in the main? Whenever I've done a head-to-head comparison - which was not extensive, I admit – I've found the differences in quality between the Kontakt Factory library and ST3 to not be all that great. The exceptions are not necessarily in ST3's favour. The saxes, for example, are nothing to write home about. In fact, in a head to head, they sound really synthy. And you have the problem that IK doesn't make it easy to add modulations that would improve realism. You can use MIDI learn but it's an all-or-nothing thing with the controller. Kontakt lets you set ranges easily to tune the response, which is pretty essential if you're using something like a breath controller.

However, ST3 does have the benefit of making it easier to audition sounds - you're not always having to delete loaded banks and then going through the filesystem - and set up mixes.

I just did a run through of all the saxes on both of them,and none of them are going to win any rewards are they. The onboard sounds in Studio One 4 are more or less on a par with them.

Just as a contrast I fired up my 20 year old Roland XV88, and I would take its sax over both Sampletank and Kontakt, which does not speak well of the progress that has been made.

[LoopyFruit]

I own both and K6 is so much better.

[dellboy]

I own both and K6 is so much better.

I only have K5, and seeing as they are not offering a discount in the sale I will pass. From what I have read K6 is very much K5 with a few sprinkles on top. Unless you can put me right and tell me they have massively upgraded the onboard sounds and interface. As for the libraries, why does the OP need to buy K6 to use them ?

And as someone else has already said, its all subjective.

[Anlon]

but Kontakt is miles ahead also it has insane amount of 3rd party libraries

That's exactly what makes me hesitate getting Sampletank. ST is more of a locked-in system.

As for the libraries, why does the OP need to buy K6 to use them ?

True, I don't need Kontakt 6 to run the libraries. I'm just thinking about getting K6, because I can get it cheaper.

[Elektronisch]

Kontakt 6 comes with 3 new libraries. Hybrid keys is amazing. Very well designed presets that requires non to very basic tweaking. Thats in general i noticed about libraries that come with Kontakt, they dont require as much tweaking as Sampletank 3 ones. In general i had a feeling that majority of Sampletank presets are just more sound sources and developer didnt thought thro to make them usable just from first listen.

[BERFAB]

ST3 and Kontakt are two different things.
ST3 is a modified ROMpler. Out of necessity, IK has increased the included content in this latest version of Sampletank, and included some very interesting bells and whistles for beat production and other requested features. But at the end of the day, it is a very fast way to access and play thousands of sounds. Dozens of included effects are also very easy to access and sculpt your sound accordingly.

Kontakt is a sampler, and has become the de facto go-to production tool for sound designers because it has an amazing range of high quality features, geared mostly toward the technically talented. I am not one of those people. But, it explains why there are so many quality 3rd party libraries available in Kontakt format--sound producers love it, and so they develop their content on it.

Now, in my DAW, my version of Kontakt has higher quality accessible sounds than my version of ST3. But that's because I own dozens of high quality 3rd party libraries for Kontakt. So all I have to do is open Kontakt and click on the library and sounds that I want to play. Done. But if you're really getting into the nitty gritty of sound design, then getting to the guts of Kontakt is not for the squeamish.

As far as the sounds themselves, I don't go in for "head-to-head" comparisons. ST3 has an excellent included library that could keep you busy for quite some time. I own dozens of vst instruments that cover much of the same ground. To me, it's just more colors on the pallet to choose from. Eventually, you may wind up owning both ST3 and Kontakt. But for now, if you have limited resources and can only have one, I would choose the one that makes it easier for you to get your creative ideas down.

[There are other alternatives, of course. One instrument that straddles the ground between Kontakt and ST3, IMHO, is HALion6. A great sampler with dozens of included synth and ROMpler instruments built in. Very easy to get to grips with, and truly excellent sounds.]

Hope you find this helpful.
Cheers
-B