KVR Audio

Jafo · Post by **Jafo** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 6:53 am

I usually Kontakt instruments are only too much trouble if they're large enough to be worth the trouble. Conversely, I find that if they're not big enough to be troublesome, they're generally too small to be worth hearing.

CrystalWizard · Post by **CrystalWizard** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 9:22 am

K-Bee · Post by **K-Bee** » Thu Jan 30, 2020 11:46 am

I never got around those "phrase library" instruments like Session Strings and George Duke neo soul. Too fiddly to work with and I really don't understand half of what I'm trying to do! And I sooooo want George Duke in my music!

oonabe · Post by **oonabe** » Thu Jan 30, 2020 1:13 pm

only when I try to make my Roli Seaboard work with them

kevvvvv · Post by **kevvvvv** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:54 pm

I took a look around the NI forum today to see if there was any news on a gui update

- like a nice new big chunky Kontakt vector GUI upgrade

nada.

no hints, no clues, nothing.

I rarely use kontakt these days because of the crappy, tiny, bitmapped gui

- compared to 2 years ago and the decade before when I practically lived out of Kontakt.

What I've found is that absolute realism isn't essential any more.

There are great hybrid sounds I can make that just don't need Spitfire et al.

I'm so used to hybrid workarounds now I can barely remember the names of samples libraries I used to live and breathe.

I can also add that I used resent NI for not fixing the GUI issue, but nowadays I simply don't care

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 11:22 pm

i find it a pain in the ass that only NI supported (powered by) sample libraries are allowed in the selection window and all other libs... of which there are tons... you have to use the browser to go look for them (yes i know there are quick links you can create) but as much as we have paid for the bloody sampler they could lighten up some and allow simple selection with labels. but then again i don't think they give a hoot about their customers with the announcement of discontinuing libs. that is the final straw and i will not invest in that company in the future.

other than that it works but has not changed for many many years now and is not the simplest sampler to work with. but it is what it is... although it seems they would have put some of the money earned into improving workflow in the menus

kontakt is basically what made the company what it is and it is STILL archaic imo it could definitely use an overhaul. cheers

p.s. i have to agree with previous post also... the GUI is dismal at best

el-bo (formerly ebow) · Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:29 am

MadDogE134 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2020 11:22 pm i find it a pain in the ass that only NI supported (powered by) sample libraries are allowed in the selection window and all other libs... of which there are tons... you have to use the browser to go look for them (yes i know there are quick links you can create)

Actually, you can add your own folder structure to the Kontakt Factory Library. Works well, if you organise it properly

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:58 am

oh i know... but i prefer to be lazy when i can lol it comes naturally

kevvvvv · Post by **kevvvvv** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:53 pm

I don't mind browsing/organising folders.

I just wish my eyes could see the kontakt buttons on my 4k monitor

TS-12 · Post by **TS-12** » Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:12 am

I wish sample libraries were much smaller in size.
the hardware romplers from the 90s and 2000s used few KBs of storage and sounded great. And even today, some instruments sounds from high end keyboards like yamaha Genos (like accordions, trumpets, mandolin tremolos, EPs, ethnic Central and Eastern European, Asian and African instruments, even some drums ) sound better than many kontakt software libraries that are GigaBytes of data.

VladK · Post by **VladK** » Sat Jun 06, 2020 1:47 am

There are a lot of libraries that sound more realistic than any Kontakt-compatible one (VSL, some VI Labs and EW, Garritan CFX), and there are top notch libs that require Kontakt.
Kontakt really shows its age. My 2 main issues with it - I/O is very slow, and UI is very restrictive. For example, if I want to see and adjust 2 instrument parameter screens at the same time, I have to run them in 2 instances of Kontakt. Kontakt UI is not resizable, not rescalable, its MDI implementation is very outdated. It does good job with scripting engine, including backwards compatibility, but it is time for a big UI and I/O rewrite IMHO.

enroe · Post by **enroe** » Sat Jun 06, 2020 1:54 am

TS-12 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:12 am I wish sample libraries were much smaller in size.
the hardware romplers from the 90s and 2000s used few KBs of storage and sounded great. And even today, some instruments sounds from high end keyboards like yamaha Genos (like accordions, trumpets, mandolin tremolos, EPs, ethnic Central and Eastern European, Asian and African instruments, even some drums ) sound better than many kontakt software libraries that are GigaBytes of data.

Yes - but this is not a phenomenon that is limited to Kontakt
alone. Also many of today's EXS or even sfz-libraries have
gigabytes of samples, but rarely sound as good as the old
few-megabyte libraries.

For sfz there is also OGG besides the FLAC format. With this
you can reduce the gigabyte load yourself - in no time at all.

dune_rave · Post by **dune_rave** » Sat Jun 06, 2020 3:00 am

I don't think they are too much trouble but that's true they can be many gigabites.
prepare to have 100 gb free on your system if you install the factory library + 5-6 third party libraries.
it's size is similar to omnisphere, but for specific purposes it's better - omni doesn't have accurately sampled pianos, guitars etc..
on the other hand i also like the small romplers, like m1, wavestation and triton
and i'm sure some good smaller kontakt libraries exist somewhere...

TS-12 · Post by **TS-12** » Sun Jun 07, 2020 4:49 am

I really like EastWest Play libraries, way better than any kontakt library in every category

DJ Warmonger · Post by **DJ Warmonger** » Sun Jun 07, 2020 6:01 am

Getting some 3rd-party libraries to work... often hit or miss. Also there's some trouble navigating them, or even remembering I have them installed...

But stock libraries are amazing, especially Discovery series. So much awesome sounds in a simple device. Allowed me to get some very authentic ethic rhytms, such as:

https://open.spotify.com/track/2gE5VZ8m ... lt5mRrJONA

Do you ever find Kontakt instruments to be too much trouble?